Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Blanket # 3

I started this flannel to quilt when my little one was kicking in my tummy. She is going to be almost 2 this December. I finally finished quilting and assembling it together and will be ready for this WINTER. She is a lucky cookie this winter going to be all warm and cozy. This was a real easy pattern to follow through and was able to finish very fast I even made her a Topponcino cover from flannel since she was a winter baby. And it was very soft and we loved all shades of lavender.I cannot remember the name of this pattern. Since I have finished this top way back… Since it was a flannel material I didn’t want to use the bulky or thin batting at all and was thinking something will come along…

I got this cloth from the hospital when I went for a surgery while ago. I would use it cove myself on a cold day and it was sitting around I used that instead of a batting it worked perfectly. It is not a supper bulky and will keep her warm on those cold nights. That’s what matter at the end. I wanted to thank my friend who taught me to do bias cutting and making a beautiful edge to it.I finally did it.

I really loved how it turned up it is quiet a big blanket but will keep her tiny body warm. I hope it will wash up good for the years to come.
I have blog about this top before and was planning to finish this summer and I did it. When I was thinking what to quilt on top my friend suggested how about hearts; and she gave me a bunch of cookie cutter that descending in size… I came home and was thinking how to incorporate these hearts and finally came up with my own design… So I quilted all my love to this blanket…

Quote of the day “be polite under pressure”

Enjoy!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Blanket #2

I was busy working my way into creating blankets for my little one since she is outgrowing the baby blanket. And the weather over here is wicked cold. I am not complaining; I do love winter. So I can sip tea and warm water.

Back to my project this was a real simple project I copied from my friend Tina back in VA. She loves to sew around the fleece by left over yarn using the blanket stitch. This adds a very special touch to the fleece and a finished look. I have made one blanket for my son when he was little. However when you go to the local fabric store I go crazy with all the lovely prints. When it comes to girly prints there are tons out there.
I wish I saved the receipt for this purchase but I have not but do remember this was on sale. I bought approximately 1 and ¼ yard of fleece and straighten the edges. Fold the hems and did the running stitch to hold it in place and went through my yarn stash to find coordinating yarn. Finished it off with blanket stitch… I love the flowers plus I can add some color to gloomy winter days.

This is my blanket # 2 pretty cool yet very simple ha… ha…

Quote of the day “Buy your child a present on Mother’s Day in return for making you a mother”

Enjoy!

I am grateful to YOU…

It’s being a while I made a post: I have been extremely busy with a project which has a dead line and number of items. I personally think that’s a goal. Anyway I will blog on that later it will come up soon because I enjoyed every bit of that project. It feels good on my finger tips to feel the keys and start writing what’s in my head.

There is a lot going on… schools are starting… Full filling boy’s scout rank requirements… taking care of 18 month old thinking going on 3 years… and stopping by to feel life and admire nature… and life in between is GREAT! But could be bit over whelming but no complains because I do enjoy it very much…

My older one is extremely busy working on merit badgers and I enjoy helping/aiding in this process and I thank everyone in my life right now extending their hand to us get there. He is been busy as a bee and the great part is he is learning something new every day. I am happy to watch him navigate the World Wide Web to get the right information and amazed with his talents… I think every mother should enroll their son in BOY”S SCOUT it is a wonderful program to grow into.

So all of us are growing… working… busy… and having fun. That’s a good thing.

My son asked is it ok if he makes the lunch… I jumped to answer YES, I was sewing and wanted to finish the project and little one was sleeping. I didn’t want to be in the kitchen. I sealed the moment to burry deep myself into my project. Oh… Yeah… He asked me to help him with cheese because he was making spaghetti with pasta sauce very simple but great with parmesan cheese, crushed pepper, rosemary, and olive oil.

I did and quickly came back to my project… He did prepared lunch; sorry I couldn’t take a picture of it before. I was hungry and we had a GREAT lunch together. It reminds me of me when my mother goes out for shopping or run errands I would make something so when she comes home there is food. I do miss her deeply in my life.

But the lunch my son made for me was great… I volunteered to do the dishes. I did the dishes with pride and gratefulness for my 12 year old. You ROCK son!

Quote of the day “never discourage a child’s individuality”

Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Handpick Flowers…


This is my second blog for today… I have done so much today… I really wanted you to enjoy this as much as I do…
Yesterday, I took the kids to the farm stand. My older one loves going to this farm stand because there are about literally more than 50 flavors of ice cream. But to my surprise he will not buy any ice cream he will get a soda or slush. I was disappointed to find the soda that they have hiked up the soda price to a $ 1.50 from 0.99 cents. I have to admit I love there sodas so much I am not a very big soda drinker but when it comes this one I love it. I had a lemon lime which was really nice on a sunny day.
They had day old corn for $ 2.75 they were already shucked. I have introduced my older one to eat patty pan squash few summers ago he loves it very much and I do too. We bought some patty pan squash, tomatoes, honey, and handpicked flowers.
About flowers … I loved them zinnias were beautiful and she also had single stem zinnias for 0.30 cents each and sunflowers for $ 1.75 each. While I was there I helped a customer to add some sunflowers to already made bouquets and I simply could not resist ignoring not to bring some flowers home. I love to have fresh flowers at home as well as to give fresh flowers to friends. I spent $ 6.60 to bring some flowers with a glass jar I think it was a great buy and helped a small business. They look really nice on my mantel with pictures…
My little one as soon as she woke up this morning she notice the flowers and started to point at it… and the pictures. Yesterday was a crazy day for us with one car trying to take kids out for a treat, and pick up 10 things… but we survived and I went to knitting. There is a fresh project in my hand. That what’s a matter at the end…
Thanks for stopping by and taking a peak in my blog to see what I am up to… nothing much but waiting summer to fade out… and FALL to begin because that is my favorite season of ALL times…

Quote of the day “play your part in life, but never forget that it is only a role”

Enjoy!

Stuffed Baked Zucchini…


I picked up this wonderful zucchini from a farm stand. Mainly I was amazed to find huge zucchinis’ and to my surprise it was only a dollars not sold by the lb but by the piece. I didn’t know what to do with this I asked the lady at the farm stand she explained to be that I can stuff and bake it. I have not seen, eaten, or tasted something like that before. But I bought it anyway she had a huge pile of over grown zucchini. I wish I had my camera with me to get all those lovely pictures of her farm and lovely crop. My daughter was fascinated with two cats and there were basking in the sun. I do have to say her corn was very sweet. We loved it very much wish I bought some more.
After arriving home I googled how to bake stuff zucchini. I learned in England they call the same dish stuffed marrow I thought it was interesting. I didn’t have any of the fresh herbs that it was calling for. So I made some changes and came up with my own stuffing. It was great my daughter and I loved it very much but to my SURPRISED not the BOYS. Since the zucchini was huge I shared some with friends… some really like it.
So anyone who is growing zucchini this summer and finds some that has overgrown under its beautiful leaves here is something you might want to try. I am in a quest this summer to cook this wonderful vegetable as often as I could.
Here is what I did to make my stuffed baked zucchini…
Ingredients:
1 large onion
2 carrots
1-3 cloves of garlic (if you like more garlic go on and add to your taste)
1 bunch of spring onions
1 lb ground beef
1-3 cardamom pods
1 clove
1 teaspoon of peppercorns (add according to your taste… I like to give a kick)
¼ cup of ketchup
vegetable rub if you have if not use salt and black pepper

For the topping:
Bread crumbs (I didn’t have this I used corn meal)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
I teaspoon dried sage leaves
Salt to taste
Mix all the ingredients and set a side

Method:

Wash and cut the zucchini lengthwise. Clean the seeds and the flesh to make a channel to fill your stuffing. I used a little bit of vegetable rub on the zucchini channels before filling with meat. And set them on a tray.

Preheat the oven 375 F.

Add a little oil/butter and sauté the onions and garlic until translucent. Add the carrots and cook until it turns bright orange.
Add the meat and cook until brown you will see liquid and continue to cook until all the liquid is absorbed by meat now add the powdered spices (cardamom, clove, and the pepper cones) add salt to taste at this point. Add ketchup and continue to cook. For about a minute or two, now mix in the spring onions and turned off the heat.
Fill your prepared zucchini channels with cooked meat don’t press it fill it loosely. Sprinkle your topping evenly and baked the zucchini on 375 F for about 40-50 minutes. Serve while it is hot with salads or cooked pasta.
Quote of the day “remember the joy of cooking”

Enjoy!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Receiving Blankets & Fun Fur # 1

Click to play this Smilebox collage
Create your own collage - Powered by Smilebox
Create your own digital collage


During my baby shower I received a packet of receiving blankets and then I have bought some on my own. I didn’t bother to return and used them all… during the first few months since I had a fairly big collection they didn’t look bad after couple of wash and as everyone knows newborn grow very fast I had to use the other blankets often. I had this pile of receiving blankets and had no idea what to do with these. I put them in a bag thought I will drop it off in a donation box… But I wanted to hold on to them since the prints were so lovely…

Finally I came up with this idea to make a blanket with fun fur… since she loves her plush toys… so I bought the fabric from the fabric store and bought plain muslin to do the backing. I wanted it to be fun. I decided to cut the blankets and make baking instead of using the muslin… with some help from lovely Beth I was piercing the squares in no time… and finished the back I loved it… ran out of one blanket but soon replaced by another it was really cool and loved it very… very … much… not only that I went and knitted a hat to go with it too… I loved mixing the old and the new together it was a WONDERFUL project which I enjoyed every bit of it…

Since she is growing out of her current set of baby blanket this is a great way to replace them with a little bit of a bigger sized blanket… since she sleeps all by herself and she could be cold in her room and the winter could be wicked COLD up here but I love it… with some hot chocolate and a warm blanket I can think of many more projects to do before I die…

I hope who ever stop by to take a peek in my little blog find this very interesting as I did… with my daughter’s old receiving blankets… more than it was a one unique blanket… with the left over fun fur I made a long pillow to place against the wall to block the cold… she is going to be very warm this winter…

Quote of the day “create bedtime stories in which your child is the hero or heroine in an adventure”

Enjoy!

Simple Dessert… Yet, High in Antioxidants…

I wanted to blog on this dessert because of two reasons. It’s very simple and high in antioxidants. As we know the brain fruit Blueberries is the second highest to Acai Berries. I use local honey from the farmers market because I have read if you have allergies try to consume local honey. I finally found a farm; that produce honey in refine and raw forms. I love them both. If I can; I will have a honey bee collection but unfortunately I do not have the capabilities to do so.

My little one loves blueberries she can eat a whole pint. I know it is scary I remember once she did that for lunch. She is not that much into the honey just like my older one. I am not bit worry about that but continue to offer in small amounts. Older one prefers it with toast. I prefer it with my tea. I guess each one has different pallets of tastes.

My suggestion for this wonderful dessert try mixing some honey with blueberries, I cannot have enough of that. It gives you loads of vitamins and makes you stronger for seasonal allergy.

Quote of the day “hold your child’s hand every chance you get”

Enjoy!

Summer and Green Grass...

I enjoyed every little bit of summer… I like to be up in the mountains… because it is always few degrees lower than the normal temps. I was up in NH closer to CANADA and I love the weather (at least the summer weather). New Hampshire is a beautiful state and the most beautiful part of it was tax free. Yes, you do have to pay for FB but the others are tax free which I loved.

The land formation is beautiful felt like surrounded from mountains. The view was breathtaking… what I wanted to write was the smell of grass was sweet… and watching the grass being cut to use as hay was really nice up in the country. It is a lot work but the feeling you get by doing all this hard work I guess must be amazing… All the trees are bearing fruit and vegetables… bees are buzzing all over the fields and the flowers are in bloom. I love the bounty that summer brings in.

Quote of the day “be kind to the child in you”

Enjoy!