Northern Crow Country

Dear Jane--New Fabrics are Here!

2012-01-24T09:30:00.000-05:00

75 blocks done!

I bought a 'grab bag' of 40 different Civil War Prints, in 4" x WoF strips.

I picked this one for my first go-around, because it looks easy...right?

I cut out all the pieces and got them laid out right.

Can I just say--disaster?

This one was better but undersized. I know--the Dear Jane book suggests framing if the block is too small, but I wanted it right.

K10 Quandary

This one was way better! Wish I had had more of the dotted green, though, I liked that a lot.

I3 Family Album

.I am trying and trying to get bars the right size and to line up. I am planning on redoing this block!

L4 St. George's Cross.

I fussy cut the segments, and I like it! although, if I had been paying more attention, I would have cut the corner blocks all the same.

If you would like to see all of my blocks, check them out at my website by clicking here.

Dear Jane is On Vacation Until...

2012-01-20T08:38:00.000-05:00

....until my new fabrics arrive! They were mailed on Wednesday, so hopefully they will get here by the first part of next week. I bought a group of 40 different Civil War repro strips--4" x WoF! That should do me for a lot of blocks!

In the meantime, here is an update on the blocks recently done--!

K3 Seven Sisters I'm not crazy about the way this turned out., and plan to do it again.

K4 Thea's Turn. Wow!! So simple and so easy!

K12 Doris' Dilemma Another super easy!

and if you wanted to see my block pieces progress--check out the web page by clicking here.

The Perfect Lemon Pie

2012-01-18T12:50:00.000-05:00

Several years ago, I spent the entire summer making lemon pie after lemon pie...on a futile search for the perfect recipe. I love lemon pie, but it seemed like no bite was ever as good as the homemade pie I'd had in a diner that spring. I tried recipe after recipe after recipe....and nothing could compare.

Finally, towards fall when my days were occupied with canning and preserving I stopped searching for the perfect lemon pie. Of course, not all was lost--over the course of the summer I perfected my meringue! I didn't make another lemon pie until the other night, when I was searching through my baking supplies, looking for something sweet to make...and happened on a box of lemon pie pudding mix my mother had sent over.

Yup--you guessed it. That was the Perfect Lemon Pie. I was thrilled--and then had to laugh. The perfect lemon pie is a mix? The pie lady at the diner was a fake? Well--who cares, because now the Perfect Lemon Pie can be had at any time, and that makes me happy!

The Perfect Lemon pie, with the meringue melded perfectly to the filling.

The first slice....num num num!

Would it be as good as I hoped? It was!

So--no recipe today for the Perfect Lemon Pie. Just go buy a box of lemon pudding from your grocery store, and follow the recipe on the box. It's that easy.

Dear Jane and 100 Knits Challenges

2012-01-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

E7 Bread Basket

M1 Dogwood Days

OOPS!! I know better than to try to rip out a seam...but it only had less then an inch to unpick!

D1 Allison's Guiding Light

Three Headbands!

Another hat!

And Poppy's sweater.

Princess Poppy's New Sweater!

2012-01-17T08:46:00.000-05:00

Poppy has been growing like a weed--and she's outgrown all of her sweaters! It's been so cold, I thought I'd better knit her a new one, so I did! It needs a bit of work for the next sweater. The collar is too loose and not enough material between the chest and neck. But I can fix that!

When I get the adjusted pattern fixed up, I'll post it here!

Annie and Poppy

Poppy and Blackie, snuggling in front of the heater.

See what I mean about the collar? I think smaller needles will help!

And Now, for Something Completely Different!

2012-01-15T08:44:00.000-05:00

Not that I'm sick of the Dear Jane blocks, but I thought I'd share a great recipe I found in (of all places) a Campbell's Soup ad! The recipe is just my kind of cooking--"From Zero to Dinner in 13 Minutes"! I made it for my Mom's birthday dinner, and it was a success.

Dripping Roast Beef Sandwiches

1 can Campbell;s Condensed French Onion Soup

1 tsp reduced sodium Worcestershire Sauce

3/4 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef

4 Classic Soft Hoagie Rolls

4 slices deli provolone cheese cut in half

1/4 drained mild or pickled banana pepper rings

1. Heat oven to 400degrees

2. Heat soup and Worcestershire over medium-high heat to a boil. Add beef and heat through.

3. Divide beef among rolls. Top beef with cheese slices and place sandwiches on a baking sheet.

4. Bake 3 min. or until sandwiches are toasted and cheese is melted. Spoon soup mixture onto sandwiches. Top each sandwich with 1 Tsp. pepper rings.

OK--I did this (without the peppers, as I don't like them) according to the recipe. But--I would make a few changes. I would brown mushrooms and spoon them over the beef, too. And while the deli roast beef was 'ok', I would make these after a pot roast, with left-over shredded beef. And use Swiss cheese. And I ran out of Hoagie rolls, but plain old hamburger buns worked just fine! But other than that--yum!!

Dear Jane--My Blizzard Blocks!

2012-01-14T09:53:00.001-05:00

It was white-out conditions yesterday, and I managed to spend the day on my Dear Jane blocks--sewing between bouts of power outages. Nothing like having an inch or so of seam to finish off a block and then having the power go out for ten minutes! Still, I did get some great blocks done, and wanted to share.

The view from my sewing room.

Ok--not white-out at the moment!

We ended up with over six inches of snow from this storm.

I made the H1 Peek-a-Boo block on the left first, but didn't care for the fabric placements. I made the one on the right and really liked it! This means another block for the 'extras' pile, and one for the quilt!

K13 Brandon's Star--nice block to make!

I would love a whole quilt of this block.

L1 Widow's Pane. Easy--but somehow as I look at the picture

I think I might make it again and try to get the distortion out.

L8 Box Kite--I am beginning to like sewing the blocks with the X in the middle!

Another X block! This one is M2 Duff's Bluff.

I think it would be pretty if I had used two blues.

Now--what's wrong with this E12 Granny's Corset?

The points are great and the center is very nice...

Oh...could it because the points are sewn on in the wrong direction?

THIS is how it's supposed to look, haha!

All in all--quite a nice snow sewing day!

Dear Jane Journey--It's Official--I Hate 'Quilt Jail'!

2012-01-12T11:28:00.001-05:00

It's official. I hate the Dear Jane block called E9 Quilt Jail. And I have good reason! It took me an hour to make each of the failed attempts below. I admit it--I'm a lazy quilter and I've been hopping all over the patterns, doing the easiest ones first. And this one was not the easiest! But I persevered, and at the 5th attempt I decided it was good freaking enough! But if you read all the way down you can see my reward. And a darned good reward it was, too.

Attempt #1. Hey--even I, a Dark Night Quilter, can't say this one is good.

Attempt #2. Better-ish. But the bars are way off!

Attempt #3. Nothing good could be said about this one.

Attempt #4. I would have taken this one--but it's too small!

Attempt #5. We are renaming this one to 'Good Enough'.

It's actually more square than it looks.

And my reward? This block, E7 Star Struck, was done in 35 minutes.

And I didn't even crop off my points.

I love this block. This block kicks Quilt Jail's ass! Take that, Quilt Jail!

Dear Jane Adventure!

2012-01-10T10:27:00.000-05:00

In 2003 I began my Dear Jane journey--and then somehow...just forgot to finish! The blocks, fabrics, and patterns sat in a plastic bin for years until I got it out a few weeks ago. So--I am back working on my quilt! This last weekend I made four more blocks, which brings my total to 54...out of 254! Yikes. But I will persevere!

If you would like some info about the Dear Jane quilt--when it was made, who made it, etc, you can click this link. for information. If you want to make this quilt yourself, I suggest purchasing the Dear Jane software--I did and believe me, it makes all the difference in the world when it comes to these blocks!

This is the original Dear Jane quilt, made by

Jane A. Stickle in 1863.

My worktable this weekend--with the E8 Mama's Maze block ready to press.

My bin of scraps and pieces.

This is my favorite block of all, a hand-appliqued F13 Tour De France

If you would like to see my journey, follow this blog for updates, and also--check my progress on my website!

As I named my Dear Jane Journey--Resistance is Futile!

100 Knits update!

2012-01-09T15:57:00.000-05:00

More hats done! I've gotten three altogether, and will be putting another on the needles tonight.

Here's hat #2, on the needles.

And here's hat #2, all done!

And hat #3! This is actually a pretty light green and dark green not the grey and green it shows here!

This Pie's Too Rich for Me!

2012-01-03T10:28:00.000-05:00

I wanted to try a new dessert, and since I found out that cheesecake is not a difficult, mysterious food like I thought....I decided to go for Lemon Cheesecake. However, when I looked up the recipe, I got sidetracked by Pumpkin Cheesecake! Too delish for words! I made two of them for my Mother's birthday last Sunday, and we managed to eat 1 1/2 pies between only 8 people. Can I get an oink oink?

Two layers!

Julie's Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:

2 (8oz) packs of softened cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 graham cracker crust, prepared

1/2 cup pumpkin from a can

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Optional: whipped cream for the top

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, with a spoon, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until all blended. With beaters, beat eggs into mixture one at a time. Take out 1 cup of the batter, and put it carefully into the graham cracker crust. Set aside.

Add the cinnamon and pumpkin to the remaining batter. Beat only until blended. Carefully pour/spread this over the set-aside pie. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the center is almost set. Cool, and then refrigerate until needed.

The whipped topping can be added at the table. I didn't add any, as it seemed like overkill for such a rich, delicious dessert!

100 Knits Challenge --Jan3rd

2012-01-03T09:53:00.000-05:00

Progress! I started a hat at my Mom's house the 1st, finished it last night while watching TV with the sound off. Marky and I made up our own dialogue. MUCH more interesting than the actual horrible shows on TV!

Begun....

and done!

Also got this one started last night.

100 Knits Challenge!

2011-12-31T14:35:00.001-05:00

It's time for a new challenge--and this year some friends and I decided on the 100 Knits Challenge! This fits in perfectly with my plan to devote January to Charity Knitting (except for the Mister's annual gloves for his birthday!). This year, Mom and I will be knitting hats for a local Children's Home.

Earlier this month I sorted my yarns, and filled a bin with the yarns I plan to use for this knitting. This is going to be a cool double score! Hats for charity and using up yarn! And I also plan to put up patterns as I knit this next year away. Starting with...

Julie's Most Basic & Easiest Hat Ever Pattern

1/2 Skein worsted weight yarn
1 circular #8 12" or 15" needle (Or, 4 #8 DP needles)
4 #8 DP needles for decreasing crown
Row markers

For a child, CO 65 on the circular needle
For an adult, CO 76 on the circular needle

Working in a K1,P1 ribbing, work for 2".
Next--Knitting only, work for 5".
Next--k10, place marker, around, to last 5 stitches. Knit these too.

Decrease--
Dec row: Decrease one before every marker.
Knit row: knit evenly around.

Continue the Decrease rows/knit rows until you have 'about' 20 stitches left. (This is pretty darned flexible.) K2 tog around. Cut off, leaving about 8" of yarn.

End off by gathering the stitches together with a needle and tie off.

OK--this is how I think it goes, lol. I just cast on and knit. Mostly, I just pull the hat onto my head and start to decrease when it feels like it fits. If this was going to be for a child, I would probably put a yarn bobble on the top.

These four hats were made with this pattern.

The two smaller hats were children's hats.

Day after Christmas Present!

2011-12-28T14:16:00.000-05:00

I had four fingers on one glove and three on another to go--but I finished them up the day after Christmas. These were made from the Jacquard yarn I love so much--self-patterning! This is the pattern I use--easy!

Woman’s Gloves—Small/Medium

MATERIALS: Woolease, Jacquard or other soft worsted weight yarn. 4—size 7 dp

Cast on 36 sts. 12-12-12 on 3 needles and join, Work even in k1, p1 ribbing for 20 rows.

Knit 4 rnds.

Next Rnd: K6, place marker, M1k, k to last 6 sts, M1k, place marker, k6 – 38 sts.

Following Rnd: Knit. Inc 1 st after 1st marker and before 2nd marker every other rnd 5 times more – (10 rnds total) 48 sts.

Divide for Thumb: Next Rnd: K6, M1k, drop marker, sl next 18 sts onto one holder, then sl next 18 sts onto second holder, k6 – 13 sts. Divide sts onto 3 needles and work even in St st for 18 rnds.

Dec Rnd: (K 2 tog) around, as possible. Break off yarn and Draw end through sts on needles, pull up tightly and fasten off.

Hand: Divide 18 sts from both holders (36 sts total) onto 3 needles, mark for beg of rnd and work 12 rnds.

Inc Rnd: * K9, M1k, rep from * 3 times more – 40 sts.

1st Finger: Next Rnd: K5, sl next 15 sts onto first holder with opening of holder facing RH needle, sl next 14 sts onto second holder, M1k, k6 – 12 sts. Divide sts onto 3 needles and work even for 21 rnds. End with Dec Rnd.

2nd Finger: Next Rnd: K5 from first holder, M1k, leave the next 19 sts on holders, M1k, sl 5 sts from second holder to dpn then k these 5 sts – 12 sts. Work even for 26 rnds. End with Dec Rnd.

3rd Finger: Next Rnd: K5 from first holder, M1k, leave next 9 sts on holders, M1k, sl 5 sts from second holder to dpn then k these 5 sts – 12 sts. Work even for 22 rnds. End with Dec Rnd.

4th Finger: Next Rnd: K9 sts from holders, M1k – 10 sts. Divide sts onto 3 needles and work even for 16 rnds. End with Dec Rnd.

Your Moment of Holiday Zen

2011-12-22T15:46:00.001-05:00

The bowl belonged to my Great-Grandmother.

When Grandma Savage moved from her home into my Mom's home, she gave me this and several other wooden bowls and kitchen utensils. They had been stacked in her cellar-way. She told me she remembered her Mother using them. I use this bowl all the time.

Holiday Treat--Canucks!

2011-12-19T12:45:00.000-05:00

This is a recipe I got years and years ago from my sister-in-law, Robin--(and no, she doesn't know why they are called Canucks either!) Very rich, very delicious. And not too hard to make, which is always a plus for me. Now, the original recipe calls for lard for the pie-crust. I'll include that in the recipe below. But I experimented and used store pie-crust this time.

Looking at the ingredients for the crust below, I suspect it makes a LOT of pie crust. I've never made it, as I don't cook with lard, and also avoid making home-made pie crust when ever humanly possible. So--you may want to go with any of your own one-crust pie crust recipes. Or, use pre-packaged from your freezer section!

I know, I said it makes a dozen, and there are only eleven on this plate. Hmmmm..mysterious. Where could that twelfth one have gotten too???

(Secretly wipes crumbs from mouth.)

The shells, ready to fill.

Spoon the batter in about 1/2 full. These will rise.

Make sure to grease the pan really good. Sigh.

Don't go fast and skip parts!

I should have used cooking spray.

Canucks

Makes 12.

Filling:

2 Eggs

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Crust:

1 pound lard

5 cups flour

1 cup sour milk

OR--any single crust pie dough recipe you like.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Heavily grease a muffin tin. Cut the dough in 'circles' and place one in each cup, patting to fit. It's OK to add extra dough patches if you need to cover a spot. Set aside.

Filling: beat brown sugar and eggs in a medium sized bowl. Add chopped nuts if wanted. Spoon into dough cups, filling each 'about' half-way. This will rise up.

Put into preheated oven, and cook until a knife stuck into the center of one comes out clean--about 20 minutes. I set my timer for 15 and keep checking.

Eat. And rejoice at the wonder that is a Canuck!

The Quilts are almost done!!

2011-12-17T08:53:00.001-05:00

One more to go--hopefully I'll get to it today! Time is running out.

This is Mistletoe's quilt, laying on the table. The backing, batting, and top.

This is a kitty-cat quilt, and I'm tying off the quilt so it looks like whiskers.

This is Holiday Human's quilt, all ready to tie off.

Both of these are totally done, binding and all, just need to take 'done' pictures before wrapping!

Knitted Up!

2011-12-14T16:33:00.000-05:00

Christmas gifts finished--woot!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2011-12-10T09:48:00.000-05:00

Mother Nature is getting ready for the holidays.

First, she picked a tree.

Then she decorated it with pretty balls.

And a touch of snowy winter.

A perfect Christmas Ornament from Mother Nature.

Last, but not least, she added a star.

Our Ship Has Come In! We are Wealthy Beyond Our Wildest Dreams!

2011-12-07T08:57:00.000-05:00

The Mister and I received a very unexpected letter in the mail last week. But before I tell you about it, let me back up a bit....all the way to January of 2011, when we received a letter from eBay, informing us that the Mister had, by virtue of purchasing from this particular eBay seller, been entered into a Class Action Suit. We were to do nothing but await the outcome of the lawsuit, and decide how to spend our share of the payout.

We promptly filed the letter in our circular file, better known as the Wood Stove. It's been our experience that such nonsense isn't worth the paper it's written on. Boy, were we wrong! But I'm getting ahead of myself, because first, we have to get from last January to here. In the intervening months we occasionally received an update on our Class Action Suit. I filed them appropriately. Their ashes were scattered on my garden in the spring. Then, the whole thing faded from our memories as nothing more was ever heard. We sagely recalled the '07 Sears VS Somebody Class Action Suit we were automatically enrolled in by virtue of being Card Members. Ha. Never heard a thing back about that. Must be we lost and Sears won.

So...bringing us to now. When the letter arrived last week, the Mister opened it up and frowned. "It looks like a check." He held it close to his face--"I don't have my glasses on....but that can't be the amount!" I took the letter with the attached check and looked at it. I was shocked--truly shocked. It was a settlement check. And it was made out to the Mister. Yes, we had finally won a Class Action Suit, and this check was our slice of the Class Action Suit pie. I think it might save the farm. Oh, wait....we don't have a farm. Well, if we did, I'm pretty sure this check would have been the saving of it.

Yesterday, the Mister and I proudly went to the bank and deposited our check. The teller was in awe. She looked at the check several times, as we had, thinking it had to be a mistake. Who would send that sort of money? She didn't come right out and ask us if we were sure we wanted to deposit the entire check, but I could see the question trembling on her lips.

Oh--curious as to how much we were awarded? I'm not sure we should say the amount. I mean, what if we start getting weird requests from strangers, asking for a share of our settlement? What if the IRS gets wind of our windfall? What if relatives start appearing out of the woodwork, all eager for a cut? Oh, what the heck! Why not be brave? Why not be generous? Why not throw caution to the winds? Our check totaled $0.07. No, it's not a typo. You read it right. Our share of the Class Action Suit was seven cents. Seven one/hundredths of a dollar. Zero point zero seven. And we're going to blow it all. Every. Single. Cent.

Santakinz is in the 'House!

2011-12-02T08:13:00.000-05:00

The Webkinz Clubhouse, that is! I love this time of year!

The Santakinz room.

Dare he get on Santakinz's lap? Has he been a good reindeer?

Only Santakinz knows!

Must be! Santakinz has given him a candy cane!

AND--he gets to pick a present!

And to end a perfect visit with Santakinz, he gets his picture taken with him!

Making Holiday Fun!

2011-12-01T10:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I finished up the PJ bottoms for the three grands. Left to right--Holiday Human, Mistletoe, and Haileyluia! I used this very easy Simplicity pattern--just made the bottoms this time--and plan to try the robes maybe next year. I'll have to keep an eye on fleece sales at JoAnn Fabrics this summer!

The fleecy fabrics and the pattern!

Sewing the inseam on Haileyluia's pjs.

Mistletoe gets the horses!

The three pj bottoms, almost done!

I had enough of the fleece left to make Haileyluia's pj bottoms and a big soft pillow! The other two got the pj bottoms and a smallish throw.

I love to make things for Christmas, and honestly--each pair of pj bottoms took me about 20 minutes max. My kind of craft!

Christmas Tree Fun!

2011-11-28T09:34:00.000-05:00

The Mister and I have always had a Real Christmas Tree. Some years we have had to search the farm far and wide for a nice tree. Some years we've had to lash two trees together. Some years, the Mister has drilled holes in the trunk and inserted extra branches in the bare spots. Once, we even bought a tree from a road-side stand. And we swore we would never, ever, ever buy an artificial tree.

Then, we bought an artificial tree. Of course, I knew immediately the biggest benefit from this--I can put the tree up myself any time I want. I bet the Mister didn't think of that. His idea of tree-decoration time is one day before Christmas. Mine is Thanksgiving afternoon if I am not too stuffed. But when you heat your home with a wood-stove, a real tree just does not stand a chance. No matter how much you water, that tree drops needles like rain about two weeks after it's up. Heh. My artificial tree never does.

First, we brought our carefully selected tree into the living room. Note the bright green branches and the sleeping dog on the couch? Of course, pretty branches are a must, but the sleeping dog on the couch is just a nice extra score.

Oh, dear, not as pretty as it could be. I quickly go to work on the branches.

A few garlands, plug in the lights, and it's on the way!

What's a Christmas tree without a puppy? Poppy thinks this might be a fine place to play.

Annie has set up a display on the wall over the couch.

LISTEN!

I think I hear sleigh bells.

No, seriously....do you hear Santa?

Be good. Be really, really good. I think Santa Claws is peeking in the window at me.

Annie adds some decorations.

I plan to have a finally done tree picture...as soon as I break down and read the instructions in my camera manual, about taking pictures in dim light.

Alyssa's Star Search is OVER!

2011-11-26T09:44:00.000-05:00

For my Webkinz friends--I finally, finally finished Alyssa's Star Search! I've hated this game since last June when I lacked four stars to finish. In the space of a week, I found three of the four stars--and have played daily trying to get that last elusive star! And finally, the day after Thanksgiving, I did!

Was it worth it? I guess...but for the record, no other account is getting this chair, because I sure as heck will never play Alyssa's Star Search again!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Woods!

2011-11-24T10:00:00.000-05:00