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Fun dinner

I'd never made spring rolls before but they were super easy and fun. I based them on this recipe although everyone preferred shrimp to tuna.

 

I thought I would make them all myself but found that everyone wanted to do their own so we laid it all out on the table and had fun.

 

I highly recommend it. And if you do make spring rolls, here are the best fillings: vermicelli noodles, carrots, shrimp, cilantro, green onions, chopped peanuts, lettuce and mung bean sprouts. Why yes, that is  a TON of chopping but I like chopping veggies. Also, don't forget sauces: hoisin and peanut.

Here's how I make peanut sauce quick'n'dirty: one clove of garlic, pressed, several grates of fresh ginger, a dash of red pepper flakes and then a few tablespoons each of: peanut butter, toasted sesame oil and seasoned rice vinegar. Whisk. Add vinegar/oil till it's the taste/consistency you desire. We put this in our spring rolls but it might be nice for dipping.

Baby quilt for Miss Rose

My friend had a baby girl. Middle name, Rose. Potential nickname, Rosie.

So I tracked down all the rose themed fabric I have ever acquired and made a quilt 100% inspired by Crazy Mom Quilts.

 

That green fabric (with small flowers. like roses) on the top was an overly generous gift from Lauren who is prone to overly generous giving. It was super, duper soft. The back is the last scrap of rose fabric along with a yard or so of the fabric I used to make curtains in Biscuit's room. It's amazing what one finds in the fabric stash.

And this project has officially wiped out my stash of pink fabrics. In fact I had to go shopping to buy the binding fabric (the same trip that found me purchasing 2 yards of knit I didn't know I needed. THIS is why I can't be trusted to go to JoAnn's.)

And now another friend had another baby girl just last Monday so time for another quilt. Even with 9 months warning (plus the two weeks she was late) I didn't even manage to START this quilt. Since I am out of pink I am considering autumn colors (I have a brown background floral that I love) but that seems risky for a family that did the nursery entirely in pink and ladybugs. Perhaps I need to brave the fabric store again.

Fabric store to new dress in less than 24 hours

Yes, I know it looks like a nightgown and seriously needs some embellishment but can I get a pat on the back for turning a piece of "so cute I need two yards" fabric into an actual garment in less than a day? Granted, a garment only Biscuit will wear but it met her specifications and she loves it so I am happy.

 

And that tree is lovely, isn't it?

 

The pattern I used is actually for a short sleeve shirt so there were some serious mods to turn it into this toe length (per request) dress (not nightgown). But it worked out okay. Knits are forgiving and at only $3.50/yard I wasn't going to lose sleep if the whole thing was a disaster. Enough about the dress. More tree!

The weather was lovely today. I should have spent more time outside as it's supposed to rain tomorrow.

 

The end.

Two stash busting quilts

Turns out we're going to Disneyland next month so Disney's Give a Day; Get a Day program is very timely. And since "make quilts for charity" narrowly missed my New Year's Resolution list it was nice that the local Binky Patrol chapter is one of the qualifying charities. Make a quilt; get a ticket to Disneyland.

Lucky I have so much fabric lying around.

 

In fact, that blue fabric and the roses and pink fabrics on the left were all purchased while I was in high school to make a sampler quilt, the pattern for which I found in a magazine. I lost the magazine but have had three yards of that blue floral for, hmm, I guess that's well over a decade now. Time to finally let go.

 

This quilt is super simple but came out like I envisioned. It's hard to see but the quilting is in long lines that parallel the seams in the pink strip so some overlap farther down the quilt. I couldn't find a pencil to mark the lines but found a roll of low-tack masking tape and it worked GREAT for marking the quilt lines and keeping them straight.

 

Tricky, eh? Another case of serendipity.

Since this one is kinda girly I tried to go a bit more boyish with my other quilt.

 

Totally ruined it by backing it in the only piece of fleece I had on hand. Oops.

Oh, and here's the back of the blue quilt. Sorta random but I threw in one of the pink, scrappy squares.

 

They are all delivered and now I just need to wait for a voucher to arrive via email. Yay!

January birthdays

A few quick'n'easy gifts for those post-Christmas season babes.

For my sister, who saw some knit fingerless gloves on etsy and naively thought that I could do all the crafts. Actually, no. I can't knit worth a darn. But I can take a felted sweater (that was actually as sweater I stole out of her Goodwill destined pile years ago) and sew some ghetto but warm fingerless gloves.

 

Not the best looking project ever but they fit and they were warm so that's something. And yes, this is the same sweater previously seen as a pair of mittens.

Next up, a simple gift for a newly minted 7 year old who loves to draw. Stitched books and a box of colored pencils.

 

Some books were blank and some were printed with squares to create cartoons. I can't wait to see what (if anything) he does with them!

75 degrees in February

Biscuit and I made a quick trip to San Diego last weekend to visit some dear friends. Look at these four Valentines. Side note, how does anyone with four children ever get a decent photo? As far as I can tell it's physically impossible.

Actually, now that I look through, this photo of the kids in action might be the best shot. No, Squeaker is not picking lice from his brother's hair. That's just the angle of the photo.

In addition to failed photo shoots, goofing around in the garage/play room, going to the park and visiting Ikea we took a great trip to the beach to visit some mediocre tidepools. Still, I couldn't resist taking a millions photos of the textures of the beach, the kids, and Biscuit's impromptu dance routines. Are you ready for the I've-been-away-from-the-blog-for-a-week photo onslaught?

 

 

 

 

 

Still scrolling? It starts to get cute right....here:

 

Hey, that's a pretty cute starfish. He (she?) was very tiny. About 2 or 3 inches across.

Love the shadow.

 

 

 

If you're buried in several feet of snow right now, sorry. It was really lovely weather in San Diego. I'll be back soon with crafty stuff that won't make anyone feel bad about their weather.

For now, back to Olympics watching and sewing.

Flower ranger

Biscuit drew this cute little picture a few weeks ago and promptly declared it a Flower Ranger. Is that not the cutest name?

I knew immediately that I was going to have to start laser engraving drawings onto wood to go with the photos I was already working with. The result:

 

I realize that the finish (which is shellac) looks super bubbly and weird in that photo. Odd because I didn't notice it looking bad in person and now it''s already been given to my mother-in-law. I could always grab it and sand it for her.

 

That's the back. It's a wee piece of eucalyptus branch. Not sure where I found this particular branch although I do remember for most of my sticks.

 

My fingers for a sense of scale. I love seeing people's work on the internet but am usually frustrated that I can't see the back or get a sense of the size. Hopefully these images help with that.

I have been a laser engraving fool lately with lots of new pieces I'm creating for a show on March 20 in Sacramento. Info on the left sidebar--click the IndieSacramento button.

Finally, thanks for all the well wishes for the sick kid. She is MUCH better today. Pretty much a full recovery (as I predicted for her on Friday). She woke up this morning and told me I was right that she was was better on Sunday. I felt omniscient. And that's always nice.

Happy Monday to ya.

Sick day

After a particularly gross sneeze, "uh, oh. I just bless you'd all over my hand!"

After a particularly gross cough, "uh, oh. I started to throw up. But it went back inside."

After Mr. H asked where the thermometer was and I reminded him that it should be used in the armpit, not the mouth, because it was her infant (rectal) thermometer, "uh, oh. You never told me that. I used it last time I was sick!" (side note: turns out we do have two thermometers in the house and we figured out he actually used the other one)

Pretty much all day long, "mommy, when am I going to feel better?" I'm crossing my fingers it's tomorrow!

And in case you need a visual, yes, her eyes and nose really are that red. She was hiding in her basket of stuffed animals.

Mostly for the grandmas

Turns out that I've uploaded a lot of videos to YouTube. An odd mix of cute kid stuff and sewing tutorials. Taking a movie of her dancing in the woods on Monday made me realize how much dancing (and singing) footage I have so here you go.

May 2007 after an "incident" on the slide

July 2007

February 2008

January 2009

November 2009

February 2010

A day to bottle and save

Today was a really perfect day. It also happened to be my birthday but that is beside the point. First, it was Monday and since going part time, I don't work on Mondays. Awesome! And, the kid (and I) slept in 'til 8:30. And it only got better from there. 

• Cinnamon rolls for breakfast (thanks, mom)
• A lovely, scenic run-turned-2-hour-nature-walk.
• A kid who entertained herself for several long stretches allowing me time to goof around.
• A kid who, despite not napping, was in a good mood all day.
• Homemade mac'n'cheese for dinner. (rainbow noodles the kid called it because Kraft Mac'n'Cheese noodles are curved like rainbows).
• A trip to the gym with Mr. H while Biscuit drew me a birthday card in the daycare area.
• Dessert at my favorite dessert place.
• Projects around the house and a good book waiting on my Kindle for when I sit down (thanks, mom-in-law).

And here's a question for you. Goose or swan? I was saying swan but started to second guess myself. Here's one with a peacock (for scale).

Five of these geese/swans plus two peacocks and 2 peahens and a variety of fancy and non fancy ducks live in the pond/yard of a house near where we went for the nature walk. Is it just me or is this pond a touch close to the house?

 

Anyway, great day, but photos are uploading slow and it's midnight on a school night. I'm off to read by the fire Mr. H made for me. Hope you had an equally great Monday!