The Full Run Down On My Baby Quilt Project

These days you can find a tutorial on pretty much anything. Who needs to ask grandma how to raise potatoes or patch jeans when you've got Google right at your fingertips? I could write an article on how social media is eliminating our need for relationships and, incidentally, I would be preaching to myself. To be honest though, I enjoy tutorials. Maybe it has something to do with the way I learn, I don't know, but I said I was going to give you the full run down on my project so here we go.

I think I told you how at the beginning of summer I had this big idea that I should piece quilts for the girl's beds? We actually went and chose fabric for Jasmine's quilt and one day after school started I sat down and marked off all the blocks. That's when another bright idea struck: wouldn't it be neat to make a baby quilt out of the leftover fabric to sell at our school auction?

I'll just tell you this right now, I get a lot of ideas but the amount of ideas that make it to completion is quite a bit smaller!

I confess, I really expected this idea to join the list of incompleted ones. For one thing, I've never pieced a quilt except for the simple nine patches I learned to sew on. And, since my mom didn't like to piece quilts, I kind of figured I might not enjoy it either. But I did it! And, biggest surprise of all - I enjoyed it.

Google was my friend for this project. If you want information on figuring sizes for the blocks and all the technical things, I found most of my information here and here. I was intrigued with the methods for sewing blocks together but maybe that's just because I knew so little about how you go about piecing quilts.

Before you start reading the rest of this, keep in mind that this was not a project I did in a day or even a week! I did a little at a time, pulling my stuff out when I'd finished my daily chores that I required myself to do first, doing the next step, then tucking it all away again.

I did things the old fashioned way. I made a square the size I wanted out of cardboard and used it for a pattern, traced all the blocks off and then cut them with good ol scissors. I'm thinking of investing in easier methods, maybe someone can give me a recommendation?

Once I had all my blocks cut out in nice, pretty stacks, I paired each colored square up with a white one and marked a line from corner to corner.

My next project was to sew a 1/4 inch seam allowance on each side of all those lines.

Once that was done, I cut across all those diagonal lines. This left me with stacks of squares made out of a triangle of white and a triangle of grey or yellow.

Then I ironed. Put my ironing board down low, grabbed a chair, and ironed. My mom always said to iron your seams toward the darker fabric, so that's what I did.

I couldn't believe how much fun I was having. I felt sort of old lady-ish but maybe that's because I'm heading for forty and all but one of my children are in school and it's a whole new stage of life.

My next project was sewing all the yellow and white squares together and all the grey and white squares together.

Half of them needed to be sewed together pointing this way...

And half of them needed to be sewed together pointing this way. (The daisy fabric is in the grey stack in case you were wondering)

I wanted to use my fabric randomly but I did try to put a 'light' and a 'dark' of the yellows and greys together when I sewed these pairs. After those were all sewed it was time to iron again.

Now it was time to sew my pairs together to make blocks. This was fun because you could begin to see how the quilt would actually look.

More ironing once the blocks were sewed together. I used a little spray bottle with water as I ironed and my side kick thought that was fun ☺

Then came the fun of laying the blocks all out in rows and sewing them together. I tried to make sure no alike fabric was right beside each other but otherwise I didn't keep any sort of pattern.

It was fun, until I discovered I hadn't made enough blocks to make it big enough for a baby quilt! I almost changed my mind and turned it into a wall hanging but I ended up dragging the material back out and making some more blocks.

Once my rows were sewed together (and ironed once again), came the job of sewing the rows together and trying to line up all those seams.

It's not perfect but it actually turned out pretty well. Once more it was time for the iron and spray bottle and then came the part that I still think is the most fun - quilting it.

I used a big hoop since I don't have a quilt frame nor the space for one.

I had lots of help!

And last of all, since Mom wasn't here to call, my sister and Google helped me with the binding process. I'd helped with the hand sewing on the binding before but never actually sewed the binding into the quilt. I understand why my mom tried to not have to do that job when she quilted for people! Doing a baby quilt is one thing, a full sized quilt would be another story.

There it is, all done.

Mom always liked to see the back of a quilt and so do I!

And there you have it. Maybe when I'm truly an old lady I'll be the kind who makes quilts for all their children and grandchildren but I'm promising nothing.

A Complete Guide to The Best Way To Can Tomato Juice

#1. When you go to the local Amish man to pick up your bushel of green beans, casually mention that you'd like two bushels of tomatoes rather than just one like you had ordered. When he says he's got them today if you want them, take them. Block out the fact that you are doing a bushel of beans today and you still need to sew a dress in the next 7 days, amongst numerous other things. Take them!

#2. Go out for supper with two girlfriends after doing said green beans. Be sure that one of them is a friend who owns one of these babies. 

*It's called a Vita Mix!

Listen skeptically as she tells you how she puts her tomatoes through this wonderful contraption and the juice is ready to cook - no Victoria Strainer; no other type of hand cranked sieve of any kind. 

#3. Borrow The Thing. I'm probably way behind the times but people, it works! This thing is the bomb.com. Do you know how much time I've spent cranking tomatoes through a sieve? Me either. But way too much.

#4. Next you need a daughter to cut up tomatoes for you. Preferably one like mine who sticks with it til it's done.

#5. You also need a son to run the fabulous blender. It is Much the best way.

#6. Then, you need a sister who teaches you how to cut out the other time consuming factor in canning tomato juice - water bathing for twenty minutes. Introducing: The Oven Method. Again, I am probably way behind on these revelations but in case you are like me, I will explain.

-- Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. In the mean time, cook your juice down. 

-- Fill oven with jars. I left them in there for fifteen-twenty minutes but I'm no expert on this.

*Just a little aside here. If you are like me - end up with jars with the paper still on - when you get the jar out of the oven, that paper will slide right off!

-- Place lids in pan. Cover with water and bring to a boil; turn on low. And, by the way, if you've never learned the secret of canning with (and re-using and re-using) twist lid jars, you're welcome. They work beautifully.

-- Once your juice is boiled down, keep your juice simmering, your lids hot and grab a hot jar out of the oven. (Oven mitt!)

-- Fill your jar, put the lid on, presto! Set to the side and repeat, repeat, repeat.

-- Enjoy the delightful "Pings" as the jars begin to seal.

I know it isn't really worth it these days, tomato juice is cheap at the store. But Oh, there is nothing like the feeling of satisfaction looking at those lovely rows of ruby red.... and it tastes better, too.

To Make Tortillas

Confession: You know the well is really dry when I start posting recipes.

Last week, when I was making tortillas, I thought it might be fun to take pictures for a "how to" type of post, so I grabbed my phone and snapped away. The results are far less than great quality but when you can't come up with something better to talk about sometimes you just go with it!

I didn't grow up with homemade tortillas but when two of my sisters spent time as missionaries in Belize, we learned the art of making them! The children and I love homemade tortillas; Chris, not so much. So this is usually a meal reserved for times when daddy isn't at home.

Tortillas

2 Cups Flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 1/2 T shortening

 3/4 Cup Milk

*I double this for my bunch.

I use my kitchen aid for the job but it works to do it by hand as well. I mix my dry ingredients in my mixer bowl, then add the shortening and mix it in with a fork til it's crumbly. (The inspiration for taking pictures came after this point, so I have no pictures...) Just a note here: I do not measure the shortening with a tablespoon. I take my fork and get a blob for one, and a smaller blob for a half. I am quite sure I use more than 1 1/2 T....

 Next, I dump in the milk. Or, if we're low on milk, I might do half water and half milk. With dough hook attached, I let the mixer do the rest of the work. 

Once you have a nice, soft ball of dough, separate the dough into balls.

Roll them into nice, smooth balls, kind of like you would for dinner rolls.

I like to put mine in a container, cover loosely, and place them in the oven with the oven light turned on. Let them rest for at least 15 minutes or longer. I think the longer they rest, the easier they work out but often I'm in a hurry!

Now it's time to get your pan on the burner and get it good and hot. I like my burner a little hotter than medium.

Now, take a ball and use your fingers to get your circle started.

Then get your rolling pin and make it nice and thin.

Pick your circle up carefully ( with 2 hands, obviously, unless you're taking pictures) and place it in your pan. 

If you want to be really Belizean, flip the tortillas with your bare hand, otherwise use a turner. Fry on both sides, then place inside a towel. Repeat and repeat and repeat.....

                        

If you're really good, you will have your eggs ready to be scrambled when you have about 3 balls left, and your beans will be warming in the microwave...

All set! Get ready to count tortillas and practice your division so everyone gets their fair share....

Enjoy! The children like these with jelly, too. Another favorite is putting cheese between two tortillas as I place them in the pile inside the towel and then cutting them in triangles to eat with soup or for a snack.

I've made these many times, and they still don't always turn out the same, so if they don't work the first time, don't get discouraged; try them again! And you can always blame it on a blogger who's not a cook but tries to blog about food anyway...

Sugary Biscuits

A yummy little treat to share with you today, something my children call "sugary biscuits". My mom used to make them when I was a child, not sure if she made them up or got the recipe somewhere but we had them often with a hot drink for a light, Sunday morning breakfast. They've become a favorite around here too!

You'll need a 10ct tube (or 2 or 3) of store bought biscuits, some butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and as many round pans as you have tubes of biscuits. Preheat your oven to 400 and place about 1 1/2 T of butter in each of your round pans (this recipe has no measurements, so do as you please). Place your pans in the oven and gather the rest of your ingredients and open your tubes of biscuits. When the butter in the pans is melted, remove them from the oven. Tip pans to spread butter evenly, then sprinkle brown sugar over the bottom of the pans (maybe close to 1/3 cup?) I like to use a fork to spread the brown sugar evenly. Next sprinkle cinnamon over the brown sugar, then place one tube of biscuits in each pan.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and flip immediately onto plates. Scrape pans and place excess sugary mixture on biscuits.

Announce how many biscuits each child is allowed to have before an argument ensues over dividing them out e.q.u.a.l.l.y.

If you really want to bring back Sunday morning childhood memories, have a cup of this along side your sugary biscuit.... if you get any, that is.....

PS. Just a little FYI: these books are still available. If you are interested in buying one, send $7 (includes shipping) to Bethany Eicher, 70174 Pennyroyal Rd, Freeport, OH 43973 and I will send a copy your way! If you are local to either me or my family in AR, you can get the book directly for $5. Have a lovely weekend!

A Musical Wreath

I've been wanting to do a wreath like this for a long time. A final piano lesson seemed like the perfect occasion to make one as a gift, so with my 10 cent, Goodwill found sheet music in hand, I set to work. What better way to spend a cold day of school vacation, right? Ignoring my children and my work and absorbing myself in a crafty project? Because, no. I didn't get my children involved. I'm kinda selfish that way.

I'm not going to tell you how many hours I spent on the dumb thing, nor how many times I picked apart hot glued paper (it CAN be picked apart, in case you didn't know) in order to end up with a finished product that wouldn't swallow up someone's front door were the wreath to be hung there. I will say this - on the last round, when the papers were once again trimmed smaller and once again shaped into cones, had you been present you might have heard some sort of declaration about the whole mess hitting the trash can if it didn't work this time!

I'm not a super crafty person. I don't 'do' Pinterest,(although I'm not opposed to following a link if I see something neat or googling how to do a project I've seen somewhere) but I've found it's good therapy to create something with my hands just for fun. I'm happy with the finished product and glad I took the time.......and now it's off to take care of the wet laundry that got piled in the basket and *cough, cough* forgotten about.......