Tasty Tuesday~ Infused Olive Oil

This past holiday season I gifted these Infused Olive Oils.

 They are pretty easy & quick to work up.

If gifting I prep them about a week prior so they can infuse and marry and be ready to use the day of gifting.

You will need:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
empty glass jars (I recycle syrup jars)
jar lids or corks
whole peppercorn
fresh garlic
fresh rosemary
pot
funnel

 

(I apologize~ I cannot get this picture to turn properly)

 

 I measure oil in jar stopping at the bottom of funnel- I did this three times for three jars worth.

I then pour all oil in pot and cook on low just until it ripples then I turn it off.

As oil is heating I add the peppercorns (10-12), garlic (2-4 cloves sliced in half) & rosemary (2-3 sprigs) to each jar.

I slowly fill jars with oil again, some bubbling may occur, let oil sit and top off the jars in a few minutes if needed.

 Once cooled to room temp, cork or screw on jar lid. Store in cabinet for about a week.

 If using at home you can refill with oil one more time before having to discard the herbs, just fill when oil gets to garlic and store for a week again.

We make these for ourselves often. We top off a salad with it, fry an egg in it, sprinkle some onto tomatoes & cucumbers, even dribble some onto grilled chicken. Options are endless.

linking to Yesterfood  Treasure Box Tuesday

catching up.....

I sew and take pictures but fail to upload and blog them, alot!
If you follow on Facebook you see way more teases of projects than those that ever make to written form.

Today's post is about the sewn holiday gifts I gave this past year.

Table topper and coasters that went to my aunt & her husband.

A light weight coat that went to a family friends son.

Two pairs of cloth napkins that I gifted my mom.

Table runner for my grandparents.

Garlic/Rosemary infused Olive Oil topped with a bird ornament, a total of three went out to teachers.

A set of hankies for my other grandparents, made with the hexies I've been working on.

And lastly I sent out a surprise package to a wonderful lady and her family who spend all year sewing and gifting to others, a family of birds for each member of her home.

linking to
 Freemotion on the River Linky Party Tuesday
Fresh Squeezed Fabrics Show & Tell Tuesday
Quilt Story Fabric Tuesday

a piece for me

Just a few days ago I came across this fun tutorial.

Then today I notice this on my desk.

So of course I just had to pull out some scraps and go to town on my very own Halloween (quilt as you go) mug rug.

Some pictures along the way.......

Remember September...Sew Along

Over at SewBitterSweetDesigns & HopefulThreads, they have gotten together and came up with a project for this month.

 Remember Service Men & Women, Creating a Handmade Holiday 

to those serving overseas this coming Holiday Season. 

They are linking and providing tutorials and patterns for Pillowcases and eReader cases (of all shapes and sizes) on blogs, shops, even Pintrest.

I will be contributing to this project, as a Military Family, Hubby is Active Duty Army, my father and grandfather both served along with a few uncles. I feel very close to this cause, I lost count how many Holidays my husband has missed in his 13 yrs of service.

Just typing this up I have chills, I can't even imagine what its like to be away from family and friends, while on a deployment, during the Holidays.

Check out the projects and if you can sew up a few things, theres a Flickr group to post to, all would love to see your finished items.

Heres some great FREE tuts and patterns

Here are some measurements HopefulThreads posted:

Here are dimensions for some popular e-readers. If you can, it would be super great if you labeled whichever style you sew your cover for if specific.

More details about this September Monthly Project on the blog here, http://hopefulthreads.blogspot.com/2012/09/september-monthly-project-announcement.html

blackberry playbook is 5" x 7.5" and is 3/8" wide

Kindle Fire and it is 7.5" x 4.7" x .45" (thickness)

Kindle: 6.5 x 4.5 x 0.34 inches

Kindle Touch: 6.8 x 4.7 x 0.40 inches

Kindle Touch 3g: 6.8 x 4.7 x 0.40 inches

Nook Simple Touch: 6.5" x 5.0" x 0.47"

Nook Color: 8.1" x 5.0" x 0.48"

Nook Tablet: 8.1" x 5.0" x 0.48"

Kindle DX: 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38"

Sony: 6.61 x 4.68 x 0.38 inches

Nook 1st Ed: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches  

Kobo: 7.2 × 4.7 × 0.4 in

Kobo Touch: 6.5 × 4.5 × 0.4 in

iPad :First Generation = 9.56×7.47×0.528 in (243×190×13.4 mm) 

Second Generation = 9.5×7.31×0.346 in (240×186×8.8 mm) 

Third Generation (newest) = 9.5×7.31×0.37 in (240×186×9.4 mm)

Please feel free to add others! Thanks for all your help!!!

New things~

Here's a before picture of a mini quilt for a SewAlong I'm following over at FreshSqueezedThe mini quilt will cordinate with a Masako Doll that I just finished up. Should be listed soon









One of my goals this year is to learn more about quilting, here's a picture of my first quilt block.

Whatcha think?

Navy Star Dress

Up for grabs

a one of a kind, sz 4t, empire waist, removable belt, big bow, no elastic on waist or sleeves,

length shoulder to hem 23.5 in, perfect for the Holiday coming up.

$20ppd in the US

it is a first ever/tester

A Sneak......

to the Birthday Stocking coming up soon, date TBA

Wk 13 of 52

Rabbits in Spring

Perfect for picking flowers or searching for eggs

from one cut of fabric I was able to get 3 sizes

All 3 are available here and here

Wk 5 of 52

*Warning* if you're in the Valentine Contest with me on CraftForum don't look below*



So as posted above, my challenge/project this week came from a Valentines Contest I'm entering. My inspiration was the SweetHearts candy. Now I didn't go and write on a whole bunch of hearts but instead I made their box into a pillowcase.




We have the front of the box



the back of the box



a touch of detail on the top, quilted strips, ruffle & ties to secure the pillow nicely


and to top it off, it already has a home to go to, ds1 is gifting it to his gf for their second Valentines Day.

(tutorial to come in a few days)