A Lovely View From My Kitchen

Hello! Today I'd like to share with you a lovely view from my kitchen.  The snow outside was falling softly and coating the trees again with a lovely white softness.  I just sewed some new curtains with some lovely vintage fabric that a friend had given me.  I love how the material really brightens up that section of the room.  I chose to go with a simple panel style with tabs on top.  I'll be adding a tie string to so that more light will come in during the day.

To me a bright inviting room is a must for a kitchen as I and my family spend lots of time there.
How do you like your kitchen?

Sharing with The Art of Homemaking Mondays.

Planner and Pillowcases

Hello!  Today I have a couple fun things to share.  I went looking this year for a new planner and couldn't find one that I liked.  So I went to Staples and found this sweet journal and decided to try using it.  I have drawn lines on the lined insert paper to make days of the week and bought some colourful pens to use for different needs (meals, lessons, apt., journaling).  It has an interesting way of binding and the pages can be taken out and inserted easily.  This way I'm hoping that if it works well I can just take out the old sheets, pop them in an envelope and file them away.  Then I can refill it and use it again next year.  I started with just one pack of the dividers, but they are great for separating the months, so I'll go and get some more of them.

Then my kids have been doing some sewing projects.  My young boys wanted new pillow cases, so they helped me sew them.  It was so fun to watch them enjoy using the machine....Mom helped with the alignments, and of course the ironing part. :)

Then with the machine out and ready, I made another sweet pillowcase for me. :)
The fabric is quite white, so in real life, the lace blends in quite well (not so in the pic.).

Do you like doing sewing projects with your children?  At times I am nervous about letting them use certain things, but am usually pleasantly surprised at their capabilities.  It is a sweet thing to be able to teach our children in even the simplest tasks.

Sharing with The Art of Homemaking Mondays.

Mittens and French Tarts

Hello!  How many of you like mittens and french tarts...not necessarily together like little naughty kittens?

I've was given some wool and thought that it would be best used as mittens due to the fact that they're warm even when wet.

I used a half-double crochet pattern for the mittens and made them to fit my hand size.  But they'll fit any of us that need it ok.  For added warmth on really cold days an extra pair of mittens can be tucked overtop or inside.

My family has been enjoying some french tarts and they are very simple to make and are like little mini fruit cheesecakes.
The recipe is all in grams and such and since I don't have a scale, I just made it up as I went along. :)
So my recipe is:
1 package softened cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs butter
1 egg
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 big tablespoons flour
*I mixed it all up together then spooned it into pre-made shells. Then bake at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes.   Above I used homemade pie shells and below I used store-bought  tart shells.  Both were delicious. :)

For this set I made two mittens from wool I'd been given and then I made a cowl in the v-stitch pattern.  It's very warm and I love how the v-stitch is so stretchy and just about anyone can comfortably wear it.  Also it could be worn over the head and not just around the neck.

It's amazing how the Lord provides for what are at times the most simple things.  I cannot count the times that the Lord has brought wool/ yarn to my door for projects...some for my family and some to give away.  He is so good to me and I'm so thankful that the Lord Jesus cares about even the simple things in my life!

Today I'm sharing with The Art of Homemaking Mondays.

A Quilted Table Runner

Hello! :)  I hope you are all doing well today.  I'd like to share with you a project I just finished.  No I didn't do the top rag quilt piece...I was given the top part.  I love the look of the rag style and thought it needed to be finished.  SO, since it offered a chance to learn something new, I thought I'd play with it.   I took and made a quilt sandwich and then took out my Bigfoot free motion quilting foot and tried it out.  It took a bit to get the hang of it, but it was interesting to be able to make all those little squiggles.  Now I have much practice to do to make it look just right, but it was fun and I'll be doing it again.  Then I cut some binding material and sewed that on.  This time I did much better with the miterer corners. and also using the binding tool I made (using measurements off a video tutorial)  I was able to make it smooth and perfect all the way around.  Now you can see in the picture that the edge kinda scallops a bit.  I think that'll lay nice and flat after ironing and using for a bit. (I hope)

I love the homy feel this has and I'm very glad I took the time to finish it.  Are there projects that you get from others that you finish, just because you would like to see how they turn out?

Here are some more pictures of the piece and a better look at the details. :)

I love the softness of the ruffles and the sweet floral prints.  Once it's washed it'll be a bit more fluffy.

Sharing with The Art of Homemaking Mondays.

A Patchwork Quilt

Hello!  Today I have a quilt to share with you.  I made this quilt out of lots of different pieces of material....some were sample swatches of upholstery fabric,  and some old jeans and shirts.  The backing is an old duvet cover.  As you can obviously see, I'm not good at getting them to match up right, but it is colourful and very cozy.  I had pieced all the middle sections together, and then decided to make the quilt larger so then I added the extra sections to either side of the middle one.  It is a large queen size quilt and is the biggest I've ever made.

I borrowed the walking foot attachment from my daughter and then did my best to sew in the ditches.  In the areas where the pieces didn't match up it was interesting to turn the fabric just right to make those little detours.  I ended up rolling the material into the throat of the machine and that worked quite well.  Then I wanted to make my own seam binding for the outside so I went online and found a great video on how to do that.  HERE!   It was quite simple, but I do need lots more practice. :)

Sharing with The Art of Homemaking Mondays. 

Pretty Quilted Cards

Hi Friends!  I have some cards to share with you today.  I have long wanted to make quilted cards since I saw them on Becky's Place blog.  Although I looked and couldn't find the actual post.

For the above card, I used some My Mind's Eye paper (the butterflies), and Momenta papers.  Then I used  a couple butterfly stamps from Forever in Time.  I added a bit of lace and some green sheer ribbon for a finishing touch.  Oh, I also did a tad bit of inking around the whole edge of the patterned papers with my chalk ink.

For this next card, I used Momenta papers and then added a light bit of stamping.  The stamp I used is from Forever in Time and I used Tim Holtz distress in in tumbled sage I believe.  I added a touch of ribbon and some fun measured twill ribbon.  Then to accent the corner I used some paper flowers with a pearl in the centre.

Lastly, I made this one.  I also used Momenta paper for this and then I used a background stamp I have from Hero Arts and it's a leaf and floral background one.  I used the Tim Holtz distress in in tumbled sage also and I love the softness it added to the papers.  I then added some lace ribbon and a little sheer pink ribbon for colour.  (It goes with the touch of pink in the lighter of the squares.

Thank you for dropping by!  I hope you have a beautiful day!

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New Foods On Our Plates

Hello Friends!  What new foods have you been trying?  One thing that I've been seeking to do do as of late is to try new foods with my family.  I'm very adventurous with trying things myself,but my family isn't so much.  So.....I've found some not so daunting recipes.

The first pictured above is Spanikopita.  It is spinach, feta cheese, olive oil....you are also supposed to add garlic and nutmeg (but I didn't).  Then it's all rolled up in phylo pastry and baked.  My all but two in the family enjoyed them.  An attempt of mine to get my family to eat more vegetables.

Then I have a sweet friend who shared a recipe for this amazing italian cake, Tiramisu.  It is lady finger cookies dipped in coffee (I used hot chocolate) then covered in an amazing cheese mixture.  Sprinkled with cocoa also.  After chilling it in the fridge overnight, it was soft and amazing!!! The pan was scraped clean with a rubber spatula! LOL  So you could say this was a huge win.

Then I had gotten some wonton papers, but never got to making wontons so thought I'd try something different since there was nothing for snack time.  They make good make shift pie crusts (I made them double layered) and we added mincemeat and homemade applesauce to ours.  Then of course a dollop of whipped cream on top.  Another win. :)

We've been having lots of other things: like fried zucchini in spices; rice with zucchini and chicken rolled up in egg roll papers; and homemade Sloppy Joe's.   Last night was a good old favourite....chilli! :)  With lots of leftovers for this week.

Do you like trying new foods with  your families?  What are some of your favourites?

Praying you have a lovely day!

Sharing with The Art of Homemaking Mondays.