Mother's Day Projects, and a (former) Un Finished Object

I've been wanting to sit down and write to you again for a week.  Desperately wanted to sit down and write to you, in fact, but was unable to.  Why?  I wanted to let you see the projects the girls and I were working on for Mother's Day gifts!  However, since my mother reads this on occasion, I didn't want to ruin the surprises, so I left my computer turned off all week. 

So, without further delay, here is what we worked on last week:

Roughly 12 years ago, I came up with the idea of making concrete stepping stones with my 2 oldest daughters for my Mom's garden for Mother's Day.  Four kids later, we are still doing them, although the older 2 have stopped now.  Here is one of this year's kits.  They are really quite easy, and include everything you need.  Of course, we have accumulated other embellishments through the years, and add them as well.

Here, Abby, Katie, and Emma are waiting for Brittany to finish reading the directions.

Emma, thinking it all through.

Brittany, mixing the first batch of cement.

Katie, waiting her turn.

It's gotten harder every year to come up with inspiration, so this year I turned the girls loose to do their own. The only requirements are that they leave space for their hand print, name, and year.

Abby, looking for the letters in her name.

Katie, pushing in stones. Brittany is in the background, sorting marble colors.

 

Me, helping Emma make her hand print.

Katie's finished stone. Her name is visible, but not the date.

Emma's stone, before her name and date.

And Abby's.  I think they did a great job!  Maddie made one too, but she used a footprint instead of a hand print.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture of hers before giving it away.  Sigh.

 
 
 
 
 
 




Now, on to the presents I made.  My Mom is, among other things, a knitter.  (I know, big surprise, right?)  She had been saying a few things that inspired my gift to her this year.  One was that she was looking for a good way to organize her circular needles, and another was how hard it is getting to read the needle sizes stamped on the bamboo knitting needles.  And that's all I needed to be off and running.
 

First up was a felted needle case.  I let the 3 kids choose roughly what order the colors would be used in, and this is how it turned out before felting:

This is how it looked after felting.  The felting process makes a dense fabric that doesn't unravel or fray, which makes it perfect for pushing needles through.  This was intended for her circular needles, but I wanted to demonstrate how to push needles through, so....
 
 
 
 
 

 ...I got her a new pair of bamboo needles, which I did this to:
 











This isn't actually her pair.  I updated some of my needles too, to see if my idea would work.  It did.  This is polymer clay, which I first shaped and formed a number in.  After baking, I filled in the number with contrasting clay and re-baked it.  Then, I added a glaze for shine.  Altogether, I made...

...three pairs, but I anticipate doing many more.  As soon as Mom and I empty sets of needles, I will update them.  It does make it easier to read, and also to find pairs!
 
 







Since I was playing with various knitting implements, I decided to make a travel/emergency knitting kit.  Because everyone should have one of those. 
 

 Here it is.  It has a snap hook for attaching to the handle of your knitting bag, and is loaded with goodies.

Yarn needles, beaded stitch markers (another thing I played with), a travel safe yarn cutter, and stitch holders.  Everything you could possibly need on the road.  The little package in the upper right corner are some bake and shrink plastic tags for labeling her circular needles.

Overall, I was very pleased with the set, and hope Mom likes it as much as I do.  Someday, maybe I'll make one for me!

Here is a picture of the cards the 3 kids made for me. 

Don helped the girls make the square ones.  They say Happy Mom's Day, and then they colored pictures of themselves with me.  So cute!  They brought them to me in bed, with a cup of coffee and a chocolate bar!

The green ones they made in Sunday school.  They used mini cupcake liners, which they colored as flowers.  Then they drew stems and leaves.  They also each gave me a little bag full of flavored tea bags, and the most adorable little sheep candies.  Of course now they are bugging me to let them eat the sheep.
 
And finally, the reason that I couldn't write to you yesterday.  It was cold and rainy here yesterday, and I was going to go out and work on cleaning up my craft room.  When I got out there, one of the first things that caught my eye was a quilt top that I made a couple of years ago.  It was supposed to go in the loft, which was Brianna and Brittany's hangout room.  Now, however, it is Madison's bedroom.  I never intended for this quilt to be a showpiece, but rather a functional throw for the girls.  I was going to just tie it with brown yarn, but decided to play around with machine quilting it.  What an adventure!

 

First, I had to baste the whole thing, which I did with safety pins.  And wound up pinning it to the carpet in spots.  Sigh number one.  I got it onto the table and discovered the back wasn't smooth, and it all had to be re-pinned.  200+ pins.  Sigh number two.  I got it all re-pinned, and things went fairly well, until the last pass.  I accidentally sewed my dining room table cloth to the back.  Sign number three.  Fortunately, it was only about four inches before I caught and fixed that.  When I went to start ironing the binding, I discovered that I had pieced them wrong.  Sigh number four, and the end of the project for yesterday!

 

Today, refreshed and newly determined to finish up, I fixed the binding problem, pinned the first edge on, and learned the mystery behind mitered corners!  I ironed and pinned the second edge, and let the girls "help" me finish the last 4 seams by taking turns stepping on the "gas pedal".  They were thrilled, we finished up together, and they had a new quilt for their movie time this afternoon.  Must have turned out okay, because at least one of them fell asleep for a change.  And that is the sign of a good quilt!

 

And back I go to knitting baby gifts.  I will show you the progress on the first item soon!  Take care, and I hope to see you in a few days.

A Birthday Girl, a Summer Garden, and a Finished Project

First off, today is my oldest daughter's birthday.  Sixteen years ago, I became a mom.  And yet, I find myself thinking occasionally, "I wonder when I will start feeling like a grownup."  Please, somebody out there, tell me that I'm not alone.  Even though I've been an adult now for longer than I was a kid, I sometimes still don't feel like it!  Not that I'm stuck in my youth, or keeping up with the teens, and I definitely wake up sore sometimes, and can't do the things that I used to do, but I'm waiting to "feel" my age.

Here are some pictures of the birthday girl.  We actually celebrated on Saturday, with a big Mexican feast and birthday cake.  Today, we are having dinner together, and she requested her favorite dessert:  rice pudding souffle with raspberry sauce.
Here is Brianna (with Abby, Katie, and Emma) opening presents.

Her favorite cake:  chocolate cake, filled with bananas and whipped cream, and topped with more whipped cream!

Getting ready to blow out candles (with a little help from Maddie!)

And here she goes!  (Looks like she is making a wish, but she said later that she forgot!  She did get all the candles out, though!)










The weekend before last, Don finished the garden.  So, we went to the nursery and bought our vegetable plants.  While Don was finishing the sprinkler system, I was clearing out the rest of the winter vegetables.  We had a couple of heads of cabbage left, (which I put in the compost bin, darn it!) and a lot of chard.  When I say a lot, I mean a LOT.  This is what it looked like when we carried it into the kitchen:

Doesn't look like so much here, does it?  But, keep in mind, there are 2 full size bath towels under it.  Not to mention, we had already had a few dinners of it and given quite a bit to my dad.  All this from 6 plants.

This is what it looked like after I washed and chopped it all:

It filled my 6 largest bowls!

The next step was to blanch it all, and then shock it, in order to put it in the freezer.  This is how it looked after that step:

That's right, it all fit in one bowl, after a 30 second bath in boiling water.

I got out my vacuum sealer, and we now have:




Eight one pound packages in the freezer.  And, the knowledge that next year, 6 plants is probably too many!






For the most part, the garden has been replanted.  We have a total of 22 various tomato plants, 8 green bean plants, 2 summer squash plants, 2 crookneck squash plants, 1 zucchini plant (still have some of last year's in the freezer!), 2 jalapeno plants, 2 banana pepper plants, 3 Anaheim chili plants, 3 bell pepper plants, 3 cuke plants, basil, cilantro, oregano, thyme, sage, mint, rosemary, parsley, chives, and leeks.  I also have seedlings on my window sill:  tomatillos, pickling cukes, and watermelon.  Plus, I left a spot for eggplant.  I'm hopeful for a lot of fresh produce this year!

And now, for the finished project I mentioned.  Today, I finished the 40 squares project.  I last showed you square 34, so here is

Square 35:

Chocolate.  All kinds.  'Cause I don't discriminate.  Enough said??

Square 36:

One of my 2 favorite holidays.

Square 37:

My other favorite holiday.

Square 38:

One possible perfect end to a long day:
a book, a cold drink, and a tub full of bubbles!

Square 39:

Representing my fairy tale life!

Square 40:

My greatest hope:

I also added a banner to the bottom.  Here is the detail of that:

And I put a simple outline around the whole thing, to unify it.  Here is the completed picture:
















I'm going to frame it as soon as I can.  And this project was so fun, I will be starting another one soon.  Right after I finish the baby shower gift I'm working on.  I'll keep you posted!

Five new squares and a big apology.

OK, first things first...the unveiling of squares 30-34:

Square 30:

This, clearly, is a cupcake, because I love to bake.  Or, I love to eat treats.  Take your pick.

Square 31:

A pile of brightly colored leaves (which we don't really have where I live), for my favorite season, which is autumn.  I know you got that, but just for clarity....

Square 32:

Ask my kids what my favorite weather is, and all 6 of them will tell you RAIN.  Give me a rainy day, a blanket, and a cup of cocoa, and all is right with the world.  (They'll also tell you that if I'm lucky enough to get thunder and lightening, I will open the windows.)

Square 33:

My favorite flowers are tulips, and I don't have a favorite color.  But I do love to arrange them in my blue vase.

Square 34:

A coffee cup.  I'm not a javaholic...sure I have a cup or 2 a day, but I really can do without it.  This is for the "date mornings" that Don and I have.  Sundays, after church and while the girls are in Sunday School, he and I go to the coffee shop to wait for them.  Some weeks, it's the only 45 minutes we get alone together.

Stay tuned....only 6 squares left to do!  I was going to do a progress shot, but don't want to take the picture out of the hoop.  I will show you the whole thing before I start the border, though.

And now, for the apology.  Ms. Pioneer Woman, I underestimated you.  When I first saw your cookbook, I was NOT going to get it.  I've bought dozens of cookbooks that have, if not exactly disappointed me, not lived up to the hopes I had for them.  I was certain that your cookbook would fall into this category.  The only reason I got your book was to fulfill a requirement for a book club order.  I was so very, very wrong, and am so very, very sorry.

Wednesday night, I made your lasagna.  While I've followed the other recipes I've tried faithfully, fate (and rain) would not allow that this time.  You called for hot breakfast sausage to be cooked with the ground beef.  I don't have hot anything here, as I have tender mouths to cook for, so I substituted bulk beef breakfast sausage.

You also called for fresh basil, which I don't have in my garden yet, and I forgot to put it on the list.  You asked for fresh parsley, but it was raining out, and I didn't want to get wet.  I defrosted a cup of pesto sauce, made from last year's harvest.  Half went into the meat sauce, and half went into the cheese mixture.

The rest of the recipe was followed exactly.  I'm sure yours is very, very good, and I intend to make it your way too.  But mine was a big hit.  Possibly the best lasagna I've ever made.  I'm willing to share the credit if you are.

Last night, I made your fried chicken and biscuits, plus we had some of your mashed potatoes left over from Monday night. (I've made them twice so far...so wonderful!)  Since I don't have to feed people who've been roping cattle all day, your recipes go a little farther for us.  So, of the 12 pieces of fried chicken I made last night, 6 are going into the freezer, partially cooked, for another night.  It was oh so good...and I don't have fried chicken often!

I put four of my kids to work making your biscuits.  Also wonderful, especially with home made butter and honey butter.  Here they are at work:

The biscuits, ready for the oven.

The baby, wishing she was old enough to help:

As we put food out for serving, I said, "Oh, Pioneer Woman, how I love you."  As I filled my plate, I said, "Oh Pioneer Woman, how I love you."  As I sat down and began eating, I said, "Oh Pioneer Woman, how I LOVE you."  I'm so sorry I doubted you.  I'll never do it again.  And, I will probably wear out my cookbook.  The kids gave the chicken a two-thumbs up.  The baby loved her biscuit.  My non-foodie husband likes your food.  And my teenagers sat down to eat with us.  Any food that can accomplish that must be good!

Baby gifts and butter...

...don't sound like they have anything in common, but that's what I've been doing since I left you last week.

On Saturday, April 17th, there was a baby shower held at our church for one of the pastor's wives.  It is their first baby, and I figured it would be a large-ish shower, so I didn't want to just run to the baby store and buy off of their registry.  So, on Sunday, I broke out some baby yarn and baby patterns that I've been wanting to try, and got busy.  Here are the results:

It was so much fun, knitting in blue for a change!  I know the items don't show up very well on that tablecloth, but we'll work with it.  The item on the left is a blanket buddy.  I had made one for Madison using Lion Brand Yarn Velvetspun yarn, and this pattern.  I  found a fleece yarn at Herrschners, which I love for this project!  (The one in the picture is actually the 2nd one I made this week, as I made a mistake in the first one, so I think Maddie will have second one.)  I had a little fleece left over, so there is a little stuffed bunny on my needles now.  Next to that, we have a baby wash cloth, that says A-B-C, and a matching hat and bootie set.  I really wanted to round out my gift, and was running out of time, so I made a run to my mom's house, to loot the boutique stock. 

From the boutique bin, I got a pair of "Converse" booties and the blue wash mitt.  I had made both of these for our craft fairs this fall, but will have time to replace them.  From Mom's craft fair items, I got the yellow washcloth, 2 burb cloths, one of the BEST bibs in the world, a rubber duck, some baby wash, a rattle, and a travel pack of wipes.  Added to that was a pair of green terry pajamas, and I was ready to wrap it all up.

I thought a bin might come in handy in the baby's room, rather than a gift bag for the garbage can.

I had a 9" stuffed teddy bear in the works as well, and really could've finished it on time, if I'd pushed, but the basket was quite full enough.  I'm going to finish the bear, though, and can give it to them for their christening, or some other occasion.

And now, a butter explanation.  On Sunday, Emma asked me if some cows make milk, and some cows make butter.  Since I traditionally make home made butter for Thanksgiving, and it is really easy, I decided to show her how butter is made.  I also thought we would do it both the easy way, and the hands on way.  After all, it's not all that fun or magical to watch Mom push a button!

So, armed with a quart and a half of heavy cream, a glass jar, a food processor, and various strainers and containers, we got to work.  I poured about half a pint of cream into the jar and had the girls sit in a circle.  I explained that cream has little bits of solids mixed in with the liquid that is milk, and that by shaking it, the little bits of fat would all stick together. 

This is Katie, taking a turn.

And now Emma.  Abby took turns too.

While they were doing that, I made 2 batches in the food processor.  That's right, I finished off 5 cups of cream, in 2 separate batches, in the food processor, while they made theirs.  But theirs didn't take that long, really.  Not as long as I thought it would, anyway.

People sometimes ask me, "WHY? Why make your own butter?  You live across the street from the grocery store, and it's not that expensive.  Did you fall on your head?"  The answer is, because it's fun.  Or, because it's easy.  Or how about, because I needed something to do with the kids.  All of those apply and more.  Now, would I do it if I had to use a Laura Ingalls Wilder style churn? Uh, no, probably not.  But, I have a food processor, and electricity, so I have no reason not to.

Here's how easy it is:

1.  Pour heavy cream into the food processor, and make sure everything is properly closed.

2.  Push the "on" button.  Stand back and watch 'er work.  You will know it is time to push the "off" button when the butter is a solid mass and there is a thin, white liquid surrounding it.  This is the butter the kids made.

3.  Pour off the buttermilk and save it for other uses.  We used ours in corn bread last night. (More on that in a minute.)

4.  Place the butter in a bowl, and add cold water.  Rinse the butter, working it with a wooden spoon or spatula, and changing the water periodically.  You want to repeat this until the water runs clear, working as much liquid out of the butter as possible.

5.  After rinsing the butter, salt to taste.  You can also leave it unsalted for sweet butter, used in baking.  I had the kids taste it both ways.  This was unsalted....

...then we added some honey.

Here is the salted batch:

Yummy!

Remember the buttermilk I mentioned?  Here it is:

For dinner last night, I made chili and cornbread.  There was enough buttermilk for the cornbread, and enough left for biscuits in a few days.  Topped with fresh butter or honey butter, it was a big hit!  And on that note, I have a new favorite cook book:  The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  This woman, who also blogs here, knows her food.  I've had this book for about 2 weeks, and so far, I've made thirteen of her recipes, and they've all been great...simple, easy, and delicious!  I've got 3 more on the menu for this week, and another several bookmarked.  (I've made some of them twice, actually...her mashed potatoes are the best!)  The chili and cornbread recipes were both hers.  Just a word of warning if you get her book....you can't be scared of butter!

No new stitched squares this time, my focus has been on baby gifts, but I'll get back to them, hopefully tonight.  Eleven to go, and I'm done! 

See you soon!