SWAP goes green

• Skirt from mint wide wale corduroy (www.fabric.com). I love making these cute little skirts for R~wish it was a look I could wear too. Ottobre 4/2007 #20
• Top from mint cotton interlock with hearts, also www.fabric.com (from the coordinates they had earlier this year). Of all the times I’ve used this pattern, I think this is the first time I’ve used a rib binding for the neckline! Usually I use FOE or decorative elastic instead. Ottobre 1/2003 #16
• Pull on pants, more of the mint wide wale corduroy. Quick, easy, and reasonably fitted for pull on pants. I was a little worried about that having made the little boy pants from the same issue~those are rather baggy, which is cute on toddler boys but not on 7 year old girls. Ottobre 3/2003 #23

SWAP update

I have now finished with pink thread and am ready for green! For those who like to know these things, for this SWAP I’m using size 116 with the length of size 128. For those who wonder what on earth that means, European size 116 is somewhere in the vicinity of US size 6X or 7 and 128 is two sizes up from that.

• Hooded sweatshirt, pink cotton sweatshirt fleece from stash with mint heart interlock (www.fabric.com) for the pockets, sleeve cuffs, and hood lining. The long cuffs are great for folding up to allow growing room!  The new issue arrived after I had started planning the SWAP, but I hadn’t chosen a pattern for a jacket/sweatshirt & dd liked this one. Ottobre 4/2007 #16 
• The infamous crossover t-shirt from my first-ever, much used issue of Ottobre appears here in pink cotton interlock with FOE trim, both from stash. Unfortunately I didn’t think to remove the hem allowance when I decided to bind the sleeve hems; that on top of sizing up made the sleeves much too long. Live & learn! This is at least the 9th time I’ve used this pattern and I’ve planned 3 more just for this SWAP! She’s not even halfway through the size range so this pattern alone has probably paid for at least a year’s subscription. ;)  Ottobre 1/2003 #16

C is for Cookie. . .

I love cookies. A lot. Maybe even too much, if we’re talking about cookies with chocolate chips. I like to bake cookies, but then I eat them. All of them.

I’ve tried hiding them in the freezer, but then I feel compelled to eat one (or three) every time I go in the laundry room. You could consider it motivation to do laundry, but the truth of the matter is I eat all the cookies.

A year or two ago it occured to me that while I like to nibble cookie dough when I bake, I would probably leave frozen cookie dough alone. So far this has held true. Now when I mix up cookie dough I freeze most of it in little ready-to-bake balls like this:

Aren’t they cute? My mom gave me the little OXO scoop a few years ago and it’s the fastest way I know to make drop cookies! Once the balls are frozen, I move them from the baking sheet to a bag or other container. Then, when the cookie monster simply must be fed, I can bake as many or as few as I need:

I don’t usually thaw the dough balls, other than the amount of time it takes for my oven to preheat. So they might need to bake a little longer than fresh dough. . .I’ve never figured out exactly how much longer, I just bake them until they look good.

I’ve done this with all sorts of drop cookie recipes, but below is the yummy recipe shown in my pictures. It’s marked as coming from Taste of Home, year unknown~I’m pretty sure I remember making these 2 or 3 kitchens ago, so it must have been published in the late 1990s.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 cup oats (I use old fashioned because that’s what I buy. . .in 50# bags!)

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (try the Ghiradelli chips just once & you’ll never go back to Nestle with its artificial vanilla)

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars; beat in peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Combine flour, oats, soda, and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop onto ungreased cookie sheets. (For freezing, I line a rimmed pan with waxed paper) Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 1 minute before removing to rack.

 Enjoy!

SWAP in progress

Wondering what a SWAP is? I learned about Sewing With A Plan from my clever online sewing friends a few years ago. It’s a good way to ensure that I don’t sew a lot of cute clothes & still have nothing to wear! There is more than one way to plan, of course, but I start by choosing 2-3 coordinating colors. If I’m sewing for me, usually one if not two colors are neutral (eg, chocolate brown, olive green, burgundy). If I’m sewing for dd, I have more fun with colors, such as pink, mint green, and cranberry.

Then, I pull out stash fabrics in the colors I’ve chosen, as well as any other fabrics that might coordinate (in the first example above, that could mean ivory/tan, sage green, pink. . .). I also get out patterns, preferably ones I’ve already sewn and know fit as well as sew up easily, and plan about a dozen garments. I initially plan for about 6 tops (mostly knit), 4 bottoms, and a cardigan or other simple layering piece. I used my computer to print up a simple 4×3 chart, with one box for listing my main colors and the rest labeled as to garment type. The boxes are large enough to make notes (such as pattern #) as well as attach a fabric swatch.

And then. . .it’s time to take that pile of fabrics & sew it into wearable garments! In the interest of getting everything sewn and thus having a workable wardrobe, I usually get the more complicated items done first. Complicated is relative here; while I mostly stick with simple patterns, if I want ‘real’ pants they do take longer to sew than a t-shirt. My sewing order is usually determined by serger thread color.

Right now, I am working on a winter SWAP for dd, age 7. Here are the garments I’ve finished so far:

This photo makes the pinks look like they don’t really coordinate; they do, more or less, but more importantly they coordinate with the other, not-yet-sewn fabrics. All are Ottobre patterns (what else??). Clockwise from the top:

• Pink & white polka dot ‘popcorn’ knit from www.fabric.com with white decorative elastic (and button/ribbon trim at center front). Ottobre 1/2005 #13
• Floral cotton velour (PRR, bought years ago from a coop or something) with foldover elastic. Ottobre 1/2002 #13
• Pink stretch denim from someone’s grandma’s stash. Ottobre 4/2004 #10

Catching up

I can’t believe it’s been over 2 weeks since I last wrote! However, along with the usual busyness I’ve been preoccupied. On top of that, Mom was here this week; having company always takes priority over computer time. All that said, this will be a brief post sharing some of the blog-worthy items from the past couple weeks.

• I’ve visited the midwife a couple more times (routine checks); thank goodness my weight gain has slowed down to a normal-for-me pace, but no one seems to be able to do anything about the fact that the summer weather makes me hot & tired (& sometimes crabby!).
• I’ve managed to cross one project off of my sewing list, a St. Nicholas Day gift for all my boys~hopefully Larry isn’t reading my blog today.
• I finally (maybe) made some decisions about homeschool books for next year, and even ordered a few of them! The checkbook is wheezing already.
• I helped R finish her first embroidery project:
• As already mentioned, Mom was here this week. We went to the park, the library, Panera, the farmers’ market. . .as well as spent some time at home. But I can’t believe I only took one picture!   (yes, little britches is learning to wear big boy britches this week!)

Happy 4th of July!

I managed to get up in time to serve a hot meal this morning: Julee’s breakfast pizza. Yummy! C also cut up fruit for a red, white, & blue salad. After we ate, I enjoyed a couple hours of quiet while Larry took all 5 kids to the candy July 4 parade. Here they are with their haul:

I hadn’t planned anything in particular for lunch, so Larry fixed bacon & eggs while I cut up a watermelon. Then we enjoyed frosting & eating some of the sugar cookies right at the lunch table. You can also see my newest napkins & tablecloth; I used a variegated red/white/blue thread for the rolled hems. Half the napkins are blue with white stars and the other half are red & white stripes.

After a little bit of rest for the kids & quiet for me, the older kids frosted more of the cookies. . .though they gave up before finishing the job. Oh well! It does get hot in that kitchen.

So we sent them outside to play in the sprinkler, which led to their creating a ‘waterslide’ on the swingset, which eventually led to us turning off the hose. Meanwhile Larry grilled burgers & brats for supper, while I fixed new potatoes with peapods. We rounded out our backyard picnic with rootbeer floats.

After watching fireworks for a little while on PBS, we sent the little people off to bed. . .

Our favorite sugar cookie recipe

It’s not even a traditional family recipe; no, I clipped it from Taste of Home some years ago. The contributor called them White Velvet Cutouts, but around here we just call them sugar cookies. We like the addition of cream cheese as it makes them taste wonderful; we also like that it makes enough cookies (say 7 dozen or so, depending on size of cookie cutters) to keep our family happy for more than just a couple days! I believe the recipe was published with one of their Christmas cookie contests, and we like them for Christmas but we also like them for Easter and July 4 and so forth. In other words, we highly recommend this recipe! However, after today I can tell you I do NOT recommend baking them on a 90° day in a west-facing kitchen while very pregnant. . .live & learn.

Anyhow, without further ado, I give you:

White Velvet Cutouts

2 cups butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar

2 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 1/2 cups flour

Butter Cream Frosting:

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3-4 tablespoons milk, divided

food coloring, optional (but oh-so-fun!)

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add flour. Cover and chill 2 hours or until firm.

Roll out on a floured surface to 1/4″ thickness. Cut into 3″ shapes (other size cutters work of course, just watch your baking time); place 1″ apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until set (not browned). Cool 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool.

For frosting, combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, butter, shortening, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons milk in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Gradually add remaining sugar; beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add enough remaining milk and food coloring until frosting reaches desired consistency (we like colors, so I add the milk, divide the frosting into smaller bowls and then stir in food coloring). Frost cookies (or, turn the kids loose with bowls of frosting, dinner knives, and sprinkles if you’ve got ‘em).

Enjoy!

Big Blogroll O’ Vark

It seems my humble little blog has been noticed over at Aardvark Alley, and added to the list of Confessional Lutheran Blogs. Thank you, Orycteropus Afer! I am honored to be included, though I confess that even after blogging for over 2 years now, I’m still rather clueless about some of the communal aspects of blogging. So, I keep learning as I go. . .

Let us ever walk with Jesus

Though this isn’t particularly one of my favorite hymns, when we sang it in church yesterday morning it seemed to be written just for me.

Let us ever walk with Jesus, follow His example pure,

Through a world that would deceive us and to sin our spirits lure.

Ahhh. . .the endless conflict, trying to follow a pure example in a sinful world.

Onward in His footsteps treading, pilgrims here, our home above,

No wonder I always feel so out of place.

Full of faith and hope and love, let us do our Father’s bidding,

Faithful Lord, with me abide; I shall follow where You guide.

Thank goodness faith is a gift from Him & not of ourselves, or I should fail even more miserably.

Let us suffer here with Jesus, and with patience bear our cross.

Joy will follow all our sadness; where He is, there is no loss.

Though today we sow no laughter, we shall reap celestial joy;

All discomforts that annoy shall give way to mirth here-after.

Sadness. . .loss. . .discomforts. . .yes, that pretty much sums up my life these days (truly all days, but the weight of the stress on my shoulders is heavier right now).

Jesus, here I share Your woe; help me there Your joy to know.

Someday all the trials will be over!

Let us gladly die with Jesus. Since by death He conquered death,

He will free us from destruction, give to us immortal breath.

Let us mortify all passion that would lead us into sin;

And the grave that shuts us in shall but prove the gate to heaven.

Jesus, here with You I die, there to live with You on high.

All by His grace alone. . .

Let us also live with Jesus, He has risen from the dead

That to life we may awaken. Jesus, you are now our head.

We are Your own living members; where You live, there we shall be

In Your presence constantly, living there with You forever.

Jesus, let me faithful be, life eternal grant to me.

Amen! (Yes, yes, it shall be so!)