Casserole Caddy

First Christmas gift revealed.....The Casserole Caddy.  I got the pattern from the Moda Bake Shop here. I have some ideas for how this could be better going forward, but that's a subject for another day.

Here are a few pictures of the finished product.

I also personalized a casserole dish for Deirdre using some etching paste and my new personal cutting machine.

I haven't  quite figured out the best way to do the vinyl yet, but I'm sure that with practice it will get better.

Ornament Exchange

I went to my first ornament exchange last week.  At first I thought I would sew something, but with all of the Christmas sewing going on, it just wasn't working out. Instead I went with a beeswax ornament. This was my first experience with beeswax, but it went really well. The ornaments came out all beautiful and golden, and they smell wonderful!

Melting the solid wax

Mom, thank you for getting me an OveGlove last year for Christmas, it is fantastic for holding hot jars!

Hot wax in mold.

Semi-solid ornaments

Once the wax cools, it shrinks and the ornaments pop right out!

I stamped each ornament with the date right before the wax hardened. Be careful if you choose to do this, stamp too soon and it can really mess the ornament up.

Hang these babies in front of a light and they glow on the tree.  Merry Christmas!

But What Have You Done Lately?

I am terrible at this blogging thing. Lately I have not been sewing very much, too busy. Last weekend I went to the Esty Rain event in Seattle at the Intiman Theatre and now I'm all inspired for Christmas.

My current project is an Advent Calendar Quilt. The pattern is from SewMamaSew, I saw it last year and just never got around to the project.  I picked up a fat quarter pack of Robert Kaufman's Sparkle All the Way and Groove Holiday collection and I knew it would be perfect for this project.

It's still a work in progress, but I think it's going to be fantastic.

Each square is a actually a little pocket where you can store a little treat or something special!

This is the first time I've done any machine embroidery, kind of a challenge but I'm beginning to figure it out.

Afternoon Project

At home, no husband, just me and the dog. Decided I would make up a few coasters. They're great to have on hand as a little hostess gift or for when you need to have a little something to give someone. Coasters only take a couple of hours and are really fun to make. You can make them all the same or varried.

Canning Season

It is canning season again. Each year I work up a little more courage. This year a friend and I canned tomatoes for the first time. They're nice because you don't have to use the pressure caner, which I am completely intimated by...Or maybe I'm intimidated by the canning books scary botulism warnings for things that need a pressure caner.

Homemade Toaster Pastries

So, lately I have been very concerned about what we eat.  I have been cutting way back on sugar and all kinds of things. It turns out to be very difficult because I love to bake, but don't necessarily like to eat sweets. From that perspective I'm married to the perfect man - he loves sweets! However, he does need to live for a few more years, so I'm trying to feed him healthier things.

Monday at the gym I had the brilliant idea of making homemade toaster pastries for David to take in the morning.  I went home and found this recipe from Alton Brown online. I didn't use any of his filling, I made a simple Peach-Raspberry filling (details below) and a Cinnamon-Sugar filling.

They turned out great. After cooling I put them in the freezer. When he's ready to eat one David just puts it in the toaster! It's awesome and way more healthy than anything you could buy in the store.  I also replaced 1/2 c. flour with whole wheat flour -the husband isn't crazy about whole wheat so I'm easing him into it.

Peach-Raspberry filling:
-1 fresh ripe peach, cut into small chunks
-1/3 c. fresh raspberries
-1 TBSP sugar
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1/4 tsp nutmeg

New Book

My husband heard about this book and knew that I wanted it. I couldn't find it anywhere but the other night he came home and had a copy for me!

I'm excited to get started with my own pattern designing. I think the first thing I need to do is make myself a dress form....