Homemade Engineer

LOVE Mini Quilt

2015-02-06T19:14:00.001-08:00

Hooray! A last-minute finish for Friday!

My LOVE mini quilt is finished & hanging on our wall. I finished sewing the binding on tonight while watching an episode of Call the Midwife, then got it up on the wall right after that!

I really debated about the binding. White was not my first thought - I was leaning toward a navy or grey print. But after auditioning a few, nothing struck me. And the walls of our room are a blue-grey, and the fabrics that I sort of liked for the quilt seemed to clash with the walls. So, white it is, and I'm hoping I don't regret it.

I followed the suggestion of the tutorial on Sew Mama Sew and hand quilted 1/4" from all of the letters, but I just used white perle cotton instead of a color to match each letter. It adds just a little texture.

Other than deliberating for a while over the binding fabric, this was a quick, fun project! I think we'll enjoy this new addition to our walls. Happy Friday!

Linking up to crazy mom quilts and My Quilt Infatuation.

On My Nightstand {or Currently Reading}

2015-02-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

It seems that I'm rarely reading only one book at a time. I have a somewhat unfortunate habit of beginning to read many books at a time. Usually there's a reason for this - one fiction, one nonfiction, and perhaps one audiobook. At the moment, though, my currently-reading stack looks a bit like this:

The one exception is that the book in the middle, Home by Marilynne Robinson, is a recently completed book that I just couldn't leave out of this post. I had read a different book by Marilynne Robinson a few years ago and was not particularly fond of it, so I had stayed away from her other novels until this fall, when a friend gave me Home. I'm SO glad she did - this book just gripped me and made me feel like I really knew the characters. It doesn't feel like fiction - Robinson has such a rich understanding of people and relationships that this just feels real. It's not a particularly quick read - I needed to savor it.

As for my currently reading list:

Lila is Robinson's newest novel, about a character who is also in Home. Also a very rich novel. I'm fairly close to finishing this one, and it's what I'm picking up most nights before bed.

Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches is the book I'm picking up every now & then when I'm looking for some encouragement as a mom of 2 little ones. The short chapters are perfect for a quick dose of perspective. I'd like to make it through this one all the way. It has come highly recommended from several friends, and I'm definitely enjoying it.

Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce mysteries are pretty popular right now. I read the second book, The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag, this summer, and am ready to enjoy more of the precocious 11-year-old detective's adventures. Bradley's books are definitely quirky, and it took me a little while to really enjoy the first book I read. The characters are all extreme - a far cry from Robinson's characters. But, my husband and I occasionally enjoy reading a book together out loud, and this is our pick for that. We haven't made it terribly far, though, as we're both reading other books at the moment.

The bottom "book" in my stack is actually my Kindle. And my current Kindle read is Found: A Story of Questions, Grace & Everyday Prayer by Micha Boyett. This book came highly recommended to me by a friend who has a daughter close in age to my son. Her description of this book captured my attention - as a busy mother of little ones, prayer often takes a backseat. The author's journey to renew her prayer life is something that I desire, as well, and I'm really looking forward to diving deeper into this book.

Bonus book: I've also recently begun Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers on audiobook. I love listening to audiobooks while I'm doing dishes, folding laundry, and sewing! I have yet to read a Sayers novel, but she is recognized as an excellent British novelist known for her Lord Peter Wimsey detective novels. This particular one does not have quite as high of reviews as some of her other Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, but it was available from the library when I was looking!

Whew, I think this is enough to keep me busy for a while! Happy reading!

I love hearing what other people are reading and am always looking for a new book recommendation, so feel free to leave a note in the comments!

Why Hello, February!

2015-02-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

Since it's February, I wanted to share my current favorite WIP - a LOVE mini quilt.

I have been eyeing this little mini quilt from Sew Mama Sew for quite some time. It's a simple paper-pieced pattern, but is quite fun to put together! It definitely has a Valentine's Day feel to it (and could be even more so with different colors), but I'm hoping it will have a permanent home on one of my bedroom walls. Our master bedroom could use a little sprucing up.

I'm trying to keep it a secret from my husband, so progress is a little slow. (I really like surprises, both giving & receiving them!) The plan is to start the quilting tomorrow and hopefully have it finished by Friday. So... check back on Friday to see the finished quilt!

For some more love-themed quilty fun, check out Sew Cute Tuesday over at Blossom Heart Quilts. I'm also linking up at Lily's Quilts for her Fresh Sewing Day & Small Blog Meet. If you're visiting from one of those sites, thanks for stopping by!

And if you enjoy book recommendations, check back tomorrow to see what I've been reading this year.

The Bee Hive

2015-01-14T03:00:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to be participating in my first quilting bee - The Bee Hive! This lovely virtual quilting bee is hosted by Blossom Heart Quilts and Gnome Angel.

I'm part of swarm 21 and am so looking forward to getting to know my bee-mates this year! The Bee Hive is a year long bee, where each month everyone in the swarm makes 1 block for the "queen bee" of the month. The queen bee gets to select her block and colors, and then ends up with 12 coordinating blocks to make a quilt.

Right now it's looking like I'll be queen bee in November, so I have lots of time to think about my quilt. In the meantime, though, I can't wait to get started making blocks for all the ladies in my swarm! I'll be sharing updates on bee blocks throughout the year. One other really fun part of all this - my mom & I are in the same swarm! I love that we get to do this together even though we live a couple of states apart.

Anna's Quilt

2015-01-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

First off, Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas & a great start to 2015! It seems like every year things slow down enough at the beginning of the year that I'm able to find time to blog.

My mom has a tradition of making quilts for all of her grandbabies. Mom has given each of my two kids a quilt for their first Christmas. These are so special to me - I know all of the love that goes into making them!

Here's Anna opening her quilt, with a little help from me. BeBe & PopPop are looking on.

Maybe she'll be a future quilter? :) Mom asked me to help pick the fabrics & pattern for this quilt, so that was really fun! It's based off the Little Wheels quilt from Blue Elephant Stitches.

Mom made her quilt a good bit larger than a baby quilt so that she'll be able to use it for a while. Also, I'm realizing now I don't have a picture of the quilt by itself.

Thanks, Mom, for such a special quilt for Anna!

Vintage Quilt Progress

2014-09-03T19:17:00.001-07:00

I'm excited to share some progress on my Vintage quilt! Six of the 12 blocks are completed, and I'm really liking the way it's looking.

Blocks all laid out on my design... floor. :)

Thanks for all of the encouragement when I mentioned I wasn't sure that I would like the solids. It's been fun so far.

Two blocks are finished in Kona Caribbean...

...two in Kona Aqua....

...and two in Kona Pool.

My favorite color keeps changing to whichever block I just finished. :)

Oh - and I recently joined Instagram! I'd love for you to join me over there, or subscribe to Homemade Engineer with Bloglovin' or Feedly (or see the other options on the sidebar). Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up at WIP Wednesday, Let's Bee Social, Needle & Thread Thursday, and Pretty Bobbins.

Book Review: The Secret Keeper

2014-09-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

I recently finished The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. Historical fiction is my favorite, and I'm especially partial to WWII books. So, I was pretty sure I'd enjoy this book before I ever started!

The Secret Keeper switches between present-day, seen through the eyes of Laurel Nicolson, and the 1940's, as experienced by her mother, Dorothy. Books that switch time periods are hit-or-miss for me. I usually find myself enjoying one half of the story more than the other half, but not so with this one. The characters are vivid, and the story lines twist together in a really engaging manner. As Dorothy is gravely ill, Laurel is determined to uncover pieces of the past that will lay to rest questions she has regarding her mother.

The Secret Keeper did not disappoint - there were surprising turns in the plot throughout the book, and Kate Morton's writing had me really believing that I knew the characters. I listened to this one as an audiobook, and it was rather long, but the narrator was fantastic.

Verdict: Highly recommended!

Some Crafting Motivation

2014-09-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

As a stay-at-home mom, I really enjoy the blog community. I get to interact with other adults, get to share tidbits of life, and get some great motivation & ideas from other blogs.

I've run across a couple blog events lately that have me motivated! I'm not sure if I'll be able to participate in them, but if not this year, then definitely next! I wanted to pass them on in case any of you are interested.

100 Quilts for Kids is being hosted this year by Quilts in the Queue. This is a charity quilt drive for kids. It's pretty straightforward - make a quilt, donate it to an organization that will give it to a child, then link your quilt up at Quilts in the Queue. There are some great prizes with this, but more than that, what a special way to bless a child!

Craft Book Month is being hosted by Craftbuds. This is another opportunity to win some great prizes. Link up a picture of a project made from a craft book this year, and you're eligible to win!

Both 100 Quilts for Kids and Craft Book Month end on September 30.

I'd love to finish up my Vintage quilt from Simply Retro for Craft Book Month, but I need to be realistic! My current motivation is coming from the fact that Christmas is 114 days away! I'd love to share those projects here... but those will have to wait until after Christmas. :)

Are you participating in any kind of online sewing party? What's keeping you motivated with your sewing these days?

How To Recover an IKEA Poang Chair

2014-08-25T11:23:00.001-07:00

Before our first baby was born, we purchased an IKEA Poang chair for the nursery. You've probably seen these chairs - definitely a little plain. At first glance I thought they were pretty strange looking, but they are surprisingly comfortable and come with a really great price tag!

The nursery is grey, so we opted for a black frame with the off-whiteish cushion.

Well, after 2 years and baby #2 was born, I decided that I was tired of the plain chair. Not to mention that it really didn't look that great in the nursery, especially with the monogrammed pillow given to Anna by some sweet friends!

I found some pink & grey twill zigzag fabric on Fabric.com that I thought would work. The fabric was on sale at the time, so it was a really cheap way to update the nursery.

Since the fabric is 56" wide, I only needed 2 yards to cover the chair. I loosely based my project on this tutorial found on Stickelberry, but since my fabric was a different width I modified it slightly.

First, I laid out the whole piece, marked the middle, and cut it in half. Then, I put one piece face up, laid the cushion on top, then put the other piece of fabric face down. I marked the top piece of fabric near the velcro on the cushion and cut that.

So, I then had 3 pieces of fabric: one really long piece on the front, and two smaller pieces for the back. I folded the two back pieces down twice and hemmed. (I know this isn't very detailed, but really, the tutorial I referenced is very thorough on these steps.

Next, I pinned & sewed the longer of the back fabrics to the front fabric. Then, I laid it on the floor again, laid the cushion inside, and pinned the top of the back fabrics to the front fabric. I wanted the seams to be at the ends of the cushion. I also sewed the velcro strip at this time.

Once I had a big piece of fabric, I just needed to sew up the side seams. I like things to be pretty exact, so I measured the cushion width to be 24.5" wide. This would provide a snug fit for the cushion. I pinned, measured, and marked the fabric to be 24.5" wide on the bottom half of the cover. After sewing that, I stuffed the cushion inside just to verify the width. (It would have been much easier to rip it then if I had to - but I didn't - it was a great fit!) I then pinned, measured, and marked the top part.

I sewed diagonally across the corners since they're rounded, trimmed the edges down to a smaller seam allowance, flipped it, then stuffed the cushion inside. And - TA-DA! A brand new looking chair with a removable cover!

{Note: I'm not claiming this to be a tutorial since the one at Stickelberry is already excellent. I realize that pictures and my description are not as thorough as they could be. However, if you have any questions at all please contact me & I'll do my best to help!}

Linking up at C.R.A.F.T., Skip To My Lou, Sew Can Do, and i should be mopping the floor.

WIP Wednesday: Grannies Galore

2014-08-20T11:24:00.002-07:00

Hello and happy Wednesday!

My Christmas quilt finish has really motivated me to work on some old works-in-progress. This week I managed to finish two more blocks for my scrappy granny square quilt, bringing the total block count up to 7! Woohoo - only two more to go!

And I finished the first block of my Vintage quilt from Simply Retro. Guess I wasn't really thinking that I was already in the middle of one granny square quilt when I decided to start this one... oh well!

First block out of Kona Pool

I'm having a few doubts about this quilt already and I've barely started out. First off, this is one HUGE block! It finishes at 20" square, which I know is big, but it looks so much bigger actually sewn up. I'm also questioning my plan to make it out of all solids. I think I'll like it - it's just a little different for me!

What have you been working on this week? Head on over to Freshly Pieced to see some more works-in-progress!

Next Up

2014-08-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

These lovely solids arrived in the mail last week & I can't wait to cut into them! I'm planning to make the Vintage quilt from Camille Roskelley's book, Simply Retro. (I LOVE this book, by the way!) Guess I can't get enough of granny squares.

In order from left to right, these are Kona colors: Oasis, Sage, Caribbean, Aqua, Turquoise, Pomegranate, and Pool. I don't have a Kona color card, so I was scanning different websites, trying to find good shades of blue-green, and unfortunately ended up with three that look awfully similar:

The finished quilt has 12 blocks, so my plan is to make 11 of the blocks in the blues, with one block of Pomegranate. Right now I'm thinking I'll pull out the Oasis and hunt down one more shade of blue - maybe a really dark turquoise. So, the colors I *think* I'm using are these:

Excited to start this next project - I'll keep you posted on progress! Oh, and if you want to see some lovely examples of finished Vintage quilts, check out this link party hosted by Jana.

Christmas in... August

2014-08-14T18:41:00.002-07:00

So excited to share a finish with you! It may be August, but I finally finished my Christmas quilt!!

This Christmas quilt has been in the works for a ridiculously long time... I don't actually remember how long. Two years? Three? I decided last Christmas that I wanted to finish it in the middle of the year sometime... not even remotely close to Christmas. There's always enough going on at Christmas without trying to squeeze in one more project.

The fabric came from Connecting Threads several years ago, and the pattern is Small Plates from Elizabeth Hartman's book The Practical Guide to Patchwork.

This was my first "big" quilt finish. I've only completed baby quilts thus far... although I have a couple other big quilts in progress. Finishing this has definitely motivated me to work on the others, though! I was a little intimidated by a bigger-than-baby quilt, but it was fine.

I quilted it with straight lines 1/4" on either side of the main seams. I'm pretty partial to straight line quilting - I just really like how it looks. Also, I spray basted it (with Mom's help). It was the first time either of us had ever spray basted (and Mom has made TONS of quilts), and I'm a big fan now. I thought the spray basting was much easier than pin basting, plus it was SOO nice to quilt it without worrying about removing all those pins. And, I'm super pleased with how it turned out - there are a few small puckers after quilting, but I think it would have been worse with pin basting (for me, at least).

One quick note about the backing - when I ordered this fabric from Connecting Threads, it was on clearance. I couldn't find coordinating fabrics with enough yardage to make the backing, so I just got two completely different Christmas fabrics. Soo, when I picked this project back up this summer I was no longer thrilled with my backing choice, but I decided to go with it anyway since I already had the fabric. I ended up being okay with it once it was quilted, though. My tastes in fabric have changed quite a bit, and I'm learning so much about sewing and quilting that I'm content to consider this just another learning experience.

Oh, and a name...I'm {obviously} new to this naming-your-quilt thing, but for now I believe I'll call it A Square Christmas. Feel free to leave more creative ideas in the comments!

Looking forward to snuggling with this quilt in December!

Linking up with Needle & Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.

Quick Hello

2014-08-14T18:06:00.000-07:00

I'm finally getting into a bit of a routine with baby girl and have had lots of ideas floating around lately. This cutie is a huge part of the reason I've been absent - you can't blame me, can you?

I'm looking forward to sharing some of what I've been up to with you! And since I have more ideas than I'd ever have time to actually complete myself, I may see if I can convince any of you to try them instead! I've come to realize that I enjoy dreaming up projects, even when I don't complete them myself. (Mom, you know this better than anyone. Glad you let me share ideas with you!)

So, stay tuned... a good many crafty posts coming soon, along with some other topics, like some books I've enjoyed lately and perhaps a few recipes.

Beginnings of an Hourglass Pillow

2014-03-10T04:30:00.000-07:00

With baby #2 on the way, I've been working on several projects to make the nursery a little more girly. We're not changing anything big - like the paint color (currently grey) or curtains, but I have a few small things to make it more hers. Big brother is also moving rooms, so I'll share a few things we're doing for his new room at some point.

Project #1 for baby girl's room is a pillow made of hourglass blocks. It's getting close, but for now here's a peek at some of the blocks.

I used this tutorial from Red Pepper Quilts for the blocks, only started with slightly smaller squares. I started with 4" squares and will end up with 3" square hourglass blocks. After joining them together, each little hourglass will finish at 2.5" square.

Looking forward to seeing this fun little pillow finished - I'll be sure to share a picture!

Sewing with Kids: L-O-V-E Banner

2014-03-07T10:51:00.003-08:00

Hello there! Thought I'd pop in and actually post something new for you to enjoy. :) One thing after another has kept me away from this blog for way too long, and as always, I'm making no promises as to how often I'll post. Baby girl is due less than 6 short weeks from now (yes, she's one of the reasons I've been hiding), and I'm sure that once she's here I'll be right back in hiding for a while.

For now, though, I have been sewing away with K every week and we're having a blast. She got a sewing machine for Christmas so we've had a chance to try a few new things from Sewing School 2: Lessons in Machine Sewing. For Valentine's day (yes, this was a while ago...) she had the idea to make a banner.

K picked out all the fabrics & cut the pennants out. Then, the letters were perhaps the trickiest part. We found a computer font she liked & printed them, then cut them out. We traced the letters backwards onto Heat'n Bond Ultra, then ironed it onto her letter fabric. Then we cut out the letters, peeled off the Heat'n Bond backing, and ironed the letters onto the pennants.

Finally, K zigzag stitched the ribbon onto the pennants to make the banner. She did a fabulous job! I love seeing her creativity and style in designing her projects & selecting the fabric.

I also love how much my little guy enjoys K coming over! They got some fun reading time in this particular day, even with all the sewing.

Fridge Finds: What's (Really) Cooking, Part 6

2013-11-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the last day of the Fridge Finds blog party! Stop by Andrea's post to see what's in her fridge & what she's cooking with it. I'm pretty pumped to try her lentil recipe - we're always looking for new ways to fix lentils around here! And, just like Andrea, we've been on quite a soup quick lately & it's fun to see some fresh ideas.

Thanks for joining in with this party! If you'd like to see the previous posts, check out these links:
Week 1: Katherine
Week 2: me
Week 3: Rebecca
Week 4: Elissa
Week 5: Meredith
Week 6: Andrea

Fridge Finds: What's (Really) Cooking, Part 5

2013-10-29T11:25:00.002-07:00

Hey friends! It's time for another post in the weekly fridge party! I have to say, I love Meredith's post today. She says it's the worst fridge finds week yet, but it might just be the best. I think we can all relate to the "oh no I have nothing but milk in the fridge and I have to feed my family" moments. Plus, I've always been super curious about eMeals, but haven't known anyone personally to use it. I'd love to hear more about that sometime, Meredith!

Go on, check it out!

Tech Tip Friday: iPad Apps I Love, Part 1

2013-10-25T11:33:00.004-07:00

Today I want to tell you about Pepperplate, almost certainly my very favorite iPad app. (And before I launch into this - it's also available for the iPhone, I just don't have an iPhone! There's also a website that lets you do everything, so even if you don't have an iAnything it's worth checking out! And one more note - this is not in any way meant to be an advertisement, I am not being compensated in any way for this - I just want to share an amazing tool with you.)

When my husband & I were considering purchasing an iPad, one of the things I was most excited about was using it to organize recipes. Lugging my dying computer into the kitchen just so I could pull up a recipe was a little bit of a hassle (yes, first world problem, I know), and printing recipes that I might possibly want to make one day caused way too much clutter in the kitchen. Enter Pepperplate!

Pepperplate has 4 main features:

Recipes
Menus
Planner
Shopping

I mostly stick to the recipe part of the app. My three favorite features of this app are:

Automatic importing of recipes from 3 dozen supported sites (and the list keeps growing!). Yes, I said automatic. You do not have to sit down & manually type in all of your recipes, although that is indeed an option.
The "cook now" button. When you click cook now from a recipe, the recipe becomes full screen and the screen does not go to sleep! I don't have to wake up my iPad with messy cooking hands just to see the next step of a recipe - the recipe stays on the screen until I click "Finish cooking". It's wonderful.
Extremely easy sharing of recipes. I can send recipes to my family & friends incredibly easily, and if they also have a Pepperplate account, then they just click a button from the email to have it added to their account.

Oh, and I didn't even mention that it's completely free! Really, it's an incredible tool - what are you waiting for? Go check it out!

Do you have a favorite iPad app? Let me know - I'll be posting more favorites as they come up, and I'd certainly love to try your favorite!

Fridge Finds: What's (Really) Cooking, Part 4

2013-10-23T14:55:00.001-07:00

I'm a little late to the party this week, but better late than never! So sorry to Elissa & the rest of y'all who were looking for this. Hop on over to Elissa's post to see a typical week of meals for her family. Sounds like some yummy dinners, and exactly the types of things we like to make around here. (And Elissa... I totally agree... it felt really weird to take a picture of my fridge a couple weeks ago!)

Oh, and this isn't in her post, but Elissa's banana bread is my all-time favorite! Go check it out. (Quick note: I've been most successful making this recipe in a large loaf pan like she says to do. For some reason I didn't think they worked as well as muffins... not sure why, maybe I need to just try again!)

Sewing with Kids: T-Shirt Pillow

2013-10-22T11:59:00.001-07:00

A while back, I asked for advice on sewing with kids. Thanks to those of you who gave input! I ended up deciding to stick with the book, Sewing School. My friend ordered the book for her daughter, who I'll just call K. Yesterday marked the 3rd week of our sewing "lessons", and it's been so much fun!

K is doing a fantastic job! She just completed her second project, a pillow made out of an old T-shirt. What a fun way to get to hang on to a favorite T-shirt that's too small or has a hole somewhere.

On our first week of sewing together, I tried to gauge what types of projects she was interested in. It turns out that one of K's biggest problems with learning to sew was not really having ideas of things to sew. This really struck me, because I remember the same thing from when I was a kid! I'd ask my mom to teach me to sew, but then when she'd ask me what I wanted to make, I had no idea. All that to say, I love having a book with some kid-friendly projects - instant inspiration! Since we've started, K has had no problem telling me what she wants to sew next. We have quite a list of Christmas projects to work on. :)

I'm hoping that the more K sews, the more she'll be inspired to challenge herself to create new things. I'll keep you posted with more of K's projects!

What's (Really) Cooking: Part 3

2013-10-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

Hello there, loyal readers! It's Tuesday, which means another chance to see what's really cooking. This week, Rebecca at down the rabbit hole is exploring her pantry. If you've never visited over at Rebecca's site, you're in for a treat! I love reading Rebecca's writing. And I can't wait to make her granola soon.

Fridge Finds: What's (Really) Cooking, Part 2

2013-10-08T03:30:00.000-07:00

Hooray! It's my week to share what's in the fridge. If you missed it, Katherine is hosting a fun blog party every Tuesday. You can find more info in my post from last week.

So, ever since Katherine introduced this idea, I've been thinking a lot about what's in my fridge. Most days, it's kind of like, "Ugh, why would anybody want to see all of this - it's a big mess!" And some days, when I have a what's-for-dinner crisis, the fridge is sadly lacking in inspiration. Since I've been paying extra attention to what's in the fridge, I've discovered a few interesting things:

1. I use my freezer and pantry to store the main substance of our meals way more than the fridge!

2. We keep a LOT of breakfast, lunch, and toddler-friendly foods in our fridge.

3. I absolutely love when I have leftovers in the fridge.

So, without further ado, here's a very real picture of our fridge:

I realized after taking the picture above that there's no way to really distinguish what's actually in the fridge. So, I did a little rearranging, and ta-da - you can actually tell what a few things are!

Top shelf: buttermilk, sausage balls & applesauce

Next-to-top shelf: eggs & more toddler meal leftovers

Drawer: lots of cheese & some leftover Canadian bacon

Next-to-bottom shelf: more eggs, leftover tortellini soup, pie crust

Bottom shelf: milk, yogurt, sour cream

Drawer: spinach & apples

Now, looking at that list it seems like pretty sad contents of a fridge. But, like I said, most of our food stays in the freezer or pantry!

So, here's what's REALLY cooking this week:

Tortellini Soup (recipe below): Yes, it's already cooked, but these leftovers will be at least one supper & one lunch for us. This was the first time I've made this recipe, and I'll definitely be making it again!

Sweet & sour lentils, possibly with some cooked chicken (from freezer) and/or a spinach salad. This is one of our absolute favorite recipes, and I tend to keep the ingredients on hand in our pantry.

Buttermilk pancakes & fried apples: I love pancakes!

Quiche: Javier thinks we're running low on eggs when we're down to a dozen or so. He could eggs 3 meals a days, 7 days a week. I, on the other hand, tend to get tired of eggs. But, I do like quiche & since we always have more than enough eggs and we currently have lots of random leftover cheese, plus some leftover Canadian bacon, quiche will be perfect!

Taco Soup: I'm planning to head out of town toward the end of the week. So, I need to leave something tasty & easy to reheat for dinners and/or lunches for Javier. It doesn't get much easier than this soup, and it's quite tasty! Again, everything we need for this is in the freezer or pantry...

So, that's it! It's not a terribly exciting list of meals, but pretty normal for around here. We don't usually eat much meat, and I'm very partial to meals that have lots of leftovers. We're in a pretty tough spot where Isaac (16 months) doesn't often like what we're eating as a family, but I'm trying to get better at cooking things we can all eat. We at least try to get him to taste what we're eating, but he's often pretty resistant to putting a new food into his mouth.

Keep checking back on Tuesdays for more fridge finds!

Tortellini Soup

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach

2 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth

2 (14.5 oz.) cans stewed tomatoes with basil, garlic, & oregano

1 small bag cheese tortellini

1 small onion, sliced or diced

1-2 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic

1 Tbsp. butter

Garnish: Parmesan or feta

In soup pan, melt butter. Saute onion & garlic. Add broth & tomatoes, simmer for up to 1 hour. Add frozen spinach & tortellini. Simmer on low, for 10-15 minutes until tortellini is cooked to desired tenderness. Season with salt & pepper. When serving, sprinkle with Parmesan or feta cheese.

Fridge Finds - It's a Party!

2013-10-01T11:00:00.002-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've made myself present in this little space. I have plenty of excuses, let me assure you, but I have way more exciting things to talk about today than excuses!

Today is the first day of a new PARTY! Yep, you heard me - a blog party about what's in the fridge. I'm sure you see lots of blogs that advertise what they're cooking and wonder... "Do they really eat like that? Like all the time?" Or maybe I'm the only who thinks that...

My friend Katherine at rhymes with smile has organized a little bloggy-fridge fun, where 6 of us will share what's REALLY in our fridge, and how that's going to feed our families for the week.

So today - go check out Katherine's fridge and see what she's cooking up this week! You don't want to miss this... the Mexican rice with cilantro dressing sounds amazing!

Be sure to check back next week for part two of Fridge Finds: What's (Really) Cooking.

Sewing with Kids: Looking for Input

2013-08-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

Good morning, sewing friends! Today I'm looking for a little help from you.

I've been talking with a friend about doing some sewing projects with her 9-year old daughter. We're thinking some hand-sewing projects would be best. I've heard good things about the book Sewing School, but am also interested in hearing other ideas. There are so many wonderful resources out there that it can be hard to know where to start looking!

So, have you ever sewn with kids? What projects are a hit, and which ones are flops? Any particular projects that they really loved?

Thanks for the help! I'll keep you posted on what we decide to do.

Linking up with Needle & Thread Thursday... hoping some of those lovely folks have some ideas!

WIP Wednesday

2013-08-14T17:50:00.000-07:00

I decided to join in the fun over at Freshly Pieced for today's Works in Progress Wednesday! I've already shared about the beginnings of a granny square quilt, and here's an updated shot of the 5 blocks I've made thus far.

This is a much older WIP. I bought the fabric for this Christmas quilt 2 years ago, did most of the piecing about a year ago, and have left it sitting in the closet ever since. I'm determined that it WILL be finished for this Christmas, so putting it up here will hopefully keep me accountable!

I also have another super-fun WIP but I can't tell you about it yet!! Ahh, so hard to keep fun projects a secret. I better not say too much more... but I'm super excited with how it's looking!