Quilting Rulers to the Rescue...

There was not a stitch sewn around here this past weekend.  That does not mean it was not a productive weekend though.  The plan for Sunday was to lay the tiles in my sewing room that have been sitting in the hall for the past 4 1/2 months.  So when Mr. P could not find his speed square,I was not about to let that little detail thwart my plans!  But what to do about the no where to be found,required tool???

Improvise,and use a couple of quilting rulers instead! :)  Who says quilting rulers are just for quilting?

When we ripped out the carpet three years ago,I never dreamed it would take this long to finally get it replaced with something!  This summer while at Home Depot,I happened to wander into the tile aisle and finally found something I liked and would also go in the Lavender/Purple room.  This next summer the walls are going to get a different color(when choosing this color I never dreamed it would be so hard to match).  I am thinking,an aqua color for trim and a shade to match the tiles for the main color.

Hope to show you the finished room later this week! :)

October ALYOF Goal Finish

This month is about to join the ranks of all the ones before it and become the past...

My goal for this month was:

To finish making the circles for the Candy Beads quilt started at Fabric Fest.  Original post  found here. Last night I was able to meet that goal!

My circles are now all finished :)  It took about an hour and a half to make the last 14 circles,turn them and then give them a quick press.  From here through the end of the year this will be a block here and there,in between all of my Holiday sewing.

As you know I have been working on two different secret projects,so thought you might like a little sneak peak of one of them tonight!

This sneak peak is from the project due on the 12th of November (see the button on my side bar for more info).

Have a super sewing weekend :)

It is Wednesday,you know what that means...

It is time to announce the Winner of my 4th and last Giveaway for my belated blog anniversary!  Before we get to the Lucky commenter,I would just like to say:
    Thank You for all of the wonderful Christmas stocking stuffer ideas shared in the comments!  Each and everyone of you had some great ones :)

The Winner is...
Renea commenter number 17 Congratulations Renea I have emailed you please send me a reply to receive your goodies!

Now that the weather is starting to cool off,kids will begin spending more time indoors.  These little rice bags are great for any number of indoor toss games.  There are two sets for little boys above,and I have two sets for little girls that just need the rice added and to be sewn shut.

Today was inventory at work,so after a couple hours I was cut loose for the rest of the day!  Although my free time was spent sewing,it was on secret stuff,so the rice bags are all I have to show for my free day.  However you only have a little over a week before one of the projects will not be secret anymore ;)

Charm Bag (in progress)

First an Apology to Patw...  Pat I am so very sorry for inadvertently deleting your comment!  Not sure how I did that,but I did :(  Do not worry though,you will still be entered in my Giveaway,but I do need a way to contact you in case you win :)

This is the charm bag(in progress)one side of it anyway :)

This will be the other side of the bag.  As you can see there are six charms across the main part of the bag,so it will be a good size bag when finished.

These goodies are a surprise gift from the lovely Daphne,over at Ivy,Phyllis and Me if you have not visited her blog you should!  She posts the most amazing recipes :) Thank you Daphne,I love them!

Recently Jamie sent me a package with all of this Sweet fabric and basket!  I am so blessed with bloggy friends :)

This pile of scraps is the result of squaring up 168 HST (half square triangles) this afternoon!  Which are for one of my secret projects!

Mid ~Month check in (ALYOF) And GiveAway #4

The 15th of October already?  Actually it seems more like the middle of December around here,weather wise anyway.  It snowed off and on all day!  (I am so Not ready for that yet)

This months goal is to finish up all of the circles for the Candy Beads quilt,started while at Fabric Fest last month.  Progress so far,all of the 5" & 7" circles done!  Just need to get the 10"circles finished.

Although that might seem like an easy goal to some,this has been a super busy month at work so far.(there have been very few days that have not included overtime)  Then there are also two Secret projects that are in the works,one due by the beginning of next month,one due on the 12th.

Oh,Right,the GiveAway ;)             (GIVEAWAY CLOSED)
                                                       ConGratuLations to Renea!!!

One lucky commenter (following is never a requirement of winning here) will win:

• One slightly used (once at Fabric Fest) set of Circle Rulers
• The pattern/instructions for Circle Beads Quilt (by Lori Holt)
• One 3.5" stacker of Gracie Girl (21 squares)

What do you have to do for a chance to win???
Answer this Question...What handmade item would you buy/make to use as a stocking stuffer?  Could be for an adult or a child.  This giveaway will be open through next Wednesday Oct 23rd.  Good Luck!

Giveaway Winners & a fall scarf

Are you ready to find out who won the quilt patterns???  Lets get to it then!

Quilted Crossroads Pattern:
Winner number 1 is Cecilia  and since my second winner was also interested in this same pattern,
Winner number 2 is Carla G

Jeweled Geese Pattern:
Gill is the winner of the third pattern

ConGratulations Ladies!!  Melissa will be contacting you and sending you your patterns!!!
I would like to say Thank You once again for donating your lovely patterns Melissa :))))  Also Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway!

This is the infinity scarf that I sewed up this afternoon.

This scarf takes two fat quarters,you could use the same print or two different prints.  For mine I pulled some Flea Market Fancy from my stash.  The quilting was done in a pale blue to match the blue on the print with the brown background,and a yellow thread was a great match for the bobbin thread.  This was fairly easy to sew up,just not sure if I like it better than a regular scarf that is not joined to make a circle.  Time will tell.

I have one more giveaway,which will be posted one day this week!  So be sure to stop by and enter once the post is up :)

Carrot Cake Preserves

This week there was not time to make my recipe in advance,which means,there are no step by step photos.  Sorry about that,if you are new to canning,you can go here for the basics of canning,or if you  just need a little refresher.                                                                                                                                            Are you ready for another canning recipe?  I have a real treat in store for you today!

 Carrot Cake Preserves with cream cheese on toasted homemade bread.

Utensils:

• 7 half pint canning jars(Mason,Kerr,Ball,your choice)
• basic canning equipment 
• large stockpot

Ingredients needed for this recipe:

• 2 cups finely shredded carrots (4 medium sized)
• 1 15-ounce can crushed pineapple (packed in juice,undrained)
• 1 medium sized pear of your choice (peeled & chopped)
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1.75-ounce package regular powdered fruit pectin
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut flakes or raisins,or both (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

In a 6-8 quart stockpot combine carrots,pineapple,pear,lemon juice,cinnamon,and nutmeg.  Bring to a boil stirring constantly;reduce heat.  Simmer,covered for 20 minutes,stirring frequently.  When 20 minutes has elapsed,remove from heat.  Sprinkle powdered pectin over mixture;stir until it has dissolved completely.

Return to heat,and bring mixture to boiling,stirring constantly.  Add granulated and brown sugars.  Return to a full rolling boil,stirring constantly.  Boil hard for 1 minute,again stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Quickly skim off any foam with a metal spoon.  Stir in the coconut and or raisins(if using) and vanilla extract.

Ladle hot preserves into hot sterilized half pint jars,leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe jar rims,adjust lids and rings.

Process jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes (remember to check the time for your altitude,it was 25 minutes for mine).  Start the timer when water has returned to a full rolling boil.  After processing time has elapsed,remove jars from canner;place in a draft free place to cool.

*Makes 7 half pints*

~ TIP ~  Finely chopped fruit stays suspended better than coarsely chopped fruit.  A sweet way to keep the fruit evenly distributed is,to turn the jars about every half hour for a couple hours. (this is not a necessity,so you can skip it if you want)

EnJoy!

Be sure to check out my current Giveaway for a chance to win one of three patterns!!!

Fall sewing ~ crafting ~ Winner & giveaway # 3

First the Winner of my last giveaway:

Jusmom1 commenter # 3 You are the winner!!!   Congratulations to you!  Please send me your snail mail info,and I will get your package out by Wednesday :)

Fall Sewing:  This past week it was time to make something with the fabric Jamie gave me at Fabric Fest!  Since my kitchen towels were on their last leg (a long time ago) I decided to make myself my kitchen a new set...

as well as some new potholders,and also a set of four napkins!  Thank you Jamie,Love this new addition to my kitchen :)

The first set turned out so nicely,I decided to make up a few sets to sell at the fm.  This set has four coasters instead of napkins,because there was only a 1/4 yard of this print in my stash.

Love this print,it is how I imagine fall looks like further east,and someday plan on finding out for myself.

Crafting:

Have you seen those leaf bowls floating around the net?  The other day I decided to try and make one of my own.

It turned out pretty cute,even though I got the modge podge up a little higher than the leaves.  The little acorns inside the leaf bowl are made with pine cones Mr. P and I collected in the woods near our property.  I cut up some cheap washcloths and hot glued them from the tops of the pine cones almost all the way to the bottom.  Leaving just enough at the bottom,now the top,to make the cap,then hot glued a piece of dead branch to the center for the little stem part of the acorn.  Have you made any fall crafts?  This would be a good one to do with the kids,of course if they are smaller,you would want to do the hot glueing part for the acorns.

GiveAway!!!

Melissa,from sew BitterSweet Designs has graciously donated one each of her three patterns in her Craftsy Shop as my giveaway this week!!!   So Three lucky winners will receive one of her Sweet Patterns!

Pattern # 1 ~ Quilted Crossroads

Pattern # 2 ~ All Framed Up

Pattern #3 ~ Jeweled Geese  This is my favorite,but then I am a Geese Block fanatic!                          For a chance to win let me know in your comment which pattern you are interested in winning!            ~ Please Make Sure ~ that I have a way to ~ Contact You ~because if you are a No Reply Blogger and do not leave me a way to contact you,sadly you will not even have a chance to win :(  Good Luck & a very Big Thank You to Melissa for her generosity! :))))

October ALYOF Goal

Since it has become increasingly hard for me to get multiple projects finished in time to meet the deadline,this month I have  again decided on a single goal.

Recently I post about the Candy Beads quilt that was started while at Fabric Fest.

This is a photo of the circles I was able to get finished while there.  My goal for this month is to finish all of the circles needed for the front of the quilt.  Each of the three sizes requires 20 circles,for a total of 60 circles to make the quilt top.  If time permits,I will also start appliqueing the circles to the blocks...

What are you working on this month?

Ginger ~ Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Butter

Do you like Sweet Potatoes,if you answered yes,then today's preserving recipe is for you!

Looks and tastes like a mouthful of fall!  I can see this on my ThanksGiving table with some oven melted/browned marshmallows on top Mmmm...

Ginger ~ Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Butter:

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 to 4 pounds of orange-flesh sweet potatoes
• 1 1/2 cups golden brown sugar (packed)
• 2/3 cup apple juice (I chose to use apple cider instead)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (you can use ground or grate your own like I did)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.  Wash your sweet potatoes thoroughly with a vegetable brush;pat dry.  Prick sweet potatoes with a fork.  Bake for 40 to 60 minutes or until tender;cool slightly.

In order to save time and have light to take good photos,I baked my sweet potatoes the evening before. So I was able to easily skin/peel them.  Since yours will be quite hot,cut them in half lengthwise,scoop out the pulp with a spoon and discard the skins.

Transfer the pulp to your food processor.  Cover and process until very smooth,scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally.  ~ Tip ~  If you are having a hard time getting the sweet potato pulp to process to a smooth consistency,add some of your apple juice to help get it going.

The pulp will be very thick and smooth after processing,use a spatula to transfer to a stock pot.

Here the recipe says to only transfer 4 cups of the pulp to the stock pot,and set the rest aside for another use,I ignored that and transferred all of the pulp(since this is a freezer recipe and not a actual canning recipe).  Which gave me one more container at the end.  You can do whichever you like.

Add your,brown sugar,apple juice (or the remaining juice if you used some in the previous step),lemon juice,ginger,salt,and nutmeg to the sweet potato puree.  Using a plastic or wooden utensil stir to incorporate all the ingredients.

Bring to boiling;reduce heat.  Simmer,uncovered,for 30 minutes stirring frequently.  If it spatters,reduce heat further.  I did not have a problem with spattering,but found it necessary to stir Very Frequently to keep it from sticking.  So make sure you can give this your Full attention during the 30 minute cooking time.

Spoon into your containers,mine are ziploc 8oz freezer containers.  You can use any freezer containers,including mason jars.  If you follow the recipe and use only 4 cups of puree you should only have 5 containers.  If you followed my example and used all of the puree you should have 6 containers.   Remember to leave 1/2 inch headspace for expansion.  Let cool completely before placing the lids on containers and freezing.

Store in the refrigerator for up to one week or freeze for up to 6 months.  Enjoy!  

Sorry for all the excess space at the bottom of this post,I have no clue how it happened or how to fix it.