Recent projects - Snowman Table Runners

Here are the two latest projects that I have been working on.  I finished them today.  They are snowman table runners.  The top one is 5"x5" squares sewn three across and 11 long.  It has white backing and a blue binding.  The second one has squares and triangles and borders.  It has blue backing and white binding.  They both are made with blue, grey, white, and the snowman print material. 
They are both quilted and I have done my free motion stitching on both of them.  The binding is machine sewn with stitches that somewhat resemble snowflakes.

I had made a few of snowman table runners over the past year and have gifted some and sold one and had a request to make more.  So I pulled out my snowman material and started making more.  I was just going to make one and decided to make two.  I keep thinking about taking pictures of the different processes but then I get into sewing and forget until I'm done so you just get pictures of the finished projects.

I hope that you have all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and that you all have a wonderful Christmas.  We have all of December to be thinking about Christmas and what it really means.  I love decorations because they remind me what time of year it is and helps remind me also that Christmas isn't just one day a year but that I can be thinking about it for a while.

Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Well Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  I know some have celebrated sooner so they could spend it with their families and others will celebrate it later for the same purpose.  It doesn't matter when you celebrate it  I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you are able to spend it with family and friends.

We will be staying here at home.  Our family is in Idaho and California and me being 35 weeks pregnant we decided to stay home.  Throughout the month I have added to each weeks grocery list a few items that will be needed so this weeks grocery bill wasn't through the roof.  It worked really well.  We have a good size turkey and will have lots of leftovers.

I know that everyone has their own traditions of what they like to eat for Thanksgivings.  We have turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, olives, rolls, stuffing, sometimes ham (just not this year), pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, and sweet potato cheesecake.  I made the cookies last night and today my husband and daughter will me with the pies and then tomorrow we will make the rolls. 

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and are very thankful for everything that we have.  I'm thankful that my husband doesn't have to work tomorrow or Friday.  I'm thankful that my daughter is feeling better and getting over her head cold.  I'm thankful that although our family is in Idaho and California we are able to communicate with them very easily because of technology today.  I am thankful for our good health and for the love that we have in our family.  I'm thankful for my husband's job and all that it provides for our family.  I'm thankful for our college education and our common sense.  I'm thankful for the house that we live in, the good neighborhood and the friendly neighbors.

I could go on and on and on.  I just really wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving no matter where you are or what you are eating if you have at least one thing to be thankful for it will be a good day.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Tuesdays Recipe - Sweet Potato Cheesecake

This weeks recipe is a desert recipe and one of my favorites.  My cousin found this recipe several years ago and shared it with me then and I make it every year now.  It is not a hard recipe and very very yummy.  Even if you don't usually like Sweet potatoes be sure to try it.  I know many people who hate sweet potatoes and love this cheesecake.

Sweet Potato Cheesecake

2 (8 oz) packages Cream Cheese

1 C Sour Cream

1 C mashed, cooked Sweet Potatoes

1 C Brown Sugar

1 Large Egg

2 Large egg whites

2 tsp Vanilla flavoring

2 prepared graham cracker crusts

Prepare oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl beat together cream cheese and sour cream until creamy.

Add sweet potatoes and brown sugar.

Add egg and egg whites one at a time beating after each addition.

Add vanilla.

Spoon mixture into crusts.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until set in the middle.  Remove from oven to cool.

Refrigerate for about 2 hours before serving.

Tips:  Let cream cheese sit on counter for a couple hours to soften so it is easier to mix with Sour Cream.

I use the canned sweet potatoes and microwave them so they are warm and easier to mash.

You can put whipping cream on the top or eat plain.

I would check the pie at 40 minutes but be prepared for it to take a while longer.  Sometimes it takes an hour. It does raise quite a bit but then when done and cooling it settles back down a little.

I really like this recipe and it is very yummy.  It really doesn't take long to make and makes 2 pies at one time.   If you try it leave us a comment and tell us what you think.  I'll try to remember to take a picture when I make mine tomorrow and post it.

Welcome to my sewing room.

Ok so I forgot to take the before pictures to show you what a mess my sewing room has been the last week or two.  I just get it cleaned and it feels like when I turn my back it becomes a mess again.  We live in a 3 bedroom house and the 3rd room is my sewing room.  It is also the room where everything ends up.  I have been stacking Christmas presents, wrapping paper, tape, boxes, sewing projects, scrap booking projects and any other projects that come my way in here.  It gets a little crowded with everything all over the place.

This morning as I was trying to sew on some toddler aprons I had had enough of the mess.  So I cleaned it up.  I organized and put things where they belonged.  Now I can see everything and everything is in it's place.  So welcome to my now mainly clean room.  There are still a few things lying around but I am using them in immediate projects so they are still sitting where they were to begin with.

Have a good day. 

KWN Boutique

I just wanted to take a blog and tell you all about a friend of mine.  She is a mother of two.  She has a son and recently had a daughter.  She is a wonderful cook and not only does she make and sell hair accessories on Etsy but she is a very good photographer. 
Check out her store on Etsy to see what she makes.  http://www.akneale.etsy.com/.  She makes them herself, photographs them herself and then sells them.  She has a couple deals where you get one for mommy and daughter and they are very cute.  She also has one and can make more on bands for babies and children.  If you like flower clips and hair accessories check out her store.  She also makes brooches and pins.  They are very nice and very well made.

If you like her photos, like I said she is also a photographer.  She has a blog with information about her photography and she does take very good photos of families, newborns, and other photos that you may need taken if you are in the area.  Check out her blog to see her photos and check out her pricing. www.kwnphotography.blogspot.com/. 
If you want to see some of her photos you can check out my store.  She took the pictures of my table runners for me.  She is very good at what she does and very nice to work with.  Hope you enjoy her blog and her store. 

Here are just a couple of the photos that she took for me.  Enjoy

What are you thankful for?

Ok as I have been reading some other blogs lately I have seen a few of them making lists of what they are Thankful for.  I want to invite each of you to leave a comment of what you are thankful for.  If can be one thing or a list of things.  I know that I am thankful for everything I have.  I am thankful that my daughter has finally figured out the potty training thing and is doing really well.  I'm thankful for my husbands job, for our house, for the nice neighborhood where we live.  I'm thankful for friends made here in Owasso and friends around the world.  I am very thankful for my family and the love that we have for each other.  I'm thankful this pregnancy is going so well and has been worry free.  I'm thankful for all my talents and the talents of my family members. 
I could go on and on and on but I want to invite you all to share what you are thankful for.  You are welcome to comment more than once.  Thanksgiving is next week.  Lets see what kind of a list we can get of what we are all thankful for by then.

Tuesdays Recipe

This weeks recipe is one that I learned how to make from my mother in law.  It is very good and very easy.  It is again a Crock Pot recipe.  There are 3 main ingredients and then you can add what you want.  We ate it Monday night and I remembered why I liked it so much.

Chicken & Salsa

Chicken Breasts or tenders (no skin or bones)

Bottle of Salsa (whatever you prefer)

1 Package of Cream cheese

Place the chicken and Salsa in the slow cooker and cook all day on low setting.

Chicken can be frozen (mine usually are). 

About 30-60 minutes before dinner shred the chicken and add the Cream cheese.

You can eat it over rice, noodles, tortilla shells, etc.

We tend to eat this in tortilla shells with rice and cheese.  You can also add sour cream. 

This is a very easy recipe and can be changed for every one's preferences.  You can get hot or mild salsa, fat free or regular cream cheese and whatever kind of chicken you want.  We like to eat the whole wheat tortilla shells and it makes it that much healthier a dish as well. 

I hope that you are enjoying the recipes.  I will add in some deserts as well later.  Thanksgiving is coming and I have some deserts that I love and I'll share them soon. 

Recent Projects

Sorry that there are no pictures today.  Several of the projects that I have finished are Christmas presents so I will post the pictures after Christmas.  I don't always have tons of time to sew.  My daughter naps from about 1-3 most afternoons and that is when I take time to sew.  I also find a little time after her naps but it really depends on the day.  Thursday I was able to finish my biggest project and able to spend more time on other projects.
If you remember the sleeping cushion project I started a week or so ago, I was able to spend quite a bit of time working on that.  In fact I finished one of them and now need to start on the other cushion.  I will post pictures when they are both done so you can see the zipper addition.  The first one turned out really well I think.  I learned a lot.  It was the not the first time making a 3D object but it was the first of it's kind.  There was a lot of picking and resewing and testing and pin pricks in my fingers.  But it is now done and the second one shouldn't take nearly as long.
I also have been working on more children's aprons.  I just need to applique cute things onto them and then I will be able to mail some off as gifts to friends and others will be posted at my store.
Today I started working on our Christmas tree skirt.  It is going to be reversable and very cute...I think.  It has also given me a lot of ideas for Christmas Tree skirts to sell on my store.  I hopefully will have the first one sewn and posted here so you can see by the end of this week.
I also had a request to make another Snowman table runner so I will also be working on that.
I have so many ideas and projects that I want to work on and I know that I have to prioritize in order to get them all done when they need to be done.  I will not be making any more Fall table runners for this year.  With time running out I just wont get them ready for Thanksgiving.  So I will work on the snowman table runner and then I am going to look ahead at upcoming holidays as well as birthdays and plan for them.
I will be making another trip to Joann's to pick up more material next week, I think.
It has been a good couple weeks and things are finally getting finished.

Adult Aprons I have sewn

Well now that certain birthdays have come and gone an people have received their presents I can now share them with you.  I once saw some very cute aprons made out of recycled overalls.  You cut off the back and cut off the legs to the length that you want.  You then have to sew the legs together in the middle.  You also cut off the overall straps and sew them together in order to hold your apron up around your neck without having to have something to tie.

Then you find other colors and gather them and then sew them onto the bottom of the apron where the legs used to be and you can add applique or embroidery to the aprons as well.  You find cute material and make a tie for the waist.  I generally pull the waist tie through the belt loops but there has been a few times when there hasn't been belt loops so I just run them through the button holes on the side.  They turned out very cute.  Pardon the pictures.  I wasn't planning to post them to my blog when I took them. 

 

 This apron  I made for my Sister in law.  I used purple for the waist tie and then scraps of material to make it look like it had been patched.

For the bottom colors I used a blue and green stripped frog print and then the very bottom color is just white.

Because they are made from overalls they already have pockets and places to put things if you need the space.  I think it turned out really cute.

 This apron was one that I made for my other Sister in law.  I used pink for the waist tie on this one and for the bottom two colors I used grey and a purple material with different shapes in it.  The bottom material actually originated with her.  It was part of her sheet set.  She doesn't use the flat sheet so she gave it to me.  I then made a blouse out of it but had plenty extra lying around and thought it appropriate to share it again with her. 

I wanted to try embroidery so I embroidered a few flowers on it here and there and along the bottom is this saying:

I had a lot of fun making these aprons and have made others.  They are all very different from each other and as I get more and more creative I try more and more things.  I hope to be able to put some for sell at my store but that will probably have to wait a month or so.  Christmas is coming and I'm trying to keep up with all the Christmas gifts, baby showers and sewing new things for my store. 

Tuesdays recipe......

As I have thought about what to blog about I decided to make Tuesdays a day when I share a favorite recipe.  This is the first week and the recipe that I will be sharing is one of my favorites and very very easy to make.  It is for a slow cooker but I do know people who have just simmered it in a pot on the stove.

Chicken Taco Stew

1 Chopped Onion

1 16 oz can Black Beans

1 16 oz can Kidney Beans

1 16 oz can corn (drained)

1 8 oz can tomato sauce (or a can of tomato soup)

2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with chilies

1 1.25 oz packet Taco Seasoning

1-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or as much as you want)

Ok, once you have everything rounded up and the onion chopped you are ready to prepare the stew.  You take all of the ingredients, except for the chicken, and mix together in your slow cooker.  Stir everything together really well and then place the chicken on top.  Do not cut it up and it can even be frozen (mine usually are).  You just place it on top and put the lid on.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

30 minutes before you are ready to eat dinner remove the chicken and shred it.  Then return it to the stew and stir.  Then let it cook for the remaining 30 minutes.

We like to add cheese  and sour cream to our bowls when serving it.  You could even eat it with tortilla shops.

History

I actually found this recipe two years ago when my husband, daughter and I were living in New Mexico and I was trying to lose weight.  I had found a web page (www.sparkpeople.com) and that is where I found the recipe.  It has fast become one our favorites and we eat it often.  There are a lot of good recipes that I have found on Spark People that I will share over time. 

I hope that whoever tries this really enjoys it.

New baby pullover bibs are now available in my store.

Well I hope you can see what I'm selling.  I saw these cute kitchen towels and thought they would work great for baby bib.  They are pullovers with a knit collar so it is comfortable on the baby.  It can be used until the child is about 2-3 depending on how fast your child is growing.  They are machine washable and fun.  My daughter loves hers.  She loves to help put it on and take it off but she leaves it alone while eating and it has protected many shirts.  She never liked the bibs that tired, velcroed or snapped on when she was little and was constantly pulling them off and sometimes hurting her neck.  These have such a soft neck collar that she doesn't care if it is on.
With Thanksgiving coming up soon these could be a lifesaver to whoever buys them.  There are two available.  This one is actually sitting on one of the two Fall tablerunners that are left in my store.  Come check them out.  They make great gifts for children or grandchildren.  They are also just nice to have on hand at grandparents houses for when children come to visit.

Sharing our experiences with each other.

Growing up I didn't see a lot of sewing going on around me.  My mother liked to Cross stitch and Toll paint and is very good at both.  I was in highschool when I discovered that I like to sew and a few years later I bought a simple sewing machine and a few years and classes later I traded that simple sewing machine in for a newer, upgraded one.  I am still learning and will continually be learning.  I would like to share what I learn with you and would like to ask you to share what you are learning with me. 
If you craft in any way whether it be sewing, knitting, scrapbooking, etc and would like to share what you have learned please email me at IdahoAtHeart@gmail.com.  I would love to share your thoughts with those who read my blog.  I'm still learning about blogging and guest blogging so if I can't figure out the guest blogging part than I will post your thoughts for you and make sure that you receive the credit for the information.  Please let us know what you are learning.  I believe that we can all learn from each other.

Trying something new

My husband and I love to camp and I have been spoiled since being married to him, as far as not having to sleep on the ground.  His grandmother, many years ago, had bought padding and covered them with material making sleeping cushions.  These cushions can be used while camping or when you have many guests and not enough extra beds or also in our situation - no spare beds.
This padding is 72" long and about 25" wide.  We bought two of them so we could put them side by side in the tent and sleep next to each other.  The one thing that we have not liked so much about the one's we had been using is that we would wake up in the middle of the night with several inches between the pads and one of us was usually in that gap.  So I decided (after asking my husbands thoughts) to buy a sleeping bag zipper and to sew one side of the zipper to each pad so we can zip them together - making it much harder for them to separate.  He liked the idea and even helped me pick out the fabric and the zipper.
Yesterday I cut the material for the top of one of them and I now need to get the bottom cut and start sewing.  We are very excited to see how this works.  Check back later to see the end results!