This church pew was something my Dad collected from somewhere, then stored in his barn’s hayloft for decades. I brought it home with me last fall. This weekend I cleaned it up, including removing a few long-deserted mud dauber nests, and brought it from my garage into the house. This spring I hope to take it to the back porch and giving several coats of wood finish- the current finish is all but worn down to bare wood.

As I washed away decades of Illinois farm dust, then polished it with lemon oil, I got acquainted with the piece. You know how it is: you work closely with an object creating or restoring it, and next thing you know, it’s your friend. (Or maybe your enemy, but that’s not the case here…)

I wish I knew more about the bench, where it came from or how old it is. I wonder what faithful families took comfort in this pew during the trials and triumphs of their lives. I’m reminded how fleeting life is and I rejoice in being a Christian. I hope this pew enjoys its time here in my home, and some good memories are made, adding to the secrets it already holds.

Have you ever been to a tea house for afternoon tea? And had their yummy scones and clotted cream? I’m lucky to have a few tea houses nearby and the scones are always so light with a moist crumb. I’ve tried a few recipes at home trying to duplicate the texture, and I’ve gotten pretty close, but I’m a lazy cook, so it’s not often I feel like making them from scratch. Which seemed to be the only way to make really yummy ones. Till now.

I discovered that if I start with a baking mix, like Krusteaz® or Bisquick® , then cut in some additional butter with a fork or pastry blender, I get the texture I’m looking for! Much easier than pulling a counter full of ingredients out of the cupboards to start from scratch. Here’s my recipe for simple scones with some dried fruit mixed in. Although tea houses serve tiny cute little wedges, I make big biscuit shaped ones. Remember, I’m lazy. As a side note, I’ve noticed I need a little more sugar when using Bisquick® than when using Krusteaz®. Now, to figure out a way to get clotted cream without having to go to the specialty store….

Simple Scones

Ingredients:

1¼ cups baking mix (Bisquick or Krusteaz)

2 Tablespoons cold butter

6 Tablespoons cold milk

1 Tablespoon sugar

¼ cup dried fruit, such as cherries or raisins or apricots

Brush on top: 2 Tablespoons melted butter

Sprinkle on top: granular sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°

2. Cut the cold butter into the baking mix. Don’t mix too thoroughly- just until the butter is broken into chunks the size of peas. Add the cold milk and sugar and mix until just combined.

3. Drop ¼ cup portions onto ungreased baking sheet.

4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops turn light brown.

Try to let them cool a little before diving into them… just try. This recipe makes a small batch because it’s my way of limiting myself, really. Enjoy!

Five minutes after plating them…

I had some scraps of fabric left over from other projects, so I wanted to show you a quick way to create a dress pattern from your favorite t-shirt pattern. This is just a few rough notes for creating a dress a pattern, starting with a favorite basic t-shirt pattern you already know fits you nicely. Hmmm, maybe what I should do next is show you how to do a rub-off of your favorite clothes, that is, trace the clothes you already own and love so you have a collection of patterns you know fit. I’ll work on that, I promise.

Anyway, start by tracing your favorite t-shirt pattern, then follow my quick instructions below. My drawings are a little crooked, but I think you can get the idea. Go create!

Blizzard not withstanding, the 2012 Rocky Mountain Sewing Expo. kept their doors open this past weekend. I only had a bit of time to spend there this year, so only attended one workshop. It was hosted by Marcia McClintock of Saf-T-Pockets entitled “Sew You’re Traveling.” It was enjoyable. Marcia has a great sense of humor and told storied as she demonstrated how to pack a carry-on suitcase with a flexible wardrobe. Her patterns feature lots of hidden pockets, a boon to the traveler. I bought her reversible raincoat pattern and a simple hood wrap booklet. I love the big hood on the coat and already have some fabric in my stash that will work great.

There was also a booth for a little local business called The Fabric Yard. They feature mostly knit fabrics I have such a hard time finding anywhere else. I picked up some printed rayon knit for a summer sleeveless top. Then over to the Junk Jeans People booth to pick up some extra small grommets for a cardigan I designed a while back, but couldn’t find grommets small enough to not look like I was trying to make a curtain! These will be perfect.

But probably my favorite place of all was the booth for Craft Scraps, a local business that buys and sells used sewing and craft supplies. These enterprising owners buy craft supplies from overwhelmed crafters or estate sales, and sort, clean, and package it all up for easy shopping. I love vintage buttons and kind of went crazy, a little. OK, maybe a lot. But really, when would I see so many pretty vintage buttons together in one place again? At least until next year?

And the day after visiting the show, we were hit with about two feet of snow, so I should be using the indoor time to sew with my new treasures- off I go!

Water. It’s good for you. No one contends that fact, and living in a dry climate like Colorado makes me appreciate it all the more. I’ve almost always got a water bottle with me, and a spare in the car, and I try hard to drink as much water as “they” tell me to each day. Looking around, I’m not alone. I see people carrying bottles everywhere I go.

Enter the water bottle cozy. Function and beauty, a great combination. With just a few bits of fabric from your stash, you can show off your style and individuality. Accessorize it with a pocket just the right size to hold a granola bar snack, or a  swivel clasp to attach it to your belt or purse strap. The drawstring makes it easy to grab and carry.

Function. The batting insulation really helps to keep your drink cool longer. My sister has been really impressed with how much longer her ice cubes stick around in her drink. Hot weather is a lot more pleasant with something cool to drink nearby!

You can stitch up a couple of these in an afternoon. I’ve included three sizes in the pattern to fit most bottles, from a disposable water bottle up to a 1 liter Nalgene® bottle. Finished sizes are listed on the pattern so you can measure your bottle for the best fit. The 8-page pdf pattern has clear, step-by-step instructions with detailed color photos. This pattern is easy for any skill level; I strive to make my patterns easy to understand and fun to complete.

Materials needed:

The button below will take you to my pattern place on Craftsy.com, where you can purchase and instantly download the pattern using your PayPal account (it’s secure). Thanks so much to purchasing my pattern, and fell free to contact me with any questions!

 Only $6.99!

Buy Now!

Last Thursday, Craftsy.com organized Meetups all over the world to celebrate their first year anniversary. I’m lucky enough to live close to their headquarters in Denver, so there was of course a nice big meetup here in the city!

I’ve never been to such an event before, but I had so much fun, I forgot to take any photos even though I’m always the one with a camera close by! Anywho, you’ll just have to visualize with me as I describe the evening.

The Meetup took place in a small gallery on Tennyson St., in what I consider the northwest part of old Denver, where there are historic neighborhoods being rejuvenated with trendy shops and modern families. Craftsy had outfitted the space with tables and chairs so Craftsy instructors could meet with attendees and give mini-lessons in crochet, yarn types, sewing machine use, or embroidery. There was also a table of appetizers and a special table set up with kid’s crafts, so no age group was left out!

I especially enjoyed meeting some of the Craftsy instructors, and spent most of my evening chatting with Amy Gibson and her delightful mom. Amy is hosting a FREE quilting block of the month class on Craftsy this year, so use the button on my sidebar to get on over there and sign up! It just started this month, and all past lessons will be kept on the site so you can catch up if you’ve missed any of them. Very fun. Amy and her mom are both delightful! She created the embroidery ornament pictured above. Working on it while chatting with people around me was a great way to spend the evening, therapeutic I think. Check out Amy’s blog: Stitchery Dickory Dock.

And Craftsy ‘s gift of the evening was a discount coupon toward one of their online classes. Thanks, Craftsy!

With the holidays usually comes an influx of gift cards. How about a cute way to contain them in your bag, along with all those loyalty cards and business cards that accumulate? Here’s a truly easy and fast little pocket tutorial to help you out. It also makes a simple way to present a merchandise card you’re gifting to someone. Made of felt, there’s no need to line it, and you can even use a bit of a felted sweater or felted fabric. Add a couple buttons from the bottom of the button box (they don’t even need to match) and a bit of cording or string, and you’re ready to get started.

If you’re lucky enough to have in hand one of my fold-over business cards, use it as a pattern to help you cut the felt and find the right place for the bottom button.

Here we go!

Materials

• a piece of felt at least 4″ by 9″. You can use purchased felt or it’s especially cute to use a felted sweater or fabric you’ve felted yourself

• two buttons – mine were about 5/8″ in diameter. They don’t have to match, be creative!

• a piece of thin cording, string, pearl cotton, etc, cut to 9″ long

• matching thread and a sewing machine (although you’re welcome to sew it by hand as well. A blanket stitch would be beautiful)

Instructions

1. Cut a rectangle from the felt, 3½” wide and 9” long. If you have my business card, you can use it as a pattern by folding the felt in half, placing the unfolded card on top of the felt so the fold line marked on the card is about ½” away from the folded edge of the felt. Cut around the card leaving the fold of the felt in place. That should give you a rectangle that is 3½” wide and 9” long.

This post is a departure from what I usually write about, but I feel it is worthwhile to read and watch the video. I find inspiration in so many areas and parts of life, and the following post reminds me to be inspired to live life with my eyes and my heart open to what there is to learn.

These days, almost anything can make me turn nostalgic, even more so during the Christmas season. So when my husband sent me this link to a “60 Minutes Rewind” video, aired on July 10, 2011, I had to share it with you. This is an 11 minute film created in 1906 by attaching a camera to the front of a trolley as the trolley traveled down busy Market Street in San Francisco. Unknown at the time, the film was shot just days before the San Francisco earthquake and fires destroyed much of the city. So the short film now bears a heavier relevancy because of its history.

The scenery and life it captures are precious. There are horses, wagons, carriages, horseless carriages, trolleys, and innumerable pedestrians all criss-crossing through the streets in a bustling, but manageable, symphony of life in the city. As you watch, try to catch site of the fashions and faces of the pedestrians that cross in front of the camera. Ladies in street skirts and tall hats, men in suits; all of them with bright faces, unaware of what history holds for their city and their world. Poignant.

Out of ashes we often try to find blessings. My husband credits the earthquake with helping him to be born in this country. His maternal grandparents emigrated to the United States from Poland shortly after the fire. His grandfather was a craftsman in the construction trades, including beautiful inlaid wood floors, and he could speak several languages, which made him a valuable worker in a melting pot society like this city. So he brought his family to San Francisco to help rebuild it. My husband grew up with stories of the city’s rebuilding.

Click here to watch the film, and afterwards, make sure you scroll down near the bottom of the short article to link to some photos of the aftermath of the earthquake, a sort of before and after, if you will.

Although it’s not quite time for me to start my holiday baking, I couldn’t wait any longer to bite into my favorite cookie. I’m not sure why I only make these at Christmas time, but it might have something to do with the fact that if I made these any more often, my waistline would be considerably more, well, more.

The warm, spicy smell of these cookies brings back deep, wonderful Christmas memories of being in my childhood kitchen, rosy cheeked from ice skating in the pond next to our house, and washing down the cookies with hot cocoa. The texture is soft and chewy and the strong molasses flavor is memorable. A cookie to be savored, not merely gobbled.

Here’s the recipe for Kris Kringle Molasses Cookies. My recipe card for these is written in my childhood scrawl, so apparently I knew at a young age that these were destined to be part of my life and my memories. At the bottom I wrote, “double recipe needed.” That’s how much I love them! Try a batch, and let me know if these will be part of your baking traditions as well.

Kris Kringle Molasses Cookies 

Mix thoroughly:

¾ cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup molasses

Sift together and stir in:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. When dough is chilled, pour about ¼ cup white sugar into a shallow bowl. Preheat oven to 375°.

Roll chilled dough into walnut-sized balls and dip the tops in the sugar. Place, sugared side up, 3″ apart on greased baking sheet. Before placing in oven, sprinkle pan with a few drops of water to encourage the cookies to have crackled top. Bake till just set, about 10-12 minutes. Now just sit back and try to resist!

I know some people get really excited about wrapping presents and will spend hours on wrapping and accessorizing their packages. Not me. The fun part for me was making the gift or finding just the perfect item to buy; after that wrapping is way too anti-climatic. I just want it done.

Years ago I created these simple bags to wrap our family gifts in, so I thought I’d share them with you. You can make a whole batch of them in an evening. Not only is it a “green” idea, but it makes gift wrapping and Christmas morning clean-up much easier. The ribbons are permanently attached to the bags. I thread a simple fabric gift tags (instructions at the bottom of this post) onto the ribbon, add an ornament or Christmas sprig, and you’re done. Ho, ho, ho!

Along with these bags, I bought several Christmas-themed hat boxes and other box shapes to hold odd shaped items and collections. These get tied up with colorful ribbons (packed away inside the box so they’re ready-to-go), and I’m done with wrapping!

The illustrations below should be explanatory enough for the bags. Scroll to the bottom of this post if you would like to see a super easy idea for fabric gift tags. I keep these from year to year as well, since these bags get used for family gifts and reused as well each year.

Out of 2¼ yards of 44″ fabric, you can get one large bag, 2 medium bags and 3 small bags. Each bag has a ribbon tie that’s about 27″ long. This is a good opportunity to dig through your stash of ribbon, rick rack, seam tape, twill tape, almost anything will do. Variety is a good thing! Cut your fabric as follows:

I only create square, boxy corners on some of the bags, and I always sew the seam with basting stitches so I can pull it out later if needed. If I’m wrapping something flat, like a shirt, I want the bag left without square corners. Then I put the flat item in the bottom of bag, wrap the bag around it, and on the back side, I tuck the top around so the ribbon is in the middle of the package and tie it up.

 Again, I’m too impatient to make fancy gift tags, so here’s my super simple, mass produced solution. I fuse two layers of muslin together with Stitch Witchery, and cut the fabric into rectangles 2″ by 3″. It’s now stiff enough to use a basic hole punch through the top for threading onto the ribbon. At this point, you could be crafty and decorate the tags with hand or machine embroidery, or be lazy like me and decorate with permanent markers.

There you go! Merry Christmas to all!