turkey feathers

Wool Blanket Book Update

 

I spent a good part of the morning yesterday and again today, visiting lots of amazing and lovely blogs with Tasha Tudor tributes, and left a few comments here and there.  It's all very inspiring.  So interesting to see how her influence has affected each of us in so many wonderful ways.  I'm thrilled her pioneering spirit lives on!

On a similar note, regarding the pioneer spirit, some of you know that I’ve had my nose to the grindstone preparing my wool blanket project for publication and it’s been all-consuming for months now.  There's been so much to learn.  New territory to cover.  And conquer.  So instead of breezy summer fiction, I've been delving deep into technical tomes and (so-called) "quick-start" manuals; with my viewing entertainment coming in the form of video tutorials for every CS program out there.  In essence, I’ve been schooling myself.  I do realize there are easier ways to do all this, with Blurb and Slurp and LuLu and other self-publishing programs already out there, but most of their online software was slightly limited for my purposes, and besides I really just wanted to roll up my sleeves and start from scratch.  Embrace a new challenge.  Honestly, there's been frustration along the way.  There's always that.  But for all the hard work, I'm actually seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel and it's exciting!  The projects, patterns, and written portion of the book is done and I'm pretty happy with it all and hugging myself!  A proof copy is in front of me now which has illuminated a few things that need to be fixed though.  Things like rearranging photos, nudging text, and more proof-reading; little details for sure, but somewhat tedious and always time-consuming.  I have half a dozen lively and uplifting playlists in heavy rotation to help get me through this.  The Mister and the girls have been wonderful in helping cook and take care of the house and without their help and support I couldn't have done any of this.  Obviously I'm taking time to do other things, but when I'm working, I honestly am so distracted and concentrating so intensely that I forget everything else around me.  Including pots cooking on the stove.  Twice now, I've burnt hard-boiled eggs! How can that happen?  Not easily, but I manage to do it.  I'm always telling them, I need watching. So my seventeen year-old daughter, Grace, designed and uploaded a simple program she calls the "Trusty Timer" that has a pop-up window and a rooster that crows, as a reminder for me.  It sounds wacky, but it works great!  That is, when I remember to use it.  I may need a reminder for that too.  Maybe a live chicken under my desk pecking at my toe or something.  Anyway...I’m hoping to get the pages all bundled and off to the printer very soon.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  And feet tucked in.  Just in case.

Take Tea & Blackberry Tarts

“I don’t take art too seriously.  The nice thing about drawing is if you get tired, you can always bake a pie, or finish the dishes.  I don’t have a studio, I work on the kitchen table.  When you get tired of housework, you can stop and draw.  Anything I enjoy, I don’t consider work. They say art is the reflection of an age and I think it certainly is true, but I’m behind the times.  Time was invented by man, so it doesn’t really matter.  I’ve done just as I pleased all my life and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all of it.” ~Tasha Tudor

We’re in celebration mode here with several family birthdays falling within days of each other, and adding to our festivities we’re taking part in Tasha Tudor Day!  (August 28th was her birthday.)  If you want to tag along, start here and weave your way through blogville to find more birthday tributes, recipes, and plain old-fashioned sweetness.   I’ll be sharing my recipe for blackberry filling today. So grap a cuppa and join us!

 I must say, summer seems to be coming to an early end here.  Most of our garden tomatoes are still green on the vines, and what little else we managed to salvage from the voles and varmints has suddenly gone to seed.  Oh well.  It was, however, a grand year for blackberries.  There are still so many.  We've picked bucketfuls almost daily and had to figure out what to do with them.  Once we had our fill of cobbler, I made freezer pies and jam for the winter stores.   This week, I made a big pot of blackberry fruit filling for tarts and turn-overs.  If you have a lot of fruit from your backyard trees or berry bushes, this filling is the answer.  It can be adapted for most fruit and berries quite easily by adjusting the amount of cornstarch used, this depending on how much water is in the fruit you’re using.  Blackberries, in particular, have a lot of water and tend to get runny when you cook them, where as apples do not, so my recipe is heavy on the thickening and this works especially well for blackberries. 

 First, let me assure you that none of this is hard.  A little time management is a good idea though.  In other words, this isn't something that can be whipped up at the very last moment or even in the same day if you’re like me and don’t like to stand in the kitchen for more than an hour at a time.  I manage this best in small steps, while carrying on with other things to keep it all from feeling like a huge production.  The filling can be made the day before, which is all for the best, because it allows the fruit mixture to cool and gel up completely before you work with it.  Ditto with any pastry you make since it needs to be chilled as well.  Both can stay in the fridge for a couple of days until you’re ready to assemble and bake (or freeze), as you prefer.  I like to do both at the same time.  Here's my recipe . . .

Heat everything gradually to a gentle boil, stirring frequently and adjusting heat to avoid scorching.  Mixture will thicken up between 10-20 minutes.  Remove from heat; let cool for half an hour.  Cover pot with the lid and refrigerate overnight. 

 

 

OK, so now that you have all that yummy filling, you can make all kinds of things with it, like jam tarts, turn-overs, and scrumptious cookies for tea parties.  You can use a basic cookie crust for the heart tarts (shown), or this one for instance.  I buy pre-made frozen puff-pastry sheets for the turn-overs.   Cut the sheets in thirds along the fold lines, then into thirds again to make a total of nine squares per sheet.  Brush the edges with cold water, put about a teaspoon of filling in the middle and pinch them closed forming triangles; use a fork to seal the edges and to poke "blow holes" in the center of each.  Bake them on parchment paper for 10-12 minutes until golden brown, OR freeze them (unbaked) on cookie sheets and pack them in storage containors with wax paper between the layers.  Some empty ice cream boxes work well if you want to avoid using plasic, and it's a nice way to re-use them.  These will keep up to six months in the freezer.  I love having things like this on hand and ready to bake when guests drop by unexpectedly and for special occasions, when there's no time to fuss in the kitchen. The heart tarts can be made the same way and kept frozen too. Please help yourself to one. 

 

 

Or perhaps you'd care to try a blackberry turn-over.

I made plenty for our little 'remembering tasha' tea party here today.  I'm so happy you stopped by.  Cheers!

Polka-Dot Pocket Bag

 Thank you for the dolly love.  The birthday party was fun with lots of people and lots of presents, a little overwhelming for a four, but I think she liked it.  I also appreciate the information shared here on die and digital cutter systems.  I'm still searching for one that's programmable, cuts paper and felt, embosses, is no larger than a toaster oven, preferably pink, and cooks dinner at the same time.  That's not too much to ask for now is it?  So far I haven't run across that particular model, but I'm narrowing down the choices.  I didn't realize there were so many.

And the pocket bag is done (as you can see) and yes there are polka-dots.  This just couldn't have turned out cuter.  (Click on images to expand views).  It's from this book.  Grace loves it.  It's the perfect size for toting around her music books, water colors, drawing tablets, camera, cell phone...the works.  Hers also has the addition of a flap, which she requested.  It was super easy to do::  just cut out another pocket with lining ; stitch them  right-sides together; turn right-side out, top-stitch and slip it between the lining and the bag on the backside.  The directions didn't specify how much yardage was needed, but if you use cotton duck for the outside bag portion, as was suggested, and as we did, you'll need at least 1-1/2 yards to allow for some major shrinkage.  Half the strap is cut 37" long so a little over a yard of pre-washed fabric is needed for the whole bag and additionally for the lining.  Other than that, the directions were excellent and it went together without a hitch, although there was some adjusting and hand-basting around the handles and bag edges that was necessary to keep them aligned, but next time, I think I'll use a little stitch witchery to hold everything in place instead.  Nice little bag though. 

First Things First

I’m getting ready to make a BIG bag for Grace, as a ‘thank you’ for all the help she’s been to me these past months as I’ve worked on my book, which is nearly finished (yipee!!) more about that later. While I was in my sewing room this morning organizing the bag project and my workspace I thought this might be of interest to share.  Because whenever I go to the trouble of enlarging patterns from a book, and it turns out to be something I’ll make again, or just need to put away until I have the time to make it, I have a storage system that has worked really well for me and maybe this will help you too.  By taking a few minutes to print out and paste a photo of the book cover, and the project name on an envelope, I have saved myself time and frustration hunting for the pattern pieces again, not to mention trying to remember which book the directions are in. Most book patterns don’t have any identifying information and it just keeps everything all neat and tidy.  I like that.  Oh I really-really do.  You can reuse those large envelopes that greeting cards come in or purchase envelopes in bulk from your office supply store if you want to make a nice pattern library.  OK, that’s it…I’m off to do some sewing now…will share the finished bag soon. 

Babe in a Bag

After all the heat, the rain returned with thunder and lightening that woke the whole house.  Quite dramatic and a little spooky, but it’s nice to get some moisture back in the ground and pick up my sewing again where I left off before I melted.   My three, soon to be four year-old grand-daughter has a birthday coming up this weekend so I got busy and finished this.  I appreciate so much, all the great ideas that came in at my request.  It was hard to choose just one.  But since there’s a new baby in the house I thought this might be fun for her.  It was fun for me at least!

BTW does anyone have an opinion about which die-cut system works the best?  I’m thinking about getting something for the girls and I to fiddle around with, but know nothing about these or where to even find one.  I wanted to look them over before purchasing anything, but our local craft stores don’t stock them due to “space limitations”.   So if someone knows of a good one and an online source, please pass it on.  Thanks!    

 

Picnic by the Sea

Hope some of you are having fun making pickles!  Shall we have a pickle party here on the blog in a few months to share our results::  good or bad?  Hopefully all GOOD!  And speaking of blog parties, there’s a Tasha Tudor Birthday celebration coming up on the 28th hosted by Clarice at Storybook Woods.  Time to take out our fancy china cups, and take joy and peace collectively in a moment of remembrance to honor a life lived so wonderfully and creatively. 

 

Over here, we’re in the middle of another heat wave with temperatures just over a hundred degrees.  Had to get out of my kitchen, away from the pickles and the pies for awhile and cool my heels.  The Oregon coast is famous for its fickle weather, especially during the summer.  But sometimes all the elements come together just right and *magic* happens.  Yesterday, we were lucky to catch one of those days and stayed until we ran out of food and dry clothes, then reluctantly headed back home around 7 pm, to find that it had barely cooled down to 95 degrees here in the valley by the time we rolled into our driveway.

And it looks like we’re in for more of the same for the next few days.  So early this morning I went through the house and opened up all the windows and doors to let in some air and cool the house down (before closing it up again), and while I was sitting here at my desk, a tiny hummingbird flew in and hovered over my head!  All I saw out of my peripheral vision though was a black buzzing shape coming at me and I yelped and flailed---sending it right back out the door again.  Don't know who scared who!

 

Well, I'd better get outside and do some watering before things heat up again.  Have a great weekend where ever you are!

Crunchy Garlic Dills

 
Here’s the pickle recipe many of you asked for. It’s the one my grandma always used.  I only had enough cucumbers for a small batch, filling three pint-sized (16 oz.) jars, so these were the amounts I used for that, but you can easily increase the ingredients to suit your needs.

 

Crunchy Garlic Dills 

2 lbs. pickling cucumbers, rinsed & sliced or left whole

3 large cloves garlic, peeled & cut in half

6 sprigs dill leaves

6 dill flower heads (closed)

 

Brine 

3 cups water

1 cup distilled white vinegar

¼ cup pickling salt

 

• In a large bowl or the kitchen sink; soak cukes in icy cold water for about two hours. Add ice cubes as needed—this will insure a crisp pickle.  In the meantime, sterilize 3 pint-sized jars in boiling water, or in the dishwasher if you have a sterilize setting.  (I use the boiling water method because you will process these in the same pot later, and it's faster than waiting for the dishwasher to cycle through.) 

• Turn off heat and remove jars from hot water.  Put in the rims and lids to soak along with a butter knife.  You don’t need to boil them.  Divide the garlic and dill (by the number of jars), and place half of it in the sterilized jars, followed by the cucumbers.  Pack them tight.  Add the rest of the garlic and dill.

 

• Combine the water, vinegar, and salt in a large pot and bring to a rapid boil.  Fill jars with enough hot brine to cover cucumbers (about ¼” from the top).  Use the sterilized butter knife to poke into the jars to release any bubbles. Wipe jar rims with a paper towel or fresh dishtowel.  Remove lids and rims from hot water, dry them, and place on jars immediately.  Screw lids down tight.

 

• Carefully place the sealed jars back in the pot of hot water, and bring it back to a boil.  Process pint jars for 10 minutes in boiling water.  Remove them; cool at room temperature.  The lids will invert and “pop” after about 15-20 minutes if you have done this successfully.  If the lids fail to seal, you will have to store them in the refrigerator.  (Always use new lids, don’t re-use them.)

 

Store pickles for at least 8 weeks before eating so the flavors can develop.  Keep in the fridge after opening as you would any canned food.  Pickles will keep up to two years in a cool dry place.  Now go make pickles!

 

 

 

 

 

Never a Dill Moment

Summer weekends...they seem to go by too fast around here.  There’s always so much to do. Gardening, canning and baking.  Fairs and festivals, family picnics and backyard BBQ’s.  Grace and her friends gather at the local Farmer’s Market and play folk music together.  They donate their tips to the animal shelter.  Well, it took us three days, but we finally finished watching the amazing opening ceremony for the Olympics, hosted by China that left us awestruck.    Such creativity and remarkable precision and all on such a grand scale. Wow! What a wonderful way to welcome the world.  Anyway, back in my kitchen, on a much smaller scale we have. . .   

Pickles!

Instead of sticky labels I made these cute jar toppers, printed out on cardstock.  They'll keep the lids free from dust while they sit in the pantry, at least 8 weeks before the pickles are ready to eat; up to two years for storage purposes. (But I don't think they'll last that long.)

And on the other side of the kitchen...Grace's spelt cupcakes are making me crazy.  Sweet perfection in assorted sizes.  Some are just a mouthful so you can't eat just one.  I'm talking from experience here. Speaking of cute cupcakes, she's updated her dollhouse bakery shop today and added a few more little treats of the miniature variety. 

 

 

Take a peek if you dare. 

Granny Takes a Breather

Just look what you can do with hideous plastic Barbie furniture and a hot-glue gun...oh, the possibilities!  This little easy-chair was something I made a couple of years ago for the girls cabinet doll house.  (A few other accessories are from early Club Little House swaps that Amy organized.  That seems like such a long time ago now doesn't it?  I'm still enjoying these little handmade treasures though. ) This cozy scene makes me want to sit down and put my feet up.

And nibble a donut.  It's fresh from the Dollhouse Bakery right next door.

Yes, Grace is back in the kitchen(s) big and small.  A few of the special orders she just finished::  four flavor muffins and candy boxes!  I just can't stand how cute these are.  If you're in the etsy neighborhood stop by for a little treat or check out her online catalog if you need something in particular.  Both these items will be added for custom orders.  And she's getting a few things ready for a mini shop update on Monday morning (PST) too.  How are your doll houses coming along?  If you have made one, or have one to share, let us know, we'd love to see them.

Pickles & Pies

It’s been a bumper crop year for wild blackberries.  At least, in my neck of the woods.  I’ve been out picking almost every morning this week, and putting the bounty into cobblers and pies for freezing.  It’s a peaceful activity I really enjoy first thing in the morning, although I surprised a skunk and think I may have gotten into some poison oak which grows abundantly in and among the thorny brambles.  My hands and feet have been thoroughly doused with tecnu and other suds, so only time will tell.   But now I’m getting that crawly feeling, like when you think a bug might be hitching a ride on ya somewhere.

The blackberry situation is in sharp contrast to the vegetable garden this year though.  We had a hard time getting it going.  Birds swooped in and either ate or replanted our seeds in novel places.  And we had a vole that terrorized the peas and beans (chewing off the base of the stalks) just as they started to produce.  He (or she?) absolutely had no shame, coming and going in broad daylight as we toiled nearby.  Humane traps were set, but didn’t work.  Finally, Grace got so fed up after discovering more carnage in the garden one day, that she waited quietly with a bucket and slammed it over the thing as it scurried through the fence.  It was a cute little creature, we had to admit, but it was promptly re-located to a vacant grass field several miles away.  No sign of trouble from that one now, but another one apparently crawled inside the Mister’s auto and clogged up the mechanics!  We had to take his car into the dealership this morning for some dismantling and a clean-out, again, after just having had it serviced about a week ago.  On the way back home, we stopped by a friends place and picked up a bunch of pickling cucumbers they had too many of, from their garden.  I wasn’t planning on making pickles this week, but now that I have them.  I might.  I’m still thinking about what I’m going to make to put inside the little bird bag too—thank you for all the great suggestions btw!  You’ve given me some good ideas to ponder while I'm filling pickle jars.

OK, it's time to do something with this bucket of berries. 

Think we can we stand one more blackberry cobbler? 

No problem.

Little Bird Bag

I actually had time to do a little craft project this weekend!  My grand-daughter's turning four in a few weeks and I wanted to make her something special.  This tiny bag was the result of a little borrowed Zakka influence.  It's a scant five inches tall (not counting the handles).  Sorry, no pattern to offer or point you too.  Just "winged" it.  But, the bird pattern is part of the new free-with-purchase bonus designs for August up on my PatternBee website.  I'm trying to figure out what to make to put inside this.  Any ideas?  I'm feeling the itch to stitch.

Tasting Summer

Summer's back after a brief cool down.  I actually prefer the cloudy weather over the blazing sun, but then, we wouldn't have these wild blackberries now would we?

Or apples for this...

...or lovely tender little raspberry morsels.

Picked here, on the honor system.  (click on the pix to read the signs.)

To be put into pies. 

Sarah was helping, hence the hearts. 

And they tasted as good as they looked!  Summer never tasted so sweet.