A New Chapter

It's been feeling like I've turned the page recently, and started a new chapter in my life. Some things which never really made sense are now clear; old hurts- don’t hurt as much anymore; old ways of thinking are suddenly replaced with new, healthier ones. I woke up one day and found that I have become a Quilter:
     

This is Ray’s Four-Square Quilt…I made it yesterday. No, it’s not a full size quilt, more of a lap quilt, and no it doesn't have it’s label yet, but it will get done this weekend. It was more important to finish it in time for Dad’s birthday party (which admittedly was a week early, but hey- who cares when it’s a party?!) So I went and picked out some blue flannel fabric Wednesday evening, cut it out Thursday morning, pieced it Thursday mid-morning, and sewed it all together Thursday afternoon. Whew! And suddenly there was a quilt on my work table, where just 7 hours before there had only been a few strips of cloth.
May is turning into the month of quilts- I’ve started my next one already, not counting dad’s. This one is all pretty pinks, greens and lavenders in a Log Cabin pattern- I’m calling it the Alchemy Quilt because combining all the different colours and patterns makes me feel like a medieval Alchemyst:

Combining all these different components to make a brand new…thing is rather awe inspiring in a way. It’s like that in my cooking, too. All my recipes are different now- Diabetes is changing my life in so many different ways it’s hard to keep up with it all. Next week I’ll be reworking my Menu Planning Binder, and working on a couple of recipe ideas all my research has inspired. Today’s Grand Experiment is Hummus (the Garbanzo Beans are soaked and cooked and ready to blitz) and Black Bean Burgers (cakes? patties? fritters? not sure what to call them- other than good! But the recipe needs tweaking- it’s stability is a bit…lacking shall we say?) so it’s off to the kitchen for now.
Funny how one person’s drudgery is another’s bliss…

Wherein I learn more about Diabetes, and Make a Bag…

April 30th. The last day of a very crazy, busy, complicated, hectic month. I uploaded pictures this morning and came across all the things I did this month that I had forgotten about- I’ll get to those later in the week, but first a bit of an update:

I love Brown Rice! I don’t love Spinach anymore. Vegetarian cooking isn’t all that hard- and it’s yummy. But, I’m not a vegetarian. Mainly because… I love Asian Turkey Burgers! But not as a burger- just as a patty next to Pineapple Fried Rice (made with brown rice, of course!)

If you read my last post, you probably know what I’m going on about- if not, I just got diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. It’s made life a bit tricky- but a whole lot more fun! Exercise has  to happen now, it’s not an option. (hint- I love going outside). And although I’ve read vegetarian cookbooks for years, now I get to actually cook from them, too! (turns out vegetables really are good for you! Who knew?) The whole testing thing is…um, painful, messy and potentially illegal (it is illegal to throw your used sharps away, but I made a cute little container for them (I know, right? She’ll make anything!)). But, I’m getting it all under control with the help of routines, schedules, charts and a whole lot of research.

So…I needed a little break from all that jazz yesterday, and after my morning walk I pulled out some fabric and made… a bag for my new water bottle! (‘cause I’m supposed to drink waay more water).

First, I ironed a piece wide enough to go around it (plus seam allowance) and tall enough to cover it top to bottom, set in a double turn hem (which is the top) and sewed it in:

 

Next, I folded it in half lengthwise (wrong sides together) and sewed one seam, bottom-to-top: oops! No picture of this step. But, it looks almost identical to this one, which is sewing that same seam, but turned wrong side out:

which is how you make a French Seam. Last step is turning it inside out and pressing it well:

and sewing a handle on to it:

Then you stick a water bottle into it and go outside!

 

 

 

 

 

And just so you know, this is what supervising looks like when it’s nice outside:

The Faeries are out there, too- you can’t see it, but they’ve got a swimming pool and striped cabana with a bar off to the side there…