The Cupboard is Bare! Yay!

All the quilts finished in 2011 have been dispersed/accounted for.  Four were given to friends, two went to DI, five went to United Way, two are still hanging in the store, one was sold, one is on my bed and I've also kept the seasonal snowball table topper still in the cupboard.  Whew.

Yesterday a nurse who sees a lot of preemies at the health department told me they give out donated baby blankets and receiving blankets.  Fabulous!

Training

It's a fabulous morning here and so I flung open the doors to let the air circulate.  An open front door is serious business for the boys and especially so for Dylan.  He gets very concerned and very vocal about anything moving past the house with the exception of cars driving by.  Those may pass unannounced.  Everything else though is cause for alarm.  The guys across the street talking on their cell phones and smoking as they pace in front of their house?  Trouble.  Children on their way to school?  Trouble.  Mom pushing stroller?  Big trouble.  Dog walker?  REALLY big trouble.

Ok then.  I filled my pocket with kibble.  As I ironed, I listened for the first rumble from a dog then stepped over there and showed them the treat.  If they don't bark they get it.   So far so good and I got a lot of ironing done.

I have large pieces of fabric that have been washed and needed pressing, folding and putting away.  Today I crossed 16 plus yards off the to-do list.  These are all pieces larger than two yards so do not do well with the new folding standard here.  These pieces are folded selvedge to selvedge. then into approximately 9-inch folds and stacked that way.  Most likely they will be used for quilt backs.

In the course of spending all that time in the living room this morning I had to wonder once again about this across the street:

I mean really what's wrong with the driveway?  I'm not sure what's still going on over there but I think maybe the floors and maybe a re-do because there has been a fan in the open front door quite often.

Go ahead, laugh and call me Fred and Audrey.

Marking the quilt

I tried all of these.  Left to right: Hera Marker, water soluble pen, Chakoners, 2 styles for rolling a fine line of chalk, and painter's tape as a guide for the walking foot.  Tried them all and the winner is the Hera Marker which marks by leaving an indentation.  I never thought that would be the one I would like the best but for this quilt it's perfect.

Design Wall Monday

Nothing to show on the wall.  Two quilts in various stages of quilting.

Stash Report Week #13

Added this week           3.5
Used this week             3.88
Added year to date     25.13
Used year to date        14.92
Net year to date        +10.21 YARDS

Not much change this week, soon though :-)
I did treat myself to this bobbin box.  They look so tidy and sparkly!  There is a lid to the box so they will stay that way!  It makes me happy and I couldn't wait another day for it.  $4 well spent.
 

First UFO finish

I 'm hoping a friend of mine will like this quilt for her new granddaughter that is on the way.  Some of the blocks have sweet farm animals like the kind you would see in a children's story book.  I think it is cheerful without being over the top bright.  I'm happy with the machine quilting I did on it, too!

Corned Beef

I love it.  I really love it but today I had it yet again.

Last Friday I bought some corned beef very thinly sliced for sandwiches and also a thick slab to use in a casserole.  I had a sandwich on Friday and then we had sandwiches at work on Saturday.  Had one last sandwich on Sunday.  Tuesday I made a dip and today I made the casserole.  I will finish the casserole tomorrow.  Yay!

I brought sauerkraut for the sandwiches and I felt like we needed 1000 Island dressing to put on them even though they were not official Reubens.  I only buy 1000 Island dressing once a year for this very thing so this year I decided to make it.  Easy!  Fabulous!  I found this one on Allrecipes dot com and modified it just a bit.  When I made it on Saturday I wanted it fairly thick so I used dry onions but when I made it again today I wanted it more pourable.

1000 Island Dressing

o    ½ cup mayonnaise

o    2 tablespoons ketchup

o    1 tablespoon white vinegar

o    2 teaspoons sugar

o    1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish

o    1 teaspoon white onions, finely minced

o    ¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt

o    1 dash black pepper

Mix all ingredients together.  Refrigerate for several hours to let flavors blend.

Sometimes

it's very hard not to laugh out loud.

“Oh”, said the customer, reading the sign announcing a sale on everything in the store in two days.  “That makes me mad!  Those books I bought last week will be on sale.  I don’t want to buy anything in this store!”

“Would you like a sack for those?” I asked the college boy.  “What’s a sack?” he replied.

“Can we help you find something?” we asked the three exuberant college students, two boys and a girl.  “Where can we find the spray paint?” one asked.

Vernal Equinox

The sun is shining, the pear tree is budding and the grass is green but it is only 38 degrees out this afternoon.  Thirty degrees less warm than a week ago!  It's okay, we will be complaining about the heat before you know it.

That's the quilt I basted yesterday and will begin quilting tomorrow.  Rolling it on that tube seemed like the thing to do to bring it home neatly.  I like that the flower on the border fabric is peeking out.

Design Wall Monday

The "official" design wall is empty.  I have the top and back done of the Missouri Freebird quilt but it still needs to be quilted.  I have a meeting at the store today so I will take it with me to spread out over some big tables in the classroom for easier basting.  I do want to try basting on the wall but this is a bigger quilt and maybe not the best one to use for a first try at wall basting.

I've included this picture I took this morning of the backyard because it's a design wall too.  I love these colors!

Stash Report Week #12

Added this week           4.75
Used this week               .00
Added year to date     21.63
Used year to date        11.04
Net year to date          10.59 YARDS

I know, this should have been posted yesterday but I kept thinking I would power through some pillowcases, gift bags etc. to make the numbers better, but I never did.  I think working all day Saturday diminishes my desire to fondle fabric all day Sunday.

What is interesting about the 4.75 yards I bought last week is that it is made up of 12 separate cuts of fabric, only two of which were a yard or more.

Also, for the record, I am not including interfacing in the stash total.

Everyone Should Have One

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Isn't this book weight a fabulous idea?   Very practical and while I was thinking I would use it in the sewing room, it turns out the kitchen is also a great place.

Today I made Spicy Chicken Pizza for dinner and I made the crust from the Olive Oil Dough recipe in this book which was on my shelf.  Actually the Spicy Chicken Pizza recipe was recommended by my sister and she found it on The Baking Addict's website.   I followed her recipe exactly except I halved it.

Spicy Chicken and Pepper Jack Pizza - The Baking Addict

1 Tbsp. canola or olive oil
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
3 cups diced fresh red, yellow and green bell peppers (I used all red)
1 (13.8 oz.) tube refrigerated pizza dough (I used 1lb of homemade crust)
1/2 cup salsa (I used fresh salsa)
2 cups (8 oz.) pepper jack cheese
Chopped cilantro or dried oregano (optional)
1 ½ cups cooked and shredded chicken

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; sauté 2 minutes. Add bell peppers; sauté 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.

2. Meanwhile, unroll pizza dough onto a 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray; press dough evenly to all edges of pan. Bake in preheated 425°F 8 minutes. 3. Stir salsa into cooked vegetables; spread over partially baked crust. Top with chicken and cheese.

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown. Cut into squares; garnish with cilantro or oregano if desired.

Notes:  Adapted from Sargentos,  serves 3-4 

Olive Oil Dough - from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day 

Yield: Makes 4-1 lb loaves

2-3/4 cups lukewarm water

1-1/2 tablespoon granulated yeast (2 packets)

1-1/2 tablespoons Kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

6-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, or in a large (5 quart) bowl working with a wooden spoon, mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water.

2. Mix in the flour without kneading. I found this process to be incredible simple with my stand mixer, but it will certainly come together the old fashioned way. If you are not using a machine, you may need to wet your hands in order to incorporate the bit of flour.

3. Transfer dough to large (5 quart) bowl or lidded food container. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 12 days.

...........

I cut the entire recipe in half including the dough.  That still left me with 2 pounds of dough, fps, and I used only a fourth of that for the pizza crust.  Fortunately,  there is an entire chapter in the book on flatbreads and pizza.  The dough will become more flavorful/sour as it sits in the fridge.  Maybe I will make focaccia over the weekend!

Loved the red peppers and onions but the Pepper Jack cheese is really too spicy for me.  Next time I will just use Monterey Jack cheese.

Guess I will have to change the recipe name.

Ramen in Curry Sauce

Hard to get a good picture of this dinner but it was so very good.  Well, I was disappointed in the green beans but I couldn't wait and when I saw them in the grocery store I filled a little bag.  Definitely not straight from the garden.  So until I can pick my own beans, I'll use fresh asparagus or maybe even frozen green beans.

Green beans aside, the overall flavor of this dish is fabulous.  I saw this on Sara's Weeknight Meals which is a Create TV program.  You can find her recipe here.  This is how I made it:

Ramen in Curry Sauce

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
12 ounces coarsely ground pork
1 15-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
3 cups string beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 pkgs. ramen noodles, soaked until pliable


In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat and stir-fry the garlic and onions until golden, 3-5 minutes. Add the curry powder and continue to stir-fry to toast, about 1 minute.  Add the ground meat and continue to stir-fry, breaking up the meat, until cooked through, about 5 minutes more.

Add the coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce, lemon juice, and string beans and bring to a boil, then simmer 3-5 minutes until beans are tender.

Add the ramen noodles and toss the ingredients to coat the noodles evenly with the sauce.  Heat through.

Makes 4 servings

Design Wall Monday

Missouri Freebird

February UFO top.  Two cuts and two seams and the back will be done too and then the scary part.  I am going to quilt this one myself on my regular domestic sewing machine.  I so enjoyed the quilting part on the Churn Dash quilt that I couldn't wait to do it again.  When I hung this quilt on the wall though, the size was a little intimidating.  It measures 60x72 which is more than four times larger than the Churn Dash quilt.  What was I thinking!?!

So I have revised my quilting plan to involve less turning and will give it a go.  First of course, I need to get it basted and rather than try that on the living room floor I am going to spray baste it on the wall.  It's going to be a nice day today so doors and windows can be flung open to air out the smell of the basting spray.

Stash Report Week #11

Added this week           2.5
Used this week               .00
Added year to date     16.88
Used year to date        11.04
Net year to date            5.84 YARDS

Still not finished with February's UFO.  Top is done, back is almost done but then there is the quilting and binding.  Next week for sure.  Maybe I should just make another pair of kitchen curtains to use up some fabric!

The Nips box?  It's my favorite candy next to M&Ms.  I always have Nips in the house but I can't be trusted with M&Ms so I just don't buy them.  My friend Julie puts a quarter in the picture when it's important to know the size of something so that's why my foot is in this picture.  It looks like a good sized candy box but it weighs very little.  Only today I stopped to wonder exactly how many pieces of candy are in that box.  Sixteen.  Of course it was only $1.29 but surely most of that cost is packaging.  Sixteen.  Amazing.

The Rice Bag

I needed a large rice bag that could be wrapped around an aching body part so I re-purposed a Martha Stewart place mat.  It's just folded in half and then I sewed channels, filled each channel about 3/4 of the way with rice and sewed it all closed.  2 1/2 pounds of rice!  I thought about making a liner so the outside could be washed if necessary, it's what I do to make things more complex, time consuming and difficult.  This time I resisted that impulse.

It takes a bit more than just a few minutes, in my microwave, to heat this up but it does hold the heat a long time.

One does have to pay attention to putting the bag away in a dog proof spot.

QOD

"I like my oysters fried,that way I know they've died."   Roy Blount, Jr.

Oh, that feels sooooo goooood!

The Dylanator

I think he was scratching that itch for almost ten minutes on this very fine Spring morning!  He was doing a bicycle with his hind legs which was really very amusing.

Found.

I looked everywhere for the vinegar yesterday, darn sure I remembered buying a big jug of it.  Could not find it anywhere, not still in the car and not, as I thought might be a possibility, sitting in the flower garden, next to the car.

I do vinegar treatments to the shower curtain and the coffee maker at the beginning of each month and I had only a token amount left in the jug for the February treatment so I really wanted to get it done.  Now.  Very aggravating to be so thwarted when I was so prepared for action.

When I flung open the front door today to let in some springlike fresh air, there it was.  I seldom use the front door but I must have brought things in that way when the ice slick was by the back gate.

Let the treatments begin!

Polysyllabic: adjective

1: having more than one and usually more than three syllables

2:  characterized by words of many syllables

I prefer to think of it as a sign of the texting mentality rather than sheer lip laziness but for a long time I let this syllable severing annoy me.  It sounds so uneducated to my ear.  Now I am able to just shrug it off, shake my head and re-affirm my self-commitment not to go down that slope.

I had started a list of specifics some time ago and then didn’t care anymore.  This morning when I read paci-clip, I remembered these:  

Cardi = cardigan

Catty = catalog

Panto = pantograph

Siggy = signature (quilt)

You can see that many arts/crafts are included and I suppose even painters, beaders and sculptures might have some words to add.  Is this practice something that would show up in a cultural anthropology book?

“Paci” was referring to pacifier.  Maybe you knew that.

Stash Report Week #10

Added this week           2.75
Used this week             1.33
Added year to date     14.38
Used year to date        11.04
Net year to date            3.34 YARDS

Clearance sale at work and I did not get my February UFO finished, close but not finished.  I did get the little quilt done though but it really is little and I am including the batting in the yardage because it was taking up space here too.

First (personal) Finish for 2012!!

Buggy Barn Churn Dash

From the Buggy Barn Certifiably Crazy book.  Pieced in Kona solids and quilted with invisible thread on top and Star Merc in the bobbin.   The needle threader on my Bernina did not care for the invisible thread but since it has a certain rigidity it was not hard to thread the machine by hand.  Harder to thread a hand needle when I was burying thread ends after the quilting was finished.  I machine quilted in a quarter inch echo pattern.

This will hang in my sewing room after it is finished hanging in the store.  It's the perfect size, 23"x32" to hang above the cutting counter.

Yay!

edited:  oops, I forgot to mention that the name of this quilt is "You can't hurt your eyes by looking on the bright side." which was a quote I embroidered years ago and I have no idea where the thought came from.  Of course, quilts don't have to be named but this surely seems to fit!

I needed a large envelope...

to forward some mail to my neighbor.  I knew I had some in the desk.  An unopened package possibly from the 70's.  I mean, can you read it?  Four envelopes for 29 cents and the little white sticker shows that they were discounted to 27 cents.

I know, a lot of head shaking going on out there.