Spring Has Sprung in Our Gardens!!

We have had a couple of really nice spring days in the last week and a half here near the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio!  So, I thought I would share the beginnings of spring and summer in our gardens.  My husband has a natural talent when it comes to setting up our flower and vegetable gardens. It becomes a full time job for him, but he loves it.

When we moved into this house 3 summers ago, we had one lonely flower planted in the back of the house.  Just yard and pine trees.  How blah was that?

Well, these "blue" forget-me-nots are the first things to pop up in our flower garden this year.  Aren't they just precious?  They just keep multiplying and growing larger and larger every year.  They are in the perfect place and will bloom off and on thru summer.  Soon, the iris, roses, and day lilies will be in bloom also.

This is the beginning of our vegetable garden.  He has been putting things in for the last 2 weeks.  There were a few nights we had to go and cover things so the frost wouldn't get to them. He can never wait to get his garden going for the summer!!

Now, I am sharing early pictures of my "Mother's Day" present that my son has made for me.  I am one lucky "mother"!!!!  I started a few years ago making a fairy garden in a bird bath.  Every year I weed out the old, and add a new vignette for my fairies. This was last summer's plantings.  I'll update later when my new plants have had a chance to grow.

 But this year, my son decided to make me a house for the fairies to live in.  I put it under a small ornamental Japanese red maple.  Now, we have to do plantings so the "fairies" have a more secure place to make their home!

He placed it in my garden last night.  All 90+ pounds of it.  Then he added a stone wall.  There is still ground cover to be added, but, I couldn't wait to show this darling house on my blog.

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 I even got stained glass windows!!!!!!!

The roof will have moss growing on it eventually.  He made a concoction of buttermilk and real moss that he paints on.  It will eventually grow and cover the whole roof.  He has more ideas to add more "stuff" around the house.   This wasn't planned, but can you spy the man in the window?  He's wearing a pirate hat!!!!

I now have to go spray the roof to keep it moist for growing the moss............... Keep checking back, I will be adding updated pictures of the "little fairy house".  I'm thinking the house may need to set in the middle of a field of blue forget-me-nots?  hmmmmmmmm

Until next time,

Sharon

Coming Soon..........My Mother's Day Gift!

I have been a little busy the last week, moving my mom from her home in Western Ohio to the City where I live, just a couple blocks down the street from me.

But, to my surprise while I was away for a few days organizing the move.........my son had started a surprise for me.  I have had my "fairy garden" for maybe 5 years, in the top of a bird bath.  In the last couple of years I have been admiring the "fairy houses" that you can buy at some of the garden centers.  Beautiful little cement cottages, churches, etc.  Well, they also cost a pretty penny too.  But I have been hoping that maybe one day one of these would appear in my garden.  I sure have been giving everyone the "hint"!!

Well, my crafty son is in the process of building a stone cottage with stained glass windows.  I have been taking pictures as he progresses.  As I am in the middle of helping my mom get her new place comfortable, I will be posting these pictures from start to finish soon.

Please stop back and see my soon to be Mother's Day Gift.

Sharon L.

Recipe Thursday

It's getting late, but it is still Thursday.  This recipe popped into my head as I was cleaning up dinner dishes.  You have to hear the "back" story on this recipe, before I give it to you.

Many, many years ago, I loved to collect cook books.  I had a dedicated bookcase in my kitchen for them.  Then, I had to expand them into "our den", because they outgrew their shelves in the kitchen.  I would send for many booklets that different food company's advertised for free. The recipe I am making for Recipe Thursday came out of a 1978 Quaker Oats booklet.   That year I just had my first child, so when I say many, many years ago, it was.

As I had children, and they entered school, I would make this recipe as an afternoon snack for them.  I use to make it quite a lot in those years.  Then, like everything else, the recipe was forgotten, and placed in a box of old cookbooks, not to be thrown away, but to be saved "forever"!!

After about 28 years living in the same house, we found a place to down size to.  Which meant, all my cookbooks in their boxes was put up in that house's attic, never to be seen again for 7 years, when we moved again to up size our house.  My children (4) were of great help, and the girls put some of my everyday cookbooks on a shelf in my new kitchen.

Because my "old" brain skips here and there on many subjects, I was thinking one day, whatever became of my Quaker Oats booklet with that great bar recipe?  (see hint, it is going to be a bar)  Looked high and low, for the life of me couldn't find it, and blamed my children for probably throwing it out!  So, here a few months ago, I am looking for something in the night stand of our bedroom, yup, you guessed it.  There it was.    I was so excited, that I put together a batch of these bars that day.

My son-in-law can't get enough of them.  Let me just say, they are very sweat, and really good.  Don't let the name fool you.  It is described as:  A layered treat, with the sweet taste of fruit combined with the crunch and "wholesomeness" of the oat mixture.  I think they may have been a little confused on what was "wholesome" in the 70's. LOL

Wholegrain Jam Squares

2 cups Quaker Oats (Quick or Old Fashioned, uncooked)

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup butter 

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped nuts (I usually use 1 cup)

1 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. soda

1 pt preserves (I use mine that I can) 

Combine all ingredients, except preserves in large mixing bowl, beat at low speed on electric mixer until mixture is crumbly.  Reserve 2 cups; press remaining onto bottom of greased 13x9 inch pan.  Spread preserves evenly over the base; sprinkle with reserved mixture. 

Bake in preheated 400 degree oven, 25-30 min. or until golden brown.  Cool, cut into squares.

Ready for assembling..butter,flour mixture, brown sugar & oats.

Press mixture on bottom of a 13 x 9 " pan

Add preserves  and crumble reserved mixture over top

DONE.........cooling.  I cut it while it was still warm,
when completely cool, it will come out in bar form.  

Published in 1978.

I think the bars have cooled and they are calling from the kitchen...........very good with a glass of milk!!

Try it, you'll like it!!

Thanks for stopping by, please come back..........let me know if you tried them.

Sharon 

Latest Projects!

I finished my baby quilt last week, two days before the shower!

If you click on picture, click on original size, then click out of the box,
it comes in really well!

Old project:  I picked up The City Stitcher house block that I have been working on in bits and pieces for the last few months, and actually finished the applique on my "landscaping".  I had been waiting to attach the "clock" on the building, looking at maybe pinning a watch face on it ..........but I wasn't having any luck in finding anything that I liked or the right size.  So, I finally said "the heck with it", and I created a clock through embroidery.  I figured out how to turn the fabric inside out after embroidering, and then just stitched it to the building.  I am very pleased with how it turned out.

I put the batting and backing on last night (I am quilting the blocks as I go) and did the quilting lines for hand quilting.  So, I hope to have this hand quilting part done in the next couple of nights.  Then, this one gets attached to the blocks on either side of it, then to the main quilt, and then............border time and I am done!!!


New project:  I really got to get going on our SQ challenge for April.  I chose the pattern I wanted to do, but I just couldn't find anything in my stash that was in blue tones..  So, off to the quilt shop with my 12 year old granddaughter, Hannah.  She was fun to have along, and actually found a couple of fabrics that I liked for the quilt.

I think Kathy Tracey's new blue blog gave me the "umpf" to want to start on this small quilt using blue.  I don't think I have done anything in blue since I made my grandsons's their Americana Cowboy quilts of about 6 or 7 years ago.  

These are the two main things I want to accomplish for April.  Since we are in the middle of April right now, I had better get my creativity in gear.

Until next time.....................

Sharon L.  

Recipe Thursday!

As promised...how to make my tart recipe.  I use my pie recipe, but I prepare the blueberries differently.  Otherwise, too much juice in a low sided crust means disaster for your oven.

 Filling:                 1 cup sugar

                            2 1/2 T corn starch

                            1 T of lemon juice

                            4 cups blueberries...

                             dash of salt

                             a little cinnamon 

                             1/2 tsp nutmeg (if you like nutmeg)                                  

                              grated lemon (1-2 T)

                              Butter for top

Wash and drain blueberries. 

Put in pan with 1/4 cup water and simmer till soft.

There will be plenty of juice when sugar gets added......so drain!

Put blueberries in a bowl, add your sugar, cornstarch, dash of salt,

cinnamon, nutmeg, 1T lemon juice, and grated lemon peel

Mix till combined, let set.

Crust.....same as I use for my pies.  This was handed down to me from my husband's mother.  Can't go wrong with this recipe!  But, I have become a little lazy in the pie making area lately; I now use my mixer with the dough hook.  Very simple, I like simple.

2 cups flour

2/3 cup Crisco + 2 T  (I refridge mine, like butter)

dash of salt

add 1/4 cup ice water after above slightly mixed

Mix only till it becomes a nice soft pre-ball stage.

Place all of dough on foil.  This will eventually be put on a pizza pan!

Roll out till thickness you like, with plenty of dough left for making approx. 2" sides.  Make sure your bottom and sides do not have any cracks.......juice will leak thru if not sealed tightly enough. Transfer the foil with crust to a pan.  I use a pizza pan, and sometimes just roll it out on the pan.  But a cookie sheet, anything flat that will hold your rolled out crust will be fine.

Carefully fill crust with mixture, top off with some butter.

Bake in a 425 degree oven, about 45 min. or until crust has a nice golden brown color.

WALLA!!!!  BLUEBERRY TART

If your a pie lover, but sometimes making homemade pies can be a hassle, try this, so easy!!!! And the crust, really really flaky.  

If you do give this a try, please let me know how yours turned out............

This was a fun blog for me, maybe I'll have to do more Recipe Thursdays?

Thanks for stopping by..............

P.S.:  A really, really easy and quick way to make this tart...........Purchase a Pillsbury crust that you find in the dairy isle and add maybe 2 cans of your favorite filling. You can sprinkle some cinnamon or nut meg on top if you like, dot it with butter.  You will have a "homemade" tart.  

Sharon L.

                                         

Music For A Crafters Ears

I'M DONE!!!!   I'm shouting it out, in case you didn't know.  I have finished the quilt that I am making for a friend's daughter's baby shower in the next week.  The assembly went quickly, even the hand quilting was done in less than a week.  It's that final thing that always makes me backslide.  I don't know why, I usually don't have any problems with it, it is just the "I don't want to do this thing now" !!  I am talking about the "b" word, binding.

I actually ended up hand sewing the back of the double fold binding twice, because it is for a baby, and will probably be washed many times, I wanted to make sure the binding would hold up for many years.

This is the top of the quilt.

The quilt measures 35 1/2 " x 42"

I really like how the hand quilting came out after the washer and dryer.  

This is the back of the quilt.  If you click on the pictures, you can see the enlarged photos.

For a fraction of a second, you get this let down feeling; you know, like after you unwrap all your Christmas presents?  Now what do I do?  Well, I guess I am going to have to "pa-rouse" my UFO's.  Or better yet, I think I may have to start a new project.  We just got our new monthly quilt challenge from Kathy T............ so I guess I can head to my fabric stash (or add to my fabric stash) and design board.

Until next time............

Sharon

Monday Morning Blog

Not only is it Monday morning, but it is also April Fool's Day.  What a way to start the week!

I am always wanting to make something that I should have "started yesterday".  I guess I get more things done when I have a short time to do them in?  Well, anyway, I wanted some kind of table runner for my kitchen table for Easter.  So, "pa-rousing" the internet, I found a few patterns to make a quick table runner.  A few of them stated "make a table runner in 10 minutes".  I couldn't even get my material cut in 10 minutes.

So, I adapted a few of them to make my runner.  The first attempt, I folded it wrong and got a total different look than what I was going for.  I put it out for our craft night get together at my house, but the following day, I had to take it apart and redo.

This is not what you want your runner to took like!  Or maybe you do:)

So, since I am the "queen of the seam ripper", it was easy enough for me to tear out all the sewing back to the "tube".........  Following are the directions for a quick (not 10 minute) table runner you can have in less than 2 hours.  From start to finish!!

I chose 3 fabrics, instead of 2 fabrics that were suggested in the u-tube videos.

My Happy Easter fabric was my theme print.  (14 1/2" x 40"

Green check bordered my theme print (2 1/2" x 40")

Floral print was my coordinating fabric (20 1/2"  x 40")

I sewed my checked print to both long sides of the themed print. (Themed print should end up in the middle of your table runner)

Now, place right sides of themed print and coordinating prints together and sew long ends, and you will end up with a long tube.  Press your seams to the outside.

This is what your tube will look like.

Press open with your themed print showing, and your sides even.  When you use 2 fabrics, more of your coordinating fabric will show on the top, where mine looks like a border.

Now, fold in half, make sure your "themed" print is ironed to one side, and the border is ironed to the outside.  This is where I made the big mistake in the first try.

Sew 1/2" on the short folded ends.   You might want to cut the tips off of the corners for less bulk.  Press seam open and you should have a point.

Turn inside out and press flat.  You can not top stitch if you want to.  I had some yo' yo's laying around in a basket, and attached them to the ends.

Looks much better now.................

I think when I make more, and I have more time to finish them; I will probably sandwich them with quilt backing and quilt the tops. I just happen to like the look of quilted things.  I have made table runners with just flannel for the backing also, and they turn out nice and lay flat.  The flannel can be quilted also, and you can even add applique.  

Well, until next time................oh, I haven't forgotten, I will be blogging soon on my delicious fruit tarts!  Which means, if you like fruit pies, you'll have to stop back...............

Thanks for stopping by......

Sharon