Author Archives: mlwilkie

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About mlwilkie

Software Developer, Mother, Wife with keen interest in art, design and crafts of all kinds.

February goal wrap-up and March goals

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This was the first month, I linked up with A lovely year of finishes  and The Girl who Quilts. I made the realization that with normal life getting in the way that I need to reassess what I am committing to in March :-).

Here are my March goals (which includes a lot of the unfinished goals for February).

  1. Bottom, Baste and Quilt, the “Four Seasons in one day” (named after a crowded house song).
  2. Finish 2 sets of chair bags.
  3. Finish 1 set of pot holders (custom order)
  4. Finish a E-reader case
  5. Sew + Finish the Triple zip pouch
  6. Kiwi Paper Piecing Cushion Cover
  7. Make 1-2 Blocks for our Madrona Road Challenge

Continue with my more general goals

  1. Continue with Life Style Challenge with a focus on:
    – No Sugar or Processed Food
    – Exercise 3 times a week
  2. Post 3 times a week min.
  3. Post a new recipe each week

A Lovely Year of Finishes The Girl Who Quilts

Anyway, this is how far I got in February….

  1. As mentioned on Friday 1st, complete top and back of my “Four Seasons in one day” (named after a crowded house song)
    I have now completed the top and started the back. You can see my first quilt top finish here.FourSeasonsInOneDay_1
  2. Finish 4 sets of chair bags.
    I have cut out 2 sets of chair bags but have not started sewing yet. I did not get any further.
  3. Finish 4 sets of pot holders.
    I have 3 sets of pot holders completed.IMG_0865 IMG_6892
  4. Cut out fabric for my son’s quilt.
    Not started yet – I have landed up ordering two new fabrics.
  5. Triple zip pouch.
    Fabric and other materials selected but did not get any further.
  6. Try out a paper piecing block.
    I tried out the techniques but I want to make this kiwi pattern from Tartankiwi and make it into a cushion. 

More general goals

  1. Continue with Life Style Challenge.
    I am continuing on even though February saw some up and downs.
  2. Post 3 times a week min.
    Check – doing well.
  3. Post a new recipe each week.
    Check – doing well

Slow-cooked Vegetable Dal

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I love Indian food – its one of my favorite food choices. This vegetable dal recipe worked great with my current life style challenge. It has lots of flavor and is loaded with vegetables.

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Ingredients

  • 1-2 cups red lentils
  • 1 can tomatoes
  • 1-2 cup vegetable stock
  • 2 cups spinach
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala

Add all the ingredients to the slow-cooker, cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve either in a bowl by itself or over rice (I use brown rice). Nice and easy 🙂

Addicted – my work in progress

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So, this is the post where I admit I am addicted to buying fabric. Yes, like many out there – I can’t help myself. I see a cool new print or fabric line and I get an idea and I just have to have it. I promise I have a plan and idea for all of it 😉

I discovered, this week, how bad it is when I decided to start organizing my fabric and workspace. This is my work in progress this week (linking up to freshly pieced)…..keep reading my admission below.

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Below, are photo’s my fabric in the middle of being organized. I am using comic book boards (which are amazing) to stack my fabric easily and allowing visibility. After going through 200 boards and still only 2/3 of the way through….I was thinking – oops, that is a lot of fabric. Now, to some this might not seem to bad but wait – I only started buying fabric sometime September or October last year (yes I am saying…no more than 5 months). Hmmmm….but it sure looks pretty.

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But wait there is more…..this is my basket full of more fabric that I am using for dedicated projects – there are at least another 50 fabrics in this basket and most of it is from spoonflower.com. Did I say addicted…..well spoonflower is my favorite shop 🙂

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So I mentioned and showed you my fabric, well the other part of my crafts include men’s neck ties…..this is my collection for making neck tie art pieces.IMG_6921

Lastly – here are my scrap jars for all my fabric scraps. I would love to here about your craft addictions (help me feel better, maybe I am part of a club 😉 ).IMG_6920

 

Oooh – I forgot, here is my most recent purchase which may have to be my last for a while….I love it – my son’s school’s mascot is a penguin and I will use this for gifts for the teachers at the end of the school year.
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