SEWING CLEAN-UP

I have no idea what I have been thinking of these past 20 years. Why did I ever buy all this? Oh, I am like so many quilters, we love to buy, buy lots and faster than we can ever sew up all that fabric we have collected.

A women I knew who loved to quilt, died last year and this past month her family held a garage sale to get rid of the last of her treasures. I was moved and horrified. This was going to be my treasures out on the driveway in the future. With my girls smiling and repeating;" she had a way of collecting fabric faster than she could produce the quilts". When my Grandmother died she had boxes of cards. Cards that she always intended to send, but their were just too many. She did not know that many people to communicate with all those cards. I thought how sad, she spent hours picking out the right card for that "someone" some day. I do not have cards, I have fabric. Same obsession just a different medium.

This sale disturbed me enough that I have spent 3 days in my sewing room trying to get some control over my dilemma. I have made great headway but still a long ways to go.

I can actually see the carpet on the floor, it's blue! Two car loads of "stuff" has been delivered to Salvation Army, and the fabric under the cutting table filled 6 large bins , organized by color.

I have not seen this cutting table for maybe a year, the corner table for possible 5 years! I forgot how much I liked the wood on the corner cabinet.

Sewing machines is another"medium" I have in excess. I was telling my husband that each child will inherit three . The look on his face was priceless, some call this look SHOCK.

We will not even discuss the yarn today.

SNOW

Yes it is October 28th and we are in a major snow storm!!

A little early for us but it is beautiful outside. Big snow storms has a way of keeping people inside, close and comfy. Since we can not drive around we are forced to just SLOW down and enjoy the beauty.

I think the Good Lord knew we would never slow down enough to enjoy this beauty if he did not make it impossible to get around. Smart God.

USING UP and GETTING THINGS DONE

Here are some of the things I have been doing lately. This quilt( or one similar to it) I saw on a blog, a knitting blog non the less and I liked the idea. What I really liked was the quilting, simple yet elegant. So down to the overstuffed sewing room that is truly a one butt room now.

Any who, down to the room to find some brights that would look good with white. This is what happened to the brights and white. I like this quilt simple and soon to be elegant.
October is "Octobersock" month and their are several mystery sock patterns all over the internet. The one I started was from Through the Loops. I am a slow knitter not like some of these bloggers I read.a friend to knit with. C..look this one up I think you will really like it.http://throughtheloops.typepad.com and a friend to knit with This little blanket is using up all sorts of odds and ends yarn that just need to be used and out of the stash. Not real sure as to how this is all going to turn out, but it is fun creating.

Another rug that again is using up scraps that have been sitting around taking up airspace for too long. Kathleen and I are working on rag rugs. Mine is willy nilly, holding true to my love of scraps and the more pieces the better, while Kathleen's is an organized well thought out color scheme of left over fabric.

What are you working on these days? Getting projects done? How about your purse C.? Please comment on the projects you are completing in the month of October.

CANNING APPLESAUCE

Canning applesauce is easy and the effort is well worth the treat in winter. We like our applesauce chunky. so the first step is to buy large firm, crisp apples. you need alot because they will cook down.

I quarter the apples, then cut the core out. Then I peal them with a knife. You can buy all sorts of fancy apple cutters and coring devices, but I have found this the quickest and easiest to handle

Then into a pan with about 1.5-2.0 cups water, a little sugar and cinnamon. Heat till bubbling and let the apples soften till they can be slightly mashed.

Below is what a good consistency would look like to can. This is very hot so be careful!

Fill jars to about 1/4 from top. The jars need to be hot. I put mine in the dishwasher and sterilize. Leave the door closed till you need the jars.

Put the lids on, these will seal the jar post water bath. Then put on the rings, this holds the lids down.

Heat the water in the canner till you see steam coming out the small holes. I use a steam canner. A large water canner works well too.

Fill the canner with 5-6 jars, they can not be touching each other. Put canner lid on and steam for 25 minutes. You start timing when you see steam coming out the small holes on side of canner.

And this is the end product. You should hear the tops "pop", be sure to check all tops. Press in the center and the lids should not pop up and down. If it pops down and stays down, this is OK.

Enjoy great applesauce all year until the next apple harvest.