Friday, August 20, 2010

Buried Treasure

I'm in use-it-up mode right now, trying to simplify my life/home. I found some leftover quilt squares from this quilt hiding in one of my "crap baskets." And lookie - enough to make a little bitty baby quilt!



I pieced the batting , backed with natural/grayish linen, quilted horizontally, and bound with the fabric originally included in the quilt kit (but never used). Everything was already in my stash. Nothing was purchased. Yay!

This quilt kit was so extra awesome because there was enough leftover fabric to also make 2 of these quilts! (I gave one as a baby gift, and now he calls it his "Sara Cano blankie" - it's pretty much the kind of thing I live for).

I think this quilt kit is oficially dead. I'm OK with that. We had a good run.

So, now instead of quilt squares in a ziploc baggie hanging around the house, I have a whole quilt hanging around instead :)

Friday, August 06, 2010

F Pillow

I had a more creative (read: racy) title for this post, but I'll keep it clean...

Almost a year ago, I made these pillows to match our then-new sofa. I had a third pillow form that I've been hemming and hawing about since then. I made the top earlier in the year, but couldn't figure out what to back it with (not enough blue corduroy). I would bring out the top, get frustrated, and then put it away.

So, while I was looking for fabric for a different project, I came upon the red/pink and knew instantly that it was the one (I'm talking like I found true love or something of actual importance)! It tied in perfectly with the other two pillows. Plus, it matches my inspiration board that also hangs in the room (inconspicuously). And it happened to be the perfect amount of fabric required.

F stands for Fiore (our last name)


the back


I feel like it needs a little red accent on the front, like a little appliqued heart. But then D reminded me that I'm not big on hearts. Oh yeah.

Super high kicks for this project. I love it, I love it, I love it!

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Blueberry Jam


We needed more jam like a hole in the head, but I had a bee in my bonnet, and you know how this story ends.

The recipe was found in this most awesome book. It took about an hour to make and yielded only 4 jars of jam, but I'm fine with that. It's so delicious and thick and pretty!

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Marshmallows, First Draft

Canceled from work again, I have to find ways to keep myself busy.

What better way than to try my hand at marshmallow-making?


I used this* recipe and Tahitian vanilla from our honeymoon. What I loved about this recipe is that it required no candy thermometer. Next time, I'll mix it up with some different flavors. But for now, I have about one million marshmallows to finish up first.

And yes, of course I tried them in s'more form. They browned and melted quickly, but they made for a pretty decent s'more....and I know my s'mores.

*a couple notes on this recipe.
  1. I know it sounds weird, but the gelatin smelled kinda funky (it was brand new from the store). The funk was enhanced by the heat of the sugar mixture, but did go away once the marshmallows cooled. I still think I smell it a little (could be in my head), and for this reason will probably add a stronger flavor in the future.
  2. These set up quickly! You won't be able to make two flavors at once unless you separate out the ingredients at the beginning. And BTW, I needed a 9x13 pan to fit all the fluff.
  3. Do yourself a favor and lightly dust the plastic wrap with powdered sugar after putting it in the dish, and before dumping in your fluff. I had a sticking situation yesterday, but fared OK in the end.

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Another Bib

I simply couldn't let those blue polka-dot scraps go to waste, could I? I love this bib. So much so, it makes me want to start drooling and eating pureed peas.

Kidding.

The colors are a bit distorted, but trust me, it's a good one. I also used leftover scraps from the backing & binding of this quilt.


See how it matches the burp cloth I made? A little gift set!


And my favorite part of all is the binding. I bought it last year at the SF Quilt Show for $.50. I hadn't used it since this post, but I knew it would come in handy. Turns right into binding with my handy little bias tape maker.

Wee!

Monday, August 02, 2010

Manly Baby Bib

More free time + giant scrap bin =


back:


My favorite part is that the blue bit is corduroy! Can you stand it? And someday it will be crusted with rice cereal or something pureed like that...But I'm OK with it.

By the way, there is no "baby"...in case you were wondering...
I just like small projects, that's all. Making a bib for a grown man is just too big an undertaking.