Yummy Yeast Rolls

This is one from our family cookbook. My mom got it from my Aunt Sheila, I don't know where she got it. I love this simple recipe, and I can't resist the smell of yeast. My version uses olive oil and half wheat flour (although white rolls are really yummy, too). I tripled the recipe last week - some to eat, some to freeze, and some to share.

Yeast Rolls (or Sunday Rolls)

1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup warm water
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
4 cups flour (half wheat, half white)
1/2 stick butter

Mix yeast, sugar and water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add eggs and oil and mix with a whisk. Add salt and flour.

Cover and let stand 8 hours or overnight in a warm spot. Turn out on floured board and knead lightly. Roll into little balls, dip in butter and put two each in muffin tins. Let rise till double (2-4 hours). Bake 10-12 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Eat warm, store in refrigerator or freeze.

Etsy Day

I've had a lot of orange going on lately.

I've been trolling thrift stores for orange fabrics and prints for a custom order I'm working on (I'm pretty excited about it - but I'll wait till I get it done to share). I think the lady at the counter must have thought I had really lame taste when I bought this set of orange curtains (yes, another set), a funky orange patchwork tablecloth, and an XL orange linen blouse.

I sold one of the last of my orange curtain crafts yesterday - the clothes pin hanger. I love that fabric, especially with the blue it's paired with, and so I'm glad it's off to a new home.

Plus, I've been drinking orange juice at almost every meal, trying to improve my iron absorption. And now our refrigerator is stocked with a bunch of different mixed juice blends.

And today is Etsy Day (and those folks like orange) - which is just a day to spread the word about Etsy to people who don't know what it is. It's sort of like a really big, international, online craft fair with everything from traditional to quirky: bags, quilts, shoes, pottery, feltidermy - you name it.

So, if you read my blog and still haven't taken a tour of Etsy, check it out. If you have something in mind, you can shop by categories or search, and if you don't, and you just want to browse, try the Gift Guides or Pounce.

It's free and easy to set up an account. Support the little guys - buy handmade.

Kangaroo Apron Tutorial

L has been kind of into kangaroos lately, and John brought home "Katy No-Pocket" for her after a recent library conference. She loves this book, and it gave me the idea for this little birthday gift. Also, I saw a neat tutorial recently for a child size apron made from a tea towel and ribbon - I can't find this now, but I made mine with that pattern in mind. Anyone know where that is?

I drew up a little pattern for any of you who might have little kangaroo lovers at home, with instructions and a template for the Joey and pocket. Click on the images to enlarge.

The pocket is big enough to tuck her small animals in, but with the little Joey applique they've always got a passenger. I used shiny blue fabric for the back for a little extra color pizazz.

slowing down

I've had this plan to be crafty-productive like crazy until the baby comes: baby stuff, L's birthday presents, and stocking up my shop. This was all going to allow me to take a stress-free break from it all after our new little one arrives.

I'm finding this week that the slowing down is going to have to happen a lot sooner. I'm learning that nap time is really best used for naps, evenings are for water aerobics, and staying up late just isn't what it used to be. And we have to sweep the floor sometime in between.

I still have some sweet birthday presents in the works, and plans to share those patterns - so look for that next week. In the meantime, check out this neat shop: Palumba. I bought L one of their child's brooms for her birthday. I'm still a little early on the birthday, so I'm going to have to hide it and my excitement for another month!

photo by Palumba

Handy List of Tutorials

Here's a handy list of my tutorials (or you can search for posts tagged "tutorial"). If you've made anything from one of my patterns, I would love to see! Please add a photo to the wewilsons flickr pool.

For the Kids
Turtles coming out of their shells
Giraffe
Kangaroo Apron
Swatch Frog
Bear Bag (with man, dog, and cat variations)

Reusable Bags
Reusable Snack Bag
Knitted Market Bag

Purses/Bags
Fat Quarter Purse
Airplane Bag

Around the House
Spring Cleaning Dust Mitt
Terrariums

Crafting
Fiber Content Experiment

Easter Eggs

I tried the natural easter egg dyes this year via Martha Stewart. I kind of just did it myself, since L is still small, and I wanted to let the sit overnight. But John and L both enjoyed peeking in on the process. The colors were so rich, and the process was fun and easy. I tried red cabbage for blue, and turmeric for yellow. I put mine in jars because I didn't do a lot of eggs, and so it was a little more efficient to cover the eggs this way than in a wide bowl. Also, I mixed a little of the two dyes together to try a green - which turned out great, even though the dye looked pretty muddy.

More Salvaged Cooking Disasters with Laura

If I had a cooking show, that's what it woud be called.

We take turns making breakfast at our church - my turn only comes around about twice a year. I decided to make this really great recipe: Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins. I got to use my new set of vintage Pyrex mixing bowls, and the muffins turned out great. However, the 75% of the batter I put in a bundt pan, totally fell apart. Doh.

It tasted really good, I just couldn't take crumbled bread for breakfast, could I? If I was my mother I would turn it into a gorgeous trifle. But I don't have a trifle bowl, and it's supposed to be finger food.


So, long story short - I made Strawberry Bread Pudding. My first bread pudding: it wasn't all that pretty, but boy, was it yummy. The butter floating on top didn't hurt. Here are the recipes:

Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins (I doubled this):
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour muffin tins or bundt pan. Combine 1 cup oats, I cup milk, I TBSP apple cider vinegar and let stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mix 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour with 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp salt. Set aside.
Beat together 1 egg, 1 mashed banana, 3/4 cup brown sugar, a handful of flax meal, and 1/2 TBSP of pumpkin pie spice. Blend in oat mixture, then stir in flour mixture. Fold in 1 1/2 cup chopped strawberries.
Fill muffin tins 2/3 full, and bake 12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
If you want it to fall apart, pour in bundt pan 2/3 full, and bake 45 minutes.

Strawberry Bread Pudding:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Crumble half a bundt pan's worth of Strawberry Oatmeal Muffin Bread in an 8x8" pan.
Drizzle 2 TBSP melted butter over bread
Beat 4 eggs. Add 2 cups milk, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 tsp vanilla.
Bake 45 minutes or until top springs back when lightly tapped.

coming out of their shells: turtle tutorial

*Updated 8/14, 8:08* thanks for all the lovely comments, hope those of you who got the free download enjoy lots of little turtles. For everyone else, the pattern is now available here.

I'm working on an embroidery project, and yesterday I ran out of my main color. I'm going to have to drive in to Jackson to go hunt for a matching embroidery floss, and who knows when I'll get around to it. Argh.

So instead, I decided to try this pattern I had been mulling over in my head. I got a great stash of vintage fabrics with tiny little flowers (my favorite kind of print) at a yard sale this past weekend, and I was eager to get into it. I made two little turtles (because I can't seem to make something for J without also making one for L!) who come out of their shells.

The yellow one was first, and I decided his front legs were really too small, so the red one is a little nicer. John thinks I need to make some little boxer shorts for them, which would be very cute. L and I are both crazy about these guys, and they came together so easily once I got it figured out, I may have to make more. But maybe not.

And yes, I've been singing St. Robinson and His Cadillac Dream all day.

Updated to add: This has been one of my favorite patterns over the years!  So I wanted to add a few more pictures.  :)

New Yellow Windows

I've added a new print to the shop. It's the same as the green window, but with yellow. I'm enjoying sunny cheery windows lately.

Baby Blankets

I decided to piece the new baby's blanket from some nice fabric I have instead of trying to applique. My applique projects don't seem to stand the test of time, and I 'm not sure I have the patience to work harder on them now, so I'm going to give it a rest. Instead I just kept it simple with some nice prints.



After a couple of lucky finds, I had a bunch of these two light blue fabrics, that just happened to match beautifully, so I decided to make two blankets - one for L and one for J. I haven't decided who gets which one yet. One has two stripes and white seam binding, and the other has one stripe and green seam binding.





I hadn't anticipated how tricky it is to quilt a woven top to a knit background - so it lays a little funny. So much for my simplified baby quilt. Anyway, it has a nice weight because of the knit, and I like the colors and all, so it will be practical and cuddly. I especially like putting a lot of blues and greens in a feminine quilt - we don't like to over do the pink around here.

Little Man Bag

I posted the bear bag tutorial a while ago, and I scaled down the pattern so that it would fit on one page. You can easily enlarge it to any size you want. I thought the small size was really too small, since I'm used to the one I grew up with - but it turns out, I have been using the little one more than all of the others combined. It's not very big, but it will hold a bunch of little cars, hair clips, airplanes, farm animals, and even Baloo the Bear - which mine does. It's great for in the car or during church because it takes her a long time to take each item out. And it keeps all those little things together in my purse.

If you've made some bear bags, or any of my other patterns, I'd love to see! Add it to the wewilsons pattern pool.

More Tea Towels

More tea towel pictures and links to share. This has been so much fun, and there have been so many neat ideas.

Kristen received these sweet tea towels from Chara. I love the idea of a conversion chart on a tea towel.

Claire made these great appliqued owl towels for Tabitha.

Marjo made these nesting doll towels for Whitney. What fun colors!

Amy embroidered this little owl and used such lovely prints.

More to come!

don't worry, there aren't any jokes here

Another great thing about spring is grilling and eating outside. We got this grill basket (at Lowe's, I think) last fall, and only just tried it out. We usually do shish ke-bobs, but this came together a lot easier. The basket has a lid, so you can flip it half way through - although I'm sure it was made for burgers, so some of our veggies slipped. We got the hang of it though, and put the rack from my broiling pan on the grill to catch any loose veggies.

We like mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, red onion, green pepper, small potatoes, zuchinni and squash. Brush them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic and grill on low for 20 minutes, flipping half way through. I'm trying to get John to try some more exciting seasonings with me, but he's afraid it will just ruin it. Hmm... any good ideas?