Kara J.

A Rainy Monday in May...

It's been a few weeks, I know...

First... a side note...

The Saturday before Easter, my grandfather fell down the steps of their home.  He broke two vertebrae in his neck, breaking three ribs, and had a partially collapsed lung.  He's had surgery for his neck and is currently in an intensive rehab facility.  If you pray, please pray for his continued healing.  Thanks....

And now...

It amazes me how warm it was a few days ago, how really warm it was a few weeks ago, and how cool and damp it was today.  Rainy days require a bit of silliness to help them along...

The boys were back in their room playing with Legos (including their Star Wars Legos) and dinosaurs.

I know, dinosaurs and Legos... quite a contradiction, but great fun for little boys!

And while taking pictures they started making funny faces.  And I started snapping pictures without the flash.

They love these pictures!  Especially when they are appear sort of invisible.  Haha!  

Kid Two sat on her bed and read.  She loves to read.

Kid One played with my quilting software.

Kid One and I also enjoyed a giggle when we discovering that the younger three kids put her hula hoop in a tree.

The kids ate the last no-bake cookies.  I made myself some homemade hot cocoa.  Yum!

And started working on a throw quilt...

I cut various blues and whites to make some 4-patches.  To help keep it "scrappy" I put the squares in bowls so I could just reach in and grab one of it each color and sew them together.

And this evening, while sitting on the swing talking to a friend, I was stuck by the deep color of the red maples against the gray sky.

A Folded Square Friendship Star...

The quest for living room pillows continues...

After perusing stack of books looking for some inspiration or a more complicated quilt block to try, I came back to my books by Jennie Rayment.

 And made a Friendship Star with a bit of a twist....

Folded squares that have been rolled over make the the star points...

(incredibly easy, by the way)

And a non-traditionally-made Cathedral Window became the center...

I like to try new stuff, but the huge commitment of big projects is a bit frightening. 

So I make a small project to practice.

And if I mess up too terribly, I can toss the whole mess in the trash without a lot of guilt.

 

This is not the first time I've tried something new by using a pillow.

The first time I wanted to sew a quilt block with curves was for this True Lover's Knot quilt I made for my Mom and stepdad.  I was just a few years into quilting, and this project was a bit... intimidating...

So I made the curvy block as a pillow first...

When a Dog Chews a Hole...

First, a bit of a disclaimer:  Our Beagle, Rosie, did not chew this quilt...

 

This quilt was made for someone to give their grand-daughter on her wedding day.

Then... their dog chewed a hole in it....

Time for some repairs...

Fortunately, the hole did not go all the way through, and it's not overly large.

First, a few stitches in the hole created in the batting.

 

Then, stabilize some of the ragged edges of the hole.

 

Thankfully, I still have some of the fabric to be able to make a patch.

 Applique stitch the patch in place.

A quick tap with a hot iron to even out some of the edges.

And it's ready to go back.

 

Tucked Pillow...

A few years ago, I bought some books by Jennie Rayment.

Tucks, Textures & Pleats

and

Creative Tucks and Textures for Quilts and Embroidery

I love the visual texture of these techniques.  And have made a few small projects using some of these techniques.

Lately, HandyMan has been complaining of the lack of pillows (cushions) in the living room.  The four Kids snatch all available pillows to line forts and caves they build in their rooms.  And Rosie gets urges to chew... causing a pillow to need some repair (fortunately, it's a small hole)...

Since the fabric Jennie uses in Tucks, Textures, & Pleats is muslin, I decided to make some pillows for the living room using some of some leftover bleached muslin.

Here is the first.  

A tucked pillow

Super-easy and visually attractive.

 

Stars Stars Stars...

Not long ago, I posted pictures of this quilt in progress.

One Sunday afternoon, I quilted it simply with diagonal lines.
I like the square-in-square detail the stitching added. 

The binding is one of the blues.

And the label is an applique shape that was left-over from a previous quilt.

The finished quilt is about 54 inches square.
A nice size to curl up on the couch on cool winter evenings. 

The "Toddler" in the House....

The toddler stage with the Kids meant they were sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, sometimes needing to sit on your lap while you were working.

The newest "toddler" in the house fits all those qualifications...

and more...

This is Rosie.

(She's sitting on my lap while I'm trying to homeschool.  And yes, that is batting on the floor.)

Or Rosie Puddle, as she came to be known.  

She's a biiiiigg help.

Seeing Stars... More Sewing from the Stash...

This stash seems to be never-ending...

But I must tell you, I love these stars.

The fabric is all from the stash, and the blue bin and white bin don't even miss it.

(Guess I'll have to make something bigger)

The squares were cut at 5 inches.

The squares for the half-square-triangles (HST's) were cut at 5 3/8 inches.

Of course, those HST's take a bit more work.

Drawing lines from corner to corner.

Layering blue squares with white squares.

Sewing 1/4 inch on both sides of the drawn lines.

Cutting on the line and pressing seam allowances to the blue.

Then the fun began!

We had a few option of how to arrange this.

Should the blocks be 

Blue stars on white???

White stars on blue???

A combination of the two???

 

Kid One and I decided we would use a combination.

First, we tried a half and half look...

eh...

Then we tried quarters...

hmmmm....

Maybe if the blocks were smaller, and more of them...

Neither was exactly right.

Then we tried alternating blocks.

(Yes, I know there's a HST rotated wrong up there)

This was our favorite option.

We played around with fabric placement until we got something that worked for us.

Now it's stitched and layered and waiting to be quilted.  

I'm planning on machine quilting it with diagonal lines.

 

And binding..... well, I need to figure out what color that is going to be.

It'll be white or blue.  Or maybe red.  

But maybe that's too predictable.

 

hmmmmm....

 

One thing is for sure... I'm excited to see the finished quilt.

Pancakes Monday...

Because Mondays can be sooooo Monday-like.....

We have adopted a Pancake Monday tradition.

It gives a boost to our day.

I started with a recipe in a book.
Tripled it.  (I feed a small army)
Tweaked it.
And came up with a good pancake to add all sorts of yummy things to.

 

Here is how we make them.....

 

Pancakes

In mixer bowl combine:

2 c. all purpose unbleached flour
2 c. whole wheat flour
6 T sugar
6 t baking powder
2 t salt 

Add:

9 T canola oil
3 eggs
3 - 4 c. milk

At this point in time we had fruit.

Some of our favorites:

- frozen blueberries
- chopped apples and 1-2 t cinnamon
- mashed bananas

This time, we added 5 mashed bananas

I cook the pancakes on an electric griddle set at 325 degrees.

I use the 1/4 measuring cup to scoop them onto the griddle.

This makes them a good size to reheat in the toaster.

When they appear dry on the outside edges and bubbles form on top, flip the pancakes.

When they're done, serve them.

The Kids have a few favorite topping:

- pancake syrup
- butter
- jelly
- fruit syrup

 

The recipe, as directed above, along with 5 mashed bananas, yielded 32 pancakes.

The number will vary depended on what you add.

 

One more note:  

If you find the pancakes are too fluffy for your liking, add more milk.

Not fluffy enough, add more flour.

 

Enjoy!

 

SNOW!!!!

A few days ago, we hoped and prayed for more snow...

Yesterday...

We got it!

 

The Kids had a great time outside.

Snow Angels...

...Playing...

...And Sledding...

...Made for a GREAT day!!!

Wishing for More Snow...

Early morning flurries and an overnight dusting of snow have the Kids wishing for more snow...

And to be truthfully honest,

I am, too.