(I’m back from tech issues! This post is from Friday night)
It was cold again today in Portland. Crisp and cold. Our snow is still fluffy and many of the roads are icy. They have cleared the freeways, for the most part and traffic is flowing again.
My visiting friend lives in a place that got around 14 inches of snow over the last few days. People there are already back to normal. So she’s having a hard time adjusting to what happens in Portland with about a third of that amount. She had a store and restaurant that she was ready to go to today. I suggested that we should call first to see if they were open. And, as I predicted, they were both closed! She thought this was astounding. Yup. Snow storms are very different here.
The good thing about the cold weather after a snow storm is that the snow on the ground stays nice and fluffy, which is good news for dogs. I didn’t get them out for a walk today because we were out and about and because the roads were too slick for me to be walking on. So we played in the back yard instead.
I think they enjoyed themselves.
That Rico takes his play very seriously. Bender, on the other hand…
We stayed home a good portion of the day today, but we did venture out. We want to the grocery store and then dropped by the mall again to buy some curtains for my bedroom. There weren’t very many people out and about and some of the roads were really icy and slick.
Once we got home we hunkered down and decided that we were going to get the first five rows of the 16 patch quilt all sewn together and in one piece. And we did it!
I just love seeing all these blocks sewn together. It takes it from a bunch of blocks to something really fantastic! We made a big old piece of amazing fabric!
My friend went through the blocks and made sure all the seams were going the same direction in each row… alternating direction in each subsequent row. This insures that the seams will nest nicely and the corners will be perfect!
Case in point…
Look at all those beautiful corners! Thanks to Wanda at Exuberant Color for her fool proof tutorial! Here’s a direct link to Wanda’s tutorial for making a 16 patch.
A little more eye candy…
We pulled the remaining 5 rows off the design wall after clearly marking each row.
I pinned all these rows and my friend pressed them all. We took turns sewing. I actually love pinning all these seams. I pin every place where two seams meet. I absolutely love the feeling when those nested seams make that little soft click when they nest. It’s almost mediative to me. And I love all the precision that nesting makes possible.
While we were at the grocery store today we bought everything we needed to make rock fish tacos for dinner. They were pretty tasty!
I don’t have a recipe. I basically pan fry the rock fish with some Penny’s Northwood Spice rub. Then I add pickled onions (lots of recipes for these online), some simple coleslaw with a vinaigrette, and a little cheese in a corn tortilla. We topped these off with some home made hot sauce my sister in law gave me. So tasty!!! And enough fish left over that we can have another dinner of rock fish tacos!
Tomorrow we are planning on heading out again on a more adventurous post storm trip… Battle Ground for Rico’s weekly sheep herding lesson, and we’ll be getting ready for his competition on Sunday!
agilejack 
The boys do seem to love the playtime in the snow.
The soft click is music to my fingers. It makes me smile because the corners will be perfect. I am blessed with a huge design wall, actually two of them. My basement is my sewing room, knitting room, and wine cellar(lol). The quilt is looking great! Very bright and cheery.
Have fun with the sheep herding lesson, I know Rico will.😊
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Oh, my goodness. The boys look like they really enjoyed the snow! Such sweeties. ❤️ Yes, I’m hungry after seeing those fish tacos 🌮!!! I’ve not seen rockfish in stores here, maybe cod ? The spice sounds so good too. Yum!
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I think “rock fish” refers to any bottom feeder type of fish, rather than a specific fish. Tends to be mild white fish. makes great tacos pan fried or grilled with a little seasoning.
Check out “rockfish” on Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockfish
Anne
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Your friend’s quilt is gorgeous! I can see why she was hesitant at the beginning but now that I see the whole thing…WOW! Those prints are really nice…Just like KFasset (sp?) prints.
Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your blog postings. Im a new quilter and your info on how you work with your quilts is invaluable .. I love every one of your postings…and also, as an animal lover myself, your pups are so CUTE….especially with the one who’s ear lays flat and the other stands up…adorable!
P.S…..I’ve come to the conclusion that quilting and yoga are a lot alike….looks easy but doing it is a lot harder… LOL
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Awww. Rico’s crazy ears! I love them so much!
When I first started quilting I watched a lot of videos on YouTube by Donna Jordan at Jordan Fabrics. I learned a lot from watching her handle fabric, pressing, cutting, etc…You should take a look. She has tons of quilt tutorials too.
the type of quilting I do isn’t difficult, compared to a lot of quilts. I don’t enjoy the really fine and detailed block making. I prefer more free form and improvisational approach. Plus, I suffer from too much confidence… I’m not afraid to just dive in and try something. It rarely turns out really bad! There are few things I’m hesitant to share.
have fun!
Anne
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Oh yeah, I’ve watched Donna Jordan tons of times..she’s awesome 👍🏻 … good to know you jump into your projects with no fear…I’m the same way and get into trouble down the line.. lol… BTW, I just loved your KFassett quilt you made before your friend arrived… they looked like half log cabin blocks.. am I right?
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quarter log cabins. Lots of tutorials on Youtube. My strips are all different widths, from 1 inch to a little over 2 inches. I like that they are different. More freeform and less precise, which I like.
Anne
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Thanks! I’ll remember that from now on…QUARTER log cabin blocks, not half….🙄😀
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Yummy fish tacos 😋
Thank you for the super cute Rico and Bender pics! They look like they were having fun! Wowza! I love the Aboriginal quilt! It is looking amazing 🤗
I have been watching that crazy snow from sunny 80° San Antonio 🫣.
I am so glad you have your friend there sharing your snow days! 💕
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It was fun to have someone around to help pass the time while we were shut in with snow. and I’m ready for spring!
Anne
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Wow. Rico’s channeling his wolf ancestors in this picture. Have you ever thought of making a calendar with your dogs and quilts? I’d bet it would sell. Thanks for sharing.
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Well, I know I could sell at least ONE calendar!!!
Hahaha! Yes! Rico looks very feral and vicious in this photo!
Anne
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