Boreal Witch

One quilt.

How pathetic.

Granted, I did a lot this year. Third trimester swelling made it impossible to sew or quilt which meant all of the quilts I had intended to finish pre-infant were still in pieces in Ziplock bags. I had my second son and recovered from another birth. Robinson and I planted a garden and enjoyed another beautiful Alaskan summer. Arthur was enrolled in gymnastics and Balin finally got onto a decent sleep schedule. Our one and only car died (ironically on the way home from the quilters) and it took us some time to purchase a new car and track down an engine for our old vehicle. I actually did finish three quilts, but only got one quilted.

So, really, I suppose one completed quilt is really quite good considering the year's excitement.

Quilt #1: Strip Bow Quilt
This quilt was made for my cousin Brian and his partner Byron. I hadn't intended to make them a quilt (at least not so soon), but while we were at my grandmother's funeral, we started talking about the quilts I had made. They said that they loved them and I promised I would make them one. Someday. (I have a lot of "someday" quilts floating around my house.) I found the pattern in a quilt book my grandmother had. I recovered most of the fabric from various tubs and boxes. The quilt itself was very, very easy and it would not be difficult to make another one like it, especially for a doll. I learned that I will never, ever buy large widths of fabric at Jo-Ann's. The fabric is way too thin and, according to the quilter, will pill. Besides, with the amount it cost to buy that cheap fabric, I could have bought some nicer fabric and pieced it. With the right coordinating thread, no one would ever know.

Even though I didn't complete many quilts, I did manage to do some fun quilt-related stuff this year. I saw a longarm quilting machine in action. That was an amazingly fun experience. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to own one (they take up so much space) or if I'll ever be a serious enough quilter to ever need one. Quilting is something I like to have fun with. If I ever started hoarding fabric without using it until one day I was buried beneath and had to tunnel my way out of it to survive...then maybe I would need one. Right now, quilting is a way of relieving stress. I acknowledge I have a collection of projects, but I am trying my hardest to finish the ones I have before I take on any more. That's so hard for me because I love starting new projects. It's much easier for me to get excited about beginning a quilt than it is to see a project to the end. My passion begins to fizzle about half-way.

I really should consider doing more baby quilts because they are small and generally very easy. Plus, now that I have a free motion foot, I can quilt my own smaller quilts!

Which reminds me, I bought a free motion foot for a whopping $1 this year! I can now quilt my own (small) quilts or wall hangings. It is so hard to stipple something and make it look good. My first project was an iPad holder for Arthur's friend Jade. I've quilted a doll blanket for Arthur's doll and our family tree skirt. All three of these projects seemed to take forever and were murder on my back. It was slow going, but the results were quite lovely. My goal for this next year is to get really good at stippling. I guess that means I'll need to practice.

What, more quilting? Oh, darn!

Blessed be.

Come September 1st I get excited for Winter Solstice.

Kind of silly, I know, considering there's a perfectly good Wiccan holiday in between Autumn Equinox and Yule, but Winter Solstice is the one Wiccan holiday that I feel like I'm a good Wiccan. I actually do things that are Pagan-y and meaningful. I make special dinners and decorate the house. I carve a log which gets burned in a bonfire. I thank the Universe for the change in the seasons and the dramatic gain in sunlight we will begin to get. It's this time of year I feel my most devout.

Burning the Yule log was surprisingly pleasant this year. For the first time in our Yule celebrations, it was a balmy 15 degrees outside (notice that number was NOT preceded by a minus sign). We were able to enjoy the bonfire and watch the log burn. We poked at the fire and once we were finished, we went in to enjoy some rhubarb crumble.

Christmas was a quiet affair. No one visited, we didn't visit anyone. It was nice not having to rush through airline security. We opened presents, ate cinnamon rolls, and just spent time together. It was surprising to see the large number of gifts under the tree because we made it a point to have a frugal Christmas this year. Our families are so generous and we were very grateful for that.

2012 will represent many new beginnings for our family. I intend to start a sewing business. In fact, that was my Yule wish this year. I'm hoping to make some fun kid stuff for some of the holiday bazaars around town next year. I've been upcycling some upholstery scraps into baby doll carriers. I also plan on turning some old banners into diaper changing pads. I'm not sure if this will even be remotely successful, but I love to sew and if I can make a living out of it, why not?

Here's to 2012!

Blessed be.

Growing up, my parents always did the same thing with leftovers: we ate them as leftovers. Once a week, my mom or dad would pull out all the leftovers and we'd (begrudgingly) eat them.

Once I moved away and had to cook for myself, I discovered a sneaky way to make leftovers a bit more palatable: make them into something else. This idea didn't have to be saved for Thanksgiving leftovers anymore, it could be done anytime for any meal.

Sometimes Robinson's office will make soups and since we had a ton of potatoes, we always signed up to bring those. One of these meals was scheduled for Wednesday and Robinson received a reminder on Monday saying to bring mushrooms.

"I thought you said you signed me up to bring potatoes," he said.

"I did!" I responded.

He went to the store to get mushrooms, only to discover that the person who'd handed out the slips accidentally put his name with the mushrooms.

So now we had an extra pound of mushrooms.

Oh, darn.

I love mushrooms, so it wasn't a big deal. What was a big deal was that we weren't going to be able to use them in a meal this week since none of our meals had mushrooms in them.

But I didn't want them to go bad...

...so I made this incredible mushroom gravy.

Browned Pork Chops with Mushroom Gravy
Serves 4

1 tbs. canola oil
4 pork chops
1 tbs. butter
1 lb. mushrooms (any kind)
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbs. brandy or white wine
1/2 cup leftover turkey gravy*
1/4 cup water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown the pork chops in the 1 tbs. oil. Place on the bottom of a casserole dish.

2. Melt the butter in a skillet. Chop mushrooms and add them to the melted butter. Add thyme and garlic powder. When the butter gets absorbed by the mushrooms, add 1 tbs. brandy or white wine.

3. Once the mushrooms are completely sauteed, add the 1/2 cup gravy and stir to incorporate. The gravy should reconstitute into a sauce on its own. Once it does, add the 1/4 cup water and mushroom soup. Stir well and bring to a boil. Pour over the pork chops.

4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. Serve hot with rice or noodles.

Blessed be.

* My Thanksgiving turkey makes the best gravy and thus the richest mushroom sauce. You can find the recipe here.