Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The big pepper year



2011 wasn't a very good year for tomatoes or squash, but it sure was a good year for peppers! While the tomatoes baked in the sun, the pepper plants got bigger and stronger. As soon as the weather cooled off just a little bit then all the pepper plants were covered with white blooms and then with peppers right away. It's funny how weather that makes one crop miserable will help another one grow.

We planted some green bell peppers, and some jalapenos, but the real star this year were the Pimientos de Padron that we grew from seeds that my dad brought us from Spain. These peppers are like nothing else I've ever seen! They look so innocent, but they do have a secret...some of them are the hottest peppers you will ever eat! It is really weird and random. You're supposed to pick them while they are green and small. Some will be mild, some will be a bit spicy, and some will be worse than a habanero. Not kidding you, there is no rhyme or reason.

If you let them grow and turn red, then they are just too hot for words. Even our friends Jo and Christine, who can tolerate any kind of crazy hot food you can dish out, were floored by the peppers. It was kind of fun to surprise them!

Friday, November 25, 2011

The train quilt on the train bed



This project is a cooperation between mom and dad, and it came together just in time for Christmas! This will be Daniel's surprise as he will be getting his big boy bed on Christmas day :)

Craig made this bed for Nicholas almost 7 years ago. It took him a long time, because he was very careful with the woodworking, carving and painting. The bed is beautiful, but Nicholas is now getting to be too big for a train bed, so it's time to pass it on to Daniel, together with the train station lamp that doubles as a DVD shelf.




I wanted to make the train quilt to be his very own, and I really put my heart and soul into it. The train quilt really came alive with the wonderful quilting done by Linda Lovett (you can find her at www.longarming.com). She is an artist! Once I got the quilt in my hands, I couldn't wait to bind it, and take some pictures. Binding is not my favorite thing to do, but I was so fired up that I got it done in 3 nights.



I can't wait to see Daniel's face on Christmas day when he realizes that he now has a big boy bed!

Friday, November 18, 2011

A quilted receiving blanket



I made this receiving blanket for a friend who just had her first baby. The fabrics were all from my stash, all I had to buy was the chenille that I used for the reverse side. The squares are 6x6", and the whole thing took just two hours to make once I had the squares cut. There is no batting in the middle. The top is mostly flannels and quilting cotton (I think the little cowboy print is the cutest thing!), and the reverse is a light blue chenille. It is lightweight but very cuddly, and it was very well received.

I don't think you can every have too many baby blankets, and this one was handmade but easy to care for, so I hope that Karim and his mommy will enjoy using it! :)

Monday, November 14, 2011

A cake for Thanksgiving (early)



We had a little Thanksgving gathering at work and I volunteered to bring a dessert. Since the usual suspects were covered, I ended up signing up to bring a cake, which is not really something that screams Thanksgiving!

I gave the cake a lot of thought (OK, I procrastinated until the last possible minute) and finally went with a yellow cake with fruit filling and buttercream icing. I must say that the taste was pretty good.

I doctored up a plain yellow cake mix (from Aldi) with this recipe, which was given to me by Cake Diva, over at twopeasinabucket. You just add the stuff to the cake mix and bake as directed on the package. I used half a recipe and it made two good 8" round layers:

2 pkg boxes white cake mix
2 cup flour
2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 2/3 cup water
4 Tbs vegetable oil
2 tsp real vanilla
2 tsp pure almond extract (I omitted this)
2 cup (16 oz carton) sour cream
8 large egg whites (or 4 whole eggs)

I made the buttercream icing with this recipe, which I don't know where it came from, but it is the best buttercream ever!

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!)
• 3-4 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• up to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

I mix it all by hand. It takes about 5 minutes, and the consistency is very creamy and delicious.

Once the layers were cool and the frosting was made I put the first layer onto a plate and spread a thick layer of fig jam. On the other layer of the cake I spread a thick layer of buttercream frosting and I stacked them, with the frosting directly on top of the jam. I then frosted the cake and piped the little green border.

At that point the cake was looking cute yet very boring. I got out the Wilton gumpaste and my Wilton flower cutters and made some sad-looking autumm leaves. You have no idea how sad the leaves were! So sad that I ran to ACMoore and got some pearl dust to cheer them up. This did the trick. Once the leaves were dry, I put the leaves on the cake and things started to look better, but we were still missing a focal point. I then decided to go out on a limb and make some pumpkins out of gumpaste. To make the pumpkins, I colored a lump of gumpaste orange, divided it into a big ball and two smaller balls, and rolled the balls until they were smooth. I then pressed with my thumb on the top of each ball, which gave them a nice pumpkiny shape, and made the indentations along the sides with the side of a fork. Stems were made with just a little green gumpaste stuck to the top of each pumpkin. Pearl dust made them glistened and covered all the imperfections! (I love that stuff!).

Since all this running and feverish decorating took place at the last minute, the pumpkins were still wet when I placed them on the cake. It would have been much better to let them dry, but I simply had no time for it.

The cake was a big success, tasty and so pretty!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Marvin, the socially awkward bird


Hurricane Irene caused a lot of damage to the Carolina Coast. In our area we had a stormy day with high winds, but were very fortunate, considering that we're only two hours from the coast.

The high winds didn't bother us, but they must have displaced a little bird from his nest. Nicholas and his friends were playing in the front yard when they found him and brought him inside. The poor little bird was wet and terrified. His beak had a crack, his right wing bent down, no tail, and only one of his eyes was open. We put him in an empty fish tank, gave him water and a couple of worms (never leave good fishing bait go to waste!), and didn't really dare to hope for much. He looked like a goner at that point.

As it turns out, the little bird had a lot of fight in him! By the next day he had both eyes opened. He groomed himself and shed some broken feathers, and greeted us with tweets whenever we came around the tank. We did come around a lot, he was visited at least 10 times a day by the kids and their friends.

We looked around the Internet to find what kind of bird he is and we think that he is a warbler, but we may still have to revise that idea. He is small, the size of a skinny canary, or a finch, and has spindly legs with long nails. He is as sweet as can be. He sits on our shoulders and is very curious. He loves the computer!

We got him a cage and some finch food and vitamins. He eats like a champ, and is looking great, but his tail feathers keep falling off. I am afraid that the base of his tail might have been damaged by the fall, because he has grown feathers on his tail twice, and twice the feathers have fallen off. He might have to live with us from now on, there is no way he could fend for himself if he can't fly.

If you know what kind of bird he is or how to help his tail grow, please do share :)

Marvin on the computer:


Close-up of Marvin's beak, which is fully functional:

Thursday, November 10, 2011

My first real quilt is getting quilted!

I am so happy it's not even funny! I've been making rag quilts for a while (and promise to post some very soon), but I have always wanted to piece a real quilt. I finally took the plunge, found a simple pattern, and made a quilt for Daniel's bed. Although it is only a twin bed, it is really really big to me (compared to the tiny rag throws that I had been making) and I think it is fair to say that it was a bit overwhelming. The piecing was fun, the sewing together of all the little blocks was kind of scary, and the idea of quilting this big old thing had me paralyzed!

One night two weeks ago I was tossing and turning in bed, trying to decide what to do, and I figured that I would google and come up with something. Well, it turns out that there are people that can quilt things for you. I knew that, but thought it was really expensive and that it took a long time. I inquired in a couple of different places, and finally called a lady in the NC mountains that sounded promising. Well, her name is Linda, and she is a doll, and she has a wonderful quilting machine that makes the whole process quite affordable. My quilt is at her house and may even be quilted this week! I could just squeal!

In case you want to see a picture of the quilt top, I stole one for you from Linda's blog (she has the most beautiful blog, and you can find it at: www.longarming.com/blog). Here it is for your viewing pleasure. Yes, I know some blocks are wonky :) I will keep you posted!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Nothing like a pregnant woman learning how to knit!

So...like any other pregnant woman worth her salt, I felt the deep and urgent need to made something by hand for my little blessing. With the first two I had felt the same urge, but my mom was around to take over and do all the knitting and crocheting required (my mom was fantastic!). With mom gone, I had no choice but to do it myself. By hand, all by myself, the hard way. Well, the youtube way. I started by making hats, and I probably picked the most difficult crochet baby hats out there. After weeks of practice, cussing like a sailor, and more frustration than I could possibly cram in this post, I made two hats for my little baby. Who turned out to be a big baby. With a big head. Yes, bigger than the hats. I still have them, untouched, unworn, so I can bestow them on a future daughter in law and fill her with awe :) Just as it should be.




On the practical front, I did complete a blanket. Blue yarn, a very simple design, and a forgiving border. I went as far as to taking pictures of it. For your viewing pleasure, and also because this is the only crochet blanket I will ever make. It lasted all of 8 weeks, and we managed to lose it after that. One less thing for the future daughters in law to worry about. Well, I'll think of something...

MIA

I have been gone from this little blog for a very, very long time. So long that I had even forgotten my password! So long that I even had a baby in that time, and the baby is almost two now! (I know!). But I am back now, and got lots to share, so hopefully I can just pick it up and post the things we grow and the things we make.

Starting with the most important thing we've made lately, here is the baby in question! He was only three weeks in that picture, but time doesn't stand still, and he will be turning 2 in January. His name is Daniel, and he has turned our house upside down. He is bossy, demanding, and the cutest thing you ever did see. His big sister and big brother love him to pieces, and his parents...what can I say? We're just so lucky that we got to experience being parents one more time. Most people our age are thinking of retirement and grandchildren. We will probably have to work until we're 108, like our friend Bonnie likes to say, but we'll stay young chasing after this guy!



So, that's my story to explain why I've been missing in action for so long. Between a difficult pregnancy, work, and the demands of a baby in addition to our two older kids, I haven't really had the time to post about it. I barely found time to grow our garden or to do a few crafts. But I promise to share all about the time I've been away and then some in the days to come!