Quilted Potholders for Christmas

I know I've been really quiet lately.  The end of the semester got busy, and I was crafting like mad on last minute presents, including some fun little potholders.  I made them for just about everyone, but sadly I forgot to get pictures of some of them.  Here are the ones I did get shots of...

These were for friends who just got married.  I'm hoping to finish a small wall quilt for them too...

This set was for my sister in law, Emily:

For my co-worker, Shura:

For my mother in law, Kay:

Sadly I missed pictures on those for my other sisters in law, Heather & Jennifer.  I'll have to email to see if they can take some for me.

I'll be back to post more goodies later.  Expect some new jewelry, and eventually the matching aprons and chef hats I made for my mother and my niece!

Woodburned Piecepack Set

For the Decked Out for Deathly Hallows Swap, my wonderful partner Andromeda007 wanted a game she and her husband could play together or with friends.  My husband Jim loves playing games while I do not, and he pointed out that a kitschy HP themed game would just gather dust.   He also pointed out that to get a game that was fun to play, you would have to test it a lot to make sure it didn't go on for hours, or be over in 5 minutes.  That it should be easy to learn but still pleasurably challenging to play, etc.  In the end, he proposed the idea of a Piecepack.  A Piecepack is the board game equivalent of a deck of cards.  It is a set of pieces that can be arranged in nearly limitless configurations, and allows users to create their own games with it, just like you can play poker, eucher, hearts, bridge, etc with a single deck of cards.

I wanted my game to feel old, in that way that many things in the world of Harry Potter are timeless.  I settled on making all the pieces out of wood.  I was able to pick up most of them at the craft store, but the 3" wooden tiles needed to be ordered offline.  I got mine at Craftparts.com.  I created the images for the coins and tiles in Photoshop, then flipped them over digitally and printed them on a laser printer.  If anyone wants them, I'd be happy to send them the PDFs.

I used the transfer tip on the wood burning tool to transfer them to the pieces.  Most of the pieces were then woodburned with a detail tip, though the tiny suits in the corners of the tiles were just too small to burn. I traced them with a black art pen that doesn't bleed when used on wood.  All the pieces were painted with a thick coat of watercolor, so the wood grain would show through.  Then the empty areas were stained with Chartpak wood stain markers which I freakin' love.  (They are available in tons of colors at Michael's).  I also gave them all a few coats of a clear acrylic to protect them. 

The really neat part about it is that it is in the public domain, so anyone can create games for it, and most get added to the games page at www.Piecepack.org, and sites like it.  The game set already had 4 suits, which I felt were *mostly* already HP themed, and just needed a tiny bit of tweaking.  

The firey red sun for Gryffindor. 
The green crown for the ambitious Slytherins. 
A majestic blue moon, for the Ravenclaws.
And the suggested fleur-de-lis traded out for a yellow leaf for the earthy Hufflepuffs.

The suits each have 6 tiles, 6 coins, and a die, each numbered Ace, zero, 2, 3, 4 & 5.

Each piecepack is supposed to have 4 pawns, which I made out of the smaller wooden people I found at Hobby Lobby.  But when I ordered the wooden tiles online for the board pieces, I saw the "2.5" tall girls", which are the larger set of pawns.  I thought they were so cute, and looked like they could be figures in robes, so I made an extra set of pawns. 

Some of the piecepack games require a set of game pieces called an "Icehouse Set", which are 4 sided pyramids, made of plastic.  I didn't want to order the sometimes expensive pieces, plus I didn't think they being plastic would fit with the feel of the wooden game pieces I had already created.  So I used wooden flower pots, with a gouge mark burned into them.  When you stack them with the gouges all facing the same way, you get which way your player is facing in the game.  Purists might not like my plan (Jim didn't).  But I think it's a good compromise to the pretty wooden set. 

Here are some detail shots of the coins and dice:

 

 

Since the games are all in the public domain, it's also okay to tweak them as desired.  Jim found me a "Wizard's Dueling Game", which I felt was practically written with Harry Potter in mind.  I retyped the rules, changing a few names & terms to suit the theme, and ended up with a game I called "Dumbledore's Army", which allows you to practice Stunning, Disarming & Shield Spells in the Room of Requirement.   

I knew I needed to make a container for all the parts and pieces to the game.  DH suggested a drawstring pouch, but since he had just bought me a new wood burning tool, I opted for a wooden box, that I burned then stained with Chartpak woodstain markers.

If you're interested in games, be sure to check out www.Piecepack.org for various games, printable pieces, and more.  (I'm in no way affiliated with them, I just found their site very helpful!)

Ice Mice Tutorial for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Premier

My lack of updating has been due mostly to the fact that I'm teaching a history class, on top of my full time job this semester.  As a result, I've had virtually no time for crafting, and even had to stop doing craft swaps.  I did make an exception however in order to host a Decked Out for Deathly Hallows Swap over on Craftster.  The idea of the swap was to prepare for going to see the Premier.  Participants were required to make 1 wearable item to wear to the film, 1 edible item to eat while watching the movie, and one toy, game or accessory to play with while waiting in line.

I organized the swap with my friends Grace and Melissa, and Grace and I even made all our candies together.  We made mountains of treats, including from top to bottom:
Raspberry Almond Marshmallows
Peanut Butter Gryffindors with Truffle Centers
Chocoballs (Bourbon Balls)
Dr. Beanpole's Skelle-grow Vita Charms
Chocolate Frogs
Ice Mice
Ginger Stars
Dark Chocolate Rasberry Truffles & Raspberry Creams
Dark Chocolate Wands

Today I'm going to post my tutorial for making Ice Mice.

Ingredients:

Almond Bark or White Chocolate Candy Melts, available at grocery or craft stores
Peppermint Candy Oil (I used Lorann Gourmet)
Blue Candy Coloring (note, you CANNOT use regular food coloring here)
Buttercream Candy Filling (I picked up the Make & Mold variety at Hobby Lobby)

Clean (New) Nylon paintbrush
Mouse Candy Mold (I got mine from Cake and Candy on Ebay)
various toothpicks, spoons & stirrers
a small bowl
microwave safe container for melting candy
cutting board & a sharp chef's knife

Begin by clearing a clean work surface.  Open up your package of almond bark or candy melts.  If using almond bark, break off a few squares of the candy, and then chop them into small chunks.  (Somewhat smaller than Hershey's kisses, and larger than chocolate chips.)

Place the candy in a microwave safe dish, and begin microwaving for 30 seconds.  Stir.  It will still be rather solid.  Continue for another 30 seconds.  Stir.  You should see it begining to melt.  Continue microwaving and stirring for 20 second bursts of time.  As it is nearly all melted, reduce time to 10 seconds.  Stir until all the candy is smooth.  After the candy is all melted, add a few drops of Peppermint Candy Oil.  This stuff is 4 times more concentrated than flavoring extracts and you will not need a lot.  I went with about 4 drops.  Stir well and taste.   

Take a small amount of the white chocolate, maybe a tablespoon or two, and put it in a smaller bowl.  Dip a toothpick in your candy coloring, and stir into the white chocolate.  You are looking to make a nice light blue, and should only need a little coloring.  Too much and it will change the texture of the candy.  Continue coloring and stirring till you reach the desired color.

Now, take your clean new paintbrush, and dip it in the blue candy coating.  Paint the noses and the tails of the mice mold with the blue chocolate.  Be sure to paint it on thick, especially at the tails.  Allow to set in the fridge for a moment, while you check on your white chocolate, and reheat a few seconds if necessary. 

Pour about 2 Tablespoons of the white chocolate into each mold.

Use a new clean paintbrush to spread the coating around the rest of the mold, being sure to get plenty of candy into the tiny crevices, like the ears.

 Once you think the mold is all set, hold it up to the light, and make sure you don't have any air bubbles or thin spots.  Don't worry about a few stray drips of chocolate on the mold.  We'll fix that later.  Place the mold in the fridge for a few minutes. 
 

 Now that your molds are full of their first round of candy, it's time to prepare the buttercream filling.

 Start with a small amount of the filling in a bowl.  A few Tablespoons at most.  (I used about 1/4 of the package at a time.)  Use a toothpick to add a small amount of the blue candy coloring. 

Stir in the coloring thoroughly.  It may look like a different shade of blue than your chocolate did, because the buttercream has a naturally yellow tone to it.

Add more coloring if necessary to get your desired color.  We are going for a light blue again.  Anything too dark with show through the white chocolate, which would ruin the surprise to come when your friends bite into them.  Once you get a color you like, add a drop or two of the Peppermint Candy Oil.  Stir well and taste.  It should be pepperminty, but not overpowering.

Next, you will be making small logs out of the buttercream to fill your mice.  The buttercream is a little firm on it's own, and we will be using that to our advantage.  Take a small chunk out, about a Tablespoon.  Roll it gently and quickly into a small log.  You don't want to over-handle the buttercream, or it will become too soft and sticky due to your body temperature.

Now look back at your mold.  Will the log you made fit inside one of the mice, with room to cover in a second layer of white chocolate?  Adjust as necessary.

 Place a log of buttercream into each mouse, and use your clean fingers to press the cream into the mold, making it nice and flat, and leaving about 1/4" of room at the top of the mold for more chocolate. 

 Check on your white chocolate, and re-heat if necessary, in 15 second bursts of time.  Stir till smooth.  Top each of the mice with enough white chocolate to fill the remaining space in the mold.  It should be about a Tablespoon or two.  Spread the chocolate evenly with a paintbrush or a stirrer, and make sure not to miss any spots.  Be especially careful to get some more of the white chocolate on top of the blue chocolate tails.  If the tails are too thin, or not properly attached to the bodies, they will break when you remove them from the mold.

 Place your mold in the fridge for about 20 minutes, till the mice set up.  The chocolate should be completely firm to the touch.  If in doubt, hold the mold up to the light again.  If the chocolates have a slightly frosted appearance, and the candy seems to be separate from the mold, they are done.  If they appear to be slightly wet, they are not set up enough.  When they are done, turn the molds upside down over the table or a plate, and pop the mice right out.

Grace and I packaged ours in blue and white airtight containers from the dollar store.  I placed some blue tissue paper in each box, then a small square of wax paper to protect the candies, and to keep the tissue from getting oil spots.  Here's one broken open, to see the filling. 

After mailing tons of treats to our swap partners, Grace and I made some more for the Deathly Hallows Premier party we hosted, and brought the extras to the theatre, where we handed them out to other excited fans.  One girl even made her friends take a picture of her with her Ice Mice and Chocolate Frogs.  It made me so happy to see how much enjoyment everyone got out of our candies.

Enjoy the candy making tutorial, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I.  I can't wait to go see Part II!

P.S.  A special thank you to my swap partner Andromeda007 over at Un-Managed Mischief  and to Grace's partner RippledWater for some of the photographs!

Manly Quilted Netbook Case

My husband headed back to school this semester to finish his degree.  He's been out of school for almost 6 years now, and it's been an adjustment for both of us with him going back.  The good part is he's attending classes at the university I work for, so I get to see him a few times a day and usually we have lunch together.  

He had been carrying his netbook around in his backpack, or in an old over-sized laptop case that he had to strap it into.  That just wouldn't do!  So I let him pick out some fabric from my stash and set about making him a hopefully "manly" quilted netbook case. He picked out some antique map fabric, which I had bought when making steampunk potholders for the my awesome swap partner Wulf, in the Potholder Swap earlier this summer.   I'll have to remember to post those quilted potholders I made him soon.

The quilting, which is done in purposely wonky stripes, is actually on the inside, so that the outside is nice and sleek looking.  I had originally planned to do buttons and button holes on it, but when we were in the fabric store looking around, DH picked out these antiqued bronze clasps instead. 

Melissa's Mini Art Quilt - The Reveal

Melissa got her art quilt in the mail today!  So, after all this teasing, we have the reveal...

Detail of beading

Detail of the whole constellation.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with it.  I spent many more hours beading than I had planned, but I like the gently sparkling effect the dark blue, black, and purple seed beads give.  I wasn't going for a direct copy of the night sky, but rather an impression of the sky.  Let's hope Melissa likes it!

"Here's Looking at You"... Or, "Here's Looking at Melissa"

Again, another week goes by with me silent.  I fear this may have been a poor semester to choose to start a blog.  But as I am doing this for myself alone, and the Quilt List looms ever over me, I press on.

Tonight I completed my Mini Art Quilt!  It is all wrapped, packed, and addressed, ready to be mailed to Melissa tomorrow.  For tonight I leave you with some detail shots of the embellishing, which I admit took me many more hours than I had anticipated.  But I ask you, is there such a thing as too many stars in the sky?

The constellation, Leo.  Beaded with black river shell bead frames, pink Swarovski crystal, and glass bugles and seed beads.

Beaded starburst of black glass bugles and black freshwater pearls.

Detail of quilting, done in multiple colors to suggest various nebula.

Hidden Among the Stars

I know I've been quiet all week, but I have been working on a few projects, the MAQ among them.  This semester, in addition to my full time job, I'm also teaching a college history course, and the first week back was a bit rougher than I had anticipated.  As for the art quilt....

While looking for inspiration, I found some great bead frames in my jewelry stash.  Dark grey-black star shaped shells, with a hole in the center for another bead.  I knew they would have to be worked into Melissa's quilt and decided that I would use them to form the constellation Leo, with a light pink crystal in the center of each one.  I decided to then "hide" the constellation among other beads, so you would have to search for them in the quilt.   

One of my inspiration images.

After getting the front together, and knowing what I wanted to do with the beadwork, I tried to figure out what to do with the borders.  I considered borders on just two sides, either opposite or adjacent, but couldn't seem to make a decision.  So I did what I always do in that moment and asked my husband for artistic advice.  When I explained that my inspiration was the night sky and how I was going to bead in the constellation, he asked if I had something grey, that would look like stone.  His idea was to make the borders appear to be the walls in an astronomical observatory, as if you were standing inside it looking out.  I clearly married a brilliant man. 

I wanted to post some more progress shots, but find I only have one to share.  I must have been too wrapped up in quilting to take more last weekend! 

Quilted & bound.

I did manage to get the constellation beaded in this week, along with some more stars beaded into the top quarter.  I'm hoping to finish all the beading this afternoon.  Wish me luck!

Melissa's Mini Art Quilt

I mentioned in a previous post that next on my list is a mini art quilt for a swap on Craftster.  When I first signed up for the swap, I was so exited about it.  My partner is a lovely lady named Melissa, whom I have swapped with several times before, and whom I adore crafting for.  Now, I was even more excited.  When I got her questionnaire full of information, and some inspiration art quilts that she Wisted, I started having all kinds of fantastic quilt visions...  Too many in fact.   

I ended up with a long list of ideas, none of which felt right. So I decided to put it on the back burner for a while, and let the ideas stew.  A week or so later, I found a project in an October 2009 copy of Quilter's World that set me on my path again.  It was an autumn themed bargello quilt, with borders on only two sides that were made up of pieced maple leaf blocks.  It provided the inspiration, but it was far too large to use the actual pattern.

I knew that while Melissa loves autumn, I wanted to make her something that could hang in her house year round.  I really wanted to take advantage of the color gradation factor inherent in bargello quilts, so I came up with a list of 5 themes that I thought she would like; Night, Dawn, Sunset, Meadow, and Ocean.  I then sent her a weird cryptic little message asking for her gut reactions to a few things.  Based on those I decided to go with something based on the night sky.  Perhaps a little Aurora Borealis...

Here's what I accomplished last weekend:

Colors all laid out together.

Stripped units, ready to be cut down.

All sliced up and ready to be arranged

Under 2 feet square is a small space to do 15 strips!

All squared up.

Today I managed to get the borders on, the whole thing quilted, and bound.  It's amazing how fast you can quilt, when the item has to be under 2' square.

Alison's Wedding Quilt - Part 4: The Reveal!

I am so excited to be able to show you all the first quilt completed here on the Quilt List, my dear friend Alison's wedding quilt.  It is a Trip Around the World pattern, made from 10 jewel tone fabrics and measures 62" square.  For information about the fabrics, scroll down a few posts...

And now, onto the pictures!  For larger views, click on the individual pictures. 

On my porch swing.

Being Kentucky, there are plenty of pretty white fences around.  This one just happens to be my neighbor's fence.

The majority of the quilt is quilted in a crazy free-motion swirly motif, by the center square is done in 4 heart motif.

This is the clearest picture, hanging up in my bedroom.

And for all those friends in Grad School who used to tease me when I was forced to do monochromatic shows, here's the quilt in sepia...

Turkey Ham & Corn Chowder

Jim and I made this for dinner tonight, and it was so tasty I had to share it.  Usually I do the majority of the cooking in our house, but when Jim does cook, he usually goes all out and makes something very large and time consuming, which usually involves cast iron, and a roux.  Tonight was one of those nights when I just didn't know what to make for dinner, and didn't really want to cook.  I had some turkey ham to use up, and found a version of this recipe online, hoping I could get Jim to help me.  Truth be told, he did most of the cooking tonight, while I got to enjoy playing sous chef by chopping things.  I added in the sherry & fresh parsley, while he added the paprika to the list.  Enjoy!

Turkey Ham & Corn Chowder

2 shallots, diced (or onions if that’s what you have)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pinch of paprika
1 quart skim milk
2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes
1 ½ cups frozen corn
½ - ¾ pound Turkey Ham cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, snipped
1 tablespoon sherry

Directions
Heat a 3-quart saucepan (or a cast iron dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Sauté shallots in oil for 3 minutes or until translucent. 

Blend in flour, pepper & paprika. Remove pan from heat; slowly add milk, stirring constantly. 

Return pan to heat. Add potatoes; bring mixture to boil, stirring constantly. Add corn and turkey ham; return mixture to boil.
 

Reduce heat to low and simmer soup for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender and mixture has thickened. Add the snipped fresh parsley and the sherry just before it’s finished cooking.

*** In other news, Alison's wedding quilt is officially done!  I just finished photographing it in the house, but I want to take a few more pictures in daylight tomorrow.  Maybe on my porch swing...   

I'm also dedicating myself to quilting and hopefully embellishing the mini-art quilt tomorrow.  Wish me luck!***