Tuesday, April 17, 2012

A Linky Kind of Day

Random links for your perusal.

Here are some recipe posts from my Australian friend Joluise at “Stop…Have A Chat”. They looked good and I thought I’d pass them on. :-)

Bread and Butter Pudding

Five Favorite Potato Recipes

J Is for Jam

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More canning and preserves recipes:

Canning and Preserves from Mennonites Girls Can Cook.

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Cake decorating:

How to Cover a Cake in Fondant

How to Make Icing Roses

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Basil – growing, preserving and using it.

Basil is one of the things that grows well here in Central Texas as long as it’s watered. It grew so well a couple years ago that I haven’t grown any since. I have loads of dried basil, some our own and some that was purchased previously. I haven’t yet tried growing it in a pot inside during the winter. Fresh basil is so nice that maybe I should try that next year. Personally, I prefer herbs fresh, unless they are the sort that has to be dried for best flavor.

(Note: No I do not wear head coverings all of the time. I wear them when I want to keep my hair clean, when my hair is dirty and I don’t have time to wash it, and when I’m having a bad hair day. ;-) I just wanted to clarify this because I know some women are very sensitive about this subject and can make false assumptions in either direction. I need to write something about the subject sometime. I do wear dresses and skirts almost exclusively, however, with a rare exception for exercising with friends or perhaps some difficult outdoor project.)

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And, last but not least, a couple of easy sewing projects! :-)

Mix and Match Napkins

Make your own cloth dinner napkins! My family used cloth napkins a good portion of my life at home. We each had our own napkin ring and my mom kept a nice selection of cloth napkins. Some she bought, some she made herself.

I tried to switch to cloth napkins since we’ve been married, but last summer when our well started giving us some trouble, I realized that paper would be better as extra laundry needed to be avoided. I haven’t switched back to cloth yet.

I like the mix and match idea here of using fabrics from the same line. You could use any line or complimenting group of fabrics you wish, just consider whether they are a type of fabric that would be absorbent and useful as a dinner napkin. If you made a pile from one line – or say from complimenting ginghams or solids, you wouldn’t have to consider whether or not you had enough matching ones for a situation, they would all blend. Consider selecting several colors from your dishes if you go with solids.

From 3/4 of a yard of fabric you can make two napkins. If you order fabric online, I suggest you focus on quilting type cottons as they tend to have the texture and absorbency that would be good in a cloth napkin. This would be a great project for a beginner.

Quick and Easy Table Runner

This table runner is easy to make and, as you can see from this lady’s tutorial, you can add some changes to make it more interesting if you are adventuresome. I would top stitch across the bottom of the triangle at the corners if I were making this rather than leaving them open. To me that seems more finished. You could also add embellishments to tack the open ends of the triangle closed – a row of small buttons or one large button, a fabric “yo-yo”, etc. Use your imagination. You could even make napkins to match you table runner.

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