For the past few days I've been trying to work on a Fourth of July themed project ---- it's going a bit slow --- partly because of one of my "production assistants" who's been laying down on the job. Come on, Daisy, -- I like to roll around and lay on all that great fabric, and buttons and trim as much as the next gal, but at some point we have to actually WORK ON THE PROJECT ! ! ! SHEESH ! ! !
This article was in our local paper, The Times News, last July. It's about Betsy Ross making the first U.S. flag. According to the article, Betsy was approached by a committee , which included George Washington, to sew a flag for "the fledgling republic". Supposedly, the first sketch was given to Betsy Ross by George himself. It had 13 stripes, 7 red and 6 white and a circle of 13 SIX pointed stars. Well, our Betsy looked at the SIX pointed stars and asked why the stars couldn't be FIVE pointed. The committee protested that it was too hard to make FIVE pointed stars - - so............ faster than a speeding bullet Betsy WHIPS out a piece of paper and her trusty scissors, and with a few well placed folds and a single snip of her scissors, produces - - yes, gentlemen of the committee -- a PERFECT, SYMMETRICAL FIVE ( count 'em) FIVE POINTED STAR ! George and the rest of the committee were so impressed that they agreed to Betsy's suggestion to use 5-pointed stars for the flag -- - and , with that, Betsy blew the smoke off the tips of her scissors , said "see ya later, boys" and strutted off into the sunset . Way to go Betsy !!!
OK -- so here's how to make Betsy's famous 5 pointed star (compliments of the Betsy Ross House and our local paper The Times News). It took me a couple of tries to get it, but once I figured it out, it was easy! Step 1) Fold an 8 and a1/2 x 10" piece of paper in half. Step2) Fold and unfold in half both ways to form creased center lines ( be sure paper is still folded in half). Step 3) Bring top left corner right to meet the center line. Be sure to fold from the vertical crease line. Step 4) Bring that same corner (from step 3) left till edges coincide, then make fold. Step 5) Bring top right corner left and fold. Step 6) Bring that same corner (from step 5) right until edges coincide. Then fold. Step 7) Cut on the angle -- (see picture). Then unfold the small piece - - and .......... TA DA !!! a perfect 5 - pointed star !!! Thanks Betsy !!! You ROCK !!
I am pleased as punch to announce the arrival of a new quilter . On Saturday, June 23, 2007, my best pal Beth was bitten by the quilting bug and decided to learn how to do hand piecing. Location: the Very Pink Sewing Room . I was happy to show her what I know (and at the same time, hopefully not scare her away from a hobby/passion/addiction that I really enjoy and pretty much eat, sleep , and breathe !!!). WELCOME to the SISTERHOOD of QUILTERS , Beth !! May it be a long and happy addiction !!!!
Happy first day of SUMMER !!!! In the good ol' summertime..... in the good ol' summertime......(humming the rest of the song because I can't remember the words........) Anyhow, yes, 2 blogs in one day --- because I just couldn't let the day go by without acknowledging the day staying light until 9 PM, the lighting bugs, the daisies growing wild at the bottom of the driveway by our mailbox, the butterflies, my flowers in bloom, the breeze coming through the open windows, and that cute little kid with the lemonade stand who sold me the best glass of lemonade served with a toothless smile and a dirty face (that kid is making a KILLING -- the cuteness factor is a great selling strategy!) . ENJOY !!
We have a variety of friends who drop by on a fairly regular basis for breakfast. This tree and bird feeder are in our back yard -- I can see all of these critters from my kitchen window while I'm getting my cup of tea. That deer surprised me yesterday -- because this one has ANTLERS !!! We've had his sisters/mother/girlfriend in the yard, but NOT a buck with antlers !!! We have a nice variety of birds , including 2 big fat wild turkeys (who were rude enough to waddle away FAST when I made too much noise trying to take their picture). Then we have the entire squirrel population of Jim Thorpe dropping in to hog all of the bird seed (look at that one hanging by his toenails to get at the bird seed -- now that's determination!! I've been known to go to the same great lengths over chocolate chip cookies or a hot fudge sundae.) Our other distinguished guests include a bear or 2 and their cubs -- they usually just rip the entire bird feeder down out of the tree and lay down like a big dog with a bone and chow down -- they don't share with ANYBODY (and I'm not about to argue with them!) -- (sorry , I don't have a picture - they're usually midnight snackers. They also enjoy tearing through the garbage cans and dragging the garbage all over the yard and driveway --- Now I know how that park ranger felt when Yogi and Boo Boo kept stealing the pic -a - nic baskets !) Well, time to go fill up the bird feeder again !
Like our pioneer sisters who hand pieced quilts in extreme conditions while crossing the dusty plains in a covered wagon, I experienced the same determination to quilt, no matter what,during the 2 hour delay at the kids' dirt bike race on Sunday. There I was, trying to see through the dust in my eyes to take that next stitch, to thread that needle, to chase after the pieces that kept blowing away, to take a break and walk to the porta potty - - - life is rough and not for sissies out there on the wide open plains -- I mean dirt bike races ! ( No quilts were harmed in the filming of this blog.)
This is Matt's idea of the perfect birthday -- racing his dirt bike -- so, that's how we spent his birthday/Father's Day today-- at a very hot and dusty dirt bike track (where both Matt and Evan raced.) There were quite a few delays today (the race was supposed to start at 1:00, but due to delays, it didn't start until 3:00). To try and keep cool, some of the riders had big , red and white striped, or black and white striped racing logo umbrellas to stand under for some shade - - - well, I didn't have one of those, but it was so hot that Evan wasn't above using my pink/purple paisley number I keep in the car for emergencies! Anyhow, to round out Matt's perfect birthday -- he came in 4th in his race -- the BEST he's ever done!! YEAH Matt !!!
Tomorrow is kid #1 (Matt's) 17th birthday (yup -- 17 years ago my husband got a baby boy for his very first Father's Day present -- do I deliver or what !?!). Anyhow, the kid has requested chocolate cake with peanut butter icing -- so, I looked through my recipe box and found my Aunt Irma's recipe. (Aunt Irma and Uncle Tom have a little cabin with alot of land /woods and a little lake. When we were kids, we spent many, many Sundays there slopping around in the mud, chasing ducks, catching frogs, being eaten alive by mosquitoes , rowing the boat out to the little island, doing cannonballs off of the little floating dock and always having a piece of Aunt Irma's chocolate cake with peanut butter icing for dessert .) 
HONEY BEE blocks -- that's the buzzzzzzzz!! I've been working on sunny, summery HONEY BEE blocks!!! The honey bee quilt block pattern is one of my favorite quilt patterns -- I love how it includes both piecing and applique. I found the basic pattern at Quilters Cache , a really great resource for about a gazillion different quilt block patterns and techniques. As I was working on the block, I decided the green "bees" in the corners of the block would be fun to do with a contrasting center AND in 3-d (or would that be 2-d ? ) instead of flat applique. So, as you can see in the 3rd picture, I made the "bees" double - sided and only stitched them down around the middle green checked sections . These blocks are, of course, part of a bigger project involving Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks that didn't start out to be a big project -- but, like I said before -- I can never leave well - enough alone!
Yesterday I finally had a chance to try and make the lemon bars I bought lemons for a couple of weeks ago - - - FYI I've learned that lemons keep pretty well in the fridge for a couple of weeks until you actually get around to using them. I used a Weight Watchers recipe , so each bar is only 3 Wt Watcher points ! YEA ! Anyhow, the recipe tells you to mix the dry ingredients up in a food processor --- well, we may or may not have a food processor (my husband goes through phases where he'll buy a new kitchen gadget, it'll sit on the counter collecting dust for about a year, nobody has the time or patience to actually read the directions, so then it gets put away somewhere --- currently we have a crock pot , brand new , big enough to make enough food to feed a small country, just sitting on the counter collecting dust.......) So, if one does not have a food processor, how do you make this recipe? I consulted the person I always consult for stupid cooking questions -- Mom. She suggested using a pastry blender - - - - - - a what? Well, I went to Kmart and went to the Martha Stewart doo dads section and lo and behold, there it was -- a handy dandy Martha Stewart pastry blender. Now I figured, even if I didn't know what the heck to do with this thing, the pastry blender itself would know -- after all, it's a Martha Stewart. Turns out, you just kind of roll and smoosh this thing around your dry ingredients to blend them together -- it worked really well! So, what do you know -- I learned a new cooking skill. Well, here's the Lemon Bar recipe if you want to give it a try:
I did these 2 little drawings yesterday while sitting at my desk, totally bored, doing yet more paperwork for my job. I didn't copy them from anybody else, this time -- just drew them ! ! (a total pleasant surprise to me !) Anyhow, now you know why it takes me sooooo long to get my paperwork finished ! I guess I can now add drawing to my list 0f paperwork procrastination activities -- which also include: 1) plucking my eyebrows 2) polishing my toenails 3) getting a magnified mirror out and inspecting my pores close up and 4) filing my nails. 
A few years ago I decided -- actually I was determined -- to learn to draw. I bought the book "Drawing for Dummies" -- can't tell you if its a good way to learn to draw because after 2 pages into it, I was not disciplined enough to follow their step by step , day by day method . Instead, I happened to notice the artwork on a roll of paper towels I had sitting on the kitchen counter -- there were cute little tea cups scattered here and there on the paper towels. As I stood there waiting for my tea kettle to boil, staring at my roll of paper towels, I said to myself -- "I can draw that. " -- so I did. I have found copying to be my best method of learning to draw. (which means I have to copy , then memorize how to draw something -- i.e. doesn't really come naturally to me -- I guess I'm not using the correct side of my brain -- I play the piano the same way -- I can play the piano as long as I have music to read , but take that music away and I'm lost! Now , to me, my approach is very "academic" -- not like a true artist who can sit down at the piano and compose an original song.) Anyhow, after drawing by copying other people's artwork for a couple of years, I'm happy to now say I have come up with quite a few of my own original drawings (which I'm not yet ready to show anybody) -- SO, here are a couple of my drawings that fall into the category of "not original ideas" -- the first one I copied from one of my favorite artists, Susan Branch . I just love her sweet little drawings and artwork --- and now she has fabric, too! ( I'm salivating just thinking about it!) . Anyhow, after I drew it and took a picture of it, I decided it needed a border, so I added the hearts and curly-q's (second picture). The tea cup drawing is a new version of that first tea cup "revelation" drawing I had while staring at my paper towel roll. Now, I have an actual drawing /drafting table (in the corner of the pink sewing room) -- a birthday gift from hubby and kids a few years ago. As you can see from the picture, it gets tons of sunny daylight -- which shows off all those great colorful crayons and colored pencils. Just makes ya want to draw and color something doesn't it? Maybe I'll try to be like Vallen and try to do a drawing a day --- or maybe every other day.....
He's Movin' on up (just like the Jeffersons --) except he's not movin' on up to the east side, he's movin' on up to high school! Last night was kid #2's (Evan -- aka my baby) 8th grade Moving Up ceremony. I had to bribe him to go (all week he said he wasn't going because it was stupid and boring -- spoken like the teenager he is -- however bribing him with food -- especially Kentucky Fried Chicken -- always works.) So , in the first picture you see him receiving a special award that only a few other kids in his class earned -- The Presidential Award for Educational Excellence --- YEA EVAN !! 
Yesterday at the grocery store I bought organic strawberries with no particular plan in mind. Today , while running around between house stuff and work and squeezing some exercise in, I had the ridiculous and unfamiliar desire to make a decent dinner , including dessert ! What the heck is that all about?!? Maybe because this morning I caught a little bit of Martha on TV and it rubbed off on me? Anyhow, making a complete dinner including dessert on a week night, especially Monday, is as remote an idea as me having tea with the Queen on a Thursday. Anyhow, I decided to try and make a Weight Watchers friendly version of Strawberry Shortcake. Never one to do things completely homemade, I pulled out my trusty box of Heart Smart Low Fat Bisquick and followed the recipe on the box. (the only change I made was I substituted Splenda for the sugar.) Well, they came out really good ! and they were very quick and easy to make. (by the way, that blob on the top of the shortcake is low fat coolwhip -- it wasn't quite defrosted there which is why it looks a little stiff.) Anyhow, here's the recipe if any of you would like to try it -- oh, and by the way, it's only 3 Wt Watcher points per serving -- which is a good thing!
WIP = works in progress . . . . and to answer the question of "how many can there be?" . . . . . . WAY TOO MANY !!!!! Now I don't know if that's a sign of creativity , delusions of grandeur, or just plain short attention span. Anyhow, the first picture is of yet ANOTHER bright idea of mine -- it's part of a quilt that started out as a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt -- but could I leave well enough alone? NO! ! -- instead of being finished with the darn thing, I just had to add to it and now, of course , it's mushroomed into a major project -- like the other 6 or 7 "quick" quilting projects I'm in the middle of. ( I swear sometimes I'm my own worst enemy!)
