It's been a while....but I've been busy!

I have so many projects in the works right now it was nice to be able to start and finish one all in the same day. My sister-in-law had some pillows she wanted recovered so that was my project for Saturday morning.  I think they turned out beautifully and now I have the itch to add pillows to every chair or bench in my house.

Here is another quilt that is almost completed.  I made it completely out of the clothing of my brother-in-law who passed away.  I think it will be a nice keepsake for my niece Hope to enjoy when she is older.

Someone contacted me about a quilt she saw on my blog.  She loved the pattern and sent me a picture of her decor so I could coordinate the colors.  I started with this: (these little babies are super fun to quilt with. They are called jelly rolls.  They are made up of 20-40 strips of coordinating fabrics.  I made these but they sell them at any quilt shop for about a dollar a strip, so $20-$40 a roll.)

(the blue roll will be used for a quilt for her son in the same pattern)

And now I have this:

I still need to add a border or two and then quilt it.

As you can see, I have a lot of work to do!  So, I had better hop to it while the girls are asleep and the boys are gone.  Happy St. Patty's Day!!!

Play Dough!

Who doesn't love play dough!?  I do, and so do my kids, so with a snow day on our hands today, I tossed out the crumbly, cruddy store bought play dough ( that, by the way dries out after you've played with it three times) and made some new homemade stuff that is really easy to make.  You will need:

1cup water
1cup flour
2T salt
2T cream of tartar
2T veg. Oil
1-3oz pkg jello for color

Dump everything together in a saucepan over medium heat and continually stir until it begins to thicken and eventually form a ball.

Pour it onto a heavily floured surface, cool 20 minutes or so, and then knead the dough, adding additional flour until it reaches the consistency you like. It did take quite a bit of extra flour, so don't worry if you think you are adding too much!

The result, really soft, pretty, play dough that will last 10 times longer than anything you buy in the store.  This woud be an easy and fun project to let the wee ones help with too.

Thursday is coming!

Thursday is coming and you know what that means....it's a Breads and Threads day so get your order in!  This week I am baking up my tasty, high fiber bread.  Don't let the name scare you, it is delicious.  This recipe was created for someone who came to me and said, I want a high fiber bread that tastes like this...(as he hands me a loaf of well known, super yummy, moist bread).  I struggled for months trying to perfect my recipe.  Each week I would slightly change the recipe and have him taste test until I got the OK.

I am wrapping up another quilt I made for someone out of their loved ones clothing so I will post pictures soon!  If you are interested in having something made please contact me and I can answer any questions you have.  I am currently 6-8 weeks out and may be up to 12 weeks or so shortly, so please contact me if you have a project in mind so it can be finished by the date you need it for.

Sesame seed hamburger buns

Last night I had a hankering for hamburgers so I thought...I gotta make some buns to go with it.  I found a recipe online at www.browneyedbaker.com and it was really good so I have to share it.  Anyone can do this so don't be scared just dive right in!  The instructions below look overwhelming at first glance, but basically just dump everything together, knead, rise, shape, rise, bake....piece of cake! Enjoy!

4¼ cups bread flour
1½ teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 egg, slightly beaten, at room temperature
¼ cup butter, at room temperature
1½ cups buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature

1 egg, whisked with 1 teaspoon water until frothy, for egg wash (optional)
Sesame or poppy seeds for garnish (optional)

1. Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Pour in the egg, butter and milk, and mix on low speed until all the flour is absorbed and the dough forms a ball. If the dough seems very stiff and dry, trickle in more milk until the dough is soft and supple.

2. Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook), adding more flour, if necessary, to create a dough that is soft, supple and tacky, but not sticky. Continue kneading (or mixing) for 6 to 8 minutes. (In the electric mixer, the dough should clear the sides of the bowl, but stick every so slightly to the bottom.) Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

4. Remove the fermented dough from the bowl and divide it into twelve 3-oune pieces. Shape the pieces into tight rounds. Mist the dough lightly with spray oil and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Allow to rest for about 20 minutes.

5. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Gently press down on the tops of the rolls with your fingers to flatten slightly. Transfer the buns to the sheet pans.

6. Mist the tops of the dough with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Proof the dough at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the buns have nearly doubled in size.

7. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the buns with the egg wash and garnish with poppy or sesame seeds, if desired.

8. Bake the buns for approximately 15 minutes, or until they are golden brown and register just about 180 degrees F in the center. The buns should cool for at least 15 minutes on a rack before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight zip-top bag. If you want to freeze them, I would wrap individually in plastic wrap and then store in a zip-top bag. Thaw at room temperature.

Another quilt completed!

Good morning everyone!  Last night I completed another quilt.  This one was made for my mother-in-law.  It was actually her Christmas present this year so shame on me for only finishing it now.  I completely quilted the entire quilt and was not happy with my "free style" approach, so I ripped it apart and started over.  I am glad I did too, because it turned out beautifully the second time around.  I covered the whole quilt in a feather pattern which I just can't get enough of!  So, here it is....

Also, tomorrow I will be whipping up a batch of honey whole wheat and cinnamon raisin so let me know if you want some!  $5 a loaf, ready for pick up after noonish.

I have been getting lots of questions about pricing for quilts, so if you have an idea in mind or a project you want me to work on, please email or call me and I can get a ballpark price to you, as each project is so different from the next I can't set one flat rate.

Hope you all stay warm on this freezing cold Wednesday!

Valentine's Day Dinner!

Alright, so I was dreaming of my Valentine's Day dinner all week and tonight was the big night.  We had chicken Parmesan, eggplant Parmesan, and three cheese ravioli all with homemade pasta.

For the pasta:
3 1/2 cups flour ( half semolina, and half all purpose)
4 eggs
Water as needed

Make a well in the flour and add eggs, slowly incorporating more and more of the flour until it is combined.  I found the dough at this point to be crumbly, so I added some water, by wetting my hands and kneading the dough until the consistency felt right.  Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, but don't over work it.  Once the dough is smooth and elastic it needs to rest, so I covered the surface with olive oil and placed it in a plastic bag.

I borrowed my sisters pasta maker to roll it out, which in hind sight I would say is a must.  You need to be able to get the pasta very thin, which I think would be very difficult using a rolling pin.  I made fettuccini and ravioli.

For the ravioli filling:
1 cup ricotta cheese
3 T fresh grated Parmesan
1/2 cup mozzarella
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
1/2 t basil

Roll the dough out wide enough to be able to fold the dough over to make your ravioli pocket.  Spoon  some cheesy goodness onto the dough and seal the sides.  This is all easy, nothing difficult, just time consuming.  I will definitely not give up the convenience of buying pasta, but it was super yummy so I would do it again, maybe it will be our Valentine's Day tradition!



Along with our meal we had steamed broccoli, sautéed mushrooms, and Alfredo sauce (1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup cream, 3/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese).

Our dinner was a success!  Everything turned out as planned and most importantly we spent our day with the ones we love.

White chocolate cranberry almond valentines day bread.....that's a mouthful!

With Valentines Day coming this week the kids and I have been doing the typical, making homemade valentines and baking cookies.  Last night I tried a recipe I had never used before from the one and only Betty Crocker.  I had great intentions of adapting the recipe to make it slightly healthier, but found myself too lazy to get the grinder out to make my own whole wheat pastry flour...so I followed the recipe.  They are fine, nothing to write home about.  That's probably better anyway because I can't have delicious sweets in the house without eating way more than I should!  My weakness is definitely  sugar and Diet Coke....probably the two most unhealthy things for you.  I am working on it, baby steps!

This Thursday I am baking up some delicious bread!  It's a whole wheat bread with white chocolate chunks, cranberries and slivered almonds.  YUM!  So, if you'd like some, let me know by tomorrow!

Here is another quilt I made for my niece when she was born.  I have been getting lots of questions about pricing for quilts.  I am working on it and will get it up ASAP!