Long Lost Treasures Resurface

It's amazing how much jewelry I have that I never wear. About ten years ago I was "into" jewelry and bought quite a bit of it.

This past weekend I was going through jewelry boxes and found some nice silver pieces that were pretty tarnished. I decided to clean them up and start wearing them again.

This set of four different stoned rings is pretty cute.

I had completely forgotten about this very long necklace. I delicately twisted it into the cleaning liquid and let it sit about 15 minutes.


It now sparkles against this black top.

This is the cleaner I used.

I've always liked the chevron necklace above, but it had a clasp that would not tightly close so I have not been able to wear it. I got out some tweezers and a pair of cuticle scissors and poked, pushed, and squeezed until I finally got it twisted into a workable shape so it would hold tightly.

I now have quite a few more pieces of wearable jewelry. I found pieces I didn't even remember owning. I think I will continue the search next weekend as there are other places I have not looked in for years. I am sure to find other long lost treasures!

Sometimes a shortcut, isn't

While rummaging through my basement fabric stash, I came across a bag with 2 of these huge green pillows.

My brain was immediately lit by the flash of a light bulb.

Why not use one of these for my big deck pillow?

I do love to find a use for things I should have tossed, but didn't. It makes me feel so much better about saving the junk. :)

If I use this pillow, I will save fabric, stuffing, and a lot of time. Right?

WRONG!

While trying to stuff the huge pillow into the new pillow case, look what happened.

ARRRGGGGGGG...it must be a 3-inch rip. I should have left a bigger opening. Now what?

Well, I certainly was not picking out 8 seams of tiny stitches, so I had to find a way to mend it. I took a quick look at some of the fancy stitches on my new machine. I was in no mood to figure out how to use a new stitch, so I just picked one that I could touch a button to make it work.

It held the tear together very well.

Then I had to think of some way to hide the stitches. I decided to sew a green strip right over the top. It worked fine, but I couldn't have just one strip at the top of the pillow. So I added two more. The top border now looked out of place with the bottom.

So I had to add three to the bottom...then the sides looked out of place...........

After I had added twelve green strips, I was almost happy. It seemed like the strips needed a little something to give them purpose. I decided to mull it over while I slept.

After work I went back to the basement to rummage through my small collection of beady things that has been sitting in a clear fishing tackle box for years. I found some orange ones that worked perfectly. I wasn't that thrilled to hand sew 12 of them with invisible thread, but I must pay the price for my hasty decision to attempt to stuff a 24-inch pillow in to a 12-inch opening.

So I sat and sewed while watching New York's new Governor air his dirty laundry. What an ironic situation that was!

Needless to say, I did not save any time, but as I watched the new Governor fall (or just take a little tumble) from grace, I finally finished the darn pillow.



In the end, I like it. I think those twelve strips and beads really added textural interest. I took a pic of it with the little star pillow so you could get an idea of the size difference.I think that was my 6th (and final!) pillow for the deck.

Scrap Happy

It's amazing what can be done with a box of little scraps!

I have found that if I put away little scraps, I probably will never get them back out. Therefore, I try to use up as many little pieces as I can before I clean up the fabric from current projects.

See this little mound of scraps?

Look what came out of it in less than an hour.

It's a little star pillow to match all the other deck quilted items. It barely made a dent in that pile of scraps.

I had planned to make a little doily-like thing for the outdoor table, but the center pouffed out a tad too much, so I spent a few minutes considering what else I could do with it. Hmmmm...maybe a star pillow? I sewed a backing to the diamonds and then this cute little flower button right smack in the middle, which took care of the pouffing.


What is really amazing is that the diamond block I used for this pillow is the exact same one I used for the pink Christmas tree skirt.
Two such different items from the identical block!

I am planning to putter around the rest of this week making little 3-inch blocks from these scraps. In addition to the pillow, I made 22 other blocks, 18 of which I have put together into these two star blocks.


Isn't it amazing what can come out of a box of little fabric pieces that most people would toss?

I'm not Irish, But I Do Love a Corned Beef Dinner

and today I cooked one that was so good I had to pop in here to record my method so I will remember it next year.

I usually boil corned beef with cabbage, carrots, potatoes, etc. I was going to do that today, but on a whim, decided to see what would happen if I cooked it in the oven.

Oh, my, it was the best corned beef that has ever graced my table. Incredibly tender and tasty. I can't say for sure if it was my cooking method or if DH just picked out a very good piece of beef. It was probably a combination of both.

Here is what I did:

This is the brand I used. It was just under 5 lbs.


It comes with its own little spice bag which I sprinkled throughout the pan.

I cut up half a medium head of cabbage and put it in a big roasting pan.

I had a big pot of water almost to the boiling point on the stove, which I poured over the beef and cabbage until it was about 2 inches high.


Then I put it in a preheated 325 degree oven, covered it and let it cook for almost 5 hours. Other than turning it over at the halfway point, I didn't do a thing to it. When done, it looked like this:


I was surprised that it did not shrink more. Last year's boiled specimen ended up to be about half the size it started as.

I decided to roast the veggies rather than throw them in the water/fat filled pan. I think roasting adds much more flavor. I turned the heat to 425 degrees and add a big pan of veggies. While they cooked, I let the corned beef rest covered on top of the stove.

They roasted for 35 minutes.

Last week I finished the second Easter tablerunner and have now used up all the blocks that I originally made for that quilt border.

I decided I might as well use it on the table. Then I decided to change out the centerpiece (that's what happens when you decorate early -- you get bored and change things!)

I also added this little wooden bunny vignette on top of one china cabinet


and this one on the other.


It seems like forever since I posted (has it only been a week?) and, gosh, I have tons of things that I've done the past week. I guess this post is already too long, so the rest will have to wait.

After almost 1500 posts and over 3 Years, It's

I am out of things to say so it's time to step away.

I'll be around reading and when I have the urge to post again I'll be back.

Feel free to explore the archives. They are all labeled on the right side.

à la prochaine,

Weekend Jaunt

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Not Much Happening Lately

I've noticed a big drop in blog postings and about a 50% drop in my blog readers so there must be a universal lack of excitement in our lives.

Here's the biggest event of my day.

As I was dressing for work this morning, I decided I just hated the leather cord on this recently-purchased necklace. I've worn it a couple of times, but it does not feel comfortable.

It's not me.

There was no way to remove the pendant without cutting it off. So I grabbed my scissors and with one big snip the wooden pendant was freed.

I attached the pendant to a gold chain.

I like it much better now! I will take 14K over leather any day. Please ignore those dark shadows that make me look all lumpy at the neckline. They are caused from my arms holding the camera strap up as I am shooting into the mirror. I couldn't use the flash because of the mirror. LOL. What I won't do for a photo shoot at 6:00 a.m.

Here's a picture of the can of corn I had for dinner. (Did I mention how tough it's been lately to find blog topics?)

All kidding aside, this is the very best canned corn we have ever eaten. Del Monte Summer Crisp. It's sweet and crunchy...tastes almost like fresh from the garden corn.

So is it just me or is everyone feeling the blog blahs lately?

Something to Tantalize your Taste Buds

I had a decadent breakfast this morning. Just take a look.

It's called Northern Michigan Wildberry Toast.

It's French toast filled with a wild berry cream cheese.

I am all about presentation and I think this one is pretty good. Because the rim is so busy, this plate needed no garnish. It was a wise chef who curtailed the ubiquitous urge to toss parsley and an orange section on this plate. (Don't even let me get started on the overuse of parsley as a garnish--I will say just one thing -- parsley does not belong on a plate if it's not used in the dish, and please don't ever use parsley to garnish a dessert!) O.K. that was two things. Sorry...

I do have one little suggestion that would put this presentation over the top--gently set two blueberries and a blackberry into the filling that is oozing out of the toast. I guess it would be pretty expensive to get fresh wild berries at this time of the year in Michigan.

I could only eat two pieces. I like it without the butter or the syrup. I also left all the bacon. So, I guess I wasted more than 50% of it! Long ago I got over the need to finish everything that was served to me. I eat just as much as I want to and then stop. I hate to feel stuffed.

I have made a lot of progress on my table runner. It's made from 3-inch blocks and it will take about 64 blocks to complete. Here it is half finished.

Do you think it's a pretty good complement to the dishes?

I am quite satisfied with it and intend to do a table runner to match all the different dinner plates I have. I think I have upwards of 25 different patterns, so that should keep me busy for some time!

I think I will spend the next hour working on the hand quilting of the big 'Roses are Red, Borders are Blue' quilt. It's been over a week since I've worked on it. It will never get done if I continue at that pace!

Why does all the bad weather come at the Weekend?

We were planning to get away this weekend, so, of course, it's snowing with freezing rain predicted for Sunday when we would be coming home. Arrrrrrgggggggggg....We will have to wait until tomorrow morning to see what becomes of this storm. Maybe we can still get away for one night.

For tonight, I will leave the suitcases unpacked, and be content to sip a glass of wine, have a light dinner and stay home and sew.

For my next project I have decided to take one of my plates and design a table runner around the plate. I am very excited about this lightbulb flash of an idea. Why spend so much time making table runners that may not match any of the dishes I own? It makes much more sense to design the runner around the plates.

I have a set of hand-painted Knowles dishes that I really love. They are probably from the 1960's and oh, so retro looking. The pattern is called, "Modern Plaid".

Here is a dinner plate with three fabrics I have picked to work with.

It's just crying out for a geometric design in the table runner.

Oh, this will be such fun. Can't you just see a big brown bean pot full of twiggy branches & Shasta daisies as a centerpiece with these casual dishes? I have lots of bean pots, so you will probably see a full tablescape later in the summer season.

I haven't spent much time reading blogs this week. One night after work was spent on middle-age maintenance (hair cut and nails). Last night I went out with my 4 sisters-in-law for our annual "Girls Night Out" dinner that my twin sisters-in-law plan. This year they picked a new Chinese restaurant, which I really enjoyed. I had a good meal and it was great to spend a few hours with just us girls. I took my camera, but decided to leave it in the car because the place was packed. So there are no pictures of my "Sizzling Platter" of shrimp, scallops, chicken, and beef with an array of Chinese veggies. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I hope we all have a great weekend!

I'm Even Dressing in Easter Colors!

All this purple/pink decorating is influencing my wardrobe choices. Today I looked like my Easter table!

I started with a purple jacket that needed a bit of punch. Look how boring.
It is crying out for some bling.

I added a sparkly brooch, but it still needed something....

So I went to my sewing room floor and pulled up a small piece of the pink bandanna fabric. I folded it and pinned it into the pocket.
I liked that much better. I had on black pants which went well with the black in the bandana fabric. I am really getting mileage out of that old fabric!

I was leafing through my latest Midwest Living magazine today and I found the cutest idea for an Easter centerpiece. I ripped it out to save. I thought I'd share it with all of you. Maybe someone will want to use it.

Isn't this adorable?
As always, click to see it in it's full glory.

Easter Tablescape '08

Remember my hibiscus trees that died last summer? Right from the start I had a vision for the dead skeleton with the nicely braided trunk.

I knew the limbs would provide perfect appendages to hang Easter eggs.


All of the eggs on this centerpiece are real eggs that I have blown out and decorated. Many are decoupaged. This pic is dark on my computer and hard to see. You can click on it to see it bigger.

For this table, I used these pink vintage napkins. I have had them for years, but I don't think I have ever used them. I love the tulips, but they are a little smaller than I like.

I folded them and inserted into these bunny napkin holders.


Aren't these the cutest carrot candle holders? Look how that little mouse is crawling through the carrot.
I bought these at Hallmark and was quite surprised that they don't really stand securely....just a tad wobbly. I will stick a gob of flower arranging gunk under them so they don't topple over.

Each place setting has an egg holder with more of my real eggs.

This one is cut out and I have decoupaged a bird's nest inside (click and you can see it much better). You can't see it, but inside it says, "Every bird likes his own nest best."

I just love these two blue jean bunnies that are perched on the top of a chair. The seams are all raggedy edged...again you may have to click on them to see the edges.



I made them years ago. In fact, I didn't even remember that I had them. Did you notice that the first one has the same pink bandana fabric as I used in the star quilt?

This mother rabbit sits in a corner tending to her apron full of babies.


Here is the full tablescape
Does anyone recognize the table runner? I used all those rejected blocks from the border of my star quilt. I spent most of Saturday machine quilting it. I quilted it every 1/4" which was way more work than it was worth! I will chalk it up to practice as it's not anything I would be proud to have closely inspected.

So I now have all my Easter decorating done and I can enjoy it for the next month. Is anybody else decorating for Easter?

Nanette's Rooster

A few weeks ago I wandered into a new blog. The author posted a pic of a very cute table runner with a rooster block. It was much cuter than the rather elementary chicken block I made last spring. Most of you know that I have an affinity for roosters.

I left a comment for Nanette at Displaced Yoooper asking her where she found the pattern. Without hesitation she emailed me back and offered to send me the pattern! I was amazed at her generosity. She had no idea of who I was. It was my first visit to her blog.

True to her word, I received the pattern a few days later.

Today I finally had time to work on the block. I made my share of errors, and did a lot of ripping out and restarting. There were no labels on the pattern telling me what parts were body, tail, background, etc. It can be tough to figure that out with a black and white pattern that's printed in reverse of the finished block (as all foundation piecing is).

Anyway I finally finished one block. It finished a lot smaller than I thought it would be (I am sure the directions probably told me it would be only 6", but I didn't really read the directions).

I decided to turn it into the center of a star symbolizing the sun...you know, rooster waking up as the sun rises...
My original thought was to turn the rooster into a window valance for a set of new summer window coverings. That was when I thought the rooster was taller. But still I pinned it up to the window to see what it would look like.


It seems like a lot work to add fabric to the sides, the top and the bottom and make it all work....I do like that it matches the rooster above the window.

Maybe I will just add batting and backing and let it drape over the kitchen china cabinet.

It goes pretty well with the chickens and flowers that are already on top of the cabinet.

Another thought I have is to make it the front of a Farmer's Market tote bag. Wouldn't that be cute? It would also be very useful when we go the Farmer's market on Saturday during the summer months. Since I have never made a tote bag, I am not sure just how to do it. Perhaps I can take a pattern I already have and rework it somehow....

Anyway it was fun to make. Nanette, thank you again for sending it to me. I am always amazed at how friendly people are in blogville.

I Had No Idea!

I thought it odd that bags of green M & M's were in with the valentine candy. Thanks to Dianne (who is a wealth of all kinds of interesting information), I now understand.


I guess I didn't even read the disclaimer on the package that states: "Consumption of The Green Ones® may result in elevated romance levels. If you experience this effect, contact your significant other immediately."

So not only are those cookies healthy, but they have aphrodisiac qualities. I think I will go wake up DH with a big plate of cookies.

I Found the Most Delicious Frozen Veggies Today

I don't grocery shop very often, so they may have been around a long time, but today was the first time I saw this Caribbean Blend of frozen veggies.

At first I thought the yellow was squash, but it's not. Guess what it is?

Yellow Carrots! I liked that because it was different than the usual orange color. I just boiled these until crisp tender and tossed them in butter, salt and pepper...YUM! This blend has green beans, yellow carrots, broccoli, and red pepper. It would be great for a stir fry.

Since it's getting close to St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd make some green cookies. I wasn't in the mood to work hard enough to make cut out shamrock sugar cookies, so I bought a bag of all green M & M's and tossed them into some oatmeal cookies.
They turned out very good. It's just the recipe on the Quaker Oats box with M & M's thrown in. With 3 cups of oatmeal, I think they can be considered "health food", don't you? LOL.

As I write this, I am watching Paula Dean's talk show. One of the guests is a large man who has sweat dripping down his face. I must have a very weak stomach, because seeing someone cook with sweat droplets almost makes me lose it. I keep imagining a big "plop" as the sweat drop drips into the saucepan. GROSS! I will leave you with that pleasant thought... :)