Last Minute Gifts: Coasters to Potholders in One Pattern

I love easy, peasy projects.

I love quick and easy best when holidays are coming and time is running short. Like now.

That's why I got so excited when my friend, Anne, dropped by with this little coaster. She made in no time, using only five charm squares and a bit of batting. I envisioned so many different uses for this idea.

The button isn't necessary, but it adds interest.

Scrap busters, stocking stuffers, little gifts for friends and neighbors, are all rolled up in one very quick and easy pattern. This is my kind of pattern!! I love the versatility, too, as these can be made any size you like. Each piece is made from five squares of fabric and a piece of batting The finished project will be 1/2" smaller than the size of the fabric squares. Anne's gift is 4 1/2" square.

I started with 5 1/2" squares of leftover holiday fabric, and made 5" coasters . These went so fast, that I made two sets of four in one short afternoon. It wasn't necessary at all, but I sewed flat buttons onto one set so as not to throw a cup off balance. I wrote "Merry" on the other with my sewing machine's alphabet setting.

A larger set came next. These finished at 6 1/2" square and I lined them with Insul Bright instead of batting. They make great mug rugs or small hot pads. 

Finally I made a potholder. 

Zip, zip, and done. 

Tutorial for the Potholder:
(To make coasters or mug rugs use only one layer of either batting or Insul Bright, and leave out the loop for hanging.)

Materials: 
Five 8 1/2" squares of fabric
One 1 1/2" x 6" rectangle of fabric
One 8 1/2" square if batting
One 8 1/2" square of Insul Bright

Fold four of these squares in half with the right sides facing out, and press. The unfolded piece will be on the back of your potholder.

Make the loop for hanging the potholder.

Fold the small rectangle of fabric in half lengthwise. Press. 

Fold one long side of the rectangle in to the center fold. Press.

Fold the other long side over the top.

Press and tuck it under the first fold.

Stitch along the outside fold.

Fold the loop in half and stay stitch to a corner of the unfolded 8 1/2" square of fabric. 

Layer the fabrics for sewing.

Layer the fabrics in this order from bottom to top: Batting, Insul Bright, the unfolded square of fabric. The fabric should face right side up. 

Arrange the folded squares out, one on each side of the square. Make sure the folded edge faces in toward the center. 

Lay the folded bottom square onto the layered batting and fabric. Line it up with the edges. 

Lay the folded square on the right hand side onto the layered squares. Half of the bottom square will be covered.

Lay the folded square at the top onto the layered squares next, covering half of the square on the right. 

Lay the folded square on the left onto to the layered squares covering half of the square on the top. 

The folded square on the bottom is now completely covered. Lift up the portion under the folded square on the left and lay it over the top of that one. 

Double check to make sure all the folds are at the center and all the sides are lined up carefully. Pin together.

Sew the potholder together.

For best results, sew with a walking foot. 

Sew all around the layered fabric square using a 1/4" seam allowance. Stitch a curve going around each corner to reduce bulk. You could draw the curve or just wing it.

Trim the fabric back to 1/8" to 3/16" all around. 

Slip your fingers under the layers at the center to turn the potholder inside out. 

Use a tool to push out and smooth the corners. I used a knitting needle - carefully so as not to poke a hole in anything.

Press.

The back of the potholder

It isn't really necessary, but I secured the squares of fabric in the center of the potholder with a bit of embroidery floss tied in a knot. 

There you have it. To make other sizes, simply cut things smaller or larger. There's nothing quite like quick and easy gifts all ready to go. 

A Thanksgiving Day Birthday Cake

If you love chocolate and if you love cake, I have the link to a perfect recipe for you.

Every Thanksgiving Day, after turkey and all the fixings have had time to settle, I bring out dessert. I don't serve pumpkin pie or any other kind of pie. For us it's a chocolate birthday cake and a celebration of the three family birthdays that fall within a few days of Thanksgiving.

The cake is always our favorite chocolate truffle cake - the downright decadent, drown yourself in chocolate heaven, once a year only cake that we share on Thanksgiving. It's become our own family tradition.

The recipe is from "Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts". I bought it years ago, but now the entire book is now available online. This is the link:
 https://books.google.com/books?id=4kGDCeDcxaoC&pg=PA94&dq=good+housekeeping+chocolate+truffle+cake&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjW6t_97KzJAhXMRyYKHaseC8EQ6AEIOzAB#v=onepage&q=good%20housekeeping%20chocolate%20truffle%20cake&f=false

I always bake the cake well ahead of time.
It will keep for a two or three days in the fridge, and it freezes well. 

I need to get back to my fleece! 

There's work to do!!

Only 28 days till Christmas!

Wishing you a beautiful week as December comes marching in!!

Thanksgiving Already! Projects and a few "Bits and Pieces"

Thanksgiving is arriving in less than a week! 

We will be a small group this year so preparations are easy. The bird is thawing in the fridge and ingredients for everything are purchased. I'll be baking a lovely chocolate birthday cake instead of pumpkin pie. My son and both of my grandchildren have late November birthdays, so we always combine the birthday party with Thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving is definitely under control, but I really wound up on the verge of panic over Christmas projects this week. I've taken on way too many sewing projects, but that's pretty typical for me.

Everything seems to be under control now, thank goodness - at least for the moment. Anything could happen, though, so my fingers are tightly crossed.  

All those robes!

I love my serger.  I don't use it very often, but when I need it I really need it. When the serger went on the fritz just as I was getting ready to sew the second of many Christmas robes, I was beside myself. The blade was cutting the fabric too closely and loose loops of thread were hanging off the edge of the seam allowance. Not only that, but the fabric was stretching as I stitched. I don't have time to take my machine it in to be serviced. I was sure I'd have to forget the robes for this Christmas, and I had no idea where I might store 20 yards of fleece for a year.

I tossed and turned and lost most of a night's sleep over my predicament. What on earth could I do instead of robes? The next morning I got out the instruction manual in hopes of a minor miracle. I should have done that in the first place, but I had panicked instead of thinking. Every single setting was off! The serger had been moved here and there while new blinds were being installed in my sewing room and the dials must all have been bumped. When in doubt, check the obvious!!

I'm back in business. Two of the goodness-knows-how-many fleece robes are ready to package up and number three is cut out and ready for me. I'll quit sewing these when I run out of time or when I run out of fleece, whichever comes first.

I love my new window blinds

Bits and Pieces 

I finished up the last three of the mug rugs for my daughter's office buddies a week or so ago.
This was such a fun challenge and the mug rugs are perfect holiday gifts for a great group of friends.

My daughter and I brainstormed ideas as we tried to come up with a unique set of bits and pieces to place on individual mug rugs. The first three mug rugs were pretty generic with basic hearts and flowers in favorite colors schemes. The flowers weren't going to be fitting for the rest of the crew, though. Interests are so varied. In the photos you'll find the ones for the man with three-year-old triplet boys, the one who loves fine food, the cat and dog owners, the musician, and even the gal who likes to play the slot machines.

Way last spring I promised to make a pattern when I had the new templates, and this week I wrote the pattern. It's all ready to download. The templates for the little shapes are free, and any letters can be used for the names. The letters I've used are from  my "Alphabet Soup" pattern.
http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/quilting/home-decor/alphabet-soup-/127129

Templates include itty bitty bicycles, wine and hamburger, music, slot machine, and pet prints.

Wishing all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

May your turkey be juicy and may you be surrounded by those you love.

Cats in My Brain

I'm not kidding. I'm suddenly obsessed with cats!
Normally I prefer dogs, but right now, goodness knows why, I'm thinking about cats.

Cats at play, cats asleep, cats together, cats alone....

All kitten photos are courtesy of Amy Bender, humom to the famous Sauerkraut.
https://www.facebook.com/sauerkraut.kitty/?fref=ts

We don't have pets - too many allergies in this family. The cats I can't get out of my head are of the fabric kind - quilted cats, of course.

I haven't decided yet if they should reside on a lap quilt or a wall hanging, but I've already ordered a 10" layer cake for my kitties.

Add caption

This idea has been playing around in my head for months. I'm determined that the Calico Cats on my mug rugs will have plenty of company in the spring.

Cats could become the next quilt along theme. Or not. There are so many options out there.

I'm definitely making this quilt, but should cats be the next quilt along theme? Would you prefer something different?

Do let me know what you think. 

Wishing you a purr-fect week! 

A Week of Lessons and Bean Soup

Lesson # 1: Never make a wool purse! 

It did turn out to be just fine in the end, but oh, my goodness, what a headache! I knew the thickness of the seams would be a problem. Understatement of the year! After breaking three needles in a row, I switched over to a heavy duty denim needle and, when sewing the thickest seams, I resorted to turning the wheel on the sewing machine by hand.

I love the leather handles, but I needed three hands to sew them on. One hand was needed just to hold the leather in position so I could sew it. The other two hands were needed for the sewing. Since I was born with only two hands, I cheated. With a little squeeze from the glue gun my handles held quite nicely in place while I sewed them on. That worked out so well that I got the glue gun out again to simplify holding the plastic canvas in place on the base of the bag.

Lesson # 2: Some ideas are just a waste of time.
Three finished blocks are going into the "I'll find a place for these later." pile. I will find a place because I do like the blocks. For now, though, they can keep the other UFOs company.

I spent three days working on this table runner. It wasn't so much the design as it was one of the fabrics I was trying to use. I did look for a different fabric for those large triangles, but I couldn't find anything, so I worked entirely from my stash.  I wanted to use up some of my collection of reproduction fabrics, and I succeeded - just not quite the way I had intended.  The blocks are great, but some of my fabric stash is going straight into the giveaway box. If I can't use it, I'd better let it go to someone who can. I'd rather have space for new fabrics than hang onto fabrics that I know I'll never get around to using.

Lesson #3: Check the food labels!
I had a sudden hankering for bean soup the other day. Normally, I would buy dried beans, soak them overnight, and cook them up the next day. Normally, I would use homemade chicken broth and a an old fashioned ham bone to make my soup. On the morning the hankering hit me, though, I was at the grocery store, and I really wanted this soup for lunch the same day. I had a long list and I was in a hurry, so I started grabbing ingredients as I chased through the aisles. One can of chicken broth, two cans of great northern beans. They don't carry ham bones? What has the world come to? I haven't bought a ham bone in at least two decades, but I was stunned that they don't carry them any more. So, then, a chunk of ham from the refrigerated area. I was in that section for eggs and yogurt anyway.

As soon as the groceries were put away at home, I got my soup started using the recipe I had learned from my grandmother. Before long, the kitchen was filled with the lovely aroma of an old-fashioned comfort food. When I tasted my soup to see how it was coming I almost gagged. Oh my goodness, but it was salty! I'd been in such a hurry at the store that I'd forgotten to check labels for salt. Nothing was salt free or low sodium, and the ham must have been the saltiest ham ever made.

The only remedy for excess salt that I know is to use potatoes to soak up some of it. So, I peeled several potatoes, quartered them, and dropped them into the pot with more water. Half an hour later I tasted again. Fortunately, the potatoes absorbed enough of the salt that the soup was quite edible. And, surprise! Potatoes in bean soup are yummy! I have a new recipe!

Not a great photo, but definitely great soup.

Recipe: 
Quick and Easy Ham and Great Northern Bean Soup (with Potatoes).
Low sodium ingredients are recommended.

Ingredients: 

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 T oil
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 16 oz. can of chicken broth 
• 2 16 oz. cans of great northern beans
• 4 small potatoes cut into quarters
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 - 6  cups water
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, saute the chopped onion in oil until just lightly golden.
2. Add 4 cups of the water and all of the other ingredients to the pot. 
3. Cook on medium, stirring occasionally, for 30 to 40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. 
4. Add more water as needed. 

What's up for next week? 

I have no idea, but I can't wait to find out!

Wishing you a week of wonderful surprises!

The Wool Purse, Part I: What Was I Thinking?

Sometimes I wonder what I've got myself into. When I was a teenager I drove a car full of my friends down this narrow dirt road an we wound up stuck in a farmer's field with mud up to the hubcaps. I'm heading off into goodness knows where with this purse, too. I just hope this adventure has a happier ending!

I make lots of purses and bags, but I don't make patterns for them. I can't, because when I start I don't really know what the final design will be. I have some general measurements in mind, but other than that, I pretty much make it up as I go. It's the only way that really works for me. Except for when it doesn't.

This past summer my daughter had a garage sale, and I found a treasure - a wonderful piece of heavy wool, caramel colored coat fabric from at least twenty years ago. It was just what I needed, so I'm finally ready to go with the wool purse I've been thinking about since last year. I pulled out my stash of felted wool and chose some pieces to work into a design. I even bought leather handles.

I couldn't use all of my fabrics, so there may be another wool purse in the future.

Wool is lovely, but the layers of wool and interfacing are much thicker than I had anticipated. I've already had to make some adjustments, but now I worry that my seams may be bulky and ugly. Fingers crossed.

I started with the pocket and fusible web applique, of course. To make this really special I did both the applique stitching and the embroidery by hand. I know - crazy, but I like details.  Fortunately I found some lovely wool thread at my local shop. I embroidered a stem and attached five fused leaves with a blanket stitch. I got a bit carried away and topstitched the pocket opening by hand, too.

The topstitching in this photo is pretty crooked and irregular, so I took it out and did it over again. 

I decided to make rounded corners on the top of this bag. It's a different look for me, and the zipper should be easier to attach this way.

Front, back, pocket, zipper, and lining.

I love working with wool. It's soft, flexible, and so wonderfully forgiving. Getting a sharply pressed edge on heavyweight wool, though, can be impossible. So it was back to hand stitching to keep the fabric against the zipper nice and flat.

I wasn't sure about this at first, but I like it. It gives the zipper a hand tailored look.

As usual, I've added a zippered pocket to one side of the lining, and a row of small pockets to the other.

I've ironed a lightweight fusible interfacing onto the wrong side of the fabric to give it more body and durability.

Then I had a sudden brainstorm! I may hate this when all is said and done, but I added  a small pocket  for my cell phone to the lining of the large front pocket. Actually, I added an extra pocket, too.  I'd cut the first piece too small, so I turned it sideways and sewed it on. I have no idea how these will work. 

There will be no more sewing before Sunday. I'm meeting a friend for lunch tomorrow, and I absolutely have no choice but to find some warm indoor clothes. The temperature was 46 degrees today, and my husband had our windows open!  

Stay tuned for Part II of the Wool Purse,

and don't forget to fall back!

 

Fall Tossing, Peanut Butter Frosting, & Zucchini Soup

First truth: I love my sewing room. Second truth: Although it was the largest available room in my house, it's way too small for all my stuff!

Cramped space isn't all bad, I suppose. There is an upside to squeezing everything into a small room. Since it doesn't take much clutter to turn the space into a maze, there's no choice but to keep things organized. That's not a bad thing.

On the other hand, controlling chaos also forces the occasional sort and toss, and parting with things can be downright painful. The overstuffed boxes, drawers, baskets, and surfaces have reached the point where something has to go. Make that plural. Lots of somethings have to go. I'll be saying good-bye to a few projects, both finished and unfinished, extra fabrics and supplies, and some other accumulated "stuff". Where to start? Where to stop? Most important of all, who to dump it on?

Taking the first step in the grand clean out wasn't hard at all. My daughter rather likes one of the numerous UFOs in my boxes, so it's going to her house. I've been working on it this week. The less than perfect quilting is completed, and the binding goes on later today. That's one item gone.  More to come.

My daughter's choice: a disappearing four patch lap quilt in Kaffe Fassett prints.

There are only two places you need to look for me in my house. If I'm not in the sewing room, check the kitchen. This week my kitchen time was limited so the recipes were quick and easy.

The soup of the week was extra yummy "Cream of Zucchini Soup" from skinnytaste.com. This is my new favorite soup for fall. Terri Lyn shared the link with me, and I'm sharing it with all of you. Thank you, Terri! If anyone else has a super recipe for any favorite food, please let me know and I'll post it here. 

I served the soup with melon and a chunk of whole wheat baguette. It made such a tasty, healthy lunch. 

Creamy Zucchini Soup
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/03/cream-of-zucchini-soup-1-ww-point.html?m=1

I also baked a cake this week. Thursday was the day for my monthly fifth grade book talks, and I had lunch in the teacher's lounge with my buddies. I aways try to take a treat for them, and this cake was it.

I should have taken my photo before the cake was discovered. These two little pieces are all that remain.

The cake was a basic sour cream chocolate dump cake that was just okay. My peanut butter frosting, though, was a real hit, and everyone wanted the recipe.  I hardly dare to call it a recipe. It's just a buttercream frosting made with equal amounts of butter and peanut butter.

This is the way I made it for an 8" square cake. Pair it with your favorite baked chocolate something,  and get ready for rave reviews.

1. In a medium bowl, cream 1/4 cup of room temperature butter and and 1/4 cup of peanut butter together until fluffy. 
2. Add a teaspoon of vanilla, three or four tablespoons of milk, and a couple of cups of powdered sugar. Blend thoroughly.
3. Add more milk and/or powdered sugar until the frosting is a nice spreadable consistency.
4. Frost cooled cake, cupcakes, or cookies and grate a little chocolate on top. 

... or just eat it with a spoon.
:)

Wishing you a lovely last week in October.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls - a recipe

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls - a recipe

I've put patterns aside for a week or two so I can work on other things. This week I've washed windows and begun filling my freezer with pre-cooked soups and casseroles. The farmer's market will be closed for the winter very soon, so I've been gathering and preparing as many local veggies as I can manage.

As the season comes to a close, the farmer's market is overflowing with delicious veggies.  I brought home pumpkins, fresh canning tomatoes, zucchini, green and red peppers, and two beautiful pale green cabbages. I had big plans for all of them, especially for the cabbages.

Cabbage rolls stuffed with rice, ground beef, and herbs are a favorite at our house. This is old-fashioned comfort food at it's best. The recipe takes quite a bit of time, but it is so worth the effort.

Once cooked, these freeze beautifully. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag in the freezer. They will keep for up to two months.

My grandmother's stuffed cabbage went by the title, "Pigs in Blankets", and it was made with ground pork.  My recipe takes some elements from my grandmother's stuffed cabbage rolls and others from my mother-in-law's recipe. The vinegar comes from my grandmother, the beef from my mother-in-law, and the abundant herbs from both of them. The brown sugar that adds sweetness to the sour is all mine. Grandma's cabbage rolls were baked in the oven, my mother-in-law's were cooked on the stovetop, and mine are slowly simmered in a crockpot.

The Ingredients:

• 1 medium cabbage
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup uncooked long grained rice (I used basmati.)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 T vegetable oil or olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh, chopped parsley (1 /2 T dried)
• 1/4 cup fresh, chopped dill (1 T dried)
•  Chopped tomatoes, 15 oz. can 
• 1 small can of tomato sauce, 8 oz
• 1-2 T apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 T brown sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Steam the cabbage to soften it for stuffing. 

This can take half an hour or more, so I often do it a day in advance. A large vegetable steamer is the best utensil to use, but I don't have one. I substituted a large pot with a tight fitting lid and a metal colander that fits inside.

the core removed                                      the first layer of leaves draining                the cabbage inverted in the pot.

1. Place water in the pot. It should reach almost to the bottom of the insert, but it shouldn't actually touch the cabbage. Bring the water to a boil. Turn the temperature down so the water just bubbles gently. 
2. Use a small paring knife to cut out the heart of the cabbage, then invert the cabbage and place it upside down in the container in the pot. Put the lid on the pot.
3. The leaves need to be steamed just enough to shape easily around the stuffing without breaking.  
4. After 10 minutes or so, gently peel off the softened outer leaves. Place them in a colander to cool. 
5. Return the cabbage to the pot, put the lid on, and wait for the next layer of two or three leaves to soften. As the cabbage heats through less time will be needed to soften the leaves. 
6. Repeat this process till all of the leaves of usable size have been removed. The small leaves wrapped tightly in the center of the cabbage can be saved for another use or discarded. 

Prepare the Stuffing 

1. In a medium saucepan, bring a quart of water to a boil. Turn the temperature down to medium. Add a teaspoon of salt, one tablespoon of the oil, and the rice. Stir. Allow the rice to cook for ten to fifteen minutes. When the grains of rice are firm in the center, but not crunchy, remove the pot from the stove and pour the rice in a mesh strainer to drain off the water. Set the rice aside.
2. Pour the remaining tablespoon of oil into a large skillet with the onions. Saute the onions until just golden in color. Remove the onions and set aside. 
3. Brown the ground beef in the same skillet. Drain off any excess oil and return the onions to the skillet with the ground beef. Add the parsley, dill, and tomato sauce plus salt and pepper. Simmer on medium low heat for about ten minutes. 
4. Add the drained rice to the skillet and mix stir.

Stuff the Cabbage Leaves

1. Make a layer of two or three of the larger leaves on the bottom of the crockpot. This will prevent the bottom cabbage rolls from scorching. 
2. Hold a cabbage leaf in one hand. The leaf will naturally curl to form a pocket near the base. 
3. Add enough stuffing to fit comfortably in the pocket. The amount will vary from one tablespoon to as many as three tablespoons depending on the size of the leaf. 
4. Fold the sides of the leaf in snuggly so they overlap a bit at the center.
5. Fold the top of the leaf down.
6. The cabbage roll should be quite compact, but not so tight as to tear the cabbage leaf. Continue making the rolls will all of the usable leaves. 

(Extra stuffing can be heated and cooked through for a side dish.)

6. Place each roll in the crockpot, folded side down.
7. When the bottom of the crockpot is filled, layer the rolls on top of each other.
8. Pour the cooked, diced tomatoes over all.
9. Cook on low heat for 4-6 hours, or until the cabbage is cooked through and tender.

To serve, remove the cabbage rolls to a serving dish, and spoon the juice in the bottom of the crockpot over them.

Enjoy!

A Pair of Projects With Candles

The warm light of glowing candles creates feelings of home, comfort, and love. I'm sure that's why candles are symbolic of both Christmas and romantic love. I find myself particularly drawn to them as the holiday season approaches. I had planned to make a candle mug rug this year, but the table runner absolutely insisted on getting itself made at the same time. I'm so glad it did. I had the perfect batiks for the table runner in my stash, and this pair of patterns turned out to be among my all time favorites.

"Candle" mug rug.

"Candlelight" table runner.

I loved using white for candles, but the darker background fabrics were showing through on both projects. The easiest solution was to line each candle with a layer of lightweight muslin. I used fusible web between the muslin and the main white fabric to hold the two together. Then I added another layer of fusible web to the back of the muslin. It does make for a stiffer piece, so I wouldn't want to double the layers like this on a lap quilt or a bed quilt.

Quilting doesn't show up very much on the the background fabric in the table runner, so I had a perfect opportunity to practice some FMQ. Feathers and swirls went smoothly, but pebbles are beyond me! No matter how many pebbles I stitch or what size I make them, they come out disconnected and less than round. I'll keep plugging away though. I love beautifully stitched pebbles, and I've never been able to resist a challenge.

I think the candles may be my last Christmas patterns for the year. There are loads of other patterns begging to be made, but even those will wait a week or so.

Next week I'll be cooking and doing some essential fall housecleaning. A person can only squeeze so many hours from a day.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend!

And, Happy Stitching!