Happy Thanksgiving!

Good Morning!

I love Thanksgiving, don't you? I love the whole don't eat breakfast, just cook all day and have the house filled with wonderful smells aspect of Thanksgiving. I love thinking about all our blessings and bounty while we are working away in the kitchen. Friends and family are such a great part of Thanksgiving too. My parents are having a great big celebration back in Asheville, NC and wanted us to come too (thanks so much for inviting us! We will miss you), but a 2 day drive was going to be too much (and Stu has tons of homework to work on over the mini break) so we decided to stay here in Kansas and have Thanksgiving with our neighbors. It will be fun, they are great people. One of the reasons I love living on a military base is your get to met and live with so many like minded people, like a community of warrior gypsies. Well only sorta...ok not really at all. But we do move all the time and become one anothers family.

So, we are making the Turkey. Turkey is great, but the sides make the meal, don't they? So I am also making sweet potato stuff and cranberry sauce and since I learned how to make the best pie crust ever I am bringing a pumpkin pie too.

It is a pumpkin pie with pecan topping. It will be good....but the crust will be GREAT! I am so happy I learned how to make good crust. I have been stabbing away at it for years but I have never been happy with how my crusts turned out until now.

On Halloween Jodi and I sat out on the front porch and passed out candy to the little horde of spooks who came to the barracks. I made Hot Buttered Rum for us and she brought down Apple Pie. Apple pie is a classic, but the crust was amazing. I took the edges of the (my) kids pieces. I loved the way the crust was flaky and kinda melted on my tongue. It was amazing....almost like a proper French croissant. There one minute and gone the next. I am sure she thinks I am a complete idiot and have no idea how to cook, but she said she would teach me how to do it.


Jodi knocked on my door yesterday after lunch and taught me how to make crust. Wow. I have seen the light. So I am sharing the recipe with you. It is totally basic, but the simple technique is what makes the pie.


Mix your flour and Butter Flavored Crisco (don't think about what it is made of, just mix it up) together with a fork until it is the consistency of couscous with some pea sized pieces. it is fun to squish the stuff up. sprinkle the salt over and mix it up some more then add 4 to 5 Tablespoons of ice water over the dough and mix it up some more with the same fork.

I used to use my hands. But a fork is so much better and more civilized, isn't it? Tools separate us from monkeys, don't they? Anyway the dough should feel like play dough. It should be very smooth and easy to work with. Just turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out to the size you need. I can't wait to make hand pies with it....Maybe some little apple ones? Oh the sky is the limit!


Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone! May peace fill your holiday and good food fill your belly.

Today is my Birthday....

Good Morning everyone!

So, today I am 34. Not a bad age to be and I have been so very blessed. I am pretty happy with where I am in my life so that in and of itself is a wonderful blessing.

After I finished my bag making for the day yesterday I worked a bit on my 9 patch quilt. I wanted it to be quilted more densely so it will be slow going. I am also using a really thin cotton batting from Quilter's dream. I am loving it so far. I can't wait to see it all washed, dried and crinkly. It is all folded up back on the shelf today, but it was fun to work away on it yesterday. Ike the fluffy cat decided it made a nice place to take a rest from his busy cat day of looking out the window and sleeping in the sun. He did have to be hustled off because he is heavy and I can't maneuver the quilt if his fat butt is acting as an anchor.

So, let's look at the bag I finished yesterday. Here is the inside pocket. It is a "wonky friendship star" I have not made one before and I saw the tutorial for it over on Block Party. So I made one up and bamm it became a pocket. You may know this already, but I really spend too much time on the inside pockets of my bags...but I can't seem to help it. I love the little pops of story or color. See that little black gold fish? He is in a bag and thinking about his life in the sea (are gold fish even saltwater fish? I have no idea, but he is thinking about the other free sea creatures).

I finished this little wallet right after watching the movie "New Moon". Yes, my 3 kiddos and I were of the zillion people who saw it this weekend. I liked the movie...and I will tell you why. I read the books and Jacob was my favorite character in the book. I can't tell you how much the casting for his character irritated me. Come on! It was Shark Boy. But....shark Boy went to the gym between Twilight and New Moon. So he looks more like my mental image. Everyone seemed to have taken acting lessons as well, so that was good too.

OK, back to the wallet! Sorry. I did a little reverse applique on the back. Looks like a goldfish in a bag looking out a port hole?

This was the front, it now has a button in place of the strap thingy. I like the little "wallet feet".

And here is the front of the Cathy bag. I like how it turned out. I like it very much. Oh and if you were wondering at the sea theme...Jennifer's mate is in the Navy. See, I sew for other branches of the military besides just Army. Jennifer is also a skilled quilter, silver smith and one of my Flickr friends....I hope you love your set Jennifer! You have been a joy to sew for.

OK, I am off to make breakfast for the Boys, take Ethan to the Dr (he needs his eyes checked, nothing dreadful) then go to the commissary and then home to try to get in a bit of sewing before I have to start dinner.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

xo,

Tia

Ode to the Glue Gun....

Hey there folks.

OK, I have had about 10 minutes behind the sewing machine this week and I was so hoping for more. But we have been insanely busy with life so I guess that is how it goes.

Last night while Stu was at class we were busy finishing Emma's big project for this term. She had to make a realistic Pioneer dwelling. We had been gathering little sticks on our walks and drying them out in the bathroom. I went to Walmart (what the heck is wrong with the lighting in that place? I swear my brain begins to throb as soon as we enter the front doors.) yesterday after the dentist. I am going to go ahead and say right now that I do not like Walmart. I do not think that I ever have, but sometimes you have venture into it's cavernous horribly lit depths to find some obscure thing that can be found no where else. What was I after yesterday? A glue gun and some clay.

Anyway we worked for about 4 hours on her little house last night. When all was said and done it had curtains, tiny table and a chair, a little bed, some people and a bunch of animals. It was a fine little dwelling made of log and clay with a removable roof so the people could be moved around and everyone could admire the handmade furniture.

I got the kiddos up early this morning because I wanted to drive Emma to school to make sure she arrived safely with her lovely little project. Oh she was so proud sitting back there with her magnum opus on her lap. We turned into the school and the house fell off her lap and fell into about 40 pieces. I helped her stack up all the logs and critters and I will be returning to school with my glue gun to repair the damage. I can re-wet the clay and save some that way, but poor Emma. I told her to tell her teacher a tornado came through and the pioneers have to rebuild.

Yesterday before the trip to Walmart I got to wait for about 3 hours at the dentist office. They were running late and Ethan had a ton of work to be done in his poor mouth. I grabbed my little bag of hand stitching (at the last minute before leaving the house tossed in my baggie of glass bugle beads and a beading needle) I and worked away on this. I think it is more soothing to be able to work on something tiny like this than trying to read. I guess it is because I know there is so much at home for me to work on that I am stressing out about it, so it channels my stress better than reading a book. Now the finished product is not really useful, but it makes my eyes happy to look at it.

This is the middle man after his dentist appointment. Another tooth pulled and a crown, root canal and 2 fillings. This should be the last of the massive dental work for a while. Thank goodness.

And finally here is Ellie and her babies. She is lonely down the hall, so she hustles her babies out to the living room as soon as someone leaves her door open. They have their first shots next week, then to find good homes for them.

Be well everyone!

Tia

So much to blog so little time in the day

I love being busy...really I do.

So here is what I made over the last couple days.

• A pincushion based on THIS tutorial
• A quilt (It will be given to Quilts of Valor unless I think of another person to give it to)
• a bunch of zippy wallets
• Made an Emma Backpack
• Walked around amazed by the beauty of the first snow in over 3 years
• sorta worked on some hand quilting
• answered about 1000 emails
• laid out, cut and stitched on a bunch of bags
• went to a birthday party
• taught a little class on making zippy wallets
• toted kiddos around
• made some really wonderful crepes for breakfast about 3 days in a row
• Oh and spoke with Gwen Marston....yep she called me (well really she returned my call) and I got to make a complete boob out of myself while I tried to let my mouth and brain and racing heart catch up with each other. All I can say is that I can't wait until September.

This week looks to be about the same....I do love being busy.

Here is hoping your plate is as full.

Tia

Friendship star quilt block

Friendship star quilt block
Originally uploaded by CampFollowerBagLady

I may be diddling around with the BLOCK PARTY, (http://www.blockpartyquilting.com/ )
so here is my first block....a friendship star. This was an insanly simple block. Some of my favorite fabric ( I love the bunnies and dancing frogs by Heather Ross and that map print is one of the best in the world. I will be very sad when it is all gone.)

Hot Buttered Rum

Cheers!

I have a very warming holiday beverage for you to sample if you are of age and imbibe from time to time. Please be advised that it is rather strong. One should do you, two and just go ahead and head to bed.

Not only is it a great drink, it has a very nice story that everyone has to listen to while I make them their drink, so you are no different. Mom, feel free to correct my artistic liberties

Many of you know that I am a total Army Brat (my dad was a career military man. Happy Veterans Day, Daddy!). Well I lived most of my childhood in Germany. My mother was a good Army wife and attended all the OWC (officer wives's club) meetings. Mom went to one that was hosted by the German Army wives one year. It was deep in a snowy Bavarian forest at a hunting lodge. All the Americans were quite chilled when they reached the meeting place and oh lucky day! There was a steaming, creamy beverage for them to warm up with. My mother had never had anything like it. It was creamy, and hot and spicy, and it went down so smoothly...oh it was wonderful. She and her friends quickly polished off their first one and requested a second. By the time the second drink was consumed the ladies were falling out of their chairs (they were trying to lean back and prop on the arm rest, but the chairs did not have armrests). Oh, it is a potent brew.

So without further ado, the recipe!

HOT BUTTERED RUM

• one box of brown sugar
• one box of powdered sugar
• 1 quart of good softened vanilla Ice cream
• 1 cup of super soft REAL butter
• 1.5 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon Nutmeg
• 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

Mix it all together and freeze. Obviously this makes a big batch, so I normally make a batch up before a party (Halloween for me).

Now you add about 2 Tablespoons of the mix to a cup of boiling hot water then pour in about 1.5 Tablespoon of STROH rum. Sit back and enjoy the holiday season!

Stroh Rum is a pretty potent Austrian rum. It is 80% alcohol and 160 proof. It tastes like butter scotch. I do not know how easy it is to find, but they do carry it at most Army class six stores. When we were in Australia I tried to make it with some other kind of rum and it was not as good. Try to use Stroh if you can find it.

Drink responsibly and hopefully with a friend or two!

xo,

Tia

The kittens

The kittens
Originally uploaded by CampFollowerBagLady

Here are all the kittens together. They are all still quite small.

Hey there!

I have had a busy week. Wow. Has yours zoomed by as quickly as mine? I thought moving here to Leavenworth was going to put the brakes a bit on my social whirl, but nope. I am as busy as ever. Oh well, there is no moss growing on me! I am having trouble uploading pictures to this blog like I normally do, so I tried something different below. I don't think I like it, but at least you have some pictures to look at.

Above is my mate and me on Friday going to the Marine Birthday Ball. Happy Birthday Marines! What a party those guys can throw. We danced the night away and then came home. OK....I think the Marines have the greatest uniforms in the US Arsenal. I have always thought so, but now you know what I think. I went to High School in Honduras and the marines at the embassy were always so nice to look at. My dad even rounded my favorite one up to take me to the Junior Senior. Now he thought my name was Mia all night, and I was too awestruck to correct him. Also, the Marine uniforms are so well made! Did you know their dress uniforms feel like felted wool? I kinda wanted to ask my dinner partner to take his jacket off so I could see what it was made of. But I didn't. I did ask him but he looked at me like I was speaking Swahili. So, if any of you have a Marine dress uniform (the "fat man suit" that has all the pretty gold buttons that don't actually close the jacket and wide red cumber bun) in the closet can you take a peek and let me know what it is made of. Is it really felted wool?

I am only going to leave this entry up for a little while since I get strange emails when I put our pictures up.

Have a great day!

Tia

Big Bag

Big Bag
Originally uploaded by CampFollowerBagLady

I also decided to make a BIG BAG for myself. I keep seeing these massive bags being lugged around town, so I decided to give one a go too. I put a bunch of pockets inside so I can find all the treasures I toss in and not have to dig when I need to find my keys or cell phone. I like the bag..but the placement of the leather straps needs work. I HATE straps that fall off my shoulder when I am storming through the commissary on a mission. So the next one will have different straps. I love the leather, so it will still be leather, but just a bit different.

Dyeing fabric with walnuts

Dyeing fabric with walnuts
Originally uploaded by CampFollowerBagLady

I have been dying fabric with walnuts. It makes a great brown. Yes, yes I know brown is an ugly color, but a good brown is hard to find and endlessly useful. This is a funny gauze like fabric that has become insanly soft after the washing and dying process is over. All I can invision with it is BABY QUILTS!!!! Pair it up with some full bodied shades and some hand quilitng. I think it would ROCK! Good thing so many of my girlfriends are having babies....someone is going to get a walnut dyed baby quilt.

Making bags

Making bags
Originally uploaded by CampFollowerBagLady

I have also been busy working on bags. They are looking great ladies! I will be sending out the first batch out this week.

Another zipper pouch

Another zipper pouch
Originally uploaded by CampFollowerBagLady

I am going to have a High Noon Crafternoon on Friday here at the house. All you will need to bring is a 7 or 9 inch zipper. We will make zipper pouches. There are quite a few sewing techniques to learn (or perfect) in this project.

See, She is getting more lovely everyday!

See, She is getting more lovely everyday!
Originally uploaded by CampFollowerBagLady

The kittens are getting bigger and more frisky.

Can it get prettier?

Can it get prettier?
Originally uploaded by CampFollowerBagLady

The week has been lovely....I have gotten sunburned twice in the week sitting out at the playground watching the kids play and talking to neighbors.

Short and sweet...

OK Ladies, this is going to be a short post, just to let you know where I am on the bags. I currently have the uniforms from:

• M. Robinson
• R. Hawes
• C. Strong
• J. Shaudt
• E. Cameron

My computer has been having little spells of misbehaviour and I am tired of sitting in front of it trying to figure out just exactly what is wrong with it. I think it has to do with the kids downloading some game last week (my husband was watching the kids while I was at the commissary) he did totally make it up to me by getting me an early birthday present, but I have not got that one set up yet. Anyway, certain functions are not working (like opening my email accounts) so I have not been able to get in touch with some of you. I find this really frustrating, and I am so very sorry. I have not forgotten you (quite on the contrary, actually).

Have a wonderful day!

Tia