To Learn, To Do, and To Become

This past Christmas our family adopted a new motto.  As we have worked toward our goals of self sufficiency, we have been seeing the world we live in differently.  For many years, as we were presented with the latest and greatest, the new and the innovative, and the cannot survive without mentalities.  We have worked hard to earn our living so that one day we could have nice things.  We looked for ways to scrimp and save in lean times; mostly furnishing our home, and clothing our bodies, with anything available as second hand.  As we would continually receive new to us, and occasionally properly new, items in our home, we would use them and then squirrel them away to be used again when the need arose.  With a growing family, we wanted to make sure our needs were met.  It hadn't yet occurred to us that these were often opportunities for us to collect things that we didn't actually need.  Our home began to fill to overflowing with much more than we needed, or could manage.

As we looked around us, the thought of going out and purchasing more stuff that would simply add to the clutter of our already cluttered home was feeling like too much.  We were constantly purchasing more bins, in order to store more things that we rarely used anyway.  We needed a change.  It was time to de-clutter our home, but more than that it was time to find a focus on what it was we really need.  

One day, after a lot of thought, Henry introduced the idea.  For Christmas we would only ask for something to help us learn something new, a project for us to do, or the means to a goal for what we wanted to become.  

Our oldest son wanted to learn how to make movies through video editing.  Our oldest daughter wanted to progress toward starting a tea and cupcake shop.  Our second son wanted to learn to make video games, like his dad.  Our third son wanted to learn to build things.  Our little girl wanted to learn where baby bunnies came from, and raise bunnies.  Our youngest is still to young to know what he wanted, or at least to communicate it to us.

Christmas morning was a little different.  Instead of the toy that the kids had picked out from the yearly adds, there was something for each of us that encouraged us to learn and grow as individuals.  There were books on various subjects, tools, seeds, and even a bunny.  Despite the obvious lack of toys for our young children, ranging in age from 1-11 years, everyone was excited.  We all had direction, and motivation; the ability to gain knowledge was before us, rather than yet another myriad of ways in which to leisure away our time.

This has become one of the most meaningful changes in our lives to date.  The ability to look forward, as we are provided the information and tools that we need to progress in our personal goals, has completely changed our perspective.  We no longer feel the need to fill our empty spaces with things that we might need one day; we are working toward our interests and our goals.  Put simply, we are bringing things into our lives that will help us to learn, to do, and to become.

A Beautiful New Quilt

There is something wonderful about a handmade quilt. The colors, patterns, and attention to detail come together and become something magical. I know I’m not the only one that has a special attachment to a homemade quilt. Now I have been able to make another one.

Since embarking on this huge project, I have had several friends share with me stories about their favorite quilts; made by mothers and grandmothers, they become precious heirlooms, in which we can literally wrap ourselves up in the memories.

I have so many memories of beautiful handmade quilts.  A few of them involve me playing under a quilting frame while my mother and aunts tied and visited above me.  I remember the baby quilts my mother used to make, in preparation for a new sibling; I am so grateful to have 2 of her homemade blankets for my own children. I love seeing quilts, and hearing the stories behind them; because they always have a story. 

I remember the first time I tried my hand at quilting (pictured on the left), and how it seemed to me that making quilts was one of the many skills necessary to becoming a woman; though this world view has vastly broadened and expanded, I am so grateful for these experiences.  Over the years I have had the opportunity to have other beautiful quilts made for me.  Each of them beautiful in their own way, as they share the creativity of those who made them.  I’ve greatly enjoyed pouring myself into my own.

These days it seems, quilting has gone from a common craft done by many, to an expensive art form that is only really done by artists and hobbyists. It is often an overwhelming prospect.  Fabric is expensive, it is very time consuming, and projects that big are difficult to complete. Creative perfection is also a daunting task.  At least that is the oft accepted narrative.

As I was preparing for my homemade Christmas gifts this year, however, I suddenly decided that it was time to take on the challenge. The fabric and batting prices were all marked down, and I had coupons to deepen the discount. We have been needing a new quilt; our favorite one has become tattered and torn from overuse. So, I went for it, deciding that I would follow the same method I had used years previous. After all, I knew I could follow the same simple pattern again without too much difficulty.

The process was simple, but time consuming. It’s hard for me to believe that I found all the hours in the space of 3 months!  Granted, other projects and upkeep didn't garner all the attention that they should have, yet this was one of the most enjoyable projects that I have done in recent years.  I often forget how calming sewing can be. Here is a little bit about my process. 

First, I picked out the fabric, then called my mom to ask her how much I would need (thanks mom!); it had been a long time, and I genuinely had no idea. Measuring out the size of a queen/king bedspread, and calculating the squares and seam allowance I decided to get 4 yards each of 6 different fabric pieces. I learned the last time that once a fabric print is sold out, it’s gone.  I was determined to have more than I needed this time, just in case. I also purchased flannel for the backing, as well as a  king sized package of batting, and thread. Then I got to work, on my kids gifts... anticlimactic, I know, but they were easier, quicker, and were more vital to complete on time. I’ll be sharing that process also, soon enough.

Once I had finished my kids indoor sleeping bags, I was finally able to start on the quilt. I knew that November 20th was too close to Christmas to complete the entire quilt, so I settled on the most impressive part, the top.

                 

I cut the fabric into 5” strips than into 5”x5” squares with my rotary cutter and cutting mat. This took time… I cut out around 120 squares of each fabric. That’s 720 squares.  Eventually I had to cut a few more squares, and some others were set aside, in order to complete the pattern.  I hadn’t settled on how exactly the pattern would form, until I could lay it out and see the pieces together.  With this type of quilt, having all the pieces the same size and shape, this was not too much of a concern.

The next step was creating tucks, or pleats, in the squares. I sewed each tuck on my machine, a seam that was the width and length of the pressure foot on the center of each of the 4 sides of the squares. It took about 3-4 hours per fabric piece. I picked up on ways to speed up the process as I went; one of those is pictured above; by chaining the pieces together.  I forward and backstitched, and then cut them apart once the individual tuck was complete. The process became much neater. 

I finally got through the tedium of individual sewing, snipping, sewing, and sniping again. At that point, I was finally able to really nail down a design, and lay it all out. Here are a few of the ideas that I went through to find the right pattern.

 

I decided to use a similar design to the around the world pattern I used nearly 2 decades ago (yikes), but with a twist. You can see what I settled on here.

After the design was settled, I collected the squares in rows, to keep them in order, and put them in bags labeled by the number of the row. I ended up with 25x27 rows, with an extra boarder row all the way around. This brought the tally up to 27x29 squares. It is big enough for a king sized bed, and on my queen it will drape far enough to cover the box spring. Here is a picture of it at 25x25 squares.

                              

Once completed, the top had to wait a couple of weeks before I was ready to start the really time-consuming bit, the quilting.

The backing, as mentioned above, was flannel. It is nice and soft, and I’m hoping it will have an added benefit of not sliding around on the bed. There was a problem, however, once I got ready to put it all together. The top was too big... I ended up needing another length of flannel to piece together enough fabric to cover the back. I measured out a strip at about 15” and sewed it into the center. I then sewed the top to the bottom along 3 edges, and prepared the batting.



The batting was thinner than expected, sigh, but I wasn’t about to go get more. I rolled it out and trimmed it to size, on top of the inside out quilt. With my husband’s help, we gathered and turned the quilt right side out. After making sure everything was even, and the batting was properly in place, it was time to put it up on the frame.

I was fortunate enough to borrow a quilting stand from our friends at Clyde Acres Farm. The boards I used for the frame are 1”x4”x10’ lengths of pine, which I purchased at Home Depot, in order to fit the quilt. Even at 10 feet the boards weren’t long enough to accommodate the quilt’s full length, it barely contained the width.  At first I attached the quilt to the frame with a length of the end hanging off, once I made enough progress, I was able to readjust, and fit the rest.

Rather than taking the easy route of tying, I decided that this particular quilt needed to be properly quilted. For more than a month I spent every extra moment, as well as inviting friends to help me, as I stitched, and stitched, and stitched. Bringing back memories of the childhood quilt tents.  Finally, a week later than I had intended, the quilting was done; and I was exhausted. I had gotten into a terrible habit of working on it until 1-2am.

After finishing the quilting, only the binding was left.  On one of the sides the backing did not match up to the front, so I was required to unpick a few feet and re-do that section as well.  Because of the boarder, and the general look of the quilt, I decided that a hidden stitch along the edge would be the perfect finish.  As other responsibilities refused to be ignored any longer, it took several days before I found time to do these final stiches.  A few minutes here and there finally brought about completion! 

This project was a very pleasant one.  Having a time limit was quite useful, and it helped me keep up my motivation.  I enjoyed this process enough that, eventually, I’d love to take on another quilting project.  I hope that you enjoyed learning about this experience, thanks for reading!

Chili and Homemade Chili Powder

Chili is a fall favorite. And though I like it, I have to admit, it’s hasn’t always been my favorite. I liked it well enough, but could never find just the right combination of flavor to make it crave-able. Over the years I have had my recipe evolve, but for a long time it was good, just not great.

I recently bought an 8 quart instant pot, because among other things, I wanted an easier way to cook beans, that wouldn’t take as long and dirty as many dishes. I’ve really enjoyed working with it, and I’m excited to share some of the things I have played with while using this tool.

In a previous post, documenting my Black beans and rice, I experimented with adding the excess liquid from my pico de gallo into the beans as I cooked them. It had fantastic results. In my chili, I took that idea and ran with it. I also used some of the pepper powder that we made from our abundance of peppers we grew this year. I’ll include that recipe as well.

The chili recipe is as follows

Chili

1 c dry Black beans
1 c dry navy beans
1 2/3 c dry light red kidney beans
1 1/3 c dry pinto beans
All beans rinsed, sorted, and soaked overnight. Quick soak can also be used by boiling rinsed and sorted beans for 10 minutes, then leaving them to sit for one hour. Soaking water should be discarded, and beans again rinsed thoroughly.

Soaked beans
2 T chili powder
2 T smoked chili powder (home developed spice)
1 t hot chili powder (home developed spice)
1/2 t powdered cyan pepper
1 t turmeric
1 t cumin
46 fluid oz tomato juice
2-3 cups water



These ingredients are to be combined in the instant pot, then cooked on the bean setting for 20 minutes pressure. Use a quick release method, by opening the steam vent until pressure drops.

1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion diced
1 medium green pepper diced
1 T chili powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper



As the beans are pressure cooking, cook ground beef with onion, peppers, and seasonings. Once pressure is released add it to the pot, as well as:

1 quart diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
1T salt

It can all be sautéed together to combine the flavors until combined and heated through. I enjoyed adding a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of fresh green onions and grated cheese, as they greatly compliment the flavor.


The first of the homemade spices, the smoked chili powder, I can’t recall the actual recipe. We basically took all the peppers we had and smoked them on our BBQ grill. We then removed the stems and seeds, dehydrated them, and ground them into a powder. The smoky flavor is a great addition to the chili!

The hot chili powder recipe is as follows.

Homemade Chili powder:

30 banana peppers
15 jalapeños
Green onions. (We did around 20 from our garden)
4 garlic heads
2 tablespoons sea salt

Slice the peppers in half and lay them out (seed side up) on dehydrator trays. Clean the green onions and lay them whole on dehydrator trays. Crush the cloves from the four heads of garlic with the side of a kitchen knife (this also allows you to pull the garlic paper off easily). Put the crushed garlic cloves on dehydrator trays. Dehydrate all of them until they are done (took us about two and a half days with our dehydrator). Temperature should be at around 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Once it is done, turn off the dehydrator and let them sit until they have cooled.

Once they are dehydrated and cooled, put them in a bullet blender (or off brand of a similar type). Blend a bit at a time until you can fit everything in. Add the sea salt. Then blend in bursts and pull it off to shake it up in between. Continue this until it is all a powder.

Put in ziplock bags (we double bag) or an airtight container. Label and then you can store or use it.

If you want it a little less spicy, simply remove the seeds from the peppers. Enjoy!