Thursday Threads

Fall has finally come to far north Texas, and you can see how the tree behind the shed is just now starting to give a hint of color. We received 3.20 inches rain yesterday, and by next Monday temperatures will be in the 30s at night - makes me so happy.

In the sewing room, my sister-in-law's butterfly quilt is sandwiched and ready to quilt (after I get those pesky wrinkles smoothed out).

I had leftover triangles from the butterfly quilt, and I made some HSTs. Here is one potential design as I decide what to do with them.

Five minutes after I shot the HST photo, Toby decided it was his bathtub.

This squirrel-spiration was found on Jocelyn's post the other day in her link to Susies-Scraps.com. Susie calls it the "Sixteen Across" quilt block, and it is a simple sixteen-patch block made with 2-1/2 inch light and dark squares that create a diagonal design. I decided to use up some Christmas scraps to make a few and see how it looks. I like it! If you squint you can see the diagonal in mine. My light and dark squares probably need to be more strongly valued (is that a thing?) but at this point I just want to use up those scraps. It's nice to just sew without reading a pattern or struggling with fabric selection.

At night I've been crocheting a scarf. Back in 2016 I bought 3 skeins of  I Love This Yarn in Painted Canyon. It was a time in my life when I was very unsure about the future, and the yarn and crochet offered me an odd comfort. I stitched a few nights, then put it away and forgot all about it until a few weeks ago when I was rearranging my yarn closet. I'm enjoying the Moss Stitch on this one - doesn't take too much attention away from TV!

Gus (aka Gussy, Gustopher and Baby) the sweet black kitty

This little guy has taken up a lot of my time, trying to help him feel comfortable and safe in his new environment. The other kitties are trying to make friends with him, but he still hisses a bit. I leave the door open to his space a little more each day, and he actually seems very happy. Can a cat be happy? If they can, I think this one is!

Our 54th anniversary was this week, so we celebrated early last Friday at the local Texas Roadhouse, then headed home for this dessert - brown sugar apple pie. I actually use both kinds of sugar in it, but I like the brown sugar name better - lol! Here is the recipe if you'd like to try it:

Brown Sugar Apple Pie

4-5 cups apples, sliced thin (Granny Smith, Braeburn, Honey Crisp, or any variety of your favorites)

1/2 cup salted butter*

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

Heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 9-inch double pie crust

*If you use unsalted butter, add 1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 425°. Prepare pie crust dough for 9-inch double crust.

Melt butter in saucepan, add flour and stir to form paste, cook a couple minutes over low heat. Add sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water, whisk until smooth, and bring to boil. Add apples, lower heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. (Sometimes I add a half teaspoon maple flavoring too.)

Roll out and place bottom crust in pie pan. Add apple mixture. Roll out top crust and place on top of apples. Crimp edges and cut slits or shapes in several places.

Bake at 425° for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350°. I place mine on the lowest rack of the oven. It seems to cook the apples better and the crust edges don't brown as quickly. I also place foil on the crust edges about 30 minutes into the bake, to keep from browning too much. Bake until apples are tender and juices are bubbling through crust. Mine is in the oven about an hour total. Place on wire rack to cool.

I hope your week is is going well and that you are looking forward to a great weekend!