Thank you for all the good pickle recipes and links.  I've got the pickling cukes cut into spears, sitting in ice water so I can process them tonight.  I'll let you know how that goes.

The non-pickling cucumbers are getting their own chance to shine in the form of refrigerator or quick pickles.  There are lots of good recipes/links for this kind of pickle in the cucumber post, too.  Here's how I do it:

Peel and then slice your cucumbers to the desired thickness. You can slice them thinly or up to a 1/4 inch, whatever you desire.  Pack the slices tightly in jars.  Add a few peppercorns (maybe 6 or so?) and a couple slices of onion to each jar.  In a saucepan over high heat, combine a mixture of sugar and vinegar in a 1 to 2 ratio (for these 9 pint jars, I used 3 cups of sugar and 6 cups of vinegar).  Stir until the sugar dissolves. When the mixture comes to a boil, pour it over the cucumbers leaving about 1/2 inch headroom in each jar.  Put the lid and screw ring in place and move to the refrigerator.  They'll be ready to eat in about four hours and will keep for a week or so.

Have a great weekend. I hope to rip some stitches and maybe sew some, too.

Thank you for all the good pickle recipes and links.  I've got the pickling cukes cut into spears, sitting in ice water so I can process them tonight.  I'll let you know how that goes.

The non-pickling cucumbers are getting their own chance to shine in the form of refrigerator or quick pickles.  There are lots of good recipes/links for this kind of pickle in the cucumber post, too.  Here's how I do it:

Peel and then slice your cucumbers to the desired thickness. You can slice them thinly or up to a 1/4 inch, whatever you desire.  Pack the slices tightly in jars.  Add a few peppercorns (maybe 6 or so?) and a couple slices of onion to each jar.  In a saucepan over high heat, combine a mixture of sugar and vinegar in a 1 to 2 ratio (for these 9 pint jars, I used 3 cups of sugar and 6 cups of vinegar).  Stir until the sugar dissolves. When the mixture comes to a boil, pour it over the cucumbers leaving about 1/2 inch headroom in each jar.  Put the lid and screw ring in place and move to the refrigerator.  They'll be ready to eat in about four hours and will keep for a week or so.

Have a great weekend. I hope to rip some stitches and maybe sew some, too.

I've been out of sorts for the better part of two weeks.  Sewing is normally good therapy for me.  So, in an attempt to right myself, I made my version of Anna Maria's Museum Tunic.  I'd been thinking about it since I first saw her post.  Jennie went and made one for herself which further added to my desire to make this for myself.  I only had one panel of the square dance fabric so I opted for a longish shirt, something to wear with jeans or a straight skirt, instead of the dress.  I followed her diagram, but serged all the edges before I sewed thepanels together.  It came together fast - maybe about an hour and a half?  I sewed it between trips to the pool and making pickles so I can't say for sure how long it took.  Regardless, it was a quick and satisfying project.  Like Jennie, I tried it on as I went and adjusted the v-neck and sleeves accordingly.  In the end, though, it really doesn't fit me like I think it should.  There is something funky about the sleeves at my bust line which could be: a) my body; b) too tight elastic under the bust; c) the open sleeve style; d) elastic in the wrong place (too high or low); or e) none of the above.  Who knows?  I'm certainly stumped. It's really a shame because the fabric is dreamy.  So so soft and light - perfect for the heat wave going on around here.

I keep trying it on and thinking I might be able to figure out what to do, but I am at a loss.  It's either destined to sit in my closet or be taken apart.  I'm leaning towards taking the stitch ripper to the elastic and seeing if I can resurrect the shirt in some other fashion - maybe with elastic thread?  I know Anna Maria prefers the actual elastic, but I've been know to shirr a few things so why not?  If that doesn't work, those squares will look great in a quilt.

 

I've been out of sorts for the better part of two weeks.  Sewing is normally good therapy for me.  So, in an attempt to right myself, I made my version of Anna Maria's Museum Tunic.  I'd been thinking about it since I first saw her post.  Jennie went and made one for herself which further added to my desire to make this for myself.  I only had one panel of the square dance fabric so I opted for a longish shirt, something to wear with jeans or a straight skirt, instead of the dress.  I followed her diagram, but serged all the edges before I sewed thepanels together.  It came together fast - maybe about an hour and a half?  I sewed it between trips to the pool and making pickles so I can't say for sure how long it took.  Regardless, it was a quick and satisfying project.  Like Jennie, I tried it on as I went and adjusted the v-neck and sleeves accordingly.  In the end, though, it really doesn't fit me like I think it should.  There is something funky about the sleeves at my bust line which could be: a) my body; b) too tight elastic under the bust; c) the open sleeve style; d) elastic in the wrong place (too high or low); or e) none of the above.  Who knows?  I'm certainly stumped. It's really a shame because the fabric is dreamy.  So so soft and light - perfect for the heat wave going on around here.

I keep trying it on and thinking I might be able to figure out what to do, but I am at a loss.  It's either destined to sit in my closet or be taken apart.  I'm leaning towards taking the stitch ripper to the elastic and seeing if I can resurrect the shirt in some other fashion - maybe with elastic thread?  I know Anna Maria prefers the actual elastic, but I've been know to shirr a few things so why not?  If that doesn't work, those squares will look great in a quilt.

 

We are having a bumper crop of cucumbers this year and I'm in serious need of a good pickle recipe stat! If you have any that are tried and true and you don't mind sharing, I'd be extremely grateful.  Thanks!

Hazel came home last week, right after we returned home from London.  She's a 3 or 4 year old chocolate lab (no one knows for sure) that we adopted from the Kentucky Lab Rescue.  We've been talking about getting a dog for about a year and, admittedly, I was the one holding us off.  I wanted to wait until the weather was nicer and the kitchen construction was finished.  We've had labs before and I was pretty set on finding a dog that needed a home.  I'd been visiting the rescue website about once a month and when I saw the photo of Hazel, I filled in the application.  It's not that there weren't other dogs that would have fit well with our family.  It was because she was about the right age (not a puppy, but still young) and she had the right name.  I know, it sounds crazy.  It's just that Fatty loves the name Hazel.  He would have named a child Hazel if I didn't feel so strongly that Hazel Harris just doesn't work (Go ahead, say it aloud).  When I saw her and her name, I knew it was a sign.  It was meant to be.

She's sweet and gentle and has adjusted pretty well to our life.  We had a rough first night, but since then, it's been great.  Well, the 4th was trying with the fireworks, but that's to be expected.  She's good with the kids, follows me around wherever I go, loves to go on walks and is a happy house dog.  Scout was not happy at the beginning.  There was lots of hissing and big tails, but I think they are coming to an understanding.

I call this feigned indifference.  They were purposely ignoring one another, but it gives me great hope that the two of them will be buddies after some time.

I also have a ridiculous notion that I need to sew one or two things for this dog.  Stay tuned.

Hazel came home last week, right after we returned home from London.  She's a 3 or 4 year old chocolate lab (no one knows for sure) that we adopted from the Kentucky Lab Rescue.  We've been talking about getting a dog for about a year and, admittedly, I was the one holding us off.  I wanted to wait until the weather was nicer and the kitchen construction was finished.  We've had labs before and I was pretty set on finding a dog that needed a home.  I'd been visiting the rescue website about once a month and when I saw the photo of Hazel, I filled in the application.  It's not that there weren't other dogs that would have fit well with our family.  It was because she was about the right age (not a puppy, but still young) and she had the right name.  I know, it sounds crazy.  It's just that Fatty loves the name Hazel.  He would have named a child Hazel if I didn't feel so strongly that Hazel Harris just doesn't work (Go ahead, say it aloud).  When I saw her and her name, I knew it was a sign.  It was meant to be.

She's sweet and gentle and has adjusted pretty well to our life.  We had a rough first night, but since then, it's been great.  Well, the 4th was trying with the fireworks, but that's to be expected.  She's good with the kids, follows me around wherever I go, loves to go on walks and is a happy house dog.  Scout was not happy at the beginning.  There was lots of hissing and big tails, but I think they are coming to an understanding.

I call this feigned indifference.  They were purposely ignoring one another, but it gives me great hope that the two of them will be buddies after some time.

I also have a ridiculous notion that I need to sew one or two things for this dog.  Stay tuned.

Habit is one of my daily reads. Molly and Emily started this project 18 months ago and I was lucky enough to be their guest in March 2009.  This month, they have invited everyone to play along.  There is a flickr pool for uploading your own habit photo with 30 words or less each day.  There is something special about this collaboration and to see it multiplied and magnified each day on flickr is amazing to me.  I'm joining in again because, really, how could I not?  It's magic.

I hope you'll join me.