Not Quite Vintage

my little harvest

2010-07-12T20:02:45-05:00

Early this summer, late spring actually, I potted up two tomato plants, a cucumber plant and a few herbs. The herbs flourished, but the tomato and cucumber plants just seemed to green up, flower, grow higher and nothing else. I was frustrated, questioning what I was doing wrong and wondered if gardening just wasn't my thing... until the past couple weeks. My grape tomato decided to start growing lots of green little babies, the early girl while not early is finally producing BLT worthy fruit and my cucumber seemed to grow three overnight.

This is what I picked today when I got home - my first little harvest of the summer. And can I tell you how yummy the cucumber was? Seriously I don't think I have ever eaten one almost straight off the vine. It was so crunchy fresh. I hope the plant continues to flourish because I am thinking I might have to try and make some pickles.

Guess what I did today?

2010-07-06T10:07:00-05:00

Once again, like pretty much every day, I booted up my computer to check email, news and blogs only to find that I had 1000+ posts waiting for me in reader. Honestly, I have seen that 1000+ for almost a month now and it’s actually pretty daunting. Why? Well, it signified how out of touch I have been over the past few months. Couple that with the fact that up until yesterday I hadn’t posted on this blog since Earth Day – yes, that is over 2 months of no posts. Goodness.

And how exactly was I going to have time to read each and every one of those 1000+ posts? Honestly I would say that was closer to 2000 posts if I had to guess. Even Craft Magazine had over 300 posts waiting for me. Ugh.

So I had to make a decision and I decided to start fresh. 1000+ posts became zero. Whew that felt good!

And no it doesn’t mean that I don’t value all of the posts on your blogs, I do. Promise. I just had to make a decision that would help me feel excited to check reader again and be able to actually read, rather than skim your posts.

It really does feel good to make this fresh start.

count em... yep, 7 quilt blocks

2010-07-05T17:07:04-05:00

Hello there, it is me again. I finally found a little time to get some crafting done over the past week. It was more like I finally made time for crafting than found extra time… you know? I wont bore you with my it has been so busy at work lately whining, instead I will just show you three months (yes I just admitted to being multiple months behind) of quilt blocks for the Pieced Together Quilting Bee.

First up is the Cathedral Window block for Sandy. This one was a bit tricky. I was really careful but things still seemed to come out a bit wonky. I really hope it matches up with the others and I didn’t hold up Sandy’s process too much by being dreadfully late.

Second are Michelle's half-square triangle blocks. I love half-square triangles – my month of the bee was a simple block of half-square triangles made out of menswear shirts. The combination of pink and orange was so lovely, so cheery. I would never have put those colors together on my own and I am so glad Michelle introduced me to the combination – I have a feeling it will start popping up in my stash.

Last are Katie, our fair quilting bee organizer’s vintage sheet blocks inspired by Oh Frannson’s Mod Quilt Sampler Quilt Along. I really loved the fabrics – that blue, lilac and green combination in the sheet was divine. I had a lot of fun putting these together – great fabrics and simple blocks patterns.

It really did feel good to be back sewing. I always forget how much I love it while on a break only to find it a wonderful way to spend an evening or an afternoon totally immersed in the sewing and happily unconcerned with the stressors of life. Yep, need to remember to MAKE more time for sewing or really any form of creativity when times are hectic.

happy earth day

2010-04-22T17:38:42-05:00

A couple weeks ago I found a really cute store on Etsy called Bells and Unicorns that sells reusable fabric sandwich bags. Once I saw the blue plaid number I knew I needed to place an order. They arrived in the mail yesterday (with a bonus snack size bag) just in time for Earth Day. Today's lunch, a turkey sandwich, fit nicely and stayed fresh inside! Mmm.

Happy Earth Day! Are you celebrating by implementing any new habits?

crispy and salty

2010-04-21T19:08:35-05:00

Have you seen the craze going around the health and fitness and foodie blogs lately? It is the potato chip craving crusher of kale chips - yes I said kale! I have to admit that I had never knowingly eaten kale until this week. It always looked a little too green and curly laying there in the grocery store and since I never had it growing up I had know idea how to cook it. Turns out is is pretty darn yummy, especially when it is baked up crispy with some olive oil and sea salt.

Honestly this was heavenly - crispy and salty at the same time. The texture made them addictive and they were really fun to eat - both by themselves or with a little organic ketchup (I never really tasted ketchup before until I bought an organic version and wow, real tomato taste).

This picture is from my second batch this week - this may be a new addiction. At least they are healthy, right? I used Smitten Kitchen's recipe as a guide - only thing I added was a little bit of garlic powder.

I am trying to eat more mindfully and as part of that I have made a goal to try at least one new food/ingredient each month. This month is kale. So far I have tried it as chips (twice in one week!) and tomorrow morning I plan on putting some in my green smoothie instead of my typical spinach. I am a little bit scared.

Not sure what I will try next - any ideas?

a new perspective

2010-04-20T18:08:54-05:00

You know how you can hear (or read) something a million times and never have it sink in... but then you can hear is from a slightly different point of view and a light bulb suddenly goes off? There is just something about the presentation and context of a message that can make it even more meaningful and possibly life changing.

This happened to me recently while reading the book AntiCancer. I have read a long list of health, nutrition and diet books, newsletters, blogs (I may be a food blog junkie) etc in the past few years, but haven't been quite as affected by any other book. Honestly, this book was a life changing read for me. No worries, it wasn't life changing because I am sick (nope, pretty healthy overall I believe - but did you realize each and every one of us have cancer cells, they just may not be in the right environment to replicate?) but because it put a lot of the same advice I have read many times into a context that makes sense to me. A context that says "come on Colleen make some more positive changes in your life and you'll live a longer, happier and healthier life for it." Pretty darn good motivation.

Let me back up a bit. I did buy the book for a reason (well other than because my niece Nicole recommended it to me) - it seems like every single person I know has a person in their lives facing cancer. In my family there are a couple facing it. And while my Momma never fought it, she did fight the extremely unforgiving disease of Alzheimer's. I can't pin point what might have made that a reality in her life, but I can tell you what predisposed my Pop to lung cancer - yep, smoking and his not smoking for the past 20+ years and exercising almost every single day didn't keep it from happening. I want a different future for myself and feel it is necessary for me to learn as much as I can, take a good look at my lifestyle and make some changes. Yes, I know I can't guarantee that the changes will keep me healthy, but they will help me feel like I did my best. Knowing that can take away the what ifs. And to me, what ifs are the worst! (My mind just doesn't know how to quiet down... especially when it is time to go to sleep.)

I will be sure to share some of the changes and choices I am making along the way - you may start seeing more healthy cooking, exercise and green product posts. I hope that is okay with you :)

And as you can probably tell, I highly recommend this book (there is also a website). It is written by a doctor who fought brain cancer twice - his voice is clear and relate-able. The book provides a lot of technical information in a not too technical manner and offers up a holistic approach to staying healthy. Pretty darn good book for anyone and even better for someone who might be facing cancer right now - I know from family experience that many doctors don't supplement typical treatment protocols with a whole body approach to wellness. And just because it is about cancer doesn't mean it is a depressing book - it was quite the opposite for me, it was empowering.

Do you have any favorite health and/or fitness books I should put on my reading list?

PTQB2 April - part 2

2010-04-05T18:34:33-05:00

Yesterday I took a little Easter time out and enjoyed some crafty time. I decided I should make an example block for my Pieced Together Quilting Bee friends. I had experimented with half square triangles while preparing for my month, but with fabric scraps, not my actual fabrics. So yesterday I put together a block using my menswear shirting and kona cotton solid fabrics I sent out for the bee.

I really, really love how it turned out and just can't wait to see all the finished block.

A few details to share about the block:

Finished block size is 17.25 x 17.25 inches
Individual half triangle squares are 4.5 x 4.5 inches
I used a combination of techniques to piece my block. First was the traditional half square triangle technique of placing two squares right sides together, drawing a diagonal line, sewing 1/4 inch on each side of the line and then cutting down the diagonal to create two complete squares. Second was to cut squares on the diagonal to create two triangles and then pair up two triangles and sew 1/4 inch seams. Both techniques created the same size block.

Hope this helps clear up any questions my fellow quilting bee-ers may have.

PTQB2 April

2010-03-31T21:11:12-05:00

April is my month for the Pieced Together Quilting Bee and I am happy to say all my packages are in the mail - and it is still March (at least for a few more hours).

I am going simple this round and asking for simple block of half square triangles made from 5 inch charm squares - four squares by four squares. I was inspired by a quilt I remember from my childhood. My great aunt Sue made my sister Debbie a scrap quilt for her wedding present - at least this is the story I remember. I remember the quilt on her bed and it being stored in her hope chest when it was too warm. I also remember how cozy it was. It was made from a collection of scraps from old clothing and from old sewing projects. Nothing matched, but that added to its charm.

I am not going so far as not having my fabrics match (I am sure you aren't surprised) but I am recycling a collection of menswear shirts from my Pops' closet that were on the way to Goodwill (they were all close to new but are now more than a size too large for him). They are a mixture of stripes, checks and plaids in blue, white and tan. I am pairing them with Kona Cotton is Ash - a grayish linen type color. I am really excited for this quilt - I love the colors, the blocks should go together easy and quilting will be relatively simple with all the straight and diagonal lines to follow.

And yes, I am still procrastinating on the cathedral window block for March... Sandy, I promise to work on it this weekend!

my favorite things: taste combo

2010-03-29T19:30:19-05:00

I would have to say that ever since I watch ET with my Pops when I was 9, I have loved the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. I just love Reese's and PB M&Ms but I really try to keep them as far away from me as possible. I can't just stop at one or two.

A couple weeks ago while I was catching up on food blogs I ran across a post that mentioned Dark Chocolate Dream peanut butter. It sounded like heaven and I couldn't help thinking that it would be disastrous to have it in my pantry. I had never seen it in in stores, so I didn't think another thing about it until I was shopping at Target and there it was staring at me from the shelf saying buy me, buy me. And I did.

MMMM good. Quite rich, but a perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter. It is yummy melted on a toasted whole wheat English muffin. And I am proud to say I have only consumed a couple table spoons in the almost two weeks in has been in my home. It is a treat. A grown up peanut butter.

The ingredients list is quite good and short. Yay, I can pronounce every ingredient! (On a side note, have you read Michael Pollan's Food Rules yet? I can't help but here his voice in my head while I am reading it. There is something about his voice.)

So what is your favorite food combination? Do you crave salty, sweet or both?

I love tea towels, don't you?

2010-03-22T18:33:17-05:00

If you have been visiting for a while, you might remember that I teased you with some secret holiday crafting work-in-progress photos way back in December 2008. I couldn't share more than some close ups at that point and now I can finally share the details with you.

The project I teased you with is now part of the book Craft Challenge: Dozens of Ways to Repurpose a Tea Towel published by Lark Books.

It is funny to think that my original idea submission was over a year and a half ago and the instructions were complete a year ago. I am so glad to the book is finally out and I can share with you. Two of the almost thirty projects in the book are mine: a hanging towel for the kitchen that was inspired by my Gram's crochet topped towel and a hanging clothespin holder.

If you get a chance to take a look at the book, you wont be let down - you will find patterns from some of your favorite crafters including one of my faves, African Kelli. Plus, the project instruction drawings are really quite nice - I love how the illustrations reflect the pattern of the fabrics the projects were made in.

If you happen to make any of the projects from the book, let me know. I would love to see pictures :)