A Quilt for Brian and Patrick

My first finished quilt of 2014 is a riot of colorful batik fabric rectangles.

Patrick requested a colorful quilt. It took me a long time to finish this quilt, and I am very satisfied with the beautiful result. It measures about 75 x 90 after washing. 

I quilted this with straight lines and diagonals (the diagonal quilting lines are visible in the picture if you look carefully).

They were surprised and (I think) delighted.

A few more photos (below) taken in the sunshine in my backyard, make the quilt look more faded. In person it looks more like the above image.

A bit of the multicolor batik backing fabric is visible in this photo.

I'm not sure what to sew next. I have been interested in sewing clothes for myself this spring, but I have been too busy, and probably too impatient, to slowly learn how to do what I want to do. I need time to make mistakes with patterns and fabric and then try again. I have quilts I want to make, and hope to make some for my nieces before September.

Maybe I should move my sewing machine outside?!

Heirloom Carrot Soup

Cooking with Diane

    In March, I went to a cooking class hosted by Diane Mohilef at her home in Encino. She calls her series of classes "A Day in the Kitchen". Attendees watch her prepare a full menu, including dessert, while taking notes on a handout with recipes and notes.

Vegetables ready to cook in one of my new pots! Finally, after 25+ years, I bought new pots and pans!

Diane in her kitchen

She has a full demonstration kitchen in a guest house on her property, with a counter and stools for 16 people. The Heirloom Carrot and Celery Soup recipe (below) is from the first class I took with her. It was a wonderful wednesday morning of  learning, eating, and making new friends. My friend Karmi told me about the class and I plan to be a regular student!

Diane attended culinary school when her children were grown, then cooked with Michel Richard at Citrus for many years. She is entertaining and energetic, and the class is fun and educational in so many ways.

Delicious carrot soup-add a few croutons, or maybe a grilled cheese sandwich on the side?

Heirloom Carrot and Celery Soup

Adapted from a recipe by Diane Mohilef. Yield 8-9 cups

Ingredients:

1 TBSP  Butter 2 TBSP  Seasoned oil** 1  Sweet onion, peeled and chopped small 2 Lbs  Heirloom carrots, peeled and sliced into coins 8  Carrots, peeled and sliced into coins        **(You will need a total of about 3 LBS of carrots) 1  Celery root, cleaned/peeled and chopped small        (I have also used a celery heart, chopped) 1  Apple (with skin) seeded and chopped 1  Rutabaga, peeled and chopped 2  TBSP Honey 1/4 cup  Brown sugar (I use only about 2 TBSP) 8 cups  Chicken stock, or vegetable stock Salt and pepper to taste 1 Fresh Rosemary sprig (about 6 inches long) Optional--add up to 1 tsp cumin with the honey, etc.

Directions:

In a large pot heat butter and oil. Add onion, carrots, celery root, apple, and rutabaga. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all vegetables are softened. Add honey, brown sugar, chicken stock, seasonings (start with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper) and rosemary. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove rosemary sprig (any leaves that have fallen off can stay in the soup) and cool. Puree soup. Warm to serve.

I like to serve this with homemade croutons  (stale bread cut into pieces and tossed with a little olive oil/seasoned oil and salt and pepper, then toasted in a 400 degree oven until crispy).

**For the seasoned oil, you can use a purchased oil seasoned with rosemary, or basil, or garlic, or make your own.

Seasoned oil:

½ cup canola oil

½ cup olive oil

1-2 garlic cloves, smashed

rosemary sprig,  and/or thyme sprig

Place all ingredients in a bottle  and let stand 2 days on counter. After 2 days, remove herbs and garlic, strain, and use. Keeps for about 1 month.

1 TBSP  Butter

2 TBSP  Seasoned oil**

1  Sweet onion, peeled and chopped small

2 Lbs  Heirloom carrots, peeled and sliced into coins

8  Carrots, peeled and sliced into coins

       **(You will need a total of about 3 LBS of carrots)

1  Celery root, cleaned/peeled and chopped small

       (I have also used a celery heart, chopped)

1  Apple (with skin) seeded and chopped

1  Rutabaga, peeled and chopped

2  TBSP Honey

1/4 cup  Brown sugar (I use only about 2 TBSP)

8 cups  Chicken stock, or vegetable stock

Salt and pepper to taste

1 Fresh Rosemary sprig (about 6 inches long)
Optional--add up to 1 tsp cumin with the honey, etc.

Catching up

First batch of strawberry jam this year, and it is organic!

I have not made a quilt yet this year, though I have done a bunch of other sewing.

And, I have gone back to the Batik quilt I started for Brian and Patrick.  I want to finish it within the next two weeks and start a new one. I bought a multicolor batik for the back, and want to get it ready to quilt by tonight. 

We had a wonderful spring break trip to visit Dana in Paris. I could have stayed for another week and still not seen everything I wanted to see. 

Spring break is over. Back to regular, scheduled blog posts!

More boxy pouches

So much fun to make, and so quick and easy with the serger!

Hamentashen for Purim

This year I tried a new hamentashen recipe along with the old standby. Chocolate Brownie Hamentashen with peanut butter filling (recipe here). I also used nutella for some, and cookie butter, (also called Biscoff or Speculoos spread) for some. Pretty delicious.

I tried to get Jenna interested in these, but she only wanted the traditional style, with nutella filling. I did make traditional (cookie dough) hamentashen with several other fillings: fig butter (and they tasted like fig newtons-delicious!), cherry jam, and cookie butter. My favorite flavor is poppyseed, but I did not make any this year, since I am the only one in the family who likes them. I don't need a batch of my favorite hamentashen calling my name every day between now and Passover.

Next, I will try my hand at some baked doughnuts, just for fun.

A Leather Bag Handmade by Me

I can't believe I did it! There were almost tears, and it was harder than I expected. The pattern is the Town Bag from WEEKEND SEWING by Heather Ross. I got the leather scraps at the FIDM Scholarship Store (in downtown LA), and the total cost for the leather pieces was $20. The main body of the bag is made from a piece of baby blue leather that is a little too thick for this project, but I did not know it until I was already in the middle of construction! The strap and side pieces are made from a much thinner piece of brown leather. The lining is cotton that I actually purchased in Tel Aviv a few years ago.  I added a magnetic snap inside the top of the bag.

      I will use a light weight piece of leather for the main body next time. The hardest part was sewing on the side pieces (brown strips) over the thick side seam of the blue leather. Here is the finished product:

Jenna liked it so much that it is now hers! I plan to look for a light weight piece of leather soon to make another one. This was a challenging project, but I will try it again.

More PJ pants for Jenna....

.....from my own hand-drafted pattern. She likes them! I made these about two weeks ago. They could be a bit slimmer/smaller next time; I will have to adjust the pattern a bit more. Overall, though, pretty cute!