It's Raining, It's Pouring...

Well, you know the rest...the old man is snoring.  Well, he does that whether it's raining or not! I figured this was the  rhyme that matched closest to my latest projects. Sometimes, I get a run on a certain type of home accessory. The last month has been shower curtains! This one is CUTE with the yellow, cream, and grey color palette. This combo is very trendy right now and birds are too! 

Close-up of the above shower curtain. Sorry, it's blurry. Do not adjust your sets folks! I get in a hurry sometimes and don't check the pic right after I take it. I used "champagne" grommets. We discussed "brushed nickel" but, in the end, the champagne coordinated so much better with the yellow and cream.  

This one was a linen/burlap type of textured fabric with threads of red, blue, gold, black, and cream. running through the length of the fabric.   

Close-up with matte black grommets. I use the 1 1/2 inch grommets in plastic .  They look exactly like the metal grommets but no risk of rusting and ruining the fabric. You can't tell the difference unless you're holding one in your hand! 

I made the floral valance (from my own design) and the tweed-type shower curtain. This one has the clip-on rings.

Large scale houndstooth check for a stand-up shower. 

Scarfin' It Up!

Well, I've had a little free time on my hands, waiting on fabric ordered to come in.  I confess I wasn't sure about jumping on the "scarf bandwagon" when they started to become really popular a couple of years ago. Now there are so many styles to choose from that I think scarves are here to stay... at least for a couple of seasons. You know how fickle fashion is! Anyway, the top photo shows off my scarf made from t-shirt scraps and my new glasses. I haven't worn glasses since I had laser surgery 15 odd years ago (but that's another post sometime). 

Back to the scarf. This photo shows my lovely daughter/model with the t-shirt scrap scarf. Some people call it a necklace or t-shirt yarn. I just call it a scarf from leftovers. I have a lot of scraps leftover from the t-shirt quilts that I make and sell. My clients don't want their scraps back most of the time so I've amassed an assortment. I hate throwing away perfectly good fabric so I found a photo of one on Pinterest. A friend at church was making rugs out of strips of t-shirt "yarn" so I cut the strands for this scarf basically the same, 1 inch wide, but leaving them intact (kind of like a headband or ponytail holder, one big circle). When the strands are cut out, I stitch them so they curl, making a tube. I'm thinking of making a bunch in different colors to sell.  

Lovely daughter modeling the ruffle-y scarf. Found this on Pinterest too. I think the instructions came from DIY Dish (so sorry about being vague, I look at so many things I forget to write it down). Anyway, I tweaked the instructions to suit me. It called for 3 strands but I like 4 or 5. What you do is cut out 6 (or 8 or 10 like I did) 9 inch circles. Then cut them in spirals, making the strip about 2 inches wide. Then attach "middle" ends. She uses fabric glue but I sewed mine. Then I sewed the 4 centers together. I should've taken more photos. Anyway, 8 circles cut in spirals then 2 sewn end to end will make 4 long strands. then take the centers and hand sew to keep the strands together. Ok, here's a close-up of the center sewn together. Then you pull on the strands to stretch them out a little and give the ends a pointy shape. And, ta-da! This is what i do on a goof-off day. I'm thinking of maybe using the leftover sleeves for headbands, maybe cutting strips and braiding them. Stay tuned. I'll post my finished product.   

The Big Enchilada

I love pot luck dinners! We had the National Spotted Saddle Horse Association banquet and I knew there would be a lot of fried chicken and spaghetti. I like to bring something different "to the table", I'm the "different" one. I decided on chicken enchiladas with salsa verde. This is the finished dish (I thought it would look better at the top of the page!). Making enchiladas from semi-scratch isn't hard. The store-bought convenience food was the salsa verde and green enchilada sauce.   

My secret? Cream cheese! Not a lot but just enough to keep the chicken from getting dry, maybe 2 ounces per 4 shredded chicken breasts. Sometimes I add the green salsa, sometimes sour cream, to the cooked, shredded chicken. I warmed the corn tortillas a few at a time, in a damp paper towel in the microwave about 15 seconds. Spread a little salsa verde in the bottom of your baking dish before putting in your rolled enchiladas.  

This makes 10 or 12 enchiladas. Cover them with more salsa verde (or green enchilada sauce or a combination). Pile on the cheese, then sour cream on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until melted and bubbly. YUM! I know it doesn't look very healthy but I use fat-free sour cream and I cook the chicken with some cumin and chili powder, not a lot of salt. The fine shredded cheese looks like a lot but sprinkles over the top where it looks like a lot but it really isn't. For those of you watching calories. I say any meal or dish in moderation (not eaten every single day) is ok. This is really good with a green salad and fat-free vegetarian refried beans. Brown rice is good too.  

It's in the Bag!

This is the 2 handle tote bag I made from a recycled t-shirt, webbing handles, and dark denim. 

This is the inside of the 2 handle tote

I made this messenger bag from a recycled t-shirt and recycled blue jeans 

The inside of the messenger bag with a denim cell phone pocket

Making Something Out of Nothing: New Quilts from Old Shirts

I've been really busy with t-shirt quilts lately. That's a good thing! Not complaining but it's not really a busy time for quilt orders. My busiest times are graduation and Christmas. I do have several more to do. Hopefully I can get to them after the window seat cushion and throw pillows and a slipcover for a chaise lounge. This one is a 36 square, king size quilt. The top photo shows the quilt folded and ready to deliver. It folds up really nice with the micro-fleece back. It's not too bulky but SUPER warm!

Monkeyin' Around

I know what you were thinking! 

I get restless (and hungry) on snow days so I tried a new recipe. I've seen recipes for monkey bread before but not monkey bread muffins so I thought I'd try 'em. I have an overflowing file folder of

 "hmm...this-looks-good-I-think-I'll-try-this" recipes. It looks to be from the newspaper. Don't ask which one or when I got it. The file is an inch thick and I've saved clippings and print-outs for about 19 years. I left out the chopped pecans because I didn't have any but they were pretty yummy anyway!

A Departure From the Normal: Breakfast for Supper

Actually, breakfast for supper is NOT a departure from the normal here and this was NOT all I cooked to eat for supper. I suppose the departure is that I'm writing about food and not sewing for a change. I love to cook and I was so hungry I forgot to take pics before we chowed down. These are pictures of what was left the next morning. I had breakfast on the brain and not what I was writing for my next blog entry.
It was quite the spread. You'll have to just take my word for it! I don't know what's normal in other households but our house is breakfast-crazy! I baked biscuits, fried some sausage patties, ham, and eggs. I had to make cream gravy AND chocolate gravy. Oh! Almost forgot to mention the hashbrown casserole! This rounds out all the major food groups: chocolate, bread, meat, and dairy ( there was cheddar cheese and sour cream in the hashbrown casserole). I know, I know, not very healthy, but as far as I'm concerned, nothing says winter comfort food like this did! Unless you have chicken and dumplings...or meatloaf and mashed potatoes...or loaded baked potato soup...or homemade mac-n-cheese (which is the only kind my family will eat!). I also make some mean chicken enchiladas with salsa verde! Hmmm...sounds like the making of another blog entry. I'll try to get the photo before we eat everything up!
Below is my recipe for chocolate gravy. It's not super-sweet like hot fudge sauce but it's thicker than the chocolate from one of those chocolate fountains. It's easy but you have to stay close and stir while it's cooking. It doesn't take long to make and you should already have everything in your pantry to make it. This would be good on waffles or to dip bananas or stawberries in (if you have to be halfway healthy!).

CHOCOLATE GRAVY
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 heaping Tbsp flour
- 2 heaping Tbsp cocoa
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tbsp margarine or butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
Combine sugar, flour, and cocoa. Add water. I use a small suacepan and stir with a fork. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently. When thickened, remove from heat, add margarine and vanilla. Enjoy!