pretty glasses

After learning about the BPA drama a while back and again recently, John and I have been looking for ways to reduce BPA in our food. It seems like a generally good idea to limit our use of plastic in the kitchen. Don't get me wrong, Plastics Make it Possible, I just don't want to eat it.


As we transition out of plastic, I wanted to share some of my favorite things:
The glass jar with the cranberries is a regular canning jar, but mom gave me this cool plastic lid that makes reusing the jar super convenient (as long as the food isn't touching the lid, it doesn't leach). The yellow and blue jars also have plastic lids. This was a splurge at an antique store this summer - they are oleo containers from the 50's. Man, I wish my groceries came in cool containers like this. Everything is either disposable or overly branded now. Seriously, Pillsbury (or whoever), I'd buy your flour if it came in a fabric sack.

I thought the large glass jar would make a pretty cookie jar (or wheat rolls, whatever). We've been collecting an assortment of vintage glasses with lovely designs. We eat a lot of canned tomatoes (the cans are lined with a substance containing BPA, too), so I canned some myself this summer - although not nearly enough unfortunately. And we picked up a klean kanteen for L.

Too many ideas

I finally got my invite to Spoonflower (how exciting), but can't decide what to do. So much pressure!

I was toying with the idea of making a cheater quilt like Amy Karol did, and that's what lead to the new background. Mostly I just liked the colors of the squares, but I couldn't really imagine making it into a quilt. I'm also consider making a bunch of patches that can be cut apart to use in other artsy quilts. I'm still thinking on that one, though.



When I was making some new stamps for my etsy shop, I started toying with the idea of a Duck Duck Goose fabric. I think it's kind of fun, but it's exactly the kind of fabric I would never actually use since I usually go for simpler stuff. Man, I wish I'd gone into textile design.




Speaking of textile design, I love Lizzy House. And what great tutorials she has!

Cooking and Baking

This has already been a week of experimental cooking. Monday, I used my pressure cooker to cook a duck, thanks to Miss Vickie's tips and recipes. I was pretty tense the whole time, but it turned out great. It's pretty cool to take a duck out of the fridge after 3:00 and have it ready to eat by 5:00. I don't think my pot is big enough for a thanksgiving turkey though.



I thought we needed some healthy snacks for L, so Tuesday, I baked pumpkin bread. I also tried out an apple bread that didn't really work out - but it's edible, so I'll probably still try to eat it. The pumpkin bread turned out great though.

I also started some yogurt cheese following another Mother Earth News recipe. This recipe is a really simple idea, although it takes all day. I started it around 2:00, so I'm still working on it this morning (it's just draining now in the cheese cloth in my colander).



This morning I whipped up a little dish of baked oatmeal (the last batch made a 9x12 pan which we ate for a week). I didn't measure anything, but I threw in oatmeal, 1 egg, some milk, maple syrup, and frozen blackberries. I still had to bake it for 30 minutes at 350 (but this time it fit in the toaster oven). It turned out really yummy, though I had to sprinkle a little sugar on to sweeten it up a bit. L was torn, I think. She likes the oatmeal ("oh-mmm" she says), but I think the blackberries weirded her out.

What do you think Josh, does this one look any more appetizing?

warm socks

It was so cool out yesterday, I started dreaming of lighting the our gas heater. I started some footies for L last winter - and only finished them about a month ago. Luckily, she hasn't grown that much. So here they are. A gorgeous design (I used this pattern), they are made from oh-so-soft alpaca yarn. I had to roll the tops so they wouldn't slide off of her feet. I'm thinking of put a little elastic cord in the ribbing at the top, but I'm not really sure how. After wearing them for only two minutes, they'd already gotten all fuzzy. oh well.

When I finally got to the toe of the second foot, I ran out of yarn. Seriously, I was binding off. So you can see in this second picture, the toe is a darker color.

art

I'm packing up a couple of pieces of art today to ship to Dixon for the Renaissance Regional Art Exhibit. I was in this show several years ago, 2004 and 2005 I think. But I haven't entered any exhibits since I left grad school, so I was delighted to be accepted into this show.

I'm super excited to be doing something professional again. And what's even more exciting, is that these art works are little embroidered pieces. It feels like some kind of official declaration that I am moving into other media. I haven't painted consistently in so long that I feel like I've lost touch with the mental process that went with it. I'm well into a new phase in my life, and it seems appropriate that my art should enter a new phase, too.

Orange Number 25: Watercolor Journal - Orange Curtain Project Complete!

Finally, you say. Enough orange. Okay, okay, I'm done! (confetti canons, please.)



Check out this simple little watercolor journal. I made it by fusing (hooray for Wonder Under!) some vintage and repurposed fabrics to a thin chipboard and then sewing handcut watercolor paper into the cover on my sewing machine. So simple, gorgeous.




I've been trying to use some of my neglected supplies, which is what lead to this idea. I have tons of watercolor paper and very little time to paint, so I thought I'd make these for etsy. Of course, now I'm in love with them and am imagining little watercolor illustrated books that I simply must make. I'm sure I'll make some more of these in the future.

I got the basic idea for this simple book construction from Rachel Simonsen, check out her tutorial!

To see all the manifestations of this oh-so-lovely curtain, click on the tag below that says Orange Curtain Project, or the flickr badge!

How to Eat Oatmeal and Like It

I recently learned about baked oatmeal - and I'm hooked.

I WANT to like oatmeal, I really do, but it's just so slimy and goopy. John's so good about eating it, but I just can't seem to get into it. It's a texture thing. Which is why baked oatmeal is so good! It has a crispy top and warm soft inside - more like a cookie than goo. Like eating Christmas, to one blogger.

There are about a billion recipes online,and I've tried three of them (with variations, naturally). So here's what I've finally arrived at:

Mix
2 and 1/4 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup wheat germ (you could just use more oats here)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

beat in
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp vanilla
1 large apple chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries

(Can prepare the night before) heat oven to 350, bake for 40 minutes. Put under broiler for the last two minutes if desired, serve with milk!

I'm feeling a little guilty about the sugar content and may try less next time, for L's sake. You could also toss in any of the stuff you might normally add to your oatmeal: nuts, bacon, blueberries - go for it!

Fall Blessings

I love fall. I'm so excited about all the upcoming holidays and the cool weather. I've been getting out sweaters and cozy socks. This is L's new sweater.

I made two little butt sweaters before L was born from an Old Navy Sweater Tara gave me. I loved it so much, I just couldn't get rid of it once it got a little misshapen. I switched out L's diapers today(she moved from small to medium!), and found these and was so excited to try them out. I'm not sure how leak proof they'll be, but they'll be nice and warm for the winter.

I had to look around to find the pattern I used, but here it is (scroll down to the bottom of the page). Super easy, and you can get two from most any wool sweater. Yay, recycling!

Clothes Line Quilt

I recently bought a bag of fabric scraps at the goodwill. They had an old lady smell, but I got some really good pieces. I washed some today that I wanted to use in a project, and when I hung them on the line I was so overcome by how pretty they looked hanging there together. I felt like I'd just made a clothes line quilt! I figure this has to be inspiration for something.

Orange Number 24: marigold

This was one of my first ideas for the orange fabric, I just didn't know how to do it. I decided to give Wonder Under a try and this is what I came up with. The whole project actually involved very little sewing, since the flower is attached to the stem by glue and a plastic straw. Like many projects, this should really have been a prototype for another better, less stalky, flower, but alas, nap time is only so long.

I'm a big fan of the Wonder Under though, and it's making me think about some applique projects I'd like to try... If only I can finish this orange project! One left!

I'm also working on a few ideas for my etsy shop to make a little extra Christmas money. I'll share those if/when they materialize.