Monthly Archives: January 2015

2015
01/11

Category:
Life
quilts
Sewing

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Scrappy lap quilt.

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Did anyone make the new projects posted yesterday?    I couldn’t help it, they were so fun.  I also repaired this little hedgehog coin purse which has been out of commission for several years.   .   He needed the key chain put back on.  And I was procrastinating.

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 I had intended to order garden seeds today and to work on the quilt that is on the machine waiting for me, but instead this called me.   It was a small pile of 4″ squares cut from fabrics in the scrap box.   I also have many  2.5″ squares and I look at this and then at the pile of smaller squares and am guessing there are enough to make this size 4 or 5 times.   This is how more ufos are acquired for those of you who don’t have any.  However, when finished, someone will love its coziness.

2015
01/10

Category:
Life
Sewing

COMMENTS:
2 Comments »

2 Quick n easy sewing projects

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Teeny tiny zip purse is one of the cuter small projects I’ve come across lately.   It went together fast and easy.  I recommend using a nylon zipper.  If you also want to put a credit/debit card inside, you might want to increase the width 1/2 inch.

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My purple Wonder Wallet has been so worn with use, I needed to replace it    I changed the new one a bit from the pattern by putting a zipper pocket in and deleting another pocket.    The biggest problem with that was that I did not have a nylon zipper and the metal zipper doesn’t work as well.   And judging from the amount of cards I put in there, I probably should have put the Velcro up higher on the coin part of the purse.  But I will still get a lot of use from it.   It also goes together quickly and is very easy. 

Both patterns are real beginner patterns from which you would get a lot of use.   Another idea is to start making some now for all those little gifts one needs throughout the year and at Christmas.

2015
01/09

Category:
gluten-free cookng
Life

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Spinach Artichoke Dip Soup

Lindsey Nixon of  Happy Herbivore has a number of  good recipes.   But the one we tried this week was one that was almost addictive.   It took awhile to make it, but the time was so worth the taste.  It was supposed to serve 3, but it was so delicious, we didn’t leave enough for a third serving.. Next time, I will double it so we can enjoy it as another meal that week. The only changes I made to this was that my grocery didn’t have organic spinach so I used Swiss chard and I used onion instead of shallot, which I didn’t find.

As you can see her recipes have the nutritional information with them as well as being plant based, gluten and oil free.

Spinach Artichoke Dip Soup | serves 3 (GF)(LF)(SF)*

  • 15 oz can white beans, drained & rinsed
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • 2½ tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1½ tsp miso paste (yellow, white or chickpea – SF, not brown)
  • ½ tsp mustard powder (or ½ tbsp yellow mustard)
  • 2 shallots, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 14 oz can artichoke hearts (packed in water, not oil), drained & rinsed
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • 2 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 3 cups vegetable broth

In a high-speed blender or food processor, combine beans, almond milk, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, miso and mustard. Set aside. Line a large pot with a thin layer of broth. Saute shallots and garlic until fragrant and shallots are slightly translucent. Add artichokes, basil, and oregano, and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add spinach, vegetable broth, and 1 cup water and mix well. Cover and bring to a boil. Stir until spinach cooks down. Once boiling, crack the lid and lower to a simmer.

Simmer for 10 minutes then remove from heat. Use an immersion blender to pulse soup until it has a chunky consistency, not smooth. Pour in bean mixture and mix until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Return to a simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

Per serving: 310 calories, 4.6g fat, 47.1g carbohydrates, 17.6g fiber, 2.7g sugars, 24.0g protein

Add-on: Add toast or crackers

I have no affiliation  – just really happy with the recipes I’ve tried over at http://happyherbivore.com

2015
01/08

Category:
Knitting
Life

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Wine socks

IMG_1114 Is it wine or whine – or maybe both?   This week I have made good progress on these socks, but I do expect it will be another 2-3 weeks before they are finished.

Carbonite.com is the best!.   They have worked with me until all of my files that were lost in November are now back on my computer and I am thrilled.   Part of the problem was that I’ve had an external drive that was slowing the process down and my computer would shut down before completing the download process.   Once they figured that out, bringing my information back from their cloud was very easy.   And I love that they are constantly uploading to their cloud everything that happens to my computer.   When it went down, they froze everything until today when I could finally tell them that I was ok again.   Now they have uploaded everything I have saved while in the frozen mode and will continue to save.   Did I say that Carbonite is the absolute best thing for me (and my computer).

2015
01/07

Category:
farming
Life

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Yard work

Today was foggy instead of sunny and our forecast for the next two days could mimic today.   I’ll be very happy with that as the temperature is in the lower 50s, which is more comfortable than the Midwest and east coast are having currently.     This photo is of the front of the house after the work was done yesterday.   We will wait until it’s warm enough to get some color spots in there.

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The photo on the left is the large pile of bark that was delivered yesterday and on the right is what is left after a full day’s work.   I am so very happy that this young man is not yet back to work so he can help us.    

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He put a lot of bark in the sheep sleeping quarters and a good share in the chicken/goose/duck area.  (ducks and geese are not allowed into the coop, but are locked up for the night on the side of the coop)   

Then he started working on the apple trees.   It will be terrific this summer to have them so well mulched that we don’t have to worry about weeds and water.   (It was getting dark, but you can still see where he is working.  He will probably finish moving the pile of bark Friday and then I’ll wait until another streak of good weather to order more.   

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I wasn’t need to supervise quite as much today, so tried 5 new recipes.   This meansI won’t be spending as much time in the kitchen for the next week.

2015
01/06

Category:
Garden
Life

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Sewing and sunshine

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Keri requested that I embroider her name in silver on her new Christmas robe, so that is what I did.    The silver looks rather subtle on a gray and white print, but she likes it and that is all that counts.

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I did finish the last pair of Christmas potholders.

The weather is beautiful this week, so it behooves us to get as much done as possible before the rains and freeze come back.  I had some help so I spend a part of the day supervising.   Nature had planted cedar trees and a holly that needed to be moved to a different location and then there were bushes and ground cover that just had to be carted off.  The front area now looks clean and there is room for me to be able to put in color spots.  I will order seed for those flowers this weekend.   And I will get a photo of the after.   I’m sorry that I forgot to get a before photo.

With 4 days of sunshine expected and 60 degrees, I ordered a large truckload of bark to fill the muddy spots and cover around the trees and other place.  This is such a great time to get this done, before the next round of rain and freezes.   With animals, there are areas that tend to get fairly muddy.

2015
01/05

Category:
Life
quilts

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Watermelon placemats PLUS

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UFO finish #1 – 2 sets of 4 placemats – and the receipt in the bag is dated 1995.   And they are DONE!.   They were a fair amount of work which is probably why they didn’t get finished in 1995.

Here is a note from a friend who reads this blog (with her permission):  She apparently doesn’t have any ufos.   So whether you do or don’t, join us in recording what you’d like to accomplish this year.    You can use the comment section or email me.  I think it will be fun to see how much we actually do accomplish, because so often we don’t see what we’ve done.

Well I am hopeful as always regarding projects. I think I might actually finish some! I did make two pillow cases. I decided with the abundance of fabric I have I will cut them out, sew them for people at church who are struggling and send them with a card and note of encouragement. .. I am still trying to get used to the rotary cutter so this is also a learning process. Then the piece I chose for the trim was too short so I had to piece it. Finished two of them anyway and gave one away to a cancer patient in treatment. I have another one cut out ready to sew, may it will get done this week. It is fun to make surprises.

I am knitting a scarf using a pattern I haven’t used before. It is slow going because the yarn is fine and I am a very slow knitter. I am also using up some sock yarn by crocheting squares and learning new stitch patterns. The hope it to put it them all together with an nice edging for a baby blanket. This is going to take a lot of time because the yarn is so small and the squares are equally small. I can crochet faster than I knit. There is hope! My goal is to make at least 12 afghans this year. I have one done and haven’t even begun another one. The yarn keeps calling my name to get something done.  Note:  It is Jan 5th and she has already finished an afghan.

Also, still writing and started my new Bible study for the year. I am really dedicating some time to this because somehow or other I have not been as diligent as I want to be with learning more about Jesus. I am pray a lot during the day and when I can’t sleep, which is often.

Running parents to appointments of which there seems to be so many, really cuts into the day and seems to take away some motivation. I also write and tell stories for the Adventure Club meetings twice a month. I teach the Little Lambs every other meeting so have to prepare crafts and the lessons for those.

My ladies group meets once a month and this is a real blessings. There are only 6 of us, but it is so encouraging. We meet at our home and so I give a short talk, prepare goodies and we just visit. We pray for each other and others. Our women’s singing group will start again in late Feb. or early March to prepare to sing sometime in the spring. I love this so much. The music is inspiring.

I don’t have a garden, but want to grow fresh herbs this year and maybe some tomatoes if I can just figure out where to plant them. I have some space so will see if I can get the soil worked up and get it in.

 

2015
01/04

Category:
Life
quilts

COMMENTS:
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UFOs revisited

I have made a list of all the unfinished items that I have so far found.   I think rather than make a list of what to do each day, I should just hang a dart board with them listed, and when I finish one item, throw a dart for the next.   That would keep me busy all year.

The lists consists of 22 quilts,  several  placemats,    12 sewing items plus the doll clothes,  1 pair of socks about half knitted and spinning for another plus the charity items I will make.   This list only consists of items started.    There is a much larger lists of things I’d like to do and for which I have the patterns and materials.   But I also know that I need to do much more gardening than I did last summer.   So I’m thinking that it might be a great idea to start with finishing some items already started with the option that I can start something new every couple of weeks.

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Today, I went to the first box and pulled out these placemats which have patiently waited their turn.   I am not sure what I was thinking because there are enough blocks cut out for seven, enough backings for 8 and batting for 4, and borders for 4   I have now cut out the red pieces for the 8th one and selected a different green for binding the next four.    4 are ready to for binding.

Please tell me some of you have projects like this.   And then keep us updated as you pull them out and finish.

2015
01/03

Category:
Knitting
Life

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Knitting machine set up

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After  taking 30 years of dust off these boxes and trying to this knitting machine back together, I think we did it.   Tomorrow I hope to find some YouTube videos to refresh my mind on how to actually use it again.  It does have a garter carriage as well as other accessories, but one thing at a time.

2015
01/02

Category:
Life
quilts

COMMENTS:
1 Comment »

First finished top!

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I feel really good getting this done.  Actually I feel a sense of accomplishment  every time I finish a top.   This time I put the remaining fabrics away to keep the table clean.

With the sun going dark so early, it makes a short day.   On the good side it is raining again which takes the temperature above freezing.    And I did get some housekeeping done which was overdue. 

How are you doing?   Have you sewing projects?    And are you enjoying the DAB readings?