Happy Holidays!

I hope you are enjoying your holidays, I certainly am. I adore this time of year and although this one is busier than those of the past, I have kept it right in the middle of my heart, as usual, spending the little free time I have browsing through my collection of Christmas books, drinking tea, working on small projects, cooking, baking - the usual.

Mr. K and I spent a quiet Christmas Eve with a platter of cheeses, spinach dip, and crackers watching Christmas movies and chatting. On Christmas day, I took my pan of lasagna to the home of very dear friends, Mr. and Mrs. R, after picking up another friend to join us. We ate and ate and had a very good time indeed. There is no better way to spend the holiday than with those who you love.

I am excited about some new looms I purchased from Carol Leigh's Hillcreek Fiber Studio. I took a continuous strand weaving class from Carol Leigh a few years ago in Asheville, NC at the Southeast Animal Fiber Festival. I have a triangle loom, the 2 foot travel size, which I purchased from Carol at the festival and now have purchased a few smaller models. These looms are the perfect size for those of us who live in little homes and have no room for a large loom, although I was have a table-top heddle loom which is also great for small spaces. Anywho, one of these new minis is called a "washcloth" square loom. This loom makes a square of woven fabric the approximate size of a washcloth. I'm thinking lots of gifts for the future, as well as a patchwork blanket... and a shawl, of course... amulet bags too! Since Carol was having a sale to celebrate her 32nd year in business, I also purchased two mini looms - a six inch square, as well as another triangle mini-loom with an eight inch hypotenuse. I also bought Carol's WONDERFUL book which explains everything you could want to know about continuous strand weaving and is packed with projects and patterns. Right now I am just finishing a project on the little square as a gift for my friend, Mrs. R.

And this project has been a bit of an adventure. Wanting to match Mrs. R's decor, I chose an overdyed yarn in shades of burnt oranges and softs browns, a bit of a knobby yarn. Well... that knobbiness has been a real challenge as my locker hook, which helps pull the weft thread through the warp threads, just kept getting tangled and caught on those little hairs! It certainly slowed me down, but I am about to put in the last two rows and Mrs. R will have a little wine glass rug! A unique gift, LOL.

The mini looms

The "washcloth" loom - about 12 inches

Of course weaving is not all that is on the fiber agenda, no. I belong to a group on Facebook called "Our Scarlet Letter Years Sampler Group" dedicated to samplers designed by.... The Scarlet Letter, Reproduction Samplers. They chose four samplers for an SAL (stitch-along) but I already have one I am working on, EK 1653, which really needs to be finished, seriously, I have been working on this one for years! I also have another I have just been itching to work on, The Boscobel Oak. Both are 17th century reproductions. I love 17th century samplers because of all the blackwork! So... those are my stitching projects for 2015, but there will be a few smaller project tossed in just because!

http://www.scarlet-letter.com/samplers/boscobel.php

http://www.scarlet-letter.com/samplers/ek.php

There will be weaving projects thrown in too, but my plan is to work these two samplers and get them finished! So... we shall see how that goes... but I am strongly determined, yes I am!!!

I hope you have plenty of projects planned that you love and will make your heart sing!

Tangled in threads,

Mrs. K

 (photographer unknown, photo from Facebook)

Happy December!

So... it's December! Happy December and this month is filled with the joy of holiday celebrations. Mr. K and I will open the first window of our advent calendar. Like last year's, this one is filled with little chocolates and little pictures. I get so much pleasure from this little ritual.

Our Advent calendar from Heidel.

And the back.

Major cleaning and rearranging today followed by decorating which I have down to a science and doesn't take that long anymore. A pleasurable way to spend the first day of December!

Oh, and a few little goodies recently acquired from eBay, one of which is a covered casserole to add to my Currier & Ives collection. I must have place settings for at least 25 or thirty, various platters, serving dishes, pie plates, and even glasses, but I did not have this. Why you may ask? I saw one in a little shop in Georgia, but the woman wanted $110.00 for it. That particular casserole wasn't even in very nice condition. I passed on it as it was out of my budget. However, this one is beautiful, clean, and was WAY lower in price. I am very pleased!

Currier & Ives covered casserole in mint condition.

And for my button collection, sweet little strawberries and flowers, all on their original cards. I like

collecting the buttons on the cards if I can, but won't pass up one that delights me.

So those are the goodies. Now... cleaning, decorating, and deciding which cookies will make the gift list for this year. I'm limiting it to three or four kinds, one of which will be my shortbread, and another will be Ricotta cookies. Decisions, decision. 

Also on the agenda, a nice flank steak for tonight's dinner and a pot of Pasta Fagioli (Pasta Fazool, as I knew it growing up) for tomorrow and the next night, and perhaps the next. No hardship, eating that!

Deliciously yours,

Mrs. K 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that your holiday has been as lovely as mine. Mr. K and I went to a friend's home and spent the day with her family laughing, eating, and just enjoying the company. I brought the squash carrot casserole. I made it with cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soups, adding a generous pile of mushrooms to the standard mix. I topped it with a goodly amount of cornbread dressing and it was really yummy, enjoyed by everyone.

My friend, Mrs. S, had help in the kitchen from her mom who made a luscious stuffing for the turkey and wonderful gravy. The meal was just so good, you could tell because it was so quiet! Dessert was wild blueberry pie, the blueberries from her brother's bushes, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and a gluten free cake that, unfortunately wasn't a hit. All of the desserts were topped with piles of whipped cream. There was, of course, coffee on the side.

The important thing was how lovely the company was, we felt right at home and just like we were part of the family. We finished off the evening by stopping in to see another friend who is just home from the hospital and rehab. I am grateful that she is on the mend. We brought her a plate of food that is going to be three meals for her and she enjoyed the first meal while we were there. Another really pleasant visit and now we rolled home and are happily exhausted.

That's what this holiday is about, being with good friends and family. We are grateful for their love and friendship, the laughter, the fun, the food. Life is a blessing, forget the unimportant stuff, because what is important is the love.

Yours stuffed with blessings,
Mrs. k

These Look Yummy!

With the holiday season about to begin I have been browsing about looking at recipes. Pinterest, blogs, various companies, are a wealth of items to check out, everything from food to decor. I thought I'd share some that look good to me.

I do love cornbread and even have a recipe book with only cornbread recipes. Mr. K LOVES cornbread, and he also loves real maple syrup so these Maple Corn Muffins are definitely on my list of recipes to make.

I tend to entertain a great deal at the holidays so snacks, dips, appetizers, etc. are a must. I also love anything Ranch dressing! This Cheesy Bacon Ranch dip is also on the list.

Corn pudding... yum. Here's a very easy recipe from Jiffy, which I found at Plenty Place blog, but the directions are more clear at Jiffy.

Not specifically Thanksgiving, but it is a very good way to eat green beans! Southern Style Green Beans.

Well, this isn't a recipe, but it brings back nice memories!

BTW - you can find me at Pinterest, just getting started there, as well as Facebook. Please like my pages. Thanks!

Deliciously yours,

Mrs. K

Thanksgiving & What It Means To Me

I have noticed, in the communities I frequent, that there seems to be this backlash against Thanksgiving, similar to that of Columbus Day. Many people have become overly sensitive and beyond politically correct. I can't agree with them and I will enjoy my Thanksgiving. So... what does Thanksgiving mean to me? Well, many things, as i found when I really thought about it. From now until Thanksgiving I will share some of those things - memories, nostalgia, just good stuff.

I celebrate Thanksgiving with gratitude for all the year has given me... and that's the name of that tune! Others may feel differently and get angry and negative about things that happened hundreds of years ago, well, that's their right I suppose, but I'm not interested in hearing about it. As I said, I am all about giving thanks and being with people I love.

This year we will be doing something a little different than in years past. Instead of joining Mr. K's cousin, we are going to my very good friend, Diana's. We met over a year go and found we have SO much in common we couldn't help but become close friends. We are both the same age, we love all  things Victorian, we love the same books, we love needlework, antiques, and drinking tea! So... naturally when she invited us to join her family for Thanksgiving, we said yes, indeed! One can never go to Thanksgiving empty-handed, so I suggested I bring my squash carrot casserole and the suggestion was enthusiastically accepted.

Ah, squash carrot casserole, I just love this! I first found it in a book I mail-ordered in the early 1980s from Better Homes & Gardens - Better Homes and Gardens  American Christmas, Crafts and Foods. What a treasure of a book! So may wonderful country-style craft projects and recipes. It is a great pleasure to just browse through, which I do often at this time of year... and others when I need a little nostalgic boost.

The book is just brimming with projects, some which look a little dated, but so what! 

Some sections of pages have separated, but I keep it all together. 

You can see how well used this page used, not just the casserole, but

the creamed onions recipe was the first I used.

So this book is worn to bits, but I love it. There is a lovely Christmas sampler I would love to stitch, as well as one that says, East West, Home is Best! The book has many photos showing the crafts and craftspeople who made lovely things that were included, lots of projects and good instructions as well as wonderful art quilts.

Here is the recipe as I make it, a bit tweaked from the original, but not much.

Squash Carrot Casserole

7 cups yellow crookneck squash

A large sweet onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots

1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup (10.5 oz)

1 cup of regular sour cream

½ to ¾ quarters bag of herb-seasoned stuffing mix

(I use Pepperidge Farm and like plenty of crumbs on top)

½ cup real butter, melted

(or as much as you need for your crumbs)

Cook the carrots in a pot of salted, gently boiling water for 5 minutes then add the crookneck squash for another 5 minutes. Drain very well and set aside in a bowl lined with a cotton cloth. Sauté the onion in a little butter until translucent and just starting to brown. Toss in the chopped garlic for just a couple of minutes and remove from heat. You want that garlic barely cooked so it doesn't taste bitter.

Stir the cream of chicken soup and sour cream together, add all veggies and gently stir so the veggies are coated well with the soup/sour cream mix. Butter a baking dish - 12 x 7 x 2, then add the veggie mix and spread evenly in the dish. You can prepare the casserole to this point the day before and set it in the fridge to keep until ready. 

Preheat the oven to 350.  Place the casserole in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or so, just as it gets bubbly around the edges. While it bakes, melt the half cup of butter over medium low heat in a pot that will hold the crumbs and you will be able to mix easily. When the butter is completely melted, add crumbs, mix with a fork until those crumbs are well coated and softening up. Remove the casserole from the oven and sprinkle evenly with the crumbs, return to the oven for another 10 - 15 minutes, but keep an eye on it so the crumbs don't over-toast. The casserole should be boiling up a bit here and there when heated through.

Let the dish sit for 10 minutes, then serve and enjoy!

A very forgiving recipe, double or triple, it is very easy and really yummy.

(adapted from Better Homes and Gardens American Christmas, 1984) 

Deliciously yours,

Mrs. K