Now I'm Stitching Some Folky Birds

Sorry this is so wrinkled. Bad blogger alert! I've been gradually working on it for weeks and I guess it just got stuffed willy nilly into my handwork bag when I was doing the prepared evacuation stuff. As I've been working on it, the wrinkles are falling out a little. No sense in trying to iron it though. It's just gonna get stuffed back in a bag unless things change soon.

Sunburst quilt and my very weird toes

The appliqued birds were a concern, but they look like they are gonna work just fine. Kinda funny faced, these birds, but perhaps a bit folky too? It's nice to see this project finally starting to come together. There's a long ways to go with it but every bit of stitching will eventually get to a finish some day in the future. There's been times I've definitely wondered if I had what it took to do this one. I've had such a hard time with this particular project, not being able to 'see' what needs to happen next. Originally this one was going to be an 'all applique' quilt, but now I'm reconsidering. Hopefully getting this middle piece done will help me make a more informed decision about where to go next.

Still more to do.....

We are still at level one {lowest} evacuation notice but the fire does continues to spread slowly in our direction. There's been an inversion and lower temps which helps keep the fire activity at lower levels, but still, not much containment so we are all very much on edge. The smoke in this valley has been almost insufferable and we are all very weary of not getting to see our lovely blue skies. My mom and dad left for Portland this morning which will hopefully give them a break and my mother-in-law left last weekend.

Much of the fire coming toward our town is in very rugged terrain, we are not a heavily populated area and plus, fire fighting resources remain in very high demand elsewhere. All of that just makes it a wait and see kind of situation for us. Basically the fire has to get down a lot closer to the Alta Lake housing area {scary for them as about 50 homes burnt up there just last year} before they will be able to put much manpower into making a serious dent in the forward movement of this particular part of the fire. And that's only four miles away from us.*whine, whine, whine....

Nectarine pie

Many new homes have been built up there since last years devastation and so many barely moved back in. Some for less than a month! I cannot even begin to imagine their distress. So I read, stitch a little and well.., yesterday I made pie. Gotta have some comfort food in these trying times. At some point I'm gonna have to pull myself together, get back in the office, and do a boatload of that book work that's piling up. But for now?

I use the same crust recipe my grandmother used, which uses oil and makes for a more rustic looking pie. The recipe is 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup oil {she used vegetable oil  but we use canola or olive oil}, 1/4 c. milk poured directly into the oil, and a dash of salt. Pour the liquid over the flour and salt; mix well with a fork. Add a tiny bit of water if the dough doesn't want to stick together and roll out into two crusts {top and bottom} between two sheets of wax paper. One layer of crust at a time of course! 

The filling for this nectarine pie is easy peasy: 4 1/3 cups of peeled, sliced nectarines, 1/4 c. cornstarch and 1 1/2 cups of sugar. Stir the cornstarch and sugar into the nectarines until they are well coated. Pour nectarine mixture into bottom pie crust and then cover with top layer. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until bubbling. About that--I cut a hole in the center and also make about 6 slits before baking, but it always helps to put a sheet of aluminum foil on the rack directly below the pie to help catch the wayward dribbles. It's a really fabulous pie--hot, cold and anywhere in between if you like pie like I like pie.*wink