Folded Star Hot Pad

Recently I purchased a pattern for a folded star hot pad on Etsy. I have quite the stash of scrap fabric from years of sewing, and I found that this was one great way to use some of that scrap fabric.

The pattern is from Plum Easy Designs, and I must say that it was very fun and easy to sew. The instructions and interfacing guide made piecing together the triangles a breeze.

I found that I had some pretty Christmas fabrics that I had forgotten about. I have set that aside with the intent of sewing them up into hot pads. : )

Liebster Award

Last week Kimberly from An At Home Daughter tagged my blog with the Liebster Award. I wasn't quite sure what a Liebster Award was, so I looked it up. "Liebster" is a German word meaning favorite. This award is meant to be given to blogger with less than 200 followers.

 The rules are as follows:

1.) You must post 11 facts about yourself.
2.) You must answer the 11 questions the awarder has given you and make up 11 questions for the awardees to answer in turn.
3.) Tag 11 fellow bloggers.
4.) Notify them that you have awarded them.
5.) No tagging back.
6.) And the 11 blogs you tag must have no more than 200 followers.

Here are the answers to the questions Kimberly gave me:

1. How do I get my bonnet fix? I really like to read historical fiction, so I guess reading.
2. My favorite cookbook… I have so many, but I think that “Cooking with Praise” is my favorite.
3. Yes, I have smelled the ocean and it was wonderful. My first trip to the ocean was when my family visited Williamsburg, Virginia. I was ten years old, and loved everything about that trip.
4. Yes, I do shop at thrift shops, but sew most of my clothes.
5. As a child I really enjoyed reading Nancy Drew books.
6. I like my eggs fried sunny side up.
7. No, I had never heard of the Weston A. Price Foundation, until this questionnaire.
8. Tea most definitely!
9. Dark chocolate is my favorite, but I am not too picky. : )
10. No, getting lost is seldom an adventure for me.
11. Frogs are neat. I always like to hear them on a summer evening.

Eleven Fact About Me:

1. I am the oldest of three girls. My two younger sisters are twins.
2. I love chickens, and look forward to having some again.
3. We have two dogs and three cats.
4. We live on a beautiful country road. And I have greatly enjoyed watching the leaves change color this year. It seems that the colors have been especially brilliant.
5. I enjoy crocheting doilies and have several tucked away in my hope chest.
6. I was home schooled grades 4-12^th, and loved it!
7. Jeremiah 29:11 is a verse that has always encouraged me.
8. My favorite author is Augusta Evans Wilson.
9. I love canning.
10. I collect antique books.
11. I love blue and white

Eleven Questions for My Awardees to Answer:

    

1. What is your favorite color?
2. If you could live in any era which would it be?
3. Do you prefer cake or pie?
4. What is your favorite L.M. Montgomery book?
5. What is your favorite season of the year?
6. Which do you prefer “Little Women” or “Pride and Prejudice”?
7. Do you collect anything?
8. If you could visit any country which would it be?
9. What is your favorite classic t.v. show?
10. What is your favorite Christmas carol?
11. Who is your favorite classical composer?

I could only think of 7 blogs to award.

Heide @ http://apronhistory.blogspot.com/

Cheri @ http://ajoyfulhandmaiden.blogspot.com/

Hannah @ http://aladyintime.blogspot.com/

Brooke @ http://stitchesofthepast.blogspot.com/

Hannah @ http://so-lets-backtrack.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth @ http://thecountryhandmaiden.blogspot.com/

Shannon @ http://gabby-marie.blogspot.com/

Pecan Pumpkin Pie

Over the weekend I baked a pecan pumpkin pie using a recipe I found in my sister's "Better Home and Gardens Cookbook". I made homemade whipped cream to top the pie with; in addition to adding vanilla and a little confectionary sugar to my whipped cream I added about a teaspoon of maple flavored extract. I thought it was a nice addition to the autumnal flavor.


Ingredients 

1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 15 ounce can pumpkin

1 1/2 cups half-and-half or light cream or one 12-ounce can evaporated milk

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons butter, melted

pie shell

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare Pie Pastry. Mix pecans and brown sugar in small bowl; place 3/4 cup pecan mixture in bottom of pie shell. Reserve remaining pecan mixture for topping. Combine pumpkin, half-and-half, granulated sugar, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in large bowl; mix well. Pour into prepared pie shell.

2. Bake for 50 minutes or until just set in center. Add butter to remaining pecan mixture; stir until moistened. Sprinkle pie filling with pecan mixture; bake for 10 minutes more or until topping bubbles around edges. Cool on wire rack.

3. Makes 8 slices.

Cara Mia

This afternoon I am enjoying a somewhat overcast sky, a day filled with sewing, tea and beautiful music! I have been listening to a record Mantavoni. I was hoping to find a recording of his rendition of "Chim-Chim-Cheree", which is very fun, but since I could not find one here is "Cara Mia" another one of my favorites!

Vintage Laundry Basket

Lately I have been on a mission to find a vintage clothes basket. They just don’t make clothes baskets like they used to. Old baskets are larger and sturdier. But when I began looking for vintage clothes baskets on Etsy and Ebay I discovered they were rather expensive.

The other week Adam and I were out for the day to visit a craft market. On our way to the market we saw several cars parked alongside the road in front of a lovely white farm house. A sign reading “Estate Sale” was enough to gain our attention. : ) It was the last day of the sale and there wasn’t a lot left, but there was a somewhat dirty clothes basket sitting on the floor of the garage. I was very excited! Then as I turned around I noticed some wooden clothes drying racks. This too was something I was hoping to purchase for my future home. I was able to purchase both items for only $11.

Then the following week when visiting a barn sale my mother and I found this adorable basket cart for $3. The wood appears to be the same as the drying rack. I was so very pleased! The LORD is so good to provide me with such a lovely set. I felt it was truly a gift from Him as He does know the desires of my heart.

Now I am envisioning how all three pieces will look so charming in an old-fashioned, country laundry room.

When I had my laundry room finds out to photograph I could not resist digging into my hope chest to pull out these dishtowels I embroidered when I was 15. I have always always loved chickens, and I had a lot of fun embroidering these dish towels.

The iron-on transfer set was entitled "Barnyard Romance". They chronicle the love story of two chickens. I imagine that the image above is the rooster proposing to the hen. : )

Here is a little article that an elderly pen pal sent to me several years ago.

Old Recipe

------------------------

Years ago a Kentucky grandmother gave the new bride the following recipe for washing clothes. It appears below just as it was written, and despite the spelling, has a bit of philosophy. This is an exact copy as written and found in an old scrap book (with spelling errors and all).

1.Bilt a fir in backyard to heat kettle of rain water. 2.Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert. 3.Shave one hole cake of lie soap in bilin water. 4.Sort things make 3 piles. 1 pile white, 1 pile colored, 1 pile work britches and rags. 5.To make startch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with bilin water. 6.Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and then bile. Rub colored don’t bile, just rinch and starch. 7. Take things out of kettle with broomstick handle, then rinch, and starch. 8.Hang old rags on fence. 9.Spread tea towels on the grass. 10. pore rinch water in the flower beds. 11. Scrub porch with hot soapy water. 12.Turn tubs upside down. 13.Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs. Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.

***Paste this over our washer and dryer and next time when you think things are bleak, read it again and give thanks for your blessings!

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

The Joys of Autumn

After an especially hot summer I am welcoming the cool breezes of early autumn. September has a wonderful smell that makes me think of falling leaves and fresh crisp apples. The cool mornings and evenings have me reaching for my favorite shawl or sweater, and a knitting project! All summer was so hot the thought of handling wool did not appeal to me in the least, but now nothing could be more delightful than sitting on our chair swing in the side yard with a hot cup of tea and my knitting. I love to sit on our swing with my mother, sisters and new little nephew, chatting, watching the golden leaves flutter from the trees against a clear blue sky.

This weekend I hope to try a new apple pie recipe. Nothing tastes more autumnal than an apple pie. : ) Here is the recipe I plan to bake: Butter Crumble Apple Pie

This past weekend I tried a delicious new recipe for Pumpkin Lattes made in the crock pot. Absolutely wonderful! Here is that recipe: Crockpot Pumpkin Spice Lattes .

Another cozy project I have been working on is a patchwork quilt for my hope chest. With a little over 8 months until my wedding I am hoping to have it completed in time. I sew a couple squares a day with the goal of having the squares all assembled before winter, so that I can spend the winter month hand quilting. All of the fabrics used to sew the squares are scraps of fabric I have collected over the past 10 plus years. Each is a memory of a special sewing order for our family business or a dress I sewed for myself.

Beautiful days like we have enjoyed of late make me think of this hymn:

This Is My Father's World-

This is my Father's world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world:
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
he shines in all that's fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

By Maltbie D. Babcock

Scrubbies

Several years ago I began crocheting scrubbies. They have always been a big hit with my family. Crocheted from nylon netting (also know as crinoline the material petticoats are made from) scrubbies are perfect for all of your pans, even those with protective coatings. You can wash scrubbies in your washing machine with Clorox, they are very durable and nothing works as well on hard to clean pots and pans. Once you have given scrubbies a try I am sure you will be a fan too. : )

To begin you must cut your nylon netting into 2” wide strips. At first I found this the most challenging step; nylon netting has a way of slipping about. Somewhere along the way I began pinning my neatly folded material to the carpet. I would then mark every 2” with a black marker and cut.


Using a size 9/I crochet hook chain 4. Slip stitch to first chain to form a ring.

Round 1: Chain 2, 6 dc (double crochet) in ring. Sl st (slip stitch) to first chain.

Round 2: Chain 2, dc in same space, 2 dc in each dc of previous round. (I always add one extra dc, as I feel there is a space between where I began and where I am to end. There should be a total of 15 sts counting the first two chains as a dc.) Sl st to first chain.

Round 3: Chain 2, dc in same space, 2 dc in each dc of previous round.

Round 4: Chain 1, sc (single crochet) in each dc of previous round. Sl st to first chain.

Round 5: Chain 2, dc in each sc of previous round. Sl st to first chain.

Round 6: Chain 2, dc in every other dc of previous round.

Round 7: Chain 2, dc in every other dc of previous round.

You will now have a small opening in the back of your scrubbie. I simply slip stitch from one side of the opening into the other side 2-3 times. Cut material and draw material through the loop on your hook. Pull excess material into the inside of the scrubbie, I do this by pushing my hook through the front of the scrubbie and drawing the excess material through to the inside.