one shabby chick

Red Letter Quilt

I had planned on getting this up sooner (sorry Cynthia) but we (just me - the kids ride their bikes) have been walking to swim lessons and then today when we got home, my 7 year old was needing some one-on-one time so we played Stratego - he beat me and was so excited too!

Anyway - here's the Red Letter Quilt all done:

I washed and dried it last night and the raw edge applique is totally fine.

Here are my two reluctant helpers (my son and his friend).

I think I want to try a smaller version of this as a baby quilt - smaller circles too.

The raw eating is going good - lost a few pounds already.

I made this the other day for lunch and used a raspberry vinagrette  as the dipping sauce.

Raspberry Vinagrette:

1/2 c. canola oil (I used olive oil)

2 T Honey (you can use raw honey)

1 T mustard (you can use whole grain)

3 T Balsamic Vinegar

1 t lemon or lime juice

salt and pepper

1/2 c. fresh or frozen raspberries

Blend in blender until desired consistency. You could always add a bit of water to thin it out if it's too thick.

Going raw (among other things)

I've started eating raw - not forever - just for a few weeks or so. I need to lose about 20lbs. and thought this would be a great way to jump start that...and get me eating right too.

So far I feel great - way more energy!

Got some great swap mail today:

And have been working on a couple baby girl quilts...

Hubby has the cold flu so he's been in bed all weekend - poor guy - he missed out on the fireworks on the 4th (we went bowling too - it's so fun...we do it every year!).

Hope to finish up the Red Letter quilt tonight and I'll share pics of it tomorrow!

 

Sunday

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Father's Day!

Hubby is off playing some soccer with his friends - and we watched a game today after church - can't believe the US made it through! The kids are outside playing a mini game right now too.

We are having the family over for dinner and making fajitas (this marinade is so yummy!) and my sister made Banana Cream pie since it's my dad's favorite.

I made Hubby some Rice Crispy Treats but used Frosted Flakes instead - he was talking about them the other day and how they ate them when he was little.

I've started sewing up the Red Letter Day quilt....

I'm thinking diagonal lines for the quilting but we'll see.

We have swimming lessons tomorrow and my tote class at night (which I need to make up some samples for) so a busy day - plus the house needs to be cleaned!!

Piles

Piles of veggies from the local farmer's market (that is only about a 10 min. walk from my house - I love it! I go every Sat.).....

Piles of totes for the shop (you know, when I get around to uploading them)....

Fun pile of fabric from a giveaway....

and a pile of strips that are waiting to be sewn into a quilt....

And some already sewn...

I was planning on working on my quilt for Dana's quilt-a-long today but Heather Ross fabrics on Ebay sidetracked me...I got myself back on course for a while (see photo above) but then ended the day shoveling sand and rock to make way for a blow-up pool for the kids (and I am super sore now!!).

I think I can get in a little more sewing tomorrow before Hubby and I head off to a wedding at 3:33 (yep - that's the time on the invite). Major hippies - should be quite the wedding!

Brussels Sprouts

Yep - never thought I'd talk about brussels sprouts...never really thought I'd eat one actually. But that changed a while ago after I spotted this recipe.

And now Molly has this recipe in her wonderful book (I seriously cannot get enough of this book - it's fantastic!). So I had to try it out - yummy!

Today I finished sewing up the rest of my quilt-a-long rows and then finished up the front.

And the back (I didn't have enough solids so had to go with a print too).

I'm waiting on this batting since there's so much white in the front and I only have off-white batting.

I also (surprise) broke down and ordered some more fabric...from here and here. So I should have some fun mail days soon!

This might be a long one

Isn't it amazing how you can look back over the past year through your pictures (and your blog)?!

I really love the fact that this blog has documented things that I would have totally forgotten otherwise (like how Baby Girl used to call go-gurt soop-mario).

I was thinking while reading everyone's recaps that I hadn't really sewn that many quilts this year but after looking at my pictures I realized I was wrong.

Some were for friends...

and family

my kids....

and I even gave one away.

I joined a quilting bee (and have another one set to start in January)

and used a long-arm quilting machine.

I have worked up quite a stash this year thanks to all the fabric goodness that is out there right now

and 2009 will be a fun time to use some of it up.

I made a call before I left for Costco last night (which was CRAZY) and turns out the theme this year is Mexican (not Japanese - I'm still crying about no tempura).

So I'm making enchiladas and Tres Leches and thought I'd give you the recipe I use. I have a Spanish cookbook so I'm going to translate it as I type. Hopefully it will make sense.

Happy New Year!!

TRES LECHES

Cake:

1 box white cake mix (or yellow is fine too)

(and whatever other ingredients needed to make cake - as listed on box)

MIlk "sauce":

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1/2 pint of whipping cream

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup rum (if desired - I never add any to mine)

Sweetened Whipped Cream:

Whipping cream (I never measure - just pour in a good amount)

4 tsp. sugar

Preparation:

Prepare box cake mix according to package directions. After it is done, remove from oven and pierce with a fork all over the top of the cake.

While cake is cooking, prepare sauce. Put all milk sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until mixture is almost to the boiling point (but don't allow it to boil). Remove from heat and pour mixture on top of cake. Allow to cool completely.

Whip whipping cream and sugar together until mixture is thick and then spread on top of cake. Enjoy!!

Homemade

Tomorrow night we have a homeschool Christmas party and there is a cookie contest for the kids. We spent the the better part of the day shopping for ingredients and this afternoon (and evening) baking.

Bela is making these. I have to pick up the white chocolate tomorrow (to dip them in and then sprinkle with peppermint bits) since we couldn't find any today.

Big brother is making these.

The kids also have to take white elephant gifts under $10 so I made some homemade gingerbread play dough and picked up these cute cookie cutters on sale at Walmart.

My kids loved it - and it's much cleaner than rolling out real cookie dough :-)

We have to make the cookies tonight since I am spending the day shopping with my sister - fun! Hopefully I won't be too worn out for the Christmas party - we are even going caroling.

** OK since I made you read all of that I guess it's only fair I announce the winner of the giveaway....

Congratulations.....Susan Cahill. You're the winner! Thanks for entering everyone and I'm sure I'll do another one after the new year - they are just too fun!

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

28

Timestamp: 2008-12-06 05:30:38 UTC

Brown butter frosting and Tennessee pecans

I'm really not the baker in the family..that's my sister's title. And I'm not in charge of making any desserts for tomorrow but I've been craving these cookies for a while now so I finally made some.

I like baking but I really don't like having my kitchen messy - I think one reason is because there's not a lot of counter space so I feel the need to clean constantly while baking. Another bizarre syndrome I'm sure.

My grandpa has a pecan tree in his yard in Tennessee and sent us a bag. I saw this recipe while thumbing through Martha's book last night and made a batch of them as well.

I'm actually making mashed potatoes (which are horribly fattening the way I make them - cream cheese, sour cream and milk) and cranberry fluff (which we somehow make much different than any recipe I could find - it's basically red jello, cool whip, chopped cranberries, and mini marshmallows) tomorrow.

So these are just for us to munch on :-)

I am so glad calories don't count Thanksgiving week - right?!

Hope you all are feeling very thankful for everything you have and the family and friends around you - I know I am.

Mornings

I love my morning ritual of drinking coffee and browsing through my daily blog reads (the list keeps growing!).

This morning I was reading Meg's blog and saw this. Just what I have been wanting. A way to help out through sewing/crafting.

And I had some shirts tucked away for some sort of repurpose and this is perfect. I can't wait to try my serger on the knits and see how it goes.

I've made the enchiladas (a tray for them and a tray for us) and they just need to be popped in the oven later.

And this is baking in the oven right now (but I think we'll keep it).

I don't want them to be stuck with dishes they'll have to give back (at least that's my reasoning for keeping the pie).

Oh, and I got my first block in the mail today - from Jacquie. It's so beautiful. I saw another one today on the Common Threads blog. I didn't realize how much fun it is when it's your turn to receive the blocks!

Pumpkin soup

I can't wait for soccer season to be over - I can't wait to sleep in (or at least not HAVE to get out of bed) on Saturday mornings.

This morning our eldest had an early game in Aiea (it's about 1/2 hour from our house - everything here is approx. 30 min. - 45 min. from our house!). It was raining everywhere and when I got home, I was in the mood to make some soup.

I saw the pumpkins outside and decided on pumpkin soup. I looked through all my recipe books and online and couldn't find one that I liked. So I just made my own.

I cut up a medium size pumpkin - I saved the seeds to roast them with a little olive oil and salt and pepper.

I added some garlic, onion, chicken stock and water (and salt and pepper) and brought it all to a boil - I also added some cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice but I'm not sure if they were good additions or not.

I simmered it for about 40 min. and then blended it in batches in the blender. I added some heavy cream at the very end.

The pumpkin seeds were done roasting by then and I had also made some pecorino crackers (which are feeling really heavy in my stomach - too much sampling!).

Now I am off to sew - I started piecing together one of the coin quilts last night.