My 14th Quilt: "Doodle Whack"

Whoops - it looks like I forgot to share the celebration that Quilt #14 "Doodle Whack" is officially done!

Although I didn't have a pattern, this was based off a picture I found (on Pinterest, where else) of this Little Apples Quilt by Aneela Hoey. I thought it was straight forward enough in appearance that I could try something very similar without the pattern. (Also, I didn't find a link that went to the pattern until just now, guess I should have looked a little harder!) I will say, I thought I was being very careful to cut off the same size corners from each piece, but I wound up with a surprising amount of variation. That upset me, but that's probably what I deserve for trying to wing it!

The fabric was a layer cake of Noteworthy that I picked up in December. The top came together very quickly (stack and whack kind of tops seem to), but then I let it sit and stagnate for months while I struggled to pick a material for the back, struggled to find the time to baste it, and then put off quilting. All of which was silly, because now that it's done I've been using it almost every day - despite the temperatures being in the 70's and 80's.

I had intended to quilt this with a pre-set fancy stitch on my Janome, but the feed dogs are still giving me trouble, so eventually I convinced myself to go with diagonal lines - and I'm so glad that I did. I really think the fancy stitch I had in mind would have been too much (although it would have matched one of the prints). Turns out I absolutely love the squares/diamonds the intersecting diagonal lines created - and it isn't too much for the busy prints on either the top or back of the quilt.

Pre-washing close up

It's backed and bound in some yardage I had in my stash. My one regret, as I've said before, is that I wasn't careful enough when sewing the yardage together and the repeating pattern doesn't match up like it ought to. But by the time I realized my error, I was not willing to go back and fix it!

Post-wash close up

I can't say I noticed any major difference in size between the pre-wash and post-wash sizes. Nor did I see any color bleeds (whew! The bold pink/red pieces had me a little worried for the creams and whites).

Post-Wash, but in the sun, wrong choice... 

While I love the Noteworthy collection (this is my third quilt using this fabric line), I do not have the skill to photograph it well. I've really struggled to get a picture of any of the three quilts that really represented the colors and patterns.

As usual, I'm utterly smitten with my new finish. And while I've been cuddling with it enough that I figure I should keep it, this is one of my first finishes where I really feel like I could attempt to sell it if I wanted. Sure, it isn't perfect, but this one just feels like something other people might like too, without being so personal or so imperfect that I couldn't possibly part with it.

My family and friends are pushing me to try turning this hobby into a small business. I'm reluctant for a number of reasons, but having finishes that I feel are good enough helps me feel like it might be a possibility in the future. I still think I've got a lot of learning to go through first - and I would need to get better about tracking the kinds of hours that go into making these things - but it does boost my self esteem a bit to have a few finishes under my belt that are quality I would consider attempting to sell. 

A Prettier Library Bag

For the last two years, I've been using a heavy duty reusable grocery bag for my library runs. It's sturdy and durable - and it was free! - but I've been wanting something a little more fun for the days I make a lighter library run.

After finishing the Twin Quilts, I had four jelly roll pieces left over (the four colors of the print I didn't think was particularly baby friendly). I more or less started sewing on them without much of a plan...

and while you can certainly tell there wasn't much of a plan going on here...

Front side of bag

I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out!

Back side of bag (my favorite)

I made a couple serious blunders and wound up having a 'make it work' kind of moment - thus the lovely job with the binding...

Looks good now, but nearly impossible to sew

Hopefully this means I've learned what not to do ever again in future.

Interior pocket 

I sewed up the strips into blocks of various sizes using Quick Fun Strip Block tutorial I found via Pinterest (and used a couple times before). I have one more small block that I'm trying in something else, then I'll be completely out of the pieces from this jelly roll.

The flower print lining is most of a king size pillow case (the rest of the set went into my Giant Star a while ago), and the grey flannel is the last of a scrap I bought a couple years ago and have loved for making bags (three of my four zipper clutches are made with this fabric).

And yes, I took it to the library within an hour of finishing it. Even better, it performed perfectly - though I left with only five books, which is about half the usual haul for the two of us.

New Project

Back when I was shopping for fabric for the Twin Quilts, I got sucked in to the precut sale area of my favorite quilt shop, and to no one's surprise, I came home with a charm pack of Good Fortune by Kate Spain.

Which then sat on top of my basket of batting scraps and taunted me for the next five months.

So, last week when I had an unexpected bit of cash lying around, I went shopping for some inspiration for how to use this fabric.

Which yes, meant another drive to my favorite shop, followed by too many minutes of me creeping around the store silently trying to absorb all the creativity.

I came home with a couple yards of fabric - and a plan.

As usual, the photo really doesn't do any justice to any of the fabrics.

I didn't pay any attention to what the yardages are called - but the white has these adorable, kind of dandelion seed like pieces in a light metallic and is just about the most adorable white fabric I've ever seen. No, really. I showed it to my husband and his immediate response was "If you have any left over, I want something made with that." That's pretty high praise for a fabric. (And yes, I had enough for what he wanted and then some.)

The floral print isn't a match to the charm pack, but I think it's going to look great together anyway. I just kept coming back to it and trying to decide what to use it for (my other thought was to make a bag out of it, but I'm actually not much of a floral print person, and I just couldn't quite see it working for me in the long run). As much as I generally shy away from floral prints (which you might not believe looking at that photo), I just was completely won over by the gorgeous bold colors.

While I'm not worried about reality not living up to my expectations (for once), I do have two concerns with this newest project.
1) I have never worked with much white negative space before, but I'm thinking I definitely need to prewash the pink floral backing. I would cry if the white came out of the wash even a little pink. In general, I usually take my chances (in part because I so rarely work with huge amounts of white) but for this one, I'm thinking caution is a good approach.
2) I have a plan for the top, and the quilting, but I am a little worried a very straight line quilting might clash a little with the organic looking print of the back. Since the quilting I have in mind is something that can be looser or denser, I'm thinking I'll start by going big (looser) and then, if the two patterns aren't clashing badly, I can always come back and add more quilting.

I had to wait for a day of decent weather to get a picture of this one before I shared anything about it. Squee! I love it so much! 

Oh, and I know my names for things tend to be either silly or boring, but I've already got a name for this one - and I'm thinking that even though it'll be perfect size for a crib, it's probably staying with me. Maybe I'll include a way to hang it up when I'm finishing it. It would make a cute wall hanging...

Between needing to prewash the backing material, and wanting to baste two quilts at once, it may be a while before I make any more progress on this one. But it is serving as motivation to keep picking away on the second quilt I'd like to baste at the same time (more on that later this week).

Even More Spring

Usually my parents' lilac bushes are quite riotous by this time of year and I can spend hours standing near them, savoring the scent. This year, the blooms are all smaller than usual, and less scented too. I'm still happy to see them, but it's disappointing to see so many bare branches in there. I guess we need to do some pruning to make them happier for next spring.

Things are blooming in the back yard too.

These little guys could also benefit from some more work in their area - these are still the remains of what we planted three years ago for our wedding - but for happy, happy little plants that come up with no work, I'm thrilled to see them. I can't really choose a favorite (though I am partial to the purple and orange ones), but they just make me so happy. I would love a yard full of them all the time!

Progress

Quilt A and Quilt B - DONE!

A: DONE!
B: DONE!
They're both ready to go.

Monkey Blocks

Yet to Do: make a back, baste, quilt, bind, wash

Semi-Sampler (small) Quilt-to-be?

Progress: Kind of stalled on this one... 

Oddblocks: Floral + Stripes 

Recent Progress: I stopped making blocks and started trying to make something with them. I'm not far enough along to know if it's working or not.

Denim Quilt: 

Recent Progress: Backed and top stitched around outside edges
Yet to Do: wash

Doodles

Yet to Do: baste, quilt, bind, wash

Pansy Patch Project

No recent progress.
Yet to Do: finish piecing tops together, make back, baste, quilt, bind

Welcome Baby S II Quilt

Ready to give away - This is still just a sneak peek until sometime in June...


Waiting to Start:

• Pink Quilt/Project
• "Lucky" Quilt
• Small drawstring bag 
• Library bag
• 
  

Pinterest Challenge: Pudding Poke Cake

Pinterest introduced me to this recipe: The Country Cook Oreo Pudding Poke Cake

But my attempt leaves a bit to be desired...

Hmm... Looks more like a 'no-poke' cake, doesn't it? Yeah. I didn't find a single one of my pokes where the pudding actually went into the cake. The pudding only sat long enough for me to put the whisk in the sink and then pull the cake out of the oven. But I noticed even as I was pouring it that it seemed too thick to really go into the holes. I tried to use a spatula to force it into the holes, but obviously that didn't work. So it was more like pudding frosting.

I guess I should have gone with a more intense chocolate cake; everyone who tried it wanted a stronger chocolate flavor. One of them said it should have been topped with chocolate ice cream, chocolate shell, then some hot fudge. Out of the six people I had over, one person refused to try it, three people ate one slice (but said they wouldn't eat another slice, even the next day), one person said they'd have seconds (but didn't), one person said they'd have seconds (and did).

Even more telling, we only ate half the cake the first night - and the rest is still sitting in my fridge. Not for long though, I think I'm going to chuck it today. On the third day, the pudding cracked and stopped looking even remotely appealing, and there's no use taking up that much room in the fridge with something we're clearly not going to eat.

If we try something similar again? More intense chocolate flavored cake to start, and either pour the pudding directly onto the cake with no wait time or intentionally make slightly liquid-y pudding. I don't think there's anything wrong with the recipe, but my ingredients didn't do what they should have, which was very disappointing.

Color me not impressed - mostly with my pudding making skills. On the other hand, now I have some milk (which we usually don't buy) and a box full of cookies (which we usually don't buy) that didn't get used as extra topping, so I can eat those instead. Not worth it... but I'm looking on the bright side.

Doodle - Almost Done!

Doodle Whack quilt, freshly bound

And it only took me two viewings of Hobson's Choice (1954) (which I absolutely adore and rent from the library several times a year).  

To be fair, that did include making the bias tape - yes, from leftover scraps from the back material.



And I'm already on Chapter 11 in our progress of reading "Scarlet" aloud. 

Winning!

I am not lucky. I have never in my life won anything in a contest. These days I rarely even bother to click through and go to the trouble of entering one, not even for a chance at adorable fabric. When I saw something go by my facebook feed about a contest to win a package from one of my favorite authors (the incredible Marissa Meyer), I didn't bother clicking on it to even see how to enter.

So it came as a total surprise to me when I got an email telling me I'd won. After double checking just to make sure this wasn't a very cleverly targeted scam, I responded, and look what arrived today!

Look at the beauty!

(There's an adorable hoodie too, still in the box at the moment, since it's about 80 degrees in the house.)

And although this prize came to me completely free - it's going to work out for everyone involved. There's no way I can own only book two of a four part series. So, I'm off to buy a copy of book number one (hardbound if I can find one, because I like things to match). And in a year, and again in another, I'll be lining up to get coordinating copies of books three and four.

And here I have to put in a plug for my amazing husband, who completely understands why I can't stand the idea of having only one book in a series - and especially not 'out of order.' Occasionally I can have just the first book and rely on a library for the rest, but just a second or just a third? Not going to happen. It also helps that these books are amazing. He loved "Cinder" (book one) and has been waiting impatiently to get an audio book for "Scarlet." Now that I won't have to hurry to get it back to the library for the next person in line, I can take the time to read it to him. 

And since I'm gushing without filters today, I'm going to say, this is probably the best thing that's come from me joining Pinterest. My first introduction to Marissa Meyer's "Cinder" was through a picture of the cover art, a tiny description, and a release date someone shared on Pinterest. Cue an immediate repin and joining the wait list at the library for a chance at it. Best pin yet.

Seriously, I fully recommend both "Cinder" and "Scarlet." I'm utterly obsessed with fairy tales and retellings of fairy tales, so I'm a bit biased...  but... a cyborg Cinderella, robots, mind control, a prince caught in a political situation that could have ramifications for the entire planet, a deadly plague? What more could you want!? 

So, um... I might just skip turning on the sewing machine tonight in favor of starting my second read through of this (actually, I'm going to start it as soon as I'm done gushing over it here).





I suppose I should say that I was in no way asked to write about these books. I'm just super excited to have a copy of "Scarlet," and a better reason to buy "Cinder" than 'I want it!' Should I ever write a post I get compensated for (unlikely even if it were offered), I will say so clearly.  

Boring?

I wasn't too inspired when it came to quilting the Monkey quilt. I really wish I knew how to do something more organic/wandering all over the top - but I don't, and it sure seems like my machine isn't really interested in it either!

So instead I kept it simple with some big boxes.

Two of the blocks in each row are outlined on the large frame, two in each row on the smaller box. Then there are a couple larger blocks of quilting that go through the sashing around more than one block. It's not a lot, and I may still change my mind and come back over the blocks with something more... I guess I'll take another look at it when I get ready to bind.

I mentioned the back before but I don't think I have another photo that shows the back at all, so I grabbed one today while I was out with it:

I'm thinking the binding should be bright red - to match the mostly red pieces on the top, as well as the accessories some of the monkeys on the back are wearing. Of course, I no longer have any red fabric in my stash, so I'm looking around to see if I have anything else that'll work.

Spring!

Pear tree, I think

It's hard to say it's really here, but I think it's officially spring!

Fuzzy new leaves on the apple tree

It seems like we went almost directly from winter to summer - especially with that last storm taking off most of the blossoms from the trees and plants that were brave enough to be out already.

Peony bud 

But the plants that weren't damaged - or were able to bounce back - seem to be determined to make up for the loss of the blooms around them. (And in the case of the flowering crab apple tree, while I'm missing the hundreds of beautiful blossoms it usually puts out, I'm kind of looking forward to a dramatically smaller crop of crab apples to deal with in a few months!) The peony bushes seem to have grown from sticks to budding in less than a week. And the fields of dandelions I've loved driving by all week are already turning white!

Spring is absolutely my favorite time of year, watching everything turn to green and start to grow. And while I didn't enjoy the late snows, I will admit, the extra moisture really helped things turn green around here. I can't tell you the last time our grass was this green - or the local lakes were this full. It probably won't last, so I'm going to enjoy every second of it.

Pinterest Challenge: Smothered Burritos

I've been wanting to make these since the moment I saw the image on Pinterest. Seriously. I think I've even been dreaming about them.

The Inspiration Recipe: Chile Colorado Burritos at Food Pusher

Alterations:

• I didn't have any beef bullion. Rather than running to the store, I just skipped it. Both times I've done this. 
• The first time I used red chili sauce because I couldn't get any enchilada sauce. The second time, I used regular enchilada sauce. The right sauce makes a difference. 
• When making the burrito, I include chopped green onion, black olives, refried beans, cilantro, and a little cheese along with the meat. Any leftover onions get thrown on top of the whole thing when it goes in for baking. 

Reactions: 

• Major win. And I live in a town with a lot of good Mexican food. 
• We've made this twice in three weeks now, and each time the smothered burritos are a huge hit.  
• I think I need to start buying at least half-again as much sauce so we can do the smothered burritos twice out of one batch of meat. That's by far my preferred way to eat this, though my husband thinks it's equally good poured over a baked potato and topped with cheese. 

Monkey Progress Too!

After nearly three years of making quilts, I'm finally to a point where I feel more or less comfortable making tops. There are still a lot of things I haven't tried yet, and things that still challenge me, but for the most part, things come together as I hope. Quilt backs on the other hand, still more or less elude me. I have tried whole fabric backs, scrappy backs, even sheets and fleece as backs. And while the results have been very mixed, I still feel like the ability to make a great back is still hanging out of reach.

Last week, I spent several hours looking through blogs, Pinterest, even Google searching for ideas for quilt backs - and while I came up with a lot of ideas I'd like to try in the future, I didn't find anything that felt right for the Monkey Whack quilt I started this winter.

After rolling out all of my scraps of minky and other texture fabrics to check for anyway to cobble together a back, I more or less stumbled into finding a piece of fabric that just fit. The remaining piece of the yellow, monkey portrait fabric was just about perfectly sized. (See the outside two centers in the second row.) After basting everything together, I have a 2 inch wide strip left over. It's not as cute as any of the things I bookmarked and pinned, but it was easy - and free - and by this point, those both are the key words.

Since this was a fairly small quilt, I tried a new method of basting. Instead of clearing out the living room furniture and spending a few minutes crawling around, I cleared off my sewing table and spent a few minutes layering my 'sandwich' over the top of it. I did worry that the pins would scratch the surface (even though I'll be the first to admit the surface would benefit from some refinishing), but I checked after I had finished basting and I couldn't see a single scratch mark. I did have to go back and repin in a couple places - probably because I'd been so worried about scratching the wood - but overall it worked well and was an easy alternative.

In my dreams of the future - should we ever move to a bigger place or find a way to have less furniture in the house - I'd love to have a higher surface to work on (even four inches would have a big impact on how my back feels after spending time basting or using the rotary cutter), as well as something I really won't care about scratching up.

Now I'm just waiting for a little quilting inspiration to hit. At the moment, my machine's feed dogs are still not happy, so automatic stitches aren't going to be a good choice. That limits me to more or less straight lines. Maybe I'd feel differently if I could do something wanderingly organic, but I still struggle with the idea of putting straight lines over creatures in this kind of print... which kind of limits me to stitch in the ditch or something similar... hmm...

Doodle Quilted

I managed to whip through the quilting on this one in only a couple hours. I was a little surprised how quickly it went as I keep thinking diagonal lines will take a lot longer than anything else I can do thus far. In reality? There's probably only a few minutes difference between diagonal lines and straight lines - all due to trying to keep the quilt rolled out of the way.

Oh - I did remember to get a picture of the back material this time!

I wish I'd worked harder to line things up so the seam wasn't quite so obvious... but it's way too late to change that now! I still need to trim off the excess binding and backing before I can get around to attaching the binding - but I'll have to make the binding too. Since I have some left over pieces from the back, I think that's probably what I'll use for making the binding.

I really like the bias tape I make myself better than anything else I've tried, but I find the process of making it annoying and time consuming. Unfortunately for me, I'm getting a back log of pieces needing bias tape made, so I suspect I'd better just plan on a whole evening of it sometime this week. Maybe I can get a movie or two to make the time go faster...

Tonight's Plans...

I've got some English language Hulu shows to catch up on and a few hours of quilting ahead of me. Even better, I think I have the time and energy to accomplish my goal!

My 15th and 16th Quilts: Twin Quilts

Both Quilt A and Quilt B have been washed and dried. Now they're just waiting for a box and some wrapping paper - then they'll be off to await the arrival of the twins themselves!

Quilt A - top 

Quilt A - top and back

I'm really not big on the whole boys = blue girls = pink thing, so I tried to keep both quilts something that could work for either a boy or a girl. Quilt A is mainly blues, reds/pinks, and grays/whites. Quilt B is mainly greens, oranges/yellows, and grays/whites.

Quilt B - top

Quilt B - back

Both are backed mainly with a large panel of the same fabric (a white with colorful swirls which is lovely in person but an utter bugger to photograph) and both are bound in the same orange fabric that comprises the sashing on the front. I also quilted them both with repeating sets of three lines:

Quilt B - close up

Although the two quilts are very similar, I do have a favorite. I won't name names though. It wouldn't be fair. 

Now to find a nice box and get them - and the rest of the small Welcome Babies Package - ready to ship. 

No Sew Wednesday

Although we've been working too hard for me to stay up until 2 or 3 every night like I prefer, the last week or two I have been up sewing and quilting until nearly midnight. While it's been fun - and yes, I am accomplishing things - I realized just how little time I'm spending on anything else. The month is getting away from me and I've only read one book. Worse, you should see what my kitchen looks like (no, really, please don't).

Right now, Saturday nights have been the only nights I'm not spending at the sewing machine (since that's usually the night we have friends over for dinner and movies as late as we can stand - which isn't so late now that one of them lives a couple hours away!). The rest of the nights are all fair game, as long as I have the energy.

Completely off the top of my head, I decided last night that I need to make some 'No Sew' nights.

So, for this month, I'm taking Wednesday nights off - from sewing, quilting, and anything related. Coming across a cute idea and saving it for later is allowed. Cutting fabric, hand stitching, or even doing the math are not.

Why Wednesday? In part, it was because I came up with the idea last night and it sounded like something I should implement right away. But there's a practical reason too. Since we share a computer/sewing room, there are certain days and times when it would be a little easier on my husband to have less background noise or distractions - nothing like the guild asking if your wife is riding a tractor through the room to bring raid night to distraction! (I have since oiled my machine thank you very much.)

I only decided this 20 hours ago, and I'm already struggling with it. I could so easily be cutting up some fabric for a new idea I had... but the idea will still be there tomorrow (since I wrote it down) and I could just as easily be emptying the dishwasher then settling down with one of the six library books I have waiting for my attention.

Semi-Update

I'm still picking away at a semi-sampler quilt. And I'm still more or less progressing without a plan - but now I'm completely out of the fabrics I was using! 

I thought I'd used the last of my scraps to size them up a little (so I can more easily cut them to a matching size) but as I was laying them out to iron it became very clear that there are some major size disparities. 

Here's my collection of little blocks so far: 

Since I'm out of fabric - except for a few bits of scraps left - anything I want to do at this point require buying new fabric. I've also got to decide how to make a layout that showcases 14 blocks... 16 would have been so much easier, but unless I do two of them quilt as I go, top stitching tiny scrappy pieces, I just don't think I can squeak out two more blocks...

But - How cute are they looking!?

Confession time: I have a least favorite. (Number 3) I don't have a favorite (I love 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14).

I may try to pull number 3 apart and rework it into something I like a little bit better. There's also a chance I'll pick another less loved block and either cut two or move them to the back (giving me only 12 to organize into a front that makes me happy).

Oh, I should mention: Number 11 was based off a tutorial for Spiderweb Blocks at SewMamaSew. Number 9 was based off directions for a block at Sister Of the Divide. I thought I had an inspiration for number 5 as well, but at the moment I'm not finding anything more specific than the Java Stars Quilt at Moda Bake Shop (which has been on my 'want to make list' for way too long). Number 8 was inspired by the amazing Everything Is Coming Up Rainbows quilt at Spotted Stone - though mine's not nearly as cute or well done! I think the others either came from some of the quilting books I've got stacking up around here or my continued love affair with wonky stars...

I've been a bit shy about sampler style quilts before, but I have to say, it's been a blast to explore some very different styles of blocks in a low commitment way. I'm kind of sad to think I'm at the end of this project - though I'm not sad enough to want to buy more fabric and keep going - at least not at the moment. There's still time for me to change my mind!

Helping

Spring has been a wildly busy season at work. Nearly every day last month was booked for at least one job - and several have been double, even triple booked. The added hours of work have been great in many ways, and difficult in many ways.

Although body fatigue is certainly one of the most difficult things to deal with when we're this busy, what I feel worst about is the decrease in the time we spend with Momo. As an only pet, his options for things to do while we're away are fairly limited. We try to rotate through some toys and things for him to play with (or leaving out arrangements of boxes for him to get in to) but there's a notable difference in his attitude when we're away too many hours out of a day.

I don't find basting easy, even without Momo's help, but last night he was determined to 'help' me with this quilt.

For me, basting usually requires a great deal of crawling around on the floor. No different last night - but every time I sat down instead, I got a lap full of cat. Which was unusually affectionate for him.

It took a couple hours for me us to baste the whole thing, but eventually I wound up with a fully basted quilt. Only to wish I'd added an exterior border to make it a little larger. I figured rather than undo all my work at this point, I'd go ahead and get it quilted and then if I still want to make it a little larger, I'm fairly certain I can use some 'quilt as you go' methods to add an already basted/quilted border to the outside.

Look familiar? It should! Not only is this the full top of the Doodle Whack quilt I started working on around Christmas, it's the same fabric line I used for the Twin Quilts. I have been envisioning this one going over the love seat (because I try to disguise the red love seat in favor of my orange chairs), but now I'm not so sure it's going to be big enough. I ought to just make a slip cover for the love seat and be done with it!

Pinterest Challenge: Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

The Inspiration Recipe: Zesty Chicken BBQ at AllRecipes.com

Alterations:

• Didn't add any brown sugar. I figured between me not liking things to be sweet (unless we're talking about a dessert) and the bbq sauce having sugar as a fairly prominent ingredient, there was really no need for the additional sweetness. 
• Didn't measure anything. Went entirely by feel. 
• Our chicken wasn't frozen.
• Accidentally cooked for 12 hours on low instead of 6 hours on low. This did lead to a few dried out areas (where the sauce no longer covered the chicken), but otherwise everything seemed okay. 
• Note to self: No more crock pot cooking on days that are double booked. 

Reactions: 

• My husband, who dealt with the 12 hour chicken while I was wrapping up work things, immediately said it was amazing. He tried multiple times to get me to eat a bite right away, saying how good it was and that I'd really enjoy it. I was too tired. 
• After a day of hanging out in the fridge, it reheated well and was still good. In fact, I think my husband is eating the left overs cold right now (three days after cooking). So, that's a pretty big winner over here. 
• I'm not really sure the Italian dressing added much of anything to the overall flavor... But maybe I'd miss it if I hadn't included it. 
• Oh, and it was plenty sweet without the brown sugar. Almost too sweet for my taste. We used Famous Dave's Texas Pit sauce, it's about the only bbq sauce I can stand. 

I'm exhausted. Between the 'I'm tired of snow but we need the moisture' and the 'I'm tired of working so many hours but I need the money,' April has been a difficult month and May looks to be more of the same. What is it about April that makes it such a hard month? I guess I ought to snuggle up with one of the April/May quilts and try to find the good points again.