Re-use and repurpose!

Is your plastic grocery bag bin overflowing? Yes? Mine was and it bothered me. I do re-use them in many ways but I just found myself overrun with them nevertheless. I came across this blog called Wisdom of the Moon where she made some re-usable grocery bags from old sheets. I thought I'd give it a try. Her pattern was so easy to follow and I managed to get 9 bags from an old coverlet that I'd never, in a million years, use. (See pics below) Now all I have to do is put them to the test. Gotta get some munchies for our Super Bowl feast tomorrow. Go Giants!

Another good site to check out is Morsbags.com.



And a bag in which to put all of them.

Mug mat & tea wallet

Wouldn't these mug mats make a cute addition to your table when your friends come over for a cuppa? They're quick and use very little fabric. You know, since they're insulated with batting they're great to cover your mug or cup while your tea is steeping to keep the heat inside, if you don't have one of those cool lidded cups, that is.

For each mat you'll need:

3 - 6.5" squares of fabric
1 - 6.5" square of cotton batting

Press one square on the diagonal. Lay cotton batting on table followed by one square face up, diagonally folded square set in one corner and topped by final square wrong side facing you. Sew on all four sides with a 5/8" seam, leaving at least 3" for turning. Turn right sides out. Press, making sure opening is turned in and pressed flat. Topstitch 1/8" from edge around all four sides. Using photo as your guide, sew pocket for spoon 2" from right edge.

Had to make another tea wallet. I didn't really like the ribbon closure on the last one so I used an elastic loop and button instead. Much better!

Feeling guilty

Okay, so after my post last night I started feeling guilty for not blogging and not sewing more so I just had to whip something up before going to bed at midnight. I made this blue tea wallet complete with a re-usable muslin tea bag I made last week. The coffee print wallet is one I made awhile ago and keep in my purse. I think I'll give the blue one away...I have someone in mind who I think will appreciate it. I'm going to change the closure on the next one. The ribbon is pretty but after awhile can get ratty, especially if you keep it in your purse. The coffee one has a snap closure but I don't know how some of you use those! I ruined a whole pack just to get one to work!

Wow, it's been a long time

Twelve days since I last blogged. I have been busy, honest! I did a little sewing. I made some stethoscope covers for my sister and her friends. I didn't really want to make the skull & roses into a stethoscope cover. I don't think it's appropriate for a hospital but she assured me it would be perfect for this particular friend. Oh well. Another friend wants one in a soft pink breast cancer awareness fabric so I guess I'll have to do a little fabric shopping. Gina will love the coffee fabric.

We're a family of big coffee drinkers. I, however, have been on a tea kick lately. I've always loved iced tea but have rediscovered hot tea. I'm totally not a tea snob. I'll drink pretty much anything that I think tastes good. Yesterday after Pat and I had lunch at Loco Sushi, I headed on over to Cost Plus to check out their tea selection. I really couldn't decide so I settled on guaranteed winners, Twinings Darjeeling and a black tea variety pack. Before we went to lunch we stopped at Ross where I found this Bodum 34 oz. tea press pot for $12.00. Today I stopped by Fresh & Easy, which just opened not to far from my house and picked up these other two teas. I'm having a cup of the chocolate tea now and I'm undecided about the taste.

I think Sophie approves of my choice in a quilt pattern. It's called Scrappy Mountain Majesties from Quiltville.com and is so easy that I think I can do it. I'm giving myself a month to finish it and I want to make it very scrappy.

Gotta run to wrestling practice!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding Recipe

After seeing that pumpkin bread pudding recipe I wrote about a couple of posts ago, I have been wanting some but wanted to make one close to my old standby recipe, just pumpkin-y. This is what I came up with, and it was yummy, especially when served warm with vanilla bean ice cream on top and a hot cup of coffee.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

1 package stale hamburger buns - 8 count or approximately 5 cups when torn into 1 inch pieces
2 cups half & half (or 1 c. milk and 1 c. heavy cream)
3 eggs
2/3 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice blend
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can pure pumpkin (15 oz.)
1/4 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Spread bread pieces evenly in pan. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a separate bowl until well incorporated. Pour evenly over bread pieces, stir slightly, and let sit for a few minutes to give bread a chance to soak up the wet mixture. Bake 45 - 60 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let sit for a few minutes before serving to let it set up further.

Georgia Rules...I'm sick!

Georgia just beat Hawaii 41-10 in the Sugar Bowl. We looked like fish out of water and now we've given the naysayers all the ammunition they need. They've been saying we didn't belong in a BCS bowl game, and now I'm afraid everyone will believe it. 'Nuff said.

Teapots and Bread Pudding

I made this teapot cozy for my 6 cup (48 oz) teapot. I also made a set of matching coasters. I will be keeping this set and not putting it in my Etsy shop. I do, however, have enough of this lilac print for a 2 cup cozy. I guess if anyone wanted a bigger one I could do that. I just love this print and made a tote out of it in purple as well. Ooooooh...I feel another cozy coming on! Ha!

I have a set of pillowcases to make for my niece, Devan. I had to run to the store today for more fabric (aw shucks!) because I only had enough to make one. Walked out of there with enough for her other pillowcase, a pair for Bernie and me, and the teacozy fabric, plus ribbon and batting. I can't wait to make my pillowcases. I love the paisley print I chose. You'll have to wait until I'm done to see it. I can, however, show you the pillowcases I made her for Christmas. She is 15 and Goth, so I'm hoping she'll appreciate them, although my sister thinks not. The new pair will be a pink/orange combo, much more to my sister's liking.


I came across a very interesting pumpkin bread pudding at SmittenKitchen.com and I want to try it tomorrow. Go check out her site. It's awesome!

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou! Happy New Year!

Have you all been enjoying the Bowl Games? We're biding our time watching OSU vs Indiana in the Insight Bowl. We're just waiting somewhat impatiently for tomorrow when the University of Hawaii plays Georgia in the Sugar Bowl (3:30 p.m. Hawaii time) at 5:30 p.m. here in Vegas. I'll wager that many of my Hawaii ex-pats will be hitting the sportsbooks in the casinos to place their bets on the underdog Warriors. If I were a betting person, I'd be doing the same. Since I'm not a basketball or baseball fan, I will go into mourning after the Super Bowl. But, as one Mountain West official said, "Football ends in January and starts in February." So I won't have to grieve for very long. At least we have wrestling to keep us busy for awhile.

It's New Year's Eve and as usual in our household, we're holing ourselves up for the night at home. We're all happy my husband isn't on duty tonight and will be home safe with us. I just don't feel comfortable out on the streets with all the party-goers and merry-makers tonight. We do enjoy watching the fireworks from our front door!

I used to think we were in the minority, the ones who stay home, but I've found there are many, many like us. Please, if you're brave enough to go out tonight, have a designated driver and drive attentively because there are way too many who do not. I don't want to lose any of my 7 faithful readers! LOL!

Don't forget to have your black-eyed peas and collard greens tomorrow!

I'm on Etsy!

Okay, you knew it would happen. I couldn't possibly use all of those cozies. Well, yes, actually I could. I'd just have a different one for every major and minor holiday plus one for everyday. I really enjoy making things for myself and for gifts but I figured that if I sold some, Bernie couldn't complain about my increasing stash. We'll see. You can see what's for sale on my sidebar - Etsy Mini.

More teapot/coffee cozies

Is there an award for best dressed teapot? My teapots have the cutest outfits now and do their jobs so much better because of them.


Wanna know why I stopped using my French Press coffee pot? Because by the time I wanted a second cup, it was cold! I'll just bet these teapot cozies will work the same with my French Press. If it weren't midnight, I'd make myself a pot of coffee right now. It'll just have to wait until the morning.

Coziest Teapot Cozy

Early this morning at about 2:30 a.m., I just had to make another one before going to bed. It turned out much better than the first one.












When I woke up this morning, I was determined to get it down as perfect (for me) as I could. This blue one is my coziest cozy, ever!

Mele Kalikimaka!

I hope everyone had a wonderful day. At my house, the presents have long been opened, played with and some cast aside. The sound of a new drum set assaults my ears from upstairs. But with it comes peals of laughter that makes me smile. The dinner dishes have been put in the washer, one pot of tea made and consumed, one pot of coffee will be made shortly. The Lake House is on. Can you believe I've never seen it? Everyone has settled into the four corners of the house and I'm enjoying some peace and quiet (in between drum beats, ha!) I still have a friend to call and talk to. Better run as she's in a different time zone.

Peace on Earth!

Ugly But Cozy

Yeah, I know it's not attractive but it's just my prototype. I ultimately want to sew a quilted cozy but my yarn just happened to be sitting in my knitting bag right next to me. It works!



Okay, couldn't wait. Had to get to the sewing machine. This is not quite as ugly as the crocheted cozy but still not perfect. I'm actually pretty pleased with it but, of course, will tweak it until it's as good as I can get it. Good news is that for this 2 cup teapot, it only took one fat quarter and some thick polyester batting. I don't normally use polyester batting, but my friend, Pat, left me a good sized scrap of it after we made some tote bags one night. Next time, I won't take the batting all the way up past the drawstring. I do think that I'll have to use the polyester to keep that really lofty look, but we'll see. This one seems to keep the teapot hotter than the crocheted version, but I kind of expected that. Back to the drawing board. Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas!

Mmmmmm...Zuppa Toscana

Aren't you glad it's soup weather? I am. I love soup. I love to eat soup all year but especially when it's cold outside.

My little one and I met our friends for lunch at Olive Garden the other day for soup and salad. Pat and I always get Pasta Fagiole, which I can replicate quite well, and her husband, Jim, always gets Zuppa Toscana, which I have never made but didn't believe it would be hard to do. I was determined to make my own version just so I could have Pat and Jim over for dinner and serve it to them. We love Italian food.

Here is my version:
Michelle's Zuppa Toscana



1 lb. mild Italian sausage, casing removed
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 bag (1 lb.) Southern Style Hashbrowns, frozen
1 can chicken broth
2 cans cream of potato soup
2 cups water
3 cups milk
1 bunch kale, chopped

In stockpot brown sausage, breaking into pieces as you cook. After sausage is browned, add onions and garlic and saute until translucent. Sprinkle flour over sausage mixture and stir to incorporate, cooking for a couple of minutes to get rid of that raw flour taste. Add hashbrowns and all liquids. Simmer 10 minutes. Add kale and simmer until wilted. Mangia!

As per my usual M.O. I'm still working on Christmas gifts but I'm not stressing myself out this year. I'll have a bunch of cookies done and boxed for those "Uh Oh, I Forgot You" gifts. In fact, I'll make more tomorrow, and a bunch of Easy Peasy Fudge as well and maybe some brownies. Yum!

Mele Kalikimaka!

Hot Buttered Goodness and other drinks

Last night I was given this recipe for Hot Buttered Rum at a friend's party. I tried it with the rum but I'm not such a fan of alcohol these days so I prefered it in a cup of hot coffee instead.

Hot Buttered Rum

Cream:
1 lb of butter (do not substitute!)
1 box of dark brown sugar
1 lb of powdered sugar

Add:
1 quart of softened vanilla ice cream
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix in a large bowl. Place 1 to 2 tsp of mix in a cup. Add a jigger of rum. Add boiling water to fill the cup. Keep mixture in freezer.

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These recipes are for my sister, Sherry, with whom I share my immense love of coffee.
They also make great "gifts in a jar".

Spiced Mocha Coffee Mix
1 c. instant coffee granules
1 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 c. powdered instant dry milk
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. dried orange peel

Combine the ingredients in a large bowl until mixture is well blended. Store in an airtight container.

To make one serving:
1 Tbsp. Spiced Mocha Coffee Mix
6 oz. (3/4 cup) boiling water

Place the coffee mix in a mug. Pour boiling water over the mix. Stir until completely dissolved. If desired, garnish with shaved chocolate.

Viennese Coffee Mix

1 1/3 c. instant coffee granules
1 1/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. powdered coffee creamer
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 dashes ground allspice
2 dashes ground cloves
2 dashes ground nutmeg

Combine the ingredients in a large bowl. Store in an airtight container.

To make one serving:
4 heaping tsp Viennese coffee mix
8 oz (1 cup) boiling water

Place Viennese coffee mix in a mug. Pour boiling water over the mix. Stir until the mix is completely dissolved.

Cappuccino Mix

1 1/4 c. powdered coffee creamer
1 1/4 c. powdered chocolate flavored drink mix
1 c. plus 2 Tbsp. instant coffee granules
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Store in an airtight container.

To make one serving:
2 Tbsp. Cappuccino mix
6 oz. (3/4 cup) boiling water
Whipped cream and shaved chocolate, optional (NOT optional!!!!!)

Place cappuccino mix in a mug. Pour boiling water over mix. Stir until the mix is completely dissolved. If desired, garnish with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

The University of Hawaii is PERFECT!

WAC Champions, the Hawaii Warriors just beat the Washington Huskies 35 to 28, which left them undefeated (12-0) and awaiting news of whether or not they'll get to play in a BCS bowl game. The speculation so far is that they'll get invited to play in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

Hawaii quarterback, Colt Brennan (perfect quarterback name!) was breaking NCAA records left and right, and is a Heisman hopeful, though most are calling him a long-shot.

I don't know how my kids managed to sleep near me in the living room while I screamed and whooped it up during the game. In fact, they're both snoring away right now.

My older son competed in a wrestling tournament today and lost both of his first two matches. The tournament was over at that point for him. The state championship football game was played today as well, but seeing as how we lost the semi-final match in Reno last week, he and his friends had no interest in going to the game. Many of them also wrestle so they used the tournament as an excuse not to go. I don't know how they felt when they found out that the team that beat them last week lost in the championship game today. I was happy that it was a Las Vegas team that won. I'm not worried. I'm looking forward to our team winning state next year!

I was able to do some knitting today at the tournament. I brought my sweater project with me and was so glad I did. I had hours to wait between Anthony's matches. I brought the same project with me last weekend during our 7 1/2 hour drive from Vegas to Reno but since we were driving home at night, I wasn't able to work on it on the drive home. I'm using the Bad Penny pattern by Stefanie Japel as a basic guide for my sweater.

Okay guys, almost 1 a.m. and time for bed. Hope everyone's college teams won today and their NFL teams win on Sunday!

Check this out! Awesome!

Winners! 3 TNT recipes

I have to post these because I don't want to lose them. First of all, I've been wanting to make some dinner rolls using my bread machine but I was so scared because I'd actually have to take the dough out and do something with it. Making bread is one thing...just put all the stuff in, wait awhile, and you have bread! My son, Anthony, and I are bread fiends in the house...though I think he's even more of a bread addict than I. Problem was, he would never even touch my bread machine bread. I searched high and low for a recipe that gave me instructions that made me want to try it. I found it here. Can I just tell you that they were perfect? When I got home from knit nite last night, there were about 4 (of 15) left and when I told him I didn't want any, he took those 4 and inhaled them! Winner! Since we're having Thanksgiving dinner at the firehouse, I was thinking that I could bring a bunch of these and some deviled eggs (hubby's favorites). I wanted to try a whole wheat roll today and I did. Not 100% whole wheat, but I substituted 1 1/4 cups of whole wheat flour for the white flour in the recipe and they were delicious!

Bread Machine Dinner Rolls

1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 1/4 to 3 1/3 cups flour (start with 3 1/4 c first)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp active dry yeast

Put ingredients in the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. For me, it was in the order above. Set the machine to the "dough" setting and start. As the dough ball formed, I used a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides. If at the end of the mixing/kneading cycle, your dough looks too wet, add more flour 1 Tbsp at a time until it is just sticky but not wet. Let the machine complete the dough cycle. Then remove the dough with lightly floured hands to a lightly floured surface. I had to pat the outside of the dough with a small amount of flour to make it workable. Place a sheet of foil in a 13 x 9 inch pan and spray lightly with cooking spray. Break off pieces a little bigger than golf ball sized and form them into smooth balls. Arrange the balls (you should have 15 of them) about an inch apart in the pan. Cover the pan with a sheet of plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray so the dough will not stick while resting and a kitchen towel over that. Let the dough sit for about 40 minutes and it should have doubled in size by then. Yesterday I had to take my dough into the living room where it was warmer. When doubled, uncover the pan and place in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. I like to finish them off by brushing them with butter as soon as they come out of the oven.

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I made a big pot of beef/meatball vegetable soup for dinner and the rolls complemented it perfectly.

Beef/Meatball Vegetable Soup

1 lb ground beef
20 frozen pre-cooked beef meatballs, Italian flavor
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano (15 ounces)
3 cans chicken broth (14.5 ounces)
2 small cans tomato sauce (8 ounces)
1 can corn (14.5 ounces)
1 1/2 cups mixed vegetables (I used a zucchini, yellow squash, cauliflower, carrot, & broccoli mix)
1 cup dried elbow macaroni pasta
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp. dried, minced onion flakes
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Brown ground beef and drain. Then add all the remaining ingredients and simmer until macaroni is tender, adding water if necessary, about 25 minutes, I think.
Too easy, huh?

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I made the mistake of mentioning fudge to Chris and he pestered me to let him help me make it until I relented. I had heard of a fudge recipe made from premade canned cake frosting about 10 years ago and hadn't thought of it again until today when I came across recipes for it. I had chocolate chips, I had frosting. Why not make fudge? I'm looking for easy Christmas gifts to make, after all. It couldn't be easier. Are you ready?

Easy Peasy Fudge

1 - 12 oz. bag milk chocolate chips
1 can Betty Crocker cake frosting, Chocolate Fudge flavor
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Empty bag of chips into a microwave safe bowl and melt them for 90 seconds on high. Stir in the entire can of frosting, vanilla, salt and nuts, if using them. Stir to make sure chips are totally incorporated. If they're not completely melted, put back in microwave for 30 seconds at a time. When completely incorporated, turn out into a buttered 8" x 8" pan, cover with plastic wrap and place into the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour or until firmer. It was yummy! Chris said so!

You can play around with different flavors of both chips and frosting. I read that the cream cheese frosting/chocolate chip variation was delicious but one set of instructions said not to use "whipped" frosting and that was the only kind of cream cheese frosting that I had. Oh well, next time! It really couldn't get any easier than this!!

On the sewing front, I made two pillowcases today with another one to be done tomorrow for Anthony and his two friends. They're in the school colors with one fabric in paw prints. They're the Wildcats but I'm pretty sure these were puppy prints. Close enough. Picture to come soon. They're heading up to Reno, Nevada this weekend to play against McQueen HS. The winner of this game advances to the State Championships. Las Vegas HS has won State for the past two years and I can't wait to see them do it again. Bernie and I are still debating whether to go up for this game or not. All of the cheap airfares are gone and it's about an 8 hour drive. I sure hope we go. I've never missed one of Anthony's games and I don't want to start now.

Off to bed. It's been a long day.

Roll-Up Pillowcase

The pattern for this pillowcase was a free hand-out at Nancy's Quilt Shop, however, I felt that the instructions were difficult to understand so I Googled around and found this one, which is easier to understand. I found another site that gave measurements for both standard and king sized pillowcases. That one said that you need 29" x WOF (width of fabric) for a standard pillowcase and 39" x WOF for a king sized pillowcase.

The one I made today for my youngest son is standard sized and it is a very generously sized standard. I like that you can't see the pillow peeking out of the opening, like the one currently on his pillow. That just drives me nuts. I will definitely make more of these. I want to make my older son one with a football themed fabric, if I can find one I like. I think it will be great to take to camp or sleepovers so they can easily tell which pillows are theirs.

Yay! Some quilting and crocheting done!

Last Thursday, Pat and I started on the Quilt Shop Hop here in Las Vegas. We were able to hit 3 of the 6 quilt shops that first day. While at Fabric Boutique, I saw a beautiful quilt done in Asian prints and set on-point with narrow black sashing. I am not comfortable setting anything on-point just yet but fell in love with the Asian print/black sashing thing. I bought some Asian fat quarters at Quiltique on the second day of the Shop Hop to play with but before I cut, I wanted to see how well I could do without a pattern. I came up with this table runner using some 4" squares won on eBay. Unfortunately, it doesn't go with my decor but I love looking at it anyway.





While looking around on Etsy.com this afternoon, I was inspired to try a crocheted coaster. The ones on Etsy weren't exactly like this, but they were pretty, too.


I'll be making more of these coasters for gifts because they're so dang easy. I know Thanksgiving is next week, so I might not have time, but I'd like to try this table runner in Thanksgiving/Fall printed fabrics and make some coasters to match.

Happy crafting to all!