A cooking lesson......dried beans- cooked in a flash!

I've been blessed with a husband who will eat anything and loves to garden. We eat simple and healthy foods all year long. (He gardens and I can/freeze the produce.) Recently, Jeff grew black beans.  I'm the kind of cook that likes to use a can opener to obtain my beans. Dry beans scare me. This is going to take planning....right?  Not at all!!

The key to quickly cooked beans is a pressure cooker. My absolute favorite tool in my kitchen is my Kuhn Rikon 7 Qt pressure cooker.  It is a dream to use. I use it as a regular pan or as a pressure cooker to make my meals in 1/3 the time.  I do have another brand of cooker but do not like it as well. We can discuss their merits at a later date if you'd like. 

Back to beans:
Usually, one must soak them overnight  before cooking.  

Add your clean beans to your pressure cooker pot.
I guesstimate that I had around 2 cups here. 
Add water to cover (My cooker needs very little water. Check your instruction manual as some need more.) Add a little salt. 

Once your cooker reaches high pressure (the second red line on mine), cook for two minutes. Remove from heat. Allow pressure to come down naturally OR
run water over cooker for fast  pressure release. 

It only takes seconds to release the pressure. Now the pan is safe to open. Don't be scared.

I skimmed off the floaters and anything else that didn't belong and tossed them in the compost bucket.
Drain the beans. Put them back into the pan and again cover with water.  Pressure cook on high for  15 minutes. My book says 10-12 minutes but I find that isn't enough.

Release pressure again; drain; and enjoy your beans! 

Cooked and ready for chili!  

Don't be afraid of dried beans…..they're really quick and easy.

Summer Memories

Schleusener Summer 2013

It's been a while since I last blogged. Can you believe that I forgot my password to get onto the blog? I think it happens to us all.

It's been  a summer of mixed emotion for our family. We lost two beautiful people, my in-laws, over the past three months. I find peace in believing that they are together......right where they want to be.

Gma and Gpa with their grandchildren

The truly "fun" part was visiting my "Exchange" kids in their home towns with my two girls and bestie at my side. What an adventure it was!

First stop: London, England

My favorite part--Phantom of the Opera. 

 

My girls at Picadilly Circus.

Second stop: Paris, France

My favorite part: The Eiffel Tower

We met up with our Julia in Paris. 

I love the Louvre.

Third Stop: Altenreit, Germany
My favorite parts: My new German family and home cooked German food.  Do I have to go home?

Julia's mom, Elzbieta, made us a beautiful and delicious cake to welcome us to her home.

Julia's wonderful family.

Fourth Stop: Salzburg, Austria
My favorite parts: Nik's vivacious family, breathtaking views and sailing.

Sightseeing.

Outstanding Austrian food and drink.

My absolute favorite-spending time doing "family" activities. They love to sail on Mondsee.

Fifth Stop: Munich, Germany

My favorite parts: The hotel air conditioning (it was a HOT summer) and the Hofbrauhaus.

My crazy bestie at the Haufbrauhaus.  This stop was high on her bucket list.

Time to go home. Thank you to the Schulz family and the Reichl family for a trip of a lifetime! Love to you all.

OK--Back to the sewing machine!!

StudioKat's newest pattern: The Guardian

........the Quilt Diva's thoughts......

 It turned out soooo cute!

The inside- nice and roomy. 

The secret pocket for your ccw or whatever you want to keep safe. Right and left access.

I am thrilled that this product has been marketed by StudioKat Designs and even more thrilled to get to sew it up and maybe teach a class on it someday soon.  I'll give you my review of it in a nutshell. (My changes are  in no way a criticism of the designer or the purse itself. I've only made modifications to fit my personal needs and to fit the supplies I had on hand .)

The pattern directions:

They are lengthy and involved but there is a lot going on with this little gem. The cutting instructions on page one are a huge help. Note that several items are repeated twice (typo) and the  cutting of the Soft and Stable is not addressed in the cutting instruction list.  You are directed to cut the Soft and Stable as you work your way through the directions. The  printed directions and visual tutorials online are quite good.   My advice...take it slow.

Changes I made:
I didn't use Soft and Stable but another product made by Bosal which I cannot remember the name of.  It works beautifully and seems physically identical to Soft and Stable. I'll edit when I think of it.

I love this little pocket area which holds your I.D's and other cards.

I used a regular magnetic snap on the front of the purse only because I literally have about 100 of them  while the sew-in ones were being mailed to me. I could not figure out how to use anything but the sew-in type for the back pocket.

I might try metal zippers next time. While trying to iron all of the layers away from the zipper, my top zipper  melted a bit. UGH!!! My fault!!!

A support for the secret pocket.

The support velcro-ed inside of the pocket.

I found that the interior pocket needed extra support because it simply could not support my ccw (concealed carry weapon).  I made a rigid support out of two pieces of peltex. I have hook tape on one side and loop on the other. It fit into the pocket nicely and helped to hold the holster and ccw  upright. Another adjustment I would make would to raise the height of the velcro on the Core Lining to help with the whole process.

The Holster:

The holster was not big enough for my needs so I cut out another about an inch bigger. Now it's  just right.  The smaller holster (included in the pattern) is on top of my new bigger one.

I reversed the velcro for a right handed draw.

I changed up the holster a bit because I didn't have narrow webbing and I went without the center-release button. I put a small square of hook tape on the holster and added loop tape to piece of coordinating fabric for my closure.  If you need to access your ccw, it seems as though that buckle might be in the way. You decide.

All I need now is the webbing for the strap! It must wait until tomorrow as we are on day 2 of the snowstorm.   

Overall, this is a very good pattern.  I really only modified a minute portion of it for my needs. Any tough spots in general sewing were remedied by the StudioKat online tutorials and a little ingenuity. 
I love that this purse is compact and cute yet has lots of room for all of the stuff I need in my purse and completely conceals what you want to conceal.

Thank you, StudioKat, for addressing a need that has been long neglected!!!

Next up:
I'm teaching a class on the Caddy Paddy!  

Truly Blessed......

Not only have I been blessed with a wonderful family, a fun job and the time to enjoy my passion for sewing,  I am surrounded by beautiful friends.  There are few things that make me happier than presenting a beloved friend with a new quilt.

This is my friend, Cara.  She is one of the most selfless people I've ever met and an absolute joy to be around.  Cara became a Grandma not long ago so I jumped on the opportunity to present her with her very first quilt that she can share with her new grandson.

This quilt is called the Easy Bake Charm Quilt, designed by my friend, Ila Kool, and taught at the Great Black Hills Quilt Escape in Deadwood, SD  in Sept 2012. Check out Ila's blog, Kool Quilts, in my blog list.  I love the Riley Blake fabrics! I'm going to make a girl version, too. 

The blessings continued as  I presented Barb with the Tossed Nine Patch made from her late husband's shirts.  The joy on her face brought tears to my eyes.

I'm teaching a quilting class!

On Tuesday from 10:30AM-2:30PM at Quilt-Tiques in Rapid City,  I'll be teaching my first quilting class using the Twister Tool.  I'll post a review of the Twister  Tool when the class is done. Here is a sample pillow I made using the Lil Twister tool.  Call if you want to join me!!  (605) 718-2739

Until my next posting.....may you notice and embrace the many blessings in your  own life.

Lauri

A New Family Member, Ice Fishing, A New Job and More Quilting.

There's a little bit of everything going on at our house these days.

A new family member: Two weeks ago we welcomed a new member to family. Nik is a young man from Austria who will be spending the remainder of the high school semester with us. Nik is our second exchange student in a little over a year. All I can say is that we have been blessed. Both students we have hosted have been wonderful kids that have enriched our lives.  It's fun to see American life for the first time through the eyes of these students. Every day is an adventure. 

Ice fishing: Winter in South Dakota has brought us snow,  frigid temps and frozen lakes. I've not been a big "outdoorsy" person except when it comes to FISHING which I've been participating in for as long as I can remember.  Last winter, Jeff and I explored a few surrounding lakes to try our luck at ice fishing.  I can't say we were entirely successful but what an extraordinary way to enjoy the Black Hills of South Dakota.  

This weekend we packed up the kids and ventured out onto the ice. With 12" of ice to support us and near 50 degree temps, the conditions could not have been more perfect. 

Ice Fishing on Roubaix Lake in The Black Hills. 

....but the pattern photo looks so awesome! Kwik Sew 125 Old McDonald's Playhouse

When the project doesn't quite meet your expectations....

I love Kwik Sew patterns. When I saw this new Ellie Mae pattern in my local quilt shop, I had to buy it. 

Little ones love to build forts/playhouses. This playhouse fits over a folding card table which almost everyone owns. My bestie has four little grandbabies and a five year old herself. I knew that this would be a hit in her house!

The Kwik Sew 125 Playhouse

The back of the pattern envelope.

I purchased the pattern; searched for architectural  fabrics (wood grain and shingle look); and started on the animal appliqués.

The appliques were a piece of cake. While watching a movie with my family, I copied; cut; and ironed all of the appliqués. It was fun watching these cute little animals come together with their own personalities.   

I then cut the panels and started placing the appliqués. You first place the main door and the shutters on the front. I  fused the shutters.  You are then to place the right side of the door frame to the wrong side of front wall. Sew 1/4" around the inside of the door frame and  then cut out the opening.  Flip the door frame to the right side.

1. OK, this sounds good but.....the door frame is too big!    I made the door smaller. 
2. I don't know if this will hold up over time but I appliqued the door  to the front  of the playhouse and cut the opening leaving 1/4" inside the door frame. 
3. From the back I added Steam a Seam to that 1/4" of fabric and folded it to the back side of the quilt and ironed it down.  I zig zagged around the door to secure the fabric down.  I repeated this process with all of the windows.
4. Iron on the grass appliques and the animals. Zig zag around them to secure.

Looks good so far.....let's sew it together.

Oh boy, things aren't matching up well whatsoever.  How can that be as these are simple pieces.  I fudged it together   and ironed it the best I could. 

The roof is held up by a  pvc pipe frame that sits on top of the table.  It has a peak at the front and the back.  When I placed the playhouse over it, it sagged in the middle. The pvc should be reconfigured to have a support in the middle if you want it to look good.

The Finished Product

Looks pretty good from the front. The seams need ironing.

Saggy roof. It needs an extra pvc support beam.

Even though I was a little bit disappointed in the pattern drafting,  it was  a success ........because it made one little girl very very happy!!!

Merry Christmas, Kay!

My very first t-shirt quilt.....a labor of love.

My daughter has been asking for a tshirt quilt for quite some time.  All the ones I've seen are sort of the same....rows and columns.  I searched online for ideas for the quilt and ran across photos of some really awesome quilts.  They were all Too Cool T-shirt Quilts.   Lucky for me, there was a book to teach me how to make one.

I could not find this book locally but was able to locate a pre-owned one on Etsy. Score!!!  The book description is that it will guide you through each step of making the quilt and that the quilt will defy your expectations (I must agree).

This book walks you through selecting your t-shirts and helps with incorporating special items other than t-shirts into the quilt.  The best part of this technique--- you don't use any iron on backing or cotton sashing....only t-shirts!

Ten templates to make or buy.