Andy was on staycation last week and it was just awesome. The weather was EPIC. In the sixties and seventies and nary a cloud. Really, one of the greatest weeks ever (aside from the vague sense of unease because it was in the sixties and seventies and there was nary a cloud, and it's March . . . ). We made chicken tikka-masala (this recipe is absolutely fantastic, but do NOT add all of the salt it recommends — I don't know why they don't fix it — but we use about 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt in the marinade and about 1/2 teaspoon in the sauce, and also you want to double the sauce, as well). We made chicken enchiladas with tomatillo salsa from this recipe (and they are also awesome). We walked. We hiked. We went to Slappycakes. We went to the arboretum. I sewed: How cute is that dress? I made it from a vintage pattern, Butterick 9315 (the sleeves are from Simplicity 6066, also vintage). The fabric was Robert Kauffman, London Calling, #15276 (a rare instance where I know what the fabric was called — I usually don't keep good track of stuff like that though I know I should, I'm sorry). I finished my Irish Chain quilt top and brought it to a professional (such a luxury!) to have it finished. I cut out a pink Swiss-dot pinafore to go over the new dress, and planned several more spring dresses. I worked a bit on the Little-by-Little quilt (that's it, hanging on the sliding door). Andy painted the part of the house that had been fixed and planted a blueberry bush. He mulched the flower beds. Mimi played and talked and bounced and drew and hiked and napped and laughed and climbed and ran and generally delighted in everything, and delighted us beyond measure. Happy girl. Happiness here. Spring has sprung!
I am proud of my Irish Chain. I think it's the only quilt I've ever made that has had an actual plan. I've wanted one like this for many years. The finished top is about 72" x 72". I think it will go on the sofa, or over me when I'm on the sofa. The backing is peachy-pink calico, and the binding is dark gray calico. I will show it in detail once it comes back and I wash and dry it and make it all squishy and yummy.
I also finished a hexagon pillow cover top, but I forgot to take a picture of it. I'll do that. It's kinda cool.
***I'm sorry I don't have an exact pattern for the Irish Chain to point you toward, because I kind of just looked at a bunch of them and made mine up. The only reference I can find to it here on the blog is in this post, which sort of shows how I did the patchwork patches. This pattern is sort of how I did mine, though the measurements are a bit different and I used a square in the center of the B blocks, with bars on all four sides. But that pattern is very close, I think.
