1st week of school and an apron!

Boy, I am so behind on blogging! The beginning of the school year is to blame. I found out the evening before teacher-inservice began, that I would be moving to a different classroom. The custodians had already moved the furniture. Thankfully, my teaching partner helped me clean out the walk-in closet and cabinets and move two bookshelves. We worked from 5:30 until 10:30 p.m. that evening. It has been a stressful first week of school. I awoke this morning aching all over with a scratchy throat and headache. I dosed myself up on an antihistamine, decongestant and ibuprofen and attacked the laundry and housecleaning.

I had some thrilling news amidst the chaos! I was the winner of the Senorita Apron Giveaway at Glimpse of My World. Thank you Valarie!

Y'all come back,

Lorilee

Sew Happy!

 I had seen this pattern at the local Quilt Guild show. They are sold at "Sewing Machines By B and B" here in my hometown. (Quilt Plus online also carries the patterns and handles.) I finally purchased the pattern a few weeks ago. It was sitting on my cutting table while I tried to decide if I should use scraps of fabric from my stash or buy fabric.

In the meantime, I ran across this absolutely adorable embellished T-shirt at Make It and Love It. Of course, I pinned it. (I am so addicted to Pinterest now!)

THEN, I found a cheap inexpensive black broomstick skirt. I like the idea of a monochromatic outfit since I am short, but I don't like the way black affects my face! SO I decided to use the t-shirt embellishment idea in colors that flatter my coloring on a black t-shirt.

 THEN, I decided to make my purse coordinate with my shirt! Instead of piecing the purse and quilting it, I used a piece of black woven cotton for the purse and lining. I added the flowers just like on the shirt. Then I used my machine to stitch swirls mimicking the design on the flowers. (The purse does have traditional weight quilt batting in between the layers of fabric. This all needed to be stabilized.)

 The handle is really neat because I unscrew the knobs and remove the purse to wash or replace it with a different one.

I'm so happy with both of the projects. Now I just need somewhere to go so I can wear my new "ensemble".
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Parisienne Farmgirl's Giveaway!

Parisienne Farmgirl, Angela, is having a great giveaway. Check it out!
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Supermodel Kitty!

 First of all, sniff sniff, I don't call him Baby Kitty anymore. (Remember, I feel like his Momma after bottle-feeding him until he was ready to lap up his kitten formula. I even rubbed him down with a damp papertowel to mimic a momma cat's grooming! sniff sniff. He grooms himself now!) My baby is growing up too fast. Little Kitty, I still don't call him Bernard, loves to play outside when I let him. With the heat that pretty much means in the mornings and evenings.

He usually comes to me which can make photography a tad difficult!

But then, sometimes something else catches his eye!

But not for long. He sees me again.

 He's after my dangling camera strap!

Finally some cooperation with the photographer!

 This is not "meowing", he is panting! Little Kitty is not accustomed to the heat because he stays inside most of the time!

Ready to pounce AGAIN! Pouncing is his favorite past time.

He doesn't stay in one place long unless he is sleeping. Hmm, maybe that's when I should be taking his picture.

Y'all come back,

Lorilee

Watch out "Cake Boss"!

My friend, Bernadette, and her daughter, Sarah, came over on Thursday afternoon for some cake decorating fun. We started with making the buttercream frosting, sealing the crumbs with a thin layer, the final frosting and smoothing with plastic wrap.

Sarah did a little piping, but young hands have difficulty with the pastry bag! She LOVED using fondant. I had some leftover fondant from the "Giraffe Cake". I used this recipe for the fondant.

I think fondant is a great way for the younger crowd to decorate cakes. It is so similar to using playdough!

She did an awesome job.

I love her look of concentration.

I certainly had fun, and I'm pretty sure she did too!

Watch out "Cake Boss". (It is her favorite show.)

Y'all come back,

Lorilee



Solo Strudel-making!

 I decided to try making some strudel solo while my lesson was still fresh in my mind. Never mind that I also wanted some to eat! I gathered the ingredients and made my dough the day before, keeping it refrigerated until I was ready to roll out, fill and roll up!

 The next afternoon, I gathered my filling ingredients.

 I decided to use Red Delicious and Granny Smith  apples. Grandma uses Red Delicious.

 I cored them and peeled just some of the peeling before chopping them in my food processor. I added some lemon juice.

 I rolled out the dough on the cotton cloth Grandma gave me, brushed on melted butter and sprinkled on 1/3 of the filling ingredients.

 YUMMY!

 Then, using the cloth to lift the dough, I began rolling it up.

 I lifted the end over onto the roll and sealed the edges.

 I brushed more melted butter onto the strudel and some onto the foil. At this point I could have wrapped it in foil and put it into the freezer to be baked another time. However, I wanted to eat one, so I baked this one. It makes clean-up easier to bake it on the foil. Sometimes the filling can bubble out.

 By the time I got the photo, several pieces were already eaten.  Repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 studels.

 THEN wash lots of dishes.

The chickens and rabbit got the apples cores and peels.

Grandma's Strudel

1 ½ sticks oleo, softened

2 egg yolks

1 cup warm milk

3 cups flour

1/8 tsp. Salt

Mix well and chill at least 3 hours or overnight.

Roll out dough onto cotton cloth until very thin. For 3 strudels divide equally and layer

2 sticks butter, melted (brush onto dough)

 9 or 10 apples, cored, peeled and chopped (sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent browning)

1 package saltine crackers crushed

3 cups chopped pecans

2 cups sugar

cinnamon

 raisins

 coconut

Tightly roll strudel, using towel to push the dough. Seal edges and brush with butter. If freezing place onto well-buttered foil and seal tightly. Thaw to bake. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes until well-browned.