Starfish Alley

Category: Food

busy fabrics

Project Not So Good

August 6, 2017 /

Well, in the life of sewing and crafts there’s always a project that doesn’t turn out quite the way you would expect. That’s what happened with this potholder. Now potholders are pretty forgiving which is good. I always can use another potholder and this one is destined to live in my kitchen rather than be given away. I loved the fabric. It was cute with a vintage feel. And I love the text fabric as well. Putting them together in this block was not so good. The print was too busy for this block pattern and the text print was too busy to go with this fabric as well. Both prints are the same scale so there is not enough contrast. The colors were fine but ugh..

The positives however were that I can always use another potholder and I got to practice making a new to me block. I also got to practice finishing the potholder. I struggle with the hand sewing to close the side where I turned it so every time I practice it gets better. There will be better choices next time and I did use up some more fabric.

busy fabrics

A new adventure..

November 5, 2011 /

As it’s getting closer to holiday time my family starts to think about lefse.  If you’re not Scandinavian, you might not know what lefse is.  For those that don’t know or haven’t heard of this delicacy it’s like a tortilla that is made from potatoes.  Most people eat it rolled up with sugar and butter. Some like cinnamon added however and my dad liked it plain with potatoes and gravy.  Now lefse is made from mostly potatoes however it does have some flour and butter and cream added. This creates a problem if you have Celiac disease and need to eat gluten-free.  My youngest brother is a diabetic and also has Celiac disease so food is a challenge for him.  He loves lefse and can eat some sugar if he’s careful so I’m on a mission to make some lefse he can eat.  Dale and Jill have been eating gluten-free for 3 or 4 years now and they have much of the diet worked out.  They make bread every week, have a list of recipes that work for desserts and have started to eat pizza again and more.  There are so many more options for gluten-free diets that it’s becoming easier all the time.  We even had adults and children at camp that needed a gluten-free diet so it’s been a part of my life for a while now.  I have been searching the internet for people who have successfully made lefse with gluten-free flour.  I have found many adaptations of the recipe but there has been not consensus about the best type of flour to use.  This lead me to my local store to see what  was available.  We are fortunate to have several large stores and options in the immediate area.  I chose the local grocery type natural food store and they had many options.  I ended up with a new flour make by King Arthur Gluten free flour.  I know this brand is preferred by many bakers so I decided to take a chance and see how it turns out.  I suspect that as long as it tastes remotely like lefse and it stays in one piece that Dale will be a willing subject to try out the end result.  I think this might be tomorrow’s adventure.

 

 

Halloween towel

October 19, 2011 /

I’ve been having fun with some Huck toweling.  I bought a few yards to play with and keep experimenting with options.  I’ve done some applique and also added a border to some of the toweling.  This time instead of a shape applique I added a strip of printed fabric that I attached to the toweling.  It was such a cute and colorful print that I thought this might be fun to try.  I used wonder under on a large piece of fabric and then used my scissors to cut out what I wanted.  I knew that I didn’t want it to be in a straight line so just wiggled around the pumpkins and the scene.  I then ironed it on and I used a narrow zig zag stitch to applique it to the towel.  It turned out cute.  Tomorrow this will go a new home.  This friend likes to cook and has young grandchildren so I’m sure they will all find a use for this new dishtowel.  On to another project. More Huck toweling ideas to come.

 

 

A couple of birthday gifts

October 2, 2011 /

Middle daughter was home this weekend to celebrate her birthday.  The actual date was almost a month ago but with her work travel schedule she wasn’t able to come home until this weekend.  It’s always good to have her home and the other kids came and joined us for dinner.  We had great conversations about jobs, activities and QR codes.  If you don’t know what a QR code is, it’s the little box with squares that you find on advertising that can be read with a smart phone.  This link will give you more information about a product or take you to a web site with more information.  After a yummy dinner she opened her gifts.  I had to do some sewing of course so she got this little snap pouch and a covered pillow for her bed.  After looking at the pictures I wish I had thought about design placement on the fabric before I cut it but I only had a small piece and not much flexibility as to where the pattern was on the fabric. It is cute however and because she is a transportation planner it seemed appropriate.  She also lives in a studio apartment so her bed is a focal point and she has started a pillow collection on her bed.  This one I used some really soft cuddle fabric and made a slip cover for it so she could use it as a decorative element or it could be used for guests and still look not so bed like when it’s not being used for sleeping.  All in all,  another successful weekend.

Freezer is getting full

August 11, 2011 /

Full of jam that is.  Last night I finally made a batch of raspberry jam.  In my humble opinion this is really the only kind of jam that a person needs.  I recognize however that if we have some variety it only makes the raspberry jam better.  I think this is the third time this season I’ve tried to make raspberry jam.  Mysteriously the berries keep disappearing.  I do have to admit however that my fingers are always the ones stained with raspberries!  No one else here to blame.  I did enjoy every bite however.  This time I was smart.  I bought two half flats and even after I had eaten most of the first I still had berries to make jam.  Success! The lucky jars are now residing in the freezer with the jars of strawberry-blueberry and mango jam.

 

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