Not Again....

I don't believe it....it's snowing.  It's quite abnormal for Britain to get so much snow in March.  Ah, well another day indoors.  I now have the time to catch up on some UFO's since I'm not going out in the snow.  


Remember this one?  It's been 5 years, yep, snagged this one way down deep in the UFO basket.  It's nearly there.  I just want to add another border all around.  Top will read "Be My" and the bottom will read "Valentine".  The side borders will be either piano keys or just plain strips.  I will dig out the rest of the fabrics used in this and see what is left over. 

I really do like these colors even though it looks
pretty wild at this stage.  As you can see it isn't
even ironed.  It has been folded and refolded to
and from the basket over those 5 years, but it
will hang here for a while then get ironed when
I'm ready to add the border.  I will use Tonya's
book again to do the lettering.    In my quilt process I work out every step in my mind and at this stage I  have already decided the quilting stitch pattern.  

On Monday we had some snow and I stayed home and made Pasties and Pulla (Finnish braided sweet bread) for DH and DS.   Being a native of Michigan with a Finnish husband, I learned early how to make these Pasties.  In case you have never made one or tried one, I am sharing my recipe with you so you can enjoy their unique taste.

Pasties
For the Crust: you can make your favorite pie crust recipe.  This one is taken from a Finnish cookbook. 
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup vegetable shortening or lard
1 egg
1 Tbsp. vinegar
ice cold water
For the Filling:
4 medium potatoes or 6 small , pared and diced
1 cup carrot, pared and diced
1/2 cup onion, minced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 pounds ground chuck beef, or diced round steak

Mix flour, salt and baking powder.  Cut in lard until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Combine egg, vinegar and 3 Tbsp. ice water, sprinkle over the flour mixture; blend.  Add ice water until mixture holds together in a ball.  Roll 6 ovals out to the size of a dinner plate.  Combine filling ingredients.   Mound 1/6 of the filling on one half of each round of dough.  Dot top with a little butter.  Fold other half of dough over and seal edges.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 and bake another 20 minutes.  Serve hot with ketsup or beef gravy.  Makes 6 pasties.  Wrap tightly in foil and place in freezer zip bags to freeze for up to 1 month.  Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in the oven.   

Pincushion - Easy How To

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle...this is the objective.  My DH and I have been married for 31 years and since the beginning we have recycled glass bottles, tin, aluminum, newspaper, magazines, cardboard, batteries, cooking oil, plastics and lawn waste.  It's the responsible thing to do. 
Lately I've been making fabric bags to use at stores to reduce the use of plastic bags.  They fold up and fit nicely in my purse.  There are free patterns available online to make your own.  I use this pattern for a general use bag.  There are also loads of purse and bag patterns here. 

Pincushion How To:
 

This pincushion is easy to make and uses a plastic lid from a mayonnaise jar or peanut butter jar and any scraps of fabric, buttons and trims you have laying about.  I also weight the bottom with small rocks to give it some stability.    Hope you will give this a try.

1.  Wash and dry a plastic jar lid.  Place on top of freezer paper or tracing paper and draw a circle at least twice the size.  This is the pattern for the fabric padded top. 
2.  Cut out the circle and place on your fabric scrap.  Iron shiny side down or pin in place and cut out the circle. 

3.  Remove paper and sew a running stitch around the entire circle edge.  Draw up slightly and stuff firmly with polyfil stuffing, wool or cotton batting.  Draw up the thread and secure firmly. 

4. You may wish to cover the lid bottom and sides with felt.

4.  Using hot glue, glue small stones in the bottom of the lid.  Place more hot glue on top of the stones and around edge.  Place the stuffed ball on top with the raw edges down.  Hold in place for a few seconds.

 

5.  Use trims to decorate the sides of the lid.

 

6.  Enjoy your new pincushion  ;o) 

Now for something completely different....

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just for inspiration.  These were all taken by my son while visiting York.