Testing 1,2,3

I am testing a new photo resizing site.

I re sized each of these photos at a site called Picmonkey.com. I am trying to see if it looks different on the blog.
I know I am probably the last one to hear about this. I am usually the last one on the train.

Here goes the test.

Diane

New to me

Have you ever seen this stuff before? Have you tried it?
I have horrible dry hands. I know it is from handling cotton fabric and doing dishes by hand but no amount of hand lotion will bring back soft supple skin. Do NOT tell me it has to do with age. I will dance around with my fingers in my ears singing lalala-lalala-lalala-lalala-lalala until you stop!

Anyway back to the subject. I found this stuff at a cute little quilt shop called Cotton Patch in Tulsa and wondered if it would help with my not being able to hang on to fabrics. My skin is so dry the fabric just slips through. I have no grip at all. It states that it is safe for fabric and non toxic, I have dry eyes too so I am constantly rubbing them. I don't want anything that I have to remember to wash my hands before touching my eyes or mouth.
I tried it today for the first time and I think it reminds me of the stuff I used years ago when I worked for the County. I think it was called Tacky Finger or something like that. My memory of it is that it was a yellow/gold color. This stuff is clear like a silicone and it reminds me of Thread Heaven without the glitter.
So far it works just fine. I do have to reapply every half hour or so of constant piecing. I am not certain of that amount of time but it I am guessing.


Still no news about our future whereabouts. So to give me something else to think about I have been playing in my 2 1/2" strip drawer.


pardon the out of focus shot of the design wall



lots more to add to the design wall

I determined to not cut anymore strips and only use what I had. There will be plenty of each color but not a lot of variety as I had already used a lot of these three colors in previous projects. I used up many strips that I had 15" or less. Many fabrics have been in the stash for as long as I have been piecing, it was time they got used up.
One of the classes I took at Craftsy was learning to quilt large quilts on a small machine. I think this will be the perfect thing to put what I learned into practise.

Later,
Diane

OMG! I had a great cooking day!

Not too many months ago I heard about Craftsy.com from some of my quilt guild friends in Mobile. I am pretty slow sometimes and I didn't "get it" at first.
I took a couple of the free classes and I was hooked! It is great! Last week I took the Artisan Bread Making class and I tell you what I made the BEST clover rolls I have ever eaten. The instructor. Peter Reinhart was very clear and gave lots of information. I just happened to have bought one of his books a couple of years ago but never had the nerve to make anything from it since I was a bit intimidated. Taking the video classes on Craftsy made it so understandable. I even took some extra dough and made my version of pull apart bread. I rolled little balls like I was making clover roll but then rolled them in cinnamon and sugar and threw them in a small loaf pan. YUM-OH!
What I need to learn now is how to time the bread rising and resting to when dinner will be ready. Starting dough at 4pm will not have rolls ready for dinner at 6pm. :(
But it was all good, we had them all for desert!



Clover Rolls

What is left of the cinnamon/sugar bread

For dinner I made Judy Laquidara's Green Chili Pork Stew. OMG! It was so good! You really must try it. It was very easy and I will be making this again. I have tried several of Judy's recipes and I have liked them all. I guess with my family (parents and grandparents) being from Louisiana and Judy being from there too, we have similar taste. Anyone who has ever eaten with me knows I don't do "hot" so if Judy's recipes call for an ingredient that is hot I just delete it or reduce it by a LOT.

Back to the Craftsy site. I will be taking more classes from there. I really like it. So far I have taken the Artisan Bread Making, Modern Buttercream (free class), Quilting Big Projects on a small machine; just did a quick run through so no verdict yet but it sounded very promising. The Modern Buttercream class that was free was a real class. Not just 15 minutes or so to introduce you to to the stuff. No it was over 85 minutes long! All I ever wanted to know about buttercream and how to use it.

I didn't intend for this to turn into a Craftsy commercial but I really like it so far.

Tomorrow...SEWING! After I make more bread! :) I see some weight gain happening around here! :)

Later,
Diane

Thanksgiving sewing

There was no cooking in this house today. My sweet husband thought I shouldn't take the time to cook a big meal for the three if us. He made reservations at a wonderful restaurant that we went to for our anniversary. This was the first time we ate out for any big holiday and I felt a little strange but that feeling went away quickly when the server brought out a basket with four different types of bread. I was hooked!

Since I wasn't on my feet cooking and cleaning up afterwards I went to the sewing room and had a wonderful couple of hours to play in my 2.5" strip drawer.
TADA!

Blessings #2 & #3

These are the utility tops that cousin K gave me. I am so happy that all 3 of my children will get something that was made by Granny. I was afraid I was going to have to actually tell which was the favorite child! LOL! Not really, there are no favorites. Really. I promise. :^p

I am so blessed

I was so surprised when my husband's cousin handed me a plastic shopping bag. I thought it was polyester double knit scraps when he said, "this was Granny's". I could have been knocked over with a feather when I opened it and saw this top!
Completely hand pieced!
The next day another cousin of my husband handed me a larger plastic bag and just stood there smiling. I opened it and had to sit down. There were TWO polyester double knit tops that Granny made. I don't have a picture of them yet but will post as soon as we get home.
One more day in Tulsa and we go home for at least until after Thanksgiving. A few more clues about our job/living situation. Nothing that we know for sure but now I think Atlanta and Tulsa are off the board. Honestly we know nothing for sure but we have been hearing some whispers.

Be home soon; God willing!
Diane

Not a lot of sewing but some. I printed off some info from Carrie Nelson's blog to play with. So far I have learned I don't get a perfect seam on my original Featherweight. LOL
I am not at home so I can't run in and change my machine so I m trying very hard to be careful.
Isn't it funny how we get different results from different machines? Like for instance I get a dead on 1/4" from my Bernina 1230. I get a perfect scant from my Brother QC1000. My featherweights and Singer 301 are best used for paper and string piecing where a small bobble isn't an issue.

It's good to have a purpose in life. Know the job you are good at and do it to the best of your ability.
Phil 4:11 and Col 3:17 are on my mind today.
Lots of changes happening in our lives soon.