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Reminder

If you are a "non-responder or OpenID-er" which to me means I have no way of responding to a comment that you've left, please leave a way for me to get in touch with you, especially if you're participating in a blog give-away or if you are asking for information or links.
By leaving your email within your comment, I can find you. I realize that this is sometimes a scary thing to do with scams and all but if you disguise the email as say.....
me at yahoo dot com
this is the perfect way to hide from the unwanted eye. So please help me out if you are one of the non-responders.
Thank you, in advance.....Ravelly Rhonda!!

Jun 29, 2012

The Good Old Days of My Life

A little summertime fun was had with me, my brother and our two cousins. Their swing set was the only one in our little community. Needless to say, we had a blast. Summertime was always my favorite time of the year and still is even though I'm about to burn up in this Texas hot weather.
BTW, if you can guess which little swing-rat is me and you leave that little tidbit of information in your COMMENT, your name will be placed in the "HAT" for a fat quarter give away. For those who know me, you know the fat quarter will be something special!!

Jun 25, 2012

So, I was mowing.....

When...... I spotted these two creatures in my yard:
 The spider had made its web from several branches of an oak tree to the ground. In its web are a hapless grasshopper and one tiny beetle who almost got away.
Next, in my waning garden, I found this rather large caterpillar hanging just as you see him/her (note my finger which illustrates an measure of how large the critter is and him/her position on the tomato vine.
Did I mention that I don't care for the sometimes cute yet slightly frightening critters who have made it their business to surprise me in my back yard!!!


Them I captured these two delicate mushrooms near my back steps.

 And finally, Monica from Button Counter was the wonderful hostess for Big 10 and these are my ten inch squares from that swap that I can't wait to get into.  Thanks for hosting Monica.

Jun 22, 2012

Handwork - Part3


Two more installments. I can't seem to stop myself.... LOL
It'd steaming hot here in central-ish Texas which means perfect weather for sewing indoors. My garden is Ka-put, all dried out, full of weeds.... so a little sorting of fabrics and straightening of threads and I'll be happy.
Have a great weekend everyone!!

Jun 19, 2012

Handwork - Part2



My next three installments of my handwork, as you can see, are an ant, a beetle and a housefly.
I still haven't pressed anything because, for one thing, I traced the insects using the FRIXION Pilot Pen which, when heated..... disappears. I love these pens. There are many colors for varied fabric colors. Check them out by Googling about them.

Jun 16, 2012

Handwork

So mom is improving steadily..... and my mind is on sewing but I can't leave mom yet.... so ......... Light bulb moment (taken from Despicable Me)!!!
Hand embroidery.... my salvation!!
Black DMC floss is all I have on hand, so began to trace my designs onto some fabric and started stitching away the other night.
I know, I know.... I haven't ironed or pressed the blocks yet. I'll get to that later.  So far, I've stitched out a moth and a caterpillar. An ant and housefly are next.



Jun 14, 2012

Update & Green Tomato Marmalade

Mom is improving daily and is getting back to her old self.  

That said.......

Green Tomato Marmalade.... 
yes you heard it here and I've already made my first batch.
Note the abundance of green tomatoes!
Here's what's needed:
2 oranges
1 lemon
1 cup water
4 pounds (about 9 cups) green tomatoes, cut in small pieces
5 cups sugar
1/4 cup  crystallized ginger, minced (this one was really hard to find)

Using a veggie peeler, remove the top layer of rind from the oranges and lemon, being careful not to remove any of the pith.
Sliver the rind and set aside.
Remove the pulp and juices from the oranges and lemon and set aside.
In a small saucepan, boil the slivered rinds in a cup of water for about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and rinse.
Core the green tomatoes. Cut them into small pieces.
Place the citrus rind and pulp, green tomatoes, sugar and ginger in a large pot. Bring to a boil and and boil uncovered for 2 hours or until the jam thickens.

Meanwhile, prepare the preserving jars.
Fill jars with hot marmalade, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe the rims clean.
Seal according to manufacturer's directions and process the jars in boiling water bath for 10 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Jun 13, 2012

Another Quilt Book Review

Carol Doak, in my opinion, is the queen of paper piecing. 
I have just about all of her books, so it was hard to pick one to review but I finally chose the following.

 The designs are easy to understand and the photos aid you in color choices.
Carol even provides a CD to help with copying the designs onto the paper.
Try looking for this book at your local library. 
If you are a paper piecer like me, you'll really love this book

Jun 11, 2012

Pickled Green Tomatoes

Still not time for sewing but I'm getting in a lot of canning.
When I visited my garden the other day, I found an abundance of green tomatoes..... did I mention, there were loads and loads of green tomatoes....... LOL
So, what to do with them besides give some away....... canning is the answer.

This is recipe that I used from Cooks.com.
4 qts. (8 lbs.) green tomatoes, cored and chopped. I used an apple corer which worked very well.
1 1/3 cups (2 med.) onions, chopped
2 2/3 cups (4 lg.) green bell peppers, chopped
1 1/3 cups (2 lg.) red bell peppers, chopped
1/4 cup canning/pickling salt
3 cups 5% acid strength cider vinegar
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. mixed pickling spices

Combine tomatoes, onions, peppers and salt in large bowl. Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature. Drain well.

Combine vinegar, water, sugar and pickling spices (the spices will needed to be tied in cheesecloth bag or a swatch of cotton muslin fabric) in large 5-quart kettle or cooking pot.  Bring to a boil; add vegetables; return to boil. Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove spice bag.

Immediately ladle into Mason jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of jar top. Wipe jar rim and close with proper lids.


Process in boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Remove jars from water bath and place in a room temperated area. Listen for the popping sound of the jars to indicate that process is complete.
Sorry, no photo of completed canning project. Maybe next post.
Enjoy!!

Jun 9, 2012

Out Of My Mind.....

So..... Mom is progressing nicely and I've cleaned, washed, straightened..... "everything"..... and I'm going out of my mind when it comes to my favorite past time...... sewing stuff....... I've not had time to even start or think about very much else with mom's after surgery care....... but she's doing so well........ so what to do?????? I'm back to hand embroidery and reviewing books...... it's enough to keep my mind occupied when I'm not cooking for mom.
Erma Bombeck was a wonderful writer/comedian. So I'm recommending this book as a great read for the month of June. Hopefully, you can find a copy at your local library. The book is guaranteed to keep you in stitches.
 Turning into Mother...... one of my favorite observations in the book.

Jun 6, 2012

Dying to Dye

Frieda Anderson's book, "Fabric To Dye For" is a great way to get your feet wet when it comes to dyeing fabric. I totally recommend this book. I provided a link to her blog so that you can check out her stunning quilt projects made from the fabrics she has dyed.
Now all I have to do is buy more fabric and get cracking!

Jun 3, 2012

The Kitchen Table Book

Yes, that's what the book is called and it's published by The Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing.
Mom is always purchasing books that wind up on her bookshelf but this one, she actually loves to read and practices some of the suggestions. 
So I've decided to list a few every now and then that have worked for her and you may find of interest. I won't go into detail, you'd have to purchase the book for yourself but this will certainly wet you appatite.

1. Sipping green tea in the summer aids against skin cancer (page 162)
2. Taking a bite of certain cheeses after a meal cuts the sugar acids in the mouth (page 120)

Jun 2, 2012

When Chickens Fly...

That's about when this quilt will be bound.  I really need to make a note to myself to bind this puppy!



The top is from when I was a member of our local guild.... many, many years ago. Each block was made by various friends from said guild and I quickly put the top together.  BTW, this was my chicken period.
Do any of you know what I'm talking about???? Those time periods where you can't get enough of a design or fabric designer or a particular thread...... then years later, you're thinking ....... "What was I thinking?????"  That's me, always in a phase or fad of time.
Well the other day I was cleaning out a "box" of stuff and lo' and behold, there it was... quilted but no binding........ I need to just do it!!!!!
I was thinking about binding it when mom had her surgery so ...... who knows when I'll get back to it....... When Pigs Fly...... maybe???

Jun 1, 2012

Leafing Through The Year - BOM - Block#6


Block #6
I am so happy to be able to post this block. As most of you know, my mom has had heart surgery and I'm happy to report that she is doing very well. She's home, eating, walking and visiting with family. Hopefully things will begin to get back to normal around here and I'll get back to some sewing. You know us quilters..... fabrics, designs and thread are not far from our thougths!!

;-}

Don't count the days, make the days count!

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