Spring Cleaning: Sewing Space

This is my second last spring cleaning entry, and then I plan on moving to the garden - permanently! lol I meant to post this on Sunday, and then on Tuesday I got a lovely surprise, so I'm glad I waited. Here is what I started with:

A vacuum, a stereo that is not in use, a file folder, a printer that we never use, weights, and general clutter. And, the sewing machine is not even in this photo! I put the vacuum downstairs, along with some of the larger items, cleaned away the crafting supplies that I am not using, filed the papers/bills into appropriate places (some of them the recycle bin!). It was a pretty easy clean. Take a look:

The desk is looking a little rough from here, but it is solid wood, so we will keep it and likely give it a little TLC. I decided to keep relevant things close, so we have odds and ends for current projects (elastic, unfinished shoe beanies, and silica beads), as well as my great-grandmothers (? I think) sewing basket. I got it when I was just young, and have never been able to part with it!

My little storage container that I actually use, and some very relevant sewing tools: scissors, measuring tape, fading tracing marker, and stitch ripper (not that I ever have to rip out any stiches, lol).

And now you are wondering what surprise I was alluding to earlier... Remember my trip to Fabricland a few weeks ago? When I spent $7 on fabric? Well since it was their birthday celebration they were having a huge sale, and a draw. So when I paid for my fabric, the woman at the desk asked me if I would like to enter the draw. I said sure, filled out my name and number, walked out and promptly forgot about it; until... I arrived home on Monday afternoon with a message to call Fabricland. So I did and the associate told me I won a sewing machine. Excuse me? a what? My brother and father have always been the lucky ones in my family. I hardly ever win anything. I. was. ecstatic. Here is a photo of my mom's old sewing machine, that she let me have when I became interested:

A Sears Kenmore, from the 1970s. It is an antique, and so far has worked fine for everything I have used it for. I just found out recently that the bobbin winder doesn't work. I took a peek at a few new machines online, and decided I couldn't afford one. After all I heard from everyone that I should put a little money into it, or it would just break. And remember that sneak peak from yesterday?

That is my winnings! A new fancy sewing machine. A Janome 2160 QDC. A brand I have never heard of before, but seems to have a good rep in the world of sewing. I think the QDC stands for quilting (as it comes with a quilting kit) and decorative (it does some 60 stitches, a few of which are very fancy and embroidery like). Anyways, I love it, and I am so excited to get sewing. All those projects that I have been putting off, will now get completed - I have no excuse! And, as Crystal said: "your machine is so fancy you will be able to press the 'dress' button and it will just go ahead and do it", lol. I don't think it is that easy, but pretty exciting none-the-less.

Have you had any wonderful surprises lately?

Spring Cleaning: Entrance

So this is an area that we always have trouble with in my house. This is the back entrance, and we don't have a great set-up, nor do we have a lot of space, but we work with what we have...

Yikes! I know! So first of all, on the right is a cupboard and it stays in this state (almost) most of the time. I did reorganize it, so it makes a little more sense. But between all the shoes and camping equipment it is usually quite full. But aside from the cupboard, let's clean up the rest! Starting with the boots.

So now that it is spring, we need to put away those winter boots. It is best to wash your winter boots with a cloth and warm water to remove any sand or salt, and when they dry store them away for the summer. You can see mine drying in the sun above (with laundry in the background, hehe).

Then, I take all my winter coats and pants and hang them in a closet in the basement. This makes room for Spring coats and rain jackets! yay! And since April showers bring May flowers I am excited about the rain! Take a look at the final product:

I reduced the clutter by putting winter boots and coats away in the closet downstairs. I cleaned the floors, and vacuumed the stairs. And I am so happy with the result, and I feel so much better with an  organized and clean entrance space.


What do you think?

Spring Cleaning: Crafting Corner

So in the last two weeks I focused on cleaning out my freezer, and I still have lots of berries, fruits, veggies and meat to go through. Kind of a good problem to have, isn't it? Today I am going to share my crafting corner. I am a little embarrassed at the state, but this is where I do a lot of my hooking, blogging and craft planning. 

So we have, fabric from recent projects (and the recent project), mail that has likely been unopened, an envelope with my wool from Island Sweet, little piles of craft accessories, books that I am reading, a basket (that is supposed to help organize the space), a Rubbermaid with old receipts and mail (to get ready for tax season), my antique sewing basket, and CDs in a case. A lot of stuff to cram in to such a small space, and lets see what I did.


First I cleared away the clutter, most of the things in the photo above have a home elsewhere. Take the time and do it, it's worth it!

Here is the basket, doing it's job. I decided to keep only things for the project I am currently working on, or that I reach for more than once a week. In this case it was my coasters, so the wool and strips I am using, straight pins, pushpins, and ruler. Also easily accessible is my hooking frame, and laptop, nestled neatly in its cozy!

And all those small accessories: Buttons (I have a bit of an obsession, more on that later), chalk (for my message board), wool and strip clippings (I hope to make something with these someday), rug hook, scissors, pen, marker, and a teddy for company. I use clear glass containers (from candles, labels peeled and cleaned) to keep all the little bits together and because it looks pretty, like a bit of decoration.

So there you have it. My crafting corner cleaned up, and organized. I am much more comfortable here now, and things are much more accessible. I suggest you do the same with the space where you spend lots of time, you will feel so much better!


How is your spring cleaning going? Check back next Sunday for some more tips!

More Small Surprises

Well, yesterday I told you about the baby carrots I harvested from my vegetable garden. And as I continue to clean up the yard (which is quite large and overwhelming) I am finding more wonderful things. Since it is cool and sort of snowing today, I thought I would share some of these spring delights. I love spring flowers they are so resilient in this totally unpredictable weather!

This little guy is growing despite the snow, which is almost gone

Such a beautiful sight next to the dark earth and brown leaves

There is so much life, if you just look closely!

I have to go to work today, so there will be no playing in the garden, but I hope to get out there tomorrow! What's growing in your garden?

Spring Harvest

It is never common to harvest a crop in the spring, unless you are in my garden. I had a very busy fall. After spending the summer here with Reggie, I had to return to Ottawa where I still had an apartment. The plan was to stay in Ottawa until February, and then once while travelling back here for a visit there was a bad car accident. I decided then and there that was the end of the weekend commute. I was moving in with Reggie permanently. So with all the moving back and forth, accidents and changing jobs, I kind of neglected the garden. I completely forgot to harvest the remaining carrots, and chives, and I never had time to put all the gardens to bed. Needless to say there is a lot of work out there this year! And yesterday while I was raking leaves, cutting down dead matter and collecting fallen sticks, look what I found:

Baby carrots tucked away nicely in the earth, underneath fallen leaves. I heard that if they remain in the ground they can still be eaten in the spring. Sounds good, let's harvest!

And then to sort through, and see which ones were actually still good after a winter's sleep.

I had to get rid of a lot of them. they were partly eaten by little critters or Jack Frost managed to nip at the top, making them soft and inedible. But I have a few, and they are pretty good - especially after 5 months of frost, snow and cold.

Have you found anything fun in your garden yet? Stay tuned to see what else I found in my spring cleaning garden adventure!

Spring Cleaning: Freezer (Part II)

As a continuation to last Sunday's post about cleaning out the freezer I have a few more recipes this week. You will see I have lots of goodies in my freezer/fridge that need attention. And especially since things are starting to come in already! Thanks Reggie! I hope you enjoy these tasty meals:

20 Minute Spicy Leftover Soup

2-3        hot Italian sausages

4 tsp     chicken stock powder

3 cups   water

1 cup    pumpkin purée

1           onion, chopped

1 tsp     minced garlic

2           celery stocks, chopped

3           medium carrots, peeled and chopped

¼ cup   red lentils

1½ cup cooked rice

1 tbsp   chopped fresh cilantro

Pan cook the sausages, remove from heat, slice thinly and set aside. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil, add chicken stock powder and pumpkin purée. Meanwhile, in the pan used for the sausages cook the onion until they are soft and becoming clear, add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Add the carrots and celery and cook until they begin to soften, 3-4 minutes. Add the sausages, veggies and lentils to the stock, and reduce heat to medium. When lentils are almost cooked (about 6 minutes) add the rice. Allow soup to simmer for 5-10 minutes (depending on how much time you have), and finally add the cilantro and simmer for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and serve immediately with bread and cheese (it helps reduce the heat from the sausages). Store leftovers in the fridge for up to one week.

When opening a can of something, like tomatoes or tomato paste I always put any extra in the freezer, and this recipe is a great way to use up these little bits of things.

 

Enchiladas

6          tortillas

1-2 cup cooked rice

500g    ground bear (feel free to use beef or anything else)

½ tsp   minced garlic

½         onion, diced

1 cup   diced tomatoes

½ cup  tomato paste

¼ tsp   chipotle chilli powder

1 can    mixed beans

¾ cup  frozen corn, thawed

½ cup  grated Monterey Jack cheese

½ cup  grated old cheddar cheese

2 tbsp  chopped fresh cilantro

Cook the ground meat (in my case I used bear, because we have lots) with the garlic and onions. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and chipotle chilli powder. Reduce for about 5 minutes. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and lay out tortilla shells. In each tortilla spoon equal amounts rice, meat mixture, beans and corn. Sprinkle cheese (reserving ¼ cup) and cilantro (reserving about 1 tsp), over the open tortillas. Close each tortilla with a toothpick, sprinkle remaining cheese and cilantro over all six tortillas and bake for 20-25 minutes, until tortilla edges are brown and cheese is melted. Store leftovers in an airtight containers in the fridge for up to three days.

And finally, my favourite, dessert:

Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Cake

1¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup  unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp    baking powder

¾ tsp   baking soda

½ tsp   salt

½ tsp   cinnamon

¼ tsp   ground cloves

⅓ cup  butter, margarine

1 cup   granulated sugar

1          large egg

¼ cup  milk

1½ cup pumpkin purée

½ cup  chopped pecans/walnuts/chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Sift all dry ingredients together in a small bowl, set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar; add egg, beat well. Stir in milk pumpkin* and nuts (or chocolate chips). Finally, add dry ingredients and blend well, do not over mix. Pour batter into a greased bundt** pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before turning out of pan. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream! Store leftovers (if there are any) in an airtight container for up to five days.

* You can use any veggie you have stored away in your freezer, grated zucchini, squash purée, sweet potato purée, etc.

** If you do not have a bundt pan use a loaf pan, and cook for 60mins, or until toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs

 I hope your weekend is going well. I'm about to head outside, and get some sun! Write you soon!