Sewing for Me

Last fall I started to get an itch to sew clothes again. I hadn't done much fashion sewing at all in many years. Actually, I hadn't done that at all since moving to the Twin Cities, and it was especially painful to consider for a while because it reminded me so much of my mother, who passed away in October of 2003.

But now that time has smoothed a bit of the edge off the pain of losing one so dear, I'm finding it very sweet to honor her memory by sewing clothes for myself again.

Last fall, I sewed two peasant-style blouses and a simple six-gored skirt with an elastic waist. I also started the purple dress that you see here, but I didn't finish it until Easter this year. I was going to wear it to a wedding last fall, but I ended up wearing it to a wedding this spring. And now I'm thinking of more clothes for spring and summer.

The pink blouse on this post is what I finished two weekends ago. It's similar to the peasant blouses that I made last fall, except for the ruffle on the sleeves. It looks rather sloppy on the hanger, but I received three compliments the first day I wore it to the office. I plan to make another blouse like this soon, perhaps with flutter-style sleeves. I'll use this pattern for the body of the blouse and another for the sleeve variation.

I'm also considering another dress. The purple one above looks really nice on me, but the princess lines were challenging. Without my mother's help to handle the fine details of fitting princess lines, I'm finding that I really should make myself a dress form. My husband's willing to help me, and I know that it would be handy to have. I just need to find a good weekend to do it. In the meantime, I'm dreaming of making a dress with a sweetheart-style neckline in a lighter fabric to wear for the summer.

Sewing for myself is really satisfying. Not only can I make clothes to fit my unique preferences, but it's also creative and practical. And so much of what I see in the stores these days is far from what I'd consider modest. A plunging neckline only seems appropriate in the privacy of our home.

Two more reasons to enjoy this weather

We didn't get a foot of snow, as some of the earliest forecasts predicted this time, but it does still look like winter out there, so I thought of two more reasons to enjoy this weather until spring is here...

11) I love to bake, and it warmed the house yesterday when I baked up another batch of my raisin bran muffins. And today, I started a batch of whole wheat bread using my Herman sourdough starter.

12) We can enjoy our fireplace. My husband built a fire for us last night to enjoy while we listened to the last CD in the set for Dorothy Sayer's mystery titled "Gaudy Night." If you've never tried any of Dorothy Sayer's mystery books (there are 14 in this series), we'd highly recommend them. They're extremely well written. Sayers was one of the first female Oxford graduates, and at some point in her life she became a Christian and spent her last years writing theological books. But before then, she wrote really clever mysteries that have kept us guessing until the end every time. And, though they are fictional, her books are said to give an accurate picture of life in England during the period between the two World Wars as seen through the eyes of a British nobleman.

So that's probably three reasons to enjoy this weather as we wait for spring here in "frozen North". But actually, my husband and I enjoy books together year-round. We're always reading a book together at night before going to sleep, or listening to one on CD or on e-download from the library. We don't watch television, except for the major sporting events (e.g., the Super Bowl), and we don't know when we'd have time for TV anyway, if there was ever anything worthwhile to watch. I'm so glad that my husband loves books as much as I do, and that we can share the joy of reading together.

Top Ten Reasons to Be Happy Despite the Weather

For those of us who live in the "frozen North" (aka Minnesota and all parts northward), this is the time of the year when we tend to become a bit grumpy about winter weather. We have our first snowfall sometime around the end of October usually, and we really don't officially start spring here most years until sometime in May.

Before then, we're liable to have little glimpses of spring, but we must not get too attached to the idea yet. We must just accept the fact that until mid- to late-May, snow is still possible. In fact, if you live north of the Twin Cities, you might even have snow longer. I heard earlier this week that Virginia, Minnesota had about 20 inches of snow recently.

So last night as I was driving home from work listening to the radio and hearing reports of more snow coming, the thought occurred to me that I should come up with at least 10 good (in my opinion) reasons to be happy despite the weather.

So here are my top 10 reasons:

1. Jesus is Lord! That's always my top reason for being happy. Our happiness (or joy) must not be based on circumstances. Only Jesus can fulfill the deep needs of my heart, and everything else (and everyone else) will eventually fail to meet my expectations.
2. As a believer, God commands my joy. The Bible tells me to delight myself in the Lord. That's not a suggestion. It's a command, and yet it's a command that will be to my own personal advantage to follow.
   
3. Conversely, God is not happy with those who complain. In fact, it's a sin, because when we grumble about this world or this life or our circumstances, etc., we're really grumbling against God. When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, they grumbled, and as a result, God had them wandering around for 40 years before He brought them to the Promised Land. I've heard it said that it should have only taken 11 days to get there.
   
4. God gives us the snow for our own good. It's a great source of water for the soil, which is good news for our local farmers, as well as those of us who garden. It goes into the earth much more evenly than rain in most places, and this has not been a snowy winter for those of us in central Minnesota. We need the snow, or a really wet, rainy spring, or we'll be facing possible drought conditions in the summer. Last summer, as I recall, some of parts of the metro had watering bans because of drought conditions.
5. Cold snowy weather makes it really nice to snuggle with my Sweetheart and our dog. When it's cold, we love to snuggle. And when it's not cold, I'm convinced my husband likes to artificially make it colder in our house so that snuggling will still be enjoyable...I'm so thankful for a husband who loves being affectionate.
6. Continued cold, snowy weather means that I can continue to enjoy my vast sweater collection. That's not a very lofty reason for happiness, but it is sincere. And that's probably why I got into knitting recently and got back into doing crochet. I love sweaters, and I'm nearly done with knitting my first personally-knit sweater.
7. Cold, snowy weather means that I can also focus on sewing and other indoor activities, instead of feeling guilty that I'm not out pulling weeds in the garden. Though I love our garden and our plant boxes, and I look forward every year to enjoying the flowers and other greenery, it does mean that I have less opportunity to "play" in my sewing room. In fact, after I post this, I'm heading upstairs to work on a new spring blouse. I know I"ll be able to wear it soon, and until then, I enjoy the spring colors in the fabric as I work with it.
8. Those of us who live in climates where we experience a long winter REALLY appreciate the spring and summer. I'm convinced that this is the reason gardening is so very popular in this part of the country. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder when it comes to gardening. We have a really condensed growing season here, and we really make the most of it.
9. We enjoy four true seasons here. For me, Christmas is all the more lovely because we usually have a blanket of snow on the ground. And then spring is so amazing with its first flowers especially. I eagerly look forward to seeing my hyacinths pop up and blossom, and then the tulips, followed by the irises. And fall is gorgeous with all of its warm browns and reds and golds. We have so many trees that display fall colors.
   
10. Because of our long, cold winters, insects and rodents don't have much time to grow large or to procreate. I know that spiders and beetles and cockroaches are God's creatures just as much as the rest, but I wouldn't want to live in a place where bugs have the whole year to grow and get larger. Oh, and snakes, too...

It really is good to live in the northern climates. I know that it's not for everyone, but I'm really happy here. And I imagine that we'll have four climates in heaven, too, probably. But if we do, we'll have them with all of the advantages and none of the disadvantages.

Cloche Hat and Scarf

My sister just sent me this photo to post on the blog. It's the cloche hat and scarf that I made for her birthday this year. It's not actually for the teddy bear. He's just serving as a very cooperative model for her photo.

I made the hat using a free online pattern from Lion Brand the scarf pattern came from a book by Debbie Stoller that I borrowed from the library...You know, it's been more than two year since I started crocheting again and nearly a year since I re-taught myself how to knit, and I've only needed to buy one pattern for crochet or knitting during that time. Most of my yarn has been from my mother's stash, though I did buy a few skeins this winter for various projects. But God has provided for all of this, and I am truly grateful. I love to be able to share gifts I make myself with family and friends.

Right now, I'm working on a project for myself. Some of that newly purchased yarn was a gift from a friend who gave me a JoAnn Fabrics gift card for Christmas last year. I used that gift to buy enough skeins of Wool-Ease in the Denim Twist color to make myself a sweater. It will be my first knit sweater, and I'm a little more than halfway done with it now. I work on it during lunch hours at the office, on long car rides, and sometimes during family gatherings when everyone is just sitting around watching a sporting event on TV. That sweater is the first and only pattern that I've chosen to buy. And it was only $1 to download from Lion Brand.

I have no business interests in Lion Brand personally, nor do I know anyone who works there, but I'd highly recommend their patterns and yarn, especially for beginners. I've had a few questions about things I hadn't done before as I've been working on this pattern, and each time it's only taken a matter of hours for someone at that company to write back in response to my emailed question with an answer that has made it possible for me to continue with my pattern. They really seem to care about making their customers successful in doing their projects. That's good business for them, of course, but good customer service is rare in this day and age. It's such a blessing when you find a company that really stands behind its products.

Sorry for the long absence

I can't believe that it's been more than a month since my last blog post. Somehow, nearly the entire month of March has passed me by. I guess the combination of deadlines at the office along with extra work to meet them, plus company every weekend has made it difficult to find spare moments to keep up with everything.

But I have found time for cooking, and I've even managed to finish up a few knitting and sewing projects. Unlike our dog Charlie, pictured above resting his head on my husband's foot, I haven't been laying around and sleeping, though there have been times of rest as well...thanks be to the Lord for that.

We've had a great time with all of our various friends and relatives who have visited us this month, and we're looking forward to another little dinner party this coming Friday after work. We're having two couples join us for dinner, both of whom are active in ministry in the Philippines. One of the couples plans to move there permanently after retirement, and we're looking forward to hearing more about their potential plans for that time. The other couple is funding a number of missionaries in the Philippines, and both couples regularly return to the country for ministry.

At this point, my husband and I haven't felt a call to do overseas mission work, even on a short-term basis. We've actively helped others who do this, seeing ourselves as "senders" rather than "goers." But we always want to be open to what God might have for us. And we're very grateful to have opportunities to help others who are "goers", sometimes financially and always with prayer. We're not at all financially wealthy, except by the standards of the developing world, but God always provides enough to share.

I hope that you're all doing well this month, and that you've taken time to really meditate on the gift of Jesus and His life, death, and resurrection. We're blessed to be able to celebrate this month with the mainline part of the Church on Resurrection Sunday, and then again next month with the Messianic part of the Church on Passover...As you probably know, Jesus celebrated Passover during the week before His crucifixion, and that Last Supper Passover Seder was the model for what we now know as Communion. What a rich and blessed heritage we have, and what an overwhelmingly precious gift we have received in Jesus!

Hot Cross Buns

As my husband and I work together to establish our own family traditions, we've been trying to focus on those that have real meaning to our faith and values.

For example, we've eliminated just about everything at Christmas related to Santa Claus, so that we can focus on the real meaning of the holiday, which is Jesus' birth.

And for the time of the year when we celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection, we've been eliminating the Easter Bunny from our home. It's not that Santa or the Bunny are bad; they just seem to distract from what is real and important in our lives.

So for Resurrection Sunday, I thought a lot this year about what to bake and how to decorate, and I decided that our family's Hot Cross Bun recipe is meaningful to me. Not only does it remind me of my maternal grandmother and her Danish heritage, but it also makes me think of Jesus' death on the cross because of the cross cut into the dough before it's baked and then embellished with frosting afterward.

I experimented with my mother's recipe this year, because I wanted to use some of my Herman sourdough starter as a base. So I combined two recipes, one from my mom's collection and one from one of sourdough cookbook to come up with what I think turned out to be the best Hot Cross Buns I've ever made. They are moist and sweet and have just a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg in the dough, along with a nice distribution of currants. I served them as part of our dinner on Sunday when we had family and friends joining us.

Ingredients:
1 tsp. dry yeast
3/4 cup lukewarm water (115-120 degrees Fahrenheit)
2 Tbsp. sugar
1-1/2 cups sourdough starter
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2/3 cup currants
2 to 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
(Note: You will also need additional butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract for finishing.)

Add yeast and sugar to warm water to activate the yeast. Measure sourdough starter into mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients except for the flour, and mix to combine. Add the flour a small portion at a time until you have a stiff dough. Turn out onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary. Dough will be soft.

Place dough into greased bowl and cover with a warm, moist cotton (not terrycloth) towel. Set in a warm place and let rise for two hours until doubled in size. (Note: Because we keep our thermostat low, I had to let it rise for more than two hours so that it would be doubled in size.)

Punch down the dough and shape it into 1-1/2-inch balls. Dip top of dough balls into more melted butter and place on greased baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Cut deep cross in each bun with scissors. Bake at 400 degree Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly. Then pour glaze (made with powdered sugar and a little milk and vanilla extract) into crosses and serve.

A Tote Bag for Spring

Here is one of the projects I made during my absence from this blog. A dear friend of mine, who has been there for me during both good times and bad over the past 9 years, had a birthday, and I made her this tote bag for a gift. I was thrilled by her response to it.

This project started with the little pieced basket square that I ended up using to embellish the front of the bag. I had a couple of little quilt block "kits" in my stash that I decided that I should put together and use finally. (They've probably been in my possession since the early '90s.)

So I made this little basket square and then searched in my stash for coordinating fabrics. I was thrilled to find this gorgeous green floral, and then equally pleased with the match it made with both the basket square and the pink floral that I used for the lining. As my dear friend said when she saw it, "Oh, it's so girly! I love it!"

I love this bag, too, but I love even more that I could share it with my dear friend. It has two interior pockets, each divided into little sections. One section is sized just right for a cell phone, another for her glasses case, and the others in miscellaneous sizes to accommodate other necessities. And the bag is roomy enough to hold her yarn for crochet projects, too...She's a really clever lady, who loves to design her own crocheted hats. Maybe someday she'll even make one for me? :-)

Blueberry Scones

One of my friends loves to watch America’s Test Kitchens on public television. My husband and I rarely turn on the TV, unless it’s a special sporting event, like the World Series or the Super Bowl. So I would never know about programs like this or their websites, if it weren’t for her enthusiasm in sharing these recipes.

So to that friend I am very grateful for sharing with me recently the recipe from America’s Test Kitchens for Blueberry Scones. Hands down, these are the best scones my husband and I have ever tasted!

Unlike many scone recipes, which are dry and crumbly, these scones are moist without being cake-like. And they’re sweet and buttery, too…definitely richer than other recipes I’ve tried. But if you don’t make them often, I think they’re worth the few extra calories.

Ingredients:
1 stick + 2 Tbsp. frozen unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
½ cup whole milk
½ cup sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup + 1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. grated lemon zest

Grate the stick of butter into a bowl and then freeze again until needed. Keep blueberries in freezer until needed, too.

Whisk together milk and sour cream in a medium-sized bowl and then refrigerate until needed.

Whisk together flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add frozen grated butter to the flour mixture and toss until thoroughly coated.

Add milk mixture to flour mixture and fold with spatula until just combined. Transfer dough to a liberally floured work surface, dust dough with more flour, and flour your hands as well before kneading the dough six to eight times, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking. At this point, it should just hold together in a ragged ball.

Roll dough into a 12-inch square. Fold it into thirds like a business letter (bringing part of it up half way and then bringing the other part down over the folded part). Then lift the short ends of the dough and fold into thirds again to form a 4-inch square. Transfer dough to a plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in freezer for five minutes.

Transfer chilled dough to floured work surface and roll into a 12-inch square again. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over the surface of the dough, pressing them down to slightly embed into the dough.

Roll the dough into a tight log. Lay seam-side down and press log into a 12-x4-inch rectangle. Using a sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle into 4 equal rectangles, and then each rectangle into two triangles. Transfer the eight triangles onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and brush it over the tops of the scones. Then sprinkle them with the remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake at 425 degrees in a pre-heated oven until tops and bottoms are golden brown, about 18-25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

To Make Ahead:
Refrigerate unbaked scones overnight or freeze until needed. When ready to bake refrigerated scones, heat oven to 425 degrees and bake as directed above. For frozen scones, heat oven to 375 degrees and extend the cooking time to 25-30 minutes.

Important Tips:

• It’s important to work the dough as little as possible—knead and fold the dough only the number of times specified.
• The butter should be frozen solid before grating, and if it your climate is warm or humid, you’ll also want to chill the flour mixture and the work bowls. If using frozen berries, do not defrost them.
• An equal amount of raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries can be used instead, as long as larger berries are cut into ¼- to ½-inch pieces first.
• Refrigerate or freeze leftover scones in an airtight container. To serve, place scones on baking sheet again and heat in a 375-degree oven until warmed and re-crisped.