WIP Wednesday and other stuff

Hiya gang! We made an offer on the house last Saturday and they accepted on Sunday so........ WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!! After seeing it again Saturday, I realize that this old house could really make a nice home for DH and I and the boys--and the 5 acres of land could really be a wonderful blessing. So, we're waiting for the family to sign off on the house (it was an estate that was held by 5 grandchildren so they all have to sign off on the deal, we're just waiting for all the signatures) and then go through all the financial broo-ha-ha and then we'll have a new home.

Quilting wise, I've been cutting up all the familys' old jeans for a denim rag quilt for my son Sean. I have enough squares cut to make 2 quilts so far and tons of jeans to go yet, LOL! I am also busy digging through my stash to make another red, white and blue quilt. The pattern I will be using is called A Cry for Freedom and you can find it here at Quiltville. Bonnie at Quiltville has some beautiful patterns, I want to make them all, LOL!! I am hoping that I have all I need in my stash, including backing fabric. I plan on using that fusible batting on the Spring Stars quilt top that I finished last week, so we'll see how it does. I really don't like using polyester for bed quilts, I had originally purchased it for the Summer Daisies wallhanging, but I'd like to give it a try on Jeremy's quilt first. My only problem is that my iron can't hold water anymore and you are supposed to steam it big-time. I hope my water bottle and the iron can work until I can get a new iron!!!! Here is my puppy Raven watching me intently as I go through fabric.

That's it for me this week, I know---I'm a lot less talky than usual. This house stuff has us so wound up right now that I really haven't been able to concentrate on much. Since I don't have much to show or say right now, I'll leave you with my prize peanut butter cookie recipe! This one has neighbor kids running over when they smell them baking---and my daughters enterprising boyfriend would have me make a bunch and he would sell them at school, and make a nice profit for himself, LOL!

Marsaili's prize peanut butter cookies

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

3 cups all purpose flour

Sugar or sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

In a bowl, or the bowl of your mixer, mix the shortening, peanut butter, brown and white sugars together until creamy then add the eggs and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

Using a cookie scoop or your hand, make 1 1/2 inch balls and put them on the baking sheet. Press down with a fork dipped in sugar to make your criss crosses. Sprinkle on sugar or sprinkles. Bake for 11 minutes, turning the trays half way through the cooking process. When lightly browned, remove from oven and cool on a rack. Makes 4 dozen

Enjoy and have a great week. If anything comes up with the house stuff, I'll be sure to post the news!!!

WIP Wednesday and other news......

Hi there! It's been a busy week since I updated last! We are still on our quest for a homestead, we looked at 6 houses last Friday and only saw 2 possibilities. The other houses were great houses but they were either grossly neglected or trashed by people who foreclosed or went into bankruptcy. We saw a formerly beautiful house, more than big enough for our large brood---but the people who lived there foreclosed and before they moved out they ripped out the boiler, water heater, air conditioning and all the copper piping throughout the house. They also broke windows and put holes in walls--in addition to leaving behind a HUGE mess. It was so sad. That house was on 2 beautiful acres, deep in the country on a quiet, beautiful street. DH says it would cost too much to replace everything, way out of our budget. Ah well, here is a picture of a house we may put an offer on---it's a nice house on 5 wooded acres but it's on a busy, loud road--which I really didn't want to live on, but there are enough pros to the property to maybe overlook that issue. We can have small livestock (goats, chickens) since there is 5 acres and DH would clear some of the trees for a large garden area for us. It's not my dream house---it's much smaller than I had wanted but it does have potential. The front porch is closed in and finished and would make a nice, albeit small sewing room--but it would be much bigger than what I have now! The basement is partially finished--it could eventually be a larger sewing area, maybe. Dh really likes this house, I like it--I'm still pining for the "dream house" we found and lost. We will most likely be making an offer this week, unless I find something better, which I haven't in weeks.

I got the top for the Spring Star quilt done, finally! It turned out real nice, even after all the issues I had with figuring out the measurements for the set in triangles. I found a couple yardage estimators online but they were very wasteful, especially when I wasn't plugging in the correct measurements, LOL! But after some trial and error, I got them all the right size and it looks good! Here are some pics of it:


The pictures don't do justice to the colors in the quilt, they are much more vibrant than they look. I found some fusible batting at JoAnn's, I had never heard of that before, I usually use cotton or wool and safety pins for basting so if this works well, it'll be nice to have an alternative. I haven't heard anything bad about it!! I also found a Bernina "recipe" for a hand-look machine quilting stitch, so I'm going to give that a try and attempt to machine quilt it. I've been practicing the free motion some more so hopefully I'll get it down and be able to actually machine something more than straight lines, LOL! I've now got 3 tops done and I plan on at least 3 more---then I'm just going to quilt, quilt, quilt! DH is making me a quilting frame for the items I want to hand quilt. I NEED to get these quilted! I motivated myself to stay up night after night to piece them, I need to get that same motivation and get them finished. Wish me luck, LOL!

My daughter graduated from high school last night, I am so proud! She is planning on going to the community college and taking AP courses for a major in American History, then she wants to transfer to Cleveland State to get a teaching degree in American History. That is so cool, I've always love history and even though she won't admit it, she got that from me, LOL!!! I wish I could get her interested in quilting. Maybe someday.... She used to like to sew when she was younger.

I've been power sewing for days, I'm going to take a couple days off to do some gardening and baking. I hope you all have a great week, I'll see you soon!

WIP Wednesday and the continued quest for a homestead

I have finally managed to get some sewing done! Since DH is usually busy on the weekends doing projects around the house (which leaves me to be with the baby and not able to do much beyond taking care of him) I told him last weekend he was going to have tons of bonding time with the baby and the other boys while I spent a good deal of the weekend sewing. He agreed and I managed to get a lot of work done for a change!

My first accomplishment--I finished the Daisy Quilt top, here it is:
It took me quite a while to figure out all the settings for the blanket stitch on my Bernina. My book goes over all the different stitches and what lengths, balances, width and tensions to use for different effects--all but the blanket stitch. I went to the Bernina website and they have nothing for older machines (mine is a 1090 which I bought in 1994) After searching through message board posts that came up on my Google searches, I found enough information on other types of stitches to be able to use different buttons on my machine that I've never used before to achieve the perfect blanket stitch applique. It took a lot of tension adjusting and ripping out stitches, but I finally got it and it looks pretty good--not as good as I'd like but no one else could see the flaws I saw, LOL! I've never done much beyond a typical straight stitch or a zig zag and a few of the embroidery stitches---I never realized how much more I have to learn about using my machine! I found a "recipe" for a hand look quilting stitch, I'm going to try that out on the daisy quilt and try to free motion machine quilt it! I think I have to get a new foot, but at least it's not as expensive as the walking foot that I've been wanting forever, LOL! Still haven't been able to bring myself to spend the bucks on that foot.

While I was messing with my tension and buttons, I was watching episodes of Simply Quilts that I had DVR'ed a while ago and hadn't watched and I saw another project I am going to tackle, probably this weekend. Alex had on Wendy Etzel who has a book out called Log by Log and it's all different log cabins she's made. Now, it's not the log cabin quilt pattern, it's actual log cabins made from strips and appliques. I fell in love with her quilts and have decided to make one of my own, since I've always dreamed of living in a log cabin, since I was a child reading the Little House books! Anyway, her book is available at Amazon and I am purchasing it this weekend, although I've already planned out my log cabin and picked out all the fabrics for it, I just need to cut them out. I'm on a roll, LOL!


Fabrics picked for my log cabin.






Now, after I finished the top to the Daisy Quilt, I immediately started cutting out fabrics for a mystery quilt that my Ohio Quilters guild has been working on lately. I wasn't going to make it, I have a hard enough time working on the projects I already have started, but I just decided to go for it and I went through my fabrics and started cutting. The pattern is called Spring Stars---but I decided to do it in reds, whites and blues for the 4th. It was also supposed to be a lap quilt, I'm making it twin sized. I need 35 blocks, I've got 17 done so far---here's what I've got:

The original pattern has them in rows of 4 and 3 with edges on the rows of 3 to take the place of the 4th block. Instead, I am putting them on point with sashes in between the blocks---probably a blue sash with a red border and a blue binding or vice versa. The blocks are simple and quick, it's a fun quilt to work on! I should hopefully have the top done by the end of the weekend, I am going to have to get more red fabric to finish it off and I'll probably do a backing of 2 strips of blue with a red strip in the middle. Or not, LOL!

I got my 30's strips from the swap I was in with the Ohio Quilters group---they are so cute! I have to admit, I really didn't care for 30's fabrics before I entered this swap. Now I love them and I joined another 30's swap, this time fat quarters! We also have another quilter in a bottle swap for the summer, so I am really looking forward to that one! I love swaps, LOL! Here are my 30's strips:

Aren't they pretty????








We're still looking for our homestead. We looked at a bunch of houses a week ago, nearly made an offer on one until we found out that that house comes with a neighbor from hell! At least we found out BEFORE we signed anything, LOL! We are going to go power look at 6 houses on Friday, I'm kinda not looking forward to it because it's going to take all day, it's projected to be in the 90's and we have to take all the kids because we can't leave them home that long and while we are that far away. My 15 year old can handle my jaunts to the store, close to home, but the baby is too much of a handful for an all day job! The good news is that there are actually some really good possibilities and hopefully, maybe, we'll be in a new house by mid-summer. I am going to get my planter boxes ready for some veggies this weekend, but nothing to go in the ground since we don't know where we will be.

It's been an emotional week for me. My oldest baby went to her prom. She was so beautiful and grown up in her gown and her BF was very handsome in his tux. I have to admit, I cried when they left---geez, I hope I can make it through her last concert this weekend and her graduation next week! I can't believe she's graduating high school. Time really did fly!!!

Ok, I'm off to bed---hopefully I'll continue to have a productive week and I'll have more stuff to actually show off next week! Have a good week!

Heartbroken and WIP Wednesday (way at the bottom)

Well, it happened. Last night, I was just looking at Realtor.com like I do, always looking for that other perfect homestead (other than this one that we already found and so desperately want) and I decided to check on the one we've been looking at---and it's gone. Someone has made an offer on it. I was stunned, this house has been on the market for a year now and barely anyone has looked at it---but when they considerably lowered the price of it, I knew someone else would see what we see in it and snatch it up--and that has happened. You know what the worst part is? We got pre-approved for a loan, and we'll have our certificate on Thursday. We missed it by 3 days. The realtor is going to look into the offer and see what is going on, if there is a chance for us to make an offer of our own or something. In the meantime, I've been spending hours looking at properties for sale, I can't find anything that is even close to perfect, or as perfect as that property was for us. C'est la vie.

No progress on the quilts as of yet. Seamus is SO active nowadays that I can't even read email without him getting into something. I have to be right on top of him at all times, which leaves little time for anything else. I was going to work on it last night, but after seeing our "home" was sold, I was overcome with sadness and I didn't do a thing. I just can't believe it is gone, I've dreamed of this property, we've drawn up plans on how we'd fix up the house, I had my gardens planned out in the yard and plans for someday building a log cabin in the woods over by the river. I knew there was a chance someone could get it and purchase it before we did, but since it hadn't happened in a year, I never imagined it would happen 3 days before we were ready to make an offer. Wow.

I did have a productive day in the kitchen, though! I made two loaves of white and 2 loaves of rye bread. The boys and I made 2 batches of soft pretzels. I made an Amazon cake (chocolate, eggless cake.) I also made sausage rolls, like the ones we used to buy at Gaelic Imports, where I used to go to buy Scottish meat pies. When I was a teenager, my mom was dating this Scottish man (who was only 6 years older than me---that kinda creeped me out, but he was really nice and cool AND he gave me his electric guitar!) ANYWAY....... He used to bring over these Scottish meat pies for us and he said they were just like the ones he would eat back home. Needless to say we loved them and every once in a while my mom would make a trip to Gaelic Imports to get some for us. When I got married and had kids of my own, I decided to find out where this place was (my mom couldn't remember) and get the meat pies for my own kids. After searching around Cleveland (we didn't even have the name of the place, she couldn't remember that, either) I finally found Gaelic Imports and we became regulars there. Every few months or so, I'd buy 2 dozen meat pies at a time to keep stocked up. Over the years, they have gotten to be very expensive. I used to get 24 for around $15, now they are $1.25 a piece and I just can't justify spending that kind of money on them. SO, I decided to learn how to make them myself. I searched the internet for meat pie recipes. I would find recipes but the meat inside would be different, or it would call for mutton, or it wouldn't be the right type of shell. I found RampantScotland.com and it was chock full of traditional Scottish recipes but nothing for the meat pies I was craving. I needed to find a recipe for the meat inside the pie, and a recipe for the pie shells. I spoke to someone at the Irish food booth at the West Side Market, and she told me that they stuff the pies with seasoned ground beef and they have a special press that makes the pie shells. Well, that didn't worry me, I just used a tuna can as a mold and then made a lid to fit it. I tried using her suggestions and the pies I made were good, but the meat still wasn't right. It was too coarse and the flavor wasn't quite right yet. The pie shell is made from a basic hot water pastry recipe, very simple to make. I got the pastry down immediately and while my shells aren't as perfect or as pretty as the ones in the store (they are made with a press) they taste exactly the same! Now, I still haven't found the correct meat recipe. I didn't want to use mutton, as most traditional recipes called for, because the pies I've always had were made with ground beef, so I was told. I kept trying, changing the spices I used in the meat and we'd keep getting closer, but never exact. So, this past weekend when we went shopping, I had picked up a 5 pound bag of ground pork to make my own sausages. I had made Irish sausages for St. Patricks' Day so I was thinking of trying to make some Italian or breakfast sausages. As I was busy baking everything yesterday, I got a craving for the sausage rolls we used to get at Gaelic Imports, so I decided to try to make those. I got on Google and stated searching for Scottish sausage recipes, I had the ones I had tried for the meat pies, but I knew those weren't quite right as well. I came across a recipe for what is called Lorne sausage. This is a common and well loved sausage eaten in Scotland, it was certainly simple---a combo of pork and beef, mixed with oatmeal, fresh breadcrumbs, salt, white and black pepper, ground coriander and freshly grated nutmeg. I mixed some up, cooked up a little bit to see how it tasted and everyone said it was good. So, I figured this would work for the sausage rolls. I had some puff pastry in the freezer, so I just used that and wrapped up the sausages in the puff pastry and tossed them in the oven. I figured even if they didn't taste exactly right, they'd still be good. In the meantime, I grabbed the bowl of leftover mashed potatoes, mixed in a couple eggs, some flour and some sauted onions and scallions and made up some tasty potato pancakes to go with the sausage rolls. As we're all sitting at the dinner table, and I am handing out sausage rolls to everyone, my 11 year old son takes a bite and loudly proclaims---MOM, this meat takes JUST LIKE the meat from the Scottish meat pies that you buy! I look at him, look at DH and grabbed my sausage roll and take a bite---and he was right! It was perfect! I had considered that they possibly used the same meat in the sausage rolls as they used in the meat pies, but since I could never get anyone to actually tell me what was what, I never pressed for answers. But I've now found it and I am very pleased! The funny thing is, Lorne sausage is traditionally made in a loaf pan, they put it raw into the pan, freeze it slightly and then slice it into easy to cook slices that can be tossed on a slice of bread. It never occurred to me that this would be the same stuff that goes into the meat pies.

Traditional Scottish Recipes
- Lorne/Sliced Sausage

Here is a recipe for square sliced sausage - often called Lorne sausage.

---

Ingredients:
2 lbs Ground/minced Beef
2 lbs Ground Pork
3 Cups Fine Bread Crumbs
2 tsp Pepper
2 tsp Nutmeg
3 tsp Coriander
3 tsp Salt
1 Cup of water.
Method:
The beef and pork should not be too lean or the sausage may be too dry.
Mix really well by hand then place in an oblong pan about 10" x 4" x 3". You might need two pans. Place in the freezer for a little while till it's just starting to set. Remove it and cut them to the thicknes you like and put them into freezer bags and put them back in the freezer. When required, defrost and fry in a little fat or oil until brown and cooked through.
For the sausage rolls, I made the Lorne Sausage recipe above and I used Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry.
After mixing the sausage meat and letting it sit for 30 minutes to mix the flavors, I took a sheet of thawed out puff pastry and rolled it out to be around 9 X 9 inches. I cut it in half, across the 2 folds. I took some of the sausage meat, rolled it into a long roll, the same length as the pastry and set it on the half sheet of pastry. I took some milk and brushed it on the edges and pulled the two long edges together over the sausage and pinched them together. I layed them down on an ungreased cookie sheet, seam side down. I baked them for 15 minutes at 400 degrees and then 15 minutes at 350 degrees, until golden brown.

I did not use all the Lorne Sausage recipe for the rolls, so I lined a loaf pan with plastic wrap and put the rest in the pan, covered it with plastic wrap and froze it. I'll just slice it, fry it and put it on bread for breakfast, just like they do in Scotland! YUM!

Here is a recipe for the meat pies, I have made it like it is (with beef instead of mutton) and it was good, but in the future I will use the Lorne sausage for the meat since that tastes exactly like the meat pies I have eaten.

Traditional Scottish Recipes
- Scotch Pie
Large numbers of Scotch Pies are sold in Scotland every day - they are an original "fast food" and are often sold at the half-time interval at football (soccer) matches. The pies are made in special straight-sided moulds, roughly 3-3½ inches (7.5-8.5cm) in diameter and about 1½ inches (4cm) deep. A pastry lid, inside the pie, covers the meat about ½ inch (1cm) below the rim. This leaves a space at the top of the pie which can be filled, if required - with hot gravy, baked beans, mashed (creamed) potatoes etc. The meat is usually mutton (sometimes of varying quality). Many bakers have their own recipes and add spices to give additional flavour - there is now an annual competition for the best Scotch Pie.
Grannie Black, in Candleriggs in Glasgow, was a character who had such a reputation for such good mutton pies that people came from far and wide - the pub named after her (pictured here) has, unfortunately, been demolished.
The quantities below should make roughly 8/10 pies.
Ingredients for the Meat Filling:

1 pound (500g or two cups) lean lamb, minced (ground)
Pinch of mace or nutmeg
Salt and pepper
Quarter pint (150ml) gravy
Ingredients for the Hot Water Pastry:
1 pound (500g or four cups) plain flour
6 ounces (175g or ¾ cup) lard
6 fluid ounces (225ml or ¾ cup) approximately of water
Pinch of salt
Milk for glazing
You will also need glasses or jars, approximately 3-3½ inches (7.5-8.5cm) in diameter to shape the pie.
Method:
Create the filling by mixing the minced (ground) lamb, spice and seasoning.
Make the pastry by sifting the flour and salt into a warm bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour. Melt the lard in a scant measure of water and, when it is bubbling, add to the flour and mix thoroughly. Take a small amount (remember the mixture should make 8/10 pies, with their tops) and form into a ball and keep the rest warm while making each pastry case. This is done by rolling a suitable amount for each pie and shaping the crust round the base of a glass or jar approximately 3-3½ inches (7.5-8.5cm) in diameter. Make sure there are no cracks in the pastry - you can trim round the top of the case to make it even. As the pastry cools and gets cool, remove the glass and continue until you have about a quarter of the pastry left to make the lids.
Fill the cases with the meat and add the gravy to make the meat moist.
Roll the remaining pastry and use the glass to cut the lids. Wet the edges of the lids, place over the meat and press down lightly over the filling. Pinch the edges and trim. Cut a small hole or vent in the centre of the lid (to allow the steam to escape).
Glaze with milk and bake for about 45 minutes at 275F/140C/Gas mark 1. If the pies are not eaten immediately, they can be stored in the 'fridge but always ensure they are properly reheated before being eaten.

All the recipes I have posted are from RampantScotland.com
Make sure you have some HP sauce to go with your meat pies and sausage rolls! It's like A-1 but sweeter, it tastes better on Scottish food than A-1!

Yes, I am of Scottish blood, actually Scotch-Irish on my mothers' side (with a touch of German in there) and Mexican and Mescalero Apache on my fathers' side. And I do make a lot of Mexican dishes as well, LOL!

UPDATE: DH talked again to the realtor, he said that nothing is even in writing as of yet for the people who made an offer on our dream house, so we could possibly wait a few weeks before doing anything to see if the deal goes through. I asked DH if he asked if we could make an offer of our own, but he didn't ask---so I expect him to call the realtor tomorrow to find out. I'll post any updates. I did find some other houses to look at, not as appealing all around as the other house, but I did find a really nice Amish house that is for sale with a kitchen that is as big as the whole first floor of my current house! I want that one, LOL! I am not as depressed as I was last night, I know that we will get the house we are meant to get and it'll happen when it's supposed to happen. I've just been dreaming about living at that other house for so long now, I had already thought of it as mine! I am extremely excited that we finally got approval for financing, that is WONDERFUL news! It was overshadowed by the loss of the house we never had, LOL, but it really is time to get excited! We may still yet get the other house, who knows.

I'm in the mood to sew now, so for my WIP Wednesday, I am going to be putting the black and white borders on the Daisy quilt and then I will start appliquing the daisies on the top.

I am involved in a 30's strip swap from my Ohio Quilters group, I found some cute 30's reproduction fabrics at my LQS and most of them were 1/2 off! I was only going to get 6 different fabrics, but with the sale going on and all, I had to add 3 more. I just can't pass up a good sale!

Here are the fabrics I found, cute, huh?
They are all cut into 3, 3" strips so I am sending 27 strips and will get 27 different ones back. Then, with the strips I have leftover, I should have enough to make a full/queen sized log cabin or strip quilt! That's exciting!

Ok, that's it for me today! Have a good week and I'll post any news about the house hunt business!

The dream of being a homesteader and my WIP

I've been using this blog almost exclusively to post about my quilting ventures, but when I created it I had planned on using it to describe my life in whole. I guess I should do more of that, especially since my quilting adventures have been slim to none, LOL!



We are still working on getting financing to buy the house. It certainly is much more difficult nowadays, we have been working month after month to pay off DH's debts---which really aren't many compared to the average American these days. I think his total debt was around $2500. We've been paying it off month by month for the last few months, but the houses we've looked at and wanted are being sold---it's very depressing. The house that I posted links for a while ago is still on the market---with its 5 acres of beautiful land (mostly wooded, but that's ok with us!) They lowered the asking price by $20,000 and I am scared that someone is gonna snatch it up before we get approval for a loan. I am so scared, I wake up in the middle of the night in covered in sweat and shaking---I REALLY want this property. I've been trying to let it go---the other property that we were looking at and loved that had a much better house on it sold a couple of weeks ago and I was crushed, but not too badly. I really want the property with the 5 acres, it's more secluded than the other one and just beautful. How does one let that urgency go? I know things will happen when the time is right but I've never been a patient person.

Not knowing what is going on with our life---I didn't order any seeds for a garden. Now I know (or assume) we're gonna be here for at least the summer so I want to have at least a small vegetable garden and my herb garden. I'm thinking of doing it all in containers in case we happen to get the house, and then we can take the garden with us. I was planning on planting a bunch of tomato plants in the front yard since it gets a southern exposure there, although I was also interested in trying out some of those hanging bag tomato planters. I am just torn on whether to invest the time and energy into something when we could still possibly be moving. Of course, if we don't move I'll be upset not to have grown my own veggies. It's dizzying, being in my head these days, LOL!

I am so eager to get to my own homestead and really start working towards self-sufficiency. I'm tired of neighbors who are so close they can hear our conversations in our home when they are outside. I'm tired of the neighbor kids teasing our puppy to make her bark when I am working hard to train her not to bark at them. I'm tired of being on a busy street where I have to worry about my kids safety--not just from traffic but from the child preditors that have been out in droves lately trying to pluck young kids on their way to or from school (thank goodness mine are homeschooled!) My younger boys are 11 and almost 9 and I barely let them out of their yard---that isn't right but there is so much wrong around here that I don't feel safe letting them go further than a couple of houses from our house. We live in the suburbs, but I don't feel safe here---cars in the neighborhood are always being broke into (ours was a few years ago) lately there have been a rash of house robberies in my neighborhood. I know these things can happen anywhere, but I have this desperate need to get out of the city, into the country, where I can have some peace and possibly not have to worry as much as I do now.

I've been reading so much about chickens and goats, I am SO eager to have some of my own. I got a copy of the Encyclopedia of Country Living and I've been reading it from cover to cover--I am eager to build a chicken tractor, have a garden bigger than 1 X 3, have goats following me around like my dogs and giving us fresh milk that I may actually be able to drink (I'm lactose intolerant after a gastric bypass surgery). Living here is easy, keeping house, keeping our small yard nice---I want hard work and to be so tired from working to live that I pass out everynight when my head hits the pillow.

Well, I've whined enough for one post---this is what I am doing while we're waiting for financing:

reading anything and everything about country life
learning about solar, wind and hydro power---we are going to be off grid someday
I will plant a small, portable garden---just in case.....
I will buy local, organic produce until I can grow my own
I will experiment to learn, make a small compost pile, anything I grow will be grown totally organic
look for local farms for fresh eggs and meat
use my huge gas guzzler-van as little as possible
keep working with my kids on recycling
go through stuff in the house and freecycle all we don't need/want

We will have our own homestead someday, hopefully sooner rather than later! I'm not getting any younger, LOL!

Ok, now onto my newest WIP, I started the Daisy Summer quilt, I've got the top done and I need to square it up, put on the black and white border and then applique the daisies onto the top. Here is what I've done so far. I am still practising the free-style machine quilting. Dh is building me a quilting frame for hand quilting, so I don't have to hold it while stitching and it'll be easier on my carpal tunnel. That's it for me for now, I'll post more pictures as I get more done! Have a good week!

Getting somewhere, finally!

Well, I still haven't quilted the baby quilt---I know, surprise, LOL! I'm thinking of finding someone to quilt it for me, I am obviously overwhelmed by it or something. I always put off quilting---I can piece like what, but when it comes to the actual quilting---I'll put it off for years! Since I'd actually like the baby to get his quilt while he is still a "baby", I'm going to look into finding someone who has a long arm machine and can quilt it in an afternoon or something, LOL!

I tried practicing free motion quilting over the last week, but I can't get my tension set right and I can't get my stitches even. The bottom thread keeps showing up on top or if I adjust the bobbin tension so the stitches don't show up on top--the stitches are angled instead of straight and the top stitches are way too tight. Believe me, I played with the tension on top and on bottom for hours. I was practicing with the same thread on top and on bottom, so the weights were the same. The thing is, I wasn't having any tension problems before I started free motion quilting---when I tried to adjust the tensions to work for the free motion, I messed it up overall. I had marked my bobbin case to know where the screw was, but even when I put things back to where they were, the tension is still messed up. Then on top of that, when I was practicing, I can't seem to get a consistent movement where the stitches are the right length instead of these tight, barely seen stitches. I practiced with the feed dogs up and down--no difference. I'll still practice---but in the meantime, I'll look for someone else to do the quilting for me!

I did manage to get another top cut out and I started piecing it together. It's a nine patch in bright colors, with daisies appliqued on top---it's a pattern from the recent Fon's and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine called "Summer Daisies" I wanted a bright quilt for my livingroom wall for spring/summer. I suppose I'll have to send it out to be quilted as well, LOL! You know, I've had my Bernina for 13 years now. I've used it to make many quilts---countless pieces of medieval garb, Hallloween costumes, home accessories---you name it, I've made it. I have machine quilted the majority of the quilts I have made---mostly in the ditch or in grid patterns. For some reason, going beyond that is really messing me up! I've never shied away from a challenge, heck, most of the sewing I've done I've completely taught myself. I really don't know why I can't handle machine quilting--beyond the simple stuff. It's really irritating the heck out of me!!!

That's it for me today! I'll hopefully have the new top done by next week and maybe I'll have a breakthrough with my machine quilting! In the meantime, have a great week everyone!

Busy, busy, busy!!

I have been busy. With what, I'm not sure I really remember to tell you but I haven't been on the computer all that much, certainly much less than usual and I no matter what I do, how far in advance I plan or what I tell the family---I never seem to manage to get to my quilt or even to cutting fabric. But, all is not lost, it's been a good quilting month---I got a gift subscription to Fon's and Porter's Love of Quilting magazine from DH, I was in a bottle swap for one of my online quilting groups and I got a box of awesome scraps for my scrappy quilt that is in the works! With a birthday coming up, Easter just passing---prom shopping coming up, graduation and then the graduation party---and that's just for one of the kids---there just doesn't ever seem to be enough time in the day! When I started quilting, back in the early 90's, I had 3 kids at the time who were toddlers or younger so I was able to quilt while they napped and then I quilted after they went to bed and into the wee hours of the morning---never really getting more than 4 hours of sleep a day. And I was fine. I was also in my mid 20's!!! Now, with 6 kids, one a toddler---and being well ensconced into the 4th decade of my life, I just can't do it anymore!!! When I did some marathon sewing sessions around Christmas last to finish up gifts, I stayed up all night for a few nights---I got around 4 hours of sleep each night and I was dead tired for DAYS!!! Ah, the joys of getting older, LOL!

Ok, so I joined the bottle swap for my Ohio Quilters group---I had never heard of such a swap and this was also to be my first online swap. Needless to say, I was excited! My partner listed that she liked bright colors, frogs and Jelly Bellys. I looked through my stash and found some great bright FQ's that I had but the frog fabrics that I had for the baby quilt were all used up, just some scraps and not even a whole frog on a scrap!! I went to my LQS, hoping they'd still have that fabric but they didn't. It didn't seem they had any frogs so just as I was ripping myself away from the fabrics to go look elsewhere, there was a FQ bundle of 5, and on top was a great froggie fabric surround by 4 brights! It was within the allotted budget for the swap so I scooped it up! What a find, LOL! I stuffed that into my 2 liter bottle, along with the brights I found in my stash, a some bags of Jelly Bellys that she loves. Here is a picture of the stuffed bottle:

Needless to say, the people at the post office thought this was pretty nifty. One lady just kept exclaiming, "I've never heard of such a thing, imagine, sending a gift in a soda bottle!" LOL! Unfortunately, no one in the group has heard from my partner, as to whether she got my bottle, or sent out hers. Hers was due to be delivered around the 3rd or 4th, so she must have gotten it! I just hope everything is ok with her, since she hasn't been heard from in a while!

My bottle arrived on the 31st, the day after I mailed mine out. I had been watching for the mailman everyday and was ready for him when he got here, looking to see if he was holding a bottle. Of course, he came while I was in the bathroom that day, so I didn't realize he had come. 2 hours after his usual delivery time, I checked the mail box for mail and it was full (ours is a slot that goes into the house) and my mailman always knocks on the door when he has something that won't fit in the box, so I didn't bother looking outside. DH gets home hours later and he's like---I found this bottle on the porch, they must have decided it wasn't deliverable or maybe it needs more postage. (thinking it was the one I sent out) I knew it was the one I was waiting for and needless to say I squealed with excitement and went running for knives or scissors (I felt like a little kid, LOL!) My partner sent me some beautiful fabrics, it was certainly worth the wait! Here's a pic:

Of course, I didn't think or wasn't patient enough to take a pic before I opened it, LOL! Thanks Dianna, what a nice Easter treat!

A while back, I happened to be chatting with some quilting friends, talking about wanting to make a scrappy quilt but I no longer had my bags of scraps and it would take me years to save up that many again (basically, I was whining!) Of course, you don't have to wait to have scraps for a scrappy quilt---but to me, that is part of the charm of a scrappy quilt---using leftovers, not buying fabrics for it. Anyway, one of my friends suggested that I put a request out on my blog, and those of you that read me regularly know that I did do that. I wasn't going to at first, I thought that maybe it was tacky--but then I decided that I could actually help someone clear out some much needed space in her studio---so in asking for scraps, I could be helping someone as well! Hey, it makes sense!!! Ok, well I'm just being silly---but I decided I had nothing to lose and I put out the request--and people responded!!! The Thursday before Easter I got a box in the mail, filled up with so many wonderful, beautiful scraps! It took my breath away! Thank you again, Vicki, you really made my month!! Debra also offered but I haven't been able to get my emails to her--so Debra, if you happen to pop by, anything I send to you bounces back (my emails bounce at Yahoo regularly, even on the groups) so if you have another email addy I can send you my info, or if you are on yahoo messenger, I can IM you the info, LOL! Whatever happens, thanks for offering to send scraps as well!
Box o' scraps!








My daughter (the senior in high school) is in the musical Aida so this weekend we're gonna be going to see her perform. I can't believe this will be her last musical and in a month, she'll be graduating. Wow, time flies! DH was up in the attic, rummaging around for an old TV for one of the kids, and he found two little baskets of quilting stuff that somehow got put up there--probably during a spring cleaning. While looking through the baskets, I found project that Jessica had made while I was working on the Debbie Mum Santa wallhanging that I finally finished for my mom this past Christmas---I started it probably 8 years ago---she would have been around 10. She just used scraps leftover from my quilts I was working on and put this together herself, designed it and sewed it---using the machine for the first time. I think it's beautiful!! I had forgotten about it, I think she has too so I am going to frame it as is and give it to her on her birthday. That way, she can finish it if she wants to---or if she isn't interested in it, I'll keep it, LOL! She used to help me make garb for our SCA personas, usually cutting fabric for me, or patterns. On the other Debbie Mum Santa wallhanging that I made for me, there is a teeny patchwork quilt hanging out of the sled---she made that when she was 7, all hand stitched. She was always afraid to use the sewing machine---but she finally sat down and use it for this project of hers. She just grabbed the scraps lying around, cut them into pieces and made her own creation. Then she became a teenager and was no longer interested in sewing with mom. Maybe someday, the bug will get her again, in the meantime, this is a beautiful memory. I think I want to keep it now, instead of giving it to her!!!!


Ok, that's it for me for today, I will try not to fall so behind and I promise to have something accomplished (SOMETHING!) by next WIP Wednesday!