I have been hand stitching my English Paper Pieced vintage hexagon blocks. I bought them from an antique store and they still had the paper hexagon cutouts inside many of the pieces. It looks like these paper pieces were cut from index cards. They had writing on them and must have been old cards that were recycled. Some had partial names and dates from the 1950's. Recycling is certainly nothing new.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Vintage blocks
I have been hand stitching my English Paper Pieced vintage hexagon blocks. I bought them from an antique store and they still had the paper hexagon cutouts inside many of the pieces. It looks like these paper pieces were cut from index cards. They had writing on them and must have been old cards that were recycled. Some had partial names and dates from the 1950's. Recycling is certainly nothing new.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
An Easy Way to Grow Potatoes!
This year I tried growing my potatoes in a special bin I bought online from a garden supply site. I placed it in a sunny location and filled it with rich compost from my compost bin. I added garden soil and mixed it up. Then I placed about 8 seed potatoes about six inches deep. I like Yukon Gold seed potatoes. Sunday, I put on some gloves and dug through the soil to find all these wonderful potatoes. It was easy to feel for them and just brush off the soil. They were undamaged because I didn't have to use any tools. George cooked up a batch for supper,Yummm!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Quilts
I took my first on line quilting class from Annie Smith, one of my favorite quilting podcasters. I learned many new tricks including the use of "fork pins" to make joined pieces match up perfectly. I wish I had learned this trick a lot sooner. My blocks would have been much better. These are pictures of my "Pickle Road" quilt in progress.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Fall is in the air!
We are weathering the remnants of Tropical Storm Danny. Lots of rain and surprisingly cool air. Fall is still definitely in the air. School started for teachers this week and students start Monday. I am definitely having a mind shift and have to focus on lots of new information and procedures for the new school year. Yesterday I walked through the garden before going into school. A hummingbird was busy visiting all the flowers. It was early and the crickets were still chirping but everything else was so STILL. Very peaceful and quiet. I wished I could stay longer and soak up the peace but it was time to go into the fray! I have a feeling I will be spending mornings in that peaceful place as much as I can.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Movie: Julie & Julia
Yesterday I went to the movies with my Mom. She is 85 years old and incredible. She still drives and volunteers and is very active in her church. The other day she asked me if I would like to go to the movies with her. She doesn't have too many friends left who are able to get out and do things with her. Since my summer vacation days are winding down I agreed to go to a matinee. We went to see Julie & Julia and both loved it. I am now very interested in getting a copy of Julia Child's cookbook. Since I was going to college for Home Economics back in the late 60's, I took many cooking classes. I always felt I knew the basics of cooking. I certainly used all the lessons I learned over the years and prided myself on being a decent cook. I remember a few meals that didn't turn out so well in my younger years. I know a few dinner guests were very polite in their comments. I learned by experience and made homemade bread from scratch and canned tomatoes from the garden many times. However, I never looked through Julia's book in all those years. I had The Joy of Cooking, which I learned from the movie is nothing compared to Julia's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Perhaps it just looked like another big cookbook that I would probably leave on the shelf. But now, after taking the class at Johnson & Wales and then seeing this movie, my interest is peaked. Unfortunately, so is the interest of many others. Maybe I'll just try the library first. I'm sure book sales will be up everywhere for the cookbook. One thing that seems like common knowledge from the cooking class, the movie and Julia herself, everything always tastes better when you use real butter in the recipe!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Etsy Shop Added
I added my daughter's Etsy Shop link to my blog. Check out her work! The link is located on the right.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Summer preserves
I also made some flavored vinegar from my baby Egyptian onions and my purple basil. It has such a nice color. I used regular vinegar, boiled it and poured it over my washed basil and onions, screwed on the lid and listened for the pop! Aren't they pretty in their jars?
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Apron
I completed an apron from the directions in the vintage apron book a purchased a few weeks ago, with a few minor changes. I feel very good about this apron because I used some old dish towels that my mother-in-law made from an old worn tablecloth. She recycled the cloth many, many years ago and I re-recycled it into an apron. So, even this was just created, it was made with a vintage pattern, of vintage fabric and I even sewed it on my vintage machine. I liked the pattern because it has potholders incorporated into the apron corners, I used quilted muslin but also added Insul-Bright inside, to make them very well insulated. If you have never used this, you can buy it at most fabric stores and it is similar to quilt batting but has fibers imbedded in it to make it a wonderful insulator. If you notice, I appliqued cutouts from the vintage print, onto the potholder corners. I thought they needed some embellishment. I also used an elastic remnant in the front waistband, just because I wanted to use it up. So this was definitely a very "green" project.
The other apron was made with a pattern I purchased from Montessori By Hand. It is the "Emmeline" Apron. I used Amy Butler fabric and made it reversible. I think this is my dressy apron because it has so much style and feels like I have put a dress on, no matter what I have on under it. I think I will have to add a pocket to at least one of the sides. My aprons must have pockets!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
I worked on another quick project this week. Pictured are two pin cushions made from scrap fabrics. These are actually good for practicing matching corners and would help if you are going to make bench cushions or pillows. It is not as easy as it looks to match up those corners. Pinning is essential. You must attach the top square to the side piece and then attach the bottom square. If you are not careful and are off just a bit, your little piece will not come out square! I'll have to make a few more of these, they were such fun to create, and a great way to use up those extra scraps of ribbon and buttons.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Clarified butter
I tried out the technique for clarifying butter that George & I learned at the Johnson & Wales cooking class. It works! You have to heat the butter for at least 20 min. You will see the solids separate and sink to the bottom, then you can just pour off the clear liquid, let it cool and keep it in the fridge. It will become hard like butter does. It will keep as long as regular butter in a container. Just scrape off the amount you need to use to saute or melt and use in sauces. I used the salted butter and the result was very salty so I will not have to add extra salt to most recipes. If you use unsalted butter it will make a difference in the amount of salt you will want to add to what you are cooking.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Tomatoes
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Quick sewing project
Well, it's another rainy day at the Z Farm. I am working on a quilt for a friend's baby. After deciding on a design and choosing the fabric, I made a block and discovered I really didn't like it. Back to the drawing board! I used a different fabric for the center blocks and so far I like how it looks. However, this morning I felt like I needed a quick project to get done today. The quilt would just take too long. I looked through my pile of quick projects and decided to make a little sewing book to organize my pins and needles. This will be nice for quick repairs or to grab to take with me on a trip. The directions came from the Martha Stewart website. I wanted to make the cover a little decorative and try my hand at needle felting. I used the tools shown, cut out my flower from blue wool batting and used wool yarn for the leaf and stem. I really like the way it turned out! Now I feel like I created something and actually got it completed in less than an hour.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Making Yogurt Cheese
If you want to make a healthy alternative to cream cheese, try making your own yogurt and then make your own yogurt cheese. Its easy! You can use a yogurt maker to make your own yogurt from whole or skim milk. I bought my yogurt maker at a tag sale! Take your finished yogurt or ready-made yogurt from the store and simply put it in a strainer on top of a paper coffee filter. Let it stand in the strainer, over a bowl, for a few hours or over night. The liquid will drain out into the bowl and you will be left with the yogurt solids. You might want to squeeze the last remaining liquid out to get this as thick as possible. It will be the consistency of cream cheese but have fewer calories!
Newport and Johnson & Wales cooking class
Monday, July 27, we traveled to Newport, RI and spent a relaxing time at the Fair St. Guest Houses. We ate lots of good food and watched the sun set along the shore. Tuesday we walked the Cliff Walk after having a wonderful breakfast at the B&B. The weather was forecast to be rainy and hot and humid. I guess we were in the right place because the sea breezes were cool and refreshing and no rain came during our stay.
After lunch we made our way to the Johnson & Wales Inn, which is actually in MA, just across the state line. We settled in, had an early dinner, which was excellent, and headed to our cooking class. The class of about 16 people, was all about soups and sauces and I must say, we learned a lot! After a lecture by an amazingly gifted chef/instructor, everyone was assigned a soup or sauce to make. George & I were assigned an espagnole sauce, a brown gravy-like sauce with a hint of tomato. It turned out wonderful. We also got to taste a variety of soups, such as Crab & Greens, Pasta e Fagioli, Hot & Sour, Soupe A L'Oignon Gratinee, and Bouillon Milanaise. The other sauces included Bechamel, Tomato, Hollandaise, Sauce Veloute and Demi-galce. We had a great time and would love to take another class some day. Now our home cooking will definitely have to improve.
Best hints... whatever you are making, it will always taste better if you start from scratch and cook long and slow when doing a reduction (cooking down to thicken)...it's always going to taste better if you cook with BUTTER and BACON!...Asian stores have the best prices but you need to know what you are looking for....cook your tomato sauce a loooong time to reduce the acid of the tomatoes, use that Hollandaise sauce quickly! We also learned a quick way to clarify butter...boil the butter in a pot a while until all the solids sink to the bottom. Pour off the top, clarified liquid. It will keep it in the fridge for months and you can use it when you want to saute veggies or add to sauces. It won't burn like whole butter will. Of course you will get more calories but your recipe will taste great.
If you are interested in one of these classes, contact the Inn (see link on right). The package was called "Now We're Cookin". You'll find the info under "Plan a Getaway" on their website. Make sure you get the details of class time and location before you go!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Monday's Trip to Block Island
We finally made our long wished for trip to Block Island by plane on Monday. Dave and Gena got the plane and flew a short distance to pick me and my husband up. We then flew into a headwind to Block Island. Because of the wind it took a little longer than planned. We landed and found the airport building closed. Perhaps it was because it was a Monday evening and very little activity was going on. Or it may be that the amount of visitors was down because of the economy. In any case, we were able to get the number to call a cab and went into town. After a nice dinner, we walked around a bit and then headed back to the plane. It was now dark and the airport was more deserted than before. We got into the plane, Gena and I in the back and George in the copilot's seat. When he closed the door hatch, the handle broke off. Now... what to do? We couldn't open the door. If we took off, we weren't sure the door would stay shut. It was fastened on the bottom latch but on top it wasn't quite locked in. Dave said it would be noisy because the air pressure would pull the door out and we would hear a lot of air rushing over the opening. NOT exactly what we wanted to deal with. Not to mention the fact that we would be worrying about the door flying open. In addition to that situation, we wouldn't be able to open the door easily if there was an emergency and we had to exit quickly, like if Dave had to ditch the plane in the water! Yikes! Not a good situation at all! Well, George and his trusty Swiss Army Knife came to the rescue. George used the knife to unlatch the hook on the top latch. He them unscrewed the plate that held the whole mechanism together and figured out how it worked. During this time the batteries in the small flashlight we had were wearing down and the light began getting dimmer and dimmer. Our stress level was getting higher and higher but we all remained very calm through the whole ordeal. George was able to fit an armature that held the door tight and while he had to hold it to keep pressure on it so it wouldn't come out, it held the door tightly closed. We took off with a sigh of relief. The rest of the flight was uneventful. It's always an adventure flying with Dave! Surely one trip we won't easily forget!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday's Antiquing
Yesterday I went shopping with my sister-in-law, Barbara and daughter, Marie. We all had different interests in the antique stores. Barb was on the lookout for jewelry and could spot a good buy in a minute. Marie liked the kitchen stuff and anything unique and artistic. I am always on the lookout for the fiber arts, depression glass and vintage sewing tools, and of course, aprons. I found some of these yesterday. There is a picture of a beautiful lace jacket I found that was too good to resist, especially at under $25. And it fits and is wearable. I will have to so a little mending and reinforcing of some of the seams, but it is so unique! It would take hours to sew all that braiding together to make something like this. I just had to get it. There is a picture of it modeled on my wooden form.
I also found a book of apron patterns. There are some designs I want to try out. As I said, aprons are a great place to try out interesting designs. And those little "camp napkins" would be good for pockets or blocks in a quilt.
Barbara found a great bracelet and a ring and Marie found a cup carved from buffalo horn. So, we were very happy shoppers as we left for home with our treasures.
Antiquing
I have been inspired lately by some podcasters, to visit some local antique stores. I found a wonderful little sewing machine in one store. I had been keeping an eye out for a Featherweight and this one is similar, only older. I ordered a book that tells all about it and how to maintain it. I thought it might have to be rewired but the wiring looks good. The foot pedal looks almost new and the handle on the case was replaced. Best of all, it works! It came with lots of attachments. I tried out a few and they work very well. All it needed was a little oil and it was good to go.
I also found a wooden form, possibly from a window display, that will be great to hold my creations.
I'm also into aprons. Don't know why exactly. I remember my mother wearing one all the time when I was little. One day my daughter and I were looking at some of the "stuff" my mother has in her basement. We pulled out an old cedar chest to look at. My daughter thought it would be just the right size to fit in her house, since it was a small one. Well, when we opened it, it was full of aprons. As we carefully removed each one, we were surprised to see that most were in good condition. Of course, my mother told us the story about who each one belonged to, either my grandmother or one of my aunts. But some even she didn't remember. Now, my daughter and I were intrigued! She got the chest and I got the aprons! I washed them, hung them up and stood back to admire them. There were work aprons and dressy ones, full length and half, faded and worn and almost brand new ones. I remember my grandmother wearing some of them. I also noticed how aprons have been used to try out lots of design ideas. There were so many different designs and shapes. Then I found The Apron Book by EllyAnne Geisel. That was it! Now I have become interested in finding more, sewing a few and even wearing one. It makes perfect sense! When I'm working around the house my clothes stay cleaner, I have something to wipe my hands on and I have POCKETS. Who doesn't need pockets when working around the house! There is always something you find in one room that needs to be put away in another room. So, you stick it in the apron pocket until you get there. And they are great for holding a few fresh veggies when you are out in the garden. If you need more room, just use your apron as one big pocket.
Well, I bought another apron at the antique store. I couldn't resist! It has such finely sewn applique flowers on it. I don't think I could sew them as well with my machine, let alone by hand. It is light blue with white binding around the edges and is definitely a dressy one, not a work apron. Hard to believe women actually had work aprons and dressy aprons. I am a product of the "Women's Movement" and was influenced by the idea that aprons were a sign of domestic bondage. That is nonsense to many of us today. I think many women are embracing the idea of "Housework". There is much more interest in cooking, sewing and home decorating. Even women who have careers are taking up knitting, crochet and other handcrafts. There seems to be an urge to make things by hand for the family and home. We are becoming more aware of the impact we have on our environment and are trying to make things and recycle items we might have easily discarded in the past. Today, aprons are gaining popularity. I'm really glad more women are beginning to appreciate aprons, whether they wear them or not.
This year's garden
It was a rainy spring this year and the summer hasn't been much better. I DO appreciate the cooler days and low humidity. We have only turned on the AC three or four days so far. The tomatoes aren't too happy about it but the other veggies seem to be doing just fine! I have posted some pictures to show you our bountiful harvest.
Z Farm
Welcome to the Z Farm blog. Here you can follow the goings on of the farm and what's happening in the garden, as well as what creations we are coming up with. You never know what what ideas we come up with unless you check back often. We are a family of creative people who find it hard to sit still. Something is always being made, whether it's a new cooking creation, a sewing project or quilt, art, sculpture or metal work.
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