Sunbonnet Sues

This past Sunday afternoon, Grace and I stopped at an estate sale. I have always loved Sunbonnet Sues so when I saw this pair of embroidered linens I picked them up right away. I'm not sure if they are meant to be draped over the arms or back of a chair or if they are unfinished, meant to be turned into mini pillows. Any ideas??



Here is a close-up of the pink embroidered flowers.



If you peek under her bonnet you will see a sweet face and even little eyelashes.



I thought I would introduce you to the rest of my Sues...

Some of you may have already seen my vintage Sunbonnet "Days of the Week" towels. Sue is busy ironing.



Sunbonnet Sue going to church...



This is a Sunbonnet Sue and Suspender Sam baby quilt that I made when I was expecting Grace. We didn't know if she would be a boy or a girl so I tried to make it gender neutral but it ended up more for a girl. Good thing that's what she was! :0)



This is the first Sue quilt that I bought. We were visiting Phillip's aunt in Tennesee and she took me to an antique store. I told the lady at the store that I wanted a Sunbonnet Sue quilt and I had $40.00. This is what she found for me!



I found this "bonnet" quilt a couple of years ago when I went home to Ontario, Canada to visit my family. It was in a little antique shop near the town I grew up in. It is very soft and perfect for snuggling under.



The backing is made from old sugar sacks.



The last quilt I want to show you is a Sunbonnet Sue and Suspender Sam quilt. I was told it was found in the bottom of a trunk, inside an old barn.



I keep my quilts under the coffee table in the livingroom. Anyone is welcome to use them if they are cold.

Thank you for looking at all of my special Sunbonnet Sues!

We have a winner!

Hello everyone! Grace cut up the strips of paper for me and I wrote down all the names. She closed her eyes and picked one out...


What does it say??


The winner is Corin!!!! Congratulations Corin!! Email me at kwinn @ hotmail . com (no spaces) with your address and I will get your prizes out right away!!


Thank you so much for all the wonderful comments! I was so impressed by all your amazing Valentine plans....so many creative ideas!! I've enjoyed reading all the ways you make Valentine's Day special for your family.


We had a interesting day. We got our piano tuned which took from 9:00am-noon. Not the nicest sound in the world! We took our school books into the kitchen but we couldn't work with all the noise. We all had headaches!

While we waited, I thought I would work on a little project. My friend, Susan has the neatest way of making every day special for her family. She has a plate that she writes down important events or an encouraging word on. You can read her wonderful post here.

I took an inexpensive chalkboard, painted the frame and added some decorative dots.


Did you know that today is National Happy Puzzle Day? We have a cute children's Calendar that lists all kinds of interesting holidays. Here are some upcoming ones:

February is National Cherry Month

February 7-Wave at your neighbors Day.

February 12-National Pancake Day.

February 14-Along with Valentine's Day it is Ferris Wheel Day. I'm not sure who wants to ride a ferris wheel in the middle of winter!

Last weekend we found this puzzle ice cube tray at IKEA, even before we knew it was Happy Puzzle Day!


The kids enjoyed some puzzle lemonade.


We always have a puzzle going on the office desk. I can put all the edge pieces together but after that I give up! Not enough patience I guess.


Thank you again for the comments and playing along!

One Year Ago....

Today is my 1 year blogging anniversary!! I knew it was coming up but didn't realize the exact date until this afternoon!

I started this blog for my Dad, as a place to put up pictures of the grandkids. It has changed quite a bit over the past year. Sorry about all the talk of lace tablecloths and how to cook chicken, Dad! ;0)

I wasn't expecting all the wonderful friends I have made through blogging. As Anne would say, I have met many kindred spirits! Thank you for coming to visit me here and leaving me such sweet comments. I appreciate them so much!!



In celebration and thanks to you all, I thought it would be fun to have another giveaway....A Valentine Giveaway!!




The first prize is a pretty berry double heart wreath.



A magnetic heart notepad and package of Victorian heart stickers.



Last but not least, mini heart doilies, heart cupcake holders, Valentine cookie sprinkles and a mini Mary Engelbreit box full of heart candies. It has a sweet saying on the top of the box...

To the world you may be only one person,
But to one person, you may be the world.



All you have to do to be entered into the drawing is tell me how you plan on celebrating Valentine's Day, your favorite thing about the holiday, your best Valentine's Day ever, a craft idea, anything really!

Grace will draw a name out of a hat Monday evening. I'm looking foward to hearing from you, especially any lurkers! :0)

Friday, January 25, 07

Hello everyone, it's Friday! I hope you all had a good week. Mine was busy and seemed to fly by.

Have you heard about the new Beatrix Potter movie? Unfortunately, it isn't playing at a theatre near me, but I checked out some books about her life and artwork at the library this past weekend.

The story of Peter Rabbit was actually a letter to her former governess' young daughter. She wrote many letters to children and they have been compiled in this wonderful book, "Letters to Children from Beatrix Potter" Collected and introduced by Judy Taylor

I have also been enjoying "Beatrix Potter's Art" by Anne Stevenson Hobbs. It is full of her wonderful paintings...



She was very fond of drawing and painting mushrooms. Friends would even mail her different varieties to paint!



She loved animals (of course!) and had many pets. A mouse, a hedgehog, a pig, and rabbits, just to name a few. Did you know that Peter and Benjamin Rabbit were based on her real life pet rabbits?!



We also watched a documentary on her life yesterday and afterwards, got out our watercolor pencils and did a little drawing and painting ourselves.

I drew an American Goldfinch and a nest of eggs. Spring will eventually arrive!



Emily painted a duck and even wrote a poem to go along with it...

Little fishes deep in the sea,
don't swim too fast,
you can't catch me.




Grace painted some Autumn trees, a rabbit and a pretty blue butterfly.



Benjamin painted a nice summer day complete with a little boy flying a kite.



Tonight, we are having some friends over for "movie night." This afternoon I'm hoping to work on my UFO's. I haven't made much progress yet! The girls also want to have tea.



I'll talk to you all soon!

Cleaning and More Baking

Mrs. Wilt is doing an Anti-Procrastination Challenge this week and I thought I would join in the fun! I decided to tackle the cupboards in our livingroom.

Here is the "before" picture. I'm not even going to explain what all that stuff is in there! ;0)



I'm most happy about getting my candles all in one place. I put them on a tray and now it's easy to slide the whole thing out and get what I need.



Here it is tidied up and organized. I put the beading, felt board and rubber stamp supplies all on the left. Candles and phone books on the right.



Even Fern likes the new look!



Now the way I see it, no work should go unrewarded. Anna's Schoolhouse Quick Sweet Rolls are the perfect reward and they make a yummy breakfast too!



Here are Anna's notes:

I simply took a double batch of biscuit dough and rolled it into a large flat rectangle, spread it with softened butter, sprinkled it heavily with brown sugar and cinnamon, before rolling it up into a log and slicing it in half-inch slices (just like cinnamon rolls) to bake in a greased pan. The whole process took less than half an hour, and they were perfect for a cold wet work day.

These would also take kindly to the addition of raisins, dried cherries, chopped dried apricots, walnuts, or pecans, I think. Or all of the above. And in case you don't have a good biscuit recipe, here's the one I use from the back of the baking powder can:

*Dependable Biscuits*

Mix:

2 1/4 c. white flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

Fluff together with pastry blender. Then cut in:

1/2 c. shortening

Pour:

1 .c milk (can use rice or soy to keep dairy-free)

over mixture. With hands or rubber spatula, gently mix until it holds together as a dough. I never roll mine out, just grab off chunks and roughly shape into biscuit shapes by hand. Lay on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 450 for about 10 minutes.

I baked my cinnamon rolls at 400F for about 30 minutes.



I made a simple glaze from icing sugar and milk for drizzling over the top.



Does anyone else have a project they have been putting off?

~Comfort Food~

After so much baking during the month of December, I seemed to need a little break. This afternoon we were craving a treat of some sort, so I started to look through my cookbooks when I remembered these very quick and easy Fruit Filled Oatmeal Bars. In less than five mintues they are ready to pop into the oven!



Fruit Filled Oatmeal Bars

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup quick oats
2/3 cup brown sugr
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1 cup of your favorite jam

In a mixing bowl combine flour, oats, brown sugar and baking soda. Cut in butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 cup of the flour mixture. Press remaining flour mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 8x8 pan. Spread with desired jam. Sprinkle with reserved flour mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the top is golden. Cut into bars.

We'll have to see how long they last!


Also on the menu tonight was Chicken Potpie. I have been craving one since early January! Several weeks ago I was feeling lazy and went to check out the ones at Costco. I was shocked by the price...$17.00+! Yes, they were large potpies, but still! When I was sick two weeks ago, I bought the Marie Callender's Frozen Potpies but they weren't as good as I had hoped.

I made a homemade one tonight and everyone loved it.


Chicken Potpie

3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 (15 ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 small celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 can (6 ounces) evaporated milk
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 cup dry sherry or white wine
Salt and ground pepper
1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots, not thawed

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place pie crust on bottom of pie pan.

2. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and celery; saute until just tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl along with the cooked chicken; set aside.

3. Meanwhile, heat chicken broth and milk in a saucepan until steamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Heat butter over medium heat in the empty dutch oven. When foaming subsides, whisk in flour and thyme; cook until golden, about 1 minute. Whisk in hot milk mixture. Bring to simmer, then continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute. Turn off heat, stir in sherry or wine, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Stir chicken mixture, frozen vegetables into the sauce. Pour into prepared pie crust. Top with remaining pie dough, and flute crust by pinching with your fingers. Set on a baking sheet and bake until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 45 mintues. Let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting.



Thanks for looking!

Sunday, January 21, 2007

I enjoyed reading all of your weekend plans! I am especially envious of Mrs. Staggs going to see the movie "Miss Potter." :0)

It was a very rainy and dreary day yesterday but we didn't let that stop us from going out. We went to a couple of resale stores, IKEA and a piano store. I found the sheet music for Pride and Prejudice, now I just have to figure out which song to learn first!

Today is nice and sunny and Grace went to an American Girl birthday party this afternoon. She was told to dress like a "girl from the 1930's." It was hard to find an exact 1930's outfit but we used our imaginations while looking around various resale stores. We found a purple skirt, white shirt and cardigan sweater. She is also wearing a gold heart locket necklace and a small bow in her hair.

Her doll Molly, went with her. She is wearing her party dress. :0)




We are all going to another birthday party this evening. You can never have too much birthday cake right?! Talk to you all soon!

House Plants

Last May, I decided to try my luck with house plants. I'm happy to report that *most* of them are still alive! This past week I moved some of them to larger pots and freshened up the dirt. I also picked up a couple of new plants.

Here is the "before" picture of my kitchen window.


My new ivy plant.


Pretty violets to cheer things up in winter.


This plant is called "Angel Tears."


It has the tiniest purple flowers.


My 3 year old nephew gave me this fairy for Christmas. He knows how much I love fairies. :0)


I moved my spider plant to the top of my piesafe.


Here is the "after" picture. I also added 3 candles to the middle shelf.


All lit up at night...


Thanks for looking! We have two birthday parties to go to on Sunday and maybe a little resale shopping tomorrow. :0) Do you have any fun weekend plans?