Good Clean Fun
Here it is! The place to find scintillating odds and ends (a.k.a. quilting tips, my favorite sewing tools and notions, and occasional semi-deep thoughts), yummy bits and pieces (recipes that I love to make when I'm home long enough to cook!), and all of the other assorted little goodies that just don't seem to fit anywhere else.....basically, good clean fun.
As flashes of inspiration and tiny little light bulb moments strike me, this page will continue to grow, so please check back from time to time and we'll learn new things together.
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Are you wishing that you had some beautiful and FREE wallpaper designs for your desktop? Well, wish no more! Martingale & Company has a FREE downloadable collection of summertime scenes and quilts (including designs from my Simple Seasons and Simple Comforts books) just for you! Did I mention that they're FREE? Click here to "prettify" your computer.
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Pin Point: Try using just one ruler from start to finish for each quilting project you tackle. While you'd think that the measurements provided on all rulers are consistent, there can actually be tiny differences that become visible when you line them up side by side. Also, I make it a point to consistently align the marks on my ruler with the grid lines on my cutting mat when I'm cutting patchwork pieces or squaring up blocks, because even for this step there are several choices -- lines perfectly centered, or with the ruler line just under the grid line, or with the ruler line just over the grid line until it appears to barely be resting upon it. My personal choice is just over the grid line, because I find this gives me an extra fraction of cloth to help compensate for the fold of my seam allowances once they've been pressed.
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BUTTERY CARAMEL CORN
(Caution: highly addictive)
2 bags, 3.5 oz each, of microwaveable popcorn, popped
(Blast o'Butter is completely fabulous in this recipe)
2 sticks of butter (not margarine!)
2 cups of packed brown sugar
1/2 cup of light Karo syrup
pinch of cream of tartar
Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees. Spray a large roasting pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour popped popcorn into the prepared roaster; set aside. In a sauce pan, melt butter, brown sugar, and Karo syrup. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat five minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in cream of tartar. Pour mixture over popcorn. Stir gently, but well. Bake uncovered one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Pour into a large serving bowl and try not to eat it all by yourself!
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I hope you don't mind my straying off the topic of quilting for just a moment, because I really can't help bragging about my "little" brother, Tracey Singer, and his newly released CD of children's songs called "Sweets 'n' Treats"! I mean, who knew when he was a six year-old with a cowlick and belting out his hip-shaking version of "hunka hunka burning love" that this would be the amazing result of his budding charisma and talent? With original music written and performed by Tracey and produced by Grammy award-winning children's recording artist Buck Howdy, you'll find songs that cover everything from the funny mishaps that can happen on a family camping trip, to a broccoli-slinging school lunch lady (I couldn't stop singing that one for DAYS), to a toe-tapping jazz tune about Foxy Joe, and even a soothing lullaby -- all created just for kids! Give this CD a listen, and I know you won't be able to resist giving it to some special little person in your life. Check out Tracey's Sweets 'n' Treats CD
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One of my hand's-down favorite products ever is Quilter's Choice Basting Glue by Beacon Adhesives. With an applicator tip that rarely (if ever) clogs, and a clear drip-free consistency, this water-soluble and acid-free glue for fabric is an undiscovered treasure that's completely indispensible to me, especially for the preparation of my appliques. Once you've given this a try, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it!
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Looking for a new way to use the last of your rhubarb harvest? Well, after searching through cookbook after cookbook hoping to find the "perfect" recipe (but not succeeding), I made up my own! Part pie and part crisp, this sweet blend of strawberries and rhubarb is great when served warm with a big heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream.
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRUNCH
Topping/Crust Mixture
3 cups of quick cooking oats
1 cup of flour
3/4 cup of packed brown sugar
1 cup of melted butter
1/8 teaspoon of salt
Filling
4 cups of fresh strawberries, washed and dried with stems removed, and coarsley diced
3 cups of fresh rhubarb, washed, dried, and cut into 1/2" slices
1/2 cup of white sugar
3 rounded tablespoons of flour
Preheat oven to 350. Combine the topping/crust ingredients. Firmly press one half of the mixture into the bottom of a 9" pie plate; reserve the remaining mixture for the topping. Mix together 1/2 cup of white sugar with 3 rounded tablespoons of flour. Gently toss the sugar mixture with the strawberries and rhubarb. Spoon the fruit into the prepared pie plate to form a mound. Crumble the reserved topping mixture and sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Bake 45 minutes, until golden and bubbly around the edges. Quick tip: Place a foil-lined cookie sheet on the lower oven rack during baking to catch any juices that may drip!
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For those of you who've seen my books, you know that I always make the time to hand quilt my very favorite projects using the "big stitch" method, because this lets me achieve a hand-stitched look in just a fraction of the time that traditional hand quilting takes. About a year or so ago I discovered Valdani's Perle Cotton, and I want to share it with you because it's now the only one I use for my big stitch quilting. Why? It comes in every color you can think of (and a few you haven't), the size 12 thread is just a skosh finer than the size 8 thread found in many quilt shops (which makes your stitches look even better), and the added option of variegated hues on a single spool allows your lines of stitching to fade in and out for a soft and subtle look....yes, I can sometimes be subtle! My personal favorite is color P3 (pictured), which features a blend of neutral shades -- and best of all, it goes with very nearly every quilt I make. For a lighter or brighter color palette you might want to try the creamier P4 shades, but no matter what, break out your size 5 embroidery needle and your thimble, and start quilting!
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Pin Point: Applique motifs can work beautifully for your quilting designs and provide an unexpected surprise in your open background areas, especially for hand quilted projects. To easily transfer these designs without having to mark your quilt top, use your applique templates to trace the designs onto white "peel and stick" kitchen contact paper, cut out the shapes, and remove the paper backing to expose the adhesive. Next, press the shapes onto your cloth for an instant stitching guide. When your stitching is complete, remove and re-use the guide until the adhesive is gone! (I recommend always removing the adhesive shapes at the end of each day to prevent any residue from forming on your cloth.)
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Here's another one of my favorite sewing tools: the Omnigrid Fold-Away Cutting Station. This handy item combines a cutting mat with a firm-surfaced pressing area (perfect for my applique technique), it's available in three different sizes to make it very versatile, and it easily folds in half to make it super portable while also taking up very little space. My favorite is the 8 3/4" x 11 3/4" size, and I take this with me everywhere -- from classes, to group sewing days, and sometimes even to my coffee table so I can spend time with my husband while preparing my applique pieces. Look for this at your favorite quilting shop and I'm sure that you'll be tucking it into your sewing supplies everywhere you go (and still have room to pack your chocolate).