Me, Consistent????

I know to have anywhere near a successful blog one must be consistent. I; as you may have noticed, am not. Another thing is to concentrate on a subject. One subject??? How does one go about doing that? Needless to say I am going to give it a really good try to post once a week….I did say try.

A lot and a little have happened in the last two weeks.

Remember these:

 

 

I received/bought (it was too long ago to remember) this and have never used it. I thought it was time I gave it a try.

DIY Flower Press

Now for the DUH moment, I got these

to tighten the press to squish the flowers in there because I need them flat…flatter then a pancake, yummmmm… Because the wing nuts would not get any tighter I asked Lar to help. He starts to turn the wing nut while I hold unto the bottom bolt and after a few seconds says ‘you already have them screwed as far as they will go’. DUH, only the top of the screws were threaded, the rest was just like a post! I knew this, I was just testing Lar….
 

My friend Mel was having trouble with her 780 and asked if I would go along to take it in to get checked out. What go along to one of my favorite stores Hoover’s?!?!? Of Course! I also knew if we go there we have to go to Verna’s, and the market, and the spice store Fairview,... (These stores are about an hours drive from Williamsport and are less expensive.)

We stopped at Hoover’s and saw this when we walked in the door.

No Leon did not have towels to wipe our chins.

  OMG this machine is fabulous! Smooth, easy to control, just a dream.

Leon.  Notice some of his machines on the shelf in the background?

 

 

 

We left the machine and then went to Verna’s. (Somehow she is related to Leon, go figure.)

 

 

 

We stopped at the market.

 

I got about 3.25lbs of broccoli for $3.50 and I picked up 2 cantaloupes for $4.00. I haven’t made the broccoli yet but the melons were some of the best I have had in a long time!

Went to Fairview. This store is the spice store…they do have other things like pasta, rice, sugar, etc. but what did I get you ask….4 bags of candy! Each bag was 1lb. Wintergreen Lozenges $2.29, Cherry Slices $1.59, Anise Bears $1.59, and Licorice Allsorts $3.29. OK so I got a little carried away and noticed when I got home I really did need spices! I guess I will have to plan another trip…awwwe break my heart….

 

Work had a family picnic at Knoebels Fri. 

Knoebels is ranked #9th best amusement park in America!

 

 

It was the start of the Memorial Weekend and I needed something to walk all over creation with, so I took these which are my old work shoes from the studio,

 

 and made these:

 

I started with the Aleen’s glue. I didn’t like it. I had to put a big gob of glue down but the fabric would not take hold unless I held it for a while. Who has time for that?

 

So I got some Beacon’s Fabri-Tac. As soon as I put the fabric unto the glue which was on the shoe, the fabric took hold!

 

I have found a new ‘have to have’. This stuff is great! Tacks right away and is washable in 24 hours! Love it!!!

I spent most of this past week rebuilding the Ross Club window.

 

I had to take it apart and put it back together using new lead. When I really looked at the center medallion (supposed to be a silhouette of the founder of Williamsport) I noticed a bump…(what he didn’t hear about Proactive?)

 

I knew if I started cleaning it I would rub off the bump so I left that part together. (The bump is caused by the UV rays of the sun ‘lifting’ the paint off the glass.) I figured I’d rather see Mr. Ross with acne then to see a hole in his cheek. Hopefully no one will notice he needed a bath also but 100+ years ago people didn't bathe as often...

 

Remember that book I listened to ’39 Clues’? Save yourselves the time and pass on this one. I think it is for young teens….

Again congratulations to Sharron: http://threadpaintersart.blogspot.com on the win!

 



Chookyblue: http://chookyblue.blogspot.com.au is hosting a birthday party! Check it out and link up to participate in the fun!

Add a splash of bleach to the water in your vase to help your cut tulips last longer.

   

We have a winner!

Congratulations Sharron: http://threadpaintersart.blogspot.com!  Please email me your address so I can send you your present.
Thank you to all who entered.
D.G. L

FYI

Please see last post about my give away. I am not sure I worded it correctly but it is open to all my followers also.

Nothing and A GIVEAWAY

I have been off of work for 2 weeks now and I feel as if I am getting nothing done! I don't like to clean when Lar is around and he seems to be around ALL the time! (One of my goals while I am off is/was to house clean.) He has to work on our car at the garage but complains that it's too hot; which it has been, but I am tempted to say TURN ALOT OF FANS ON. Am I a bad person for this?????
I did manage to finish a whole quilt! OK, so it is a Mini Quilt, but it is finished! I started it in Jan. (see ‘WHEW’ post from 1/31.) I just now finished it because the name of this mini is ‘Flurry’ and I just couldn’t work on anything to do with snow, cold, or winter! I put it to the side and since the temperatures were upper 80's I finished it.
I wanted an original quilting design so I drew one up. The problem I had was transferring it so I could see and sew it. I started with the design and tried to trace it with a Frixion pen and Dritz tracing paper. That didn't work because the pen kept tearing the design paper and the tracing paper underneath was smudging the fabric.

 I had to use a bodkin  because it was the only thing I had with a ‘ball tip’ on it. I put a square ruler on top of the design so I could rest the palm of my hand on it to stop the smudging. All this seemed to work because I was able to see most of the design after removing the papers. I did have to mark a few places that I could not see the traced design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know now I need LOTS and LOTS of practice to do free motion quilting! Even though the lines were on the fabric there was quite a bit of operator error, but I’m fine with it because it still looks pretty darn good (my opinion) and I know I will get better with practice.

Where was this:  

before I started? That’s right, in storage with all my other tools! I got it out of storage along with this:

to start my next quilting design….practice makes perfect (or close to it).

While I was working on the quilt (and a few other things) I finished listening to ‘Rooms’ by Lauren Oliver and ‘The First Wife’ by Erica Spindler. These were both very good.

I am now listening to Book One of ‘The Maze of Bones’ written by Rick Riordan.

 So far it seems a little farfetched.  What old bitty is going to let a pair of young children live with an aupair while she lives on the other side of the city? The story moves rather fast which I like but I am unable to figure out the plot as I could in ‘The First Wife’.

While I was at Jo-Ann’s the other day I saw a piece of fabric on the mannequin that would be perfect for my Jellie. It was the last piece the store had so I asked the manager if she would sell it to me. She said she couldn’t so I settled for this:

I also picked this up for a sundress:

Jellie Loves Mini Mouse!
Oh my, I forgot something and had to go back to Jo-Ann’s the next day….(as if I hate to go to Jo-Ann's). I again asked for the piece of fabric on the mannequin but to a different sales lady. She stepped over to it, removed the pins and now I have the fabric. The sales lady said ‘Now I just need to put something else there.’ I think the manager was just too lazy to deal with having to do work.

I like this piece soooo much better!

Now all I have to get from my son is her measurements….

I signed up for 2 webinars. The first one I didn’t care for.
I got prepared for the second webinar. This one was given by
Margaret Moorehead: http://virtualsewingguild.net

 

(See my snack, homemade tapioca pudding, pen and paper, iced tea, and what’s that?!? Oh, it’s my medicine, DiSaronno, now I am ready!) This webinar was one of the best one’s I've watched. I did order the design CD’s and am looking forward to showing you the end results.

I am also following and doing 'School Bell Has Rung' given by

Karen Walker: http://chezstitches.blogspot.com. 

Even though we are on week 5 it is so easy and you can catch up in a flash!
Hopefully it will help me with my free motion quilting, it's one of the reasons I am doing it. Also she has so many tips and tricks!

Now for the giveaway:

If you have been following me, you know my birthday is the 24^th.   To celebrate I will be giving one lucky person their choice of a pendant or a pair of earrings made by me. Because I love a surprise I cannot show you the finished pieces because it would not be a surprise to you. To win you must follow me and leave a comment. You must ALSO tell me is if you want the pendant or earrings and if you want sterling silver or 14kgf.

To obtain extra entries: for every follower of yours that starts following me (and tells me who they were following), and does the same in the comments, you get an extra entry for everyone who follows me.

I will pick the winner on May 24th (my birthday) at 11pm est., so you all have until then to follow me, get your followers to follow me, and to get your comments to me!

When we go to our local deli we always pick up lemon cookies. To me they are very expensive, around $1.00 a cookie. This recipes was in our paper and I decided to try is. (The Williamsport Sun Gazette stating this recipe comes from the 'All Italian Cookbook' published by Mater Dolorosa Church.) The cookies turned out better then the deli and cost much less! They are a nice summer treat and very easy to make.

Ricotta Cookies

Ingredients:

2 stick butter, melted	4 cups flour
2 eggs	1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups sugar	1 tsp. salt
2 lemons rinds	2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup ricotta (heaping)

Mix butter, sugar, eggs, rinds, and ricotta (1 whole 15 oz. container) until creamy. Add in the vanilla. (I used 1 ½ tsp. vanilla and ½ tsp. almond extract, I like the taste. If you do this you MUST BE CAREFULL to tell this because some people have nut allergies.) Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Drop on greased cookie sheet by teaspoonful. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Icing:

Mix:
2 lbs. powdered sugar, lemon juice, and a little milk to dissolve the powdered sugar.
Dip cooled cookies into icing and allow icing to harden.

Enjoy!

Have a great week!
D.G. L
 

Happy Mothers's Day

to all you mother's out there! To all the others I say HAPPY DAY!!!!

This is what I was surprised with from my oldest son yesterday! As I was making dessert this morning I noticed the card:  there was a spool of thread, flowers, buttons, and candy to the side of the writing…all my favorites!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tomorrow Lar and I will be taking out windows to be rebuilt. The center silhouette is supposed to be the founder of Williamsport.

 Hopefully I do not break it as my helper broke Jesus’ face on a church repair. (This was after the customer said “Please do not break Jesus.” I had to repaint a new face and told the customer I did. He said it was fine because you couldn’t even tell it was replaced.)

 

I have one OPAM so far for this month. A new wallet! Do you think I needed one?:

 

 

 
 
 
 
  

I don’t usually carry a purse or bag with me…go figure, I make them, just don’t carry them…

This little wallet fits great in my back pants pocket and  I don’t have to dig for it in a bag.

 

I am getting to sew more because I was not put on the schedule at work, even though others are. It seems the people they want to 'get rid' of were not scheduled for graduation week and I am one of those people. Do you think they are trying to tell me something? Little did I know of this saying until the beginning of my last month working: The squeaky wheel gets the grease. It is also the first to be replaced. Now they tell me, just because I asked for new pans so the omelets wouldn't stick, and complained about people not doing their job, etc. I will not find out until the end of May if I go back to work in Aug. so I might as well take advantage of the time off.

 

My friend asked me to alter her daughter’s prom dress. I had to take 5 inches in on the back to make it extra snug (the mother didn’t like this dress because it is strapless and is afraid it will fall down in front). I also had to take it up 5 inches.

 

 

I had to go to JoAnn’s to match the thread. I also needed a new silicon pressing cloth (I can not find my other 2). Because they were having a huge sale I just had to look around and saw the scissors were half price. I bought a pack of these months ago and really like them (for being cheap, $3.70 they work great!) so I picked up another pack.

 

Now back to my fable. The back fix was easy after I figured out to take both layers apart and remove the extra fabric. The hem was totally a full on pain! I found out I have a lot of practicing to do when it comes to rolled hems and the foot would only let me do a straight stitch. Because I wanted the same look as the original, I started to do a locking stitch. Well, my machine loved this fabric so much it would ‘eat’ it. I had to cut it out of my throat plate 2 times before I finally thought: stabilizer! Worked like a charm!



dissolving stabilizer

 


side stitching is original, top is hem



 

Thank goodness I did not have to alter Doodles’ dress, WHEW!!!:

 

This is one of my favorite desserts and was the one I was making when I spotted the card:

Fluffy Tapioca Cream

Mix:

3Tbls. Tapioca, 3 Tbls. Sugar, 2 cups milk, and 1 egg yolk in a medium saucepan. Let stand 5 minutes.

Beat:

1 egg white until foamy, gradually adding 3 Tbls. Sugar until soft peaks form.

Cook:

Milk mixture until it comes to a full boil.

Remove:

From heat quickly stirring into egg whites until well blended. 

Stir:

In 1 tsp. vanilla

Cool and enjoy.

This recipe is on the back of the ‘Kraft Minute Tapioca’ box.

 

Have a great week!

D.G. L