Eufaula Quilt Show

A couple of weeks ago, a friend and I took a road trip to Eufaula, OK to a Quilt show. It is a small town that is a couple of hours from where we live, and we saw a good variety of very pretty quilts and several vendors. Three beautiful quilts were made by one lady for her small grandchildren to be given to them when they graduated high school, as she knew she would not live long enough to give them herself, very touching. There was also an area at the show of quilts that had been donated along with some beautiful antique quilts, that were all for sale with the proceeds going to a charity. They had a tea room that was available for lunch, which we also enjoyed. It was a beautiful day to be out and about, and we had a good time.

Here are a few of my favorites. I personally like scraps and lots of colors.

These were the antique quilts that were for sale. We enjoyed quite a show just watching these quilts being turned.

The small quilt guild that we are in, The Logan County Piecemakers,  will be having our own quilt show in a couple of weeks, so we are always on the lookout for good ideas. 

 

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE

POSOLE

I love to make this, it ranks right up to the top as one of my favorite soups/stews. It makes a lot and freezes well. The original recipe is Ken's Kickin' Posole that I found on Allrecipes, but I have made a few slight changes. One of the ingredients is hominy, which I don't like, but it is perfect in this. 
1 can chiles

1/2 pound bacon, chopped

2 pounds cooked pork loin, chopped. I usually cook this during the day in the crock pot

1 chopped onion

10 cloves minced garlic

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced

1 tsp dried Mexican oregano

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped

8 cups chicken stock

1 (14.5 ounce) can mild red enchilada sauce

1 (15 ounce) cans white hominy, rinsed and drained.

shredded cabbage-as much as you like, I use as much as I can until the pot is full

Cook and stir the bacon in a very large pot until it is beginning to crisp, and dip onto a paper towel lined plate.  Stir in the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion has softened and begins to turn brown. Stir in the chiles, jalapeno peppers, cilantro and spices and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the chicken stock and enchilada sauce. Stir in the bacon, pork, hominy, and cabbage and cook for about an hour.

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?



Making Fleece Blankets

Everyone loves a nice soft fleece blanket. They are the best things to wrap up in and keep warm.  The church I go to has a small group of ladies and we try to meet once a month to have lunch together and stay connected.  Yesterday was our September luncheon. We usually meet at a restaurant, but this time we had a great potluck meal. Then instead of parting ways, we had a project to work on, to make blankets to donate to the local children's home. I think every lady of the congregation participated in this project, and it was a fun one.


Most of the blankets were sewn together ahead of time, but we did still have several that had not been. Each blanket was made of two pieces of fleece, some were tied together, but most were sewed together. There are numerous Youtube videos on making these in various ways. We had a good assembly line going. There were ladies that were putting the pieces together, and a couple of ladies sewing, then a few more that were measuring them and folding them, another that was tying a label on, and then some ladies that were tying a remnant of the fleece around it to make it look like a gift. We ended up with 43 blankets, a big pile of softness, and none were exactly alike.


Quilts will always be my favorite, but I personally like them big and on beds.  They are expensive and can be time consuming to make.  Fleece is available in every color and design imaginable from many sources. My local sources are Walmart and Hancock's, my favorite being Hancock's. The fleece blankets are so quick and easy to make, and are durable and easy to care for. 

These should be delivered to the children's home in a few weeks by a couple of the ladies.  Now, I am inspired to make some of these for myself, maybe even some for Christmas gifts. 

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE

CRANBERRY APRICOT GRANOLA

This is another recipe from Paleo grubbs, and it is a delicious snack. It is quick and easy to make, and makes a fairly good amount, so it lasts a while.

1 cup each of walnuts, almonds, chopped dried apricots, and dried cranberries

1/2 cup each of unsweetened coconut flakes, shelled pumpkin seeds, and shelled sunflower seeds

1/4 cup each of coconut oil and maple syrup

1 tsp each of vanilla, cinnamon, and salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the walnuts, almonds, coconut flakes and pumpkin seeds into a blender or food processor and pulse to break the mixture into smaller pieces.

In a larger bowl, add the melted coconut oil and maple syrup, stir in the vanilla and cinnamon. Add the mixture from the blender, the sunflower seeds, and the dried apricots and stir to coat.

Spread the mixture out evenly onto the baking sheet and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring twice, until the mixture is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and stir in the dried cranberries and salt. Press the granola mixture together to form a flat, even surface. Cool for about 15 minutes, and then break into chunks. Store in an airtight container or resealable bag.

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Poodles in the Sewing Room

An important part of our life is our poodles. We have two, Ellie and Maggie.  A few years ago, we lost our wonderful Corgi, Ranger, to a disease called Degenerative Myelopathy, which caused him to slowly lose the function of his back legs. He was a beautiful and smart dog, and extremely obedient.
He was a wonderful pet, however, he shed profusely, and I knew I did not want another shedder.  I did a lot of research before getting another dog, like I did when I got Ranger, because I wanted it to be right for us and the way we live. It came down to a poodle, but I waivered between a toy poodle and a standard poodle.  There are traits of each that I really like, and finally decided on the Standard Poodle. The final choice was mine, but it was the one my husband preferred. I spent hours reading about poodles and seeking out a good breeder and found Solo Standards. She was wonderful in communication, and we actually went to her place, which was 6 hours away from us at the time, and met her and her dogs. Her place was amazingly clean and every dog very well groomed, friendly and very well behaved.  We went through the process of being on the waiting list, and waiting for the litter to be born.  It was really exciting to see the new pictures posted on her website weekly of all of the puppies.  The time finally came for us to bring her home, when Ellie was 10 weeks old.  She was a beautiful bundle of curly, brown fur.  She has grown into an elegant girl of about 60 pounds. 
During the time we were waiting on her, we bought the supplies and studied on how to groom her, and set up a space in my sewing room.  She does take a lot of grooming, but it has just become part of our routine. I generally bath her, and my husband clips her. My husband has become very good at grooming her, and she is very cooperative. The option of grooming has been a good choice for us, over having to deal with shedding, especially on car rides.
I still wanted a small dog, but because of Ellie's size, I was not comfortable bringing a toy poodle in. I found it much harder to find a good, small dog breeder because so many that I found bred every kind of small dog and mixes of each.  I personally don't want to support that type of breeder. So, I went the rescue route through Helping Hands for Little Paws in Little Rock, AR, and ended up with Maggie, a poodle and bichon mix.  She is the happiest little dog and all about having fun, a perfect match for Ellie. They are both 3 years old now, and I will often find them snuggled up together. 

They do love each other.

This is the grooming area of my sewing room. The table came from Sam's, the cover is a yoga mat that I picked up at a yard sale for $3, and the cart for the tools came from Salvation Army for $5. It was fairly inexpensive for this setup, but the tools were quite expensive.  It is expensive to have a standard poodle groomed, so it was much better for us to buy the equipment and learn to groom Ellie ourselves. However, I will say that a good groomer is worth every penny they charge because it is work. 

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE

PUMPKIN PEANUT BUTTER DOG TREATS

I don't usually bake, and I certainly haven't thought about baking for the dogs, but I came across this recipe on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try.  It was very quick to make and the dogs love them! I just dumped the 4 ingredients in a food processor, rolled them out and baked them.

http://userealbutter.com/2012/04/18/pumpkin-peanut-butter-dog-treats-recipe/

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 large eggs

2/3 cup pumpkin purée, canned or fresh
3 tbsps peanut butter

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place all ingredients in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer

fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium for about a minute or until the dough

looks like a bunch of little dough balls. If you pinch a piece and it crumbles, add a little

water. If it’s really sticky, it’s too wet and you’ll need to add a little flour. Gather the

dough together and form into a ball. Place on a lightly floured work surface and roll it out

to about 1/4-inch thickness. You can either use a cookie cutter to cut out cute shapes or

use a knife to cut squares or strips. Place the cookies on a baking sheet. They can be crowded

pretty close together since they don’t expand much. Bake 15-20 minutes for softer

treats or 30 minutes for hard treats. Let cool completely. Makes 100+ 1-inch dog treats.

I Peter 5:8-9 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experience by your brotherhood in the world.

Cleopatra's Fan

I love to get quilting magazines, and have received many of them over the years.  I keep them for a while, and then I go through them and tear out any patterns I think I would like to make sometime, and I organize the patterns in binders, and get rid of the magazines.


One that I tore out many years ago, in 1996, was a Cleopatra's Fan.  It is a pattern from the 30's time period, and I thought this block would lend itself to hand piecing because of the curved pieces. There are templates for this block available from Shar Jorgenson and a free online pattern from Robert Kaufman Fabrics. I like to have a hand piecing project to carry with me, and usually make large quilts, so a hand piecing project can last me for several years. I chose this pattern and cut out the pieces for several blocks.


This block is beautiful, but to be honest, this has been a difficult block and not a good choice for being my portable project. I have to lay this block completely out before sewing it together to keep the pieces correct, so that I don't get them sewed upside down or on the wrong side, which doesn't always work well for portability.  After making 5 of these blocks by hand, none of which ended up being accurately sized, I decided I would finish the blocks that I had cut out by machine and this would be a smaller project. I am experienced at hand piecing, and know that I am capable of hand sewing a block to finish the right size, but not this one! I did have better luck by machine, but was still unable to get these to come out as an accurate sized block, so I had to be real creative in putting these together.

I did get them sewed together and actually made the fit properly, but the size only comes to a 51" square, which is much smaller than I prefer to make. For now, I'm setting this one aside to wait for some inspiration.


Now, I'll be on the search for another hand piecing project.



THIS WEEK'S RECIPE
TEXAS CAVIAR
This recipe was given to me by a co-worker from Texas. It is very easy to put together the night before you need it and requires no cooking.
1 can black-eyed peas
1 can black beans
1 can whole kernel corn
1 pkg cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 green onions, chopped
1 cup Zesty Italian Dressing


Drain peas, beans and corn. Rinse and drain again. Pour into large bowl, stir in tomatoes and onions. Add 1 cup Zesty Italian dressing. Stir. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Joshua 24:15  But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. 

Family Jewels

I have always saved every scrap of fabric that I can cut at least a 1 1/2 inch square from.  I use Bonnie Hunter's Scrap Saver System now, but before I had ever heard of her I was already cutting squares and saving them.  I have cut up scraps in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep, or I would take a box of small scraps along with my rotary cutter and a tiny mat with me when we would go camping, or anytime that have a few extra minutes.  It is something that I can do very quietly or I can do while visiting and enjoying the outdoors. I don't really have to think about what I'm doing and can still enjoy working with the fabric and make use of every bit of it. I don't like to waste fabric or time.


During this time, my sister Cheri who is also a quilter, gave me a basket full of small scraps. Oh, what fun it is to have new fabric! She is a great quilter and has an imagination that I can only dream of having.  Her fabric choices were completely different than the fabric that I had, so it was really exciting to work through all those pieces and trim them down to little blocks.


Having this new variety of fabrics gave me an idea-Family Jewels! I came up with a design, drafted it out and paper pieced little diamond blocks, and then alternated the diamond blocks with 9 patch blocks. The effect of the diamond shapes was very good, and almost made this queen sized quilt top sparkle. It took me two years to cut out the pieces and sew them all together, then the next three years to hand quilt it.  While making this quilt, I lived in four towns, moved five times, and completed numerous other projects. I stayed with this project and finally finished it and was very pleased with the way this quilt turned out. I entered this quilt in the Logan County quilt show that our guild has and was very honored to win the Viewer's Choice award.

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE

My 10 year old granddaughter loves to cook and had the opportunity to go to a cooking class a few weeks ago, in which she made a chocolate cake that had no dairy or eggs.  She knows how I have to eat, so she was really excited to share her recipe with me.  I've never been a big cake eater, but I had to try it. I did tweak the recipe just a bit, because I don't use soy milk or wheat flour like the recipe called for. I also didn't have the oil on hand, so I replaced it with applesauce, and added eggs.  It was very good!  It was also much sweeter than I'm used to eating so the next time I make it I will probably use a little less sugar.  This can be made as a cake or cupcakes. It was good warm, but I really liked it better after being in the refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

1 cup almond milk

1 tsp vinegar (white or apple cider)

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup oil or applesauce

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup almond flour

1/3 cup real cocoa

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray your cake pan or line your cupcake pan with paper liners. Mix the milk and vinegar in a bowl and set aside for a few minutes. Add the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla to the milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add slowly to the wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain. Cook for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and add frosting.

FROSTING

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter or almond butter

1/3 cup vegan butter, chilled (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

2-3 Tbls non-dairy milk

Cream all together with a hand mixer until smooth.

Colossians 3:14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

Path to Paleo and a new Puppy

If you've been noticing the recipes that I post, you may eventually realize that they are dairy free and mostly grain free.  The reason for this is because I eat mostly Paleo foods.  Eating a diet like this is not something I just wanted to do, but I believe has become a lifesaver for me.


I won't bore you with all the details, but a few years ago I started having some health problems, which I have been blessed to never have had before.  I've always tried to eat right, keep my weight under control, and consistently walked for exercise. But, around the age of 50 things changed dramatically and things weren't going so smooth. A trip to the ER one Saturday afternoon set off a series of events. First, I was admitted and they wouldn't let me leave for 2 days. I felt like a prisoner, a hospital is not one of my favorite places to hang out.  Over the next year, I had numerous trips to various doctors and I can't even began to count the test that were done. When they started talking autoimmune and more tests that were needed, I chose to hold off on the tests and started doing some of my own research.  Over time I began to learn that dairy and grains were a problem for me and completely eliminated all dairy, and I mean completely, and grains except for a little corn and rice on rare occasion.


The path to Paleo has been and continues to be a learning process, but is worth every bit of effort that I have put into it. I cannot tell you how much better I feel, and all blood work continues to come back good, and I don't take any prescription medicine.  Cooking is not something I do because I enjoy it, I do it because I like to eat and I prefer to feel good.  There are some foods listed in Paleo recipes that I had never heard of before, but thanks to Amazon, I have access to almost anything I need to purchase that is not readily available locally. I may eat a few things that are not true Paleo, because my true goal is to avoid dairy and grain.  I started this journey by coming across a podcast called "Dishing Up Nutrition", and then reading a book my sister recommended called "The Maker's Diet" by Jordan S. Rubin. I then read his book called "Patient Heal Thyself" and another that he co-authored with Joseph Brasco, "Restoring Your Digestive Health". I've also continued to read blogs and research other information that has led me to where I am now.  I've recently discovered a great e-book called Paleo Grubs that is full of recipes that are dairy and grain free.
If you struggle with any health issues at all, I would recommend at least giving this a try.


A NEW PUPPY
Dogs are good things in my world and we had an exciting day yesterday. My 10 year old granddaughter got a new puppy, a Morkie which is a yorkie and maltese mix. She has been wanting one for a very long time, and finally convinced her parents to allow her to have a dog in the house, a brand new house at that. She has been planning this particular puppy since March, before the mother dog was even bred.  My sister that lives in Idaho has the mother dog and after carefully selecting a daddy dog, both Morkies, allowed her to have a litter, which was 3 little girls.  She flew in with the puppy and delivered her yesterday. It was thrilling to be there and watch the arrival of Morgan, the new puppy.  She was prepared with food and treats, new toys, a bed, food and water bowls, a crate, a playpen, potty pads, and even a collar with bling. This is one lucky little puppy.

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE


PANCAKES
2 eggs
Banana
1/3 cup Almond flour
Almond or coconut milk to make a pouring consistency


Mix all together with a hand mixer. Pour about 1/4 cup at a time in a hot skillet or on a griddle in a little coconut oil.



I Corinthians 13:13  And now abide faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

My Sewing Room

I really enjoy seeing other people's sewing rooms and getting new ideas for organizing and making the best use of what I have. So, I thought I would give you a tour of mine. The room is only about 10' x 15', so it isn't a large room but it serves me well. 

I am fortunate to have a small walk in closet and I make the most of it.  I added shelves to each side and an old bookcase on the back wall of it.

In one corner, I have small shelves that hold most of my collection of sewing machines.  I am really fond of some of the old Singer sewing machines. 

One wall has my design wall.  We made this from 2 sheets of some foam board that we bought at Lowe's.  I then covered it with some fabric that I found at Walmart on the clearance table for $1 a yard. I really don't know what the fabric is, but it feels like something between fleece and flannel and works real well. When I need to use it, I just move the ironing board.  I also made the big board for the top of the ironing board from a scrap of wood from an old cabinet door.  I'm all about thrift!

When I have a small piece of fabric left over I cut it down to small squares, using Bonnie Hunter's Scrap Saver System.  I keep them organized by size in drawers that are labeled.  I don't get rid of anything until I cannot cut a 1 1/2 inch square from it.  You would be surprised how often these precut squares come in handy. 

I like to use clear plastic storage units to keep things organized, and I write my notes on a dry erase board over my cutting table. 

My sewing room has to double as the grooming room, since I have two poodles that require a lot of maintenance. So, the grooming area takes up one wall.

My grandchildren don't live in the same town as I do, so I don't get to see them nearly as often as I would like. When they come we occasionally have some sewing time, and this is what happens. They do have some fun in there, and do really well with the machines. 

So, there it is.  I hope maybe seeing my room has given you some ideas for yours.  The design of my sewing room has come from ideas that I've gotten by seeing pictures of other's sewing rooms, or things that I've read on various blogs. I've been able to put this room together with very little expense to the household budget.  I don't work well in clutter, so even though it isn't a huge space it is adequate and fairly organized. 

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE

CRUSTLESS PUMPKIN PIE

I love pumpkin year around, and pumpkin pie is one of my favorite ways to eat it.  I have no idea where I got this recipe, but this is a common dessert in our house.

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (OR 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, & 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup flour-any kind except coconut flour

1/3 cup brown sugar

Stevia to equal 4 tsp sugar, OR another 2 tblsp brown sugar

********

1 can pumpkin

Cup of milk OR 3/4 cup mil and 1/4 cup oil (any kind of milk can be used)

1 tblsp cornstarch or ground flaxseed

2 1/2 tsp vanilla

********

Stir first 7 ingredients together well in one bowl, and stir the next 4 ingredients well in another blowl, then stir together well.  Pour into a greased dish and bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes.  Cool completely and refrigerate.

Ephesians 4:29  Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.