My Creative Family

My copy of Amanda Soule's book, The Creative Family, arrived this week. I've devoured it the last two mornings as the Monster and Hubby slept and I did not have to work. I LOVE this book. I was afraid it would be a book of "twelve projects to do with your kids", but it is anything but. It really is about nurturing yours and your kids' creativity; how to exploit and celebrate the natural tendencies of children. And what excellent resources in the back!

On Thursday I came home to this image on the Monster's table. Yes, she has her own table positioned between the dining room and living room. Here we take snacks, host guests, and colour with our 'marks' and 'pepe'. It must be markers, of course. Crayons only get dumped for a game of 64 pick-up and pencil crayons are just not as appealing. It might have something to do with not getting marks on our hands with them! Or, as you can see, on the table itself... I refuse to clean it off as I love the way it looks and shows her exuberance for colouring.

When she decides it is time for colouring she pulls out one of the old school chairs that sits on either side of the table, opens a marker - our favourite colours are yellow, pink, and green right now - and makes some tentative marks. If either I or Hubby are nearby she gets off her chair walks around to the other one, pulls it out, pats the seat and says, "Shit down, Mommy, shit down." (Yes, that is how it sounds.) So we sit down with her and she promptly tells us what she wants us to draw. Lately that's been "hoppies" (that's a hoppie that Hubby drew in the photo) and fish, sometimes a baby. We also both like to just doodle graphic images of dots, stripes, or squiggles.

In the coming weeks I hope to take so much of this messy paper and make some cards. Heck, it's time to celebrate her creativity! Besides, Dido (my dad) is fighting cancer, my boss is in the hospital awaiting a heart transplant, and there are lots of other people around that the simple act of receiving real mail, especially that decorated by an unabashed toddler, is sure to put a smile on their face.

Slow and Steady

It turns out I likely had a stomach bug last week. Cramping in one part of the gut causes cramping in another... My husband likes to point out that I probably still have a few weeks left. Thanks Hubby, for the painful reminder.

At least it gives me time to make some more progress on the Baby Quilt. I had the quilting about half done then spent the hour of American Idol on Tuesday ripping out half of that. The quilt has a center medallion in the quilting pattern and what I had done just didn't work for me. I should be able to redo that during the Monster's nap tomorrow.

I Should Have Napped

The baby may be coming soon as the contractions are coming faster and with a little more fury. Unfortunately, for me, they aren't amounting to much as they usually stop after a few hours. Soon enough.

After a bad day yesterday I should have napped while the Monster slept, but I really wanted to get the baby quilt basted. That's the nice thing about baby quilts, they don't take that long to baste. Now I just have to settle on the quilting pattern and I can get to it. Baby quilts also get quilted fast! I might have it done before the bambino arrives...

The Seven Wonders of Cheryl

Okay, so it won't be that momentous. Elizabeth over at My Crafty Mess tagged me and I thought I would highlight some little known (or too well known) facts about me. My profile is detailed, but there are always things to learn.

1. I cannot make jello or rice krispie squares

I nearly went to culinary school instead of grad school, but I cannot - for the life of me - get either of these to work. My jello never sets and my rice krispie squares are rock hard. Sad, but true. Oatmeal cookies are also a challenge for me, but today may have been a turning point. Thank-you Martha.

2. I absolutely hate coffee

Or anything coffee flavoured, including mocha, tiramisu, or Kalhua. Yech. Just last week I accidentally grabbed my husband's Americano instead of my Chai. I nearly did the full spit out and splatter all over the Monster. Thankfully it was a small taste and I immediately started eating my bratwurst to ge the taste out of my mouth. What is truly shocking about this fact is that I more or less paid my way through undergrad by working in coffee shops. I can make a mean espresso.

3. I cannot sing - at all, ever
It is rather frightening to hear me attempt a lullaby or sing along to the radio. Thank goodness the Monster has no judgement. I was in the choir in elementary school, but was still blamed by the entire choir (over 50 kids) when we lost the Kiwanis Music Festival one year. In university I dated I guy who was firmly convinced that everyone could sing, and that everyone liked coffee. After singing for him one night he had to amend both statements.

4. I am a bit of an exhibitionist

Hey, isn't everyone who blogs a bit of one? One year there was a large music festival, called EdgeFest, with 10,000 people attending and over a dozen bands. Hole was the headliner. By the time they started I was in the middle of the mosh pit. At one point Courtney Love flashed the audience. Feeling flush - and a little drunk - I flashed her back. She pointed me out after a song and said that someone with boobs like mine should get on stage. Before I could think a bouncer grabbed my arms and pulled me over the fence and helped me get on stage. I spent the rest of the show on stage, dancing and singing along. I wish I could end the story there, but alas, I then felt the need to flash the entire crowd. The way I figure it, the girls looked damn good then (unlike my post-nursing girls) and I was proud of them. Yet, when I went to New Orleans I managed to keep my top on. The girls gone wild days are long gone...

5. I once got stuck to a bathtub

To be honest, it actually happened twice. We used to live in a house with an old clawfoot, cast iron tub. I was having a glorious hot bath one night but when I shifted positions I felt this suction in the small of my back. I literally got stuck to the tub. I struggled for a few minutes to free myself, but only made it worse. Then I started calling for my Hubby, then my boyfriend. He couldn't hear me, but our roommate did. I kept screaming, "Get Morgan, I'm stuck to the tub!" Roomie couldn't stop laughing all the way down the stairs to get him. By the time he got to the top of the stairs I had managed to get a finger between my back and the tub to break the seal. I had a hickey the size of a dessert plate on my lower back. It happened again a few months later. I blame the tub, it attacked me.

6. I nearly froze to death

At 11:00 pm on a Friday night a friend asked me to go with him to visit his friend at another school about an hour and a half away. Terribly in like with him I said yes, despite the fact that it was a raging Maritime blizzard and he wanted to hitchhike. We took the bus to the edge of town and stuck our thumbs out. Ben usually had the luck that someone was going all the way from Halifax to Wolfville. Not that night. After a few short rides, only taken because we needed a break from the wind, we got stuck in the next town from Wolfville. Maybe we should have just walked to Wolfville, but instead we thought we would take shelter in a barn we could see from the road. Unfortunately, the barn was little more than two sided hay storage and offered no relief. So we crossed the field and went into town. We tried to get someone to let us in from a cold vestibule of an apartment building. No luck - and can you blame them? Finally we found a heated vestibule with a kind security guard who made us promise we would be gone before any of the seniors in the building woke up. After a few hours of cold, cuddled sleep we walked onto the street where one guy was trying to clear the roads in his truck. He proceeded to tell us how his wife had kicked him out of the house because he was drinking. Clearing the town roads seemed like a logical thing for him to do. We walked in the opposite direction. In a few minutes we found a recently opened gas station with a small diner inside. After the best breakfast we walked outside, into the middle of the road - our drunk driving plowman never made it this far - and stuck our thumbs out to the first car going by. A wonderful lady drove us all the way to our friends house, just 15 minutes away. I never hitchhiked again.

7. Politics was once a desire of mine

I wanted to be the first female Prime Minister of Canada. Then Kim Cambell won the Liberal leadership and became PM, albeit briefly. Oddly, I never thought about politics again.

Green is Not Just a Colour

Lately I’ve been thinking about the environmental impact of craft. In particular, my craft – quilting. There is a perception that quilting is inherently environmental – at least in the past. The use of scraps from clothing and functional items put together in patterns to make something both utilitarian and beautiful. It sounds like the perfect example of upcycling (making something better than the original) rather than recycling.

Sure, there are still quilters these days that only make things from scraps – dutifully saving pieces as small as 1 by 1 inch squares to create masterpieces. But let’s be honest, most long term quilters have impressive stashes of fabrics. And those stashes are filled with fabric that could be years old, in pieces rarely smaller than a fat quarter and sometimes a few metres, because you never know what you might use it for. There are discussion groups around the sorting and storage of said fabric, books about using it up, challenges to create something without buying anything new, and even the assignment of all that fabric in wills.

Quantity is one thing, quality is another entirely. Most of us use 100% cotton exclusively. Art quilters and some creative folks will design and experiment with vintage polyesters, blends, or wools. Generally we think that 100% cotton quilts with cotton batts are of the highest quality, and proudly give our creations away to give comfort and warmth. As we should.

But, and this is the but that’s been bothering me lately, what goes into making and dying that fabric? I know you can get organic cottons these days. And sometimes you can even find some more creative or colorful options, instead of the unbleached cottons that typify green fabric. I’m not sure, however, I can give up my whites and my bold prints. So, I’ve been trying to get more info on the entire fabric creation process – from cotton growth to dye content. Unfortunately, I’m not having a lot of luck because the manufacturers don’t like to share that info. I’ll keep digging and report on my findings.

The other big issue I think about is the waste. Sure, I keep all my useful scraps. Smaller pieces get put in a bag (a plastic ziptop... I know) to be donated to someone who makes Project Linus scrap quilts. Bigger pieces I do keep because I do like to paper piece and those odd pieces come in handy. But what about all the selvages, the thread clippings, the batting scraps, the empty spools, the used patterns, the freezer paper, and all the other garbage left over? As far as I can tell the only thing that can be recycled, at least in our market, are the empty plastic spools.

For an interesting experiment I’ve been keeping all the garbage from the latest project, the baby quilt. When I am finished I will post pictures – of the garbage and the quilt.

On top of all this, there is simply the matter of the energy used in production of the materials we use and the creations we ourselves put together. How many work by candlelight in a wood heated house with scraps that we piece together and quilt by hand? Yeah, I thought so. So, just for me I have to account for the energy used by my sewing machine, iron, Ott light, overhead light, and stereo (a girl needs tunes to keep her going). And in the winter, I sew in the New York open concept loft-style basement, sometimes necessitating that I turn up the furnace a degree, although I am still wearing slippers and a cozy sweater (my basement is damn cold with no insulation).

Hmm, maybe I need to add in the digital photography and computer use now that I am blogging.

Don’t forget about water use. Prewashing, washing, ironing, blocking… All that water has to be treated, transported, heated, used, and then treated again. What about detergents or other chemical products like starch or sizing? That goes into our water supply as well.

I haven’t found the answers yet for all my questions, and I will keep investigating. I can only account for quilting and the little bit of other sewing I do. That means I can’t comment on other crafts. Do scrapbookers keep their bits or recycle? What about painters?

To get you started on your own journey to greening your own craft world I’ve put together some links of good green links for us quilters and crafters.

Crafting a Green World is an excellent site that covers all types of craft and how you can use craft in an environmentally friendly way. They have some great Earth Day posts that I need to devour for info.

Sew Green has some good links and resources, and is written by designers.

For some fabulous green fabrics, check out Mod Green Pod and NearSea Naturals.

Of course, I have to provide some basic cotton information, a la Wiki.

Little Bits of Knits

Yesterday was a very rough day for our household. Beyond the dredging up of sad memories with hospital visits and the bad news for a close colleague and mentor, we spent the morning discussing my father's cancer and potential treatment.

My father was diagnosed with lung cancer a few weeks back. Hardly surprising after 50 years of smoking. And still upsetting even though I am not terribly close to him. We went up to be with the family for the first oncology appointment.

It is all terribly scary and real when you walk into the cancer hospital and see so many people there - kids, seniors, moms, tough guys. You think to yourself that all these people have cancer?! But after a few minutes you look around and you see nearly everyone has two or three people with them for support. You're not sure who is supporting who - the family supporting the patient, or the patient supporting the friends. And you feel bad for the people who either chose to come alone or had no choice.

In the midst of it all you can find things to smile at. My Monster tearing up and down the halls and mooching cookies off the volunteers. The nurses giving out hugs to returning patients. And the baskets on the tables between every two or three chairs filled with little balls of yarn and a few sets of knitting needles - tiny projects started and abandoned in the anxiety of diagnosis and chemotherapy.

Next time I go I will have to ask what these end up as, or whether they are simply there to inspire some time spent in distraction or creativity.

Marimekko Week

It's been all Marimekko this week! I got my motivation to make pillows for the new couch. I absolutely love the way they turned out. I thought the Amy Butler was a perfect complement.

Nothing fancy to the pillows. I have to make a confession, I haven't a clue how to put a zipper in. So these pillows are simply a front and a back with a pocket type closure. Just two overlapping pieces of fabric for the back to keep the pillow form in place.

These pillows are a step up from our old ones. Now we have squishy pillows for those evenings where we can curl up and watch the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Monster saw them first thing this morning and rather than sit on Mama's lap she felt the need to gather all the pillows and curl in to them.
I say it's been a Marimekko week because the fabric we ordered on our weekend in Vancouver arrived. Yeah! It is exactly what I wanted. Now, if only I had the room that this fabric is destined for. No baby for at least a month so I can always dream... Ah, who am I kidding? This kid will be lucky to have a quiet place to sleep by Christmas! But I can dream and fondle the fabric.


Finally, what should I find on a lunch break? A store right near my office, Kit Interiors, that carries Marimekko! Damn, and guess what fabric they had on the bolt? Oh well, the ladies from the Vancouver store took care of us and I was more than happy to see an entire store devoted to Marimekko. But I did indulge a little and buy some cards. Yes, it's been a Marimekko week! You can't ask for much more in a material way to make you smile. And check out the Marimekko blog for fabulous ideas and new products!

And Sometimes

You are forced to bed, at least temporarily. I was so excited to finish the next step the baby quilt last night. Hubby was setting up our new toy (HD TV) so I hid in the basement and fueled my insomnia with getting all the circles done for the baby quilt. Today I was looking forward to a bunch of stuff but contractions are forcing me to rest.

And here I was going to finally make those pillows for our new couch, make some strawberry jam (already!), and take the Monster out to play in the snow we got through the night. Oh well. For now Hubby is out shopping with the Monster and I lay in bed with my tea and cookies.

Sometimes...

You need to put aside the mountain of laundry, ignore the dog hair layering your floor, and avoid the dirty dishes cluttering the counter and just quilt. It was a crazy week at work, we had some crushing family news, and all of us are fighting colds. When the Monster went down for her nap I ignored my blackberry and hunkered down in the basement. It's amazing what you can do in a couple of hours!

I started the new baby's quilt. It's a simple design, but should be quite graphic when finished. Here is the midway point of the background. Just a bunch of half square triangles pieced into some pinwheels. Appliqued on top of that? Why circles, of course! Was there any doubt?

Opinions?

I am struggling with this quilt. It currently sits at the long arm quilter I've used before. She does great work. But the two of us are struggling with exactly how to quilt it.

As I was making it I pictured the top covered in circles, maybe 3 inches in diameter. It is an 84 inch square top so that would work perfectly. But my long armer doesn't have a program to do that as she only works digitally. And somehow a meandering pattern or one with lots of curliques doesn't work in my my mind.

Suggestions?

Colour in a Dreary Landscape

Hubby and I took a bit of a break last week. I had to be in Vancouver for work, so after a few days Grandma came to watch the Monster and Hubby flew out for an adult only weekend. Sweet relief. No quilty stuff done, but lots of reading, shopping, leisurely meals, wanderings, and the tourist thing at the Vancouver Aquarium.

I have to share some of my shopping wins. Again, no quilty stuff, but there was fabric in there nonetheless. First off, I hit the tourist and rather boring shopping street of Robson. I was really looking for a maternity store to buy some new pants. Three Banana Republics, but no maternity store. I did, however, find H20 Plus and some fabulous bath soaks and this utterly fantastic almond scrub. Unfortunately, I never made it back to buy about 6 more, but I will be ordering it online.

On Saturday the sun was out. In the morning we relaxed in the hotel spa. Hubby booked massages for us. While I had a well-deserved pedi, he went to enjoy the steam room. The door was sticking and when he reefed on it the door popped out quickly and hit his toe - promptly splitting and ripping back his big toe nail. Ouch! So much for relaxation. But he was still in such a good mood that he consented to a walk that afternoon (Hubby hates walking, only slightly less so when the pooches are involved).

The first store we directed ourselves to was the Marimekko concept store in Yaletown. Oh, sweet colour heaven! I really had to restrain myself as the fabric and bags were ALL asking me to take them home. In the end we did a custom order for some fabric for the new baby's room. It seems that the fabrics I were drawn to the most were by designer Erja Hirvi.

This is the one for the baby's room. I see a lemon yellow dresser and soft grey walls... when there is a room to put it all in. That's a whole other story.

The other one we bought is the same pattern as this, but a much brighter colour way. No picture on the web site, so you'll have to wait until I get the new pillows done with it. Those new pillows will be on our new couch - delivered today!

And I have to admit, I also caved and bought this tray. It is rather cliche - living in a town nicknamed "Cowtown" and famous for the Calgary Stampede, but I couldn't resist the colour, or the humour.

After Hubby was finally able to drag me away from the Marimekko store (good thing I'm pregnant and can't fit into their clothes right now). We headed back and ran into this fabulous store filled with modern design for adults and kids: Inhabit. Hubby was entranced by a stuffed frog that was far too large to fit into a suitcase. I drooled over an Eames rocker and he promptly picked out a gift for the Monster. At least that would fit into the suitcase! We also liked that it shared her Grandpa's name, and was made in Canada at Monster Factory. Remind me to get a picture of the two Monsters together.

And now I best hit the sack. I've been having a lot of contractions today and it is far too early for that! I'll pick up my new book (see the latest entry on the nightstand) and curl up to read before attempting the sleep of the 7 month pregnant.

Making My Way Through the Stack

Another UFO finally gets finished. This is the Tuesday Night Quilt. My quilting friend here in town and I were getting together on Tuesday nights... about 3 years ago. We decided we needed to work on a green quilt - something neither of us had done before.

To be honest, I can't remember the book we got the technique from. I want to say it is a Gwen Marston technique, but I can't say for sure. We just cut fabric and had fun piecing. She took half the blocks, I took half. I'll see if I can dig up a picture of her quilt. They are two very different quilts, very different.

It is my first wall hanging. There is a large blank wall in my office that is calling out for this. Now, on to buy a dowel and some hooks for hanging it.

Rocks, Road, and Ice Cream

Well, so much for no sugar... Last week I developed an unnatural craving for ice cream and had it every day. Damn pregnancy. I can tell you that Haagen Dazs makes a rather yummy strawberry ice cream.

We are back from our week in the Okanagan. I got zero done on the binding for the wallhanging. The roads to get there are just too windy for handwork or reading. It does involve crossing the Rockies afterall. I managed a little bit of knitting, but generally had little motivation. Mostly we sat around and chatted. I read a lot - when the Monster was napping - and tried a few different cinnamon bun recipes. Still need to work out the kinks on the recipe.

We did discover a great bakery/cafe in Peachland. Bliss Bakery makes a fabulous sandwich (on their own bread) and very yummy muffins, tarts and danish. In the end we went there three days in a row. All our visits were capped off with a stroll on the beach to throw rocks into Lake Okanagan.

There were a couple more food adventures thrown in there. We drove down a very twisty road - from spring to winter - to pick up some aged Gouda and Balkan yoghurt at Gort's Gouda in Salmon Arm. The farmer even let us in the barn to see the calves, but the Monster was much more enthralled with the big guys outside. And we also took a run to Summerland Sweets to pick up some pear syrup and their pumpkin bagel butter. Yum.If you ever visit this neck of the woods you will be overwhelmed by vineyards, orchards, and the lake amidst the mountains. We spent our trip overwhelmed by the adventures of Grandpa and the Monster. It's all about the rocking chair.

Ugh...

Hubby has been away this week. I've overdosed on sugar to make it through the day with work, the Monster having an on and off again fever, and being 6 months pregnant. Hey, I can't have a stiff scotch at the end of the day! Therefore, I resorted to brownies and Cadbury's Mini-Eggs. And now I feel it. Time to take a break - after tonight's cookie...

It is also sad to say that with no one to keep company once the Monster was in bed I should have done some quilting or at least something creative. Instead, all I managed to do was soak in a hot bath every night (damn pregnancy side effects - enough said) and work on the binding for a wall hanging while watching reality TV.

It isn't quite done yet, but I'll have time in the coming week to finish and maybe even get my scarf done. We are off to the land of peaches, wine, and cheese - the Okanagan. Hubby's grandpa lives there and all parties were anxious for a good visit. It's a 7 hour drive - with a toddler. Hmm, maybe I'll wait to take a break from sugar.

Christmas and Valentine's in One

Valentine's Day is a non-event in our house. Every few years Hubby will surprise me with flowers or a nice dinner. It is truly a surprise as he is quite vocal about his disdain for the Hallmark holiday. He has quite a bit of disdain for a forced pretense of romance. I say that's fine, if you are romantic at other times. Yeah, he isn't all that romantic. But he is a good husband and a wonderful man. I don't need flowers from him to show me that.

I did, however, buy myself a few treats yesterday...

This is my nightstand. These are books I am currently reading, the ones I bought yesterday (standing up), ones in the queue, and the ones I've finished recently. Too much selection. It all depends on the mood I am in. Should I mention the dozen or so that are sitting in the nightstand too? At least if I end up on bed rest again I will have no shortage of books to keep me entertained.

And I went out this morning and spent some of my Christmas gift certificates at the quilt store near me. The Dick and Jane fabric is intended for a bag for the Monster. She is really enjoying the books lately. And she needs a good tote to take her lunch and Hercules, the blanket, to and from daycare. The pile of brights and black and whites is for a baby quilt - for Version 2.0 to arrive in May. I have a fabulous idea and if I start now I might get something done.

Now, to live up to my name and maybe get the binding on a quilt while the Monster sleeps. The house is a mess, the dishes need to be done - nah, I'd rather sip tea and play wit fabric. Or I could sleep too...

A Little Bit of Sunshine

It's been freezing ass cold again this weekend. During the storm on Friday I decided to bake something for tea-time. This is a Friday afternoon tradition the Monster and I have. Usually we walk to a nearby coffee shop and she has a smoothie while I savour some carrot cake. Too damn cold this week. Instead, we baked.

Hmm, but what to bake? I have a decade worth of cooking magazines (Gourmet, Martha Stewart, Bon Appetit, Fine Cooking, Cooking Light...) I also have about 40 cookbooks. Lately I've been turning to the Community cookbooks. You know the ones. The church, the hospital, or community association put together recipes from members and the same publisher puts them together in a coil-bound book with white paper and standard pictures to divide the Meats and Main Courses from the Desserts and Pastry. But these are always filled with people's go-to recipes. The daily eats, the ones that make them happy. Sure, we can make fancy stuff, but this is the stuff that gets made and eaten every day.

The one limitation to these cookbooks is that the recipes aren't usually written very well. The contributer assumes the cook just know what they are talking about. You really have to read and understand what you have to do before you start, especially as additional ingredients are often put in the directions, not the ingredients list. And once you decide whether you are for or against the amount of pre-packaged food that these recipes can often contain, you can mine the books for new favourites. This is definitely one of ours.

I strongly recommend the coconut and raisins. The Monster loves these, and will happily spend her tea-time destroying the muffin to selectively eat the raisins. Next time I'm putting in more.

Sunshine Muffins

1 orange

1/2 cup orange juice or milk

1/2 cup oil (I use canola - no trans fats)

1 egg

1 1/2 cup flour (white or 50/50 white and whole wheat)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar (I always have vanilla or vanilla/orange sugar on hand - extra tasty)

1/2 coconut or nuts (optional)

1/2 cup raisins or cran-raisins (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tin or line with muffin papers.

2. Chop up orange, discarding stem thing (if attached). Puree entire orange, peel and all.

3. Mix together all wet ingredients.

4. Sift together dry ingredients, except coconut/raisins.

5. Add wet ingredients to dry, with coconut/raisins (if using). Stir until JUST blended. Overmixing will result in a tough muffin.

6. Pour into prepared pan and bake 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Dessert Options?

I grew up in a house that had Sunday dinner with dessert. Now, dessert usually meant tapioca pudding or cookies, but it was still dessert. I can fondly recall our small glass dessert bowls on their short pedestal sitting on the counter with hot pudding in them, a dollop of raspberry jam providing colour and a sheet of wax paper covering it all.

Hmm, maybe I should have made tapioca pudding today... Instead, inspired by Orangette I tried these butterscotch pots de creme. Maybe it was because I couldn't find muscovado sugar at the grocery store today, or it might have been the curse of the world's crappiest oven, but they were merely okay. Not nearly as creamy as I would have expected.

But I needed a change. I couldn't face my defaults of brownies or gingerbread cake. Don't get me wrong, they are wonderfully tasty, but I craved something different. Any easy Sunday dessert ideas out there?

I will, however, share this recipe. Remind me to tell you the best story about a fateful piece of this cake and a car fire...

Peterson Gingerbread Cake
(recipe from my sister-in-law)

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp dry ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 cup hot, hot water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 pan
2. Cream together butter and sugar.
3. Add egg. Beat until light and fluffy. Then add in the molasses.
4. Sift together the dry ingredients.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating with 1/4 water. Beat until smooth after each addition.
6. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

My sister in law likes to serve it hot with Birds custard, but I prefer ice cream and caramel sauce. It is also good with carmelized apples or pears.

Winter blechs

We had a blizzard on the weekend. A blowing, freezing-arse cold blizzard. It is still bloody cold out (-50 Celcius). And I developed a gastro bug overnight so I spent the day on the couch. It gave me good practice for my latest effort:

With my last pregnancy I ended up on bed rest for nearly three months. I couldn't go up and down the stairs so quilting was out. Well, that and I had trouble sitting for any amount of time. In the end, hand work was out too as my hands were so puffy from carpal tunnel and high blood pressure that I could barely hold a pen for long.

So far so good (other than complete exhaustion and almost daily nausea). But I wanted to be prepared, so I decided a hand hobby was necessary. With this as inspiration I finally signed up for a 101 class. Hubby isn't happy - one more crack cocaine habit.

Circle Tutorial

In case you hadn't noticed, I have a bit of a fixation with circles. In the last two years I’ve made 4 circle quilts. In that time I’ve figured out an easy, reliable way to make even circles – circles that are actually round, that are easy to appliqué, and that don’t have points or tucks.

To get to this point I’ve tried a number of methods: dryer sheets, cardboard templates, plastic templates, aluminum foil, and fusible appliqué. I was never satisfied with any of these. It was either difficult to keep the fabric in place when drawing up the circle (with cardboard and plastic templates), the circles had points or tucks (with all methods but fusible appliqué, determining the center of the circle wasn’t always easy, or you had to use a satin or decorative stitch to finish things off neatly (with fusible appliqué).

There is nothing wrong with any of these methods and I’ve heard that people have success with them, but I sure wasn’t one of them.

Here is my nearly full proof method for creating and attaching perfect circles. This method works for machine or hand appliqué.

Supplies:
Freezer paper
Compass (remember these from elementary school?)
Pen
Iron and ironing board
Fabric
Pins
Sewing machine or hand appliqué supplies (needles and thread)

Circle basics:
The diameter of the circle is the distance from one side to the other. This is how big your circle is.
The radius is half the diameter, or the distance from the center to any one point on the edge.
The circumference is measurement of the outside edge of the circle.

Creating the Circle

Determine the size of circle you want.

1. Using the compass, draw a circle the desired size on the rough side of the freezer paper. Make sure the point of the circle is noticeable or re-mark it with a pen.

2. Cut out the circle right on the drawn line. Take care to use long, even cuts in order to minimize any sharp edges or points on the drawn circle. This is your freezer paper template.
3. Place your circle fabric wrong side up on an ironing board. Ensuring that you have roughly a ½ inch seam allowance, iron the freezer paper smooth side down to the fabric.
4. Cut out the circle of fabric, with the freezer paper template as a guide, with roughly a ½ inch seam allowance.

I use my machine for the next step because it is faster, but this can also be easily done by hand. If you do this step by hand, try to take small basting stitches. The larger your stitch length, by hand, the greater the chance for points on the finished edge.

5. Sew a basting stitch about a ¼ inch from the edge of the freezer paper template all the way around the circle. Leave the ends of your thread a few inches long. Do not backstitch or sew over the ends, you want these free.
6. Gently tug on the loose ends of thread. Short tugs seem to work better. This will draw your fabric edges over the freezer paper template, creating a turned over edge. You may have to work the gather a little, but provided you don’t pull sharply or too hard the threads will hold and you will get a pretty smooth edge.

7. Steam iron the gathered edge. Some people may choose to use starch at this time, but I’ll admit I never have. A hot iron does a good job of holding the edge well.

If you are attaching the circle right away, the freezer paper template can be removed after the following step. If you are waiting to attach the circle, keep the freezer paper attached until ready to use.

Attaching the Circle

The following steps apply if you are attaching the circle in the center of a square block or precise design. If you are doing this as part of a relatively random design, then simply remove the freezer paper prior to appliqué, pin, and sew.

1. Place a pin through the center of the freezer paper template (fabric and template should still be attached). This provides an extra mark for the center of the circle.

2. Remove pin and freezer paper, taking care not to rip the paper. If pin mark is still visible in fabric, replace pin. If it is not visible, then place template over circle to mark center again. Pull template off, leaving the pin in place (it’s okay if the template rips at this time, it’s easy to make more).

3. Mark the center of your block or design (where the center of the circle will go.

4. Place the circle, with the pin still marking the center, directly over the marked spot. Line up the mark and center point, then complete pinning.
5. Appliqué as desired.

I use my machine to appliqué most of the time – a small blanket stitch in a coordinating thread. You could hand appliqué, use invisible thread, or do a decorative stitch. I would not recommend a satin stitch at this point – you have a seam allowance so there would be a lot of fabric under the stitching.

My Attempt at Crafty

My brother's kids have so much stuff. When it came time to planning for Christmas Hubby and I decided we didn't want to get them more brand-name toys. Seriously, they have more toys that the Monster's daycare - all the rooms combined! After some brainstorming we came up with the grand idea of a puppet theatre. It morphed a couple of times, from painted panels to chalkboard paint to our final decision of baltic birch plywood. Hubby made the theatre part and I made the puppets. I must admit, I don't think he enjoyed making his part - at least when it came to the finishing. I, however, loved making the puppets. More puppets are definitely in my future.

The theatre is in three panels and folds to a thickness of a few inches, perfect for sliding under a bed or couch for storage.

I also got a box from Ikea, lined it with the same fabric as the curtains, and included it as safe storage for all the puppets.

These puppets are fun, but I am looking forward to all the plays we get to see, with every creature and doll the kids had. If only I had a picture of the look on our 5 year old nephews face when he realized he could use his new dinosaur in the theatre!