Sewing Roll

Publish Post

I made a couple of these sewing rolls yesterday. I love the way they turned out. I think they would make perfect little Christmas gifts.

Park City Girl's Family Recipe Swap

Amy Over at Park City Girl Is having a recipe swap. I love this idea because I have lost my cooking mojo. Meatloaf and mashies are not thrilling me lately. So here's my contribution:

Chicken Roll-Ups

Chicken Breast ( 1 breast per serving)
Ham (sliced thin or chipped from the deli)
Sharp Cheddar (block, not shredded) or cheese of your liking (sliced thin)
Bread or cracker crumbs (Ritz Garden Vegetable are good)
Butter (melted)
Toothpicks

Start by pounding out your chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Lay down a few (thin) slices of ham on top of your chicken breast. Then add a layer of cheese. Roll the breast up. Dip it in melted butter. Roll in bread crumbs. Stick a toothpick or 2 through the middle of the roll. Put in a baking dish and bake uncovered @ 350 for 35-40 minutes depending on your oven.
I usually serve this with baked potatoes and broccoli.

(this is not my picture, this yummy Chicken Cordon Bleu is made by Tyler Florence on Food Network)

Tea Staining (the way I do it)....

Thought I'd show you how I tea stain my fabric. Super simple.


I am going to start working on a quilt using reproduction fabrics. I promised myself that I am not buying anymore fabric until I use some of what I have. (not sure what the definition of some is yet!LOL) I couldn't find any background fabric I liked in my stash.

It was all too light for the fabrics I am working with so I decided to tea stain some. Here is how I do it:

Put the fabric in a big bowl. I used a big Pyrex mixing bowl. This is 2 yards of pre-washed ( I pre-wash everything) cotton fabric. Then make a strong batch of tea.
I also added vinegar and some salt to mine. Don't really know if it does anything to help set the tea but it seems like something my aunt would have done so I just do it. After the tea steeps and is as dark as you'd like it, pour it over your material. To cover or close to it.

I then let it soak and turn the fabric a few times in the bowl every few minutes. Then when it's the color I want it (*it will lighten up as it dries) I put it into the washer on the spin cycle (no rinse). Then I throw it in the dryer and Voila! The tea stained fabric is on the bottom and the original is on the top. It's subtle but just enough to work well with my other fabric. You can make it darker by making a stronger brew, adding instant coffee or letting it soak longer. You can also use different kinds of teas. The possibilities are endless.

I really like to tea stain neutral homespun material. It just grabs the tea and you get lots of great streaks and textures in your fabric. Here is my absolute favorite quilt. I made it in 2007.

Here is another made with tea stained homespun in the background. I like the lighter and darker streaks in this one. It's hard to see them, they are near the willow trees.

I made this one for Jacque. We did a swap this summer and we decided on a prim drab theme. I love how this turned out. Again the background is all various tea stained pieces. I hope this was helpful to someone. I think it's a lot of fun and a great way to mute some of the bright colors that may be in your stash if it's mixed like mine.

A Fun Giveaway....

There is a great give away over at Canton Village Quilt Works.

Mushrooms...In Progress

I'm trying to finish up my wip's .

This one is from June.
I love the fabric but not sure where I am going with it yet.

(very wrinkled from sitting in the closet for 4 months)

I'm just doing some random piecing, no pattern. We'll see how it turns out!

Aqua and Red Pinwheels

I finished my aqua and red pinwheel baby quilt. I love it! I couldn't get the best pic this morning but it's okay.

Here's a shot of the six different color fabrics I used.

I decided to go with the red micro dots for the binding.

I more often than not sew my binding on completely with my machine and they don't always look so great. I usually only hand sew binding on if I am giving the quilt to someone else. I did sew this one down by hand. I am really going to try to commit to sewing all my bindings on by hand. They look so nice and I really don't mind doing it. It just takes so long when you have all these quilt ideas swirling around in your brain. But I am really going for better quality in my quilts over quantity.

Fabrics Used

darkest red - Marbles by Moda

red micro dots - ? not sure, no selvages (tattered), found in the bargain room at LQS, really thick and nice though
red with whit flowers - Aunt Grace Scrap Bag by Judie Rothermel (Marcus Brothers)

darkest aqua - Linen Texture by P & B Textiles
aqua with flowers - Aunt Grace Classics by Judie Rothermel
lighter blue with red dots - Bubble Gum Basics by Barbara Jones (Henry Glass Fabrics)
white background fabric - something that was nice and thick from my stash (no selvage)

Strip Pieced Half Square Triangles and Flat Pinwheels

I'm in the process of making an aqua and red pinwheel baby quilt. I love pinwheels. The easiest way (for me) to make half square triangles is to strip piece them. Here's how I do it.

hey way I cut my strips of fabric is to take the finished size I want my HST ( half square triangles) to be plus 7/8 of an inch. Cut that measurement by the WOF (width of fabric). Then you get this nice pile of strips.

Next mark off the measurement you are using for your HST in intervals on the back of your light strips. Then mark alternating diagonal lines between the straight lines.

Now line your light strip and alternating fabric strip right sides together and press them to hold them together.

Sew 1/4 of an inch away from the diagonal lines on one side of the strip.

When you come to the end of the strip turn it and sew along the diagonal lines on the other side.

Press to set your seems.

Now cut on the drawn lines (straight and diagonal).

Press to the darker fabric and square up as desired.

FLAT PINWHEELS

Now that you have your half square triangles you can make lots of things. I am making pinwheels. This is how I get a flat pinwheel. Pinwheels have a lot of bulk where all the seams intersect. So pressing is the important thing here.

First layout your HST's to make a pinwheel. Sew the top 2 together and then the bottom 2, butting seams.
PRESS THE SEAMS OPEN.

Now put your top unit and bottom unit together, matching all seams. Pin if you like.

Press your seams OPEN.

Square up. Now you should have a lovely flat pinwheel.