MIA

Gosh, I haven't been doing much blogging lately. But, I have been staying pretty busy. I'm currently participating in a block exchange on flickr and it's teaching me tons. I just finished my 2nd set of blocks. I've also been doing a good bit of personal sewing and quilting. I'm almost finished with the quilt for O's preschool teacher. In fact I'm quilting it now, I should have pictures to share soon. I'm getting ready to sew up a bunch of tshirts for the boys and sundresses for O. in preparations for the summer. I also have been busy keeping the boys entertained during their track out.Oh and general mom duties of course, cooking, cleaning, playing nursemaid. All in all, not idle. Here's a bit of what I've been up to. I'm trying to be better about taking pictures. I realize I need to photograph a few things I've sewn for O. I'll have to do that later. I'm also working on her backpack for school and actually doing some sewing for me.


My summer carry all for the pool made from a charm pack of Santorini by Lila Tueller
Big and roomy with tons of pocket. It has bamboo handles which I'm still on the fence about.



Geometric block for Rachel for the Bee Lovely Flickr group. It's an raw edge applique. I may have to reposition the circle though. As I was stitching it, it seemed to have migrated and looks a bit wonky...although wonky is good too.



Another block for Rachel. I was so proud of this block since the curves were a bit of a challenge to a newish quilter like me. Everything was going great until I was squaring it. It's suppose to be 9.5 x 9.5 but I think it's more like 9.5 X 9.25. Ugh!!! Ah well, like Tim Gunn says, I'm sure Rachel can make it work!

Monday's Meal

This recipe was shared with me from Joyce, a very talented member of the quilting guild/bee I belong to. I'm sharing it with just as I received in my email (Joyce said it was okay to share). It's a twofer. You can either make a lemon cake or a chocolate cake, you decide. I hope you enjoy and if you have any questions about how to make it, let me know and I'll ask Joyce.

Cakes:
Lemon/chocolate cake mix
Lemon/chocolate instant pudding mix (smaller size)
4 eggs
Combine cake mix and pudding mix. Follow directions on package adding your water and oil but using 4 eggs instead. Bake in a half sheet pan, or 2 rounds if you want a round cake. Cut cake in half and then slice horizontally, half making your 4 layers. Spread a layer of filling of your choice between each layer and use topping of your choice. At the Relief Society’s “An Intimate Evening” dinner the lemon cake had 4 layers of cake with seedless raspberry jam mixed with a little raspberry coulis between each layer and was topped with lemon curd mousse; the chocolate cake had three layers of cake with one layer of chocolate mousse and one layer of the raspberry jam & coulis mix and had chocolate ganache poured over top and garnished with fresh raspberry, chocolate hearts, squirts of lemon curd and raspberry coulis on the plates under the cake.

Fillings/Toppings:
Lemon Curd Mousse
Chocolate Ganache
Chocolate Mousse
Seedless Raspberry jam
Raspberry Coulis


Lemon Curd
4 oz butter (1 stick)
3 lemons (zest & juice—about ½ c.)
4 eggs
1 ¾ c granulated sugar
In top of double boiler melt butter. Add sugar, lemon juice & zest, stir to combine. Beat eggs until very smooth. Slowly add to lemon mixture with whisk. Cook slowly, stirring constantly until mixture thickens – about 15 minutes. Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve into container(s), cool, refrigerate. Can be used for pies, tarts, cakes or just spread on toast like jam.

Raspberry Coulis
12 oz. or about 2 c. fresh or frozen raspberries
½ c fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup simple syrup
1 ½ Tablespoons lemon juice
½ Tablespoon cornstarch
Make a simple syrup by putting ½ c sugar and ½ c water in a saucepan, bring to boil for about 3 minutes. Add fruit and lemon juice. Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Dissolve cornstarch in about 2 tsp of cold water and add to fruit mixture. Cook about 3 minutes more or until thickened, stirring frequently. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and discard seeds. Cool, refrigerate.

Lemon Mousse
Heavy whipping cream, whipped until very stiff. Gently fold in a small of amount of lemon curd. Add more lemon curd according to your taste of how lemony you want your mousse to be. Gently folding each amount into whipped cream until you’re satisfied with taste. Refrigerate to set.

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup heavy whipping cream, brought to simmer. Add about 2 cups chocolate chips, whisk to blend until chocolate is melted and mixture is thickened and shiny. This can be made thinner by using more cream.

Chocolate Mousse
Heavy whipping cream, whipped until very stiff. Gently fold in a small amount of ganache. Add more chocolate ganache according to your taste of how chocolatey you want your mousse to be. Gently folding each amount into whipped cream until you’re satisfied with taste. Refrigerate to set.

Thrifty Chic Living

Recently I was talking to you about personal style. I consider my self a restylist, a secondhand rose, a thrift store diva. I love to shop at thrift stores for many things. Like many of you I've been thrifting well before I got my first apartment at 20, and over the years I think I've perfected it down to a science. First you have to go in with an open mind and a critical eye. Don't be discouraged by an ugly color or some weird detail on the item, those things can be changed very easily. Try to think outside the box. What other uses could an item have, can you change it into something you can use? I'm very big on lamps and mirrors. If I find a lamp in a shape I like at a great price, I will buy it. I believe you just can't have enough light sources. Plus you can change it, rewire it, pop on a new shade and have a little masterpiece. Have you priced lamps lately? They're kind of expensive. Mirrors are always great in a space. You can group a bunch of smaller ones together unifying them by color and have a bit of art and interest for your walls. Old books and calendars are great. Some books have really nice bindings and once the dust jacket is removed you can create a nice little grouping for your shelf or a table. Sometimes the illustrations in old books are stunning. You can frame a favorite picture for one of a kind art work for your walls. Be on the look out for little knickknacks for your home. Again, if you find some weird retro thing from the 1960's, but you like it except for the color...well Sherwin Williams can help you change that. Textiles is another area that is just waiting for you to go crazy. Frame some fabric or make a pillow for a favorite chair. You don't even need to know how to sew. Furniture, ah how I love furniture. You can definitely find that diamond in the rough in this category. Look beyond bad paint jobs, roughed up finishes and hideous fabrics. You can change that lickety split without too much effort or expense. I've painted lots of pieces. The key is time. You really need to let the piece dry well between coats and take your time to get good full coverage. Several coats is better than one thick coat any day.







Case in point. I purchased the little cabinet above ages ago for the tidy sum of $18. I love that it has simple lines, a glass front and is in great condition. What I don't like? The faded blonde finish. I'm a dark wood person. So after thinking on it for months (I was originally thinking paint). I'm going to stain it (using minwax special walnut). I'm hoping it will turn out well and come close to matching my beloved mid century buffet that it sits on top of. I also plan to either paper or apply fabric to back of the shelves for an added pop. I've thought about painting my buffet too in a moment of boredom, lol. But there's something about it's original finish that I adore. Besides it's in great shape. I did switch out the knobs a while back to coordinate with the chest of drawers I painted. So, I'll be spending some time sanding the cabinet down and then staining it in the next few days. Then I will finish it all off with some rub on poly. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Book Review

I love a good book. When I'm trying to learn a new sewing or quilting technique, I prefer to be shown how to do it by someone. I like to ask a lot of questions and I like to have a good reference book at hand. I've recently taken up quilting (after all how many dresses and skirts can one little girl wear?) and I'm trying to build up my quilting reference library. I've asked on many quilting forums and based on suggestions I now own Quilts, quilts, quilts and Your first quilting book, or it should be. However this book wasn't suggested to me. I found it all on my own at a LQS. It's called Piecing the piece o'cake way. I liked that the book's focus was proper piecing techniques. I mean I know how to sew and I can sew two squares together, surely. But, what about piecing a triangle or diamond to make a star? I might need a few pointers. The book also teaches you about adjusting a pattern to make any size quilt you want. That was great to me, because I'm not one that wants to get out the graph paper and have to do a bunch of math. I want to buy a pattern and get stitching. But, I don't have a ton of use for little bitty quilts, I want something that covers my feet and I can cuddle under. I need at least twin size or a generous lap size at minimum. Being able to adjust a favorite pattern and knowing exactly what yardage to buy is top notch in my book. The book has 15 different projects to test your skills. The quilts are fun and use modern fabrics so they are definitely eye candy. The book is also loaded with tons of useful tips. The only negative I saw is that the quilt patterns don't list what size finished block you'll end up with, only what size quilt you will have. I find that disappointing since I might want to use just the block design in my own pattern design and without knowing the block size it's hard to figure out size, yardage and such. All in all I think this is a great book to add to your library and stretch yourself as a quilter.

Monday's Meal

My oldest son loves these. It's a super quick meal. You just need a bun and you're good to go.

Sloppy Sabrina's

1 3/4 lbs. ground round
1 cup onion
3/4 cup celery
1 clove minced garlic
2 can of diced tomatoes
1 can beef broth
1 can tomato paste
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup parsley
1/3 cup of finely chopped green bell pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tsp worcestershire sauce


Combine ground round,onions, celery and garlic in large dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until meat is browned and crumbly. Drain well. Add tomatoes, beef broth, tomato paste,pepper, thyme, salt and bay leaf. Stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so that it doesn't stick. Add parsley, cooking about 5 minutes. Add green peppers, brown suggar, cider vinegar and worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed. Serve on a bun.

Bag Ladies!

Several months ago I joined a quilting guild. I've long wanted a local sewing community and to increase my knowledge base of fiber arts. I have to admit that I had a ton of reservation about the guild since it meets during the day. I had a preconceived idea of old dowdy women who wouldn't want to include a youngish black mother in their midst. Plus, who except retired people can meet up during the day? I was right, and I was wrong. Many of the ladies are retired, but they are vibrant, funny and incredibly generous with their knowledge. Through the guild I found a weekly bee to join and I've been going each week on Thursday's. I've learned so much in such a short time. They plan fun little sew-ins and do tons of charity sewing. Today is our "Bag Day". We're going to sew bags for 6 hours straight, lol. I'm in heaven. I get to hang out with other sewist and sew up my favorite thing. I cut out my projects last night and can't wait to get started. I'm all packed up and ready to go too! We also meet at great little LQS so there's even time for a bit of shopping on the side.
The bee has been a very positive experience for me and even though it isn't quite what I thought I was looking for, it's been just what I needed. The moral of the story is don't judge a book by it's cover, you never know what's inside and what you'll learn.

Monday's Meal

Better late than never, right. I kept thinking all day long, I needed to post this recipe. I just got busy and then got sucked into watching "Nurse Jackie" and the "United States of Tara". Did you watch them? They are so good! Here's something else that's so good.

Apple turnovers
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 cups water
4 of your favorite baking apples - peeled, cored and
sliced (I love Braeburns myself)
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water
1 package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed

Glaze topping

1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine the lemon and 4 cups water in a large bowl. Place the sliced apples in the water so that they don't brown. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove apples from the water, and place them into the hot skillet. Cook and stir for about 2 minutes. Add brown sugar, and cinnamon, and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Stir together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Pour into the skillet, and mix well. Cook for another minute, or until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat to cool slightly. Unfold puff pastry sheets. Cut each sheet into 4 small squares. Spoon apples onto the center of each squares. Fold over from corner to corner into a triangle shape, and press edges together to seal. Place turnovers on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until turnovers are puffed and lightly browned. Cool completely before add glaze . For glaze, mix the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Glaze should be the thickness of syrup, add additional milk or sugar as needed.