Cards and more cards...

As we have all read many times, the digital age has taken a toll on personal interactions with our friends and family. Remember those things we used to receive or send to each other through "snail mail"....those things called cards?? 

I have an aunt that lives a few hours away and she sends me a sweet personal note almost every time after we have been able to see each other in person. She tells me that she enjoyed our time together or whatever else is on her mind about our visit. She not only takes the time to write the note, but she most often makes the cards as well. Every holiday is another opportunity for her to send them...and I mean EVERY holiday...not just the big ones. It is a good day when I open the mailbox to find an envelope with her handwriting having addressed that special note to me!

She has inspired me to try and be better with personal correspondence...it is nice to know somebody is thinking about you! As part of the process and my crafting addiction, I am making cards as well. Not everyone has the time or want to do the card making but like the idea of a unique card. In an effort to help those that aren't crafty or those short on time, I have put some in the shop. Check them out and brighten someone's day with a personal note!

Thanks for stopping by!

TOO MANY TOMATOES....IS THAT POSSBILE???

My aunt calls in distress telling me how her and her husband have "too many tomatoes!" Being a lover of ALL things tomato, I do not believe that to be possible. However,she continues to say that they are eating them with EVERY meal, she is giving them to people whether they want them or not and yet, she is overrun with tomatoes. I told her what any reasonable niece would and that is,"You HAVE to can them so you will be able to enjoy them later in the year!"  After a lengthy conversation about how to go about preserving her tomatoes, we decided I should make a day trip to her house and we could do it together.

The next week I loaded up the supplies:
pint size mason jars (if your jars are not new, you will need to purchase new lids but not new rims)
canning kit (items that are priceless when dealing with boiling hot jars)
large boiling water canner
Ball Blue Book
camera (so I could show you all our process)

She provided:
grape tomatoes (I don't know how many pounds she had, but it was two large tubs FULL!)
lemon juice
salt

Following the directions in the Ball Blue Book was simple and VERY self-explanatory. As with all canning/preserving it is nice to have multiple sets of hands! 

We began by heating up the jars, lids and rims for sterilization purposes. As well as heating the water to blanch the tomatoes to get the skins to peel. I will say that grape tomatoes have a tougher skin and it did take longer than the 30-60 seconds in boiling water to get the skins to crack for peeling.

Pre-blanch 

Post-blanch

Then let the peeling begin!!! This was TIME CONSUMING...but we will be glad we did it when that winter stew with these wonderful summer tomatoes are enriching the flavor, right!?!? We also had some little hands helping us and it became a game to see who could get the highest mound of tomato peels on their napkin! Get the little ones involved, they LOVE it!

some of the peeled tomatoes

Choosing to pack the tomatoes in water, I returned them to boiling water and let it go for 5 minutes. BE CAREFUL not to fill your pot too full!! I put a little too many back in the pot and we had a MESS!! I just chalked it up as part of the fun:)

As recommended, we added 1 tablespoon lemon juice to each jar prior to packing in the tomatoes.

Next, we began adding the tomatoes, a small amount of the water in which they were boiled, and 1 teaspoon salt per jar. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, we did remove any air that was trapped, then cleaned the rim of jar with wet cloth, then secured lid and ring. (THIS is the part where the canning kit is priceless!! The jars are SUPER hot and will burn your hands if you are not careful!) My hands were a little busy during this process and I did not manage to get any pics of this step...:(

Back into the boiling water canner the jars go to process for 40 minutes...if you choose do to quart jars, they need to process for 45 minutes. During this step my jar lifter handle broke and we called in assistance for repair...never underestimate the versatility of duct tape!!

To protect counter tops, I use a bath towel folded in half to place the jars. Carefully lift out each jar and place on counter to cool. When the lids start to "pop" it is music to my ears! So after a day of laughter, gabbing, and hands that became quite like a prune, we had 12 pints of tomatoes!

If you don't have "too many tomatoes", then go grab some at your local farmer's market, call family or friends and have a great afternoon preserving food for the winter!

Thanks for stopping by and happy canning!!

CLOTH NAPKIN KNOW HOW

Since reduce, reuse and recycle is the responsible thing to do, I started using cloth napkins quite a few years ago. Initially, before the desire to learn to sew, I purchased them at various places and usually on clearance.

After the desire to sew came over me and a few sewing classes later, I began making my own cloth napkins. Fun for two main reasons...NUMBER ONE: I made them and NUMBER TWO: I had fun picking out the fabric! Initially, my method was very simple and was basically a double fold on all side and just edge stitching around the perimeter as best I could. Of course, the corner part drove me CRAZY and therefore, I began scouring the internet for a good mitered corner tutorial.  Alas, it did not take long to find the "go to" mitered napkin tutorial here!

The only thing I have changed from her instructions is to make my everyday napkins smaller. Making the napkins smaller helps when it comes to storage, since I have limited drawer space in my kitchen. The smaller size makes them easy to pack in a lunch, throw in the picnic basket, and less fabric means less cost...always a plus!

I have given napkins as gifts as well...Mother's Day, Christmas and just because. I have recently added some to the shop, so if you don't sew or would like some but don't have the time to make them, please visit and take a gander!

Thanks for stopping by...happy sewing and creating!

TEA TOWEL MADNESS!

The Texas heat has a way of making me stay inside for most of the afternoon. And there is only so much laundry and cleaning that can be done on any given day, right? 
In the attempt to get more inventory in the Etsy shop, I started making flour sac kitchen tea towels. The supplies are relatively inexpensive, the cost factor here is MY TIME!! Here are a few samples of what I have managed to complete over the last week...100+ degree days! 

What I use to make the towels:

• flour sac tea towels(they measure 28x28, I usually cut them in half to make a manageable size...you can leave them in the original state)
• embroidery floss
• embroidery needle
• embroidery hoop
• iron on embroidery pattern (Aunt Martha's are pretty common)
• iron 
• pins to hold pattern in place
• fabric remnant (i LOVE to visit the remnant bin at the fabric store)

A few common tips:

• Place a few pins to keep your pattern in place. I have been impatient in the past, not pinned the pattern, and it only ends in frustration.
• When ironing on the pattern, be sure to pick up the iron to move it to the next spot on the pattern...if you slide it across the pattern, it can blur the lines or ruin the design all together...not good
• When embroidering, make your stitches a consistent size...it makes a nice finished product, whatever the size of stitch you choose to make.
• Have a little bit of a plan when you are following the pattern. My grandmother told me that the embroidery needed to look as nice on the back as it does on the front! This takes a little practice and sometimes a little extra time.

As you can see, the fabric added for extra interest can be done multiple ways. The Going Green example is sewn flat, while the Bloom and Grow sample has two ruffles. Others have one large ruffle and my next adventure is to do a quilted type border.

Hope this has inspired you to get the embroidery supplies out, dust them off and make some tea towels!! Please share pics if you enjoy making these as much as I do :)

THE MAKING OF A QUILT

In the quest to get some inventory in the Etsy shop, I decided to try my hand a quilt making. A baby quilt is what I had in mind, that way I wouldn't feel TOO overwhelmed.

I was lucky enough to find a stack of precut 5x5 squares that were on clearance. At this point I had none of the other materials needed...batting or the fabric for the back...but I did not want to spend a lot of money if I was not able to grasp the concept of putting the top together correctly!

I came across a great tutorial on Pinterest, which you can access HERE. I did make some modifications because I did not have enough squares to follow her exact design.

After the success of assembling the quilt top, I ventured out to get batting and the fabric to make the border and the back of the quilt. I did the safety pin basting and used a walking foot, however, it was a little more difficult to keep all the fabric as taut as I would have liked. I think this part just takes PRACTICE!!

The overall product turned out better than I could have imagined. I hope that some sweet baby will enjoy, love, and have memories associated with this quilt!

FODDER FOR THE GIRLS

We are fortunate enough to have a one acre lot with our home. Growing up in the country, my family always had chickens for the eggs. (I don't recall actually eating the chickens.)  With all of the concern over what is actually in our food these days, my husband and I decided to try raising chickens....just for the eggs, of course! 

We started with Red Star chicks in March 2012. We purchased them from the local Tractor Supply, and since they require you purchase six, we got six new babies. They have grown into big girls and each are laying daily! 

Over the last year, I have researched different foods for our girls. While researching, I came across fodder systems. Fodder is sprouted from wheat, barley and/or sunflower seeds. It is used to supplement the diet and help your poultry feed budget be a little more friendly!  In the need to be frugal, I managed to make a tray for $1! Eventually, I will need to spend $6 more so that the girls will have fresh fodder EVERY day. But for now, they enjoy the fodder once a week.

What you will need:

• one plastic tray--I got mine at Dollar Tree and it is a 9x13
• ice pick or something similar to poke holes in your tray
• organic wheat berries, barley or sunflower seeds

Begin by placing 6-8 holes in one end of your tray.

Place enough wheat berries in your tray to be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. 

Run water over the wheat to really get everything good and soaked. Then let most of the excess water drain out of the holes in the one end of the container.

I left the lid under the container to catch any water that might continue to leak out. Place a few damp paper towels on top of the wheat to help keep the moisture level high.

Each day, remove the paper towel, run water over the wheat until it is thoroughly soaked, and let the majority of the excess water drain. The first few days I did take my hand to "stir" the wheat and to make sure all of the wheat was wet and replaced the wet paper towel on top. Around the fourth day or when the green part of the sprout starts to appear, I no longer used the paper towel.

           

Day One

Day Two

           

Day Three

Day Four

           

Day Five

Day Six

Day Seven the girls got to enjoy some fresh fodder and they LOVED it! 

Have you ever made fodder for your girls? Have you ever sprouted a different grain? If so, I would like to hear about your process and any tips, tricks or suggestions you may have. 

Thanks for stopping by and happy homesteading to you!

REDWORK REVIVAL

Learning to embroider at the age of 12 means that some type of embroidery has been a hobby of mine for quite a few years.  I did not begin to do redwork until a few years ago, but I really enjoy the finished look.

Just for kicks, I looked up a little of the redwork history. Surprisingly, Turkey Red was one of the first colorfast threads. Redwork was initially done on household items, as I have done. Later it was used in quilting, as there were pre-stamped quilt blocks being sold.  As with patterns today, redwork covered subjects of all types: animals, children, flowers, and toys to name a few.

The flour sack tea towel I bought was 28"x28"...a little too big for my taste. I did wash, dry and iron the towel then cut it in half. Not wanting to just hem the raw edge, I chose to place a ruffle down the one side for a bit of added decoration and interest. The finished product turned out great!  However, my husband did ask permission to use the towel this evening!! I made it to use, so of course I told him YES!

I would like to hear about your redwork projects and any additional tidbits of history...feel free to share and happy redworking!