Frozen peas, Cyber Monday, and taming the stash monster.

Countdown to Christmas- e-pattern available on Craftsy

    Thankfully Thanksgiving is over, and the last of the turkey made into filling for turkey pot pie, where it will remain in the freezer until I can bear to look at it again. What makes it palatable is the addition of peas. Peas are not my favorite vegetable. Peas are those boring little green orbs that were among the only three vegetables you ate until reached adulthood and discovered the joys of vegetables from Asparagus to Zucchini. But peas serve a Very Important Purpose- they add a necessary je ne sais quois to chicken and turkey casseroles and pot pies. Without peas, the only color in an otherwise creamy bland beige sea is the orange of carrots, and we all know (or you would know, if you were paying attention!) that orange is my least favorite color. Peas provide a visual and gustatory counterpoint with almost no extra work. Just reach in the freezer, open the bag, and dump some in. Their pea-ness is enhanced by sleeping in the creamy gravy, and when you bite into one, it's like a tiny celebration.

     Stripping the Carcass Sunday Night is the official end of Pumpkin Spice season and the beginning of Gingerbread season- just a minor variation in proportions of ginger to cinnamon, but we'll be sipping a different flavored coffee or tea as we shop this Cyber Monday. Today is the last day of my long weekend sale- all my Craftsy e-patterns are 50% off. You can find them here. If you have a stash that is overwhelming you, the sale extends to the e-book version of my book Tidbits & Twiglets: Stash-busting Strategies for Creating Quilts from Five Easy Pieces.

Cover quilts from Tidbits & Twiglets

     My quilt guild, Ninigret Quilters, makes quilts for new Habitat for Humanity homeowners and their families. I've been playing around with Disappearing 9-Patch quilts for several years, and just made this one last week from donated fabrics. It still needs an outer border, but I don't have the perfect fabric in my stash. I have many yards of a fabric that might work, but I earmarked it for backings, and don't want to cut into it yet. After I cut the backings, if I have enough left, I'll decide then.  I cut up yards of fabric, including some scraps of scraps from my own stash, and have at least enough squares in coordinated colors for three more tops, plus boxes of assorted squares and strips, all for quilts that will be donated.  While going through my personal scrap stash, I've been putting together "kits" of coordinated fabrics for future scrap quilts; there may be a sequel to Tidbits and Twiglets in the future.