spring forward

Going outside to investigate what's in bloom was the highlight of my day yesterday.  The air was balmy and warm and smelled sweet.  We live pretty close to the Frito-Lay plant, so sometimes the air just smells like potato chips.  Which isn't as nice as you may think, no matter how much you like potato chips. 

But yesterday- sweet like grass clippings and daffodils. 

Our yellow daffodils have been up for weeks now, but we have some fancy white ones too.  Planting close to 200 daffodil bulbs has been one of our best home improvement projects, to date. 

The warm air and flowers popping up have gotten me so excited, that I've started a list in my head of all the things I love about spring:

1- a change of clothing.  Is anyone else about to throw their pilly sweaters in the trash? 

 2- leaves on the trees.  Our yard is nice and private and enclosed feeling when the trees are full of leaves.  Not to mention, I like green. 

3- more sunlight! In the winter, I usually want to put on pj's and do almost nothing in the evenings. But if it's light out after dinner? I'm ready for anything! Let's go to the store! Go for a walk! Paint the living room!

4- fresh produce.  If I have to eat one more bean or potato, I might croak.  And, although I have fairly strong opinions about how far my food should have to travel to get to me, I have to admit that I bought strawberries from Florida at the grocery store this week.  It's only three states away.  And they appeared to have had a nice trip. 

5- making summer plans.  Even though practically nothing about our schedule changes in the summer, it still feels fun and vacation-y. 

What's your favorite thing about spring? 

how to caramelize onions

 Sadly, there are in this world a number of recipes that call for caramelized onions, yet offer no advice as to how to get those onions to turn sweet and brown.  They may offer an offhand "cook onions for 30 minutes until browned" or something equally cavalier.  As if it were that easy. 

Awhile back, I decided to crack the code and learn to make properly caramelized onions and my life hasn't been the same since.  I thought I'd share the process, in case anyone else is in the mood for life-change. 

Step 1: slice a few onions.  The onions will cook down a lot and it's kind of a long process, so you may want to make a bunch and then use them for different recipes throughout the week (in quiche, on pizza, in mashed potatoes, on a sandwich...).  I have read that it matters which direction you slice the onion.  In my experience, it does not. 

Step 2: heat oil in a skillet until shimmering and hot.  I use medium to medium-low heat (between 3 and 5 on my stove) for this step, and the whole process. 

Step 3: Add the onions to the skillet and stir to coat them with the oil. 

Step 4: Add a generous pinch of salt.  This helps the onions with the sweating process.  You want the onions to sweat out most of their water, so that the sugars can start to brown. 

Step 5: DO NOT over stir.  You will be tempted.  It will seem unnatural to leave something cooking for so long without stirring.  But I'm telling you- this is part of the secret.  The onions should be gently sizzling as they cook on medium-low heat.  They shouldn't stick to the pan too much.  If they do, turn your heat down a bit. 

Step 6: keep an eye on them.  I stir my onions about every 10 minutes.  It takes me about an hour to finish cooking them.  That's the other secret- you can't rush that sugary sweetness that comes from a slow cook over low heat. 

Step 7: scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet as you go.  I've heard people say you can add a little balsamic vinegar or wine or even water if the onions start to stick too much.  I've never had good luck with this.  If the bottom of my pan starts to get too brown, I turn the heat down a little more.  You will also want to stir a bit more often towards the end of the cooking process.

Step 8: Stop shortly before you think you're done.  The onions never seem to get as brown as I imagine they will, and that is okay.  Just taste one and you'll know that they're ready.  Ready to make your food amazing. 

Today I've been making a 30 foot long one of these that looks super cute stretched across the living room.  I'll be sad to see it go! 

spring is for stitching

It seems like just yesterday that 2012 was brand new and I was dreaming about learning new things.  And dreaming about helping other people learn new things. 

Today, I find myself firmly entrenched in March (how did that happen?!) and ready to be inspired and motivated all over again.  The coming of spring is like a new year in its own way, don't you think? 

So I'm opening up registration for spring sewing classes today, giddy with anticipation of what's to come.  The winter session was so much fun, I can't even tell you.  You'll just have to imagine it.  Or you could take the spring class and see for yourself...

Every single person who took the class had some degree of fear of her sewing machine when we began.  Nobody knew how to wind a bobbin.  Nobody knew what a blind stitch was. 

And now?  They are out there serving dinner beside their new cloth napkins and fearlessly planning their next projects. 

I am so proud. 

And I am so excited to start again, with a new group, and empower some more people to stitch their own stuff. 

The Classes tab has been updated with dates and times and the registration button will be up in the sidebar until March 23rd, or until all spots are filled. 

While I wait for classes to start, I'll be busy with a little stitching of my own!

spring collection preview

Over the past six weeks, I've been hard at work on ideas for my spring collection.  This is a huge deal for me because I am hopelessly impatient when it comes to projects.  I just like to get started.  I plan as I go.  I learn from my (sometimes many) mistakes. 

But this collection is going to be unlike anything I've ever tried before.  And, although I do desperately want to get started, I am also enjoying the prep work a lot more than usual. 



One of the fun things about the prep work is all the sketching I get to do.  Drawing cool shapes with a pencil hardly feels like work at all. 

Once we are both happy with a sketch, it gets scanned into my embroidery software and I do lots more editing with a mouse, instead of a pencil.  I greatly prefer the pencil. 

All of the editing can be tedious, but it's totally worth it for the satisfaction I get when something finally turns out exactly how I pictured it in my head. 

Steve and I discussed the irony of turning a sketch into a digital image, just to turn it back into a sketch with a different medium.  It sure does seem like there should be an easier way. 

I am just a day or two away from the end of the preparation phase and the beginning of the execution phase and I can't wait to get started!  More sneak previews coming soon!

they say it's your birthday

Remember last year when I posted a tutorial about how we make birthday cards?  Well this year, we took a different approach and I am so pleased with how they turned out! 

Using up fabric scraps is an ongoing project for me.  It's like the more I sew, the more the scraps multiply.  I love it when I can fill a need by using scraps and these cards were a great way to do just that. 

I cut rectangles of fabric that were a little smaller than the front of each card.  Then I used a glue stick to attach the fabric to the paper, just enough so that it wouldn't slide around. 

Then I sewed a line of stitches around the edge of the fabric, permanently attaching it to the paper. 

Meanwhile, Steve printed out a page of "Happy Birthday"s and cut them into rectangles with the paper cutter.  I can still remember paying $30 for my paper cutter- probably about 15 years ago- and being appalled by the price.  Now, I can't imagine life without one. 

After I finished sewing all the fabric to the cards, I sewed a "Happy Birthday" rectangle in the middle of each one.  "Middle" is a pretty general term here- I just eyeballed it. 

In general, I think that this year's cards took about the same amount of time as previous years.  The sewing was an extra step, but it replaced all the detailed cutting that we had previously done.  And it was a relief not to have to write "Happy Birthday" 25 times in my best handwriting. 

We made these cards the week after Christmas and our stack has already gotten pretty low!  Can you believe that out of our 10 immediate family members, 7 of them have birthdays before spring begins?  It always makes the beginning of the year feel as though it's flying by! 



Speaking of flying by, today was the final winter sewing session class!  I can hardly believe that it's over and was a little sad to see everyone leave for the last time.  I got some great feedback though and have already been working on the syllabus and schedule for spring classes, which will be starting in just a few weeks.  I'll keep you posted!

every day is a gift

We had dinner out and stayed up late talking and then said our goodbyes after a breakfast of fruit and muffins.  My grandparent's visit was short, but full. 

I loved showing them our home and the quilt I'm working on and the bird feeder and all the other things that I just knew they would like. 

We asked a few questions and did a lot of listening and I found myself wanting to write it all down because I don't want to forget any of the details.  About how they met in Paris, how Grandpa proposed over the phone, how they moved all over the world and had babies and adventures and ended up here together, still. 

Their visit left us talking about if we are taking enough risks and doing enough big things.  I want to have stories that will fascinate my grandchildren.  And I may not ever live in a tent in the jungle, but I want to do my own big things.  Our own big things. 

And when Memaw squeezed my hand and said, "Every day is a gift", I knew it- sometimes older really is wiser.  This thing that I've been trying to learn, this discipline that I've been working on- she gets it.

This morning, I loaded up my journal with ways that today is a gift: because I'm home, which is exactly where I want to be; because I have projects to work on that I enjoy; because we're both healthy right now. 

Hope today feels like a gift to you as well. 

*ps- I've posted the sesame chicken recipe.  Enjoy!

a much needed weekend

What started out as a short week has turned into something quite busy and I am thrilled that it's Friday.  Beyond thrilled.  A weekend at home after a weekend away is so sweet. 

Plus, we're expecting my grandparents for a quick visit, which is very exciting.  I'm making banana muffins and cheese dip this afternoon in preparation.  Not to be eaten together.  I think I'll also cut some of our eager daffodils and put them in the guest room for a treat. 

In other news, I have been waiting for a big fabric order that should be arriving today.  We've been scheming and working up plans for a fabulous spring collection and I can't wait to get started on the actual sewing part! 

This week, I came across a basket full of skinny belts and lanyards that I made back in the fall.  I checked the shop and most of them weren't even in there!  Far be it from me to deprive the world of colorful accessories, so I took some pictures and they can now all be viewed online, instead of just on the bookshelf in my sewing room.  It's been a productive week. 

Here's hoping that your weekend is restful and happy!