Pat Sloan's block of the month-globetrotting. Block 1

A friend of mine and I are working on a block of the month pattern this year. We are excited to do Pat Sloan's 2014 Mystery quilt-Globetrotting. Although at this point it is no mystery. I had never done a mystery quilt before and I wasn't too sure about it, so we decided to do the one from last year and polish up our skills and tidy our sewing rooms while whipping through our stash of fabric. I would say that I'm doing pretty well with going through my stash. This quilt is all stash fabric that I have had for some time and it all looks pretty cool together. We started in January 2015.

This is the fabric I chose for my quilt.

Well, some of it anyways.


If you are interested in the pattern or following along with us you can go to the 2014 Mystery Quilt Link and check it out.

This is what her quilt looked like when it was finished. It gives you a better idea of what mine might look like.

See the center of her quilt above? That block is block 1 and this is my version of it below.

This is my first block. It was a doozy! It's 22"x22" and those blocks were fun to make, but it was also odd to me too. What do you think of my color choices? This block will be in the center of the quilt with a border around it and then the other blocks will go around that. This quilt will be 60"x60" I'm thinking about adding something to make it bigger. But I think I am going to make it the size it is supposed to be and see how it looks before I do that.

Here is a better picture of it after it was all put together.

I leave you with one more picture. My friend's quilt inspector!
Isn't she cute?

What's happening with the camper now?

My DH seems to be under the opinion that the free camper I've been restoring is too big for my truck to pull.   I'm not happy about the fact that he wants to scrap my project...

I looked at my truck's tow capacity in the owners manual. It's somewhere between 9200-8900 pounds. I'm not too sure what model the truck is and apparently there are three different ones that have a little bit of differences. But, for my purposes, lets just say it's the smaller one that can pull 8900 MAX weight. Meaning that the safe weight is really 8000 lbs, including all supplies, food and whatever else we decide to put in it.

I have all the paperwork with the camper we have (really nice) and the original dry weight for it is 4850 pounds. Since I've taken quite a bit out we'll assume that mine is 4800 pounds. That means that I can still safely put 3000 pounds worth of stuff in, or that we can go over mountains; At a slower speed of course, but it can be done. So, really I think we're OK.

I've been looking online at campers that are less than 20 feet. There are some really cute ones, but they are so expensive.

I've already put a lot of work into this one, and I'm not really wanting to start over with another one. I suppose I can just keep fixing it up and sell it, but that's not what I really wanted to do with it.

I'm thinking about taking the full out couch out to get the little strip of carpet out that is stuck in between the floor and the couch. The couch might still have some miles on it and it's cool to use as a bed, but the fabric is a little scratchy and ugly. And we don't need an extra bed. IF I can figure out how to get it out and put it back in I might recover it in a neutral fabric.
Or I could just put in a futon or a regular couch. Or we could build a bench to put in it.

I think that the real problem with the camper is that I got too excited about it and ripped a bunch of things out without finishing them and went on to another project. I'm really bad about that.
Updates on what I've been doing coming as soon as we figure out what we are going to do. I'm for keeping it...for now.
Eventually I want to get an airstream. But for now, this is what we have.

A Capsule Wardrobe on Vacation Bible School

Last week I went with a group to a Reservation in Canada to do Vacation Bible School with some Native kids. We had a great time. I hadn't been before and I learned a lot about myself, others and shared the good news with the people there.  I got to experience a new culture, which is always cool, and had a bigger culture shock coming back into town too...weird.

Anyways, I told myself I was only going to take a duffle bag of clothes and everything I took had to fit into one plastic tote. Everything had to go into totes because we had to take a boat on the last part in and it can get really soaked if it's not in a plastic tote. There were a LOT of totes, because we had to bring EVERYTHING we needed. Things you wouldn't normally have to think of. Air beds, sheets, toilet paper, all our food for 8 people for about a week, craft supplies, costumes and props for the stories and each person had their own things to bring as well. There was a lady who brought a first aid kit and fans and all kinds of things for the group. It was nice, but I didn't know why we needed all of that stuff...
Oh well. 

I did a good job.
For bottoms,  I took my camping shorts, my high waisted shorts, my long blue maxi skirt  and a pair of jeans for bottoms(I only wore the jeans once the whole week, at night).
For tops, I took my white dress top, 3 tees, my pink striped shirt, green tank and shirt combo and a hoodie.
For shoes I only took my yara sandals and a pair of swim shoes, that I bought to take with me.

For other things, I took my swimsuit, 2 sports bras, a regular bra, one set of PJs and 7 pairs of undies. I also took 7 pairs of socks, but I only wore one pair the whole time I was there and only at night.

So I feel like I did really good there. It all fit into my duffle bag easily and I felt lighter than a lot of people on the trip. Some people had huge totes and stuffed with clothes. I absolutely love having a capsule wardrobe at home and it was equally as nice to not have to worry about my clothes on a trip. It was fast to pack going there and when I got ready to come back. I even took too many socks...Next time I will know that I only need a few pairs of them if any. It was nice to have a pair when I had cold feet at night and no (Bingley)heater to warm them up for me. :)

In addition to the clothes, I packed 2 towels, one washcloth, my toothbrush and paste, shampoo, a bar of soap and my retainer. I also took 2 reading books, my Bible and a notebook to use for VBS and to have something to write in if I felt the need. I also took a small fan since the place we were staying didn't have AC, but I only used it the first night and that was the night I got cold and needed my socks so I got up and turned it off.  Also, I didn't know that the other lady would bring enough fans to keep the house pretty cold.
 I also had an air bed (which didn't fit in the tote, but came in it's own carrying bag), the sheets for it, my favorite quilt and a pillow. All in all it wasn't too much stuff to take with me. And everything I mentioned, except the air bed fit in the tote.

I didn't remember to take a picture of my clothes before I left, but I put them together (excluding undies and socks) so you can see what I took with me.
Here is a picture of the clothes I took with me. My hoodie is on the left, but it's all covered up.

I've learned that we can live with less than we think we can. And when we do it we realize how unnecessary most of our "precious stuff" really is in our lives.
This week I'm going to go through more of my stuff and get it out of here. 

Have you ever traveled with a capsule wardrobe? Did you enjoy it or did you feel like you didn't have enough? 

Working on fermented foods with recipes!

Left to right-Strawberry vinegar, strawberry kefir(in foreground), cran-razz kefir soda, and kefir whey. 

I've discovered kefir! A friend of mine asked if I knew anyplace that sold kefir grains and I didn't really know. But, I was in the city at the time and I told her I would check at the health food store there. Well, she took initiative and called them to see. And they had it! So I went and pick up one for her and one for me.

She's made it before and knows a lot more about it than I do. She's given me instructions via text and has been VERY patient with me. (THANK YOU!)

Well, I think I finally have it! WOW, is it yummy!!It's slightly tart and a little sweet. I have a mild lactose intolerance so I'm really appreciating it too! DH has some issues with his health and I'm excited that he likes the taste of it too. It has good probiotics in it for the health of your gut. The fermentation eats the milk sugars, the lactose, which is the part that most people have trouble digesting anyways. So, good flora, less sugar and easy to digest! 

Things you can make with kefir: regular kefir, fruit flavored kefir,  kefir cheese, nut log with kefir cheese(pictured at left), kefir smoothies, kefir soda, kefir can be used in place of milk for recipes, kefir eggnog and much more that I've only begun to scratch the surface of possibilities of kefir. 

According to Donna Schwenk, who posts at www.CulturedFoodLife.com, (her recipes section is amazing! A lot of the things I'm making and mention above came from her site as well.You can get more if you become a member.I am not a member though, I think you have to pay for it. If I was going to do that I'd rather get a book.) these are some benefits of drinking kefir:

• Eliminates constipation (better than activa yogurt!)
• Reduces or eliminates allergies (This alone is worth it to me!)
  
• Reduces or eliminates asthma symptoms
  
• Reduces or eliminates cold and flu illnesses
  
• Cures acne
  
• Treats yeast infections
  
• Promotes a natural “good” feeling (YES!)
  
• Effective as the strongest natural antibiotic without side effects
  
• Replenishes the body with good bacteria after antibiotic use
  
• Treats diarrhea (good to know...)
  
• Aids lactose intolerance (because the lactose gets eaten!)
  
• Promotes deep sleep (YES, I have noticed this!)
  

Heals ulcers (DH has one...had one?)


She's not a Dr. (nor am I), nor have these statement been approved by the FDA (not that they know ANYTHING about how to stay healthy. They are all being paid off by the big pharma and big agro companies!) But, by making your own kefir you are taking your health in your own hands. I am not responsible (nor is anyone else) for the things you decide to put in your body. Choose for yourself and be responsible enough to accept the consequences, whatever they may be. 
That is my disclaimer. 

But, that being said Kefir has been helping me and my DH with all kinds of issues. And we feel great drinking it. If making a fermented product makes you nervous, just buy it at your local health food store. 

I am going to try and make more things with my kefir and the $17 I spent on kefir grains was well worth it to me. It is pretty easy once you get your grains hydrated properly. I can't stop drinking it and making easy and yummy, spreadable cheese. The next cheese I make I think I'm gong to flavor it with garlic and make a garlic cheese spread for some toast. That might be really good with my homemade spaghetti! 

This is a appetizer I made for us. It is ritz crackers with kefir cheese and slices of fresh strawberries on top. YUM! So simple and so good.

Kefir cheese 

The cheese is super easy to make. Just put a coffee filter in a wire/mesh strainer and set it over a bowl to catch the whey (that's the liquid that remains when the cheese is done.) 
Then pour the kefir in slowly, so it doesn't spill or slosh over. Open the refrigerator and set it in over night to drain. In the morning you will have a wonderful soft cheese that you can use for so many things. I'm not sure how long it will keep since ours never makes it to the end of the day. I imagine that it might keep up to a week. Just keep an eye on it and smell it to check it once in awhile. It really is wonderful on practically everything we've tried.  

Once the cheese is made you may ask what to do with the whey at the bottom. I have made a few things with mine. I've made Kefir rice pudding with it.  (Find the recipe  here.) This is really yummy. You can make it for people with gluten allergies as well. It's just rice, cream, egg, raisins and some spices. If you used kefir instead of the cream you might be able to serve it to someone with minor lactose intolerance as well. (check with them first)

I've made kefir soda. For kefir soda all you need are a few things. A thick glass soda jar like a Grolsch bottle or a Bormioli thick glass bottle. Bottles that you can buy at the craft store can and will explode.   You also need fruit juice, filtered water and your fresh whey. That's all it is-easy! And it's healthy!

Kefir Soda

2 Cups of the fruit juice (any flavor you like),
2 cups of filtered water and
1/2 cup of fresh whey. 

Put the whey in the bottle first, then the fruit juice and then the filtered water. Clamp it and leave it in a warm (but not hot!) place to ferment. 

It takes a few days to become fizzy, but check it a few times a day. You will hear and maybe even see, the bubbles. The whey takes longer than some methods, but I like to use what I already have on hand. Please be very careful if you are going to try this. Get the right bottles, check it often and keep children away from it. Remember I am not responsible for any accidents, you are. (see my disclaimer) But, please be careful! And don't leave this and go to the store or something. It needs to be watched and listened for carefully. 
My soda with the whey takes at least 2 days before it gets fizzy. (The fresher your whey is the faster it will bubble and ferment.) If nothing happens after about 5 days it is probably too old. Just try again.

Then set it in the refrigerator to chill and serve. Once you put it in the fridge you won't be getting any more fizziness so it is safer there. 

The strawberry vinegar from above is just a trial that I'm working on. I'm using strawberry scraps, just the tops cut off the strawberries I made jam with earlier. I am letting it sit for a week with a little sugar in the water and another week to gain that vinegary tartness we love. This is going to be so good on salads this summer! 

I've made ACV with apple scraps. It feels so good to be able to make some of these things from things that I was going to throw away anyways! Waste not want not! I will update on this later with my strawberry post. :)

I'm looking forward to starting on kombucha and cultured/fermented vegetables soon as well. Now I just need to get some 'Scooby' from someone to start my kombucha.

Are you making anything fermented? Would you be willing to try it out? Do you like kefir?

Summer 2015 Project 333-First run though.

I LOVE Summer in Minnesota!! It's so beautiful. The birds that come through are beautiful!! My favorite so far are the little yellow finches that eat from my bird feeder every morning. They bring me such joy to watch them hope about and they are my favorite color! Yellow doesn't always look good on me so I don't get to wear it too often. 

I'm working from my Spring Capsule wardrobe and adding or subtracting things as I need for summer. 

dresses- pink sheath, mint lace, blue short, pink vintage, navy button up and pink polka dots (6)

tops-chambray button up, chambray shift, gray tee, mint tee, pink and green plaid,pink and white stripe, white stripes sleeveless, blue linen short sleeve, short sleeve flower tee, blue stripe long sleeve, blue with mint stripe tee, soft kitty tee, Marie Curie tee, navy button up, zombie tee, long sleeve pink tee, pink flowers buttonup, and space reserved for 2 tops to be made. (19)

Longer sleeved shirts above. Yes, I actually do wear them in the summer time. Not as often...but I still do. (Thinking of taking a few more of these out.)

Dressier tops below and my tees above. (Still considering taking out Ariel)

Skirts

bottoms-fav jeans(will be replaced for fall or when they fall apart), mint shorts, high waited shorts, camping shorts,navy w/white stripe skirt, pink skirt, peach skinnies, Rose skinnies, new pair of shorts to make, and a new skirt to make. Maybe a new pair of khakis.(9, 10 with Khakis)

Pants

sweaters/cardigans-navy cardigan (1)

Things I keep to a minimum but don't include in my count:

jackets/coats-pink slicker w/liner. (1)

shoes-Birkenstock Yaras , black malibrans, navy chucks, grey with white dot chucks, and blue fluevog sandals.(5)

accessories- pink clutch/wallet. (1)

I need to get busy with my 4 piece capsule sewing so I can wear them for the summer. I'm going to go through my fabric stash and see if I've got enough fabric to do some of the things I've picked out for this challenge. I might not finish them all before Summer ends, but maybe I can get the shorts and the sleeveless top done at least. The other two pieces could transition into fall quite easily.