Sister's Choice Quilts

Improvements

I loved hearing all about how you organize your recipes.  I think the binder idea is fantastic for all those great recipes we print off the Internet.  Allrecipes.com, epicurious.com, tastebook.com, Tasty Kitchen, and many wonderful food blogs are terrific sources for new cooking ideas and inspiration.  You can print off a recipe in an 8.5 by 11 inch format and if it works out for you, put it in a sheet protector in a binder that you can access any time you like.  And of course, we mustn't forget about those terrific little Post It flags that can be used to mark a recipe you love that is in a cookbook!

Today was a puttery sort of day around the house.  My husband installed all new towel bars in our bathroom, which nudged the look up considerably.  He also recently put in some new light fixtures, replacing our old and outdated shiny brass ones.  This is the one in our foyer, which I think is pretty classy. 

Not sure exactly why we continue to update the look of the house.  It seems that we will be putting off our move for at least a year.  Due to the combined facts that my husband got laid off his job again, and the miserable real estate market in our area, we have lost the opportunity to move nearer to our kids in Angels Camp.  For now anyway. And we lost the house on which we put the deposit.  Very sad news for sure, but better times will come.  Meanwhile, we sit in a very spiffily updated home near Monterey, CA.  (Where the temperatures have barely gotten above 65 all summer).  There is always something positive in every situation.

So, here's what I did today.  I had purchased two cute necklaces on sale recently, but felt that a shorter length would be more flattering on me.  With the idea that I could purchase some jewelry making implements and "findings" to alter my necklaces, I ventured off to Michael's.

Now, I am going to admit something, and many of you gasp in shock and horror at this revelation, but.... I do not care for Michael's.  At all.  In all the dozens of times I have either phoned them up with a question, or gone into the store in search of something, I have found the place to be extremely confusing, and the staff to be not only unknowledgeable about the merchandise, but flat out unhelpful.  So there.

After standing in some confusion for ten minutes or so in the jewelry section, I approached the girl at the cash register and asked if any help was available for that area.  Shortly, a pleasant enough woman approached me.  I explained that I wanted to buy a tool to use to shorten a metal chain and then to pry open those little circle thingies to add on a new clasp to the chain.  She knew even less than I did, and was only able to suggest that I read the labels on all the tools to get a clue.  That pretty much sums up my typical Michael's experience.  If anyone associated with Michael's reads this blog, let me suggest that you might want to try to be more like an Orchard Supply Hardware experience for your customers.  Hire or train your employees to actually understand the merchandise they are selling.

Well, I got off on a little tangent there didn't I?  Go on, go get a refill on your coffee or tea.  I'll move on.

I couldn't decide what tool or tools would do the job for me, so I ended up buying a little tool box for beaders that contained four different implements.  Surely that would do the trick.

The good news is, that using a combination of two of these implements indeed did work, and I was able to cut the chain and install a new clasp.  Ta da.  I did all by my ritty self.  Cutting the chain was hard work, and I didn't get it quite short enough.  That's why you see the little tail there on the circle end of the clasp. 

 

Mission accomplished, but, I should mention, that when I opened the plastic cover of my new tool box this happened:

Ooops.  Another note to Michael's:  maybe consider carrying better quality merchandise?  The bad news is, I have to go back to Michael's again for my refund.

How Do You Keep Your Recipes?

This terrific recipe book was in the package from Mary Wood (Scottish Nanna)--as if the blue and white appliqued table cloth wasn't enough of a birthday present to me!  Her daughter in law makes them, and I think it is a fabulous idea.   How sweet and thoughtful a gift this is.

In fact, I have several of this type of notebook for keeping my recipes, and as you will see, I was sorely in need of a new one.

My first notebook is over 25 years old.  Well used, as evidenced by the splotches and grease stains on the pages.  This little book has held together pretty well, but all the pages are full.

My second notebook is about 15 years old, and is totally falling apart.  Not so easy to find the page I need when all the pages are falling every which way.  The chili recipe was stuck in with the salad section, so I never would have located it!  Obviously I need to recopy these recipes into a new book, and now I can do that.

The recipes in these two notebooks are recipes that I have found in magazines or online, or that were given to me by family and friends.  I have a third notebook where I jot down recipes that I love that are actually in cook books that I own.  I know that sounds weird, but  I can never remember if it was the Barefoot Contessa, Giada, Rachel, or Paula Deen who made that perfect cole slaw, pound cake, or shrimp pasta, so this helps me out a lot.  I just copy the recipe from the cookbook into my notebook and it is always right where I can find it.

I would love to know how you all store your recipes.  I started out as a newlywed with a little recipe box that held my recipes on 3 by 5 index cards.  Didn't like that system so well, as I could never find things fast enough.  I discovered the notebook idea many years ago, and liked it better, as things were organized in indexed sections.  So how do you keep organized?

 

A Gift From A Friend

My friend Mary Wood, who lives in Australia, sent me something quite wonderful for my birthday.  She is just the most thoughtful person!  Mary has a blog called Scottish Nanna--you should check it out.  Stop by and tell her hello, she would love it.  She has a large family--over 40 grand children (!!!), and is interested in quilting, scrapbooking and collecting fun things.

This table cloth features the most exquisite applique I have ever seen.  I have to show you a close up.  It is really quite amazing.  How can anyone get their stitches so small?  This is a gift to treasure.  I don't know how Mary could give it up!!  I can tell you that I will appreciate it with all my heart.

And how about this?  Look how great it will look with my new blue and white dishes!

Do come back tomorrow to see something else Mary gave me.  It is such a splendid idea, you will want one as well!

A Tailor In the Family

Do your friends and family ask you to do sewing chores for them?  Do they think that since you own a sewing machine and use it often that any tailoring project will be right up your alley?  No sweat, easy peasy?  Yeah.  Me too.  And in general it is a huge drag. 

I don't mind the occasional request to sew up a split seam, but most of the requests I get are honestly beyond me.  The Halloween costume that involved a hat?  A real hat, with something called buckram to hold the shape of the brim?  Please.  Although I have to say I rose to that occasion, and five hours later, had a fairly decent hat to show for my efforts.

The padded computer case made out of my son's favorite sweat shirt?  I totally ruined the sweatshirt and he ended up with no computer case what so ever.  A botched job for sure.  He hasn't asked me to do any more sewing jobs for him since.

I dread the requests from my mother in law the most.  She is the sweetest lady, and to her, asking me to hem a pair of pants for her seems like the simplest of simple tasks.  I should be happy to do such a small thing for her.  And I would be.  Only, here's the thing.  She is 89 years old and only wears stretchy knit clothes.  Stretch terry, stretch velour, stretch everything.  Fabrics that fray and ravel and practically disintegrate when cut into.  Fabrics that require a serger to sew.

I know I am behind the times and may be the only person out there who doesn't own a serger.  But that is the truth.  So what do I do when she gives me her tailoring jobs?  Why, I let it sit in my sewing room for at least a month, and then I break down....and take it to a real tailor.  $30 to hem a pair of terry cloth pants she got at WalMart for $6?  So be it.

Your Crock Pot Is Your Friend

Thanks guys, for all your kind words of support yesterday.  So I guess my boring life is actually entertaining to some of you...  I think some people forget that an individual's blog is a journal of sorts--a record of that person's interests and a diary of their activities.  If it ends up being enjoyable reading for some of you, that is terrific.  If not, for whatever reason, that's ok, but I do not plan on making any changes. 

No quilting going on right now.  I did so darn much sewing in the earlier part of the summer, I just seem to need a little break for now.  Plus, I have been feeling so lethargic since I returned from my trip.  I managed to spend two extra hours under my Elizabeth quilt on Tuesday morning.  What a luxury sleeping in can be on occasion.  My crazy dogs do not allow much sleeping in, but the stars must have been in alignment or something, so I grabbed the opportunity when it presented itself!

So, have you thought of using your crock pot lately?  I know, I know, it's summer.  At least where a lot of you live anyway.  Here?  It doesn't get much past 70 on a "hot" day.  63 seems to be the magic number temperature wise in my area.  That is due to our California coastal summer weather pattern.  Foggy and overcast until noon, then, with luck, the fog burns off and it gets up to 70.  Just wait 'til September and October.  It will be 100 then and these cool temps will be a distant memory.

Anyway, you may not be thinking crock pot dinners now that the temperatures are hot where you are.  But, you might want to reconsider that.  Hanging out at the pool all day long and don't have a clue what to do for dinner?  Dreading the mess and clean up and the hot kitchen?  Just think how wonderful it would be to come home at the end of the day and have dinner all ready on your clean counter top.  All you need to do is slice some French bread and toss a salad and your dinner is on the table.

I love using my crock pot during the summer.  I can throw things together in the morning before I head off for my quilting group, a day at work, or a day shopping or at the beach.  The prep is done when it is cool in the morning, and the mess is all cleaned up by the time I get home.  I have a couple of favorite crock pot cookbooks that I'd love to share with you.

Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger.  This book is a far cry from the two cans of salty Campbell's soup and some sort of meat concept of slow cookery.  The emphasis is on fresh ingredients and lots of wonderful flavor.  Watching your sodium?  The recipes in this book are very conducive to that aim.  Another feature of this book is that it tells you what size crock pot is appropriate for the recipe.  Have you ever cooked something for 8 hours in a half full crock pot?  After spending an hour trying to get the burned on stuff off the sides, you will appreciate that if the recipe had TOLD you to use your smaller crock pot, that would never have happened.

 

Make It Fast, Cook It Slow.  I love this cookbook!   The gal who wrote it, Stephanie O'Dea, is a blogger!  She started 2007 with a New Year's Resolution to cook a crock pot recipe *every single day* for a year, and blog about it.  Her blog, A Year of Slow Cooking, is simply terrific.  If you haven't ever been to her site, you must check it out.  She has posts on Holiday Slow Cooking, Favorite Fall Slow Cooker Recipes, Frequently Asked Slow Cooker Questions, and even The Slow Cooker Diet!  The author also includes a feature she calls "the Verdict", where her family (which includes young children) weigh in on how they liked the dish. 

Here is one of my favorite recipes from her book:

French Dip Sandwiches

2 T. butter

2 pounds top round, sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 yellow onion, cut in rings

3 cups beef broth

1 12 oz bottle of beer

¼ cup dry sherry

½ tsp black pepper

½ T. sugar

1 tsp Worcestershire

Bread rolls

Cheese slices

 

Use a 4 quart crock pot.  Put the butter into the bottom of the stoneware and turn the cooker on high.  Add the meat, garlic, and onion, and swirl around in the butter.  Pour in the broth, beer and sherry.  Add the black pepper, sugar, and Worcestershire sauce.  Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours.  Serve on rolls.

Serve the sandwiches on plates with a small bowl or broth.  Dip the sandwich into the broth before each bite for a nice juicy flavor and consistency.

Enjoy!

 

A Little R & R

 

Here is my Sophie Girl, enjoying her own special version of R&R.  She plays hard, and nobody can equal her when it comes to catching a few zzzz's.  It's a good thing Welsh Terriers don't shed much.  I should make this picture my new blog header.  Not. 

I am going to take off for the weekend on my own little mini vacation to Southern California.  Some friends in the fashion business have invited me to join them at their Fall Fashion Scoop at the Anaheim Convention Center.  I used to work with them, and miss that whole world so much.  So, this will be such fun to catch up on all their doings, and get a preview of what we can expect for this Fall's latest fashion trends. 

Can anyone tell me just why I didn't lose ten pounds before going on this trip?  Drat.  I hate it when that happens.  Oh well, black is both fashionable and slimming.  Pray it isn't 90 degrees in So Cal while I am there!  If it is, I will be the dark clad, plump, sweaty woman in all the pictures.  I know, I will wear bold jewelry, that will distract everyone.

Here are some more pictures of Ozzie and Sophie larking about in our back yard.  When my husband plays "fetch" with them, he has to use something they can both grab onto to avoid any fighting.

Generally, Sophie ends up with the toy anyway.  Ozzie gets tired after about three chases and goes to lie down in the shade.  Sophie can keep going all day long.

The dogs are getting along a bit better.  Keeping them separated most of the time, and having Sophie typically wear a muzzle when they are together has helped.  When they decide to fight, it happens in an instant, so we try to take preventative measures.

They do play nicely sometimes though.  They look friendly with each other int this picture, but what is really happening is that Ozzie is getting in Sophie's face.  She is turning her head for the moment as a peace gesture, but if he doesn't back off, things could turn ugly.

Remember when you were a kid?  There was always a brother or sister who kind of instigated things?  Another sibling would go for the bait and lash out and someone would end up getting hurt?  Yup, that's my Ozzie.  He can't leave well enough alone.  You would think he'd learn.  She takes him down every time.

Have a peaceful weekend, wherever you are!
  

Inspiration Quilts

I have two quilts I would like to share with you today.  A lovely lady named Patt, who reads this blog, emailed me to say she thought I would enjoy seeing them.  And I think you will too!

Are you as blown away as I am?  Isn't this exquisite?  She has used the French General collection Rouenneries and has concentrated on featuring the pinks and the reds equally.  This has turned out to be so elegant and rich looking, and very different from the other Rounneries quilts I have seen.  The finished quilt measures 62" by 70". 

She and her daughter took a class at their local quilt shop Country Loft in San Diego.  The class was called French Chain, and the teacher was "Colleen", so if you too, need to make this quilt, you might contact the shop for more information.  Her quilter used a varigated red thread and a clematis & hummingbird quilting design.  Nice job Patt!

And here is her second quilt:

 

This quilt may look familiar to you, as it is the Toulouse pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company.  I had made one along with Lisa (Stashmaster) and Thelma (Cupcakes 'n' Daisies) awhile back, and Patt said she got the notion that she wanted one too.  This is her effort, with a very innovative chevron border.  Don't you love it?  The quilting shows up super well on this quilt.

Hope you all enjoyed seeing Patt's work as much as I did.  She doesn't have a blog, but who knows, maybe someday...
 

Good Things Come In the Mail

I received a package in the mail this week from someone special, for whom I do a bit of stunt sewing from time to time.  I don't know how wise it is, but she rewards me before I actually do any work for her.  This is what was in the box:

Oh so pretty, but I mustn't get into this until I receive my instructions.  This is the fabric for the top secret sewing project I'll be working on.  I tell you, I am tempted to set this aside for myself and claim the box was never delivered, but that would just be wrong.

Another hot off the looms, not yet in stores goody.  Breakfast at Tiffany's by Fig Tree.  This looks like a rolled up layer cake, and would be perfect for a Schnibbles of the Month project.

Be still my heart.  An entire bundle of Lumiere de Noel by French General.  Look at that assortment of lights!  I must come up with exactly the right project for this group of fabric.  Have any of you made things from this collection yet?  I would love some ideas.

Can you even guess what this is?  I had no idea, but when I saw it, my thought was how perfect it would be for holding a spool of that invisible thread the next time I do some machine quilting.  Better than the coffee mug I usually put to use.  And I was close in my guess!

It is a cone spool holder made by Paul's Metal Petals.  Check it out!  I bet you need one too!  You can install a huge cone of thread in it and sew for the next year.  Isn't it unique?  I love it!

Remember Me?

Remember Beach Cottage?  I pulled it out last week and started working on the blocks again.  A few of you have emailed me to say, what the heck happened to that project?  I had intended to finish it long before this!

I found some plaid fabrics that coordinate with the florals and may add them in to the mix for interest.  I like the stripe and the smaller plaids.  The large blue and yellow plaid may be over kill, but I am willing to consider it once I get the blocks laid out.  I have a feeling it is going to be a bit too crazy for me.  Not feeling the love for that one.

65 of the 80 blocks are completed, so I should be able to crack out the remainder this week.  If I can stay out of Marshall's.  Lord love me, I have been to every Marshall's within 100 miles of my house lately, I swear.  I saw some really pretty blue toile dishes there that I simply cannot get out of my mind.  Like I need blue dishes.  I don't even DO blue.  But, I keep thinking, how about after Christmas, say early January, when the world is weary of red and green and sick to death of clutter....How soothing would a place setting of blue and white toile dishes be on a white lace table cloth, and a simple white orchid as a centerpiece? 

Gasp.  Now, how did that follow me home? 

On Sunday I presented my niece with her Tres Chic quilt.  (I was calling it Oooh La La, but I think Tres Chic is a better name), She was thrilled with it!  I tell you, that is the reason I love to quilt.  There is nothing finer than presenting something you made with love and attention to someone who truly appreciates it.  I know she will have it for years and will enjoy it.

Dishes Make Me Happy

I have been buying dishes.  I do not know what it is about china, but it makes me so happy to acquire it.  I have seen these dishes in a couple of places--Susan of Blackberry Creek has at least one, and Wspersweetly of Cottages has an entire set that she used for her 4th of July tablescape. 

I got a bee in my bonnet to get these dishes and did an exhaustive internet search for them.  Originally they were sold through Neiman Marcus, but of course, not any more.  I finally found them on Replacements.com and took a big deep breath and ordered them, even though they were super pricey.  $30 for a dinner plate, $24 for a salad plate.  A set for 8 would cost $432 for just those two pieces. 

I recently discovered Marshall's, when I was out trying to find six sunflower plates.  I scored four of them at my local Marshall's, and when I was up in San Jose on Friday, I determined to check out the six Marshall's stores in that area to see if I could find two more.  

Well, you are not going to believe this.  While I was at the first Marshall's store, what do you think I found, staring me in the face?  You guessed it.  The Red Rooster dishes I had just ordered for a gazillion dollars from Replacements.com.

 

The salad plates were $2.99, the dinner plates were $3.99.  And they had these matching mugs for $3.99.

 

How could that be?  Who cares.  All I can say is that I made it my mission to go to four more Marshall's stores in the greater San Jose area until I had my 8 place settings.  $88 for 24 pieces or $432 for 16 pieces?

I had always avoided Marshall's, thinking it was another one of those dreary discount stores.  Well, it is, but who knew about the dishes thing?  Evidently from time to time they get in really good quality bone china that retails for much much more elsewhere.  It may be overstock, it may be slightly imperfect, but my gosh, if you like to change out the look of your table for the holiday or the season, it is so worth it to pop in and see what they have!

Oh, and I found my two additional sunflower plates, plus this cute rooster platter and gold serving dish.  The cost of the rooster platter?  $2.99 of course.  I plan to use it for serving cheeses, with the crackers in the gold dish next to it.

I may have to go back for more of those rooster platters.  Wouldn't this be a cute look for a summer dinner outside on the patio?  Help.  Someone stop me.