VW bus Pillow Case...in case you're starting to think about Christmas...what?!?!

8-17-13
I posted this over at CSI Project: they're having a pillow link party right now, and figured might as well mention that Christmas is coming up....fairly soon.  I have a tradition where I make everyone in my family a pillowcase for Christmas Eve to go along with their new jammies.  So, if this is not a tradition you currently have, it is one of my faves.  It's fun to choose the fabrics that fit my kids and husband for that year...or whatever strikes my fancy.  So, time's a ticking.  Get started on those Christmas projects now!

This post is about the raddest pillowcase I've ever made...and the most involved.  When I initially posted this, I didn't want the Mister to see what was going on...so I put a pie decoy picture up.  Very clever, very clever.  Well, let's get to it...

Sometime in Winter 2011
Just thought I'd start this post with a put him off the track picture...are you looking Mister? I hope not...by the way this is a tasty little creation of mine using chocolate ganache and chocolate pudding. Top it with homemade whipped cream and some chocolate shavings and you've got pure heavenly goodness. Make this.  I used Callebaut dark chocolate as my chocolate involved in the ganache and pudding and it was rich and awesome!  I also weighed my ingredients when necessary. Go get a scale, you'll be happy you did when all your recipes turn out amazing.

Sometimes I'm ambitious...maybe a little too ambitious some might say.  But, look I figure if I want to make a pillow case with a picture of a Volkswagen Camper Bus on it, circa 1970's...then by golly I should be able to do it!  Commence the very difficult project...

I had to scour the Internet for pictures of a VW Bus...because I'm not schooled in this lovely mode of transportation.  We only had 3 kids, we got to pile 3 deep in the back of the Lincoln Continental...seat belts optional. 

There are lots of pictures and of course I figure I can make my own paper-pieced block from my own brain cells.  I've done plenty of paper piecing.  I'm smart enough...good enough...etc etc etc...well...I am...I think.

This started out much more complex.  I figured I could do a slightly off center full-body view of a VW Bus...HAHAHA.  No.  You can't!  Don't try it! Unless you do try it and it works...please let me know if this is the case.

Look, you have to be able to keep everything perfectly centered and so you can't just put a piece wherever you want and hope it'll match up correctly.  There are seams involved! 

Just a fun little fact...the windows on this VW Bus are from one of my husband's shirts.  He thinks I'm a loon because I like to keep fabric from shirts of maybe torn sheets or whatever and save them for future projects.  I like to think I'm frugal...he thinks I'm crazy!  So it was a bit of fun revenge to use one of my scavenged treasures in his pillow.

Really I had to think and rethink how I was going to pull this off at several points during construction.

Because I'd get to sewing what I was sure would work....and then come to realize that I just made it have weird wings at the top...rethink time.

One of the trickiest things about paper piecing is sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and hope you are positioning your fabric correctly...because you are going to fold it over to the right side and sometimes angles are not so friendly!

I confess, I wasted more than my share of fabric on this project...but I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't know exactly what I was doing...I felt a little overlap was what i need to make sure everything ended up the way I wanted it.

Then I got to this point and realized I had to figure out a way to get the wheels on...hmmmm...won't exactly work with the current block, so luckily I had an epiphany and made 3..ish separate pieces to be sewn together at the end!  AHA!  Turns out it actually is part of paper piecing to sew multiple blocks and then stitch them all together at the end.  Now I know. At the time, thought I was a freaking genius!

Oh yeah, got me some wheels.  Of course things didn't exactly work out with these wheels the first time as I miscalculated and cut one of them off completely...right then....re-figure time. 

My seam ripper and I were besties again for this project.  So...the wheels are a little wonky.  But, by this time...the pile of wasted fabric and unpicked thread had piled up and I was a little crazed...so I figured wonky was the way I wanted it from the start...right?  Right.

Add the extra bits to be later needle-turn appliqued into place...and I was starting to feel really good about things.  The wings were gone...there were wheels, a bumper, the W on the front...HURRAY!!!

Finished product and DAMN if I don't love it!  I put a piece of paper over the personalized license plate...I know, I know...but just in case.  So you can embroider whatever you want on the licence plate to personalize it.  I love the Denyse Schmidt fabric I used to complete the pillow case.  What turned out to be an impulse buy I once regretted has now made me so happy!  I have made 3 things now using it and I love them all!

Here's the back.  I always like looking at the backs of blocks.  It's just fun.  Yeah...there are paper scraps still attached.  I was exhausted by this time.  And picking off every last piece of paper was not happening.

All done and it's love!  This might not be the side my loving husband ever sleeps on, as it's not exactly smooth, but that's okay.  I love it too much and am pretty sure he will too!

Thanks for sticking with me through the play by play.

Back to the future, My Oldest has currently claimed this as her pillowcase.

Thanks for reading!

Shared here:
The Dedicated House

Heather

Frolic Done! Christmas in August

It has been a long time coming.  Some sewing projects just take longer than others...like, years longer.  Many years.  Eons, maybe.  

But, it's all good.  Because right now, I have a completed project.

Frolic.

I am so happy with it.  The bright, pastels, the, it's a Christmas quilt, but I can keep it hanging through winter because it's really a winter quilt!  Not an elf in sight!

My favorite block.  I love how all the colors work together.  The pinks for the body of the reindeer, and the bright green and red on the ribbon.

The little embroidered touches and the fabric that is fun, not jolly.

I started out needle-turn appliqueing this puppy, but wasn't loving how all the blocks were ending up.

So I switched to iron-on transfer and never looked back.  A sweet little blanket stitch around all the pieces to keep everything secure and I was one happy quilter.  Plus, I kept the needle-turn blocks that I thought were fine. So, this quilt is 1/3 needle turn and 2/3 iron on transfer.  And it's perfect!  You don't even notice the different methods unless you look carefully.

For the many berries, I simply used felt and secured them in place with a sequin.

Felt for the faces too!  Love the ease and simplicity, and as a plus I didn't go insane sewing itty bitty teeny weeny triangles and circles.

For those in the know...can you even imagine needle-turn appliquing this one?  Nuh uh!  No thank you.

And here it is, hanging up in my living room...four inches too long.  But I'll make it work.  Think it goes pretty well with my summer pillows.  I'll show you those in a few days.  I was on a Dresden Plate Kick for a long time and now I'm on to Courthouse Steps!  Lots of fun sewing going on!

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Proper Summer Feast

Mid to late summer rolls around and I feel like I've won the lottery...almost.  I mean, if I actually did win the lottery, then I am pretty sure the sheered beaver fur carpet I bought would feel awfully nice too...PETA don't hate, you have to admit it'd be pretty soft on your own tootsies...

The summer-time winnings I am talking about is the food!  There is a wealth of things to try and make and it all tastes so darn good, especially when it comes fresh out of the earth or hot off the grill.

Warm Goat Cheese and Roasted Beet Salad is one of those things I could eat all the time.  Every day, just sit this in front of me, and I am a happy gal.

Ingredients for salad...
Roasted Beets
Several beets, scrubbed and cut into smaller pieces (quartered if they're not too huge) Greens cut off and set aside for later
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Fried Goat Cheese
Log of goat cheese cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch rounds (it's easier to cut and fry if you have placed this in the freezer for about 30 minutes before hand)
Seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, whisked
oil for frying
Salt and Pepper

Salad
ummmmmm...that would be some lettuce
A yummy vinaigrette (I used Brianna's Champagne Caper Vinaigrette and it was perfect)

Here's what you do:
Place cut beets onto a large piece of foil, sprinkle with oil and a nice dash of salt and pepper.  If you happen to be grilling your main dish, throw them onto the hot grill and let them go for about 40 minutes until fork tender.  You can also roast them in your oven at 400 F for about 40 minutes, too.

While beets are roasting and when there's about 10 to 15 minutes left of beet cooking time, heat a skillet over medium heat with about 1/4" oil in the bottom. Take your rounds of goat cheese, dip them in your egg, then place them in the bread crumbs until they are thoroughly coated.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place in hot skillet and cook until GBD (golden brown and delicious) on both sides.

Place hot goat cheese on top of a bed of lettuce, throw on several beets and top with a delicious vinaigrette.  Enjoy the tastiest salad you'll ever eat.

DON'T THROW AWAY THE BEET GREENS!!!

I mean, please refrain from tossing the greens.

You can eat those too, you know.   Simply cook like you would spinach.  Place a skillet over medium heat, with a bit of water in it.  Bring to a boil, throw in beet greens and reduce heat to simmer, cover with lid and let wilt for about 5 to 8 minutes.  You do not want them to get mushy!  So, sample every minute after 5 have passed until they reached your desired level of tenderness.

Top with a pat of butter, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve and enjoy!

And, if you really want to bring your feast over the top, serve the goat cheese and beet salad alongside this...

And maybe....

 This for dessert!!!!!

You will be the hero of the day.  Unless your kids decide they don't like beets (which they will, but don't fret because that just means you get to eat their goat cheese and beet salad).

Also, a word of caution....a few hours later, do not be afraid that you are having digestive problems....beets are vibrantly colored.  Even, shall we say....hot pink. 

Enjoy the fruits of the season as much as you can.  Summer food only lasts a few more months.

Thanks for reading!!

Heather

How to do Glamping

It's all over Pinterest...Glamping.  Glamorous Camping.

This is often interpreted by the person doing the glamping, but basically it involves taking bathtubs with you to your campsite, candles, gauzy fabric, doilies and a tricked out 1950's camper that you have glamped out with vintage inspired curtains, lots of cushions and cutesie touches that add an air of comfort to your camp out.

I asked The Mister if I could bring a bathtub with us camping this last weekend, and if he would kindly heat water over the fire and fill it up so I could enjoy a bath in the wilderness complete with bathsalts, a frothy beverage and a nice book...let's just say the answer was no.

So, let me show you how I do glamping.

Glamping for me is all about ease of camping.  When I camp, I want to do minimal cook prep-work and minimal clean up afterwards.  So what's a girl to do?

Do whatever I can to prep food the day before we leave.

1.  Homemade veggie dip.  Just buy the sour cream, the packet of dressing and mix them up and put them back in the sour cream tub.

2.  Par-cook a pile of potatoes.  Potatoes take a long time to cook, so if you give them a quick 4 or 5 minutes in boiling water, you will be rewarded with time.  I just sliced and par-cooked.  Then I was ready to put them in the tin foil dinners and for home-fries for breakfast...or breakfast burrito...or...well, there are lots of options with potatoes.

3.  Dice an onion.  Again, to be used for many things.  For me, the onion was going in my tin-foil dinners and my potato salad.  It seems an easy thing to dice an onion, but not while camping.

4.  Mince some garlic.  Yup.  That too.

5.  Cook the veggies for the potato salad I made, thanks Sweet Little Bluebird Here's what I did: I had all the potatoes in the same pot.  When the ones I was par-cooking were done, I just scooped them out, put them in ice, and kept the rest of the potatoes at a boil, dumped in the green beans and let them finish cooking for another 10 minutes or so.  I waited until we were eating the potato salad to put the onions and garlic and dressing all together.

6.  Slice up a melon.

7.  Slice up cucumbers to eat with said dip.

Bag everything up, all ready to go.  You will be so much happier to just reach into the cooler and grab out whatever you need, no knife required! It might be a good idea to double bag the onions...they can be a bit pungent.

Pre-make your tin foil dinners, people!!  I loved this.  Here's what I did, now I have 4 people to feed as well as whoever was going to mosey over and want a bite of what I made, so I made plenty.

1.5 lbs ground chuck
carrots, chopoped
par-boiled potatoes, sliced
onions, diced
1 C. rice, boiled
Worcestershire Sauce
Lipton Onion Soup Mix
4 Tbl. Butter
Salt and Pepper

Lay out 4 very large rectangles of tin foil.  Ready and waiting.  Combine the chuck and rice in a bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Form into meatballs and place evenly on the foil.  Throw on the carrots, potatoes and onions, as much as sounds tasty.  Sprinkle on some Worcestershire sauce over everything, 1/4 of the soup mix and 1 Tbl. butter cut into smaller pieces.

Fold up neatly.

Place packets into zipper bag, safe and sound until you have some blazing coals ready to cook your dinner, then cook for approximately 45 minutes until the meat is done.

Yup, I don't even want to mix the pancake batter because that means a big bowl to clean.

Also bring plenty of beverages for you, your kids and anybody who wanders over to your campsite eager for a drink.  Also, lots of snacks!!  Fresh air makes everybody hungrier.  Jerky, grapes, pita chips and hummus all makes for a tasty treat.  We designate one cooler for food and one cooler for drinks, that way we're not constantly opening the cooler with the food, so it stays at a safe temperature.

And finally...the most important thing to bring glamping...

Bug spray.  And lots of it.  Nobody is happy if they're being nibbled on by insects.

So, no bathtub for me, but R&R and minimal cleaning makes Heather a happy Glamper.

Thanks for reading.

Shared here:
Kitchen Table Art


Heather

Picnic Rice Salad

If you're ready for a new salad to take to bbqs or picnics, I think you will love this one.  It's light, thanks to the rice...unless you count the bacon grease in it.  It's refreshing, thanks to the vinegar and it's fresh thanks to all the veggies.  It's also great if you need to make something gluten free, dairy free or vegan (you can omit the bacon).

Picnic Rice Salad
4 cups combo of cooked brown rice and wild rice.  Don't overcook!
4 Slices cooked bacon, cut into chunks, reserve 2 Tbl bacon grease
1/2 red onion, diced
Handful of mushrooms, chopped
2 Cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Cup Kalamata Olives, chopped
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/3 Cup walnuts, chopped
1 Can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
White Wine Vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
****these ingredients are just estimates, change according to your tastes, add more or less of something****

Place rice into large bowl, set aside.  Set chopped bacon aside.  Saute onions, mushrooms and garlic in 2 Tbl. bacon grease until softened and tender.  With the rest of the bacon grease, make a bowl out of tin foil and pour the rest of the grease into the foil bowl.  You can let this sit on your counter and cool and then throw it away.  Great solution to the bacon grease conundrum!

Pour sauteed veg mixture (and any of the bacon grease in the frying pan) into the rice.  Add the chopped Bacon, Kalamata Olives, pepper, walnuts and artichokes to rice.

Make a vinaigrette using a 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 ratio if you prefer, of olive oil to white wine vinegar.  I prefer the 2 to 1, I like the tang of vinegar.  I would say you need approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup of vinaigrette.  Just taste as you go.  Salt and Pepper to taste, let cool in fridge before serving.

Enjoy!

Thanks for reading.

Heather

I meant what I said...

My kids took it literally.  Once upon a time it had such a bright future ahead of it...  And now, well, I guess it's being well used.

But, let's look on the bright side of things...

Head Groundskeeper keys...still there for when I need to unlock the gate to the secret garden so Master Colin and his cousin Mary Lennox can play.

Brads I mistakenly bought, not knowing they were brads and deciding to make do anyway...still attached.

Stickers and twine...still firmly affixed to bucket.  Guess the super glue I used to adhere things...and glue my fingers together with, worked very well.

So, I guess it's nice to know that even though I very inexpertly put this together, it is holding up to hard use, perfectly.

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Gooseberry Pie Time

If you're not related to my Grandma Evelyn then you may not know what a gooseberry is.  But today I made a gooseberry pie. And it rocked.  So, get out to your farm stands and farmers markets, and snatch up all the gooseberries. Before I do.

I would compare this pie to a tart cherry pie, but better.  Trust me. 

Now for a tip on gooseberries.  You have to pick them over.  Say what? 

Let me introduce you to a gooseberry.  See, there's a fluff end and a stem end.  Using your fingernails, pinch them off at the berry base.  That's it.  You don't want these in your pie.  Yuck.  So take the time to pick em over.

Now for the pie.

Step 1. Make your favorite pie dough for a two crust pie. If you need a good pie crust recipe, please use my favorite recipe located...here... as it will not fail you and is tender and flaky and all that is good in a pie crust. Plus, you can choose to use Crisco or Lard with your butter. Options are so nice. Put the crust in the fridge as you make the filling. A nice cool dough will cook up so beautifully. 
Buy a store bought pie crust. I am over making pie crust.

Step 2.  Filling time.  Recipe as follows...

Fresh Homemade Gooseberry Pie
3 cups ripe gooseberries (remember to pick them over)  I used two half pint cups and ended up with close to 3 cups
3/4 Cup Sugar
3 Tbl. Honey
3 Tbl. Cornstarch
Pinch of Salt
2 Tbl. Butter

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Put all the ingredients except the butter into a saucepan and cook over medium heat.  While cooking, smoosh the berries with the back of your spoon.  You don't have to crush them all, but get most of them.

Just bring to a light boil and when mixture starts to thicken, remove from heat.  Stir.  You don't want this to burn.

Now, pour your filling into the bottom crust.  Dot the filling with the reserved 2 Tbl of butter.  Top this with the top crust.  Crimp the edges.  Cut slits in the top crust for steam to vent.  I use the 3 slit method.

Top pie loosely with foil and place in oven and bake for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes have passed, turn temperature down to 350 F,  remove the foil from the pie and cook until the crust is a lovely golden brown.  This took me approximately 20 minutes.  Pay attention, a burnt crust might be the end of the world.

Let pie cool.  This is an important step.  While it is cooling, the pie is finishing its cooking and thickening up and becoming a thing of beauty.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.  Yum!

Thanks for reading.  Hope you can find some gooseberries and give them a try.  They're an old timey food that I think are fun and unique, and definitely due for a comeback.  Check out your local farmer's market because chances are they won't be at your super market... unless your super market is the raddest.