Entry # something - Headlines

Breaking News:

Woman forgets to feed family twice within a week.

Stay tuned for details.

Entry #14 - The valance is finished!

This afternoon seemed like the perfect time to tackle the valance. 
After many finger pricks with the pins (One was bad enough to require a neon orange band-aid. I'm pretty clumsy.), I'm pleased with the end results.

I gathered all my supplies: 2 different materials, scissors, sewing machine, pins, and the papers that I'd been using to figure up sizes, dimensions, measurements...etc.

The paper pattern was 12" long, so I figured I needed 15" of the outer material, which would fold over the lining material at the top to make the rod pocket.

The lining material had a pattern to it that allowed me to follow one of the lines making the process go quicker.  Perfect.

I only needed 13 inches of it since the outer fabric was going to enclose it with the top and bottom seams.
I had a plan, people!
I had no idea how it would work in the end, but I had a plan nonetheless.

I had to constantly pin the lining material because it kept wanting to curl.

That was the first wrinkle in the plan.  But it was nothing that wasn't fixable.

Once everything was pinned (right sides together) I marked my pattern with disappearing ink...

...then I sewed right on that line...

...trimmed it near the stitching, turned it right-side-out and...

ironed.  

 Actually, I ironed a lot today.  After every step I ironed again.

I pressed it so that a little bit of the outer material was folded towards the back (so the lining wouldn't show after it was hung up) and then top-stitched it to keep it in place.

Then I sewed the side seams.  {insert fascinating picture here}

I folded the top seam down, then turned it down enough to hold the curtain rod. And ironed.

Then sewed.

 And hung up.  

The color is off in this photo. The curtain and the valance compliment each other.

Use your imagination, people! It's pretty!

And it covers the exposed curtain rod beautifully; which was the whole purpose of this project.

And now the other window in the room needs a matching valance.

{sigh}

Maybe I'll wait a few days to give my fingers time to heal.

Entry #13 - Cookie recipe review - Best Ever Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

'Tis the season to be baking. Falalalala lalalala.

I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago solely because of the name:

Best Ever Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

- 1 cup butter or margarine (softened)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 cups quick oats
- 2 cups chocolate chips (optional)
Ok, put away your mixers because these taste best if you just hand mix them. Over mixing them is a tragedy!

1.       Mix butter and sugars together

2.      Add in eggs, vanilla, baking soda, salt and cinnamon

3.      Stir in flour

4.      Stir in oats

5.      Stir in chips

That's it! Cook at 375 degrees for 8-10 mins. Makes about 3 dozen.

I'm not sure where online it was found.  Possibly from here:

http://www.ziplist.com/recipes/1232857-Best_Ever_Oatmeal_Chocolate_Chip_Cookies

But most likely it came from Pintrest.

The only change I made was to use half shortening and half butter.

 I used a cookie scoop to dollop the dough onto waxed paper-lined cookie sheets, then I put the un-baked dough in the freezer.  Once frozen, I packaged it into freezer bags, labled them with the contents and baking instructions and safely tucked them away for later. 

Today was later.

I took out a dozen dough balls and gently slammed them onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.  Okay, maybe slammed is too strong a word. ;-)

While everyone ate supper, I put the tray of frozen cookie dough in the already-warm oven and baked them according to the instructions.  By the time everyone is finished eating, they had been taken out of the oven and were cooled.

You can see that they didn't spread during baking.  I wonder if that is because I used shortening instead of half of the butter.

So...my review:  These are a good cookie; but I'm not convinced I like cinnamon with my chocolate.  Don't get me wrong. I love cinnamon. Cinnamon is good for digestion. I just can't wrap my head around the combination. 

Next time I will either leave out the chocolate chips or the cinnamon. I might try substituting peanut butter for some of the butter.

Entry #12 - "Distracted" is my middle name

Yes, it did snow overnight. 

Maybe 2 inches?  I'm not going out to measure.

 The stray cat is not amused and wants inside. Now.

 And no curtains were sown today. At least: not yet.  I got distracted by this piggy material I found in my stash of scraps.  It's leftover from making a dress for my little girl. That was about 10 years ago.

 So I marked it and sewed it.

 And cut it out.

 It's a pig!

 

 Did you notice the button hole?

 It's a piggy bank!

I think I'll toss it in the washer and dryer so it will fray around the edges.

Like this one.

(In yesterday's post you saw this pink material photobombing one of the pics.)

And this one is made of felt.  Clean lines and more traditional.

The little piggy trio.

Now what was I supposed to be doing?

Entry #11 - Paper Valances and other nonsense

Today started out as any normal day would. (Are you scared yet?)

But then I got a wild hair and decided to make a pattern for the valance I've been wanting to sew for the Dining Room.

I started by cutting the bottoms out of two paper grocery sacks, cutting the side seam, and opening them flat.  Two of them were *almost* wide enough to cover the front of the curtain rod. This would be my pattern paper.

Working with one of the bags, I decided the natural crease near the bottom was perfect to use as a guide.  Then I grabbed a plate from the cupboard and taped a line across it.

 I alternated where the line fell (above the crease/below the crease) all the way down the paper.

I taped the two flat paper bags together and cut away the line.

 (Did you notice that I have a boo-boo?)  :-(

 I opened up both halves and taped it to the curtain rod.

When I stood back I didn't like what I saw. The curves were too drastic.  

I wanted something more subtle.  

Back to the drawing board.

This time I grabbed a pizza pan and placed the tape lower.  
Here, let me put the yardstick across the tape so you can see that I'm barely using the edge of the pan

Oh, and that pink fabric in the upper right of this photo on the right?  That was a fun project I did last week. I need to show that to you later.

 Again, using the crease (the pencil is pointing to it) as a guide I traced around the edge of the pan; first above the crease, then below it.

...all the way down the paper.

 Once I taped this paper valance up, I liked these curves much more. 

But then it was time to start supper.

 So while I was waiting for the beans to boil, I whipped up a batch of haystack cookies.

 These are the easiest no-bake cookies you will ever make.

First, melt a bag of butterscotch chips.

Then stir in some chow mein noodles (about half a bag...or use a can of them) and a couple handfuls of peanuts. I usually make these cookies when I have leftover chow mein noodles after a meal of chicken stir-fry. 

 

 

 Once they are mixed, drop them onto wax paper to cool.  Easy peasy.

I've spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between fixing bean soup and cornbread for supper, measuring and figuring up what sewing materials I needed and digging through my material stash to find some to use as lining/backing for my valance material.

The rain has begun. The weatherman says this will turn into snow overnight. Tomorrow will be a good day to stay inside and sew some pizza-pan valances.  

Unless the boys bring home a deer when they come back from hunting. Then all bets are canceled.

And as for this stash of jeans:

I have another project in mind for them.  :-)

Entry number 10 (no fry fun)

So, as my Mother mentioned in the last post she likes to find random recipes and try them.

Today I will share the No Fry Donuts. 

We posted a Blog teaser Photo on Facebook of this:

As they are yeast donuts they need to rise. 

I didn't get a picture of the glaze, just dipping the donuts.

 (note to self: make double batch of the glaze)

After they have been dipped we set them on a drying rack.

Mind you, we couldn't keep our fingers off of them, they were so good! 

The recipe said it made 2 dozen but we got 3 dozen. 

They taste just as good reheated for breakfast the next morning too. 

Entry #9 - A cookie recipe review - Peanut Cookies

I've been on a cookie baking kick lately.   Well, more accurately: I make a batch of cookies, bake a few and put the rest of the dough in the freezer for later.   Now that it's baking season again, I can just throw a few frozen cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet, toss it in the warm oven while we're eating the food that was just baked in said oven, and when we're done we have warm, gooey cookies for dessert. It's a good plan. :-)

Tonight I made:

Peanut Cookies!
I might have gotten the recipe from here:  http://southernfood.about.com/od/peanutcookiesandbars/r/bl30425q.htm
...but it's hard to say for sure. I collected it a month or more ago along with several other peanut recipes.  I bought a LARGE can of peanuts at Sam's and was looking for recipes to use them up.

I try to make notes on recipes of the date I made it, what I changed about it, who liked it and-if I would make it again, and what would I change?   I put today's date, that I mixed it with a wooden spoon (the recipe says to use a hand mixer) and that I added a handful of chocolate chips.

This recipe couldn't have been easier.  I'm guessing that it took about half an hour from printing the recipe, mixing, baking, then eating.  It calls for oil instead of shortening, so I don't think they would freeze well because it makes a soft dough that wouldn't harden in the freezer.

 I used my small cookie scoop. The recipe said it makes 3 dozen and that's what I got.

 They don't spread while baking.  

Oh! Have you guys discovered the joy of parchment paper yet?  I don't know why it took me so many years to try it.  I love the stuff! I slide the paper off the cookie sheet and set it aside to cool off while the cookies are cooling; then I slide the cookies right off the paper to finish cooling on a wire rack then use the paper again on the now-cool cookie sheet.

So, back to the cookie review: it makes a decent cookie.  Texture-wise, it's not chewy like a typical chocolate chip cookie.  Crunchy. Firm. Stacks well.  Not too sweet. The chocolate chips added a touch of sweetness.   I won't make these often, but it's great to whip up at the last minute.

Later I'll share a couple of new chocolate chip cookie recipes that I tried.  I will be making a walnut-apple cookie recipe soon, too.

I know you all are wondering, so I will put your mind at ease.  Yes, the stray cat is still hanging around. He went nuts today when he smelled tuna at lunch time. Because, you know, it was warm out and the windows are open. And tuna smell carries! So does the sound of a can opener.  So anyway, being the softy that I am, I let him have the can.  He would like to come inside to look for more tuna. And a can opener.  So far we've been able to keep him out.

Not that he isn't being persistent.

And he politely (read: noisily) asks every time you look outside to check on him.