Cutting the Stash!

This is a photo of my cutting project which I started last week.

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What you see here are 83 fabrics from stash. Actually, it is almost my entire stash except for some white/small flower prints, beige/tans, greens (very little), novelty, a small bin of blue strips - already cut, and very little yardage of slightly larger pieces, oh and that scrap bin that my son so loves dumping out all over the place. And, I've had these fabrics for at least 4 years, but some of them as long as maybe 6? years It is dated fabric, no where near as exciting as some of the fabrics you guys are buying/working with. Worse still, I feel like they don't "play" nicely with some of the newer designs out, so I want to use them - all by themselves - in quilts. As much as I would like to just start over with brand new and exciting to me fabrics - well, these are MY fabrics and I do own them without having to go on a roadtrip to get to a store. Honestly, I would rather spend my sewng money on long-arm quilting services than loading my shelves with more fabric. Oh, but once this fabric is gone - you better believe I will be buying some new ones!

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And, as boring as each one seems individually, I happen to know that these fabrics do make up into very lovely quilts. I just have to ignore the beginning boring parts and plow on through to get to the quilt part. And for me, it is very exciting to have quilts around - completely finished to snuggle under. Did I just say snuggle? Oops - I meant to spread out all over the couch and anchor onto the coffee table to make tents and tunnels and secret openings. Well, at least they aren't getting fold lines from being folded up in a closet!

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And, surprise! The stash is getting smaller and smaller! Not sure how that happened as most of you have ever growing stashes; mine must be defective because it doesn't seem to grow in dark closets all by itself. Whaaa!

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So, I am cutting. ALL of it. Yup. I needed 3 1" strips from 83 different fabrics for a lattern pattern and why stop there? I asked DH to pick up a new iron (the old one was luke-warm) and some clear containers at the hardware store, I have them all labeled (1", 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3.5"). Each tote also has a list of patterns I can make with that size strip - and since I have more 2" patterns than any other size, I cut a few extra 2". I also need about 10 fabrics at 6" so I've cut those too. AND, I needed 2.25" strips to finish another project, so I've got those cut too. Slice, slice, slice - feeding those bins. Some of the fabrics had very little yardage, and others had a full yard. I have about 1/2 of them cut now. All ready for sewing. I MUST remember to get some neutral sewing thread, because can you believe I am almost out of thread? Dire, I know. But please don't laugh - remember, I live hours and hours away from shopping so running out of thread can be a problem! Unless I mail order. And since I'm in Canada - well that can be a bit expensive for just thread. Much better just to remember when I am near the stores.

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A funny thing about my cutting plan though - after about 10 fabrics I was hit with a moment of panic - but what if I NEEDED one of these fabrics and I had it all sliced into smaller pieces? LOL, like fabric stores don't sell fabric!!! I must admit though - I was a little surprised to see how small my stash is - it will seem very strange indeed to have the bulk of it cut into strips. I definately have done a good job of using it! I've made lots of quilts over the past 4 years - kind of scarry to think that most of the quilts I made came out of my stash - oh sure, I've added some fat quarters here and there, bought yardage for borders and backings... but most of the tops were made from stash. Except - I haven't used my stash exclusively either because sometimes I buy fabric 'specially for a quilt. I mean, a girl just has to try out some of the newer designs once in awhile, right? But still, my stash is diminishing!

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Oh -and can you see the wall behind my fabrics? It is green linoleum. Yup - the kind of stuff that you are supposed to put on the FLOOR, not the wall. This is my laundry room - the green walls are growing on me. But the green astroturf carpeting? Hummm. Obviously redoing the laundry hasn't been high on my list of priorities! Oh, well I did have the carpenter raise up the BIG folding area to the perfect height for cutting fabrics. Smart. Guess I do have priorities. The green astroturf carpeting can stay.

The Right Tool

Sometimes, the right tool makes all the difference... here is a photo of Little Boy, very happily beating an egg - never mind the fact that the cake we are making doesn't call for beaten eggs - as we are making a pound cake where you seperate the yolks from the whites, beat the whites to stiff peaks, fold into batter, etc. etc. That doesn't matter here - what matters is that Little Boy has a NEW tool, the right tool for him, to beat eggs. He has had his eyes on this beater for some time - at the hardware store. He would carry it around the store and show me how very easy it was to whirl. Oh yes, he absolutely needed this egg beater and finally, one day, I put it on the list before we left the house and told him - if it was still there that he could get it. The list thing works wonders because he fully understands the concept - well, almost always anyway. Lo and behold, the egg beater was still there - not surprising - I mean, who else would have their eyes on such a gadget? At the hardware store, nonetheless?

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In case you are wondering - he stands on a large, upside down cooler to be at the right height to reach the counter. It is sturdy, not wobbly and just the right height. Oh - and see, he is wearing pants I made for him - I am getting creative in using the left-over fleece for decorative stripes.

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Anyway, take a close look at the photo below - the egg beater on the left is his - mine is on the right. They look very similar, but see how his handle is off to the side instead of on top - easier for him to hold. Also, his is a little shorter than mine. These little differences make a huge difference for him. I guess he was right - he "needed" this egg beater. Just like Momma "needs" a certain knife, LOL!

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And finally, a photo of our masterpiece - a hot buttered rum pound cake with walnuts on top. It is a great cake for a crowd because you can easily get about 18 slices out of it. Looks a bit boring, but believe me, the inside it a perfect light color - and it is rich and creamy - it has enough sourcream in there to guarantee that! After the cake cools for about 10 minutes you put it on the plate and poke it full of holes with a shish-ka-bob stick and then pour very hot glaze on top. It is an easy cake to change around depending what glaze you put on it - we also like to make it with an orange/lemon glaze. Yummy with pureed peaches and strawberries. Want to get really fancy - send your fresh fruit mixed with a bit of jam through the food processor and put it in one of those clear squirt bottles you can get at the Dollar Store (I think they are for ketchup/mustard), squirt your puree across the serving plate in a zig zaggy design, put a slice of cake, garnish with whipped cream, some fresh fruit and a mint leaf. Me, well, I like this cake just the way it is - with my morning cup of coffee!

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Oh, and what did we do with that beaten egg? I made him a scrambled egg snack!

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Yeah, ok, so we are a bit old fashioned - I still use an egg beater for SOME things - and you got to admit - it IS safer for him to use an egg beater than the food processor!!! Oh - but he is pretty good at that mixer thing - see? A bit blurry, but he is in constant motion. Here his is earlier this summer - helping me make a crepe batter for an apple dessert - the batter is actually in the blender thing on top, not in the mixing bowl! His job here is to be in control of the speed dial. Not that you need to make crepe batter in a blender, but this way he can help me. Yup, the right tool does make all the difference - keeps one Little Boy very busy anyway! And that, my friends, is part of my goal here!

Dollar Store Fun!

Often times, it is the most basic toys that will provide hours of entertainment. Here are some photos of Dollar Store fun - and I'm talking a true dollar store here where every item in the store is $1 (or less!).

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We like to buy the 3 pack of glider airplanes - they come with a rubber band slingshot thing - here are photos of Little Boy and me shooting off the gliders (the photo collage feature chopped off the blurry glider in the photo, sorry!). And down bottom - the fun part of the entire toy - a big game of "chase" with Momma to see who gets to the fallen gliders first. Click on the photo collage to enlarge because you just got to see the pure joy on my son's face - he loves this game! 3 gliders for $1, how can you go wrong?

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Another favorite is the noise tube. It is a plastic tube that makes a humming type noise when you swing it around. Little Boy loves to whirl it around and around. He is pretty good about making sure other people stand back for this demonstration and I prefer that he only play with this thing outside. That is an old lobster pot in the photo, in case you are wondering. The fishermen don't use this type anymore.

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And, who can resist a green pail? If the tide is out Little Boy is happy to squat by the shore, with his pail very close by, and pick periwinkles. At high tide, it is perfect for carrying water and making sand castles/paramids/etc. And at home, well, he has tied one of those metal helium ballons to the handle and has made a hot air balloon for the ever-present Elmo and what ever other pal wants to go for a balloon ride! Multi-purpose pail!

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Dollar Store Fun!