Overachiever?

So yesterday was Valentine's Day, and I had decided I was going to make some little felt envelopes for the boys' classmates, based on THIS idea I found on, where else, Pinterest. 

Honestly, one of the real reasons I wanted to make them was so that I could check out all the different decorative stitches on my new sewing machine, and this was a good little project to do it on.  The boys only have six other children in their class to give Valentines to, so it wasn't anything overwhelming, plus, I was making them out of felt, so no seam finishing or other regular fabric concerns.  Easy peasy, really.

Apparently, other people didn't think so.  I posted a picture on Facebook as I was working on them and got a few reactions basically telling me nicely that I am an overachiever.

My husband commented after I had finished putting all the packages together that I had probably put more effort into the twins' Valentines than any other parent put into their kid's. 

Then, when I dropped the Valentines off with my twins' teacher, she looked in the bag and commented, "How did you find the time to make these??"

Really, I promise, they weren't that much effort.  Besides, they were fun, and I got to play with my new sewing machine.  Really, I don't see the problem.  But isn't the first step in dealing with a problem, acknowledging it?  If that is the case, I have a long road ahead, because now I am off to finish the quilt for the twins preschool fundraiser. 

Cooky #4 - Chocolate Drops

Yes, that is the hand of my 3-year-old son reaching in to sneak another cookie.  Excuse the dirty fingernails, please.  Like I said, he's three.  And a boy.  'Nuff said, right?

These are Chocolate Drop Cookies (page 8.)  I would describe these as a brownie-like cookie.  They are soft and wouldn't do well overbaked. 

I topped it with "Marie's Chocolate Icing" (page 150) as suggested in the recipe, and won't make it again.  Or, should I say, I won't make it again the way it is written in the book.  It called for an ounce of unsweetened chocolate, some butter, water and 1 cup of powdered sugar.  I could taste the bitterness of the unsweetened chocolate in the icing, and it was distracting to me.  I think it would be fine, however, made with semi-sweet chocolate, and will try it that way next time.

The cookie itself, like I said, is brownie-like, which I love.  However, just as written, again, I found it a little plain.  However, one of the variations has cherries in it, which sounds delicious!  And I think that the cherries, along with some nuts, will make for a cookie that is more my style.  Apparently I have discovered that I need a lot of goodies and texture in my cookie to really love it! 

My boys, however, were crying for more after 3 cookies, so it passed standard for the three-year-old set just as it is.

A few more notes: I think because the chocolate flavor in this one is so apparent, it is worth using a high quality chocolate.  I used Baker's brand, because it was the only kind at the store when I bought it, but I will definitely use at least Ghirardelli brand or better next time.

Also, I scaled way back on the salt this time because I was using salted butter, and the last few times I used the called for amount of salt with salted butter it was just a little too much.  This time, it wasn't quite enough.  I used about 1/8 t. (the recipe calls for 1/2 t.) and I think next time I will use at least 1/4 t.  So I haven't figured out the salt ratio quite yet, but I will get it eventually!

So, all in all, expect to see this cookie again, but in a slightly sweeter, cherrier, nuttier version.

A Few Projects

I have spent the last week or so trying to gather the things I need, and start on a few different projects.

This is how it happens a lot for me...I won't have much on my plate, craft-wise, for a bit and think I can take my time.  Then suddenly, I have a handful of half-finished projects that usually have a variety of pressing due dates.  Not half-finished because I don't finish them, because I hate unfinished projects and almost always finish everything I start, but half-finished because I will acquire one (or two or five) new projects that need to be finished first.

For example, when I started this little blog, the only thing I had on my creative plate was The Bed Quilt.  Now I have the twins fundraiser quilt that has to be done within the next two weeks. 

Fabric cut for Fundraiser Quilt.

Deadline for Fundraiser Quilt: Feb 19th.

In addition, I am the Primary Secretary in church, and with the start of the New Year, we have had new projects due for Spotlight, Birthdays, etc.  And of course, I love to do anything crafty, so I had no problem taking on the job of making a felt birthday cake, and create some Spotlight stickers in Photoshop.

I used elements from LDS Blog Train's "Choose The Right" theme kits to make these stickers.

This week, I need to cut out the words of this year's Theme with my Silhouette, and work on a photo board of all the children for the Bishop's office.

Deadline for Theme cutouts - Possibly Feb 9th or ASAP.

Deadline for Bishop's Photo Board: ASAP.

Also, my sister called me and asked if I could make 6 or 7 initial embroidered keychains for her to give as gifts.

Deadline for Keychains: Early to Mid-March. 

A bag for a friend that needs to have a name embroidered on it.

Bag Embroidery Deadline: ASAP 

Now, my list above may not seem like a huge load to some people, but as I have mentioned before, trying to get anything done with three Hooligans running around is near impossible.  For one, I don't have a dedicated sewing room so I have to sew in the family room...which is also The Room of Destruction for my boys.  So needless to say, I can't leave any of my "toys" out. 

While I do leave my sewing machine out, my boys know that they CANNOT touch it under threat of grave injury (or at least being sent to time out.) However, I can't leave out the iron, spray bottle, accessories, scissors (obviously!) etc, or they will be lost, broken or destroyed in some other creative way before I can can say, "Don't! Touch! Anything!"

So, every time I get a chance to work on something, (which is, of course, only after The Hooligans are in bed for the night,) I have to haul everything out from the office closet and bring it out to the Family Room.  Then, when I am done for the night, I have to pack it all up again and haul it back.  It is the same way with anything I don't want my boys to destroy. 

So while some people may look at my list of current projects and think, "What?  I could get that all done in an evening!"  For some of us, things are not quite so easy.

But lest I be accused of doing absolutely nothing on my projects, here is some photographic evidence that I have been able to sneak in a moment or two of sewing:

Playing on my new Bernina - trying out some of the decorative stitches.

And yes, even cutting out fabric for a Swoon block...I am still squeezing in time to work on TBQ!

Swoon-Along

Just a mention that I joined the Swoon-A-Long hosted by Katy at Monkey Do.  I suppose now that I have purchased my background fabric, I should start on a few blocks, eh??

Cooky #3 - Brown Sugar Coconut Drops

This morning was spent making Valentines, and these cookies (page 8) with my twins.  We live literally across the country from my parents, and don't see them often enough, so we make Valentines to send them every year.  January always seems way too early to start Valentine activities to me, but I seem to forget every year that Valentines Day sneaks up on us a mere 14 days into February, and if I don't plan a little early for it, we miss it almost entirely!  So this morning seems a good day to pull out all the pink and purple crayons and glitter glue and get to work.  They created masterpieces, if I do say so myself!

And now, the cookies.  I have been wanting to make this recipe since the beginning, simply because it calls for buttermilk, and I have some buttermilk that needs using.  Now I am glad I made them, because I don't have to worry about making them again.  These were way too boring for me.  Even with the addition of coconut.  I kindof knew they would be from reading the recipe, but you know, the buttermilk.  Anyway... 

They are very soft, almost cakey cookies.  They are simply flavored, pretty much a chocolate chip cookie dough flavor without the chocolate chips.  I'm not really a cakey cookie kind of girl.  I feel like any cakey cookie needs frosting on it to make it worth it.  And you could put a frosting on this very easily.  But I was A) lazy today, and B) wanted to stick as close to the recipe as possible and it didn't mention frosting in any of its variations. 

So needless to say, I won;t be making these again.  But, were they a total bust?  NEVER! (As my three-year-old would say.)  He went back quiet a few times, risking his sweet, tiny arm each time by reaching up onto a still-warm pan to grab another one.  I guess at 3 years old, a cookie is a cookie is a cooky...

Cooky #2 - Butterscotch Brownies

Cookie # 2 - The Butterscotch Brownie (pg.11).  Simple and yummy.  If you like the flavor of caramel-y sugar, this might be the recipe for you. The point of these, I'm guessing, is to have the dense, chewy texture of a brownie, without the chocolate.  They were definitely chewy.  It is a simple recipe, whipped up in about 10 minutes total.  Butter, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, walnuts, salt, baking powder and flour.  They had a few variations.  Coconut would have been good, and I debated it, but in the end, I stuck with the basic recipe.

I think I was a little hasty in cutting them.   They were still warm, so they cut a little sloppily, but they still tasted good!  The bars in the center were a little thin, so they didn't come out of the pan in one piece until they were completely cool.  It is definitely best to wait to dig in until they are cool.

The one thing I will do next time (and from now on with the recipes in this book, I think) is use unsalted butter.  I had the same problem as I did with the chocolate chip cookies with the salted butter and the salt from the recipe being just slightly too much. 

So what is the final verdict?   They were definitely good. Chewy and rich.  Will I make them again?  It's hard to say, only because I have another brown sugar square recipe that I think I like a little bit more.  But let's just say that if someone asked me to make these, they wouldn't have to twist my arm!

Fabric Love and Other Things

I got my fabric in the mail on Saturday. It was a fat quarter bundle of the entire line of Love by Amy Butler.

First thing I did was separate it out into my initial, gut-reaction yes/no fabric piles.

Obviously, in getting the whole line of fabric, there are going to be some pieces that I don't like as well, or that I just feel won't go with the idea that is my head right now.  (Those are the ones in the pile near the top of the picture, if you can find them among all the clutter on my table right now!)

Then I grouped them into sets of two (because I need 2 co-ordinating or contrasting fabrics per block), and will let them sit together for awhile until I decide if they are playing well together as friends. 

I still need to go get my background material before I can start piecing the blocks together.  AND....I have a feeling I will be ordering a few more bits of fabric before I get everything sorted how I want it.  But that will happen a little later on, after I have started the blocks and see how my fabric combos are coming along.

In other news, I have another, more pressing project that needs to be finished within the month.  My twins go to a co-op preschool.  And because we do not get state funding, we have fundraisers throughout the year to raise the needed money for the school.  Each parent must participate in 2 fundraiser a year to fulfill their obligation, and keep tuition costs down. 

For the current fundraiser that I am participating in, a Spaghetti Dinner, we decided that each parent on the committee would donate a gift basket that could be bid on throughout the evening, with the proceeds going to the school.  So, of course, I donated a quilt.  It will be a small quilt, probably the same pattern as Clover's Patchwork quilt that I did last year, so it shouldn't take much time.  I have to go get the fabric for that, which I plan to get all on sale or with coupons at Jo-ann or Hancock.  Doing that will minimize the cost out-of-pocket, and hopefully maximize the end profit for the school.

So...while still no actual work done yet on TBQ, I am warming to my fabrics and am itching to get to the fabric store!  Unfortunately, getting there is not as easy as it should be, but more on that dilemma later.