Fourth of July Decorating

The Iron Craft challenge this week was to craft to the theme of Stars and Stripes. My entry is pretty lame in terms of creative use of the theme. However, it was a great stash busting project. I started making linens for my living room last year using these kind of homespun looking fabrics. I made two tablerunner-sized cloths to cover two of my chairs. I go frustrated with trying to make the corners work. The ones I made were terribly wonky (although you have to look pretty close to see what I mean.)

When I saw this challenge, I knew I needed to find that bag of fabric and finish the project.

Here you can see my solution to the corners on this table runner. I made my own bias 'binding' and rounded off the corners. Rather than sewing it like a quilt binding, with wrong sides together, I pinned the binding raw edges to the front and then stitched the front and back right sides together. I left a gap for turning it. Pressed it and top-stitched right next to the binding to hold the seams in place. Quick and easy.


Here is most of the new decorating project. The pillows are simple envelope style. I will probably add button holes and buttons once I get to the store to find buttons that I like. In addition to these, I made a round tablecloth edged in bias tape, a small pillow cover and a raw edge runner.

The details: Four different woven patterns of cotton. You know the rest.

Appetizer Brats with M&M Sauce

We've had a series of parties for a crowd (more than 100 guests at one event) over the past several months. There have been enough different events with enough overlap in guests that I have been hard pressed to come up with unique food selections that fit into our tight budget. Furthermore, because the events dovetailed with other activities, the food had to be made ahead and stored in the freezer. One dish that we have made a couple times now is the appetizer brats.

Step 1.
One large box Johnsonville brats.
One medium onion sliced
One Large bottle (28 oz) Golden City Brewery Oatmeal Stout

Put the brats, onion and stout in a large kettle. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a slow boil and simmer until the brats are cooked through.

Step 2.

Grill the brats to give them a nice color and smoky flavor. Slice the cooled brats cross-wise into 1/2 inch slices. Put into freezer bag and freeze until needed.

Step 3.

Thaw the brats. Heat about 1/2 bottle Oatmeal Stout in a crock pot with one small onion sliced. Add the thawed brats and cook until warmed through. Lower the temperature to keep warm and serve with toothpicks. Add a side dish of M&M sauce for dipping. (You should reserve the rest of the bottle of stout to add to the crock pot as needed. If you drink it, you will just have to open another one and then be left with the same problem.)

M&M Brat Dipping sauce.

One of the brewery brats* taught me the recipe for the dipping sauce.

Stir together equal parts Mustard and Mayonnaise. Keep chilled.

*Actually she is a great kid, but the temptation to pun was too great to resist.

Happy 4th of July

Between company and computer issues, I was unable to post my wish that you all have a safe and happy Fourth of July wherever you are.

Fourth of July Fabric: Table Runner

Earlier, I posted a picture of a small sample of fabric from my grandmother's stash of patches. I had the box of two inch squares out one day when my friend and her little daughter were visiting. They started pulling out all of the red white and blue fabrics and arranging them on the design floor. It was really fun to all the different fabrics from so many different eras all fit together. It is even more special since whenever I show it to relatives, they all recognize their own clothing in it. Once again, many of the fabrics are from the seventies when we all made all our clothes, but some are much older and some are newer.

I put it together using the fusible backing method. I followed the tutorial outlined by Elizabeth of Oh, Fransson. It did make it thicker than had I pieced it. I was only making a table runner and didn't mind the extra stiffness. It isn't bulky so much as it is stiff.

The backing and binding were purchased for this quilt. It was machine quilted on a simple diagonal.

Coralville Cuisine

In the interest of collecting recipes I've scattered across the internet, I am reposting my favorites here. This is another summertime favorite.

Every summer before we left on our westward journey my dad would dig up all the tiny new potatoes and my mother would pick all the green beans. The camper would be packed the night before and hitched to the back of our red Studebaker. My dad would wake us all up before the crack of dawn and pop us into the car sometimes still wearing our pajamas. We’d go until the sun was up and then stop at the first roadside table to eat our cereal and milk. We’d get a sandwich stop at noon and by mid afternoon we’d be setting up camp at the Coralville reservoir in Iowa.

The first thing out of the trailer would be the big green ice chest followed by the big wooden kitchen boxes my dad designed and built to hold the camping dishes and pantry. One of us was sent to the pump to fill the water bucket that was always kept filled and covered with a tin plate on the picnic table bench. I really think the water gig was designed to keep us out of the way while my parents struggled with unfolding and leveling the tent part of the tent camper.

Water at the ready and kitchen in place dad would break out the Coleman stove. He’d fill it with white gas, prime and pump it and then WHOOSH it was ready to go. The first night out we would always have hamburger gravy with green beans and new potatoes. I’m sure that mom, who is a perfect cook, browned the meat and made gravy with flour and cold water. I can still picture the clear plastic gravy shaker with the red lid (it is different from the metal one she keeps in her kitchen). By the time we were mostly grown and my parents started staying in hotels that shaker was held together with masking tape. It made the best gravy.

Not being as talented as my mother, I always end up with lumps when I try flour gravy. (No matter how many times she tries to show me I just can’t get the hang of it.) So I’ve come up with my own cheater version of this camping favorite. Before you read further you have to understand that this recipe is a heritage recipe. It is made with convenience foods and loaded with salt. We don’t have it often. Just when we need a taste of the familiar.

Hamburger Gravy.

1-1/2 lbs ground beef (use the best tasting beef you can afford. Most of the flavor comes from the browned meat.)
1/2 package Onion Soup Mix
1 can low sodium cream of mushroom soup
Water as needed
Pepper to taste

Brown the beef and drain the fat. Add enough water to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. (Sure you could go all up scale and use wine but we are talking camping on a budget with kids here.) Add the onion soup mix and stir until it is dissolved. Add the mushroom soup and enough additional water to get the consistency you prefer. We always keep it pretty thick. Let it simmer 5-10 minutes (not too long because you are taking up a burner and using up gas.) Season with pepper and salt if you must. Serve over boiled potatoes and steamed green beans.

In practice you boil the potatoes while you are browning the meat. Once the potatoes are done you take the pot off the stove and leave the potatoes in the hot water until you are ready to serve. This frees the second burner for cooking the beans. Start the beans. Add the soups to the meat. When the beans are done you drain the potatoes and serve the meal. Mmmmmm.

Some additional notes on how things have changed since I first posted this. I now chop up at least a cup of button mushrooms and add them to the pan as the meat is browning. In addition to the soup and soup mix, I add a few dashes of Penzy's English Beef Rub. I think the main flavor it brings to the mix is celery seed. You can try adding a dash of that if you can't get your hands on the Penzy's.

Fourth of July Fabric: White

I really should have thought this one all the way through. It seemed like such a good idea to post some favorite fabrics in red, white and blue for the lead up to the Fourth of July Holiday. Pictures of white fabric? Really?

Instead, I will just post these pictures of a white tablecloth with mostly red, white and blue applique bunnies. It was made from some of my great aunt's fabric stash. I made it as a thank you to the cousin who gave it to me.

My great aunt worked in the fabric department at the local K-Mart. All of the pieces of fabric were washed and pressed before being stored. All of the fabric is 32 - 36 inches wide. It is cotton and fairly heavy. Some of the patterns are completely wild but I will save those for later posts. I am guessing that most of it is from the seventies, since I remember seeing my aunt at the store at a time when we bought a lot of fabric for making our own clothing.


The details. These are fused and machine appliqued. The pattern is from the book Bunnies and More by Cottage Rose. The bunnies are appliqued onto plain white muslin. The border is packaged double-fold bias tape, applied using my bias binder foot. What a GREAT thing that is.

Black Bean Salad

It is picnic time. One of our favorite picnic/potluck foods is black bean salad. It is the right combination of flavor, crunch and nutritious beans. I've been making variations of this salad for years.


1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well.
about 1/4 cup carrots chopped
About 1/4 cup Salad dressing* (bottled Italian or vinaigrette style).
Mix in medium bowl or zip bag and marinate in fridge at least while you prep the rest of the veggies.

3-4 stalks chopped celery from the center of the bunch. Be sure to include the tender leaves.
1/4 cup chopped bell peppers. (red, green, yellow or a mixture)
2 - 3 small tomatoes chopped or 1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes.
1/4 cup chopped cucumber (if you like)
a few very thin slices of red onion (or a scant 1/4 cup chopped if you like onion)
1 can black olives sliced.

Toss whatever veggies you like with the marinated beans and carrots and serve. (I usually double the recipe.)

This can also be dressed up as a chopped salad for a more formal look. Marinate the carrots and beans separately. Use a rimmed platter and carefully line the veggies up in rows. Beans in the middle, alternating colors and textures toward each side. Scatter the onion slices on top. Pour on a bit more dressing and allow people to serve themselves whatever veggies they prefer.

I don't have any hard and fast measurements for this recipe. In fact beyond black beans and salad dressing, the options are only limited by your imagination and produce drawer. There are two secrets to making it a great salad and and empty potluck bowl. The first is to make sure that you cut up all your vegetables to be close in size to the black beans. This makes it easier to eat and easier to use as a bean 'dip'. The second rule is to mix up the colors of the veggies you choose. Colorful veggies make it pretty and appealing.

By now, you are reading my important rules, looking at the picture above and wondering about that whole do as I say not as I do thing. Well the picture points out the beauty of this recipe. I had guests over for a salad bar lunch. One of the fixin's was marinated beans. When it was time to put the leftovers away I just dumped all the veggies in with the beans and voila, a new and different side dish for dinner!

* One additional note. My first attempts were made using black eyed peas for New Year's day. In those early days, I blended my own dressing from flavored vinegars and oils. (I'll post that dressing when I root it out of the old recipe box.) Now I use my favorite bottled dressing: Garlic Expressions.

Fourth of July Fabric: Blue

This piece of fabric is from a series of experiments I did using the Pebeo sunpaints. This fabric square was printed with confetti stars and a big daisy from my back yard. I love working with the sunpaint and we have worked out the details for doing it with large groups and at festivals. I'll share some more about that another time. For now, I just want to enjoy the lovely blue fabric and the lasting impression of a daisy garden I had to leave behind years ago.

Fourth of July Fabric: Red

I was looking for some red, white and blue images to post in celebration of the Fourth of July holiday. I found this fabric in my random picture folder.

This one is a picture of a small 'patch' from my grandmother's stash. She and my grandfather cut up every bit of fabric they could get their hands on and tossed them into boxes containing different sizes. When I inherited the boxes and started sorting through them, I found pieces of fabric that date all the way back to the thirties. Of course there was a LOT of stuff from the seventies when my sister and I were making all of our own clothes and sending the remnants to grandma. There are just a few pieces of this lovely red fabric. I have no idea how to date it but based upon the texture, I would guess it to be one of the older pieces. Perhaps mid century? I just love these little animals, llamas? giraffes? If I can clean the image up enough I think I'll get some printed on spoonflower.

Project percolations: Fairy Quilt

I'm thinking of a fairy quilt. Based on these pictures taken on a walk with a little friend of mine. Doesn't that look just like a fairy condo?

Butterfly flower
I don't yet know if I am going to crop/alter/print or if I am going to try embroidery. I'll let you know when the rest of the inspiration hits.

Field Trip: Johnson's Shut-Ins

The ladies and I took the kids on a field trip yesterday. We went to Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park. What an amazing place. The river flows through a volcanic formation of Rhyolite creating natural pools and slides. It goes for about a half mile of river bed. The water was pretty low yesterday. The kids had a great time.

Oh, and we went to Elephant Rocks State Park first.

It is another geologic wonder. Huge granite boulders piled up all over the place. This picture is on the 'baby elephants' near the parking lot. I was too blown away, and too hot, to remember to take pictures of the real elephants. I think we will be planning an overnight return visit to this area in the near future.

Wedding Preparations: Guest Book

I am posting this in the interest of supporting the effort to include more discussion of the process of quilting.

I am working on the 'guest book' for my niece's wedding. It is another signature quilt, similar to the one for mom's 80th birthday party.


Here are some of the cousin's signing in. That one worked out nicely with just a binding. For some reason, the new one is not cooperating. I think it is the proportions. I am making it a bit bigger since there will be more guests. It turned out a bit more of a square.

wide border

This half-square triangle thing is funny because you end up with two sides that are essentially white and two sides that are essentially dark. In the case of the wedding quilt, the colors are all pretty dark so it reads essentially as an all blue side. What that means is that a binding that looks great on one side looks meh on the other.

narrow border

I have pretty much decided that I am going to use this batik for the border and probably use the solid blue for the binding. But I am torn about how wide I need to make the border. The two shots above (quick rather than artful) show a wider and a narrower border. Or.. I could go scrappy by cutting the remaining 5" blocks in half and sewing them all together or I could use white or, or, or.... Suggestions appreciated. I am running out of time!

One more quick note. This is my third signature quilt. Rather than provide blocks or squares of fabric at the event to be assembled and finished later, I have finished the quilt entirely ahead of time. I do that because I work much better on deadlines and I know the quilt will be done and out of my hands by the day of. I also do that because I don't want to deal with frayed edges and writing in the seam allowance. The thing that makes this work is these gel fabric pens. (No relation to Pentel; stock, employment, advertising or otherwise.) They write smoothly and don't bleed through so the finished quilt looks good.

Lemon Chicken

In the interest of collecting all my favorite recipes in one place, I am going to start re-posting things that I have scattered hither and yon across the intertubes. This one was originally posted on craftster.
We are on a budget and not eating out. I miss exploring all the fantastic restaurants we have around here. So I've started trying to cook dishes that I never make but would happily let some one else cook. I've explained to the spuds that they are going to have to eat the food mom would order at fine restaurant when she is out with dad.

Lemon chicken is one of those things... It worked out pretty well.

5 chicken breasts (What can I say, I have teenagers).
Pound thin. Dredge in flour. Saute in butter and olive oil over high heat until browned on both sides. Set aside on plate. (Chicken will not be cooked all the way through. That is OK. It will finish cooking later.) Do not overfill the skillet. Cook 1 or 2 pieces at a time until they are all browned. You may need to add a bit of butter and olive oil as you go.

Chop 4-5 cloves of garlic. Wash and thinly slice half of one lemon, enough to get 5 slices. Thinly slice 6-8 large button mushrooms. I do mean thin on the lemon and mushrooms. Paper thin.

One the chicken has all been browned, add the mushrooms to the pan. Stir over medium heat until just starting to release their juices and soften. Add garlic. Stir and saute until fragrant and softened being careful not to brown or burn the garlic.

Add about a cup of chicken broth, 1/4 cup white wine and about 2 Tbsp lemon juice from the unsliced half. Stir to loosen the tasty browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken to the pan along with the lemon slices. Cover and simmer for about 10 more minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly. Add. a dash of thyme and a sprinkle of cracked rosemary

Serve over noodles (Trader Joe's lemon pepper fettuccine works well). Add a side of asparagus.
The spud's didn't like the lemony noodles. They would have been happier with plain fettuccine. That would have made the dish more bland and I would probably have added more lemon or lemon zest to make up for it.

As an aside... pressed for time one night, I threw together one of those chicken, mushroom soup and stuffing casseroles. Not very pretty but easy and edible. Spud 2 looked at it and said "gee mom, what ever made you choose this restaurant?"

Cooking with a Two Year Old -- Pecan Rolls

It is almost never too early to start teaching kids to cook. They love to help. They love to know that they contribute to the productive life of their home. All it takes is a little patience and planning your little helper buddy can be well on his way to learning skills and making yummy treats.

I was working full time when my boys were small. Our early recipes reflect the need to keep little hands busy using fast prep foods. Not exactly the healthiest dish in the drawer, but great for a some times treat.

1 roll refrigerator biscuits.
1 - 2 Tbs melted butter in a low bowl.
about 1/4 cup sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl
a handful of pecans.

Open the rolls. Line up the rolls, butter, sugar and pecans on the counter within easy reach of your helper. Set the baking tray near at hand. Have your helper take a roll, dunk it in the butter and then put it sugar side up on the baking tray. Add a pecan to the center.

Bake as per the instructions on the package and serve warm.

This is a great first recipe because a little lick here and there won't translate through the baking process. It is also a good chance to reinforce the hand washing, cleanliness and clean-up processes as well.

And remember, helper buddies always get helper hugs!

ME Quilt Pattern

This is one of the first real quilts I made. I made it just for ME! I came up with the pattern on my own, by trial and error. It hangs on the wall in my living room and some of my quilty friends have asked for the pattern. I made it from one charm pack, 8 fat quarters and one third of a yard in coordinating prints. It would be fun to make it scrappy.

There are a total of 96 blocks. The finished quilt is approximately 36 x 48 inches.

Sort the charm pack into lights and darks. Pair a light with a dark and stitch them into two half square triangle blocks. Follow any tutorial you like. I used this one from p.s. i quilt. I find I am far more accurate when cutting on the line after I sew the two seams than when I try pairing up the pre-cut triangles. This makes 42 half square triangle blocks that are 4 1/2 inches on a side.

Don't worry if sometimes a fabric is the light one in one pairing and the dark one in another. All that matters is that you keep the darker of the two fabrics on the bottom when you piece it together.

The rest of the quilt is made up of 54 solid 4 1/2 inch blocks. In the pattern below, I used
Fabric 1-- 14
Fabric 2 -- 7
Fabric 3 -- 4
Fabric 4 -- 8
Fabric 5 -- 4
Fabric 6 -- 8
Fabric 7 -- 3
Fabric 8 -- 3
Fabric 9 -- 3

Assemble your blocks following the pattern below. There are two important things to remember. 1. You want to always have the darker of the two fabrics in each half square triangle on the bottom as you look at the quilt. 2. The half square triangles need to go in the designated spots to make the quilt flow properly. It doesn't matter too much which solid block goes where. You just want to mix things up in a way that makes you happy when you look at it.


Click on the pattern to enlarge!

Finished as written you will need a piece of backing fabric that is about 1 1/2 yards long. You will need to piece together at least 5 width of fabric strips. I use 2 inch bindings which requires 1/3 of a yard of fabric. A 2 1/2 inch binding requires 1/2 yard as does a 3 inch binding.

The details. All fabrics are by Mary Engelbreidt. The batting is cotton. It was machine quilted in an allover pattern that resembles the traditional ME flower design by the folks at Missouri Star Quilt Company.