Like a Good Irish Girl

Happy St Patricks day everyone!  I, like a good Irish girl, am making my little family a beautiful meal of corned beef and cabbage with potatoes.  I realized earlier after talking to my sister in law that not everyone knows how to make this- and it is so easy.  I know many people who swear by the slow cooker for this meal- not me, no sir.  I don't have the time or patience to start that early.  I cook my corned beef (always flat cut, not that triangular cut that is typically cheaper) in a big pot with the seasoning packet plus extra pickling spice and a Guiness plus water.  I bring it to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for around 4 hours- or until it starts to fall a apart.  Then I add my quartered yukon gold potatoes and when they are about half done my quartered head of cabbage.  Once the potatoes fall off a fork when you poke them the meal is done.  You then drain the whole thing and put on a serving dish- I serve with spicy mustard (preferably with  horseradish) and of course GUINESS!  I have had this meal religiously throughout my childhood- my mothers maiden name is O'Conner and my paternal Grandfather visited Ireland so much doing business in the 60s and 70s that they made him an honorary citizen.  We are proud of our Irish heritage in my family- and it just wouldn't be St Pattys day without corned beef and cabbage.  Fun Fact... as an elementary school student we were asked to write a report on an important historical event that happened in another country... Naturally I chose to write about the Great Potato Famine in Ireland.  Hope you are all wearing green, drinking your Guiness and eating a lovely Irish meal tonight.  CHEERS!

WIP Wednesday #9

This week I have been busy doing some unfun sewing... and some really fun sewing.  My lovely Father in Law volunteered my skills to his neighbor who needed the edges of his new pontoon boat cover bound.  Not cool.  I spent the better part of my week putting binding on a huge stinky cover- while I am all about helping out with my sewing, this is definitely not my area of expertise.  I did a pretty good job with it though and the owner of the pontoon boat seemed pleased.  I have warned my Father in Law that I am a QUILTER not a pontoon boat sewer.   Lets just hope he refrains from volunteering me for any other undesirable sewing. 

The rest of the sewing time I had this week was devoted to quilting my baby quilt for my Mother in Law's neighbor Joe.  His daughter is expecting a son very soon and so I have been very motivated to get the quilt done for him as a surprise.  For this quilt I was really inspired after meeting Joe's wife.  She spends HOURS every day putting together puzzles.  It is her favorite hobby.  I thought about it for a while and ultimately decided that I could make my quilting look like a puzzle.  I spent days sketching and experimenting until I finally nailed down how I would do it.  This is the first FMQ design I have ever designed myself.  From all my research I couldn't find it done anywhere else.  It ended up being pretty easy and really fun.  The main trick with this quilting design is you have to be pretty good at travel stitching (stitching over your previous stitches without straying).  It is a basic all over quilting style- but does take a bit of planning and marking.  I did not mark all my lines- I used the seams in the quilt as a guide and on the first quadrant marked it into a grid, so I could keep my design straight.  I realized though that this wasn't really necessary if you stop and visually look at the row above the row you are working on.  So for the rest of the quilt I am doing it basically free hand with no marking and it is coming out fine.  I am just about 3/4 done with it now and am very excited and motivated to finish it up and give it to Joe and his wife.  I decided if I got enough interest I would do a video tutorial next week on WIP Wednesday for this design- so if you would like to learn how to do this design then please leave me a comment saying so.  Also if you aren't a Free Motion Quilter and would like me to quilt your quilt top in this or any other design then please contact me for more info as I have started a quilting service.  Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog and Happy WIP Wednesday to you all!
I am linking to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced by Lee

Oh Makiko!

One year ago today I had an unusual sale in my Etsy shop that unbeknown to me would change my life for the better.  It was April 11th 2011, and the Tsunami had just ravaged much of Japan, Earthquakes and aftershocks were shaking the poor country to it's core, and nuclear power plants there were spewing dangerous and scary leaks.  And I got an order for 2 aprons- one being my favorite Kate Spain central Park design- from a gal named Makiko O'Neil in Japan.  I have to say I was immediately curious- who could be thinking of aprons at a time like this?  I decided to write her a message and ask if she was affected and if there was anything I could do to help.  Thus beginning a beautiful friendship and business venture that has made me smile several times over the coming year.  Makiko was affected by the earthquakes, and was very unsettled by all that was going on in her beloved country, so she decided to look on her favorite fabric designer (Kate Spain) website.   She saw that Kate had listed some of her favorite Etsy retailers on a sidebar and my shop AtomicAprons was one of them.   Makiko's husband Jason encouraged her to order a few aprons to cheer her up and give her something to look forward to.  In the following months we emailed regularly, I got perspective of a healing Japan, and she got insight in to the world of a small business owner who made and sold her wares.  We inspired each other.  Makiko decided she would like to have her own shop there in Japan, and as she wasn't yet doing much sewing she decided selling my aprons amongst other American made delights would be a fun thing to do.  She supported my little business very well and bought many aprons from me over the year.  When it came time for her birthday her husband Jason contacted me to order one of my quilted pillows in her favorite Kate Spain fabric as a special surprise.  I had so much fun working with him to surprise her- and we ended up being good friends too.  They are the gift that keeps on giving.  Makiko has supported me as I have learned to Free Motion Quilt and always been a cheerleader and fan of my work.  Jason has told me funny stories about life as an American in Japan- and brought a whole new perspective.  I have encouraged and given advice to Makiko in the realm of being a small business owner, and also a new sewer.  She has done wonderfully- and is blowing my mind with all her newly acquired skills.  I have so much respect for this gal- who could turn tragedy  into triumph and follow her dreams so fully.  I am so proud to have her as my friend- she has given and shown me so much- and I can't imagine life without her.  It is amazing how the people we meet change us- after meeting her I truly understood that connections were never to be taken for granted- if we are not open to the people we come in contact with- who knows what we might miss out on.  Thanks for a great year Makiko- happy friend anniversary and I hope to meet you in person one day to give you a well deserved hug!

Makiko and Jason

Makiko's shop displaying one of my Aprons

traditional Kimono fabric sent to me by Makiko

Japanese fat quarters and piping another gift from Makiko

more Japanese fabric

and even more, I am so spoiled!

traditional Japanese carpet binding-

this little pincushion I made from a Heather Baily pattern Makiko sent to me