Weekend round-up

This was a busy weekend packed with sewing, cooking, cycling, shopping and lots more. I'm not sure how I fit it all in!

Let's start with two new soups I made in the slow-cooker, both I'd recommend because they're simple and tasty. Both are those great slow-cooker recipes where you don't need to brown anything, just dump it all in and let it simmer. First up on Saturday was vegetarian lasagna soup. This was super tasty. I added extra veggies because why not? A spoonful of a ricotta and mozzarella cheese mixture on top makes it even better. The last few leaves of basil from my herb garden were stirred into the cheesy goodness.

Then Sunday I made chicken enchilada soup. Mmm! I topped it with a dollop of sour cream, minced red onions and cilantro and had some blue corn chips on the side. Instead of canned corn, I picked up a few fresh ears from a nearby farm. That tastes so fresh and it's wonderfully crisp. On Sunday I also pedalled to a few kilometres shy of doubling my cycling distance from 2012. Tomorrow I'll pass 3,100K. Woohoo!

Although I have several sewing projects on the go, I just had to make this Cat Star block that popped up on Instagram when I realized how perfect suited the Cotton + Steel kitties were for the design. I also got bold and cut into my Essex linen, which was really nice to work with. I love how it turned out - especially the odd kitty peeking in from the corner. I think I'll make it into a pillow.

I also finished the binding on a baby quilt for a friend, whose baby shower is next week. That counts as working way ahead in the crafty world - done a whole week before the deadline! There was even time for wash before the photoshoot.

A strip of the leftover bits add some interest to the back.

This was the first time I quilted with Aurifil and I think the bright pink looks great with the more muted shades of the top. The kitty fabric (Here Kitty Kitty by Clothworks) really is lovely, very light-weight and almost silky. Now I see the appeal of making a quilt out of voile. That would feel like heaven!

I also finished my pinwheel quilt top, but it was dark by the time I sewed on the last border and the grass was too dewy this morning. I'll post a photo later.

I love this shot of my progress on my mini quilt swap. So much colour! So many teeny pieces!

I put a halt on all my works in progress, including the swap mini, when I reluctantly had to part with my sewing machine after it went cuckoo bonkers and a tune-up became a necessity. Hopefully it will be home very soon. My mom was kind enough to lend me her travel machine (likely sensing the desperation in my voice when I said my machine would be gone for at least two weeks. Two weeks!) Knowing each machine has a slightly different idea of a scant 1/4" seam, I thought it best to work on new projects like the pinwheels that I could start and finish on the borrowed machine.

And boy do I have a bunch of projects on the go! I recently joined a block of the month club for the Moda Modern Building Blocks quilt. The first four blocks are done (I should really get a picture of those to share) and soon October's fabric should arrive. I'm also waiting on a gifted collection of Aurifil to get started on the quilting for a couple more baby quilts. What a treat - thanks Miss C!