Pots and Pins

Shirts for Max...

If only I lived next door to my Max, then maybe I wouldn't feel the need to make and send stuff on a daily basis...well, almost daily.  I just miss him terribly...so I think about him a lot, and those thoughts lead me to things like this: 

I wanted to buy Max a Halloween shirt (or two) but could find nothing that seemed appropriate or cute, so I stopped by Old Navy and bought some plain, long-sleeve t-shirts...added some black velvet and a cotton stripped trim and Max now has his annual Jack-O-Lantern shirt.  The t-shirt was $3.50...can't beat that!

Years ago I made a halloween quilt that was hideous, even for halloween.  So I removed most of the blocks, redid it and ended up with some orphan blocks...this is one of those blocks.  It's been in my stash for over 12 years!  Machine appliqued onto a t-shirt for Max and it finally has a home - and Max will love it!  Again, the t-shirt was $3.50.  What a deal!

Max loves letters - especially the letters O, P, T and M-A-X...so I know he'll like this t-shirt with the big letter M.  But after staring at this for a while, I decided this letter M shirt needed a detachable cape!  With the addition of a little velcro on the shoulders, Max will be able to fly around the house and when he's done, he can remove the cape until he wants to be Super Max again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just look at that face - he melts my heart!  He is the sweetest child on the planet - so happy, especially if he has a wheel...or a fan...or a helicopter...or a cement truck...or a tire...

Abby's 7 Layer Bars...(aka Magic Bars)...

The Aussie was flipping through her recipe binder, where all her recipes are held between clear plastic sheet protectors, having no smears or smudges on them, all typed up (no clippings from magazines/newspapers) - looking exactly like an actual cookbook rather than a hodge-podge of collected recipes like someone I know has!  She pulled out Abby's recipe for 7 Layer Bars, handed it to me and said they were great and that I should make them.  Translation:  I'm not going to ever make these bars again because they are too rich, too delicious, extremely fattening and I want to be able to fit into my clothes...I'm not as stupid as you!

  

 

 

 

Oh how right the Aussie is...they are all of the above!  But let's do the math, shall we?  Too rich + too delicious = More than worth the calories! 

Seven layers of happiness...let's count them: 

1.  A crust made of nothing but butter and crushed graham crackers. 

2.  Shredded coconut. 

3.  Chocolate chips. 

4.  Butterscotch chips (which I just discovered I have a weakness for!) 

5.  Chopped pecans. 

6.  Chopped almonds.

7.  Sweetened condensed milk...the reason for life itself!  

Do you remember the movie Empire Of The Sun?  One of Spielberg's finest films, in my humble opinion.  It's the true story about a 13-year old English boy, living in Shanghai with his parents, when the Japanese invade.  His life is drastically changed; he is separated from his parents, sent to live in a camp until the "Cadillacs of the Skies," the U.S. P-51 bombers arrived (que the music:  God Bless America) to end the Japanese occupation.  The young lad is set free, tired and starving.  Those P-51's dropped more than bombs - they also dropped food.  The boy finds a food drop and inside are chocolate bars and sweetened condensed milk, which he opens and guzzles down with sheer joy.  It's one of my favorite scenes in the movie...now...guess who played that 13 year old boy?  None other than Christian Bale!  Okay, that was a long way to go to point out the obvious, sweetened condensed milk can be a life-saver and, as is the case with these delectable bars, a life-maker!  Because you haven't LIVED until you've eaten one (or 12) of these!

Abby's 7 Layer Bars - Adapted slightly from Abby Effy, One of Australia's Brightest Stars

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup chopped almonds

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray bottom of a rimmed (9 x 13-inch) baking dish with cooking spray Melt butter in microwave; pour into prepared pan.  Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter and press gently, forming a crust.  It doesn't have to be even.  Spread coconut over graham crust.  Spread chocolate and butterscotch chips over coconut layer.  Sprinkle with chopped pecans and almonds.  Pour sweetened condensed milk over the pan, covering as evenly as possible.  (Abby said in her recipe to open can with a "church key," which is what Aussies call a can opener...that tickled me!)

Bake at 350 for 25 to 30 minutes or until fragrant and the nuts are toasted and center is set.  Cool for an hour before cutting into bars.  If you cut sooner, the chocolate chips will be too gooey to hold the shape, but if you can't wait, go for it!  Makes about 40 bars, depending on how big you cut them.

Skillet Caramel Apple Pie...

Just when I started to think I was having a "normal" day...the mister forwarded an interesting email to me, thinking it was from my friend "Dawn".  It was not.  Below is the email, with the email address removed:

Sent: Monday, September 19, 2011 9:04 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: new email address

 I sent the last email from the wrong address, sorry for the confusion.

 My NEW email address is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  I wish you all the very best, Dawn, "Heart and Hands Doula care"

Dawn?  Who cares who Dawn is...what about the DOULA CARE?!?  DOULA?!?!  (A Doula is a person who provides non-medical support/help to pregnant women, through childbirth and postpartum)  The mister certainly could use some help but he does NOT need a Doula...nor should he be corresponding with one!  So I asked the mister why he would get an email from a  Doula...

Mister, smirking:  "Doesn't everyone need a Doula?" 

Okay fine, I'll play along, "Oh sure, but tell me, what exactly is a Doula?" 

Mister:  "As if you don't know, it's a masseuse."

Me:  "A Masseuse?  Reee-heee-leeee!  Well, I thought a Doula was like a mid-wife...someone who helps pregnant women deliver their children...but maybe I'm mistaken!"

Mister:  "A what?!?  (Flustered, fumbling for words...)  Oh, I'm just kidding with you, I have no idea what a Dooooo-law is...and I have no idea why I got that email and I have no idea who Dawn is, I thought she was a friend of yours, besides, did you forget?  I shoot blanks so why would I need Doooo-law!"

Me:  "So let me get this straight...some woman, named Dawn, who is NOT my friend and who you claim not to know, sent you an email to let you know her new email and she's a Doula, is that correct?"

Mister:  "Yes, but I have no idea who it is...I've been spanked, I mean spammed." 

Me:  "Spanked?  Very Freudian.  You're about to be.  I had no idea Doula's sent spam, especially to men who shoot blanks." 

Mister: "Everybody sends spam these days...it's a spam eat spam world."

The mister, once again, is on a short-leash...I believe some people might even call it a "choke-collar" - a studded choke-collar with the studs on the inside...is that wrong?

 

 

 

 

That's right...refrigerated pie crusts...it's the thing to use because the home-made, light and flaky crust would just fall apart, trust me.  You will need a 10-inch cast-iron skillet for this recipe, and if you don't already have one, you should!  Butter and brown sugar are combined and cooked just briefly until they transform into a caramel sauce...and then, even though it sounds crazy, the bottom pie crust is put ON TOP of the caramel sauce!

 

 

 

 

Cinnamon-sugar-coated apples are poured on top of the crust - some of the caramel sauce might seep up and over...oh my, so good!  The top crust is put on, tucked carefully around the edges of the pan, brushed with egg, sprinkled with sugar, into the oven...and then you wait...the hardest part.

If Aibileen, from The Help, were talking to this pie, she would say:  You is good.  You is tasty.  You is delicious.  And all I would add is AMEN!

Skillet Caramel Apple Pie - Adapted, Slightly, From Southern Living, September 2011

4 lbs. apples, (recipe called for half Granny Smith and half Braeburn apples, I used the ones I picked from my mom's tree...small green apples that are less tart than a Granny, but still firm...have no idea what they are, and I used about 12 to 14 small to medium apples.)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 (14.1 oz.) package refrigerated pie crusts (two per package, you will use both)

1 egg white

2 tablespoons granulated sugar, or turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Peel, core and cut apples into 1/2-inch thick wedges.  Toss apples with cinnamon and 3/4 cup sugar.  Melt butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat; add brown sugar, and cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and place 1 pie crust in skillet over brown sugar mixture, pressing gently up and around the sides.  The pan will be hot so be careful.  Spoon apple mixture over pie crust and top with remaining pie crust.  Brush top of pie crust with egg white; sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar or turbinado sugar.  Cut 4 or 5 slits in top for steam to escape. 

Bake at 350 for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly, shielding with aluminum foil during the last 10 minutes to prevent excessive browning, if necessary.  Cool on a wire rack 30 minutes before serving.  Serves 8 to 10...and is delicious with vanilla ice cream!

"Ever since Eve started it all by offering Adam the apple, woman's punishment has been to supply a man with food then suffer the consequences when it disagrees with him." ~ Helen Rowland

 

Iron Cozy Tutorial...

 

Today I'm Guest Posting over at Sew We Quilt/Stash Manicure!  That's right, Madame Samm has invited me back once again...when will she ever learn?!?!  And just because I'm all that and a bag of thimbles, at least in my own mind...I've posted a super easy Iron Cozy Tutorial for you!  You know, for when you are finished with your quilting class and you're loading up all of the supplies you hauled there, and your iron is too hot to put in the car?!?  You slip in into an Iron Cozy and you're good to go!  No more waiting around, no chance of a burned iron imprint in your car's floor mats! 

Go check out my post (click on the orange picture/button above) and the great giveaway Samm has for you today - it's for all quilters and all wantobe quilters, too!  Then come back here and become a follower of my blog - just do it - humor me - and that's all you have to do to be in the running to win one of the best irons, if not THEEEEE best, out there! 

Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake...

Before we get to the cake, I have a little house-keeping matter to take care of...

  Today I'm doing double duty...posting here and Guest Posting over at Sew We Quilt/Stash Manicure...If you haven't visited Sew We Quilt before, now would be a good time...they are in the 2nd month of a 3-month DAILY giveaway!!  And the prizes are amazing...sewing machines, irons, gobs and gobs of fabrics and every kind of notion/sewing/quilting supply you can think of!  To get in on the fun, all you have to do is be a quilter, or a wantobe quilter...just let me know and I'll get you signed up!  Click on over and have yourselves a looksy, I'm serving up an Iron Cozy Tutorial...which I'm sure you need, who doesn't need an Iron Cozy?!?

***************************************************************************************************************************

When the September issue of Southern Living arrived on my doorstep, the cover photograph practically jumped down my throat!  Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake...I mean, what's not to love?  Apples, cream cheese, spices...the taste of Autumn in every bite!  I donned my apron and reached for my Bundt...it was not in it's usual place.  Nor was it in anywhere in my kitchen, or the cave (the hallway/dumping ground under the stairs) or in my "Personal Overflow Area" in the garage...you have one of those, right?  I searched everywhere...no Bundt pans to be seen.  So I called the mister at World Headquarters and asked him if he'd seen my Bundts...he said, "Yes, I've seen them and I'd like to see them again!"  Everyone's a comedian...I explained that I was missing my Bundt pans, all THREE of them...he claimed to have no knowledge of Bundts, except for the ones on my backside, hardy-har-har...so I hung up and began a new search.  Then the boy came home...I asked him about the missing Bundts and he told me he thought the mister used them to change the oil in the car/lawn mower/edger/whatever...oh REEE-Heeee-LEEEE!  Back on the phone with the mister...I ask him about his oil change and the PANS he used...and he said, "Oh that?!  I used those metal bowls with the spouts you set out for Good Will."  I told him those were my missing BUNDT pans and he said, "Well how am I supposed to know what a Bundt pan is?!?"   Oh gee, how old are you?!?  How can you have an A.A.R.P. card and not know what a BUNDT pan is?!?!  And let's see...were the Bundt pans in my Personal Overflow Area, on the shelf in the storage room, no where near the black plastic bag clearly marked Good Will?!?!?  Some days it just doesn't pay to be me.  Just answer me this...who's idea was it for men and women to live together?!?!

 

 

 

 

This is a good-ol'fashioned cake...it reminded me of my grandma and my mom...it is not only memorable, it's memory-making!  Dense, moist, rich crumb...softened apple bits with the crunch of pecans and the creamiest of fillings...I'm telling you, this cake has it goin' on!  And the frosting?  Fogettaboutit!  It's ridiculously good...praline frosting...praline...sugary-buttery-caramelly-coma-inducing praline frosting!  It could only be better if vanilla ice cream were served with it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those apples may look like they've seen better days, but they were hand-picked by yours truly Thursday morning...my parents have an apple tree in their back yard and I just couldn't leave it alone!  I picked apples every day!  When it came time to leave I picked about 20 pounds of apples to bring home; I know Washington is the apple state but these little green beauties are so good I couldn't resist!  I stuffed about 10 pounds into my suitcase and the other 10 went into my carry-on...the ones in the suitcase came out a little bruised, thanks to Delta...

That's my bag the guy has his hands on...and what you don't see is him throwing all 45 lbs. of it into the little container...it was on the bottom of the container and bags were thrown on top - and I do mean thrown.  My poor little apples!  But they survived and made the most delicious cake!  

I actually made two of these cakes, one for my friend Denise on Friday and one for a little gathering we had on Saturday...I think I just might have to make another one today to say good-bye to summer and hello to fall!  5 dangs on the ol' meter...this one is dang, dang, dang, dang, dang good! 

Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake - Adapted From Southern Living, September 2011

Cream Cheese Filling:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

Apple Cake Batter:

1 cup finely chopped pecans

3 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups peeled and finely chopped apples (I used Granny Smiths, recipe called for Gala's), about 1 1/2 lbs.

Praline Frosting:

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

3 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup pecan halves for garnishing cake, optional

Prepare filling:  In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar together until smooth.  Add egg, flour, and vanilla; beat just until blended.  Set aside.

Prepare cake batter:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.  Remove and set aside to cool.  In a large bowl combine 3 cups flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, soda, nutmeg and allspice, whisk together lightly.  In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs, add to flour mixture.  Add canola oil, applesauce and vanilla extract.  Stir in apples and pecans.  Batter will be very thick. 

Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan.  Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan.  Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife.  Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes, remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely, about 2 hours.

Prepare Frosting:  Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter and 3 tablespoons milk to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly.  Boil 1 minute, whisking constantly.  Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.  Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly.  Pour immediately over cooled cake.  (Do not let frosting sit or it will harden and you won't be able to frost the cake!)  Garnish the frosting with pecan halves.  Serves 12. 

Smokin'...It's A Good Thing...

While visiting the fam I discovered my brother-in-law has a smoker!  Dad bought the biggest pork roast he could find and we took it over to my BIL the night before our feast...and then the BIL announced he had to go to Boise on business!  Plan B.  We borrowed his smoker, took it to dad's house and the next morning at the crack of dawn, we got the thing fired up.

 

 

 

 

Dad lit the charcoal with a chimney/starter...on his gas grill for maximum effect...The smoke was really rolling!  When the coals were nice and hot he poured them into the bottom pan of the smoker...almost setting himself on fire.  Next he set the pan of water in the smoker, and the grill for the roast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's basically all there is to smokin' a naked roast (dad didn't want to use a rub or even salt and pepper...he's a pork purist.)  The last step is to throw a few pieces of wet wood chips onto the coals to create the smoke...in this case we used hickory chips...and just as dad put the lid on top, the neighbor came running around the side of the house - he saw all the smoke and thought the place was on fire!  He rang the front door but since we were outside we didn't hear it (although Sadie, the guard dog, heard it and was barking up a storm - but we thought she was barking at a bad kitty so we ignored her.)  We told the neighbor it was all good - and despite the amount of smoke we were just doing a little BBQ-ing...once he was convinced we were all okay, he left, but he FAILED to tell us he had already called the Fire Department!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know what they say...where's there smoke there's fire...so they came to check it out.  Dad and I thought it was hilarious - and speaking of dad, isn't he just the cutest?  (My mom had been up before dawn, then had gone back to bed for a bit but all the commotion woke her...she came out in her pj's to see what was going on and I told her she had visitors)...the firemen (and firewoman?) were very cute ... they filled out their arson report, checked on the smoker, then left.  We invited them to come back for dinner and they said if there was enough smoke, they'd be there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We put our 7 1/2 lb. boneless pork roast in the smoker at 8:00 and took it off at 5:30 - and just to be sure it was cooked all the way through, we stuck a thermometer in it - it was good to go!  The BIL had told us to throw on a hand-full of chips every couple of hours...but we wanted this roast to be thoroughly smoked...so every time the smoke stopped, we tossed in more chips...which was about every 20 minutes!  It's not like a crock-pot where you put the meat in and walk away...oh no, someone had to be there to make it smoke!  So we took turns all day long...in between chip throwing (and putting on more coals) I spent most of the day on Pinterest, working my way up to becoming a Pinhead!

You could definitely taste the smoke...and even without any seasonings, it was dang good.  The carnivorous nephew thought is was great - as did everyone else...however, my sister, the one who is younger but looks older, said she thought it was a bit dry...whatever...she was just bugged that she missed out on the firemen!  She's a fool for a man in uniform...military, cop, pilot, postal worker, garbage man, UPS driver, plumber with a name tag...you name it...if he's wearing a uniform she's all atwitter!

  We served the pork roast with KC Masterpiece Barbeque Sauce and some of us enjoyed it with home-made applesauce.  It was divine - worth every minute of sitting in the sun tossing chips on the coals!  

The BIL bought this Brinkmann Smoke 'N Grill at Home Depot for $25.00.  It worked great...and really, for $25.00 where could you have as much fun?!? 

Interesting Pins = Pinterest

Do ya'll know about Pinterest?  My friend Jodi at Pleasant Home introduced me to this incredible time waster that is such a guilty pleasure I almost feel the need to repent!  Almost. 

Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board, a place where you can put pictures of all the things you see on different websites/blogs that you want to save and when you "pin" the picture, you also "pin" the link so you can find it again!  It's genius!  While the mister is glued to the Military Channel, reliving Vietnam nightly, I escape to Pinterest.  You can see what I've been up to by clicking on the link below - and if you'd like to join Pinterest, follow the link then click on "Request an Invite" and I'll happily oblige - because as you know, misery time wasters love company!

Click Here! 

Rosemary Bacon Wraps...

You know how I feel about bacon, it's my one true love.  I make no apologies, not to the mister nor to my cardiologist.  Bacon is my life-force.  In other words, life without bacon is not worth living.  Amen.  

The mister and I went on our monthly outing to the nursery, where we go to purchase new plants to replace the ones we killed the previous month.  We made our selections after being told by the plant expert, "These plants are hardy, practically impossible to kill," we laughed, and told them him we'd see him in a month and as we headed to the parking lot I spied this rosemary plant.  The mister, who was being punished for various infractions, happily ponied up the $$$ for the extra plant and we drove home...he was thinking a rosemary plant would get him out of the dog house, I was thinking it was time for him to put an addition on the dog house, after all, winter is coming and I want him to be semi-warm!

I can't take credit for this divine creation - I borrowed some cookbooks from the Aussie, Donna Hay cookbooks to be exact.  (Donna Hay is to Australia what Martha Stewart is to America.)  While browsing through one of the books I came across this simple yet unforgettable way to make bacon...and since I had the rosemary plant, I was all set!  Because that's all you need, rosemary sprigs and bacon...the genesis, or should I say genius(?) of the best way to cook bacon since bacon itself.

Rosemary Bacon Wraps - From Donna Hay

8 sprigs of rosemary, about 8-inches in length

8 strips of bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Wrap one strip of bacon around one sprig of rosemary.  Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in 425 degree oven, turning after 10 minutes, and bake for a total of 20 minutes or until bacon is crisp.  Remove from oven and serve.  To eat rosemary bacon wraps, gently pull the rosemary out of the bacon and enjoy.  Serves 4.  (Hahahaha...serves 4!  As if!  In our house, eight strips of bacon will only serve TWO!  Again, I make no apologies!)

9/11 Flag Tribute...

It was pretty amazing and heart-breaking, to see the nearly 3,000 American Flags as carefully placed as  white crosses in a military cemetary - lined up for blocks and blocks - families walking between them, stopping to read the names on each flag - one for every person who was killed.
Rain clouds threatened overhead and the wind made the Flags fly almost straight...thinking about that September day, those lives lost, all of those Flags flying...flying proud.  Still.  
This was Sandy, Utah's way of remembering -  The Healing Field of Flags - it was impressive and humbling.
I'm grateful to live in this country, grateful to be an American.  I may forget a lot of things, but I'll never forget that September day.  God Bless America.

Waffle Cookies...

When my darling nieces were here, they wanted to bake something fun...they looked through my recipes and decided to make Waffle Cookies.  The flour was flying as Gracie measured and scooped and stirred and poured...Callie opted to sit and watch (translation:  text her boyfriend-du-jour).  It was probably better that only one of them was making a mess, with both of them behind the mixer I might have had to call in a Haz-Mat team for clean-up!     
  

This is basically the same as making waffles...the batter is a bit different but you make them the same way, in a waffle iron.  They don't taste like waffles, though, more like a sugar cookie with a softer texture.  The nieces liked them but thought they were a little bland so we put raspberry jam on top...that did the trick!

After they made this batch, they decided to deliver them to the Aussie's son, Nick, a 15 year old man-about-town, who they had met earlier in the week...for an hour they discussed how they would drop off the cookies, who would say what, who would ring the doorbell, and what they would wear, etc., and after they had everything set, MY doorbell rang and it was the Aussie's daughter...she broke the news to the girls that Nick was out and about and said she would take the cookies to him.  Alas, there was nothing for them to do but make and eat more cookies!

Waffle Cookies - Adapted From Janet Mather

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

dash of salt

powdered sugar for sprinkling

raspberry jam for topping, optional

In a large bowl combine melted butter, eggs and vanilla.  Mix in sugars and gradually add in flour and salt, stirring until just combined.

On a preheated waffle iron, scoop a rounded tablespoon into the center of each grid and close the lid and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from waffle iron to a cooking rack, sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with jam.  Makes about 16 cookies.

***************************************************************************************************************************

My good friend  Karon is doing a little survey for her next book and she would like some help!

Please go visit her here and tell her what you do to make your life easier...she wants your best tips!

If you haven't been to Karon's blog before, take a minute to snoop around - she's always up to something and her life in Scotland is anything but boring. 

Sew Easy Life, it's a good read!