Wrapped and Ready to Go!

I officially finished the Welcome Baby C Package last week. Well, I say 'officially' but there's no closing ceremony or anything. More like, I refuse to let myself go shopping between taking pictures and heading to see the C Family.

Which also means these photos were taken during the hours when I was supposed to be packing for our trip to see the C Family. Last time I thought it was done I picked up two more outfits (there was a sale, and I caved) and another item from the registry (also on sale).

When I took these photos, I was still debating which April Showers/May Flowers quilt to give away. I debated right up until the moment we left (the next morning at 5:30 a.m.). Spoiler alert: I still have both. But upon seeing Baby C's nursery, I don't feel too bad - she's already got three quilts and at least seven crocheted blankets, and a comforter. So I'll keep holding on to April/May I and II. Maybe even long enough to use for futurekid. Or maybe just for me.

Pinterest Challenge: Two Ingredient Lemon Bars

When it comes to Pinterest, I tend to re-pin anything that looks interesting and come back to check out the source later. Often that leads to disappointment when the image doesn't always link to what I expect - or anything at all. I've got a few tricks for getting what I'm after, but sometimes I'm bound to be disappointed. Other times I'm simply surprised by where a pin leads. I had expected a blog post when I clicked this pin, but at least it led to a recipe and image on a flickr account! 

Two Ingredient Lemon Bars.

An afternoon get together sounded like the perfect occasion to whip these up for a trial run.

1 box Angel Food Cake Mix. 1 large can lemon cream pie filling. That's it - one of my guests corrected me - it's really a Three Ingredient bar if you count the powdered sugar.

Mixing the two ingredients together was a little tricky. The two consistences didn't lend well to combining, and the angel food cake mix seemed quite determined to escape the bowl and cover my counter top and arms. But after a little bit of careful effort I wound up with a butter colored, very tangy mixture. 

I wasn't too careful pouring it into a greased pan - because I wanted an excuse to lick the spatula while I waited for it to bake! 

I pulled it out of the oven about 27 minutes later. The top was still far from browning, but the sides were beginning to show little bits of brown (the single spot of dark brown is a bit of chocolate that went awry, whoops!). I let it cook for a while in the pan (elevated on a rack) before trying to transfer it to anything else. I'd planned to move it directly to another cooling rack, but the moist cake seemed too likely to fall through the wire - so I used this cookie sheet instead. I lack any kind of powdered sugar dispenser, so the application of sugar was a bit rough - but that didn't change the taste!

Ignore the less that ideal photo there.

My husband liked the better the second day, when they were even more moist and the powdered sugar was a bit more absorbed by the cake. He claims not to like citrus much, but he was quite happy with these.

My brother rejected it upon a single bite. He'd hoped it was more like traditional lemon bars and wasn't interested in trying something new.

Our friend gave the first piece 'so-so' rating, but had several more upon discovering how well they went with strawberry ice cream.

Meanwhile, I had more pieces than the others put together - well, maybe not quite.

The ease and relative inexpensiveness of the dessert would lend this to being a great bring-along dessert. That said, the cake was so moist, it might be difficult to serve and share if you're particular about presentation. If you're more the 'eat out of the pan with a spoon' type and looking for something other than chocolate, this would be ideal.

Insert Angry Title Here

Even after pulling mouse sized piles of lint from my second-hand Kenmore sewing machine, there are still horrible grinding noises.

If I take out the bobbin, bobbin case, thread, and needle, then I can run the machine fairly well. There's an occasional grinding noise, especially when I lift my foot from the peddle, but not bad. If I put the bobbin case back in, things grind almost immediately - but I'm not convinced the sound is coming from the bobbin case area.

I've cleaned it as best I can, and oiled the areas the manual suggests, but that's all I know to do.

So I'm on the search for a sewing machine doctor.

Guess I know what I'm getting for my birthday next month.

At least the vast majority of the things I've been working on have no 'due date' to speak of and can easily be set aside for a couple weeks if need be.

Dressed-Up Machine

I've been intending to make a cover for my sewing machine for several months. Between the dust of living on a dirt road and the fluff of living with a cat, I knew it would be happier and safer if it was covered when not in use. Spending two hours dusting, de-linting, and oiling it (which I should have done upon getting it from the previous owner rather than waiting for it to make ugly noises) really drove the point home.

So, as soon as I was certain the oil wasn't going to come off on my fabric, I set out to whip up a quick cover.

The loud turquoise Elvis print is actually the inside fabric. Am I a secret Elvis fan? Um, not really. It was a scrap of the perfect size - and I couldn't imagine what else I'd use it for!

The outside is pretty scrappy too - two cast off legs (from converting $12 jeans to capris) and a stripe of plum and navy floral print. The corners are a little silly - I had too much material to manage a straight corner, but for the most part I'm acting as if that was intentional. The visible one on the right is the worst, the other three are more intentional looking.

My favorite part?

Looks a bit more human now, to me anyway. Like someone wearing a cloak - like Red Riding Hood. Or maybe an enchanted character from Beauty and the Beast.

The process was simple - cut the back to the right size, make the front, sandwich back, front, and a thin lining layer then sew together just like a quilt being quick turned. Turn it around, top stitch and tie it on! I can't believe I waited this long to do this.

Which means I really need to re-do the cover on my older machine. I'll spare you the picture, but it's more like a giant bag of pastel and cream fabric - though I did manage a hole for the handle so I can pick it up and move it easily. But I really ought to make another attempt at covering it - it looked slapdash before, and now it really looks sad in comparison.

Semi-mindless Stitching

I never thought about it before I started blogging, but we're kind of all or nothing around here. Most recent proof? We watched both seasons of Game of Thrones in one week. Season One took two half days. Season Two? One long day off.

During which some of us, who don't care to watch fake blood squirt across the screen, started mindless projects. 

Well, semi-mindless. 

Start with an inspiration (seriously, I love it), some scrappy bits of left over thread (most of which was second hand), and a few hours of half-attentiveness: 

Some of the letters were more challenging than others. The K and W were challenging, and this is my third attempt at an A. I still wish the 'hat' on the A was one stitch shorter, but after picking out an entire letter, twice, I'm going to live with it. That said, I started into the S with no real idea how it'd turn out, and I love it - even if it isn't quite matched to the other letters. If 'was' was the difficult word to stitch (and it was), 'better' was by far the easiest. And not just because I was much more practiced by then! 

It's currently framed in very minimalist black and sitting on one of the book shelves, but I'd like to find a slightly more noticeable - and more colorful - frame for it eventually. I'm thinking something like this Olsbo frame from Ikea, though I wish it came in a color nearer the soft-teal of the first T. We'll see what I come across - as I've yet to make it to an Ikea, even though we now have one in our state. I feel like I'm missing out!

I'm already making plans for another - though we'll have to find another show. Any suggestions?




I'm back from my weekend to Nebraska - and still trying to recover from the fun. First birthday parties, (not-first) birthday dinners, socializing with family and friends, and attempting to get a few more people hooked on Pinterest, all mixed in with too little sleep and more laughs than I've had in a long time. It was a blast, but I'm having a hard time convincing myself that turning on the sewing machine (or cleaning the office) would be more fun than a nap.  

Greetings from Nebraska!

Made it here safely.

The last hour was touch and go, between stop and go traffic on the interstate and the temperature gauge on my car reaching almost as high as possible.

I'm hoping those two are connected somehow. Especially since I thought Blue was fixed... at least a little...

Guess we'll be trying to check things out when it's a little cooler. Which probably means midnight considering the temperature at the moment.

Wishing I'd brought my sewing machine and some wonky star fabric so I could make use of this unexpected, air-conditioned down-time, but considering I got four hours of sleep last night, I may just take a nap instead.

Power

I'm going to have to make friends with people who live in town.

I swear we've lost power multiple times each week this summer.

Something to do with replacing the poles that hold up the lines.

But never while I'm gone at work. And never in the cool hours of the day.

Maybe I should look at it as incentive to start my cross stitch project.

Snapped

Why did I put this off so long!?

Seriously, adding snaps was not nearly as difficult as I had imagined.

I skipped the advice about practicing on a piece of fabric I wasn't attached to. Which didn't turn out to be as disastrous as it could have. Four snaps in place, and I only had to pry a failed 'set' out once - I could pry the two halves of the snap receiver apart with my fingers, so it was no where near sticking tightly enough to work!

I used a tool from my mom's sewing box to start with - but even having my husband squeeze the tool we couldn't mash things together tightly enough to feel truly set. So, after beginning the process with the tool, I headed to the porch with a piece of wood and a hammer, just to make sure these things were really in place.

The neighbors might have thought I was crazy, but I'm fairly certain these aren't going anywhere now.

Pinterest Challenge: Crescent Smores

I think we all knew this day was coming.

Crescent rolls + marshmallows + chocolate. 

And again, no surprise, a winner at my house.

In fact... I think I'll have s'more for breakfast.



While I have this pinned, my anti-virus programming thinks the pin goes to a suspicious looking site, so until I get that figured out, I won't be linking. 

Jumping In the Deep End. Again...

Earlier this week I posted a couple possible patterns for a rainbow and stars inspired quilt. While the designs looked alright, and some of them looked not-too-challenging to put together, nothing quite screamed "Make ME!"

I kept playing around with my Paint style designs... and I think I'm closer.

Ideally, I'd love to do two ROYGBIV sets, alternating between stars and stripes with 2 shades of 2 colors in each star field, and single color stripes. That sounds confusing... More like this: 

Obviously, there's a lot of work involved in taking this from a random sized sketch to a working quilt pattern to a quilt. And no, that's not anything I've done before. There's a good chance it'll go through some changes as I try to figure out the best way to make it a reality. But before I completely dedicate myself - and the majority of the next few months - to this pattern, I suppose I ought to see if I can make a wonky star. I've searched out a few tutorials which look clear enough -- and "wonky" ought to cover a few errors, right?

Pinterest Challenge: Bath Apron

I've had this Martha Stewart Bath Apron on my brain ever since I first saw the pin.

I was sure I'd make it as part of Welcome Baby C Package. Then I was sure it was impractical. And back and forth I went.

Well, with an episode of 'Land Girls' left to watch after my Improvised Jungle Blocks play I thought I'd at least give it a try.

Unfortunately, until I have a better model, or another photographer around, that's the only picture I have.

After reading the comments on the site, I deviated from the original pattern in two ways. First, I added waist ties, more in the style of a traditional apron. Secondly, I made a bit of a pouch of the fabric. This was partly to bring the length off the ground (for me anyway) a bit more, and partly because I like to use things with pockets. I figure at the very least it would give the wearer somewhere to stash a toy or wash cloth or something, though it might also work to help catch baby's feet when drying her off.

Momo didn't seem too thrilled in helping me test that last part though, so I'll have to wait until Baby C's parents get back to me on whether this project is a dud or a winner. I did warn them they'd be my test subjects for a few projects - and probably more over the years since I keep pinning baby clothes patterns...

To Quilt or Not to Quilt

So far my quilt making has more or less been constrained to various odd-sized baby blankets. I've been arguing with myself for months as to whether or not I should take on a larger quilt in celebration of a different milestone.

Why Not Quilt:

• Size - the quilt would be Full size, if not Queen. That alone is intimidating. 
• Cost - I can manage the cost of the materials if I stretch purchases out over a couple months, but I'm worried about the quilting. If I can find a way to do it myself, this becomes a Time issue. If I can't, paying someone else to do the quilting for me puts this project beyond what I can afford. 
• Time - I do have 7-8 months to work, but quilting it myself (whether by hand or machine) would eat up a lot of that time. And it's never certain how many free hours I'll have in a day until after 9 p.m. that day. 

Why To Quilt: 

• I want to. 

There's really one reason why I make any item:

I came across the concept of a Ring Warming Ceremony for the first time during our wedding planning. Basically, the wedding rings are passed through the guests, giving each guest a moment to say a silent prayer/blessing for the marriage before the rings are used in the ceremony. In a way, each hand made item is a bit of a Warming from me to the recipient. Even when I'm rushing to finish, I'm still trying to pour the hopes and dreams I have for the recipient into something tangible. I'm remembering the quilts I had growing up, the costumes and picnics and games they played rolls in, wondering if the one I'm working on will have even a moment of being as important. I wonder if the recipient will ever touch it and know that someone spent hours thinking of them and how special they are. It's my own little Warming Ceremony, even if the recipient is unaware that's what's happened. 

It isn't really a question of to quilt or not to quilt. When I read my own reasoning for why I want to, how can I say no? Even though I'm terrified of the size and scale of the project I'm about to commit to. 

So, the real question is: What pattern do I make this commitment to? 

This is for a wedding and a marriage. It's for artists. Unlike baby quilts where I can use the nursery design, favorite animals, or something in the shower invite for inspiration, here I'm a little less inspired. No, that's not true either. I'm intimidated by two of my three pieces of inspiration. Mario Cart Rainbow Road. Van Gogh's Starry Night. Tie Dye. I'll let you figure out which two of those are more intimidating. 


The color story has been clear since before I admitted to myself that I wanted to do this. Rainbow colors in dark gray/black fields. The good news? That can be applied to a number of patterns. The bad news? That can be applied to a number of patterns.

Here are my favorites so far. (Prepare to be awed by my incredible Paint skills. I know.) 

Inspired by the Moda Bake Shop Avignon Picnic Quilt 

Inspired by Use the Loot: Rainbow Quilt 

Inspired by Blue Elephant Stitches: do.Good Stitches Rainbow

Inspired by Oh, Fransson! Sparkle Punch and  wonky stars 

See what I mean? Lots of options... but none of them feel quite right. Or is that just me? 

In a few minutes, maybe I'll change my mind, but at this moment, I'm torn between either the first one I shared or the last one. I like the stars, but I've never done stars. And I'm not very good at finishing when I've bitten off more than I can handle. 

Progress

Improvised Jungle Blocks Quilt

Not quite sure where I'm going with these yet - whether I'll square them up or not. I'm hoping the plan for these will continue to grow as I play with layouts and determine a sash fabric. Sadly, I can't get my hands on any yardage, so it's precuts and stash to make this happen...


Wonky Stacked Coin Quilt

Finished - unless I decide to re-do the binding. Headed to Baby C in July.

April Showers/May Flowers I and II Quilts

Both are quilted and ready to wash

Pansy Patch Project

Some progress. All the pieces for the pansy faces are cut, and some of the petal pieces are sewn together.

Half-Square "Procrastination" Quilt

Needs: basted, quilted, bound, washed. Batting in on sale next week, so I'm hoping to wrap this up in the next week or two. 

Monkeys and Bananas Quilt

Finished and given away! 

Teddy Bear Blanket

Finished. Headed to Baby C in July. 

Terry Cloth Bibs

I have snaps, just haven't quite figured out how to attach them yet...

Welcome Baby C Package

I think all I need to do is finish the bibs and package everything.




Looks like I'm nearly out of projects... which is odd, because that's not how I feel at all! I do have several waiting to be started including two quilts and something to cover my sewing machine when it's not in use. All on the plan for this weekend and next week - assuming things go as planned (haha).

My 6th Quilt: April Showers/May Flowers II

I was so pleased with Aprils Showers May Flowers I that I immediately started a second. I used the same set of pre-cuts, and the same disappearing nine patch pattern, but this time I added a border from some lager pre-cuts (picked up on clearance at the same time).

The additional border brought the quilt to 38 by 38.

It also meant I needed a little additional fabric for the back. A few leftover scraps from making the patches, and one of those larger pre-cuts came to the rescue. For being an unintentional back plan, I think it adds a little more whimsy to the back.

This is my first time attempting a label. I thought I'd give my new-to-me machine's letter stitching a try - although I've yet to run it through the wash and to be honest, I'm not sure the stitching will hold up to any amount of use and washing.

When it came to the quilting, I tried something different. I'm sure there's a name for it, but dash if I know! It's kind of like a spiral, but rectangular to match the quilt shape. It's fairly organic as I had no real plan beyond that and didn't take the time to draw any guide lines. I just started in the middle and wandered my way around to the edges. It took a little longer than I expected (nearly three episodes of Land Girls), and many of the corners have a bit more pull/pucker than what I wanted to see. If this had still been basted and awaiting binding (instead of quick turned) I suspect it would have had a little less puckering, but I probably should have been doing the corners a little differently (a single stitch at an angle instead of ninety-degree turns).

It's very difficult to see in the photos, probably due to the business of the fabrics - but it looks pretty good if I do say so myself.

Oh, here's a comparison close up that might show a little more of the quilting. April Showers May Flowers I on the left, II on the right.

So now what?

I'm not quite sure. I think one of the two might be joining the Welcome Baby C package. The Wonky Stacked Coin batting is very thin and light-weight and I want Baby C to have something heavier for colder weather as well. Both April Showers/May Flowers quilts are heavier and warmer - but they're also both smaller...

For the moment though, I'm just enjoying staring at them both - finally finished and as happy as I could have wanted. And honestly, even though I made two with the thought I could then give one away, I'm not sure I can bring myself to do it. April was hard, but looking at these reminds me that good things can come out of challenging times. Which is exactly what I wanted. But maybe they're a little too personal for giving away.

Shopping Splurge

The pre-cut area is so dangerous. It's almost always a better deal to buy the yardage... but there are so many cute fat quarter prints that I never see on the bolt. I get sucked in. Which usually means I walk around the store with the fabric in my hand, but decide against it at the last second.

Not this time. 

Land of Whimzie Safari Baby 

I'm a little obsessed. But I'm not the only one. When I said I'd put this aside for the next baby shower, my husband suggested we hold on to it until ours. We'll see. 

Six fat quarters won't go very far, but I'm devising a plan... 

Pinterest Challenge: Marshmallow Rolls

Crescent rolls again? Oh yes. With marshmallows, cinnamon sugar, and butter. 


If you're on Pinterest, you've probably seen these magic-looking rolls go by more than once. Sometimes they're called Hocus Pocus Rolls, or Resurrection Rolls, or Marshmallow Rolls. 

Although the recipes I looked at called for the large marshmallows, all I had were the little guys. Larger ones might have been a little easier to work with - for dunking in the melted butter and the cinnamon sugar mixture, as well as wrapping them in the dough - but the little ones worked alright.Wrapping up the bundles took a little coordination to keep all the goodies inside, but no worse than anything else I've wrapped in crescents!

Even when the bake-time was up, these felt a little under-done to my fingers. I pulled them out anyway and let them cool for a few minutes before trying them. When I did, I was happy to learn that they were cooked through. The flavors remind me of the best parts of a cinnamon roll - the marshmallow gives it almost an icing like flavor, and you know I love cinnamon. 


So, what's with the names: Hocus Pocus and Resurrection? The marshmallow more or less vanishes during the cooking process, which can be magical, or an Easter lesson. 

Whatever you're calling them, or using them for, these little rolls were clear winners around here.

These are not only joining the regular rotation around here, but they're also going on the list for items to take/bring to any holiday meals or parties. So easy and so delicious, this is exactly the kind of thing I love to have in my pocket for little events.

June Wrap Up

• Read 5+ books
• “Looks” Madeleine George
• "Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit" Mercedes Lackey
• "A Night Like This" Julia Quinn
• "The Graverobber's Apprentice" Allan Stratton
• "This is All I Ask" Lynn Kurland   
• Pinterest Challenge: Avocado Ranch Dip, Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls/Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls, 
• Anniversary Date Renaissance Festival, one of my favorites. 
• List white car for sale
• Shelf over loveseat Progress - I picked up two different shelves but I think the bigger one is too big and the smaller one too small. I'm about to just go to get a Disc hanger instead. 
• Cut Pansy Patch pieces
• Take donations to Goodwill
• Finish April Showers/May Flowers II
• Back and baste Procrastination Quilt - Back is made, but any further progress is on pause until I get some more batting. Probably when it goes on sale in another week. 
• Birthday Package - Progress, but I don't think it's quite done. I've got a couple things, but I want something else a little more age appropriate - though I've been assured that for first birthdays empty cardboard boxes might be more appropriate than anything I could make/buy. 
• Welcome Baby C Package
• Snaps for bibs 
• Wash quilt, blanket, hooded towels, bibs, etc. 
• Add something else for the parents
• Finishing touches/wrapping

Some progress, but not as much as I'd like to see. Watching these monthly goals, you'd never know I go to Goodwill multiple times a month for work. But the things in my house just pile up in the living room. It's getting out of hand. Meanwhile, those costumes I kept trying to deliver and finally gave up on? Delivered - and to the person I was hoping would want them! 


This month was very unbalanced - I put in nearly all my work hours in either the first week or the last week of the month. So far, July is shaping up to be a similar schedule, so I've been putting some time into creating a more structured update schedule and work on fun projects schedule. I have never done well with schedules in the past, but I'm still hoping to get things spread a little more evenly across the month (at least the things I can control) instead of cramming eight projects into a single day off.