Should have finished post before I posted it

Here are the pictures of the egg noodles in the process. I made two batches and rolled each batch out seperately. This is the first batch. I roll it out as thin as I want it. I prefer more of a dumpling like noodle so mine are 1/4in to 3/8 in. thick.

Roll it up into a long log and then cut it into the size noodles you prefer. A pasta roller can be used also to get a thinner noodle. I cut the slices and then I unroll them and leave them on the counter to dry most of the time.

I do like them fresh and placed in the pot with a boiling roll to the liquid. This is two batches as I make them. You could get more mileage out of a thinner rolling. They are very good in my book.
My Mother use to make them and she would use so much of her shoulder muscles making then she threatened to wrap it in foil and take it out to the garage floor and roll over it with the car tires. This makes a softer dough but a good flavor. I know some day my recipe is going to fall apart I have saved it to my computer and hand written it into a couple cookbooks. Don't want to loose this recipe. Chris

Comfort Food

It is cold and damp and dreary out. The Grandkids are coming and I decided Home made Chicken and Noodles. This is the copy of the recipe I found in BH&G from June of 1989. You use a food processor to mix your dough and roll it out to the thickness you want and cut and dry or cook right away. I use it all the time and have worn out two food processors making it. Not sure you can read the ingredients, but it is easy. 2 eggs, 1/3 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup of water, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 2 1/3 cups of flour. Add all to food processor and mix on high with large blade until it forms a ball. If it crumbles then add a few more drops of water and it will for ball. Let rest and then roll and cut. You can dry them or use fresh. Bring liquid of chicken stock or beef stock to a boil and drop in. Cook on high until tender. About 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the noodles. Hope you like it Chris ps. Double click on the recipe and it will come up larger.

You can add dried herbs for flavored noodles also.

More UFO's

Ok I know more UFO's well I have plenty. This is called Lollipop Flowers. I think I have 12 of the 16 blocks done. I know just a few more. It is 30-40's prints and all done by hand applique. I love the look. I like the hand work, but I have minimal time to get much done. I would like to get to be able do machine applique with the blind stitch. I have tried and I guess I am not sure the look it what it should be. To much of a perfectionist when it comes to the stitching. I like the applique look and my list of to-do is very long. If I could perfect the technique by machine I could produce so many more. I think I have UFO's because I get bored with the time it takes.

This is a Cockscomb Star pattern. Of course the star isn't in the center yet because I got distracted and didn't finish this block. I think I have 8 of these finished out of 12.

As of yesterday I got volunteered for the birdhouse detail. I am painting them.
Jeff has Parkinson's disease and his hands don't always want to cooperate to paint. Today I am finishing up details on smaller birdhouses. The smaller they are the less wood details they have and more painting. I will take some pictures when I get a couple more done.

Back to the machine applique. I know practice practice, I think I will have to work harder and get less sleep around here. This next Spring or in a few weeks I going to mow three yards one of which is mine for extra money. Besides the gardening season starts. Oh My when will I get to sew. LOL Chris

Lumber yard vs. Quilt store

What is is with men and a lumber yard? LOL You would think they were in a candy store. Well you can see mine likes to do things with wood and here are some of his latest birdhouses. This is a Duplex. Notice the Chimney is on the right hand side.

Here is the Chimney end of the birdhouse. He likes to add detail to the houses.
This is the back side of the birdhouse. He divided the birdhouse and then made two openings on opposite sides so it looks the same but really two little apartments

This is another style that he makes that is a single dwelling.

It has a little porch on the ends of the birdhouse.

Now me I would rather be in a Quilt shop, but this is his hobby and I guess this month I spent all the extra money on his hobby. So I am back to the scrap bags for the quilts I want to make.
Chris

Tribute to Caregivers

Many of us have parents and family members who need our attention. I am one of the caregivers and I would like to make a tribute to all that have done or are doing now. I do part of mine from home and some from the phone and driving to my Mother's. I thought Motherhood was tough, but this is tougher in some respects. I feel like I am paying back for all the nose wiping and diaper changing that was done for me when I deal with my Mom.
The hard part is your life partner when he or she need your help. Many have life threatening illnesses and other with old age. A lady I was in contact with in Texas was vigilant to be by her husband's side day in and day out. She accepted no help. It was part of her marriage vows to love in sickness and health. Some days are very lonely when the communication is hard to do. Other days the smile is all you need. Holding hands watching the facial expressions we try to absorb because someday they won't be there.

When we are just familiar with each other and we don't have kids to argue over things change. Something we should have talked about or said can't be said anymore. Make sure you talk until you are hoarse. Say everything you can say. Remember the "I love you's" because when you can't say them or can't hear them you loose touch with the person who is sick. They say the hearing is the last to go. Don't regret the last thing you said make sure it is real and heartfelt. Caregivers have a job that is never appreciated, but they need help and we should all ask what we can do. Maybe just a cup of tea, but they need to be noticed also. Caregivers are like a well worn quilt they wrap you in warmth and love. Thank a caregiver next time you see one. Chris

Do you believe in premonitions?

I have this bad habit of being uneasy and no indication as to why. I couldn't settle down to anything yesterday and was very emotional. The National Anthem on NASCAR had me in tears. I thought it was old and weepy for this old lady. Then this morning I get a phone call very early from my son. He is a Firefighter and EMT2 so I hate early phone calls. I have had two so far that he went down at a fire and was on his way to the hospital. Well the call came and not far from his house there was a fatal house fire over night. He was on the scene all night long. He lives 32 miles from me and I really need to hear his voice at least once a day to feel better. When he was in the service it was harder because I couldn't pick up the phone and call him. This gift or curse of knowing something was going to happen is eerie and unsettling with the anticipation that you don't know what it is that is going on. Now maybe I will calm down some. Feel sorry for the victim and their family. Hug your loved ones today and make those phone calls to talk to them. Life is short. Chris

Today is not mine

Well we beat the weather and it went North. We had sleet and freezing ran which it all melted by afternoon. Today my day will be not my own. Jeff has an appointment with his Dr. and we have a 45 minute drive to get there. And as you know the Dr's are never on time. A couple weeks ago when we went we were there almost 3 hours. It gets harder and harder to get him there. This weekend was not productive for me other than I made cinnamon rolls. I need to kick my self and get started again. I really want to start Spring housecleaning and get some painting done on the inside. But to early. I have to paint three rooms and then we have to replace a window in the main bathroom. I bought a model home and it has a glass block window in the main bathroom and we can't open a window. It gets really warm in there with the Eastern sun in the Summer. We know about how much the remodel will be but the weather is against us right now. Then that room will have to be repainted. I would like to replace carpets with hardwood, but not in the cards this year. Lawnmower has to be rebuilt first. Money is used before you get it. If you know the feeling. Hopefully the outcome of today isn't going to cost us an arm and a leg. Chris

Can't settle down to anything

Last night I made cinnamon rolls. I made some in these little potpie tins I got at the store. I liked them because they had the plastic lids for them. The recipe is from Judy Laquidara from www.patchworktimes.com She is so gracious to add her recipes to the blog. She is a true housewife. She likes homemade fixins. This recipe "Is to Die For "

The weather is raining. The sleet was hitting the window at 4am. I tried to go back to sleep and when you got woke up like that you never totally get into a deep sleep. Finally at 5 am I got up.

A couple days ago I got the 113 blocks all finished for the Christmas gift for this next Christmas. I got them all pressed but until I go to adding the sashing I plan on not squaring them up until then. This used up a lot of little scraps.

As you can see the snow is almost gone. Was suppose to get to 50*F today and never made it. I think it is 38*F right now. Rumor has it we are to see a bad storm over next weekend. Suppose to be a lot of snow again. I have been uptight today and no reason. I am ok. Not sick not worried just blah. I was going to sew and never made it there Yet! LOL. I have days where I would rather crawl in a corner and read a cookbook. Yes I read cookbooks. Interesting what you learn in a cookbook or a telephone book. Nuts Right?????Chris

Pictures of UFO

This is the UGLY quilt. At least this is what I have called it. It was ugly fabrics I maybe wouldn't use anymore and want to get it used up. Around the edges of the top of the bed I have placed a solid looking brown band because I didn't have enough of the tan color to make more blocks. I started another quilt with these blocks that were to be set on point. Instead I set them straight and it made a different block.

The center of the original block is the black 2inch square. So when I pieced them together without sashing it make a 16 patch block that looks like it is sashed with the rust color and the black patch as the corners. I made the same look without the brown sections for my son at Christmas.
I have a dust ruffle I was making to go with this quilt and I have to rethink this because my husband has changed beds. He now has an adjustable bed and it has a bar to support the mattress from sliding off the bed. So I need to maybe make a more tailored looking dust ruffle or bed skirt. I have plenty of fabric so after the quilt is completed I will see how it looks on the bed. It will be long enough to look more like a bedspread to cover the pillow. The challenge I made for myself with this quilt was to take fabrics I normally wouldn't use and make it into something that looked masculine and pleasing to the eye. I am up early to get more done on it without him knowing. So off to the sewing room to get more done.

Sometimes something really ugly can turn out really nice. I guess I got teased long enough about getting this one done is why I set it aside and didn't get it finished. Challenge now is to get it done and out of the sewing room. Off to sew. Chris

UFO being addressed

I am embarrassed. I have this quilt I started over 2 years ago for my husband and I am not finished. Within 2 good days of work and it can be on the bed. Well he made a comment the other day he will never see it done while he is alive. Sad to say but last year that could have been a reality. But in the next sense I don't want to finish it and jinx the whole thing either. He is in so-so health now, but much better than last year. I pulled it out of it's corner today and started working on it. I think I will get it done and not tell him I am working on it. He is in the garage most of the day working on birdhouses. So I plan on working on it while he is out there. Hopefully I can get it done and on the bed and see if he notices it is done. Keep your fingers crossed I don't get to many interruptions. I am going into the sewing room and do some machine stitching to get onto the next step with this quilt. I want it done. Oh by the way I finished all the blocks for the scrap quilt for a Christmas gift also. I am going to go online and look for a backing fabric and a sashing fabric. Then over the weekend I plan on going to 2 quilt shops unless we get the snow they are predicting. Hopefully they are wrong. It is still melting here, but it isn't all gone yet. 58*F and it is cloudy and talking about rain. They are predicting bad flooding soon. The fields are just running with water and all the underground cables and transformers are blowing because of all the moisture right now. Good time to stay in and get the UFO done. Chris

All Tricked Out

Here is the tricked out birdhouse. I bought lumber from the lumber yard that was in the scrap bin. This is what he came up with. The base is 18X15inches and it is 18 inches high at the chimney. Pretty good size for a birdhouse.

This is the back of the birdhouse. It has to be tricked out also.
This is the chimney on the end of the house. That is his signature when he makes them.

Pretty neat for scrap lumber. Kinda like the scraps I cut up and make quilts with Use what you have to make something usable from it.

This is the other end of the house. As you can see I really like this birdhouse and can't wait to get it on a post. I am a landlord to many birdhouses around our house. We now have 5 houses and three of them are condos with multiple apartments.

He loves a challenge and he really likes this one. Normally he says he is satisfied with them after they are finished. Chris

Melting

This picture was taken after the Blizzard of 2011. This is part of my backyard. Today it is melting. We maybe will have some rain today well this evening. The weatherman is now saying we may get major and heavy snow on Sunday into Monday. I can see patches of grass outside now, but there are still a lot of snow mounds out there. The river is still frozen over and if we get rain many people along the Rock River will be in trouble. The sun is out so I would like to go out and start walking. Yes it will be cool, but I need the exercise.

Since menopause the winters have been hard on me. I have just packed on the weight and I promised myself years ago I wouldn't let this happen. Well it has and I am embarrassed to be out in public, but I have to face my short comings and deal with it. I would rather sit and do handwork or sit at the sewing machine and not get up and move. I have been drinking more water and I still need to get up and move. The grocery stores haven't had real nice fresh fruits or veggies so I put off on getting them and then the eating to fill me up is all the wrong stuff. Yes I am guilty of being a procrastinator and think I will get better habits, but I don't this is why I don't make New Years Resolutions. I know I won't keep them. I really would like to have a bigger garden, but I can't dig it so I have to rely on someone else to work up the ground. What I have worked up I can handle. Weight issues plague my family and I am still not as big as my brother or sister. She has fought with her weight for years. Now I am having to also. I at a young age lost a significant amount twice and in doing so I know what I have to do to make it work. Now to kick myself in the kester and get going. Excuses Excuses is not going to be my Motto anymore. I hope. Yes I am setting myself up to fail. I need to keep positive. "I think I can, I think I can" remember that from the Little Engine That Could

Well her it goes I am dressed and getting my coat on and going for a walk. Chris

Happy Valentines Day

Well here we are again. Valentines Day. I will be 59 years old tomorrow. My Dad wanted a boy until he found out I was going to be born on Valentines Day. He was a romantic and he bought my Mom 12 roses for having me and for me 1 rose. When I turned 12 he gave me 12 roses and 1 rose for my Mom. This is a wallhanging I made several years ago. I need to find another pattern or make something else up. I am getting tired of this one.

The block pieces are fused and hand stitching over the edges were done. The birdhouse I posted yesterday I found out last night is my birthday present from my husband. I am getting anxious to see it done and up. Have to melt a lot and warm up before it goes up. Happy Valentines Day from one Valentine to another. Chris

Under Construction

Spring is coming. Jeff my husband is in the garage making birdhouses. My Mom went with me to the Lumber yard and we went through the scrap bin and bought enough to make some birdhouses. So we thought. Well we bought enough for one good sized birdhouse. It is in the construction phase and not done yet. This is the back and you can see the shake shingles on the roof. He has fun making them. No two are alike.

Just getting to the front details now. He make the hole and got some of the railings done for the porch. He mentioned he didn't have a chimney on it. That is his signature to his birdhouses. They all have a chimney.

Here is the detail on the porch. I know it will be tricked out more as he says before the painting process starts. He is a perfectionist and he is never happy with what he does. It keeps his mind going and he does well with his hands even though he has Parkinson's' disease. If it makes him happy with a few bucks worth of lumber why not. Chris

20 more to make

On the final stretch. I have to stop now and cut 20 more centers and then I think I have enough of the smaller patches made to finish, but I will have to cut some more longer sides. 83 are ready to be squared up and final press on them.

This is sure a scrap buster. I have gone through piles of fabric scraps and really have pared down on my messy mess.LOL I think it is a masculine looking block. Then the borders will be dark. The boys name is Sage so I plan on making corner stones in a sage color. His room is colored sage green right now. I am finding scraps I forgot I had. The snow is melting slowly, but suppose to be warmer tomorrow. Possible flood could take place this next week with the warmer temps. Suppose to get to 50*F this next week. Haven't seen that temp for quite awhile. My husband had cabin fever and he is in the garage making birdhouses. I will get photos after he gets a little farther along. Chris

Organized I am not, but trying

I have trouble figuring it out all the time. I can't find it, I don't know where I put it. I couldn't find my wallet one time and it was in the fridge. I had groceries in my hand and my wallet was in my hand at the time. So on to the sewing room. I still haven't found my templar sheets, but I got a table cleared off by cutting strips. The one on the left is 1 inch. The middle is 1 1/4inch and the one on the right is 1 1/2 inches. Plus I cut for the scrap quilt I am piecing now.

In the process I am cutting pieces or strips for 4 quilts. Plus I cleaned off and entire table and then some more. I folded and placed fabric on the shelf. I am getting organized while doing some cutting. LOL We will see how long this lasts. I want to get lots more cut so I can just sit and piece a few evenings a week and not have to think about where I am going to find fabric or having to cut anymore. I was surprised how much I got cleaned up and the strips really piled up in a hurry. I want to make a log cabin, a courthouse steps and a pineapple quilt out of these strips. I have many more to cut up before I can start. These containers have lids so after I cut enough to fill the container I can close it up and keep it clean. After thought was I should have made more containers and sorted for value. May still do that. So I have been and organizing cutup today. Chris

Drink of choice

Ok I have the incentive to quit. I heard on the news yesterday about diet soda and heart and stroke connections. Yes I am a bad person. I would drink up to 3 a day and now I have none. As you can see I drank my coffee and now onto water. Where we live I am on a well and we have an in line filter for our water and it is really good tasting. I am up to 4 of these glasses a day now and I hope it makes me feel better. I have read articles about people who were diagnosed with auto immune diseases and come to find out it was from the diet sodas. Besides all the sodium in it if you can't pronounce the ingredients maybe you shouldn't have it. My husband after years of drinking alcohol has quit then I can quit the diet soda. I use to drink regular soda and quit it for the diet years ago and thought I could cut down on calories and keep weight off. HAHA! I think I am more hungry because I want the sweet taste and the diet isn't satisfying my craving. Day four of this water usage. They say after several days your taste buds adjust. We will see. I have been studying some quilting books for some ideas. I am cutting and dicing up a lot of scraps. I want to get the best mileage form this fabric and I am trying to see if I can cut another quilt at the same time I am cutting the scraps for the scrap quilt I have in progress. Thinking of a Log Cabin or a Pineapple quilt. They are basically strips and I can put them aside to finish up later. Handle once and cut twice. Sound right?? I saw an idea for a log cabin quilt with applique on it too. Was a novel idea. I will be in today. -30*F windchill and I am not looking to go out in this weather. Fireplace is going and the house is warm. Stay warm and safe. Chris

Selective Hearing

No pictures today, but I am so upset I could scream. For all of you with a husband, partner or significant other I am sure you have at sometime experienced selective hearing. My husband has some hearing loss after having worked in a factory situation for years, but he can turn my voice off so quick and yet hear me when I don't want him to. Sound familiar? I will talk to him and he says huh? Then he repeats just what I said. Are we just a fixture in their lives? It started the first thing out of bed this morning. I can see it is going to be a wonderful day today. Chris

Plan of Attack

I got up early and started cutting. I think I had like maybe 27 blocks already done. I have to have 113 of these blocks to set on point for this quilt. I used all the iron scraps I had and sliced and diced until I ran out of pressed fabric. I started sewing. I have used up three spools of partially emptied spools of thread in the piecing.

Stitching and pressing have gone on for about 6 hours. Oh Yeah I had to go out and remove 3 inches of snow off of the drive also. I am doing laundry and I have to stop soon to make my bed before bedtime.

Here are sections waiting to be sewn into the blocks. I sew a few press a few and then I sew some more.

I now have 52 of the 113 done. I made quite a bit of progress today. Now I have to iron more scraps and cut more pieces and start the process all over again. I am on the down hill slide now over half are done. This quilt will have a sash on it and I have to figure out the color of fabric and start looking for it. I think a brown print will work. This is for a 12 year old, but thought I would make it so he could use it through his teenage years. He likes quilts. In fact all my grandkids like quilts. Chris

Guilty

Yes I am guilty. I haven't sewn anything on the machine for over three weeks. I was sick and then my husband had health issues then the snow storm. I have been finding every excuse I can not to get to work and get something done. Today I read an article about a quilter and looked at her work and I feel ashamed that I can't do it to. She has a young family and she gets all this sewing done. I have had this stack of strips iron for weeks and I just let them lay. I need to get them cut to size and at least get them paired up and do some chain stitching. Fifteen minutes here and there do add up over time. Yes this is a Christmas gift for next year, but if I keep up with the procrastinating like I have it will be Christmas three years from now.

I have several of the blocks made and pressed. I have to make 113 of them. I have between 25 and 30 of them finished and others in the works. I try and cut then stitch some and change up the pieces so I get a different look with each block. This quilter's name from the article is Edyta Sitar from Laundry Basket Quilts. The article is in the April 2011 issue of the American Patchwork & Quilting from Better Homes and Gardens. She talks about her love of fabric and she doesn't sell her quilts she uses them for teaching. They are gorgeous for scrap quilts. She sells patterns. In her article she has a passion for fabrics and what she can do with them. I have passion for fabric, but no motivation.

This is the pattern I am making for this quilt. It is designed by Katie Holland called Scrap Happy. It is on the BH&G American Patchwork and Quilting magazine from Oct. 2008. Motivation is my down fall. I need motivation. Do you know where I can find it? I am so guilty of not getting anything done. I guess at Christmas time I got burned out. Tomorrow I will go to the sewing room and get started all over again. I haven't even gotten anymore applique done either. I started it but not finished with another flower yet. Shame on me. Chris

Cold and watch for your neighbors

With all this snow pack we have -1*F right now. We have an elderly couple that lives behind us and they have had major health issues. He is 83 years young and she is 82. This last Tuesday she fell and broke her hip and is in the hospital. He is on dialysis three times a week. I opened the curtains to find him outside his house and the screen door wouldn't open. He tried and tried and of course no cellphone. They have a daughter that lives in the next town, but she has MS. She can't help with her parents other than to call someone else. My husband of course isn't really well, but we got the car out and drove around to their drive and he pryed the door open. The screen door handle was broke. The gentleman was so appreciative of getting back into his house he didn't care if he had a handle or not. If this man hadn't had someone watching he could have fallen and froze to death. Please watch for your elderly neighbors in all the cold and icy conditions. Someday it may be us out there and needing help. Chris

Making parts and pieces

I started out with a couple of the flowers for the wall hanging I am making for my Mom. She has an entry way with a blank wall. She had a curtain rod installed and keeps a quilt on it. She has several for different seasons. I thought these would make a nice Spring showing.

She will be 83 years young on April 1st. She is an April Fools Baby. I will embellish them with embroidery. I think it will be fun to do. The idea of the wall hanging came to me one night when I couldn't sleep. What do you get for someone who has what they need and if she doesn't she gets it. Two more flowers to make and then on to the leaves and the background to mount these on. Check in tomorrow. I hope to have more made. Chris

Finally got done at 5pm

As you can see the sun is going down and the piles are finally finished. All of these pictures are from my driveway cleanup. We hand shoveled this whole driveway. It was to my waist or to my chest. This is my neighbors house and my North side of the drive. The wind came out of the North most of the

time and it was brutal even yesterday.
This was taking the front view.The street workers pushed the high stuff up, but the rest was me and my neighbor man hand shoveling it off the drive. Glad this on is over with. Now we have windchill problems.

The Bizzard of 2011 is gone from my neck of the woods, and I hope the major storms are over with for this Winter. Chris