Little Bits of This & That

A wanna-be gardener.....

I don't have much of a green thumb but I do enjoy growing roses and they seem to like to grow for me. This summer, even though the weather was less than nice, the roses still grew beautifully. When I was little, my grandpa had over a hundred rose bushes that he took care of every day. So I grew up having fresh flowers in my room all summer long. I learned alot from him about how to cut the roses so they keep flowering, how to protect them in the cold winter and much more. 

Even Ella loves to hang out around the roses.

I enjoy adding more rose bushes to my collection when I find the space and would love to have a whole big garden full of them. Now if I could just get my husband to dig up his green grass!

What is growing in your garden?

Until next time~ Sherri

Cutting Time for Mystery Monday....

 

Did you get all your fabrics picked out? Because it's time to start cutting for our first Mystery!

Cutting~
Light background fabric~
*Cut (2) 2 ½" X 22" strips.
    *Subcut into (16) 2 ½" squares.
    *Cut (1) 4 7/8" X 22" strips. (Corner triangles.)
    *Subcut into (2) 4 7/8" squares.
    *Diagonally cut above squares in half.
Star point and center border fabric~ (dark fabric)
*Cut (1) 4 ½" X 22" strip.
    *Subcut into (4) 4 ½" squares.
*Cut (3) 2 ½" X 22" strips.
    *Subcut into (8) 2 ½" squares
                (8) 2 ½" X 4 ½" (Star points)
Alternate star point fabric~ (medium fabric)
*Cut (1) 2 ½" X 42" strip.
    *Subcut into (8) 2 ½" X 4 ½" (Star points)
Corner triangle fabric~ (medium fabric)
*Cut (1) 2 ½" X 42" strip.
    *Subcut into (8) 2 ½" squares.
Center fabric~ (focus fabric)
*Cut (1) 8 ½" square.
Binding fabric~
*Cut (2) 2 1/4" X 42" strips.

Next week we will start sewing. Be sure to tell your friends and have them join us too...the more the merrier!

Click here to download your copy of the

Blog Mystery part 2 (cutting).

P.S. What kind of fabrics did you choose for the Mystery?

I chose cute whimsical Halloween fabrics that I pick-up in Salem, Ma last year at the Marketplace Quilt Shop.

Poppyseed Dressing....

The other day I posted one of my favorite salad recipes here on my blog called Chicken and Craisin Salad. I love, love, love this salad and I think what makes it so good is the poppyseed dressing.

After reading my blog, I had a very sweet lady share her recipe for poppyseed dressing with me and she said that I can share it with you...so here it is~

Suz's Sweet Poppy Seed Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise
5 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/8 cup sweet white onion
2 tsp. white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
3/4 tsp. poppy seeds
1/4 cup canola oil

Put everything in your blender, except the poppy seeds and the canola oil. Process until the onion has been liquified. On the lowest speed of the blender, pour in the canola oil and the poppy seeds. Refrigerate and enjoy!

I will definately be trying this the next time I make my favorite Chicken and Craisin Salad. Hope you give it a try too!

 

 

A little chicken and craisins

I got this recipe from a good friend and I have to share it. It's one of those salads that I just can't get enough of.

~Chicken & Craisin Salad~

What you need~

2 to 3 cups chicken, cut up (I like to use a rotisserie chicken cuz they have great flavor.)

6 oz craisins.

1 cup chopped celery. (More if you like.)

1 1/2 cup of small shell pasta. (Uncooked)

1 bottle (12 oz) Brianna's Poppyseed Dressing. (You can use other poppyseed dressing but Brianna's is the best!)

Cook pasta as directed on the box, rinse with cold water. Mix first 4 ingredients together. Mix in the dressing, adding enough to coat the salad. (I use about 3/4 of the bottle.)

Chill in re-fridge for a few hours. Re-coat with dressing as needed.

Hope you enjoy this salad as much as we do~yummmmm!

Until next time~ Sherri

 

Mystery Mondays begin.....

Thanks so much for joining me for Mystery Mondays. I will be giving you a bit of the Mystery each Monday. To make it easy and not miss one part of the Mystery, feel free to sign up here on my blog with your e-mail and all the blog posts will be sent right to you.

Here is your first clue to this Mystery....

What you need~

1 fat 1/4 of light background fabric.
1 fat 1/4 of for star points and center border. (Dark fabric)
1/8 yd for alternate star points. (Medium fabric)
1/8 yd for corner triangles. (Medium fabric)
1 fat 1/8 for center square. (Focus or theme fabric)
1/4 yd for binding.
1 fat 1/4 for backing.

Gather up your favorite fabrics and next week we will start cutting!

Until next time~Sherri

Click here to download the copy of what you need for the Blog Mystery.

P.S. I am going to use halloween fabric for my project. This project will look great out of any style or holiday fabric, so use whatever you wish.

P.S.S. I forgot to tell you that we will doing a small table topper. I thought a small project would be the best way to begin our Mystery Monday's.

Sweater Weather.....

I love cool, crisp sweater weather and now that I have learned to knit I am enjoying it even more. I have have been working on several sweaters and finally finished one for a good friend of mine. It was for her birthday and it got there a few days late but hey...I finished it! I'm kinda proud of it because there was alot of learning that went on with that sweater. I learned to pick-up stitches, knitting with more than one yarn and even make i-cord....not too bad for a newbie if I do say so myself!

I made some pom-poms for the ends of the i-cord but the first one came out a little big. The second pom-pom was just right.

It's the first project that I have blocked....boy does blocking make a BIG difference!

  
I struggled a bit with the size because she lives in another state. I couldn't have her try it on as I knitted but I think it looks super cute on her and the fit is great! 
  


Now if I can just finish all the things on my gift list before the holidays!

Until next time~Sherri

Mystery Monday's....

With a very busy summer behind me and school now in session, I have to tell you about something special that I have been cooking up......Mystery Mondays! Each Monday, I will be posting a portion of a mystery pattern for you to sew up with your stash or favorite line of fabrics.

The first Monday you will get the list of what you need to complete the project. I will tell you at that time what the project will be....bag, runner, quilt (you get the idea) but that is all....the rest is a mystery. Then every Monday you will get a piece of the pattern. I am breaking the pattern down to small amounts of work that are easy to accomplish in that weeks time...which means that if there is alot of cutting you will get 2 weeks of cutting instructions so that you can enjoy the process and not feel rushed or stressed.

I will probably have to work a few kinks once it gets rolling because I haven't done this before so please have patience. I think it will be alot of fun and I hope you can join me! Please tell you friends and get them digging through their stashes too!

We will be begin out first Mystery on September 19th...will you be joining me? Be sure to spread the word and ask your friends to join us too!

Until next time~ Sherri

A first and a last.....

My kiddo's went back to school today. I love having them home all summer but there is something great about getting back to a schedule and being able to get a lot of uninterrupted work done each day.

This year is bring some big changes for us....it's my oldest's first day of her last year in high school.......

and it's my middle daughters first day of high school.

It's funny, when your kids are first born, everyone tells you how fast they will grow up, it's very true. It seems like yesterday I was putting my oldest on the bus for the very first time as she headed off to kindergarden and now she is in her last year of high school.  I plan to enjoy every moment of this year that I know will fly by very quickly!

With summer coming to end....did you get to the Great Minnesota State fair? I love the fair and for the past 5 years I have designed a pattern for Rosebud's Cottage. They have a wonderful booth at the fair that is filled to the brim with all sorts of creative goodies. Roseann (the super sweet owner of the Cottage) sends out an e-mail before the fair starts to the people on her newsletter list. She giving them a coupon for my pattern that they can print off and bring her booth to pick up their complimentary copy.

This year the pattern was for a Autumn candle mat with a bit of embroidery. 

I love this candle mat and I think there is nothing better than a fun project that you can take on the go. This mat is done by hand using the hexagons for templates. You can make your own from card stock or you can order the shapes from The Paper Pieces company. I suggest you can use the 2" (measuring one side) hexagons. They will be pretty close to the size of hexagons that I used for the pattern.

For some good information on how to paper piece, check out this link and this link.  Good news...if you missed getting your copy of the pattern at the fair, I can tell you that the pattern has been sent off to a magazine and will be published sometime in the future. I will keep you posted on those details as I get them.

Until next time~ Sherri

 

 

 

12 in 12

What is 12 in 12 you ask? Well, one of my favorite yarn shops, Darn Knit Anyway in Stillwater, Mn is doing a year long program called 12 in 12. It's 12 sweaters knitted in 12 months. You can pick and choose which month you want to do or you can do them all. I picked the August sweater. I think it's super cute and figured it was one that I could actually get done in a month. I casted on on August 1st and had it finished by August 21!

I was a crazy knitter, working on it everywhere I went...well almost everywhere. I didn't knit while I was driving but I was sure thinking about it.

The pattern was easy and well written, which is what I need since I am a newbie.

Here is the link to pattern on Ravely...it's the Effortless Cardigan.

Even though I got it done on time, I didn't get time to block it until now, so here it is while it is still drying~

Not sure if I am blocking it correctly, so I have signed up for a blocking class this fall. I figure I can always re-block it after the class right?

Until next time~ Sherri