Scooter | Crazy for Fiber

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Archive for the ‘Scooter’ Category

I Love Fabric!

Friday, December 10th, 2010

I am really trying to pull myself together and get with the holiday spirit, but truth be told, I am not feeling very festive. Mia got sick at school today and Steph and Jack were having a nice lunch together and had their cell phones off so I went and picked her up. When Steph came to collect her, I shared that I was feeling a bit depressed and didn’t care whether I decorate my tree or not. I am so concerned about my sister and her immediate family as they care for my BIL. I worry that the weather will be lousy if we need to fly to NY. I worry that the plane tickets will be out of sight. Etc.

She gave me some good advice. There are some things that are out of your control. You cannot change what will happen or how. There are also things that you can do and you need to concentrate on those things. I raised some very wise and intelligent kids.

So this afternoon, I got out of the house and went to the closest fabric store which always makes me happy. I found the perfect purple felt for the coasters that I made a couple of days ago. Love it! They have a lovely supply of silk organza. I have been thinking that I want to use organza for the next Twelve X Twelve colorplay theme quilt. The colors are eggplant, wine and emerald green. Look what I found. I love the women who work in the fashion fabric department and they are very curious about what I am doing with this. This is a store where the last 3 Project Runway winners shop.

I forgot to share the fabric that I purchased at the Guild meeting on Wednesday. Bonnie, of Handwerks fabric, had this grouping, titled Petroglyph. Aren’t they gorgeous?

This morning, I managed to fuse some more fabrics for another batch of coasters. This time, I used already fused vintage Japanese kimono fabrics. It is ready to quilt tomorrow when we are due for another monsoon day.

Mr C put the tree up this morning and added the lights this afternoon. The tree is smaller than we usually have, but I love its graceful shape. Mia and I were going to decorate it tomorrow, but that is on hold since she is running a fever with a sore throat and headache.

And here is my lovable Scooter who enjoys giving and getting hugs sooo much. We just took a nice walk in the waning light of the day, and he thinks he should have a cookie.

Posted in 12X12 challenge, Scooter, Stuff I Buy | 9 Comments »

Random Stuff

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Today, Mr C and I took Scooter out to the country to cut down our Christmas tree. We love Noble Firs and we have a favorite place to find them. This is our third year to go back to the Allen Tree Farm. We started out to search for the perfect tree, armed with the hand saw.

It is a bit hard to see the trees for the forest!

Mr C does a height check.

A young kid working there offered to take it down with a chain saw. Mr C went to find him. Meanwhile, I found a tree I liked better. This could have gone on for hours.

Scooter had a good time off leash running around the tree farm.

And so, we headed back to the front of the farm.

Seen on the path.

After a good shaking, the tree was wrapped in plastic and loaded on to the roof of the Jeep and home we went. It probably won’t get brought in the house and decorated until later in the week. Mia asked to come and help me.

I had a busy week-end. On Saturday, we prepared the house and a meal for our church dinner group. Groups of 8 are randomly organized in the fall and the group meets together in each other’s homes through out the year. We were so excited to get to know six people we had not known before. Several are new to the area.

Yesterday, I went to church early with Mr C as he was auditioning to be a reader. I went to an advent talk and discussion. Then, last night we went back for Lessons and Carols, a very Anglican Advent service. The music and readings were beautiful.

This morning, I had a chat with the SDA conference chair and agreed to handle the housing reservations for the University of Minn dorms. I have to set up a web page with information before the end of the year.

Tonight, I finally got down to my studio and cut out the felt that I bought for the base of my coasters. I really like the touch of the felt around the edges.

Tonight, I made a batch with indigo shibori and a linen napkin that I dyed orange. I used orange felt for the base.

I am finally feeling pretty good again. I was beginning to feel my age, and that is not a good thing. I have a busy week, socially, so am not sure how much studio time I will have. I have to get moving on the deadlines that are looming.

Posted in Holidays, House and home stuff, My creations, Scooter, Spiritual Life | 3 Comments »

Better

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

I had a really good night’s sleep last night. I awoke refreshed and ready to tackle a few things in my life.

It is not all sunshine and roses, however. The day brought a disappointment and a sadness.

The disappointment is that I did not get juried into Form Not Function. Like Q=A=Q, I have been in this show before so I had an expectation that I might get in again. I received a very nice rejection e-mail and a list of those who got in. It is a smallish show so I am not that surprised that I did not get in.

The sadness was hearing from a friend that her husband has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. It is devastating news. My friend, Dee, is not seeing much progress with her husband and thinks he is giving up. No news from my sister except that they have met with hospice and have that in place when it is needed. These 3 women and their spouses are often on my mind during the day. One of my friends said it is the curse of growing old — these events pervade your life.

I had fun making the fiber sketch today. I wanted to try something a little more complex. I also finished cleaning and reorganizing my studio kitchen. Now, I can tackle the studio so that I can get to work on some large projects that are on my mind.

Scooter loves to hang out in my office with me. If I am there working on the computer or sitting and doing hand-sewing, he happily stays with me. If I get up and go into the studio and start working, he comes in, checks out what I am doing and runs upstairs to hang out with Mr C.

Here is where he hangs out at night and when we leave the house for any length of time. He is such a good boy. He loves the chilly weather and seems to enjoy his walks more. Of course, he has that lovely coat that he wears all the time.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. STASH at Terry’s!

Posted in Quilting Friends, Scooter, Sketchbook Project | 3 Comments »

It’s All About the Food

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010

I had a great time cooking today. I used all the ingredients left from my organic farm produce this week. Above is the Pear Tart Tartin, which did not use any of the ingredients. It was delicious with organic vanilla ice cream.

I made a tomatillo salsa with the tomatillos and jalapeno peppers. It also has onion, cilantro and lime juice. It was so good. I did not take photos, but you can see photos of the recipe I used, here.

I used the kale and rosemary in a Kale and White Bean soup. The recipe is here.

Steph made her fabulous sweet potato biscuits.

Here is the recipe:

Sweet Potato Biscuits
adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine
yield: about 20 small-size biscuits

1 pound sweet potatoes or yam (one large one is usually sufficient)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (chilled), cut into small pieces
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Prick the sweet potato and bake until soft (about one hour…you can also do this more quickly in a microwave). Once the sweet potato has cooled, scoop the flesh from the skin and pass through a food mill, ricer or sieve. You should have about 1 3/4 cups puree.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cayenne. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter (or use your fingers) until it resembles a course meal. Mix milk with sweet potato puree and add it to the other ingredients. Mix dough, just to incorporate (I use my hands). If the dough is really sticky, add a touch more flour. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead a few times. Pat out to a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut biscuits with a biscuit-cutter or glass. We make ours small, about 2 inches in diameter. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Place in preheated oven and cook until risen and slightly brown, about 12 minutes (longer for larger biscuits). Serve warm.

I invited her and the family just so I could have some of these biscuits. I also roasted beets which we had on a salad of greens with goat cheese. It was a beautiful meal and very tasty.

Mia is always reading:

And Scooter was mostly on his good behavior

except when he snuck into the kitchen while we were eating dessert and knocked some dishes on the floor, trying to have some leftovers!!

No studio time today. Maybe tomorrow.

Posted in Cooking and Recipes, Family, Scooter | 6 Comments »

Seeing Red

Thursday, October 21st, 2010

Driving home from the STASH gathering today, we saw a stand of trees with gorgeous fall color which inspired tonight’s fiber sketch. I took the photo as Reva was whizzing through the intersection.

We had a great time at Suzy’s home. Suzy is fairly new to our group so we had not met there, yet. It was a visual treat. She has lots of Japanese and Asian items in her home. She is not afraid of color and she loves red as you will soon see. I should have taken a photo of the living room rug which had gorgeous red flowers.

Here is Suzy in her kitchen.