Second Batch

After eating a wonderful dinner tonight, Geoff talked me into going to the golf store. That is one place that I really don't like going to. I think the men that work there dread seeing me walk through the door. I am always haggling them about giving us a discount, and I always walk away with at least 5% off, if not more. Geoff knows now to let me do all the wheeling and dealing. In return Geoff agreed to go pick more blackberries with me. When I was little my grandparents had a huge garden. They would grow everything from okra to green beans. My grandmother would also can all kinds of fruits and vegetable. I remember walking through their damp, dark basement and finding shelf upon shelf of their home grown canned goodness. I have always wanted to try some of that stuff. I would love to have a garden, but seeing how my yard is 5x10 and is covered in moss, I don't think it is going to work out so well. So I decided to try my hand at jam. I picked up all the supplies at Walmart today. After reading the instructions on the pectin box, I was so excited that I could use the cute little plastic cups I got today for some quick and easy freezer jam.
And here they are, 5 cups up freezer jam, and I didn't have to boil the jars. The instructions are super easy, I would recommend everyone make some jam. Or at least try canning some fruit, that will be the next thing I try.
This afternoon I thought that one day this week I would make some bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches on some egg bread. So I through the ingredients into the bread machine and pressed start. But now I have jam to eat with the bread. I am so looking forward to breakfast in the morning.

After all the jam making, my blackberry stash is depleted, so I am sure that Geoff and I will be searching the neighborhood tomorrow night for more blackberries. Until next time!

Blackberry Cream

I have had an absolutely fabulous day with my husband. He has been so busy lately that I feel like I never see him. And it seems that the busier he is, the busier I am. So today we slept in, had a late breakfast, and went out for lunch. I have to say that living in the Northwest is wonderful because of the fresh seafood. After we got back from running around, he went with me to pick blackberries. that just made my day. Before Geoff got back in the army I worked for a lady who had blueberry bushes all over her farm. Although I never picked any, she would bring them to us at work and they were so good. After having those blueberries, I wanted some kind of berry bush in my yard. Well come to find out blackberries and raspberries grow wild all over up here. My neighbor pointed several huge bushes out earlier this summer, and even though they are not in my yard, they are in walking distance from my house.
I told Geoff that from now until all the blackberries are gone we will be picking every Sunday evening. My next mission will be to figure what to make with all those berries. Jam is a must. I didn't have all the stuff for jam tonight, so I conjured up my own blackberry sauce. While it was still hot, I spooned it over vanilla ice cream. As the ice cream melted, it made a blackberry cream that was so sweet, and so good!!! I revised my recipe and posted it below.
This is one of those pictures that I took myself. Yes that is an apron, and no I did not make it. A dear friend made it for me out of one of Geoff's BDU tops when he got out of the army. Well I have examined it, and have started making these for an upcoming fundraiser. So, yes I am crafting, but I am just making a lot of aprons. I will be glad when the fundraiser is over so I can make some really fun stuff.

Lacey's Blackberry Sauce
1/2 cup of crushed blackberries
1/8 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons of cornstarch

Put crushed blackberries in a pot with water and sugar. Heat over medium low. Add the cornstarch if you would like the sauce to be a bit thicker. Bring to a boil, stir and it is done.
Serve over vanilla ice cream or some kind of cake. (I don't care for tart blackberries, so I use a lot of sugar. Use less sugar if you would like some of that tart blackberry flavor.)

Choices

After moving into our current home, I had a discussion with my landlord about painting. My entire house it stark white, except for the kitchen. (The kitchen is a beautiful light silvery blue.) Well he agreed to have the house painted. Next was the choice of color. My landlord is a pretty laid back guy, that would agree on anything light. So the other day I went and bought paint samples. I love yellow, so I picked 3 shades and here they are. I chose to paint big patches all over the house. It is a very bright house, and I wanted to see how the light was going to make the paint look in all the rooms. Before I went to bed after I painted all the patches I had an idea of which color I would like the best. Well the next morning it was confirmed. I decided on French Sonnet, (the middle color). The bad news is it will be this fall before the house is painted, so I will have to look a paint patches the rest of the summer.

Totally Worth It

I almost finished my capri's pants I have been working on. I pin up the hem and tried them on to see if they fit before finishing them off. I think I need to take a class on how to measure myself. I am going to have to figure out how to take them in about 2 or 3 inches. The crotch reaches half way down my thighs. I really need to learn to make samples out of muslin first. I also have to shorten the hem about 2 more inches. If I were to wear them out right now, it would look like I was just in the flood. The satisfaction of almost completing a project was great, injury in all. On another note Geoff came home the other day and said he invited a couple over for dinner. At first I let him know that he should ask before he starts inviting people over. Next my mind started racing about menus and recipes of what I can fix. I decided on Zesty Herb grilled chicken, macaroni and cheese, and was completely at a loss for what I should fix as a 3rd dish. I started looking through cook books. Well in a wonderful church cook book called the Disciples in the Kitchen, I found several corn casserole recipes. I picked the easiest one with the least ingredients. It was absolutely wonderful. I know I should have taken a picture before we dug in, but I forgot. Our friends even went back for seconds. Now I am glad Geoff invited our friends over, because I found a new recipe. So here is the recipe below. Enjoy!!! Corn Casserole
1 can cream corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 stick butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 box jiffy cornbread mix

Melt butter and cream cheese over low heat. Pour in corn, and mix well. Add cornbread mix, (I stirred the cornbread mix in throughout the mixture). Pour into casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Sewing Fingers

In my 27 years of life so far I have never been to the emergency room. I know that is hard to believe considering how clumsy I am. Well today ended that. I really don't remember what I did to do it but I some how stuck my sewing machine needle through my finger. I know the picture is blurry. I took it with my phone while waiting in the ER. You can just see the tip of the needle sticking through the bottom of my finger. Fortunately I just barely missed the bone. Talk about going crazy. I am not a medical person. Any thought of needles (other than sewing and knitting) makes me cringe. And even though I freaked out, it was only because of the thought of how they were going to get it out.
Fortunately my honey came to my rescue and held my hand. I did cry because it did hurt, but I had a wonderful technician. He made me laugh the entire time. So the lesson for today is don't try to sew your fingers to anything. It hurts!

Preparing

If you haven't figured is out yet, I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan. The other day I was in JoAnn Fabrics and started chatting with some young girls looking for cloak patterns. I told them that if I were not 27 I would be in full Hogwarts dress for the release of the book and the movie. I have all 6 books, including book 5 and 6 on CD. I have found a great use for these audio disc's. I listen to them over and over again while sewing, cutting patterns and working in my craft room. I was going to make pajama pants the other day and opted for some linen capri's.
So as I prepare for all the HP excitement, I am working away. Until next time!

What's Been Going On?

Someone left me a comment asking "What's been going on?". When I sit down and think about it, a million things rush through my head. For a while I was using the excuse that I was unpacking. I can't use that one anymore. All the boxes, except one are gone. Now I just have some miscellaneous things to hang, and my bedroom to sort out. I finally finished my Hogwarts Sock Swap Socks. I made the mistake when I first found out who my partner was and contacted her. I really hope I didn't ruin her surprise. As soon as I finished those socks I picked this up. This is my moms birthday present. When I was at home over Christmas she went with me to the LYS. She saw a bag made of the same stuff and said she wanted one just like it. Well I bought the supplies and quickly determined that I did not like the bag pattern. So I made one up for myself. I used Lambs Pride and some fun pink stuff. (Sorry, I don't remember the name of the stuff.) I think I cast on 75 stitches on some circulars. Washed, blocked, and started sewing.
I found the material to line it with on clearance at Jo Ann Fabrics on the 4th of July. I saw it and new that nothing else would go any better. I decided to line it after making my Booga Bag. I don't like the way felted purses stretch. So I hope my mom doesn't look, but if she does, Happy Birthday and its in the mail. When I first started blogging I stated that I am a multi-craftster. Anything knitting, sewing, or smocking, and I am happy. I have been itching to start sewing again. I can remember sitting in that nasty room in Korea and thinking about things I can make once I have my sewing machine back. Well its back. I have a ton of things to make, like all the accoutrement's that go into making a bedroom beautiful. I have material looking at me waiting for me to put my Sew U book to use and make skirts and shirts out of them. Yes ladies and gentlemen I am going to attempt to make clothes.
Many people don't know what smocking is. Well this is it. I have only made 3 smocked outfits from start to finish, that includes the pleating. I had to give 2 away as gifts. The picture above was my very first. It was meant to be a gift, but I loved it to much. I couldn't give it up. I justified it by saying that if I ever made another I will need one to go by. I want to make more. The sad thing is I don't have kids. I do have a couple of pregnant friends though. So this dress, my first to ever make, is on my wall for inspiration.

I will try to post more often, now that we are pretty much settled in. But if I don't its because I am doing FRG stuff again, keeping up with voluteer hours, and trying to figure out knitting on 2 circular needles. Thank you Heather, I am loving them so far! Until next time!