Knotty Little Secrets...

This is my friend and fellow Knotty Krafter, Jaime, last Saturday at 9:30 a.m.

(Please note that Jaime had limited sleep on Friday night and no opportunity for makeup or to do her hair and she is STILL adorable).

One thing that I love about Jaime is her ability to embrace her...  um... quirks.  One of Jaime's quirks is her whorish hoarderish tendencies.  Now, folks, Jaime is not a full-fledged hoarder - NOT AT ALL.  But, the girl can accumulate some stuff.

In all fairness to Jaime, I will set the stage from the beginning...  It all started with me buying a small dresser at an estate sale.  I asked Jaime on Friday night if she would help me pick it up on Saturday morning.  True to form, Jaime readily agreed and I told her that I would be by at 9:30 a.m. so that we could pick it up.

When I arrived at Jaime's house, she was under the impression that we were going to take my car.  "No silly, we are picking up a dresser and thus need your Jeep."  Jaime, being the good sport that she is, said "No problem, but my car is a little bit messy."  Key words - "A little bit messy."  No big deal at all - whose car isn't a little messy since we all practically live in the things?

We arrive at the estate sale to pick up the dresser and Jaime scores a jar of vintage buttons that were priced at $85.00 but she only paid $15.00 (which, of course, will be used for future Knotty Krafters projects).  If you know sweet Jaime, you would not think that she could drive such a hard bargain.  Not true!  For our Jaime, getting a good deal is like clubbing a baby seal.

(No animals would EVER be hurt by any of us --- we are all animal lovers and would not tolerate the clubbing of any animal.)

After Jaime and I haul the dresser out to her Jeep, Jaime opens the back hatch so we can place the dresser inside.  HOLY CRAP IN A CANOE JAIME!  There was trash, debris, and stuff EVERYWHERE in her Jeep.  Jaime takes my astonishment, amazement and (let's face it folks) mockery in good stride by saying "Ya, um, I know."  At one point, I am running into the yard of the house of the estate sale retrieving papers that have flown out of the vehicle.

As we are trying to load the dresser in the back of Jaime's Jeep, it is important to note that the back hatch of Jaime's Jeep doesn't stay up in cold weather on it's own so poor Jaime is trying to hold it up with her head while we try to lift the dresser inside.  And, although Jaime has attempted to move most of the debris to the seat behind the driver's side seat, we were still trying to place the dresser on the carcasses of who knows what.  Luckily, two kind gentleman came to our rescue.  One held the back hatch up and the other helped us lift the dresser in.  After we placed the dresser into the Jeep (mind you, it is laying on mounds of TRASH/STUFF), one of the gentleman says "you really need to clean that."  I then respond "I know but, just so you know, it isn't my car."  He then says "No, I meant the bottom of the dresser."  I simply said "Are ya kidding me?  Do you not see the crap in this car?"  What I wanted to say was "Hey Ray Charles, do you not see the level of freakin' debris right in front of you!!!"  He didn't even miss a beat and says to Jaime "I would have hauled this for you in the back of my truck for just a cocktail."  Here Jaime is with her dirty little secret literally falling out of her car for all to see and this guy is hitting on her.  Go figure...

Here are some pictures of Jaime's Jeep with the dresser inside -

The back driver's side seat:

The back hatch beside the dresser:

The view from the front into the back seat:

 Jaime presenting her knotty little secret (what a good sport!):

Of course, my OCD tendencies kick in and never one to miss an opportunity to help someone purge and organize, I tell Jaime that we are cleaning this car out the instant we drop off the dresser.  Jaime readily agreed.  So, when we got to my house, we developed a plan - starring a recycling bin, the trash bin, and a place to put the items that she was keeping - and we went to work.

 Here is a list of some of the items that we found in Jaime's car:

1.)  Countless newspapers (and I mean countless because I had to stop counting);
2.)  Numerous half-empty water bottles;
3.)  Empty diet coke and soda cans;
4.)  An emergency rain poncho (who doesn't need one of those?);
5.)  1/4 of a bottle of vodka;
6.)  a manicure kit;
7.)  Jaime's dog, Buddy, that has been missing since 1997...

now fossilized...

8.)  Tights, socks, a suit jacket, etc.;
9.)  1 cheetah shoe (Jaime:  "I wondered where that went.");
10.)  The lost continent of Mu and her people (look it up people);
11.)  A fancy winter hat;
12.)  QT cups;
13.)  Dog food;
14.)  Canning jars (2 packages) and countless other items.

Here is Jaime with some of our favorite finds:

After purging many, many items (read trash can and recycling bin practically full) and washing and vacuuming her vehicle, Jaime and I headed to Big Lots to buy her a crate to keep her essential vehicle items in.  Yes, the rain poncho stayed but the bottle of vodka went inside as well as her random items of clothing.

Here is Jaime with her newly cleaned vehicle.  And, no, there is nothing in her front or back seats.  Who knew one little $3.00 crate could make someone so happy?

All in all, a productive Saturday for 2 of the Knotty Krafters.  And now my first blog post is done and done.  A BIG thank you to Jaime for letting me reveal her knotty little secret.  God knows we all have them, what's yours?

And, Jaime, you are not allowed to reveal my secrets and where is that bottle of vodka?  We'll need it to get through burying Buddy...

Vodka

Fossilized Buddy

+

=  GOOD TIMES!

- Jennifer

Quilting Part 2 (The 10 Minute Quilt Blocks)

The best kept secret in quilting gifts is Suzanne McNeill's 10 Minute Quilt Blocks.  I made 3 different versions of this quilt for Christmas this year.  Ms. McNeil put together a very good tutorial here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbTHlGGKMPM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I tweaked her patterns a little bit for my quilts.  The first one that I did was a king sized quilt for my brother and sister-in-law (I heart you, Dave and Chy!).

I used the Birchtree Lane Collection from Connecting Threads for this project.  I ordered 5 layer cakes from them (knowing that there were 19 squares per layer cake).  I then ordered 11 yards of one of the prints for the middle squares, border, and back.  I also got two yards of a dark brown fabric for the binding .

The first step to this quilt was to divide my layer cakes into like color groupings of 4.  I picked blue, green, latte, and dark brown as my groupings.

I cut 3 yards sections for the back and then cut 6.5 inch strips from one of the 3 yard sections longwise for the border.  The last yard I used to make 20 10in squares for the middle of each grouping.  I really like the look of having matching middles and borders to all of my squares.  I make this quilt 4 blocks by 5 blocks making the final measurement for this quilt 107" x 88".  Since this was a king sized quilt, I sent it off to be machine quilted by a friend, since there is no way my machine could accommodate it's size.

The best thing about these quilt blocks is that they make really cool seasonal quilts.  I made a Christmas quilt out of fat quarters.

Christmas Throw

I bought 2 sets of 5 coordinating fat quarters from Joann's.  Because I couldn't cut 10 inch squares from the fat quarters, I cut 9 inch squares instead.  I cut 4 squares from each quarter and then cut a 3 inch strips from the remaining part of the quarter for the border.   I bought a yard of fabric for a 6.5 inch border 3 yards of fabric for the back.

After much consideration and laying out different combinations I decided to put them together in 2 different blocks and again use the same color on each of the middle diamonds.  In laying out the quilt it is very important to check and see that the patters on the fabric is laid out in different directions, especially with dramatic stripes.

The greatest part about this throw was that I spent under $20 to buy the fabric and I used leftover batting from another project.  I put the entire quilt together, including the binding in one weekend.  For binding on this quilt, I used the leftover 3 inch strips and sewed them together in a patchwork pattern, making sure that each of my angles went in a different direction.

For the quilting, I decided that this quilt was small enough to sew on my machine.  I used clear thread on the top and green thread on the bottom and sewed diagonally thorough all of my squares making a fun pattern on the back!

Cheers!  Jaime

Christy Rocks!

Christy showed us this the other day. It is fabulous!  Seriously, you could spend all day just clicking the button.  http://random-tutorial.com

A Harry Potter Baby Shower?!? Yes, please.

The lovely Christy and myself are in a fabulous book club.  We started out reading all 7 Harry Potter books last year in time to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2.  (Our latest book club obession is Game of Thrones and the entire Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R. R. Martin, but that is another story for another post).




HPBC Girls at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2


In our Harry Potter Book Club (HPBC for short), one of our fellow members got pregnant during our reading of the original 7.  As a group, we decided the only option open to us as that point was to throw a Harry Potter themed baby shower for Stef and her little muggle in the oven.  So, Christy, Kim, and I started meeting weekly at our favorite lunchtime restaurant to make plans for our epic event!  Baby showers are NOT my favorite thing and I generally avoid them like the plague.  Our goal was to make this baby shower as fun as possible for everyone, espcially the mother to be!

I know, I know what you are thinking.  How in the world does one throw a Harry Potter baby shower?!?!?  Well, that my dear reader is exactly what I plan on telling you.

Decor, ext:
Invitations:  I used a sample Hogwarts letter and changed the date and time to the date and time of the party.  Kim printed them with paper that looked like parchment and we hand delievered them to our guests. 
Decorations:  Our main decorations were signs that we made and put up around the house, including a "Platform 9 3/4" on the front door and "Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom" just next to the loo.
Guest Arrivals:  When our guests arrived, each of them got a pair of Harry's spectacles (which I bought at Party City with the nose and mustache attactched and just cut them off of the glasses-- they were perfect!).  Also, we gave each guest their very own lighting scar with a black eyeliner pencil.

Food:
Butterbeer:  Non alcoholic of course, made by Christy.
Treacle Tart
Pumpkin Pasties
Snape's Potion:  This is just White Bean Chili in a "cauldron" with several different toppings (cheese, sour cream, cilantro, avacado, etc.) in bowls around the cauldron that people can add to their "potion."
Ramilda Vane's Love Potion:  Since it was October, we wanted to make hot apple cider.  Wr just renamed it something creative!

Games:
The Sorting Hat:  As each guest arrives, tape a 3x5 notecard to their back with the name of a HP character.  We chose fairly obscure characters to make the game interesting, but you could make it easy or as difficult as you want (depending on the age of the guests and their level of knowledge about Harry and his friends).
O.W.L.s:  This game is kind of like Scattergories.  Give all of the guests a peice of paper with each of the letters of the alphabet.  They all have 5 minutes to write down one thing for each letter.  After the 5 minutes is up each player gets one point for every unique answer.  You get double points for alliterations. 
Transfiguration:  Harry Potter charades!  Just write down different HP themed charade things and put them in a bowl.  Divide into teams and act away.  No talking or sound effects :)
Robe Decoration:  In our (only) ode to traditional baby shower games, we had a onsie decorating contest (Harry themed of course).  We bought white onesies in a variety of sizes and fabric markers (they are much easier to use than paint) and let the girls go to town!  Stef picked her favorite as the winner.

Christy and I decided to knit the little muggle a Griffyndor had and scarf so that there was no question of which house he belonged in.  I used the Magic Coffee Baby Hat from Ravelry for my pattern.  I specifically made the newborn size so that he could wear it as soon as possible, since he was due in December.

Christy put together a very fun diaper cake with a hand knitting scarves for mom and baby as well as my hat on top!

This turned out to be the most fun baby shower that I have ever been to!  Stef got some very fun gifts for the baby (including the cutest onsie with SPEW written on it from her sister Kim). 

Quilting Part 1

This year past year for Christmas, I decided to hand make all of the Christmas gifts that I would give to people. It was a HUGE undertaking!!  My list of gifts was long and distinguished.

I made quilts, dishcloth and scrubbie sets, Ginger Peach Jam (with Christy), Peach Brandy, and knitting needle cases.  While making everything took time, I really enjoyed the process of hand making things for the people I love most in the world.

My favorite quilt that I made was for my parents.  I used the Daisy Chain pattern from Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott.

I used the Moda Fabric Line of Pom Pom de Paris by French General for the fabric.  It took 2 jelly rolls to make this king sized quilt. 

I modified the pattern in Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott to accomodate the king size of this quilt, using 2 full jelly rolls and 8 blocks x 8 blocks. 

I also added a 5 inch border of my main cream colored fabric as well as a 5 inch border of Pom Pom de Paris yardage. 

Happy Quilting!



Tea Time!

Who doesn't love a good tea??!?  When we heard that Prince William was FINALLY marrying the lovely Kate Middleton, the girls here at the knotty krafters had to get together and celebrate the nuptials with a tea. 

I made some tea sandwiches.  Christy made some lovely scones and brought them over with some homemade jam (I'm sure she will blog the recipe later if you ask her nicely).  And Elaine brought over the tea.  I finally had the chance to use my tea set, which I bought when I was in London at Selfridges (when they were having a HUGE sale).

We decided that in order to properly view the nuptials we should obviously were hats.  But, as we were in Kansas and not in Westminster Abbey with the Royals, we opted for sweatpants instead of formal wear :)

Christy

Elaine

Jaime

Peach Brandy (a.k.a. My Adventures as a Moonshiner)

So one day, I was sitting in my office and a colleague came in.  We started chatting about canning and the like.  He started telling me a recipe to make peach brandy.  I knew that I was going to a peach farm with Christy and Jennifer the next weekend, so my ears perked up.  After listening to his recipe I had to try it.  Readers, it is the easiest thing I have EVER made.  Make it for your friend next Christmas and they will think that you are Martha Stewart herself!

To begin head to the peach farm.  For you less adventurous types, a local farmers market will do (the grocery store is an option as well, but not nearly as fun!).  Pick out the ripest peaches that you can, without being bruised.  You want them almost too ripe to eat, but with the skin on the peaches still intact.

Next bring your peaches home and wash them.  Get a gallon jar (mason jar, pickle jar, or sun tea jar).  I couldn't find a gallon jar so I used half gallon jars and cut this recipe in half for each jar.  Fill the jar with whole peaches as far as you can.  Don't cut the peaches, only wash and set them in the jar.

Next add 3 cups of sugar to the jar.

After you add your sugar, get the cheapest vodka that you can find.  Go to the market or liquor store, look at the very bottom shelf at the vodka that would give you a hang over for a week and costs less than $6 for 175ml and buy that!  Fill the gallon jug with the cheapest vodka you can find all the way to the top.

Now that you have your peaches, sugar, and vodka in the jar, put the lid on tight.  This is the hardest part of the process-- put it in a dark, cool place in your house and wait.  Wait 6 months.  Seriously, 6 months.  It will be worth your wait.  After 6 months, pull the jug out of the cabinet and use a funnel to fill bottles with your brandy.  You may need to strain the brandy through a cheese cloth if the peach skin breaks down in the fermentation process.

I gave mine as Christmas gifts to my Supper Club and some other friends.  My family especially LOVED it!

Recipe:

Peaches
3c sugar
175ml vodka

Add peaches, sugar, and vodka to a gallon jar.  Put top tightly on jar.  Let sit in a cool dark place for 6 months.  Strain through a cheese cloth and store in a glass bottle.  Enjoy!