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November 6

Happy Friday!

Do you have a Kohl's dept store where you live? We just got one last month. yay! They have what I think is the most perfect $10 or less Christmas gift I've ever come across, for a boy or a girl, under the age of 10ish.

Super cute, huh? They also have a cat, a pig, and a moose. I think I need to go back and get one of each. Each book and each adorable animal is only five dollars each, and it ALL goes to children's charities. And if you don't have a store nearby you can buy them here!

Have a terrific weekend. :-)

November 4

Still quilting... I wanted to share how I used the Sheri Berry Holiday panel. The whole line of fabric is super cute...just enough pink and aqua and retro feel to make me smile the whole time I was working with it. Anyway, here's how I stretched out a pretty small panel to almost a twin size.

The brown pindot is regular stock at JoAnns.

We managed to snap a quick pic of Madison/Little Red Riding Hood on Halloween night.

They rushed straight over from dinner (hence the chicken fingers) so we could see the kids before we left for the movies. Lame pic, I agree, but I felt lucky to get one at all (she moves a LOT).  John and I went to see Michael Jackson in This Is It. First time I can recall  ever 'playing hooky' on the trick-or-treaters! I felt pretty guilty about it, as most of my block seems to check out, too, but things seem to be changing around that particular holiday whether I stay home or not. The MJ movie was a real treat. He and I were born the same year, so I'd been watching him since we were both 10. It was the first time EVER that we could just watch him act like a person. Was a nice way to be able to say "goodbye."

One other random photo I wanted to share. Oddly, a picture of what I eat most mornings.

 
I think a lot of people misunderstand Weight Watchers and the kinds of foods they can eat. It's the only 'diet' I know of where no foods are "off limits". It's just a matter of keeping track of what you eat, and stopping when you reach your limit for the day. The trick is to pack as much food as you can into your daily allotted points. I currently get 20 points a day. The above breakfast is green onions and two slices of turkey bacon, chopped (1 pt) cooked together. Add four chopped mushrooms, cover and cook a bit.  Add 1/4 cup Egg Beaters (1/2 pt) and top off with 1/8 c shredded fat free cheese (1/2 pt). One high fiber 100 cal english muffin (1 pt)  toasted and spread with 1 tbsp light faux butter (1 pt) and one serving of fruit (1 pt). That is a whole lotta food for only five points! And more importantly, it's real food. I won't get on my soapbox--just wanted to clarify for some that it really is do-able and you won't go hungry :-) Maybe tomorrow I'll tell you about my big ol' two handed cheeseburger. Only 3 points!

November 1

And YOU get a Christmas quilt and YOU get a Christmas quilt and YOU get a Christmas quilt! I can almost hear Oprah as I survey this table.

Apparently I started buying clearanced fabrics on December 26 a couple years ago. Up until then it was giftwrap and ornaments. ;-) You can see in the forground that I've pieced four tops already (a fifth one tonight) but look at the rolls and flannels I've still got left! Yep, I'm thinking each kid and grandkid will get a quilt delivered in early December so they can enjoy it during the season. Added bonus; no comparing or "I like yours better!" on Christmas morning. :-)

I'm starting to run out of jelly roll pattern ideas. You know I get bored easily and don't want to repeat myself here. Any good suggestions?

October 31

Have a creepy good time tonight, and don't forget to set your clocks back!

(will this boy EVER get over scary and being scary?) :-)

October 30

I have a good excuse for not being online lately. Over a week ago I was sitting here working with six or seven programs open. John was wanting to replace a GFI outlet in the bathroom so he walked right by me and went out and flipped the main power off. :-(  Fried my computer. He spent the next few days dinkin' around here and there trying to fix it, finally accepted the "Revert it back to the way it originally was" offer, and there went every program I'd ever bought and loaded. I couldn't edit photos, print anything. argh. Finally upon my subtle suggestions he packed it up and took it to the repair geeks. While waiting for Photoshop and Publisher to arrive from ebay sellers I can't help but wonder if I'd be alive to share the story if the roles had been reversed. Anyway, it just really sucks when you've gotten so used to something being a certain way, and then it's just gone. Oh well--could've been worse, right?
Here's a pic I snapped today. I cropped and resized it at picnick.com. Pretty handy online program!

These went with Caleb to school today. I think Guittard's make THE best chocolate chips for melting and candy making EVER.  This green was quite a yummy mint flavor. And we always use the white chips at Christmas. Bonus: they're super cheap at the grocery store. And BIG THANKS to Jenny of Allsorts/Owlsorts who so kindly shared the little circles that we used to tie off the tops.

I'll try and hobble through another post tomorrow.

jen

 

October 15

Madison and I walked up to the local Farmer's Market this morning. I privately think of it as my weekly tomato run. I love nothing more than a good tomato. Having grown up in the San Joaquin Valley, where we could buy lunch bags full of straight from the field tomatoes for 50 cents...well; I just go without rather than try and eat grocery store tomatoes that are usually straight from the cold storage. The nearest I can get to that flavor I so clearly remember is when I buy local *Heirloom tomatoes* at upwards of $3/lb for a very short three month season. Today the number of produce stalls were maybe a third of what they've been this year. I think we may have one or two weeks left. Eat up! Here's a wonderful burst of color I snapped for you

Who knew cauliflower came in anything but white? I don't think I can *do* purple food, but I did buy a head of the yellow. I've been making faux mashed potatoes with cauliflower lately, so that's what I'll use it for tonight. And it already has the look of butter! :-) I'm in the middle of a super delicious (and good FOR you!) meatloaf that they'll go great with. I'm going to share the recipe here. It's from a South Beach diet pocket size recipe book I bought at the grocery store checkout quite a while ago. I never really did get into the South Beach thing, but this recipe is my favorite meatloaf recipe now whether I'm dieting or not. WW wise I figure one eighth of the pan is 3 points. (ps: I don't bother with the parsley. And the loaf pan isn't the only one you can use. I used a glass rectangle 'brownie pan' this time)

Homestyle Turkey Meatloaf with Mushrooms and White Beans

This healthy alternative to typical meatloaf adds white beans for a delicious high-fiber twist. Serve extra Dijon mustard on the side; it lends a satisfying, piquant flavor element.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound mushrooms, trimmed and chopped
4  large garlic cloves, minced
1  can (15-ounce) Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/4 pounds extra-lean ground turkey
2  large eggs
1/2 cup chopped parsley
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard plus extra for serving

Directions

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat an 8 x 4 x 2 1/2-inch metal or glass loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, thyme, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and mushrooms are incorporated, about 5 minutes longer. Add beans and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine cooled bean mixture, turkey, eggs, parsley, and 2 teaspoons of the Worcestershire sauce. Mix well with wet hands to combine. Form into a loaf and place into the prepared pan.

Stir together mustard and remaining 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce and set aside.

Bake meatloaf on the middle rack of the oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush with the reserved Worcestershire mixture. Return to the oven and continue baking 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until a thermometer inserted into meatloaf registers 170 degrees. Let meatloaf stand 5 minutes before serving.

October 14

Do you remember when I made this ABC quilt for the Moda Bake Shop blog? I wanted to make it mainly to share some ideas...the scallop edge and the labeling of the sleeve were things I thought people would want to see, the 'so not worth it!' piecing of the back. Plus, in all honesty; it didn't hurt that it helped me sell a few of my precut ABC sets. Anyhoo, by the time I got the thing put together and the tutorial all photographed and typed up I was O.V.E.R. it. So I zipped up and down the sides of the 7.5 inch squares and called it 'quilted'. Well, of course that wasn't enough, and each square immediately bagged like an old elephant's pantyhose. I had to press and pull like mad to get it to lay flat so I could snap one decent pic for the MBS posting

Blah! Then in disgusted frustration I just balled it up and threw it in the quilt cupboard. When I took Amy and Dave's quilt top to Angie three weeks ago I thought to grab the ABC quilt and ask her if she might try and do something with it before I just throw it away. Here is the OH SO VERY pleasant surprise I went and picked up yesterday

Do click to enlarge. Here's another shot close up. (can you tell how dark and gloomy it is here today?)

Look at all the feathers in the squares, half squares, and even quarter square corners! OH she is a worker of magic, I'll tell you what. She managed to push all the slack/bulk into the pink and brown outer edges of each square and really, you can't even tell any more how badly I had initially muffed it up. 

Now I want to go and get a job that pays actual money, just so I can take a quilt to Angie every month! Oh. Then I really wouldn't have time to sew the quilt tops. Hmmm. Well anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH ANGIE! We local quilters are so very lucky to know you. :-)

ps: Madison will get this quilt when and if she ever gets her own room to hang it in. Back when I was making it Melissa just fell head over heels for it, which was really my main motivation for trying to fix it.

pss: the other fabrics I used in the borders of Amy and Dave's wedding quilt were Panache by Sanae, Arcadia by Sanae, BasicGrey Eva, and BasicGrey Sultry. I HATE how Typepad won't let us to respond to comments through email anymore! What's that about, anyway?!
 
 

October 13

Today I'd like to show you the quilt I made for Amy and Dave's wedding gift. You may remember I showed the beginning part of it last month. I ended up finishing it at the local quilt shop, which, on occasion, I would highly recommend. For one thing it's just fun to sew with other people sometimes, but I was creating it as I went so I got to keep going out to the sales floor and holding different bolts up against what I'd put together so far. I ended up using four different fabric lines (all from Moda) and I think it looks more interesting than if I'd used ALL MoMoWonderland (the line I started out with.)

This was the first time ever, in 35 years of making quilts, that I paid full retail for all the fabric and then paid someone to professionally quilt it. Typically I buy clearance or make scrap quilts or TRY to quilt it myself. As a result, the final price of the finished product came as somewhat of a shock even to me. I know it can be considered crass to talk about $$, but for the edification of non quilters and the validation of quilters, I'm going to pass the info along here. To begin with, new retail quilting fabric is currently $9.50/yd. Add local sales tax and we'll round that figure to $10/yd. So I started out with a layer cake ($30) and three yards of fabric. That was $60. Then I took it to Scottie Dog Quilts for that sewing day I mentioned above and started building my borders. Five more yards brought the total to $110. Then I had to buy 5.5 yards for the backing (I pieced in some leftovers from the front). Which brought the fabric total to $165. Then I took it to Angie to work her magic with the longarm quilting machine. She totally rocked it, but not without a price: $190 including batting. So that's $355 for a queen sized quilt. And no compensation to me for labor. Like I said, it came as a shock even to me. It's no wonder I'd rather give them to someone I love than try to sell them!

I know I said "a picture a day" but I had to show you another view that illustrates Angie's incredible work. You may be tempted to believe that she follows a pattern (pantograph quilting) but I've watched her work numerous times and this is all free hand. She plugs her headphones into the TVLand channel, with old black and white reruns of Andy Griffith and Petticoat Junction playing above the quilting machine, and just starts moving along. No drawing. No measuring. It just....pours out of her somehow. Her machine doesn't even have a stitch regulator! She really is incredible. I'm picking up another one from her today. I'll be back with a pic of it and the Lesson Learned story behind it tomorrow. :-) 

October 11

We're back! Amy and Dave's wedding went perfectly. That girl had every detail planned out, and did a phenomenal job. And to top it off, she was stunningly beautiful. That Dave Funk is a lucky guy! I've spent most of this afternoon editing photos and learning how to make a slideshow. I won't embed it here on my blog because the slideshow is a good bit wider than this Typepad format will allow, but click here if you'd like to view (it's about five minutes long). Sorry for the monotonous music loop. Have run out of patience so won't be learning how to upload custom music to it today. :-)

October 8

I came across this little outfit recently..I'd almost forgotten that I made it. It's probably been almost three years. Madison's been quite the chore lately with her fits and screaming, so I thought I'd follow the advice I gave myself 26 years ago with her mom and dress her up real cute. I find that one is a lot less likely to strangle a kid who's dressed up cute. :-)

I probably waited about three months too long to put it on her, but I'll add it back to the *inventory* and some sweet smaller girl may someday wear it. 

People stopped us in the grocery store and almost gasped before asking, "Did you MAKE that?!" If you watch Project Runway you know that the highest insult is when one of the designers is told, "It looks home sewn". So while I'm pretty sure it's meant as a compliment when  people ask that, it still kind of makes me flinch, you know? I want to ask, "How could you tell?"   
I'm quite sure I won't be posting again for the next couple days. The wedding and all, you know. I could croak at having spent the past two days making another outfit for myself. I won't go on about it, tho. I don't have the time! Be back Monday with all the details. :-)