Hannie Jo - "Checking In"

We haven’t heard much out of Hannie Jo lately. Most of the time, she’s pretty quiet. She’s the oldest in the bunch, so when she speaks, we figure she’s got something to say.

The other day, she surprised us all as she started chatting away. We couldn’t always understand every word she said because her teeth are gone, but we thought we’d share. She gave us permission to put this on the “log”, as she says it.
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"I don’t quite understand all this stuff lately about “cleansing”. I got a few words for that: Stewed prunes and lots of water!”
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“I remember the days when there wasn’t any air condition. We’d sit on the porch and make fans out of folded papers. Now ya got machines to cool the air. But too much a that kinda air dries you up–that’s how come I got all these wrinkles!”
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“Little kids are given too much leeway. We’d never talk back to our elders, unless we wanted a switch on our hinies. Guess that’s why I ain’t got a hiny left!” and she started laughing with that hoot laughing noise she makes. She chuckled so hard we thought she was going to have a heart attack.

We thought Hannie Jo was sort of acting a little too jovial– she usually doesn’t get too worked up about anything. Then Sarah J. got a hunch and looked in the cabinet above the stove. The bottle of Jack Daniels No. 7, which we keep for medicinal purposes, was a little low. “Hannie? You been in the liquor cabinet?” Sarah asked her.

All Hannie Jo would say was “That’s for me to know and you to find out!” And she chuckled again. Then she shuffled out to the porch on her wobbly legs, to her rocking chair, folded her hands on her lap, rocked in the cool breeze and looked out over the hills. “He, he, I’ll never tell!” I heard her say, under her breath. I went out to the porch and sat down in the other chair. I asked her, “You’ve been in the whiskey, haven’t you?”
“Now Bebe, don’t you worry. I’m just checking in. That's just my way of checkin' the 'ol ticker! It's better than checking out, don't you think?"
I have to agree!
Have a good night, y’all!

"Today's Special"! Cookbook Review: Fannie Flagg's Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook

Why don't we just dive in to this menu?!

I can't post any recipes from this book (copyright's an' all, y' know!), but

I can tell you they're all good!!

Some of my favorites:

Lemon Filled Coconut Layer Cake (page 174)

Lemon Meringue Pie (page 154)

and

Pork Chops with Apples and Sweet Potatoes (page 48).

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This book was published in 1993, so you'll have to search the used book websites to find it, like Bookfinder, or Amazon, or Alibris.

Look up Fannie Flagg while you're at it! She's written some good books full of southern charm!

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C'mon, y'all! Go and git y'self somethin' good to eat!

A Blankie (tutorial)

"Mickey, Mikie, Bickey, Bikey!" - A Blankie for Your Baby Doll
Finished size: 24" Wide x 28" Long
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A sweet mommie I know used to say this rhyme to her little one as he was hugging his “mike”, which was his comfort blanket: “Mickey, Mikey, Bickey, Bikey.” Here are instructions to make a “mike” of your own.
You can use this as a doll blanket or a blanket for your little one. Make sure to keep this blankie away from any flammable source of heat, away from moving parts, like wheels, and away from places where it could get caught in anything.
The blanket features a pocket to hold a favorite toy. If it is a soft toy you can sew a short string from the toy to the blanket (inside the pocket) and the toy can then be inserted into the pocket. When the toy is removed from the pocket, it won’t get separated from the blanket.

POCKET: From cotton fabric, cut rectangle 5" x 6". Fold over the top edge approximately ½" to the wrong side and sew it down with a decorative stitch. Looking at the right side up, already hemmed edge on the top, fold over the edge to the wrong side ½". Set aside.
BLANKIE:
1.Start with a rectangle of fleece 26 ½" wide by 30 ½" long.

2. Fold over the left long side 1 1/4" and sew a blanket stitch all along the edge. (All edges will be folded over and sewn on the same side of the blanket.)
3. On the other long edge, place the pocket in the lower right corner, approximately ½" in from the right edge, and approximately ½" up from the bottom edge. Pin pocket in place, and make sure the decorative hemmed edge is facing up (not in the seam).

4. Fold over the right long edge of the blankie 1 1/4" and sew a blanket stitch all along that edge, sewing over the pocket.
5. Now fold over the top edge of the blankie 1 1/4" and sew a blanket stitch.
6. The final edge- the bottom short edge, fold it also, 1 1/4", and up over the pocket, and sew the blanket stitch.
7. Lastly, sew the pocket edge (that is opposite the one sewn into the long edge seam allowance) down, through all layers of the blankie, with a blanket stitch.

A Good Spritzer Bottle

If you're looking for the perfect spritzer bottle to dampen your fabrics while ironing, you may already have one-- in your refridgerator!

This bottle is a salad dressing spritzer (this one had balsamic vinegar in it). Make sure you clean it well before using. I soaked mine with liquid dishwashing soap and hot water, and made sure I sprayed this through the sprayer as well. I made sure all the oily stuff was GONE before using it, and the smell. I think I washed it a couple times before it was clean enough. Now it is my favorite spritzer at the ironing board! It sprays a very fine spray with no drips!

Stitch and Turn Applique Shapes (Tutorial)

We are going to make some bloomers today! There are many methods to preparing shapes for applique. This tutorial shows you how to do the "Stitch and Turn" method. This is the preferred method for most of the projects in the Hailstorm Creek Press patterns. The photo above shows you the small scissors we use and the bamboo skewer (lightly sanded).
Patterns and finished results using this method. The applique shapes above are from the "Baby Laundry" quilt patterns, but you can use this method for just about any shape you need.
This is freezer paper (Reynolds brand). It has a shiny side and dull side. Draw pattern onto dull side and cut on the drawn line.
This is fusible web. It is an adhesive film that comes stuck to a paper backing. Web adheres fabric to fabric (or paper) using an iron. We will NOT be using this product for these shapes. We just wanted to show you the difference between the two fusibles. Common brands of fusible web are Steam a Seam and Heat 'n Bond.
This is fusible interfacing. This is what we use for our shapes. It has a smooth side, and a side with tiny dots that adhere to fabric with heat. Pellon makes a good brand and it comes on a bolt. We usually use a medium weight for our projects, and sometimes a light weight.
Iron the shiny side of freezer paper pattern to the WRong side of fabric.Place the SMOOTH side of fusible interfacing next to the Right side of fabric with pattern.
Sew along the edge of the paper pattern, all the way around the shape. A short stitch length works best for small applique shapes, especially around curves.
Finished with sewing!
Trim seam allowance.
Trim seam allowance to about 3/16" and clip inner curves only. Clip up to but not in to the stitching line. Remove paper pattern.
Carefully lift up the interfacing, and cut a slit, about 1" in the interfacing only!
Closeup of slit.
Turn the piece right sides out. The fusible dots will now be INSIDE the shape.
Push out the seams using the flat end of skewer. Push carefully so that you don't make a hole in anything!
Pushing out the shape!

Iron the bloomers, following the fusible interfacing manufacturors instrucions.
Here they are: finished bloomers! Now you are ready to sew the shape to your project using whatever method you choose!

They're Talking About Me (Again!)

Peony's #1 and #3 Conversing

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They're talking about me again! They're wondering what's cooking in the playroom right now! I think they think I'm on vacation or something. Not so, not so!

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Only racking the brain and coming up with a new something. All I'm telling now is that "something's coming up roses!"