A Comforter is Done!

Celebrate with me! I'm so pleased to say that I finished this queen-sized comforter Saturday at my church women's retreat (thanks for your help, Naomi!). Several women bring handwork to do while we sit and talk. Because I'm so excited about finishing this thing, I bumped the Sunday dinner post to tomorrow. Comforters do not get finished every day around here, so bear with me.

Pattern Inspiration:
Seeing this quilt of Leila's. I knew I wanted a scrappy quilt with a simple pattern. I made the bricks 4" x 8" which is a standard size for real bricks.

Color Inspiration:
I love blue. And our bedroom is drowsy, cool blue, so I wanted the quilt to be easy on the eye without a lot of contrast. Yet it could not be too boring, so I threw in a little lavendar and cool green and a few shots of strong blue. To keep the colors even calmer, I used all that white sashing. The dark blue ties and binding were a last minute wing-it that I really like.

Materials and Cost:
I bought a few inexpensive vintage pieces of fabric with this quilt in mind, but most of it came from Rebecca's stash.

Some of the white sashing is actually painting dropcloths because I was in a rush to finish piecing and didn't want to spend money for plain white cotton. So there are a few spots of Coachlight (our dining room color) on the sashing!

The backing is a old blue sheet whose partner's elastic wore out and got cut up for blue bricks.

The batting is a cheap polyester blanket I got from Target; it was too slimy-feeling for my husband and me, so I decided to be 1930s-style and make it into a quilt.

I estimate the total cost is $45.



Quilting:
I intended to quilt it, but that dratted blanket prevented quilting. So I tied it with dark blue wool from Rebecca (and that will felt down when I wash the comforter to put away for the summer - I'll show another pic then).

Binding:
Navy cotton from my stash that was intended for napkins, but I couldn't get the hang of the rolled hem foot.

This comforter was never intended to be a showpiece, so I don't mind the flaws in it. I'm pleased that I got to play with color and make something usable.



We slept happily under it that very night. . . it's heavy, warm, my favorite blues . . .and it's DONE.



Now, on to Kim's quilt and the living room throw.

Sticky Buns for a Beautiful Brunch

Recently I was invited to a brunch in a lovely, whimsical farmhouse. The instructions were to bring my favorite brunch treat and I made sticky buns (Caramel Pecan Rolls from Recipes from the Old Mill: Baking with the Whole Grains). First they rise overnight in the fridge (how handy).



The next morning, I took them out of the oven, drove them to the brunch, and when I tried to flip them at the brunch, they were cemented to the pan with hardened caramel. Silly me - I now wrote a note in my cookbook to make sure the buns and caramel are warm, so they can be flipped out with the goo where it should be.



Despite my irritation with the sticky buns, I loved prowling around the farmhouse and talking with friends, enjoying all the brunch treats we brought.

Hankies

I like to be environmentally correct, but I am not fond of change. So I am creeping through some changes, setting one goal at a time, to not freak myself out. This fall, I vowed to switch from tissues to hankies.

I stopped in the middle of ironing to show you these three lovelies that came home with me recently. Apparently hankies are not highly sought after, because these cost all of $.75 apiece.



I take a little secret thrill in the colors of my hanky with the colors of my clothes. Who knew that being environmentally correct could be color play? I love it!



I had a hard time resisting the post title "hanky panky." Just so you know.

Fake Sushi, But Not For Long!

I didn't have sushi until I was in college, but it was love at first sight. I crave it pretty often. So, like any thrifty person, I have made it at home. But I don't really follow all the steps or use all the right ingredients. This week as I made my fake sushi, I vowed to change.


(Please note Ben's runny nose. After a time, I just give up. Then I wipe it again.)

I am going to buy sushi rice and mirin. I'm going to read the book my mother got me and learn to use the bamboo rolling mat. I love sushi so much that I do want the real thing, not just a hasty attempt at the flavors. My family loves it too. In true fake fashion, we ate our sushi with Chinese Hot and Sour Soup. Yum.




Fake Sushi - get it while you can!!

On slightly undercooked white rice, sprinkle some rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Cool. Mix in toasted sesame seeds.

Spread rice on sheets of sushi nori. Put some stuff in: slices of avocado, shredded radish or carrot, cucumber, fish, or egg omelet. Roll it up. Cut it if you're feeling fancy.

Dip in wasabi and soy sauce. Again, yum.

A Little Sewing Therapy

Yesterday was an especially trying day. But at the end of the day, I had a little chunk of time to ready the binding for one of the quilts in the queue to be finished this weekend. Hopefully I can show you finished pictures next week!



But at 9:50pm, when normally I would put my machine away and think about going to bed, I suddenly realized I needed a little sewing therapy. Sewing therapy for me must be fast, fun color play, and practical. This time I made another oven hand towel. I used the template from a generous friend's stash and coincidentally, fabric from her stash as well! It's the strangest dun color, but I love it. I have enough that next time I need sewing therapy, I will find some turquoise to accent.



And I had to choose which side to put the ric rac on because when the top part is buttoned over the hand rail, part of both sides shows. Maybe you have some brilliant ideas for me? In my haste, I did not hem the linen very well, so I will be trimming threads off the towel part for a while. But I went to bed happy.

Dark Days Week 15: Sausage, Potato Salad, and Cherry Cobbler

We eat fairly locally to begin with, but this week I altered Aunt Linda's (Perfect) Potato Salad to be local. Well, except for those dratted onions that I complained about last week. But you must understand: while I consider recipes for ideas, Aunt Linda's Potato Salad is perfect and I don't alter it.



Aunt Linda's Potato Salad

Boil in their jackets:
1.5 lb. potatoes

Cool slightly (they should still be steaming when you gingerly cut them), cube, and gently mix with:
1 medium onion grated (I whap it in my food processor)
1/4 c. salad oil
1 1/2 Tbs. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. pepper

Chill.
Before serving, mix together and then gently fold into the potatoes:
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 c. diced celery
1 Tbs. sweet pickle relish
1 hard cooked egg, chopped
2 Tbs. chopped parsley

The potato salad can be made ahead and keeps very well for several days. It is the best potato salad I have ever eaten, even if I feel disloyal to my mother for saying that. And it doesn't even have bacon!

To make it local this evening, I substituted chopped SOLE watercress for the parsley. Also of note: I used my homemade mayo and homemade pickle relish and the last of the SOLE celery. My potatoes were sadly wrinkled and sprouting, but under all the yummy stuff, no one noticed.



I got sausage from my favorite local Amish butcher. We ate it with local horseradish. Along with the sausage, I baked cherry cobbler (local cherries, milk, whole wheat pastry flour and non-local stuff like sugar and baking powder and the recipe is Quick Fruit Cobbler from More with Less).

Beautiful Toothbrushes

Am I a toothbrush snob? I don't think so, but I was definitely forced into it.
1. Our old tile fixture has narrow slots for toothbrushes - many modern toothbrushes have fat ergonomic handles or something. Our bathroom is tiny, our sink has narrow ledges and hanging our toothbrushes is the best storage option, so I must have toothbrushes that fit our vintage slots.

2. Children's toothbrushes are TTFW (too tacky for words). They're loaded with licensed characters and thick with plastic doodads that never fit, again, through our vintage slots. (And what about that safe toothpaste for children who think toothbrushing is eating toothpaste off their brush? The only kinds I've seen are Little Bear and Thomas the Train. I object on principle!).

3. I have seen cool toothbrushes in Martha Stewart Living and Real Simple. Don't laugh - you've seen them too and wondered why your drugstore only sells the kind with five colors and stripes in the bristles.

Well, it turns out, I can buy them (randomly) at my discount grocery store! This store is next to our paint store. Since my husband and I are currently renovating an apartment and my job is painting, I've been to the paint store oh, fifty times in two weeks. And I spotted these toothbrushes next door! They're WOOD and at first I thought they were made two hours away, but on closer examination, they are (sigh) made in China. But I bought about 12 because they were only $1. You see only 6 in the photo, because I went back to the paint store the next day, slipped into the discount grocery, and bought more.


Also notice in the photo my children's toothbrushes in the tile holder. The only nice plain toothbrushes I could find were from a dental supply company, so I bought a box of them a year or so ago. Only 450 to a box. Yes, 450. So I begged my friends to buy them and I still have lots left. If you want some too, I'll hook you up for $1 apiece. Just let me know in the comments and I'll email you details. Because, after all, a simple toothbrush can be a beautiful thing.