Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Puree of Carrot and Parsnip Soup

I love parsnips and they pair really well with carrots. During this Siberian Express cold snap a hot bowl of soup is perfect for warming up and this easy Puree of Carrot and Parsnip Soup is a delicious choice.

The recipe is from one of my all-time favourite cookbooks, Lighthearted Everyday Cooking by Anne Lindsay. Her recipes are all so easy to make and use simple ingredients. In this case, the chopped vegetables (4 carrots, 2 parsnips, one onion and one potato are cooked on low until tender. Three cups of veggie stock are added and simmered for half an hour. Blend the soup in batches (CAREFULLY, AND COOLED - remember this?) and then stir in 1-1/2 cups milk and reheat. So good!!!

This soup keeps 3 days in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer. The parsnips add a sweet flavour and a nice twist on carrot soup.

New Feet for My 1600P

Now that my Janome 1600P is off the frame and I'm realizing what an awesome machine I have, I really want to start using it for piecing. (I already planned to use it for the Patchwork City blocks).

One thing I definitely like using is a 1/4" seam foot with a guide. I like that the 1600 already has the 1/4" foot with the 1/4" on both sides (and no guide) because it's perfect for doing half-square triangles and other 'centre of the fabric' 1/4" sewing, but when I piece long 1/4" seams on the edge of the fabric I do a much better job when I have the guide attached. I'm glad the guide foot was available and I bought one.  I will do a few test pieces to make sure it's accurate (which I'm sure it is) and then I will be off and running on my powerful 1600.

While I was at it, I asked my dealer if there was a ditch foot for this machine model. He ordered me one and I'm excited to add it to my 1600 foot collection. Sometimes I have to stitch-in-the-ditch and this particular foot with a guide in the centre makes it very easy to sew in between the seams. I also have excellent results when I machine bind my quilts using a ditch foot. I'm not sure if it will be as easy on the 1600 because I can't adjust the needle position but I'm confident I will still make good use of the foot. I have my friend Maureen to thank for enabling me - she is the one who wondered if these feet were made for her Juki (an almost identical machine to the 1600). That got me thinking about my 1600 and ordering my new set of feet!

Quick Cheese Biscuits

My BFF sent me the link for these amazing cheese biscuits. I've made cheddar scones (see the video here) and a variation of cheese biscuits, but this recipe is a little different.

The Quick Cheese Biscuits, from Best Recipes Ever, are super simple and fast to make and are soooo good! They have garlic powder and dried parsley in them so they are the perfect accompaniment to a savoury and hearty meal like beef stew or chicken pot pie. They are best right from the oven and even though they are rich and tasty enough on their own, and perfect for dipping, I like them with a bit of butter too.

I will definitely be adding this recipe to my favourites and I hope you enjoy it as well.

This Color's Making Waves O.P.I. Mani

Here is the next pretty O.P.I. polish I have from the Hawaii Collection. It's called This Color's Making Waves and is a shimmery lagoon blue. My daughter was all over this one and she said she felt like a mermaid. The blue shade is perfect for me too because it's sophisticated and metallic (which I love) and not cartoon-ish (I can't pull off those candy solids at my age).

All 12 shades in the collection are now available at salons and did you know that 8 of them have been made into paints for Ace Hardware in the States? I think that's pretty cool! I guess I won't be painting my workshop 'Lost My Bikini In Molokini' purple here in Canada but it could be a fun option for a funky salon or studio paint job in the U.S. of A.!

It's FREEZING! (and a trip to the laundromat)

I know it's cold pretty much everywhere - even Florida, but this is crazy! The kids have been home from school on break and we haven't done much this week other than appointments to squeeze in while they're available, some great family dinners, and movie watching/game playing. It's been really nice to just enjoy being together (and thus ease my usual maternal anxiety because I had all my chickens back in the nest at once where I could keep an eye on them!).

I did get out to the laundromat before they were up and I'm happy to report the king size quilt survived the experience. I had the place to myself but I still stood guard over the machine - more to make sure it didn't start shredding my quilt or overflowing. I used my non-rinse Soak Wash, the low-suds, gentle 'delicates' soap I prefer to use on my quilts. I only addd a quick squeeze into the dispenser because I really wanted to just rinse the quilt to make sure no marking pen dots remained on the fabric. I had done a once-over with a wet cloth prior and I think I got all the marks removed before going out. After the machine started the cold-water cycle there was an abundance of suds and bubbles in the window. I started to worry since I'm not sure if the washers are simply commercial size or actually High Efficiency models requiring special detergents and even though my bottle of Soak Wash says it's for H.E. machines, it looked very, very soapy! I was hoping and praying during the spin cycle as I watched a kaleidoscope of shapes whir around the drum.

In the end, the quilt came out perfectly and dried in no time. There was no damage at all and my hand-sewing stayed stitched! The machine wash freshened up the quilt after all the starching, sewing, quilting, and manipulation and the drying process resulted in that nice, antique crinkle I love. The micro-stippling shrunk up and really made the feathers stand out and the texture over the quilt is amazing!

I'm actually very pleased to know that the laundromat is available to wash large items and that it is so fast and efficient. The whole process only took about 65 minutes and I didn't have to worry about my home machine knocking and straining or damaging my quilt with the agitator or getting burn marks from being restricted in my regular size dryer.

Craftsy's Free eGuides

Craftsy is now offering FREE eGuides - just another reason I love their site!!!  An eGuide is a free guide that users can download to their computer in PDF format, or view in a web browser. In addition to all of the useful information these contain about our favourite hobbies, many of them include a CLASS DISCOUNT OFFER(!!!) within the eGuide. How cool is that?

Here are the current free eGuides:

Photography (understanding exposure)

Cake Decorating (buttercream decorating ideas)

Food & Cooking (doughnut recipes)

Paper Crafts (6 stash-busting projects)

Drawing (drawing the human face)

Painting (beginner's guide to watercolour)

Gardening (container gardening)

Woodworking (woodturning basics)

 There are a couple I'm downloading and printing off. Hey, if there's something for free I'm taking advantage of it - there could always be something new to learn! Have a great day!

DWR Progress: IT'S DONE!

Yesterday was Family Day in most of Canada, a holiday to take time off work and school to enjoy the day together. So of course, I spent hours in my workshop hand-stitching the binding of my Double Wedding Ring quilt. I only had a few more scallops to sew and I just wanted to, HAD to, get it finished.

I swear my left arm is damaged, it aches so much! I really got the hang of doing my blind stitch and the bias binding looks beautiful around the curves of the arcs. However, and I am invoking the 'galloping horses' rule for quilting here, the mitered dips leave much to be desired. Mimi Dietrich suggested clipping the inside layers of the dip but I think that created more trouble for me when folding over the binding. I have a couple nice looking dips but mostly they are sort of fake miters and a bit of a mess. Oh well.

I created a label with the details of the quilt in a beautiful font (Vivaldi) suitable to the formality of the Downton Abbey fabric. I added that the quilt was designed by Gail Kessler and included a photo when the two of us met. I appliqued it to a blue piece of the arc triangle fabric ready to attach to the back of the quilt...and then re-thought my choice. While the photo is great for posterity I decided it didn't suit the quilt style and I re-made the label with just the writing part. I will scrapbook the photo with a picture of the completed quilt instead.

Once the label is sewn on I am going to take the quilt to the laundromat and wash it. I remember a great story told by Mary Fons about "How to Wash a Quilt in 6 Easy Steps" (you can read her post HERE because she tells it much better) but basically, you load the quilt in a washer, add soap, put a folded towel on the ground, press start, and then get on your knees on the towel and pray! That's pretty much going to be me today.

Here is the Downton Abbey Double Wedding Ring quilt by the numbers:

10,044: area of quilt in square inches

2,000+: metres of thread used

1,358: wedges cut from fabric to paper piece arcs

880: miles driven to Oley, PA to meet designer Gail Kessler and have her sign my quilt swatch

450+: dollars spent on fabric, thread, and batting

194: paper pieced arcs

42: completed blocks

6: months working on this quilt

1: king-sized quilt completed on my domestic sewing machine!

Fine Line Quilter's Rulers

I'm giving my poor fingers a rest from the hand stitching and thinking ahead to future projects. One thing that has my creative juices flowing is my latest purchase: a set of Fine Line Quilter's Rulers I ordered from Patsy Thompson Designs. I had seen these specialty quilting aids when I first got my frame set-up and started experimenting with ruler work. I have a couple small acrylic rulers to use with the special foot on my 1600 and had great success on my teal quilt (which you can see in the linked post above). I really enjoyed working with them and wanted to expand my skills - and ruler collection - after watching Patsy's amazing and inspiring "Ruler Feet on a Home Sewing Machine" video:

 

I have the 1600 off the frame right now but that doesn't mean I can't use my rulers. I am really excited to see what I can do with the three rulers I bought: the 6.5" Continuous Curve, the 8" straight, and the 3.5" Wide Half Circle. Patsy was kind enough to guide my choices and offer advice to get me started. These rulers are excellent for use with both sit-down machine and longarm systems. Since I'm still holding out hope for a Sweet 16 I figure investing in the rulers would serve me now (on my sewing machines and if I choose to use the frame again) as well as in the future when I have either a sit-down mid-arm machine or a true longarm.

The secret behind these beautiful rulers is the special finger grip. You can maintain control over the ruler by positioning your fingers against the vertical posts - even while handling the quilt under the needle. There are hook strips (Velcro-like) on the bottom of the rulers to keep them in place and plenty of scored lines for reference. I will have to learn about each ruler's guide lines to achieve consistent and accurate designs. They also allow for different sizes of designs depending on which lines you follow.

It is going to be so fun to play with all of the shapes and see what I can come up with. I think the rulers will be perfect for slightly smaller projects (like place mats, totes, pillows, and wall hangings) which are easier to move under the sewing machine and of course, larger quilting on my frame. Patsy Thompson has been teaching, inspiring, and encouraging me from the very beginning and once again she has opened my eyes to creative possibilities with my quilting. Check out her Craftsy class too, Ultimate Free-Motion Quilting with Patsy Thompson), - (50% off RIGHT NOW!!!!) - to see and learn her most amazing hyper-quilting technique. You can find all the Fine Line rulers (and all kinds of other goodies!) in Patsy's on-line SHOP and start your collection.

DWR Progress: So Close I Can Taste It!

 

I'm down to the last few steps on the Double Wedding Ring quilt and it feels surprisingly weird to be so close to finishing. So much work has gone into this quilt and it's fun for me to read back on all the posts I've written documenting the process to see how far I've come. There have been some times of challenge and frustration but many small achievements along the way leading to the big reveal soon to come. It feels extremely satisfying to have accomplished this ambitious task. When sharing my progress with hubby I compared it in a sense to completing a marathon...and I can see the finish line just ahead.

In my last DWR post on the 7th I had just finished making the bias binding. Sewing that binding on the front of the scallops was a fairly challenging and slow process. I owe so much to Mimi Dietrich of the Finishing Schools: Edges & Bindings, not just for the incredible instruction and content in that class, but for the prompt personal replies she gave to my questions along the way. I love that so much about Craftsy - you really DO get access to these amazing (and famous in our community) instructors and they are truly so helpful. With her help I figured out how to machine stitch the binding to the curves and manage the inset dips between each scallop. Once I got it sewn I could really start to see the quilt take shape and it looked like I was going to be successful in getting the binding to lie flat and have the dips miter nicely.

Next up was the big trim! It was a little nerve wracking getting those razor sharp Ginghers so close to my quilt but they really are one of the most amazing purchases I have made in quilting. With absolutely no effort at all they cut through the layers and left a gorgeous, clean edge behind. It was kind of nice to use scissors instead of a rotary cutter and ruler - very easy to follow along the shape of the arcs. Trimming away the batting and backing suddenly revealed those giant scallops and it was very exciting!

Now I am at the point of hand-stitching the binding to the back of the quilt. You know that's not my favourite step but hand-sewing just has to be done on this special project. It is slow going for me and I'm trying to be very careful to take tiny stitches and secure them well. The quilt is so heavy that I want to make sure the binding is strong. I have done one scallop so far and I think it turned out well for my first attempt. It is flat and even; the miters seem to be co-operating well; there is a bit of of 'puff' here and there but overall I am happy with the result. It's still going to take me a couple weeks to get this done (the kids are off from school and home again all next week) and then I just need to make a label.

I did indeed do a test run at the laundromat. I took my store-bought 'quilt' and ran it through the wash in a 'triple load' machine - the biggest I could find. It is a front-load model without an agitator but it didn't look very roomy to me at all. It took half an hour and 19 quarters! I could watch through the window and it looked like things were holding together. The cycle didn't appear too violent but even though I selected the gentle cycle the spin at the end was quite powerful. I was a little worried but my test king-size comforter survived the process. I haven't ever washed it before since it's just a decorative part of the bedding and it was actually great to freshen it up.

I had no concerns about fitting the quilt in the super large dryer at the laundromat. I wasn't too sure which temperature to go for but since the machine costs $.25 for each five minutes, I decided on the 'hot' setting. I will probably choose medium for my DWR, and pay more, just so it doesn't get too hot.  My store-bought test quilt is stippled and is mostly cotton so it did shrink a little bit. That was ok with me because it was a bit big for my bed before and I really like that it slightly puckered like an old quilt. This was a very worthwhile experiment: I now know where I can wash my king size quilt, which settings to use, how much it will cost, how long it will take, and I have confidence that it will come out intact! I already have my roll of quarters and I'm pretty sure I am going to guard my quilt while it's in the machine so I'm very glad the commercial models take much less time to complete the wash and dry cycles.

Craftsy's Valentine's Day Sale!

...because nothing says 'I love you' like an on-line class!  No, seriously! You know how much I love my Craftsy classes and I think they would make a terrific gift no matter what the occasion...ESPECIALLY when they are ALL 50% OFF!  What a great sale and a perfect time to stockpile the courses you've wanted to take. There are some awesome new ones too, like the newest one I signed up for: The Ultimate T-Shirt Quilt. I have been saving my daughter's t-shirts for a long time and never got around to making them into a quilt. Now that I have so many super ideas from the class on how to stabilize them and more importantly, how to fit together all different sizes of logos and images from the shirts, the process is going to be so much easier. There are also great tips about adding filler blocks and unusual stuff, like mesh shirts, photo images, buttons, etc. I need this kind of help!

I am very excited to start thinking about the design of the quilt and I might even dig out all my old concert tees from the 80s to see what I can use in a quilt of my own. Anyone know how to get the smell of mothballs out??? lol!

If you want to take advantage of the 50% off All Classes sale, click HERE to go straight to Craftsy and get inspired. Have fun!