Posted on by agilejack

Some Minor Projects and More Soup

After some pretty impressive rain early this week we’ve had some really glorious fall days.

That was this afternoon. My grass has gone from brown to green in two weeks!

There have been more gorgeous moments throughout this week.

Every fall I tell myself how brilliant I was to plant four red maples in my yard!

The clouds are coming back tomorrow and it will be cloudy and/or rainy for the next ten days. Pretty typical weather for this time of year in Portland.

I had a good weekend off and played lots of pickleball. On Saturday I made a huge pot of chili with beans.

I ended up with a few meals in my refrigerator and a bunch of containers in my freezer.

I bought the stuff this weekend to make a pot of “juicy beans,” pinto beans with ham hocks, I’m going to have to clean out and organize my big freezer before I can get any more soup in there! I Called this soup juicy beans when my mom would make it when I was a kid and my entire family has adopted this name! When one of us says “juicy beans” we all know what they’re talking about.

It’s been nearly a week since I hit my sewing room but decided to get in there this evening and start working on the linings for these two Frankenbags that are still unfinished.

I decided to tackle all the cutting of the fabric and interfacing for both bag linings at the same time… sort of make a little assembly line. I had just enough oomph left at the end of the day to get that done.

That’s both linings and both zipper plackets. I do LOVE a bold bag lining!

I also got the slip pocket and zipper pocket cut and fused for each bag.

I wanted to use a contrasting Aboriginal fabric for the pocket that also appeared in the bag body. This green was the obvious choice. I didn’t even try any of the other fabrics, Because green and red. ‘Nuff said,

Here’s the combo for the batik bag.

I really love that big leaf batik. The deep purple background is such a great contrast to the watery green in the leaves.

I’ll start working on the zippers and then get the pockets assembled and sewn onto the linings tomorrow night. It will be good to have these projects done. I have an unfinished quilt on my design wall that is nagging at me.

And old friend of mine that I haven’t seen since 2019 came for a visit on Sunday. She lived not far from Portland while she attended vet school in her late 50s after working for years in academia and in the petroleum industry. We decided to go out for lunch since neither of us have many opportunities to eat out like civilized people. It was fun to see her. We got to know each other years ago through dog agility and terriers.

I’m working on planning a weekend together with my brother and sister in law. The starburst quarter log cabin quilt I made for them should be back from my long arm quilter any day. I can’t wait to see it done! And my brother has made a wooden frame for a large photo of Forrest that I had printed on a canvas years ago. We’re going to coordinate to exchange those projects. Upcoming dog sitting duties for each of us is making that a little more difficult. Yes, Ernie and Bogart will be back here in a couple of weeks!

I brought a cracked pickleball home with me the other day for the dogs. They loved it.

It didn’t last long.

I have three sweet gum trees in my back yard. They are sort of messy trees, leaving little spiky balls all over the place. But they provide wonderful shade for my yard all summer long and their leaves are amazing in the fall. Each leaf is different from every other leaf. This one is a real stand out.

One more work day that I will spend reviewing legal agreements for a new fundraising vendor. Yuck. Then the weekend!

24 Replies to “Some Minor Projects and More Soup”

  1. You’ve been very productive as per.

    Juicy beans is a great name, I love how families develop these . We have nodules ( tortellini), sosig ( sausage casserole), samwidge ( sandwich) and chilli san ( I guess your juicy beans!).

    I’ve been making more bags and chutneys for the food bank sale. We have a Christmas fair on 18/11 when I’m hoping to take my sewing group tutor’s quilt she donated. No idea what to charge for my Frankenbags- any thoughts?

    I’m off to France to visit with my sister on Monday. My big brother is coming too. It’ll be nice to get together .

    Have a good weekend
    Lindy x

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  2. Red maples are so striking in the fall! Love the blazing colors. Cool and rainyhere. Definetly soup season here and warming comfort food. Made roast chicken and stuffing the other day and then soup from the carcass. Made butternut squash soup. Chili is calling my name, so that will be soon. A friend gave me a bushel of Winesap apples! I will never be able to eat them all so maybe a pie this weekend and some applesauce.
    Love the high contrast lining! I think the plain dark linings are boring and make it hard to see inside. I have seen some lights for inside purses but as skeptical. Working on some quilt-as-you-go placemats and napkins in between sewing some clothing. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Roast chickens is one of my favorite meals. Whenever someone is traveling to visit me and will arrive in the evening I love to have a chicken in the oven, ready for them when they arrive. So easy, so impressive, and so darned good! I usually add carrots, potatoes, onions and mushrooms to the pan with the whole chicken! Mmmm.
      Anne

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  5. I really enjoy reading your blog and seeing your pictures. I didn’t realize that fall came so early to Portland, your trees are beautiful. I don’t like sweet gum trees and we call them ‘ankle breakers’ because of the balls. We had a giant one removed from our front yard recently and the company that did the job said nurseries in our area don’t sell them now. Your fabrics for the bags are eye candy.

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    2. OMG! The pods!!! There are so many and they fall all year long! When I first moved to Portland I had a dog who would eat the green ones like popcorn! I spent a lot of time picking those blasted things up!

      My brother has one that’s a male and doesn’t produce any pods!

      Anne

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  6. Your dogs look so happy in your yard. Love the picture of the leaf from your tree. You should collect a bunch and lay them out on the grass and photograph them. Get Spoonflower company to create fabric out of the photographs. You could have your own line of fabric for sure. I would buy it.

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    1. My dogs do love our yard… and so do I! it’s a pretty special place.

      I love the idea of laying out some leaves and photographing them. That’s a good activity for a quick break from work!

      Anne

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  9. TGIF- hank God its Friday. Simply green with envy looking at your stunning red maple trees as down under we’re in Spring mode and facing an awful summer. I cool off and calm down with your photos, and your boys are a delight

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    1. I hope your summer isn’t too hot and the fires aren’t. We had a really wonderful summer this year and the fires weren’t nearly as bad as they have been the last few years.

      At least you’re getting more daylight as I sit and watch the sun retreat to the Southern Hemisphere. Before long it will be dark at 4:00 pm here.

      Anne

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  11. Loved this post. . . . the pictures of the trees in your backyard are unbelievably colorful. . . . who needs to go to the East Coast for Fall color!! And, you inspire me with your seeming ability to find time everyday to do some quilting related projects. I often go days without finding time to fit it in, then that is jus depressing to not see progress. Sigh. . . . I live in the San Francisco Bay area and one post last summer really got me going. . . . it was windy and cold here and you posted that you had supper outside and enjoyed “balmy weather!” That isn’t how it is supposed to be. . . . at least I always thought our weather in the East Bay Hills was supposed to be warmer than the Bay Area in general, and certainly warmer than Oregon!! So, I am reconciled to try to enjoy the weather as it comes. Balmy is not a word I would use to describe what we have experienced this past summer. . . . or Fall.

    I also practically drool over the fabrics you use in the quilts and projects you have recently shared. They are gorgeous and inspiring in themselves.

    Thanks for taking the time to share!

    Jan Pinney

    >

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    1. Our summers here can be really glorious. This last summer was a really lovely one. We didn’t have a lot of hot days and when it did get hot it dropped right back down again. A perfect summer.

      You are probably warmer than us in the winter. it’s not usually terribly cold here… you need a good sturdy rain coat with a fleece underneath. Occasionally you need a parka. But the most important thing in our winters is to stay dry!

      thanks for reading!

      Anne

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