Canned Garden Tomatoes and Ginger Jam

Hello Everyone! 

I just made my first ever canned tomatoes yesterday. I'm not going to tell you how to can them or go deep into how I made mine because this was my first time and I have no idea how well I did yet but maybe I'll inspire you to try canning your own. My own garden tomatoes are really just starting to produce more than one or two at a time so I picked up some locally grown organic plum tomatoes and I did use a handful of my own as well. All I used was some fresh lemon juice, salt, and the tomatoes. 

Ta Da! 

They look really pretty and the smelled really good when I took them out of the water bath. I think I had about 4 - 5 lbs of tomatoes and I made 5 pint jars.

So I also recently picked up a book called Medicinal Herbs a Beginner's Guide by Rosemary Gladstar. In her book she talks about making Ginger Syrup with honey and fresh ginger and I love ginger tea so I figured I would give it a try. I did make it my own though and I decided to make it more of a jelly or jam. This is just a refrigerator jelly though so it doesn't have a really long shelf life. All I did was chop up a large hand of ginger and then covered it with some good quality honey. After it cooled off some I added about one tablespoon and then an extra teaspoon to each jar of the gelatin pictured below because I thought it needed a little more.  

I bought this gelatin to make homemade marshmallows and they were really good but the gelatin is good for many things I knew it would turn my syrup into jelly.
This jam is really spicy and sweet. Ginger is good to eat for a few reasons but it's really good for stomach aches or nausea. I think this would be really good on one my Einkorn biscuits too!

Well that's all, thanks for stopping by and let me know if you try making the jam.

Dehydrated Banana Chips and More

I'm really new to dehydrating but so far I have found it it be very easy. I've never ever liked banana chips from the grocery store so I was surprised when I bought a bag of dried fruit from my co-op that had banana chips in it and I loved them. I'm pretty sure that's because the ones at the grocery store like most things they sell are over processed garbage that likely has no nutritional value left. That sounds harsh, I mean if you like them eat them. I'm not judging but I do recommend trying these if you can because they not only taste amazing they also smell amazing. My house smelled like roasted bananas or banana bread all day. 

All I did was slice up the bananas to about the same size, put them on the trays, and then I sprinkled some cinnamon on them. You don't have to put anything on them and they will taste great but if you want you can brush on some honey or lemon to help preserve them. Mine didn't last much more than 24 hours so I don't see the point and I think they're great plain. 

I figured I would use up all my trays so I also cut up an apple, two nectarines, and one yellow squash. For the bananas and apples I used some cinnamon and for the squash I used some salt, garlic powder, and chili powder. That was my first time drying the squash chips and I really loved them. I didn't add anything to the nectarines and ultimately you can add whatever you like to the fruit or nothing at all I think it's all preference.

I just set it on the fruit setting and let it go all day just checking from time to time. Some bananas might have disappeared in the checking process. lol

That's it really. I did flip them but I don't think you have to. If you need to leave during the day I think you should be fine but maybe don't do really thin chips. Thin chips will be more crunchy and think chips will be more chewy I like them both and recommend experimenting. Just don't do them so thin that once they start to dry you can't get them off the tray. They are really yummy and I hope I've inspired you to try them!

My Out And About Dress

Hello Everyone!
I just want to share my Out and About Dresses.
I made one with a less expensive navy fabric first and then I made my green dress out of this bright and happy summery fabric. Making the navy dress first gave me a change to work out any issues I might have and just be familiar with the pattern. I definitely think making the navy dress first helped me make the green dress much better. The second time around I made some spray starch with corn starch, water, and a couple drops of jasmine oil. This really helped me sew the neck and arm holes. I also made a few other changes like deciding to use my quarter inch foot to sew the bands on.
I really love both my dresses!

First I made a freezer paper copy of the size I wanted to use. 

This navy fabric is reversible so I used the dot side for most of the dress but I decided to use the stripe side for the back. 

Ta da! 

Okay so I don't love everything about my navy dress. The neckline really isn't as nice as it could be and the hem on my sleeves are a little bulky. I did not use the cuff on them. Anyway I do really like it and I will wear it when we get some Fall weather. 

Now on to my green dress. I love this fabric, it's a Robert Kaufman line. 

I saw a blog where they said to try using some elastic to make perfect gathers. I gave it a try and I think it worked really well but it was a pain in the butt. It wasn't perfect, it was hard to do, and it adds more bulk so I'm not sure how I feel about it. I left the elastic in the back but took the time to rip out the front elastic after sewing the skirt and top together to reduce the bulk in the front. I do think it looks really nice though.

Lots and Lots of spray starch really helps to put on the neck bands and arm bands. 

I followed Sew Caroline's blog post for how to make a sleeveless dress. My only regret it not cutting out more fabric from the armpit area. 

This looks so much better! 

I really love it! 

So maybe I'm not done with this pattern yet. I believe this fabric for the skirt and a solid black top with long sleeves will make a really nice dress for winter with some leggings and my tall back boots... 

Making Butter, Buttermilk, and Cast Iron Skillet Buttermilk Biscuits

Hello Everyone! 

Recently I visited my Dad and he very nicely got me a half gallon of cream from a dairy farm the he used to work for. It was such a nice little farm, you go in their store and no one was there but they left the cash register open, and the store, so that you can get milk, cream, butter, maple syrup, or beef that they sell I guess anytime they are not there. Wow right, how many places are there left in this world that can do that? Not many! Anyway I'm very careful about the milk I drink. I usually drink organic whole milk and with the cream on top if I can get it. If I can't get organic I just make sure it doesn't have any nasty added growth hormones. Not all fats are bad for you and you can loose weight consuming fats, I have and I know many others have too. I'm a fan of the Paleo diet but I choose to eat good quality dairy and sometimes Einkorn wheat too. This farm isn't organic certified but my dad assured me that they could be but are not labeled so by choice because of added cost to them and to the customers. That's so sad right. I wish all dairy was still organic like it used to be...

So moving on.

BUTTER! 

I usually buy organic pasture butter, totally worth it, but that stuff is expensive so I knew I wanted to make some butter. 

Making butter is really easy and you can do it many ways like shaking up some up in a mason jar but I like to just toss the cream into my stand mixer. I used nearly all of the half gallon but I saved a small amount of it to make maple whipped cream for something later. 

All I do is slowly start mixing the cream adding more speed as I can. You will make whipped cream and then you kind of get a chunky whipped cream and then you'll start to see the cream separate into butter and buttermilk. I mix as long as I can until the butter really starts to clump together. I don't have any pictures unfortunately but all I do is strain the buttermilk out with a strainer over a large bowl and then squeeze out as much of the buttermilk from the mass of butter as I can. 

I formed the butter into a long log like shape and flattened it out. I tried to make it about an inch thick like butter sticks. I then just cut up the log shape into little stick shapes and wrapped them in little pieces of parchment paper. 

Don't forget if you want to add any salt or herbs to do so before you shape and cut up the butter. I just made unsalted butter. 

I made roughly 9 sticks of butter. They are not all the same length and none of them are quite as long as store bought butter but who cares, it still works the same and tastes even better. I put all of my buttermilk into a glass bowl with the green lid to store in the fridge. That is a one quart bowl and I filled it to the top.

I just put them into bags to store in the fridge. I think you can freeze them but I don't think I need to. I love to use butter.

Einkorn Buttermilk Biscuits

Einkorn?

If you have no idea what Einkorn wheat is I'd love to tell you but many other people have already done so. I recommend that you do a quick google search, watch some YouTube videos, or check out the book Wheat Belly to find out why you might like to make the switch like I did. 

Now Einkorn can be hard to work with. At least it's not like modern wheat and well that's a good thing I think but it can make using it a little more difficult than modern wheat. There is a new book out called Einkorn and I just ordered it but there are not tons and tons of recipes that you can search for that use Einkorn just yet. So I was a little brave when I decided to make these biscuits. I didn't want to use the recipe on the jovial website so instead I did some research on YouTube to find a recipe I'd like to try. I watched many recipes for buttermilk biscuits and in the end I kind of pieced a bunch of ideas together. 

I wanted to make beautiful roll out biscuits with multiple layers and cut them into perfect little circles with my new biscuit cutter that I just bought but it just didn't work out that way...

I knew I was going to bake them in my cast iron skillet so I put it over the oven vent with a small amount of butter to wait until I was ready. 

I used up all of my flour to make the biscuit dough and at first I was a little upset because I thought I added a little to much buttermilk. The batter was very moist and sticky so  there was absolutely no way I could have rolled them out without having a bunch more flour. So instead I just put all of the batter into the pan and crossed my fingers that it would work out well...

And it did, beautifully I might add! I had no idea how long it would take so I just watched it like a hawk until they were golden on top and then used a toothpick to test if the batter was fully cooked.

Isn't that the cutest little biscuit? I watched a video where a "cowboy" cut his skillet biscuits like this and I figured I would too. So how do they taste?
AMAZING!

My husband ate two right away and would have had more if I didn't step in. I'm not just tooting my own horn these biscuits are really really good! They are light, airy, flaky, and oh so delicious!
There are just two of us so we had leftovers for breakfast and they were still just as tasty the next morning. I just put them back in the same skillet and warmed them on low broil for a few minutes.

I think the Einkorn flour and the freshly made buttermilk helped to make these (in my opinion) the best biscuits ever!

I have some blackberries growing right now and I think I'll be making some jam and these biscuits again very soon! Okay so you want to make them too right? I don't blame you...

Skillet Einkorn Buttermilk Biscuits 

• 2 1/2 cups Einkorn Flour. I used Jovial 
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon salt. I use real salt brand
• 1 stick of butter very cold or toss in the freezer for a couple minutes. I used one of my own freshly made plus a little extra to get a full stick. 
• 1 1/4 cups of buttermilk

Preheat oven 405 degrees for convection baking or about 410-415 for regular baking. 

Get your cast iron skillet ready with a Tbsp butter over the oven vent. I used an 8 inch lodge skillet. 

Sift together all the dry ingredients. I used a sieve. 

Cut the stick of butter into little chunks or cubes and toss them into the flour. Use a pasty cutter or two butter knifes to work the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is very small and there are no more large chunks. You can toss this mixture into the freezer for a minute or two if you want to make sure the butter is really cold like I did or if you think you worked quickly move on to mixing in the buttermilk slowly. I would add the cup first and then the 1/4 cup. The mixture should be very moist and very sticky. 

Now just pour and scrape all the the dough into the skillet and bake for 10-15 minutes. I always set my timer under (maybe 9 minutes) and watch them or add time if I need to. I think I did mine for about 10-12 minutes. Just watch for them to be nice and golden on the top and you can use a toothpick to check if the center is done. 

Serve with a sliver of butter, honey drizzled on top, or some of your favorite jam.

Please let me know if you make them and how they came out. I really hope they come out just as good for you as they did for me. 

Enjoy! 

Star Layer Cake Quilt

Hello everyone! 

I just want to share the quilt I made for my Mom who celebrated her 50th birthday back in July.

I made half square triangles using the Missouri Star Quilting Co. way. 

I think these stars are called Hunter stars but I'm not sure I know I saw them online and I loved the idea.


My Mom loves purple.


So I was able to make 4 large stars and 5 diamonds out of the layer cake. You could also do pinwheels or another design but in the end I believe I used all of the fabric from the layer cake. The border and the 4 plain large squares I made by just cutting some yardage. The extra fabric did not go with the line, the fabric was just a similar type of batik that I found at my local shop.



You can see below I just used a bunch of scraps and other fabric I had on hand already to make the back. I don't really see the point of matching the back except maybe if you want your quilts to be reversible.



I just used some quilting pins to baste the quilt. I rolled the edge as I went along with the safety pins.



Time to quilt it...



I decided to just go around the stars and the diamonds. I then hand tied the centers and other places like the plain squares just putting the ties in the middle and I believe I evenly spaced 3 ties along the top border and another 3 on the bottom.



Again I always use a two inch strips sewn together on the diagonal with my quarter inch foot. I leave space before I start and after I end to sew the ends together. I over lap the two pieces two inches because they are two inch strips and then I sew them together diagonally, pictured above, to join them. You can find videos on how to join the binding this way on YouTube. That's how I taught myself.

The quilt was about a full size but a little under maybe. I'm slightly taller than my Mom so I was able to lay under it with it covering my feet nicely.
My Mom said she loves it and sleeps with it every night. I'm just happy she likes it.

Quilted Peter Rabbit Blanket

I finally got some fabric to finish my Peter Rabbit panel. I've been hoarding this fabric for at least two years. The green minky or cuddle cloth is for the backing. Also how cute is this bunny book end? I found a pair at a local book shop and I had to have them! So cute! I decided to spray baste it because it's so small and it was my first time using that fabric for the backing and I read that using spray basting helps with that fabric.  It was kind of a pain anyway so I can't imagine how much worse it would have been... 

      I just wanted to get the blanket done so I didn't fuss over the quilting. I simply went around a border and did some quick free motion quilting. I don't recommend free motion with that fabric. It was such a pain in the butt. Next time I would stick to simple lines maybe with a walking foot to help move things along. 

      I always use 2 inch strips for binding with my quarter inch foot. It always works for me. The foot makes sure you have nice straight pretty lines. 

      I really love it. This blanket is my first completed hope chest project. It's not a quilt that I spent tons of time piecing together so I don't feel bad about playing fast and loose with my free motion quilting or how I just clipped the threads off instead of hiding them inside the middle like I would for a nicer piece. Now I just need to figure out what to do with it. Do I have to put it in a real chest now? Well a cedar one would be nice... Haha 

Half Circle Skirt Tutorial

Hello everyone! 

I started thinking about making a pretty skirt for spring maybe a few months ago. I live in the North (USA)so the weather is just starting to warm up for us(mid April). I just had some snow the other day. Anyway, I'm excited to wear my new skirts soon and I hope maybe you are excited to make one yourself. 

These are my photos of how I made my skirts. I'm posting this so that maybe I can inspire or help someone like myself. If you like, or use this post to make your own skirt please feel free to comment below and tell me your thoughts. 

Picture Tutorial:

This is an easy project as long as you have some prior sewing skills or knowledge. 

You will need:

Fabric: This will depend on your measurements. You can use the papers below to figure it out or if you think you're around my size then you can buy,

about 1 yard of 60" fabric, apparel fabric-(blue and flower skirt)

OR

about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 yard of 45" fabric. (MY black and white skirt)

Elastic, Marking Tools, Thread, Scissors, Freezer paper or Parchment Paper, Pins... 

One of the first things you want to do is make a pattern. You don't have to do this but if you do it will be really easy to make more skirts. 

I took the time to write up how to make your own pattern and you can also use this to figure out the amount of fabric you will need.

Cutting out the skirt- one side is on the fold. 60"fabric

I did the same thing for this skirt. 

Now put right sides together and sew down the cut side with 5/8th seam allowance. 

I'm just using pinking shears to trim up the seam and prevent fraying.  I do not have serger or over locker but if you do you should use it. 

Next I used my waist measurement and subtracted around 4 inches or more. I made the mistake the first time of not making the elastic tight enough so you might want to pin it and try it on to make sure it's tight enough. 

Just sew down the cut edge around 1/4" should be good. I pressed my seam flat and then sewed next to the seam on both sides so it would lie flat. 

You will need to fold the skirt and the elastic so that they are divided into 4 equal quadrants. If you start at the seam and fold it in half you mark the opposite ends, then fold again and mark the other two points. I hope the pictures help...

Now take right sides together and pin the elastic to the skirt at the four points that you made. You do not want to pin all around because you will be stretching the elastic in the middle of these areas so that it will fit the skirt. 

It should look something like this. 

I put the seams together and started sewing with the elastic down against the machine. This worked well for me but you could try having the elastic on the top if you're having trouble. 

I back stitched at the start. If you're worried about the fit you might consider basting and trying on the skirt first. I did not do this for any of my skirts and for my first skirt I had to rip out the stitches (elastic was too big).

This next part is tricky. Take your time and go slow. You can use a 1/4" foot here if you have one. 

You want to pull the elastic to the point that the fabric lies flat or lines up with the elastic. Use both hands to guide the fabric. If you really need to you can pull it tight and then put a pin in the middle and then just sew the smaller sections but still stretching the elastic the entire time. 

Make sure you back stitch when you get back to where you started. 

Look you're almost done! 

Now you'll want to hem the bottom of your skirt. If you don't have a serger you can pink the edges like I did or you can fold the hem twice so that you won't have any fraying. I folded mine 1/2". It's a really good idea to iron the fold down before you start sewing so that you're hem looks nice and even. It will also help you as you are sewing around the curve. 

I used my 1/4" foot. 

TA DA!

I don't have a lot of junk in my trunk (lol), but if you do it will probably change the length of your fabric or how you'll need to hem it. Sorry I have no experience or advice in this area. 

Now on to the the 45" fabric. I bought this on a whim (on sale) and I'm glad I did. 

I was not able to fit the pattern so that one side was on the fold, so I had to cut out two pieces like this. This is no big deal, you will just have to sew up both sides right sides together. 

This time I used my rotary cutter with a pinking blade, it's so nice. 

I had plenty of extra fabric so I decided to make pockets. I mean who doesn't love pockets in skirts?

I used an old pattern piece from my first apparel project that I made in high school. I didn't want the pockets to be too big so I made them smaller. After the fact I kind of wish I had just used the bigger pocket pattern. - Oh well they work just fine.

If you don't know how to make pockets or have never made them before I suggest that you search YouTube for an inseam pocket tutorial.

If you don't want to make pockets just sew down both sides, right sides together, with at least a 1/4" seam.

There will be 4 total pocket pieces. You will want to take the time to measure where you want to place the pockets and then match the fabric up to check that all the pieces line up before you sew them. 

I folded the fabric in half to check that the pieces matched up perfectly. 

You will then sew each piece individually to the side of the fabric. You will sew 4 seams, each pocket to it's own edge alone. I started and stopped just before and after each pocket and I back stitched. 

Iron the pockets out like this... 

Pin both main pieces together matching all the edges and mark down the sides going around the pocket (blue line) and then back down. If you don't go around the pocket you won't have an open space for your hand. 

After you sew down and around it will look like this when you turn the skirt back out. You do both sides like this. 

Now you just need to sew on the elastic and hem the skirt. For the hem you can just do what I said above or if you want you can do a more fun decorative stitch like this... (Just make sure you iron before you do)

I love it! 

Say hi to Theia my yellow lab. 

Look I have pockets! 

That's All Folks! 
If you want to watch a video on how to make a half circle skirt there are a few on YouTube you can search for yourself but I suggest this one from a really cool girl who makes lots of neat stuff ...
https://youtu.be/7bHhMIzVA5k