Boohoooooooooo

I have been a busy little bee lately. . . sewing, sewing, sewing.  By improvising a L-shaped sewing area to accomodate my sewing machine & serger in our large family room, I am now able to enjoy my family in the evening and still get a lot a sewing projects completed.  The second benefit of this set up is that my dining room table no longer looks like this.  Now the area I set up is by no means "pretty" or "polished".  It consists of an old table resurrected from the basement and a board laid across two file cabinets that contain the kids school books.  (Sort of a locker for homeschoolers idea).
Anyway, everything has been going along GRAND until. . .

I turned the differential knob on my serger so I could gather a strip of material and promptly heard a little "snap" followed by the sound of a small piece falling down inside the serger.   Arrrrghhhhhh!     The very same serger that had been taken to the shop for another problem in the spring!  It had never been to the repair shop prior to that, and I have had it for nearly twenty years. I depend so much on it as a tool.  But far more than that is the great sentimental value it holds for me. Well, to "cut to the chase", Bill took it to the shop on Saturday morning. At least now, I know that they can still get repair parts for it.

I've decided that I'm not going to waste the two weeks or so until it is repaired.  Instead, I plan on cutting out the patterns for a lot of projects.  That way, when I get the serger back, I can get started right away sewing things.  My least favorite thing about sewing is cutting the fabric, so at least that will be all out of the way.

Y "To everything there is a season. . .
"

Nanci

Savory Flatbread Recipe

My family loves these flatbread sandwiches. We first tasted them at a restaurant, but they are on the pricey side. Our budget couldn't afford a steady diet of them at restaurant prices , so I began experimenting at home.

I found the original recipe for the flatbread here but I've really "tweaked" it to come up with my "personal recipe". There were quite a few comments on that site that the flatbread was too salty. So the first thing I did was to cut the salt WAY back. I also made the mixing process much easier by just mixing it in my food processor. I thought that the original recipe lacked flavor so here is my adjusted recipe.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes (5 minutes each side)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking power
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon pesto
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup ice water
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Combine first 7 ingredients in food processor and blend thoroughly together. Add ice water and olive oil. Mix in food processor until ingredients form a soft dough.

Sprinkle a piece of parchment paper with flour. Form the dough into a ball and place it in the center of the parchment paper. Dough is slightly sticky. Sprinkle dough with flour and flatten dough to a thick disc. Cut into six equal wedges.

Form wedges into balls and roll out into thin 7 inch circles.

Place into an oiled hot iron skillet. Immediately prick the surface of the dough with a fork, sprinkle generously with garlic salt, and cook for 5 minutes over low - medium flame. Turn and cook five minutes more. Watch these flat bread disks closely because they cook fast.

This flatbread can be frozen for later use if you like. I usually place a little sheet of wax paper between them before freezing to help prevent them from sticking to one another. They are great to have on hand in the freezer, and they thaw rather quickly.

The Sandwich

The filling for these sandwiches is only limited by your imagination, but I'll share our favorite just to spark your imagination.

Spread a scant amount of pesto on two flatbread discs. Sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese. Add two slices of ham, two slices hard salami, and two slices of provolone cheese. Top with sliced tomatoes and diced onions. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Wrap in foil and bake in a 350 degree oven until it is warm throughout and cheese is melted.

Y Okay, that's all there is to it.

Now enjoy!

Nanci

Pattern Sale at JoAnn Fabrics - Last Half of September 2009

Patterns are not on sale everyday, but for a few days each month JoAnn usually has certain manufacturer's sewing patterns on sale. Buy your patterns when they are on sale, and you save a bundle.


If there's a JoAnn Fabric Store near you, the pattern sale dates for the last half of September 2009 are:

THURSDAY - SATURDAY
SEPTEMBER 17 - 19, 2009

McCall's Patterns $1.99 each
(MSRP $5.25 - $16.95 ea.)

(Limit of 10)
No special orders -- Excludes "Easy Stitch ‘N Save”"


Vogue Patterns $3.99 each
(MSRP $8.95 - $30.00 ea.

No special orders

(Limit 10)

Butterick Patterns - 99 cents each
(MSRP $6.00 - $16.95 ea.)

No special orders

(Limit of 10)
Excludes "See & Sew"

Y Blessings,

Nanci

ABSOLUTE DISARRAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Absolute (adjective) – positive, unquestionable (proof)

Disarray (noun) - a lack of order or sequence; confusion, disorder



I can’t quite believe that I am posting this picture. I’ve been appalled as I have looked at this table over the past several days. Too many projects going at once is my problem here. Are these projects that I don’t want, projects that have been forced upon me? NO! They are my personal challenges! They are ALL things I WANT to do, things I want to see if I am capable of doing.

What are these projects?

1. Well, there are very few patterns for the AG Doll, Kit, available. I have made many patterns for doll outfits that I have pictured in my mind or seen in a book. But no one, but me, has used those patterns. Long in the back of my mind, designing doll patterns to sell has been brewing. So a pattern for a Kit era dress is a perfect starting place because the clothing of the Depression Era was very simple. The pattern pieces are easy enough to design, simple measurements and math can do the trick there. Make the pattern up in fabric, adjust pattern. Make the pattern in fabric again until I am satisfied with the result.

What’s difficult? Making illustrations that truly are illustrative of the step that I am trying to explain. Putting directions into words and sentences that are clearly understandable. Fortunately, I picked a simple pattern to start with.

2. My next project is an entry for the Fair. I have greatly modified a pattern for a Civil War ensemble for an 18 inch doll. I have been tatting the lace edging for the blouse. I have completed the jacket, trimmed with soutache braid. I’m still working on the skirt and snood. I need to still start the hoopskirt. I am really excited about this ensemble, and I can hardly wait to see it completed.

3. Project Number 3, freezing bushels of green peppers for the winter.

4. Oh yes, did Imention we are nine days into our homeschool year.


Funny when you write it all down, it doesn’t seem like much at all. So then why are the normally tidy common areas of my house in such absolute disarray?

Y Blessings,

Nanci