Sunday Bag Instructions Updated – March 2008

The Sunday Bag instructions previously posted were great for the little bags, but my friend Sara and I changed the dimensions for the big bag and clarified the instructions for it. So here are the new instructions! Sunday Bag Instructions 2008

The Hardest Part of the Sunday Bag

Click here to find great pictures and descriptions of making the square bottom of the Sunday Bag. Remember, for our bag you use a 2 1/4″ measurement instead of what they say here.

Sunday Bag Instructions – July 2007

In case there are those out there who would like the instructions for the Sunday Bag, I have written out Sara’s directions here: (EDIT Mar 2008: The document has been removed for needed corrections/updates to the large bag instructions. Please see the March 2008 post for the updated instructions.)

This tote bag can be used in many ways: scripture bag, activity bag, camera bag, purse. The bigger size noted in the instructions can be used for a book bag, knitting bag, purse, etc. Sara and some of her friends have altered the pattern in many ways, adding closure ties or snaps (use interfacing or the snap will rip through), piecing the outside fabric, adding piping between strips of colors, etc.

And here are some more examples of bags! These are some I made for my friend Lori’s four cute kids to take to church.

White Sweater Gift – June 2007

Yesterday I finally gave my friend a gift for her newborn girl–this sweater–my first sweater. I started it back at Easter and it is finally completed and blocked and everything. My friend really, really liked it. I am very grateful for my Grandma’s help along the way. At one point, my Grandma came out to my house to see about some holes I mentioned. She discovered that I was stopping in the middle of the row and then continuing my work in the wrong direction thereby creating a hole. She ripped it out more than an inch to below the holes and taught me how to put the stitches back on the needle and how to knit into the back of the stitch if the stitches were twisted in the on-putting. Wonderful woman, my Grandma. And I hope a happy future to baby Emily.

I am currently working on blocking some interesting knitted food from pieknits.com. Get excited!! Also, I am making about four more Sunday bags and some other stuff.

Harvest Bounty – June 2007

I wish it were my garden’s harvest, but I was actually given harvest from other wonderful sources this week and I and the children have had a wonderful time taking care of the gifts. We received:

*summer squash and much else from Vickie’s garden
*zucchini and summer squash from Leilani (from Marla’s garden)
*pecans from Kristin’s friend’s tree
*peaches from Catherine’s mother in-law Louise’s tree
*corn from the local farmers
*cherries from the local coop

I grated and froze most of the zucchini for bread and muffins, except what I made into bread straightaway from my Grandma’s recipe (Excellent–you try!). The rest of the zucchini and the summer squash I either used in Garlic Zucchini Chicken (so yummy!!!) or sauteed for dinner with butter and basil (Delicious!). The peaches the kids and I picked, then I cut and froze most for future peach cobbler. The rest of the peaches along with the pecans we shelled made the most amazing peach cobbler. I really should have had a picture of it. It was gorgeous and scrumptious. The kids shucked the corn and then I blanched and cooled and froze the cobs for future dinners using the methods listed here. The cherries the kids stemmed and I am in the process of freezing almost all of them, except enough to make a cherry pie, but I am sending my husband to buy a pitter before I finish processing those. The corn and the cherries are amazingly perfect.

So what a wonderful season already!!!! I feel very blessed from other people’s efforts AND my kids and I are having fun taking care of it all. Here are the recipes I have or will use:

Delores’ Fruit Crisp
Filling:
2 T. flour
3/4 c. sugar
6 c. fresh or frozen fruit
(if using peaches, add a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg)

Topping:
1 C. flour
1 C. sugar (1/2 c. if you have very sweet peaches)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 C. chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans
1 egg, beaten
1 cube of butter, melted

In a 9×13 dish, toss filling ingredients until mixed. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients and nuts. Make a well in the center and blend in egg with a fork until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit. Pour melted butter over all. Bake in preheated oven 375
deg. for 45 minutes.

Delores’ Note: “Add a glob of ice cream while the crisp is still warm, put on your bib and enjoy. You might want to put a cookie sheet on the bottom oven rack to keep the juice from running over into your clean oven.”

Garlic Zucchini Chicken
8 oz. fettucine noodles
3 Tbsp. oil
3-4 carrots in 1/8″ slices
2-3 medium zucchini in 1/8″ slices
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. basil leaves, crushed

Assemble all ingredients. Cut chicken into strips. Cook fetuccine; drain and rinse under hot water. Put part of oil in preheated skillet and stir-fry carrots until tender-crisp; remove to plate. Do the same with zucchini. Put remaining oil in skillet and stir-fry chicken just until it is no longer pink inside. Add garlic to skillet and stir-fry just until you smell the aroma, about 5 seconds.

Quickly put vegetables back into skillet with chicken. Sprinkle flour over all, stir in gently, cooking about 30 seconds. Add milk all at once; cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Stir in
cheese, salt and basil. Pour mixture over fetuccine in large bowl and toss to coat. Makes 4-6 servings.

Notes from my friend Anne: “This is how it is written, but I added additional veggies and I think I also threw some oregano and maybe even some coarsely ground black pepper in, just because I love it, too! Sometimes I use a little more flour if the sauce is not as thick as I would like. I
like it to stick to the noodles. Good luck!”

Zucchini Bread
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
1 c. oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. grated packed zucchini
1 c. nuts (opt.)

Mix. Put in two greased floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 for one hour or until toothpick is clean.

My note: This is my Grandma’s recipe from her sister-in-law Dot. The original recipe called for 2 tsp. mapleine. How strange!! I did not add that, and the bread was delicious and we all stuffed ourselves.

Zucchini Muffins
1 1/8 c. Oil
3 c. Sugar
2 t. Vanilla
3 eggs
4 1/8 c. Flour
1/2 T. Salt
2 t. Baking powder
1 t. Baking soda
4 t. Cinnamon
1/2 t. Nutmeg
1/2 t. Cloves
1/2 t. Allspice
4 2/3 c. Shredded zucchini
1 1/4 c. Walnuts (optional)

Bake 350 F for 25 to 30 minutes. Yield: 12-15 very large muffins

My note: My friend Janice searched the world over for the perfect zucchini muffin recipe before finding/developing this one. Yum!

More from the Sunday Bag Front – May 2007

Little Boy Blue and Little Boy Green now have their own Sunday bags. Behold!

Easter Dinner – April 2007

I love Easter! We were hosting Paul’s sister and husband and kids and so an abnormally great meal was in order. It was a “Martha Moment” for sure. Here is the menu:

Roast leg of lamb with homemade mint sauce
Scalloped potatoes
Cooked carrots and parsnips
Fresh strawberries
Fresh green salad and homemade dill feta dressing
Homemade rolls and homemade strawberry jam
Homemade lemon and limeade
Homemade lemon cream pie with fresh whipped cream

All went well. Did I mention handmade linens and fresh cut roses from the garden? Fun times! Everything was prepared ahead of time except the meat, potatoes and carrots. The rolls were freezer rolls which I rolled out earlier in the week and froze on pans. They raised all morning while we were at church and baked after the lamb was pulled out. The goal was to eat at 1 p.m. and we ate at 1:15 p.m. Not too shabby! Here is the recipe for the dill feta dressing:

Dill Feta Dressing

1 c. mayo
1 c. buttermilk
2-3 oz. crumbled feta cheese, diced at least to dime size
2 tsp. dried dill weed
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp. salt or to taste
shake of garlic powder or to taste
shake of onion powder or to taste

Place all ingredients in a one quart jar with a lid. Shake well. For best results make several days in advance as it gets better with time.

Silk Curtains – April 2007

I had thought about doing red silk curtains in my livingroom for awhile. One of my amazing seamstress friends, Brenda, learned this and called me one day in December thinking she had just the right shade of dupioni silk at her house, bought on sale to boot! She was spot on of course and divided by four panels I had zero inches of fabric left over. I had all the fabric and lining cut out and ready to go for several months during the holidays and beyond, but with Paul’s sister coming for Easter I was motivated to finish.

The curtains look awesome! They are fully lined and have a three inch upper hem and a five inch “blind” lower hem. Yeah! We can’t believe how much more finished it looks. I am working on the blank space on the walls…

My Own Cookbook – March 2007

I finished my own cookbook. I am pretty organized about my recipes and so it was easy to select the ones I wanted included. These are just my favorite recipes to date. I will probably need to print out a new version every January. It took me a couple of months to get it bound, but now all copies have been earmarked. I have already had requests for another printing! My husband has the MSG intolerance noted here and here so my recipes are generally made with natural ingredients, but still tasty.

Easter Egg Masochism – March 2007

So I lept right from seven inches of knitted ribbing to double-pointed needle mayhem. The C U R L Y P U R L Y Eggs look very cute, but I should have listened to my Grandma at the picnic. Last night at about 2:30 a.m. I finished my little curly purly. I had to hide huge gaping holes when I stitched it up, but I did make an egg. You should have seen me with my four needles. No, you should have seen me with my three needles, before I realized what you do with the fourth needle. The fourth needle was taking a little rest in my new Knitting Needle Box while I struggled for about an hour trying to figure out why I couldn’t make a triangle with my needles for very long. And no, my Grandma was not available at 12:30 a.m. Thank heavens for Google where I learned about “knitting inside out” and about the “working needle” and about “migrating stitches” to avoid “ladders”. Good stuff! I can now use my words. I think Grandma will be proud, though!

The colored one is mine. The red one is the example my Grandma knitted up for me in probably about 10 minutes. Sorry for the blur. I am just happy to have my camera back.