For Alberta

Over on Cheryl Arkison's blog, she has suggest that those who wish to help out might make Slab Blocks to send to her and the blocks will be made into quilts to help those who lost many of the necessities of everyday living when their homes  were flooded...

Check out her instructions at Dining Room Empire for instructions...

 

As Luck would have it, I was 'gifted' with a bag of scraps from another quilter.   I don't know about you, but when ever I get free fabric, be it fat quarters, yardage, or 2 inch wide strips, I am inspired to sew.  Just because the given scraps are almost always fabrics that I would not likely buy and it is a wonderful challenge to create with these unexpected colours and prints.

 

And a double challenge of making Slab Blocks as suggested by Cheryl!  This system of creating pieced blocks is somewhat unusual for me, so the first couple of blocks were not really to my satisfaction, but I have managed to put together three blocks this morning!

 

 

This is my #2 try and I am quite satisfied with it.  I used my own scraps for this one.   The trick to these blocks, I am finding, is making sure that they are squared up properly and that the seams don't bulge or gather anywhere...  If you are making some of these blocks, (and you don't have Cheryls book Sunday Morning Quilts) my advise is to square up every section that you make!

 

 

This block has larger scraps and comes from the 'gifted' fabrics...

 

This one too, I sure hope christmasy fabrics fit in with the 'scheme' that Cheryl plans to put together!  What do you think?

I am hoping to make a few more before the end of the week and get them sent to her by next friday... I am aiming at a dozen blocks done by then! How 'bout you?

 

Works In Progress - Post Clean-up...

As you may have read here, I have been doing a major sort, organization and clear out of my sewing room!  Many items in my sewing collection have been hanging around way too long!

Now, that is done, I can actually SEE MY WAY CLEAR to a few projects!

I am slowly working on a Postage Stamp Quilt -- My Aunt Vera made one of these, by hand, many years back and every now and then the memory of it returns in my mind.  I decided, I should actually make one for myself!  A postage stamp quilt is made up of well, postage stamp sized fabric bits.  In the case of the one I am doing, the bits are 2" square and when sewn are 1 1/2 inch... So when I make a block of 25 squares it is not very big...

 

 

And so far I have 12 of these made - it is a long way to go, yet tho...

 

 

There will be narrow sashings between each block, at least that is the plan so far...

 

My other in progress is the blocks and fabric that I got from a quilting friend that I have been working on...

 

 

I made a stack of leaves and petals so that I could add an applique border, tho it is only on two sides of the project...  I guess you might say it is my ARTISTIC interpretation! Hahahaha!

 

 

I had started to applique the pieces with my machine, but the curves of the leaves and petals are a bit too tight to do them neatly, so now it goes down to lay beside my TV watching chair and I can applique by hand before the layering and quilting...

 

 

Last year just about this time, I won a Jelly Roll of black and white fabrics and I have been searching since then for just the right project for them...  And I do believe I have found it!  Good thing I thumbed through all those old magazines before giving them away!  This S-Block Quilt in Quilt Magazine from January 2009, seems to feel right.   Now, the decision that needs to be made, what colour should the 'in between' S be???   RED? hmmmm....

 

My last Work in Progress for now, is this poor little AVOCADO plant...

I do think there is something wrong with it.   I started the seed from a store bought avocado just around Christmas time.  It took til March before it had a good root and a couple of leaves, so I planted it in soil on March 9.   It has added about an inch in height since then, but the leaves are not opening out and why are they so white?

 

 

I doesn't look like pictures of avocado plants I see on the internet google images... hmmmm...

Linking up as usual with The Needle and Thread Network...

Every Night Travel Pillow

How about a tutorial for a change?

Quite a few years ago, I purchased (for way too many $$$$'s) a travel pillow.  You know the big fluffed up 'C' type of pillow.  I found it unuseable.  I really disliked it.  It just seemed to push my chin down onto my chest -- it was not a good pillow -- at least for me.

So I invented one for myself - but I have seen very similar versions since then, so there is not just one person who thinks those expensive 'C' shape travel pillows are not so good...

I actually use my 'travel' pillow every single night!  I don't use a regular pillow at all.  I lay flat on my back and I like my head to rest at the same level as the rest of me...  One problem, which seemed to develop as I got older, my neck was often sore after a night like that.

I had to think of something to support my neck.  After some experimenting with rolled up towels and scrunched up regular pillows, I thought I just need a small roll behind my neck.  But that didn't work very well even tho it supported my neck, it tended to 'slip away' during sleep, or if I moved my head...

And now, because I have been making this pillow for myself now for well over 5 years, probably closer to 10, I cannot remember how I came to think that a "dog bone" shape would work...

And it does!  So here follows my version of a very useful little pillow for every night, or for travel, or even to keep on the back of a recliner type chair to let you lean back and have an afternoon nap without waking up with a stiff neck!

I made myself a pattern.   The sewing is very basic so I am not going into major details of how to sew this together but there are alot of photos so you can see the step by step...

Every Night and Every Day Neck Pillow

 

supplies:  a piece of polar fleece or other 'comfy fabric'  enough to be able to cut out 2 rectangles that are about 18" x 14"

 

thread, pillow stuffing, or left over bits of quilt batting, sewing machine, or even just a hand sewing needle and thread. 

 

The pattern you make yourself - a large piece of paper, use a newspaper page if you need to and mark the lines with a crayola marker that doesn't bleed thro, or put layers of paper underneath so you don't leave marks on your table.

 

Step 1.  Make the pattern.  refer to the photo below.  1st mark a rectangle that measures 16" long x 12" wide

 

 

Step 2: mark a seam allowance of 1/2 inch all around your rectangle. (my pattern doesn't show the end seam allowance on this one so you just have to take my word)

 

Step 3: I fold the paper in half long ways and short ways, so you can use the crease to measure from.  Use your ruler and draw a line 2 inches from each side of the folds, so that now it looks like a 'dog bone'.  Check the shape you have made so that it looks like my drawn pattern.

 

Step 4: On the part of the pattern that forms the " |_| " draw your seam allowance so that the log or centre 'bone' part stays at 4 inches wide and 8 inches long.

 

Your lines don't have to be perfect, I find that this size works very well for me.  If you are a bigger person you might want to make the length a bit longer, you might make the centre "bone" so that it finishes at 9 inches, but my suggestion is to start out with the standard then experiment on later tries.

 

Now the rest is super easy...

 

Step 5: Pin your pattern to your fabric.  I like polar fleece because it is easy to sew and is soft and not scratchy at all...

 

 

Step 6: Cut your fabric in the pattern shape. Unpin from your pattern and make sure that the right sides of the fabric are facing each other.

 

Step 7: Now, I like to make a marking dot at each corner so I know when to turn the corner and still keep the 1/2 inch seam allowance.

 

 



Step 8:  Start at the centre of one end of the 'dog bone' use one or two back stitches and sew all the way around making sure to maintain a 1/2 inch seam allowance.  End so that you leave about a 4 or 5 inch opening

 

 

Step 9:  Snip the outside corners so they don't bulk up, and snip the inside corners so that they turn smoothly, don't snip into your stitched line!

 

 

Step 10: Turn right side out

 

 

Step 11:  Find your prefered stuffing or batting

 



 

Step 12: A bit at a time, and being patient, push stuffing into the furthest corners of the pillow, but don't make it really firm, just squishy...

 

Step 13: Last bit, hand sew the opening closed.

 



 

Step 14: Lay down and test it out....

 

Hope you find this to be a useful accessory.

 

Oh, one other thing this little pillow is great for...

laying on the ground (with or without a blanket beneath you)

and watching the clouds float by on a warm summer afternoon!

PS, this little pillow doesn't need a pillow cover and I rarely wash it, it is so simple to make that I just do a new one as needed -- about every 3 or 4 months...

Vegetablized!

Not often that I write about cooking here on Susan Being Snippy, but every now and then I come across a recipe on the internet or on the Food Network (especially on Chef Micheal Smith's shows) that looks like a recipe that would suit my worker guys...

They like meat.

I try as I might to get as many vegetables into their diet as is possible without causing the words "I ain't eatin' that" to be said...

I was exploring a 'link-up" to see if I could find any new crochet or quilting blogs to put on my reading list and came upon a blog that was actually hugely crowded with a variety of ads, all down the side and between practically every paragraph -- I generally skip over those kinds of blogs, not that the blog owner doesn't have interesting things to say, but that everything they do say, is an attempt at selling you something and in this case she presented a recipe promoting Bush's Baked Beans (we don't get that brand where I am) The recipe she shared included adding 1/2 cup of brown sugar and a 1/2 cup of maple syrup, plus salt, garlic powder and onion powder, ketchup, yellow mustard and no veggies...  But it did sound and look interesting with a few tweeks that I made to it...

Now, since this household has a diabetic in it -- me,-- another concern in most cooking is SUGAR...

The recipe on the other blog has extra sugar and really no veg other than the beans.  So since I cook, much like my grandmother and mother - you know, a bit of this and a bit of that -- I often take the idea of a recipe and recreate my own version...  My version takes a bit more chopping to prepare, but i think is more 'garden fresh' healthy!  And even so I would say that the prep time did not exceed 15 minutes...

Sorry, I did not think to take a photo of the finished dish -- it was scooped up onto plates very quickly!

So here is my recipe, that I am calling ....

Vegetablized Brown Beans and Beef

Preheat oven to 375 F.

 

1 regular sized can baked brown beans -- whatever brand or store brand you prefer (I used Maple flavour store brand brown beans)

open and pour the can of beans into a middling size cassarole dish.

Add

2 tblsp ketchup and 2 tblsp grainy mustard

stir together really well

Then

Saute about 1 pound ground beef in a fry pan til nicely brown -- drain off the extra fat -- add a 1/2 onion and about 2 crushed garlic cloves and saute til the onion is translucent. (don't burn the garlic!)

Add

2 or 3 stalks of celery chopped including the leaves.  Saute for a couple minutes til the celery softens a bit more. 

Broccoli stalks 3 or 4 -- not the floret part, chop the stalks into pieces about the same size as the celery and mix into the bean mixture, no need to precook these. (use the florets another day)

Stir the meat mixture into the beans in the casserole dish and stir together well.

Put the lid on the casserole dish and pop it into the oven for about an hour.  (You might get away with less time, but thats how long it took me make a few crochet granny squares and watch an episode of Elementary on TV).

I don't think you should leave it in longer than a hour tho.

 

Remove from the oven, take the lid off and let the family serve themselves.

This recipe is enough for Three of us, so if you have more to feed just double up the ingredients and follow the same procedure...  You could double up everything except the meat and still have enough beef flavour in it to be quite satisfying to a Meat Lover...

 

I served this with a home made coleslaw -- the coleslaw mix you buy in a bag and coleslaw dressing with a sprinkling of sesame seeds...

 

My DH said he thought it was the best beans he had eaten in a long time -- even better than the chili that I make.

 

I told my son that I did not put any hot pepper or hot sauce (as the internet recipe had called for) into it and he said "good thing"

 

And as for me, I liked it too and after checking my blood sugar level later in the evening, I found that I was as normal as could be expected...  definately a good thing...

 

I'd like to know if you try out this idea and how your family might like it.   If you have one of those big BBQ's you might try it as a BBQ side dish baking it on the BBQ in a non-flame corner...

Someone Else's Sewing...

It's been awhile since I wandered up into my sewing room...

Partly because it was in a real shambles after 'culling' quite a few of the books and magazines I had collected through the years along with notions that I probably would never get around to using and even some lengths of fabric that I just could not see a way to use...

I did finally get things back in order to where it became a room that I could walk into and see where the things were on shelves or in their baskets along the wall so I sat down and pulled a plastic bag of stuff out of a drawer...

Every now and then everyone needs an injection of inspiration.

Even if that inspiration comes in the form of someone elses part done project that they had lost interest in a year or two or three ago... (people tend to give me stuff, cause I always smile when they do so! and I always promise to make good use of whatever it is!)

Some blocks, a few cut squares, triangles and long strips pre-cut, were organized into this piece...

 

This is, either a table runner or a door quilt -- not quite sure which, or perhaps it is a bed runner... It measures about 60 inches long and about 25 inches wide.

 

Most of the star blocks were already made and the alternating plain blocks were cut, the narrow border strips were already cut too.  There is some of that lovely mauve about 1/2 meter and I am hoping that I can add a final border with it.  Then with some of the bali print scraps I am thinking to add a leaf vine applique border...

 

I think I will put another couple hours into it today and see how much further it progresses...

 

 

Oh, and today, even tho he looks a bit grumpy, I know Walter is celebrating...

It was two years ago today, that Walter came to live with us and we are happy and thankful that he did!

 

Infatuation

Well, Hello!  I have been somewhat otherwise occupied of late and have been away from the blog... 

Now, onto my latest "Summer Love"...

My dear heart (DH) or depending on the day, damn husband, has been taking opportunities to suggest to me that he needs some new music -- he had a 'music player' thingy for a long time, but it wore out and now he is back to listening to music in a regular cd player, so he wanted a couple of new cd's. (we do discuss these kind of WANTS as opposed to Needs)  

So I ordered from Amazon.ca two of the three items he wanted -- old man rock and roll -- John Fogerty, Wrote a Song for Everyone and something new from a group from Colorado called the Luminares -- I like the Luminares,they have a very interesting sound -- I could almost hear Grunge, but also some basic Country-- very refreshing!

 I'm disappointed in John Fogerty, but I won't be the one with that in my "collection' so my opinion on it doesn't really matter... (I just think voices get old and tired and it is just no fun listening to a version of "Bad Moon Rising" that isn't quite as vibrant and bright as it was in 1970...)--and that opinion goes for any of the old men of Rock and Roll...

Anyway.  Along with those two cd's I ordered a book - for me, but also to make the order so that it has free shipping -- good excuse, hey?!

 

Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy!  I thought I was ordering this book just to add to the order, but what a great book!   As soon as it came in the door and was unpackaged - and the cd's thrown aside - I quickly became infatuated!  There are dozens of crochet snowflakes to be found on the internet, but this book is so clear with both written and diagramed instructions it is a joy to go through each page!

 

And I have been busy...

 

 

So far I have done 4 of the beginner patterns -- and yes each pattern clearly says, beginner, intermediate, and advanced -- with many snowflakes that can be made up in much less than an hour, which makes them very satisfying to do!

 

 

I have not blocked or stiffened up any of the ones I have made yet tho.  I was going to ask my aunt how to do that, but the book does have quite nicely written instructions for doing that and what product to use...

 

A few years back I gave my self a challenge to make 100 crochet snowflakes, but at the time, I got bogged down and I think I got about 20 done, which I gave away with christmas cards that year...

Mind you, I started that challenge in November....

 

 

This is June.  I have lots of time to get a 100 snowflakes made before Christmas! and like the subtitle of the book says "Make your own snowdrift - to give or to keep"

 

PS - were you waiting for my other summer challenge? the one with a tutorial for a traditional quilt block each week?  that doesn't seem to be working out right now...  You don't want a big long story about it either, do you?  Good.  Cause I don't have one...

 

The current infatuation with snowflakes could last all summer!

Wishing you all a summer love...