I have no computer connection at home (yet), so am stealing some time on my sister's computer to type this.
We have finally moved into a house, but still have a million boxes to unpack. The house is small, and the rooms barely hold the furnishings that I didn't leave behind (yes, I left a large part of my household in the move. I felt very much like a pioneer having to choose what necessities to take and leaving nearly everything else). Still, I am faring far better than a cousin whose home burned to the ground last week and none of the contents could be saved. At least we are all alive and well!
As most of my kitchen ware and food is still packed, I have been limited in what I can cook and eat. My cupboards are full of spices and little else. I did make a run to the grocery store after a weeks, but in the meantime there was not much to go on. I had some rice and remembered (not so fondly) the 6 weeks I lived on nothing but rice and bottled cherries when I moved back from Washington D.C. many years ago. To this day I cannot eat cherries, but I have no problem with rice!
Along with the rice I found a can of sweetened condensed milk in the cupboard.
So here's what I made:
Arroz Con Leche (not the real way to make it, but if your supplies are limited...)
2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
About 5 cups water
salt
1 can sweetened condensed milk (like Eagle brand)
4 cups milk
1 orange peal (or is that peel? I never can remember)
cinnamon (optional)
dulce de leche (optional)
Put uncooked rice in a large pan. I don't measure the water. Add enough so the water is about 2 inches above the rice. Add a little salt. Bring to a boil and let boil until water is mostly gone and only rice with small bubbles of water here and there can be seen. Put the lid on the rice, turn off burner, and let rice sit/steam for 20 minutes. *Rice may not be completely tender. This is OK, since it will finish cooking when the milk is added.
Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and milk. Pour into the rice and add the orange peal. Turn heat back on, bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Serve plain or with with cinnamon or dulce de leche. Can serve hot, warm, cool, or cold.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Some people are just sick!!!
I came home yesterday to an unhappy situation. My mother had been sexually assaulted. She was home alone for about 4 hours (typically my mother is practically joined at the hip with me and goes everywhere I go; I was feeling pretty fortunate to get some time away from her yesterday, but now I'm feeling a bit guilty for leaving her alone) - long enough for this dispicable crime to happen. I can't believe what goes on in the minds of some people. SICK! Why would anyone do that to an old lady with Alzheimer's disease? Or for that matter, why would anyone do that to anyone?
After 1.5 hours talking with the police, we left them to collect evidence at the house and went to the hospital. We spent nearly 8.5 hours in the emergency room last night, half of that time with the rape crisis people, performing their very detailed examination.
One good thing about the advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease where my mother is at, she doesn't remember it today. And I hope it stays that way in her mind. The rest of us have to live with the unease of knowing some depraved person did this and is on the streets, perhaps doing it again to someone else.
Oh this sick and depraved world! What are we coming to?
After 1.5 hours talking with the police, we left them to collect evidence at the house and went to the hospital. We spent nearly 8.5 hours in the emergency room last night, half of that time with the rape crisis people, performing their very detailed examination.
One good thing about the advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease where my mother is at, she doesn't remember it today. And I hope it stays that way in her mind. The rest of us have to live with the unease of knowing some depraved person did this and is on the streets, perhaps doing it again to someone else.
Oh this sick and depraved world! What are we coming to?
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Orca Bay is coming along
At last the top is coming together without having to pick out seams. Here it is without the borders (those just might have to wait until I get to Arizona next month). While I absolutely LOVE Bonnie's layout of Orca Bay, I opted for an alternate design. After looking at the original design layed out on the bed, one of my girls said the quilt was "too busy" and it made her feel dizzy (and I wouldn't want it to cause a seizure!). But I do think I will try this pattern again as originally designed, but with different colors and less busy fabrics.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Cleaning up is hard to do
... especially after nearly 23 years of calling a cubicle "home." Okay, so I haven't been in this same cubicle all that time, but I have been here for at least 10 years. And you can collect a lot of stuff without even realizing it... old bills and receipts that were brought to work because I didn't have time to take care of them at home, CD's and CD player, toothbrush, toothpaste, curling iron, brush, makeup, odds and ends of food, stuff to eat the food with, assorted mugs and cups, pictures, nick-nacks, plants, jacket, wrapping paper ... and the list goes on and on. And I thought I had a lot of junk to go through at home before making the big move. Now I realize most of it isn't at home at all; it is at work - my true home. Thank goodness I have a whole 'nother five weeks to get my stuff sorted and out of here!
For some reason I keep hearing Neil Sedaka singing "[Cleaning] up is hard to do."
For some reason I keep hearing Neil Sedaka singing "[Cleaning] up is hard to do."
Monday, January 23, 2012
Decisions, decisions
I finally, after considering my alternatives for nearly a year, made the tough decision to leave my employment and move to Arizona. This decision was especially difficult considering I have been employed with the state of Utah for nearly 23 years, and leaving means no paycheck, no retirement, no insurance. And that's just a small part of what needed (and still needs) consideration.
My mother's mental health has been declining for years. She is at a point where she has difficulty remembering how to do the simplest things. The move will allow me be closer to two of my siblings and many nieces and nephews, who, I anticipate, will help me from time to time with my mom.
Over the next six weeks, I will need to dejunk my house and determine what I need to take with me and what can be sold, given away, or thrown out. An intense cleaning of the house will begin ASAP, and it will be put on the market this week. Hopefully it will sell quickly.
Another decision I made, not quite as difficult as the move, was what to do with the Orca Bay layout. I took a recommendation from I can't remember who (thanks quiltvillechat ladies for all your input!) that I needed a larger layout than just a few blocks to get the real picture of what might look the best. While the dark blocks looked great on a small scale, I couldn't see the design when they were laid out large-scale. So, I'm keeping the light & dark star blocks in the quilt. And, I'm going with the light stars where Bonnie put the dark ones. The top is half-way sewn. I hope to finish this week before I'm in the thick of house-cleaning. A picture of the finished top will be posted soon!
Since one of my goals before the move is to use as much food storage as I can, so I'll have less to move, I'm going to provide some recipes for using those items.
Blender Wheat Pancakes or Waffles:
In your blender, combine 1 cup wheat with 1 cup milk. Blend until a batter forms (about 5 minutes - batter will be thick). Add in 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 Tb. honey or sugar, 1 Tb. oil, and 1 egg. Blend until mixed, adding a little more milk if batter is thicker than you like it. Heat griddle or waffle iron. Cook as any other pancake or waffle recipe.
Homemade Syrup:
I really like making berry syrup, but if you don't have the berries, just make maple syrup.
1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1-2 cups berries (depends on what I have as to how much I throw in)
Bring to a boil. When berries are soft, mash them up (or blend them before you start). Add 1 Tb. maple flavoring (I use Mapeline). Syrup is ready to use. Strain if you want, but I don't mind chunky syrup. Keep any leftovers in your refrigerator, and use up within 2 weeks.
Fresh Fruit Smoothes:
I keep a good variety of fruit (thanks to Bountiful Baskets) in my freezers (we have 3 freezers - so yes, I need to get those cleared out too!). I have bananas, mangos, pineapple, peaches, apricots, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and kiwi. I even have bags of fruit combinations ready to go. I just pull out a bag and go with it.
Now for the recipe:
2-3 cups frozen fruit
1 cup yogurt (doesn't matter if it's plain or flavored)
2 cups orange juice OR milk (or you can mix them)
Blend until smooth and pour into several glasses. Enjoy!
My mother's mental health has been declining for years. She is at a point where she has difficulty remembering how to do the simplest things. The move will allow me be closer to two of my siblings and many nieces and nephews, who, I anticipate, will help me from time to time with my mom.
Over the next six weeks, I will need to dejunk my house and determine what I need to take with me and what can be sold, given away, or thrown out. An intense cleaning of the house will begin ASAP, and it will be put on the market this week. Hopefully it will sell quickly.
Another decision I made, not quite as difficult as the move, was what to do with the Orca Bay layout. I took a recommendation from I can't remember who (thanks quiltvillechat ladies for all your input!) that I needed a larger layout than just a few blocks to get the real picture of what might look the best. While the dark blocks looked great on a small scale, I couldn't see the design when they were laid out large-scale. So, I'm keeping the light & dark star blocks in the quilt. And, I'm going with the light stars where Bonnie put the dark ones. The top is half-way sewn. I hope to finish this week before I'm in the thick of house-cleaning. A picture of the finished top will be posted soon!
Since one of my goals before the move is to use as much food storage as I can, so I'll have less to move, I'm going to provide some recipes for using those items.
Blender Wheat Pancakes or Waffles:
In your blender, combine 1 cup wheat with 1 cup milk. Blend until a batter forms (about 5 minutes - batter will be thick). Add in 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 Tb. honey or sugar, 1 Tb. oil, and 1 egg. Blend until mixed, adding a little more milk if batter is thicker than you like it. Heat griddle or waffle iron. Cook as any other pancake or waffle recipe.
Homemade Syrup:
I really like making berry syrup, but if you don't have the berries, just make maple syrup.
1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1-2 cups berries (depends on what I have as to how much I throw in)
Bring to a boil. When berries are soft, mash them up (or blend them before you start). Add 1 Tb. maple flavoring (I use Mapeline). Syrup is ready to use. Strain if you want, but I don't mind chunky syrup. Keep any leftovers in your refrigerator, and use up within 2 weeks.
Fresh Fruit Smoothes:
I keep a good variety of fruit (thanks to Bountiful Baskets) in my freezers (we have 3 freezers - so yes, I need to get those cleared out too!). I have bananas, mangos, pineapple, peaches, apricots, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and kiwi. I even have bags of fruit combinations ready to go. I just pull out a bag and go with it.
Now for the recipe:
2-3 cups frozen fruit
1 cup yogurt (doesn't matter if it's plain or flavored)
2 cups orange juice OR milk (or you can mix them)
Blend until smooth and pour into several glasses. Enjoy!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Orca Bay decisions
Since I had to unstitch my rows, I decided I would arrange blocks again to see how I liked alternate layouts. Here are my choices. I'm leaning toward stars with all dark backgrounds, which means I'll need to make more hourglass blocks and cut a few more dark squares, but that's okay. And if I go with the all-black stars, then I'm wondering if I should put a blue square in the middle of the new ones (so the X will be complete). I don't like the all-white block design. The other two are okay.
I'm a pickin' and I'm a grinnin'
Do you remember Hee Haw? That's where pickin' and grinnin' comes from. But that isn't what this post is about.
Last weekend I sewed three rows together of Orca Bay (it looked like only a single row of blocks, but really it was three rows). I went to add another row onto the first last night and realized that, as I laid it out on the bed to make sure the blocks were where I wanted them to be, I had placed my blue string blocks in the wrong direction (and I had already taken them out once because they were wrong). So I was pickin' out stitches late into the night.
But now that everything is back to the building blocks, it gave me a chance to play with layout. Not sure which I like better. I'm trying to keep in mind that this quilt is likely going to Brandon, my sister's grandson who graduates from high school this year. But if it looks too feminine, it will go to Tajehra (pronounced tee-air-ah), my sister's granddaughter who also graduates this year (I'm also making a Winston Ways quilt - so we'll see who gets which one when I'm finished).
Here is the original layout:
Here is the alternate layout:
Not sure which I'm going to do at this point.
As for the grinnin', I helped my Mom make 18 loaves of bread (yes, 18!) on Tuesday. Six each of white, wheat, and half and half. Then I had to find freezer space for them! But aren't they beautiful? Wish you could smell them - nothing better than the smell of hot bread coming out of the oven.
I can't publish the recipe, because my Mom insists on keeping it a secret (she used to earn her living by making bread for people).
Have a great day, everyone!
Last weekend I sewed three rows together of Orca Bay (it looked like only a single row of blocks, but really it was three rows). I went to add another row onto the first last night and realized that, as I laid it out on the bed to make sure the blocks were where I wanted them to be, I had placed my blue string blocks in the wrong direction (and I had already taken them out once because they were wrong). So I was pickin' out stitches late into the night.
But now that everything is back to the building blocks, it gave me a chance to play with layout. Not sure which I like better. I'm trying to keep in mind that this quilt is likely going to Brandon, my sister's grandson who graduates from high school this year. But if it looks too feminine, it will go to Tajehra (pronounced tee-air-ah), my sister's granddaughter who also graduates this year (I'm also making a Winston Ways quilt - so we'll see who gets which one when I'm finished).
Here is the original layout:
Here is the alternate layout:
Not sure which I'm going to do at this point.
As for the grinnin', I helped my Mom make 18 loaves of bread (yes, 18!) on Tuesday. Six each of white, wheat, and half and half. Then I had to find freezer space for them! But aren't they beautiful? Wish you could smell them - nothing better than the smell of hot bread coming out of the oven.
I can't publish the recipe, because my Mom insists on keeping it a secret (she used to earn her living by making bread for people).
Have a great day, everyone!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Making Laundry Soap and Other Household Products
When I was a little girl, I often helped my Grandma make laundry soap (and bar soap, too). Her recipes and methods included washing saved bacon grease, mixing the clean lard with lye and other ingredients, and stirring for what seamed like hours. Today I made laundry soap, and this method takes only 15-20 minutes, and does not involve bacon grease or lye.
Easy Homemade Laundry Soap (liquid)
This recipe makes 5 gallons, and you'll need a 5 gallon bucket for mixing. You can find the ingredients in most Walmarts and some grocery stores (laundry isle) for just a few dollars. My cousin recommends mixing in a container of your regular liquid laundry soap because it helps prevent "washer stink." I concur, it also cleans your laundry a bit better and keeps the homemade stuff a little more on the liquid side.
1 bar Fels Naptha Soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
Grate the Fels Naptha bar. I use a food processor. Kind of looks like grated cheese, doesn't it?
Put grated soap in a 4-quart pan and add enough water to cover. Melt the soap over medium-low heat until it is desolved.
Add the borax and washing soda, stir until dissolved. Pour mixture into a 5-gallon bucket and fill with hot water. Stir. If you're adding in a bottle of commercial liquid soap, add it now, and stir again.
Your laundry soap is now ready to use. 1/4 to 1/2 cup per load. You can keep it in the bucket (put a lid on it) or you can pour it into empty bottles. Because the soap gels, you need to stir or shake it before each use.
We poured ours into empty bottles.
All of these bottles of laundry soap cost me about $2 total(well, $4 if I count the cost of the commercial laundry detergent I added in). This really saves me a ton of money! And it lasts forever, too.
Fels Naptha costs about $1 a bar (I paid $0.88/bar at Walmart and $1.09/bar at my grocery store). Washing Soda and Borax, depending on the size and where you buy them, cost $3-$4 each.
So now you want to know how to make old fashioned granulated laundry soap, right? Well here's the recipe my Grandma used.
The day before you plan to mix the soap, wash the grease. Use twice as much water as grease and boil 15 minutes. Remove from heat and fill kettle with cold water. Let stand until firm (clean lard rises to the top and impurities will settle on the bottom). Make hole in set grease on opposite sides, then run a knife between the kettle and the grease all around the perimeter. Lift grease out; put into another pot and repeat process. When cooled the second time, drain off water. Melt the grease and strain. Now you're ready to start the soap process.
In a gallon glass jar, dissolve 1 can lye into 2 quarts plus 3 cups waterr. Add 1 cup clorox and 1 cup borax. Cool until outside of jar is just warm. Mix 2 tsp. citronella into 2 quarts melted grease. Cool till warm to touch, then pour into lye mixture which you have placed in a large enamel pan (lye eats aluminum). Be careful around the hands and eyes! Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly for 15 minutes, then stir every 15 minutes until mixture is well granulated (the more you stir, the more granulated it becomes).
As long as I'm sharing household recipes, here are some I can't live without:
Window Cleaner
1 pint rubbing alcohol
1 Tb. ammonia (non-sudsing kind)
1 Tb. liquid dish soap
1 gallon water
Mix together in a bucket, then pour into several spray bottles. Use just like windex. *When I was a teenager, I washed windows for a widow on my street, who always used this recipe. And she had me wipe the windows with wadded up newspaper. The combination of the cleaner and newsprint really makes those windows shine! I still use newspaper when I'm washing windows.
Plant Food
This recipe will turn anyone's thumb green! It comes from my Aunt Veleen who says "Don't use more than once a month for watering plants or leafy ones will crowd you out and blooming ones will bloom themselves to death!" Aunt Veleen's home could be mistaken for a tropical paradise.
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. epsom salts
1 tsp. salt peter (get this at Lowes or Home Depot)
1/2 tsp. ammonia
1 gallon tepid water
Mix and water plants. Store unused plant food in a jar with a lid, out of reach of children.
Have fun trying these thrifty recipes!
Easy Homemade Laundry Soap (liquid)
This recipe makes 5 gallons, and you'll need a 5 gallon bucket for mixing. You can find the ingredients in most Walmarts and some grocery stores (laundry isle) for just a few dollars. My cousin recommends mixing in a container of your regular liquid laundry soap because it helps prevent "washer stink." I concur, it also cleans your laundry a bit better and keeps the homemade stuff a little more on the liquid side.
1 bar Fels Naptha Soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)
Grate the Fels Naptha bar. I use a food processor. Kind of looks like grated cheese, doesn't it?
Put grated soap in a 4-quart pan and add enough water to cover. Melt the soap over medium-low heat until it is desolved.
Add the borax and washing soda, stir until dissolved. Pour mixture into a 5-gallon bucket and fill with hot water. Stir. If you're adding in a bottle of commercial liquid soap, add it now, and stir again.
Your laundry soap is now ready to use. 1/4 to 1/2 cup per load. You can keep it in the bucket (put a lid on it) or you can pour it into empty bottles. Because the soap gels, you need to stir or shake it before each use.
We poured ours into empty bottles.
All of these bottles of laundry soap cost me about $2 total(well, $4 if I count the cost of the commercial laundry detergent I added in). This really saves me a ton of money! And it lasts forever, too.
Fels Naptha costs about $1 a bar (I paid $0.88/bar at Walmart and $1.09/bar at my grocery store). Washing Soda and Borax, depending on the size and where you buy them, cost $3-$4 each.
So now you want to know how to make old fashioned granulated laundry soap, right? Well here's the recipe my Grandma used.
The day before you plan to mix the soap, wash the grease. Use twice as much water as grease and boil 15 minutes. Remove from heat and fill kettle with cold water. Let stand until firm (clean lard rises to the top and impurities will settle on the bottom). Make hole in set grease on opposite sides, then run a knife between the kettle and the grease all around the perimeter. Lift grease out; put into another pot and repeat process. When cooled the second time, drain off water. Melt the grease and strain. Now you're ready to start the soap process.
In a gallon glass jar, dissolve 1 can lye into 2 quarts plus 3 cups waterr. Add 1 cup clorox and 1 cup borax. Cool until outside of jar is just warm. Mix 2 tsp. citronella into 2 quarts melted grease. Cool till warm to touch, then pour into lye mixture which you have placed in a large enamel pan (lye eats aluminum). Be careful around the hands and eyes! Using a wooden spoon, stir constantly for 15 minutes, then stir every 15 minutes until mixture is well granulated (the more you stir, the more granulated it becomes).
As long as I'm sharing household recipes, here are some I can't live without:
Window Cleaner
1 pint rubbing alcohol
1 Tb. ammonia (non-sudsing kind)
1 Tb. liquid dish soap
1 gallon water
Mix together in a bucket, then pour into several spray bottles. Use just like windex. *When I was a teenager, I washed windows for a widow on my street, who always used this recipe. And she had me wipe the windows with wadded up newspaper. The combination of the cleaner and newsprint really makes those windows shine! I still use newspaper when I'm washing windows.
Plant Food
This recipe will turn anyone's thumb green! It comes from my Aunt Veleen who says "Don't use more than once a month for watering plants or leafy ones will crowd you out and blooming ones will bloom themselves to death!" Aunt Veleen's home could be mistaken for a tropical paradise.
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. epsom salts
1 tsp. salt peter (get this at Lowes or Home Depot)
1/2 tsp. ammonia
1 gallon tepid water
Mix and water plants. Store unused plant food in a jar with a lid, out of reach of children.
Have fun trying these thrifty recipes!
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Ironing Board Covers
I've read a lot about using a pad and/or a cloth on your ironing board, in addition to the cover that is already there, especially when using starch. I believe this is a good idea. My old cover wore out after 2 weeks of starching quilting strips.
I just purchased a new cover and already it looks like this (and this is after a thorough washing):
So my question is, what do you use to cover your board when you starch so you don't have to replace the cover every few weeks?
I just purchased a new cover and already it looks like this (and this is after a thorough washing):
So my question is, what do you use to cover your board when you starch so you don't have to replace the cover every few weeks?
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Welcome to the world!
This morning I received the news that my brother's third grandchild arrived safely. Welcome to the world "Baby Crocodile" (that's what my brother says they've been calling her).
Now to figure out what quilt to make for this new addition... I've been so focused on Orca Bay that I hadn't thought about making a baby quilt. I suppose, if I can find it, crocodile fabric will have to be a component of the quilt. Anyone know of a good site that might have feminine crocodile fabric? Also need pattern suggestions. I made Bonnie Hunter's "Little Monkey" quilt earlier this year for my nephew's baby, so I need something new.
Now to figure out what quilt to make for this new addition... I've been so focused on Orca Bay that I hadn't thought about making a baby quilt. I suppose, if I can find it, crocodile fabric will have to be a component of the quilt. Anyone know of a good site that might have feminine crocodile fabric? Also need pattern suggestions. I made Bonnie Hunter's "Little Monkey" quilt earlier this year for my nephew's baby, so I need something new.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Christmas preparations
Christmas Eve has arrived; so quickly did it come that it almost caught me unprepared. I've scrambled over the past couple of weeks trying to prepare gifts for some of my family, plus a few extras for people who will be part of our Christmas Day activities.
As part of my preparations, I've done a bit of sewing and not nearly as much cooking as I normally do.
In the sewing department, I made a bunch of 'Angry Bird' beanbags:
The puppies got ahold of a couple of the beanbags (not too happy about that!), so I'll have to redo a few of those. And I'm still working on the pigs and target. The recipients are my nephews children, who are spending Christmas with their grandparents and cousins in Arizona, so I still have a few days to finish this project.
And since Bonnie published step 6 of the Orca Bay mystery quilt, I just HAD to sew a little on that to see how those blocks would look, plus I wanted to play a little with layout.
I really like dark background against the red string blocks. Not too sure, though, how I feel about the light background. Perhaps I just used the wrong neutral fabrics... And I like the blue and black/white together as I have arranged them (they'd make a great border, but there would need to be more blue in the center of the quilt).
Next comes the Christmas candy. I made fudge and toffee a couple of days ago. More than half of each candy has been eaten, so it must have tasted alright.
I usually make peanut brittle and carmel as well as the fudge and toffee, and a couple different kinds of cookies, but just ran out of time. Here are some recipes if you want to try them:
Fudge
2 14-oz. cans sweetened condensed milk (aka Eagle Brand, but I use the store brand)
3 12-oz. packages chocolate chips (I use 1 semi-sweet and 2 milk chocolate)
1-2 cups nuts of your choice (or you can omit these)
Put the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips in a large saucepan and melt together over medium heat, stirring constantly. When chips are completely melted, remove from heat and stir in nuts. Pour into a buttered 9x13 pan. Cool until set, then cut and enjoy!
Sue's English Toffee
1 pound real butter
8 tsp. water
2 cups sugar
2 Tb. white corn syrup
1 12-oz package milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, or walnuts) - optional
Melt butter; add sugar, water, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn up the heat, insert a candy thermometer, and stir constantly until candy reaches the hard crack stage (300 degrees - if you don't have a candy thermometer (I don't), the candy will thicken and turn a golden brown color and a teaspoon full dizzled into cold water will make a cracking sound - about 5-10 minutes after turning up the heat). Pour into buttered 9x13 pan. Let sit for 10 minutes, then sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Spread melting chocolate until candy is completely covered. Sprinkle with nuts.
Easy Peanut Brittle
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup raw peanuts
1 Tb. butter
Cook in a cast iron skillet until the mixture turns a golden brown and makes a popping sound as it bubbles. Then add 1 tsp. water which is mixed with 1 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp. salt. Stir (candy will "foam"). Pour immediately into a buttered pan. Spread out the candy as thinly as you can. When cool, break into pieces.
Christmas Carmel
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk (aka Eagle Brand)
1 cup white corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
Walnuts or pecans, optional
Melt butter. Add sugar, Eagle milk, and corn syrup. Cook at a medium temperature, stirring constantly, until mixture turns a tan color and forms a firm ball in cold water. Add vanilla and pour over nuts which have been placed on a lightly buttered pan. When cool, cut and wrap in waxed paper.
*This recipe makes excellet "turtle" candies. To make turtles, place whole pecans on buttered cookie sheet. Drop a teaspoon full of carmel over each pecan. Let cool. Melt milk chocolate chips in a glass bowl or mug in the microwave. Dip individual carmel pecans into chocolate and put back onto cookie sheet. Cool until firm, then enjoy!
I'll save cookie recipes for another day.
Have a delightful Christmas. And remember to receive the gift (let Him in).
As part of my preparations, I've done a bit of sewing and not nearly as much cooking as I normally do.
In the sewing department, I made a bunch of 'Angry Bird' beanbags:
The puppies got ahold of a couple of the beanbags (not too happy about that!), so I'll have to redo a few of those. And I'm still working on the pigs and target. The recipients are my nephews children, who are spending Christmas with their grandparents and cousins in Arizona, so I still have a few days to finish this project.
And since Bonnie published step 6 of the Orca Bay mystery quilt, I just HAD to sew a little on that to see how those blocks would look, plus I wanted to play a little with layout.
I really like dark background against the red string blocks. Not too sure, though, how I feel about the light background. Perhaps I just used the wrong neutral fabrics... And I like the blue and black/white together as I have arranged them (they'd make a great border, but there would need to be more blue in the center of the quilt).
Next comes the Christmas candy. I made fudge and toffee a couple of days ago. More than half of each candy has been eaten, so it must have tasted alright.
I usually make peanut brittle and carmel as well as the fudge and toffee, and a couple different kinds of cookies, but just ran out of time. Here are some recipes if you want to try them:
Fudge
2 14-oz. cans sweetened condensed milk (aka Eagle Brand, but I use the store brand)
3 12-oz. packages chocolate chips (I use 1 semi-sweet and 2 milk chocolate)
1-2 cups nuts of your choice (or you can omit these)
Put the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips in a large saucepan and melt together over medium heat, stirring constantly. When chips are completely melted, remove from heat and stir in nuts. Pour into a buttered 9x13 pan. Cool until set, then cut and enjoy!
Sue's English Toffee
1 pound real butter
8 tsp. water
2 cups sugar
2 Tb. white corn syrup
1 12-oz package milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, or walnuts) - optional
Melt butter; add sugar, water, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn up the heat, insert a candy thermometer, and stir constantly until candy reaches the hard crack stage (300 degrees - if you don't have a candy thermometer (I don't), the candy will thicken and turn a golden brown color and a teaspoon full dizzled into cold water will make a cracking sound - about 5-10 minutes after turning up the heat). Pour into buttered 9x13 pan. Let sit for 10 minutes, then sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Spread melting chocolate until candy is completely covered. Sprinkle with nuts.
Easy Peanut Brittle
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup raw peanuts
1 Tb. butter
Cook in a cast iron skillet until the mixture turns a golden brown and makes a popping sound as it bubbles. Then add 1 tsp. water which is mixed with 1 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp. salt. Stir (candy will "foam"). Pour immediately into a buttered pan. Spread out the candy as thinly as you can. When cool, break into pieces.
Christmas Carmel
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk (aka Eagle Brand)
1 cup white corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
Walnuts or pecans, optional
Melt butter. Add sugar, Eagle milk, and corn syrup. Cook at a medium temperature, stirring constantly, until mixture turns a tan color and forms a firm ball in cold water. Add vanilla and pour over nuts which have been placed on a lightly buttered pan. When cool, cut and wrap in waxed paper.
*This recipe makes excellet "turtle" candies. To make turtles, place whole pecans on buttered cookie sheet. Drop a teaspoon full of carmel over each pecan. Let cool. Melt milk chocolate chips in a glass bowl or mug in the microwave. Dip individual carmel pecans into chocolate and put back onto cookie sheet. Cool until firm, then enjoy!
I'll save cookie recipes for another day.
Have a delightful Christmas. And remember to receive the gift (let Him in).
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Orca Bay and Chicken Salad
I sat at my sewing machine most of yesterday afternoon, trying to put together at least a few of the red string blocks for the Orca Bay mystery quilt. I sewed a total of 20 blocks, each cut into triangles. Here are some pictures.
Do your blocks curl like this?
For some reason, even after pressing the fabric open, the strips won't lay flat and I sometimes get "bubbles" in some of the strips, so I always remove the paper first before pressing and cutting to size so I don't have to press and cut a second time.
That's quite a pile of paper! And 5 blocks had not even been de-papered at this point! Removing the paper is easy, especially if there is something good to watch/listen to on TV.
All nice and pressed. See, the curl is gone!
These are the boys, Mike, Max, and Maurice, who thought they had to play at my feet while I was ironing.
Now to cut. First to square, then to triangle.
And yes, these really are red even though the photo looks pink-ish.
Hmmm, I wonder how all of these are going to fit together?
The above photos shows blocks from all four steps. Try as I might, I just can't seem to get them to work together. Patience! Four more steps (at least) and Bonnie's design will be revealed. :-)
I still have a lot of the smallest black/white squares (called half square triangles or HSTs for short) to finish, as well as the red string blocks. I doubt I'll be caught up by the time the next step is revealed, but it isn't a race, and I am making some progress.
I kind of like this design, even though it only incorporates two of the four blocks:
If you are reading about Orca Bay for the first time, and would like to join in on all the fun, please visit quiltville.blogspot.com and click on the Orca Bay tab!
While sewing, I kept thinking I really should stop and prepare something to eat. But the more I sewed on the red string blocks, the less I wanted to break away, thinking all the while that my stomach was growling and if I'd only stop for a few minutes... but I'd already had plenty of interruptions and my day of sewing wasn't producing results. My mind just wouldn't shut off! I kept thinking about food, glorious food! I needed something that would be quick, filling, and delicious. Low in calories would also be nice, but I'd settle for just the first three requirements.
A couple of recipes came to mind while I sewed, but I didn't stop to make anything. So today, still thinking about something easy and delicious, I ended up making chicken salad which is really similar to a recipe shared by Michael McLean for Egg Salad. Michael McLean composed The Forgotten Carols What? You haven't seen it, or maybe never heard of it? It's a wonderful show. The story is about a woman who is too practical to be bothered by Christmas. She is a nurse who is assigned to care for an older gentleman with alleged psychiatric tendencies over the holidays. This unlikely patient, John, is nothing like the "senile crazy person" she expected. Instead John’s warmth and spunky kindness break through Constance's iron-clad exterior as he walks her through the untold carols of the more "forgotten" characters in the Christmas story and guides the nurse to the Christmas carol waiting to be sung inside her own heart. If it comes to your area, you should buy tickets and go. It will leave you feeling fabulous, plus you'll have a few new favaorite Christmas carols!
Back to the recipes. First, the chicken salad:
Heavenly Chicken Salad:
about 4 cups chopped cooked chicken (can also use turkey)
1/2 pound bacon
2 cups grapes
2 stalks celery
2 green onions
2 apples (optional)
1 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup mayonnaise (do NOT use Miracle Whip - it won't taste right)
1 cup Cool Whip (yes, Cool Whip!!!)
1 tsp. curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
Slice raw bacon into small pieces, then fry until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Slice grapes into halves. Chop celery and onion. Chop apples and nuts if you are using them (I love them, but omitted them today). Stir together mayonnaise, Cool Whip, and curry powder. Then add chicken and other ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill until ready to serve. Good on a bed of greens or use as a sandwich filling.
Here's the recipe Michael McLean shared; it is his mother's recipe and it is DELICIOUS (and see how similar the dressing is to my chicken salad?).
Forgotten Carols Egg Salad:
1 dozen hard-boiled eggs
2 cups celery, chopped
1 cup radishes, chopped
1/2 cup bacon bits
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup Cool Whip or whipped cream
1 Tb. mustard
1 tsp. curry power
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
Chop eggs or mash them with a potato masher. Add radishes, bacon bits, green onion, and celery. Stir to combine. In a separate bowl, stir together mayonnaise, Cool Whip, and mustard. Then add curry powder, salt, and pepper. Combine with eggs & vegies; stir until mixed. Keep in the fridge until ready to use. Serve on sturdy bread. They recommended sour dough. I think homemade wheat or white is great, too!
Do your blocks curl like this?
For some reason, even after pressing the fabric open, the strips won't lay flat and I sometimes get "bubbles" in some of the strips, so I always remove the paper first before pressing and cutting to size so I don't have to press and cut a second time.
All nice and pressed. See, the curl is gone!
These are the boys, Mike, Max, and Maurice, who thought they had to play at my feet while I was ironing.
Now to cut. First to square, then to triangle.
Hmmm, I wonder how all of these are going to fit together?
I still have a lot of the smallest black/white squares (called half square triangles or HSTs for short) to finish, as well as the red string blocks. I doubt I'll be caught up by the time the next step is revealed, but it isn't a race, and I am making some progress.
I kind of like this design, even though it only incorporates two of the four blocks:
If you are reading about Orca Bay for the first time, and would like to join in on all the fun, please visit quiltville.blogspot.com and click on the Orca Bay tab!
While sewing, I kept thinking I really should stop and prepare something to eat. But the more I sewed on the red string blocks, the less I wanted to break away, thinking all the while that my stomach was growling and if I'd only stop for a few minutes... but I'd already had plenty of interruptions and my day of sewing wasn't producing results. My mind just wouldn't shut off! I kept thinking about food, glorious food! I needed something that would be quick, filling, and delicious. Low in calories would also be nice, but I'd settle for just the first three requirements.
A couple of recipes came to mind while I sewed, but I didn't stop to make anything. So today, still thinking about something easy and delicious, I ended up making chicken salad which is really similar to a recipe shared by Michael McLean for Egg Salad. Michael McLean composed The Forgotten Carols What? You haven't seen it, or maybe never heard of it? It's a wonderful show. The story is about a woman who is too practical to be bothered by Christmas. She is a nurse who is assigned to care for an older gentleman with alleged psychiatric tendencies over the holidays. This unlikely patient, John, is nothing like the "senile crazy person" she expected. Instead John’s warmth and spunky kindness break through Constance's iron-clad exterior as he walks her through the untold carols of the more "forgotten" characters in the Christmas story and guides the nurse to the Christmas carol waiting to be sung inside her own heart. If it comes to your area, you should buy tickets and go. It will leave you feeling fabulous, plus you'll have a few new favaorite Christmas carols!
Back to the recipes. First, the chicken salad:
Heavenly Chicken Salad:
about 4 cups chopped cooked chicken (can also use turkey)
1/2 pound bacon
2 cups grapes
2 stalks celery
2 green onions
2 apples (optional)
1 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup mayonnaise (do NOT use Miracle Whip - it won't taste right)
1 cup Cool Whip (yes, Cool Whip!!!)
1 tsp. curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
Slice raw bacon into small pieces, then fry until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels to drain. Slice grapes into halves. Chop celery and onion. Chop apples and nuts if you are using them (I love them, but omitted them today). Stir together mayonnaise, Cool Whip, and curry powder. Then add chicken and other ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Chill until ready to serve. Good on a bed of greens or use as a sandwich filling.
Here's the recipe Michael McLean shared; it is his mother's recipe and it is DELICIOUS (and see how similar the dressing is to my chicken salad?).
Forgotten Carols Egg Salad:
1 dozen hard-boiled eggs
2 cups celery, chopped
1 cup radishes, chopped
1/2 cup bacon bits
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup Cool Whip or whipped cream
1 Tb. mustard
1 tsp. curry power
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
Chop eggs or mash them with a potato masher. Add radishes, bacon bits, green onion, and celery. Stir to combine. In a separate bowl, stir together mayonnaise, Cool Whip, and mustard. Then add curry powder, salt, and pepper. Combine with eggs & vegies; stir until mixed. Keep in the fridge until ready to use. Serve on sturdy bread. They recommended sour dough. I think homemade wheat or white is great, too!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Progress on Orca Bay
Orca Bay is the current quilt mystery by Bonnie Hunter. Three steps have been revealed so far.
Here is Step 1, hour glass units:
Here is Step 2, string blocks (aren't these cute?):
And Step 3, which I am currently working on, are these half square triangles (which are also shown in the above picture):
Since all of these blocks are of different sizes, I can't imagine how they will fit together. But I'm sure the quilt will be splendid! There are still several steps to go, and I have yet to use the red fabric (and possibly more of the blue). So stay tuned to find out what this quilt will eventually look like.
If you'd like to join in the fun, please visit Bonnie's blog and click on the Orca Bay tab: quiltville.blogspot.com
Here is Step 1, hour glass units:
Here is Step 2, string blocks (aren't these cute?):
And Step 3, which I am currently working on, are these half square triangles (which are also shown in the above picture):
Since all of these blocks are of different sizes, I can't imagine how they will fit together. But I'm sure the quilt will be splendid! There are still several steps to go, and I have yet to use the red fabric (and possibly more of the blue). So stay tuned to find out what this quilt will eventually look like.
If you'd like to join in the fun, please visit Bonnie's blog and click on the Orca Bay tab: quiltville.blogspot.com
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
A year's worth of quilts
I was going to comment on my Orca Bay progress, but since I haven't taken pictures yet, I'll save that post for tomorrow.
Instead, I'll let you look at some of the quilts I made in the last year. Enjoy!
Instead, I'll let you look at some of the quilts I made in the last year. Enjoy!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Everyday Miracles
Yesterday a miracle occurred!
Because of all the bad windy weather that came through, I opted to stay home from work, and because I was home from work, one of my girls asked if I would take her to her place of employment around 2:00 (normally she walks or catches a ride with her boyfriend). We left the house at 2:00, stopping by the bank on the way, then headed to The Dollar Tree where Cyndi works. '
I always take the back way into this shopping center, and yesterday was no exception. There is not usually much traffice on this road, even with Christmas shoppers out and about. As we passed the apartments and neared the shopping plaza, a car pulled out in front of me. CRASH - you all know what that sounds like! Breaking glass, metal or plastic bending and breaking...
I was going fast enough that the airbags should have deployed. They didn't!
We each got out of our vehicles, expecting some serious damage to our vehicles. Nothing could be seen, but the cars were still adjoining each other. I backed up and surveyed the scene again. Still no evidence that an accident had occurred. Not a dent or scratch could be seen on either vehicle. We pulled into the parking area she had been leaving, and I surveyed the road - nothing there! We exchanged information anyway, and I gave her a hug as I left and told her not to worry about the mishap (she was rather shaken, I think).
So what had made all that crashing breaking noise? I don't know, but I do believe it was a miracle that neither car sustained any damage. Perhaps we were both in need of a miracle yesterday - not the least of which was love being extended to the other party, or feeling the lighter load of not having the burden of having to get a car repaired.
One good thing that came of this accident, which I had been worried about for a couple of weeks: I was able to get new tires on my car. And boy did I need them! They were already worn and needing to be replaced. Yesterday's skid pretty much took off the remaining tread on the front, so it was off to the tire store (and they couldn't see any damage either). '
My next miracle happened at the tire store. I was expecting to pay at least $200/tire (and more likely $250/tire if I wanted anything decent). It just so happened that they were having a sale on their tires, and the cost for tires guaranteed to last at least 80,000 miles (with free replacement if they didn't) was less than $150/tire - and they threw in a gift card to a local grocery store to boot! (They said the gift card was left over Thanksgiving promotion, but since they still had a few left, they weren't going to waste them.) That was really a nice savings, especially since I had to borrow the cash for the tires.
I tend to think that we have miracles happen every day, but we often fail to recognize them for what they are. So what miracles have you experienced lately?
Now since we are talking about miracles, here's a recipe I discovered last year:
Christmas Miracle Fudge (Semi-dark chocolate version)
1 12-oz bag of semisweet chocolate chips
1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp butter (1/8 of a cube)
Melt everything in a saucepan on low heat, stirring until it's smooth. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 tsp of vanilla. Add nuts, if you wish. Pour into pans and allow to cool slightly before cutting into squares.
For a sweeter milk-chocolate fudge, only use 1-1/2 cups of chocolate chips (about 3/4 of a 12-oz bag.)
For larger batches, just double, triple, or quadruple everything. It will still come out fine.
Oreo Cookie Fudge
3 6-oz. pkgs. white chocolate (if you use chips, buy Ghiradelli - they work the best)
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/8 tsp. salt
2 cups coarsely chopped Oreos or other sandwich cookie (about 20 cookies)
Melt the chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and salt in a small saucepan over low heat. Fold in cookies. Spread evenly into a prepared pan. Cool until firm. Cut and enjoy!
Because of all the bad windy weather that came through, I opted to stay home from work, and because I was home from work, one of my girls asked if I would take her to her place of employment around 2:00 (normally she walks or catches a ride with her boyfriend). We left the house at 2:00, stopping by the bank on the way, then headed to The Dollar Tree where Cyndi works. '
I always take the back way into this shopping center, and yesterday was no exception. There is not usually much traffice on this road, even with Christmas shoppers out and about. As we passed the apartments and neared the shopping plaza, a car pulled out in front of me. CRASH - you all know what that sounds like! Breaking glass, metal or plastic bending and breaking...
I was going fast enough that the airbags should have deployed. They didn't!
We each got out of our vehicles, expecting some serious damage to our vehicles. Nothing could be seen, but the cars were still adjoining each other. I backed up and surveyed the scene again. Still no evidence that an accident had occurred. Not a dent or scratch could be seen on either vehicle. We pulled into the parking area she had been leaving, and I surveyed the road - nothing there! We exchanged information anyway, and I gave her a hug as I left and told her not to worry about the mishap (she was rather shaken, I think).
So what had made all that crashing breaking noise? I don't know, but I do believe it was a miracle that neither car sustained any damage. Perhaps we were both in need of a miracle yesterday - not the least of which was love being extended to the other party, or feeling the lighter load of not having the burden of having to get a car repaired.
One good thing that came of this accident, which I had been worried about for a couple of weeks: I was able to get new tires on my car. And boy did I need them! They were already worn and needing to be replaced. Yesterday's skid pretty much took off the remaining tread on the front, so it was off to the tire store (and they couldn't see any damage either). '
My next miracle happened at the tire store. I was expecting to pay at least $200/tire (and more likely $250/tire if I wanted anything decent). It just so happened that they were having a sale on their tires, and the cost for tires guaranteed to last at least 80,000 miles (with free replacement if they didn't) was less than $150/tire - and they threw in a gift card to a local grocery store to boot! (They said the gift card was left over Thanksgiving promotion, but since they still had a few left, they weren't going to waste them.) That was really a nice savings, especially since I had to borrow the cash for the tires.
I tend to think that we have miracles happen every day, but we often fail to recognize them for what they are. So what miracles have you experienced lately?
Now since we are talking about miracles, here's a recipe I discovered last year:
Christmas Miracle Fudge (Semi-dark chocolate version)
1 12-oz bag of semisweet chocolate chips
1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp butter (1/8 of a cube)
Melt everything in a saucepan on low heat, stirring until it's smooth. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 tsp of vanilla. Add nuts, if you wish. Pour into pans and allow to cool slightly before cutting into squares.
For a sweeter milk-chocolate fudge, only use 1-1/2 cups of chocolate chips (about 3/4 of a 12-oz bag.)
For larger batches, just double, triple, or quadruple everything. It will still come out fine.
Oreo Cookie Fudge
3 6-oz. pkgs. white chocolate (if you use chips, buy Ghiradelli - they work the best)
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/8 tsp. salt
2 cups coarsely chopped Oreos or other sandwich cookie (about 20 cookies)
Melt the chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and salt in a small saucepan over low heat. Fold in cookies. Spread evenly into a prepared pan. Cool until firm. Cut and enjoy!
Monday, November 28, 2011
FISH TACO TUESDAY
I love fish tacos. I wish other people in my house liked them. Regardless, I think I will be making some tomorrow using this recipe I just received from my cousin's son Chris. Here is what he wrote:
I'm thinking 2 TB of baking powder might be a bit much (perhaps he meant 2 teaspoons??).
To make the tacos, place a piece of fish in a softened corn tortilla; garnish with shredded cabbage and your choice of sauce (I like ranch dressing mixed with El Pato hot sauce (El Pato is found with the tomato sauce in local grocery stores in the western US - it comes in 2 varieties - I use the kind in the yellow can).
Of course, if you don't want tacos, this recipe would be delightful for fish and chips.
We use fresh cod filets. Any white fish is good, but cod holds up pretty good in the frier. I've tried haddock and it tends to be a little more flaky. For the batter we use non-alcoholic O'douls which they sell at most grocery stores. Cool a bottle of that. For about 6 people, you can take 2 good sized cod filets, and for the batter, mix about a cup and a half of flour, 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, 2 tablespoons(ish) of baking powder, a teaspoon and a half(ish) of salt. Sift it all together, then take the O'douls, mix it in a cup with an egg, then pour the mixture into the flour mixture, and mix together. To get the right consistency, you might have to add a little bit more flour, or water. Just so it sticks to the fish well. Then fry! Delicious.
I'm thinking 2 TB of baking powder might be a bit much (perhaps he meant 2 teaspoons??).
To make the tacos, place a piece of fish in a softened corn tortilla; garnish with shredded cabbage and your choice of sauce (I like ranch dressing mixed with El Pato hot sauce (El Pato is found with the tomato sauce in local grocery stores in the western US - it comes in 2 varieties - I use the kind in the yellow can).
Of course, if you don't want tacos, this recipe would be delightful for fish and chips.
Whining won't get you anywhere.
"There is nothing so bad that whining about it won't make it worse."
That quote is from Gordon B. Hinckley, a man I greatly admired. He was my grandmother's first cousin and one of the many ancestral relations that have added to my rich heritage.
So today, although I'm back in the thick of the mundane routine that is my life, I'm trying hard to keep a positive outlook. And with God's help, I shall stay focused on the important things and let the little annoyances pass me by. Hope you do the same!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Quilting Memories
I thought I'd share a memory that was brought to mind after reading a blog by Bonnie Hunter about first quilts. The first quilt I remember making was actually a team effort by my sister and I. I wish we had a picture of that quilt!
I'm estimating ages here, because I couldn't use a sewing machine yet, but Jeri could. She was about 9 and I was about 7 when we decided to make our mother a quilt for Mother's Day, instead of (or perhaps along with) the usual breakfast in bed that we always prepared (I'll have to do another post on those!).
It was the Saturday before Mother's Day; my mom had gone out with my grandma and Aunt Karen for a while. So my sister and I dug through the drawer full of fabric that my mom kept for other purposes. After selecting our fabrics, we grabbed some scissors and started cutting. Some of the 'squares' (if you could call them that - no templates, just free-form cutting with scissors) were quite large, and others were very small. We both cut fabric until we thought we had enough to start sewing. My sister started sewing on the machine, and I continued cutting squares until it looked like there were enough to make a good sized quilt; then I began hand-stitching squares together (with very long stitches, I might add), and together we formed our squares into a very puckered and crooked patchwork quilt top, of which we were very proud.
Next we needed some batting and something to use on the back of the quilt. We went back to the drawers in the hallway to look for something suitable. We found a blanket that would do for batting and some white cloth to use as backing. After trimming both to match the size of our quilt, Jeri went to work sewing the three layers together around the edges. I'm guessing, since I don't remember what was done to bind the quilt, that the edges were folded over. There was no quilting or tying of the inside of the quilt - just bound edges. [Update: Jeri says that she thinks there were no folded edges - only rick-rack used around the edge.]
Our gift was then wrapped and we had to wait until the next morning to present our gift to our mom. We knew she would love it!
Our mother cried when she opened her gift and saw the work of our hands. Could have been tears of anger for using her best linen table cloth as the backing (and probably some of the napkins in the quilt top), but I tend to think she was overjoyed and happy that we would do something like this for her. Mom once said that she wondered what had happened to that blanket (which was found when the quilt fell apart). And we were never scolded for destroying her best table cloth or all the fabric that had been planned for other uses.
My mom has Alzheimer's disease, which is in an advanced stage. She lives with me, so I asked her if she remembered that quilt. She started crying and said she always loved it and wished she knew where it was. I don't know if she really remembered it or not, but I certainly do!
It was about 1977 or 1978 the next time I made a quilt. It was the tied variety made from yardage purchased at Sprouse Reitz (does that store still exist?) for 25 cents a yard, on sale. It was flowered fabric, and I purchased about 6 yards each of blue and red. The quilt was used on my bed for a few years, then my mother inherited it when I left for Argentina to serve an LDS Mission there. It was later returned to me, and it had been well used and repaired in a few places. After it wore thin, it became the dogs' blanket. I wrapped my dog Taylor in it after she died and sent it to doggie heaven with her. Here is a picture of Taylor:
My next real attempt at doing a pieced quilt came about 20 years ago after I read a book called "Seven Golden Threads" (or something like that) and I thought I wanted to try real quilting again. So I purchased fabric and began sewing to make a king-sized quilt (that was ambitious!). I knew absolutely NOTHING about using colors, and unfortunately, I didn't realize that the seams should only be 1/4 inch wide. The pattern in the quilt is not easily seen and the quilt top puckers; it remains a flimsy to this day. My mom latched onto it, so it resides in her room, but someday I might redo seams and quilt it (or maybe even quilt it as-is).
I've made many quilts since that time. I am currently working on Bonnie Hunter's next quilting mystery, Orca Bay. Step 2 has already been posted, and I'm still working on Step 1: Making hourglass blocks. Here is what I've done so far (nothing finished yet, as you can see):
If you'd like to join in, go to quiltville.blogspot.com and look for the tab called "Orca Bay." Be warned, though! Bonnie uses a lot of small pieces! But the quilt designs are excellent!
I'm estimating ages here, because I couldn't use a sewing machine yet, but Jeri could. She was about 9 and I was about 7 when we decided to make our mother a quilt for Mother's Day, instead of (or perhaps along with) the usual breakfast in bed that we always prepared (I'll have to do another post on those!).
It was the Saturday before Mother's Day; my mom had gone out with my grandma and Aunt Karen for a while. So my sister and I dug through the drawer full of fabric that my mom kept for other purposes. After selecting our fabrics, we grabbed some scissors and started cutting. Some of the 'squares' (if you could call them that - no templates, just free-form cutting with scissors) were quite large, and others were very small. We both cut fabric until we thought we had enough to start sewing. My sister started sewing on the machine, and I continued cutting squares until it looked like there were enough to make a good sized quilt; then I began hand-stitching squares together (with very long stitches, I might add), and together we formed our squares into a very puckered and crooked patchwork quilt top, of which we were very proud.
Next we needed some batting and something to use on the back of the quilt. We went back to the drawers in the hallway to look for something suitable. We found a blanket that would do for batting and some white cloth to use as backing. After trimming both to match the size of our quilt, Jeri went to work sewing the three layers together around the edges. I'm guessing, since I don't remember what was done to bind the quilt, that the edges were folded over. There was no quilting or tying of the inside of the quilt - just bound edges. [Update: Jeri says that she thinks there were no folded edges - only rick-rack used around the edge.]
Our gift was then wrapped and we had to wait until the next morning to present our gift to our mom. We knew she would love it!
Our mother cried when she opened her gift and saw the work of our hands. Could have been tears of anger for using her best linen table cloth as the backing (and probably some of the napkins in the quilt top), but I tend to think she was overjoyed and happy that we would do something like this for her. Mom once said that she wondered what had happened to that blanket (which was found when the quilt fell apart). And we were never scolded for destroying her best table cloth or all the fabric that had been planned for other uses.
My mom has Alzheimer's disease, which is in an advanced stage. She lives with me, so I asked her if she remembered that quilt. She started crying and said she always loved it and wished she knew where it was. I don't know if she really remembered it or not, but I certainly do!
It was about 1977 or 1978 the next time I made a quilt. It was the tied variety made from yardage purchased at Sprouse Reitz (does that store still exist?) for 25 cents a yard, on sale. It was flowered fabric, and I purchased about 6 yards each of blue and red. The quilt was used on my bed for a few years, then my mother inherited it when I left for Argentina to serve an LDS Mission there. It was later returned to me, and it had been well used and repaired in a few places. After it wore thin, it became the dogs' blanket. I wrapped my dog Taylor in it after she died and sent it to doggie heaven with her. Here is a picture of Taylor:
My next real attempt at doing a pieced quilt came about 20 years ago after I read a book called "Seven Golden Threads" (or something like that) and I thought I wanted to try real quilting again. So I purchased fabric and began sewing to make a king-sized quilt (that was ambitious!). I knew absolutely NOTHING about using colors, and unfortunately, I didn't realize that the seams should only be 1/4 inch wide. The pattern in the quilt is not easily seen and the quilt top puckers; it remains a flimsy to this day. My mom latched onto it, so it resides in her room, but someday I might redo seams and quilt it (or maybe even quilt it as-is).
I've made many quilts since that time. I am currently working on Bonnie Hunter's next quilting mystery, Orca Bay. Step 2 has already been posted, and I'm still working on Step 1: Making hourglass blocks. Here is what I've done so far (nothing finished yet, as you can see):
If you'd like to join in, go to quiltville.blogspot.com and look for the tab called "Orca Bay." Be warned, though! Bonnie uses a lot of small pieces! But the quilt designs are excellent!
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