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!

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 Rocking Story and Another Pot of Soup

All afternoon I rode across the prairie, galloping on my trusty steed, chasing down the bad guys and singing off key. I was four-years-old living in the land of make-believe, but in the real world of grownups, the prairie was my Uncle Gail's front porch and the steed was my cousin Tom's old rocking horse with the chipped paint and the scraggly tail. It was the first time I'd met my cousin and the first rocking horse I'd ever seen. I never got over my love of that horse or my admiration for my wonderful big cousin.

From Utah we went on to view the wonders of the Grand Canyon that summer. I know I was there because somewhere downstairs I have a photo, but from that entire trip I only remember Tom and his wonderful rocking horse.

"Let's Rock"

While making this newest pattern, I relived the thrill of the front porch adventure in the form of fabric and thread. I hope you like "Let's Rock" half as much as I do.


Lentil Soup with Curry

This week I made two soups, lentil soup and chili. I must have been in the mood for beans this week - possibly due to my impatience for cooler weather. The chili is a very basic recipe, so I'll share only the lentil soup recipe with you this time. If you don't care for curry, you could use cinnamon or Worcestershire sauce to spice up the lentils.

It started with a pint of mixed, chopped carrots, celery, and onions from Trader Joe. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped carrots, celery, and onions in about equal portions
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 medium potatoes cut in 1/2" cubes
• 3/4 cup lentils
• 15 oz can of chicken broth (I used the last of my frozen homemade chicken broth)
• 3 or 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 - 2 tsp curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 - 5 cups water
• a squeeze of lemon juice (It's easier to add more than to remove too much, so add just a bit at a time, tasting to make sure it's just right for your taste buds.)

1. Lightly sauté the chopped, mixed vegetables and the garlic together in the olive oil.
2. Place all ingredients except the lemon juice into a slow cooker with 3 cups of the water.
3. Cook on high 4 hours, turn setting to low and continue to cook until the lentils and vegetables are tender. Add water as needed.

My freezer is stuffed with soups right now, but I know I'll be adding to the variety as time goes on. I'm missing some basics, like chicken noodle, and I'd like to try some new recipes, too. If you have a favorite, please send it to me and I'll publish it here on my blog. My email: klee2strings@gmail.com

Have a fabulous week! 

Happy stitching, everyone!

Two September Recipes and a Project Photo From a Friend

First things, first. Hannah sent me a photo of her final block for this year's quilt along. Isn't it lovely? The fabrics are so cheerful and bright. Beautiful work!

I haven't done any actual stitching for the past several days, but I've made headway on some ideas. Both are inspired by the upcoming holiday, but I won't tell you much more.  No sneak previews this time around!

One project will be symbolic and very, very different from anything else I've ever made. This will be something that my grandmother would have loved. The other project is inspired by a childhood memory. That one has taken on a mind of it's own. I was going to make a mug rug, but it's turning into something else. Wish I knew where it's going.

The weather has turned cool and autumn-like again for the last couple of days, and it's put me in the mood to cook and bake whatever I can from local September harvests before warm days return for awhile. Today it was soup for lunch and cake for my afternoon snack. 

Veggie Soup

First off, I made a huge pot of vegetable soup. It's one of my usual soup recipes - raid the fridge and throw it in the slow cooker. Most of this went into the freezer in single serving containers. It will keep for several months. My hubby doesn't care much for soup, but thanks to the microwave, I can have instant soup for lunch whenever I like.

This is what went into it this time.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium chopped onion
1 sliced zucchini
1 sliced yellow zucchini
1/2 sweet green pepper, chopped
1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
About 2 cups chopped, cooked tomatoes (fresh or canned)
8 oz canned tomato sauce
15 oz chicken broth (mine was homemade)
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen baby lima beans (peas, green beans, or other vegetables would work as well)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 T chopped fresh basil (dill, rosemary, or thyme can be substituted)
2 - 4 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Place tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper, and 2 cups of water into the slow cooker. Turn to high.
2. Fry onions in one tablespoon of the olive oil until lightly browned. Add to the slow cooker.
3. Lightly sauté zucchinis and peppers in the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add to the slow cooker.
4. Cook four to six hours, or until vegetables are tender, adding water as needed.
5.  Add the frozen vegetables to pot and cook for another half hour. 
6. Serve.


Apple Cake with Strudel Topping

This is so good - moist and filled with fresh apple goodness. I like it best warm, but it's wonderful chilled as well. I've actually combined two recipes. The cake is a variation of a recipe from King Arthur Flour, and the topping is from an old farm cookbook in my cupboard. The cake will keep for several days refrigerated, but I'm planning to wrap individual pieces in plastic wrap and freeze them in a freezer bag. Not that I have much left to freeze. I wound up sharing almost half of it with my neighbors. The rest, though, will keep for at least a month. 


Strudel Topping

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/3 cup flour
4 T cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces

1. In a medium size bowl, toss the first three ingredients together with a fork.
2. With you fingertips, blend in the butter pieces until small clumps form and the butter is well incorporated, about 2 minutes.
3. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cake

2 1/3 cups flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Apple Pie Spice (I used 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 1/4 tsp allspice)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup softened butter
4 cups peeled, cored, copped apple
3/4 cups walnut pieces

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9" x 13" pan.
2. Mix all of the ingredients except the apples and walnuts together in a large bowl.
3. Beat until well combined. The mixture will be very stiff,  and possibly crumbly.
4. Add the apples and nuts, and mix until the mixture become a thick batter, somewhere between a cookie dough and a brownie batter in consistency.
5. Spread the batter in the pan, smoothing the top with wet fingers.
6. Sprinkle the strudel topping evenly over the top.
7. Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 


Wishing you a super September week!

A Bit of Quilting and a Cookie Recipe

A Beginning Quilter 

Before I get to the cookie recipe in this post, I simply must show you photos of some work by a first time quilter. Seriously, first time! Amazing work. My first quilts are meant only to be hidden away and forgotten.

Deb had never sewn until she recently inherited a sewing machine that she didn't even know how to thread. So what does she tackle first? A quilt with traditional piecing, paper foundation piecing, fusible web applique with blanket stitching, and free motion quilting. What a way to jump in head first, and what a learning curve. Unbelievable result!

 

And this is what she's making for her second quilting experience. Can't wait to see it finished. An amazing quilter has been born. Who knows what the future holds.

My Latest Obsession

Even though I'm in the midst of a Christmas baking frenzy this week, with flour flying and the kitchen looking like a hurricane went through, I can't get the idea of a quilt along row quilt out of my head. I keep chasing to the table between cookies going in and out of the oven to design different rows. As you can see, my table is covered in graph paper and other drawing paraphernalia!

It's starting to come together. I think.

My tabletop quilt isn't nearly this bright! Strange photo.

I seriously need to get back to my holiday preparations. I don't have time to play! Gingerbread cookies are waiting to be decorated, there's a cookie exchange party next Friday, the house hasn't yet been decorated, no gifts have beeb wrapped, and on and on!

Cookies

Along with the special Christmas cookies, though I did take time to bake up a batch or our favorite everyday cookies. I hope these will deter some of the early snitching of Christmas cookies as I'd like to save those until Christmas Eve.

The humble recipe I'm sharing has been a staple at our house from the time my children reached the cookie monster age. I chose early on to focus on making even their sweet treats as healthy as I could. The oatmeal, raisins, and walnuts in our family cookies provide a bit of nutrition along with the inescapable sugar and butter!

These have been our favorites for half a century now.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Makes 3 - 4 dozen cookies depending on size. I make them small, so I easily get 4 1/2 dozen.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups oatmeal
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t soda
• 1/2 t allspice
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t cloves
• 1 c chopped walnuts
• Additional sugar for cookie tops

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375°.
2. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment.
3. Put water and raisins into a pot and heat just until the water reaches a boil. Save 6 tablespoons of the raisin water. Drain the raisins and set aside to cool.
4. Place the flour, salt, soda, allspice, and cinnamon in a small bowl and stir to mix.
5. In a large bowl, blend butter and sugar until smooth.
6. Add eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time. Blend well after each addition.
7. Add dry ingredients to the large bowl and beat until smooth.
8. Mix in raisin liquid alternately with oatmeal. 
9. Stir in raisins and walnuts.
10. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with a fork dipped in water. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of sugar on the top of each cookie.
11. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned.

Autumn Pies

It's a cool autumn day and I reached a standstill, unable to decide which way to go with my latest sewing project. Sometimes you just need to take a break and let your mind settle on other things.

So, I baked pies this afternoon. One apple, one pumpkin, and one batch of leftover crust sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, rolled up and cut into little pieces just like my grandmother made for me when I was very small.

Alright, I admit it. My pie crusts are not at all beautiful to see. 

I simply can't get the knack of forming those pretty edges. I cut little hearts for the apple pie and twisted some 1 inch strips for the pumpkin pie. Not photo worthy, but it was the best I could manage today.

On the bright side, though, no one at my house worries much about the beauty of the crusts because they are too busy savoring the flavor and texture. You see, I have this special recipe. My crusts are light and flaky and downright yummy! 

I don't believe in secret recipes. Food is meant to share and so are the recipes. So here it is. 

Two little tricks for flakiness:  

1. Keep everything super cold. I even place the bowl and the flour in the freezer for about half an hour before using them. 

2. After the pies are filled, put them back in the refrigerator while you heat the oven. The colder the crusts are, the flakier they will bake. 

Master Pie Pastry

4 cups unbleached flour

3/4 cup very cold vegetable shortening

1 cup (2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter, cut in chunks

1 egg

2 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup ice water

To make by hand: Place the flour in large mixing bowl. Cut in the shortening and butter until you have a crumbly, uneven mixture of small and large lumps of flour-covered fat. Stir together the egg, sugar, salt, and lemon juice. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, stir in the egg mixture with a fork and drizzle in most of the ice water. Using a fork or your fingers, toss the mixture together to moisten the flour. Stir to make a soft mass and pat it into dough consistency. Add remaining (or additional) ice water as required to make sure the dough sticks together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead briefly into a smooth dough. Divide it into two portions, and wrap in plastic wrap or place in ziploc bags. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour if using immediately. The dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to 3 days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. (To defrost, leave it in refrigerator overnight, then leave it on the counter for 2 hours or until it's defrosted but still cold.)

This makes enough dough for two 9-inch double pie crusts plus one 8" or 9"single crust, or for 12 mini tart shells plus 1 double pie crust. Follow your pie or tart recipe for baking temperatures and times.

Enjoy!

Now, I need to get back to my sewing! 

Some days are just plain crazy!

Omigosh! This whole week has been a little bit insane around my house, and it's going to continue for awhile.

Today, for example, I've washed three loads of laundry, organized fabrics, placed and ironed templates onto 2 quilt blocks and a mug rug, and baked two batches of biscotti. It's only 1:15 in the afternoon, and the rest of the day looks to be filled with sewing. And writing this blog.

Why two batches? Who knows. Maybe because I had a huge bag of almonds?

Here's the recipe if you're interested. I absolutely love the crunch and the citrus flavor.  It's "almost Italian" because I've added an ingredient not found in traditional recipes. My addition keeps the biscotti crunchy, but it isn't hard as a rock like most biscotti.

Zesty "Almost Italian" Biscotti

1 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon orange zest

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup whole unblanched almonds

Beat sugar and butter together until creamy. Beat in eggs, extracts, and orange zest. Mix together flour and baking powder. Add to the batter and beat until well blended. Stir in the nuts. Place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour (Can be kept up to 3 days). 

Shape the dough into 2 rolls about 10 inches long, and 2 inches wide. Flatten to 1 1/2 inches thick and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350°  for 20 to 25 minutes, or until firm and lightly browned. Remove the pan from the oven and cool slightly.

Transfer baked rolls to a cutting board and slice diagonally into 1/2-inch thick pieces. Arrange, cut side down, on the baking sheet and return to the oven. Bake an additional 8 – 10 minutes on each side to toast. Cool on wire racks.

On to other things. The new California baby has arrived! I haven't seen photos yet, but everyone says she's beautiful, just like her big brother and her big sister, with a full head of glossy black hair. So my package is off. It went our yesterday. This time around it was all baby blankets. I sent these four. 

A simple little fleecy blanket with satin binding.

The soft flannel doggy blanket from my "Doggy in the Window" pattern. 

I often crochet in the evenings. It's so relaxing and I can do while watching television or carrying on a conversation with my hubby. As a result, two crocheted blankets were in the package. (And I have more, both finished and in the works. I'm always prepared when a baby shows up.)

A lovely, soft, crocodile stitch blanket.This one took forever! The pattern is free from Bernat. You can find it through this link:
http://www.yarnspirations.com/pattern/crochet/crocodile-stitch-baby-blanket

This is "Wee Ones" from Churchmouse. My daughter bought the pattern and shared it with me, so I don't have a web address.

That's just the easy stuff. I told you that there will be changes coming to my guest bedroom and my sewing room. Here's the scoop. I need more sewing space. My daughter is moving and needs more beds. We almost never use the guest bedroom and it's larger than the shared office/sewing room that I now have. So.... I won't have a guest bedroom, but I'll have a roomier sewing room, my hubby will be able to work without tripping over sewing, and my daughter gets a pair of twin beds. It's a win-win-win.

Furniture moves next weekend, and it's been a busy week. We've gone through everything in both rooms, organized "stuff", taken things off to the City Mission, hauled things out to the trash, and generally turned the downstairs upside down and inside out. Oh, and I've made a couple of fun purchases. Eventually we'll likely get a hide-a-bed, but for now we're just fine.

Nothing will be exactly right overnight. It will take a long time, I'm sure,  but I'll post photos of the progress from time to time.

That's it for now. Quilt along pattern blocks are calling my name! 

LOUDLY!!

Gotta run!