From the Resident Chef...

 

The Resident Chef made these over the weekend and thought some of you might like to give them a try...

MAPLE BAKED BEANS

2 c. dry white beans
1 pork chop, cut into small pieces
4 c. chili sauce
1 tsp. thyme
1 Tbsp EACH molasses and prepared mustard
1 1/2 c. maple syrup
3 stips bacon, chopped (or equivalent bacon bits)
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Soak beans overnight, then rinse and cover with water.  Bring to boil, reduce heat.  Add thyme. Simmer until beans softened (approximately 45 mins).  Pour into oven-proof pot.  Add chop, chili sauce, molasses and mustard.  Bake @ 350 for 1 hour.  Stir in bacon and Worcestershire.  Add half of the maple syrup.  Reduce heat to 250 and continue to bake for 5 - 6 hours.  Periodically add more of the maple syrup and stir in.

- There are lots of great tips HERE that pertain to sewing/quilting.  Well worth reading!

- I think THESE are so cute - and would be such fun to make and give.

- THIS is a nice little project you might enjoy.

- THIS little guy is pretty cute!

Today's quote is from Ronald Reagan..."Peace is not absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means"

A couple knitting finishes

 It's a good thing I houseclean the basket I keep beside my living room chair once in awhile because I unearthed a partially completed scarf that's probably been sitting there for nearly two years.  Oh dear.  I can call it done now after several evenings of knitting.  Then I decided I needed to 'do something' with the drawer where I keep my worsted-weight 'bits' and decided I could make another hat which will be going to the donation box.  

- THIS is a rather pretty pattern that would be great for scrap yarns.

- And THIS one too!

- HERE is a fun little project you might like to try.

- HERE is another fun project that looks pretty easy to make.

Today's quote is from Barbara Hemphill..."Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions"

Just a little closeup

 Here is a small section of the latest landscape with hand embroidery added...

- I know THIS is a tad late for Easter perhaps, but still would be really cute for spring.

- THIS is a little different take on a makeup (or anything) bag.

- Our family likes felted slippers so perhaps I'll give THIS version a try.

- THIS is something I found awww-worthy.

Today's quote is from Anthony Douglas Williams..."When we learn to respect all life, we learn to love all life"

An oops and progress

 I've been working on the latest in my little landscape series and the eagle-eyed among you will maybe notice that his shirt colour has changed.  The first version blended in too much with the water.  That was a minor oops but a bigger one happened when I added the organza over the water area and the iron touched it when I was fusing the 'new' shirt and....horrors....melted it.  That's the first time that has ever happened and I've used the same process before.  I rather wonder if my iron is wearing out.  At any rate, I appliqued a bit more of the organza on top of the offending area and will end up embroidering plants over top to blend it in.  Gives me an excuse to do more embroidery!

- I never would have thought of doing THIS with quilts!

- Have a peek at the amazing creations of THIS incredible artist.

- There's a lot of links HERE to some crochet summer tops,  some of which are really nice.

- Of course you know I enjoyed seeing some of THESE!

- Pour yourself a cuppa and go through the galleries of THIS incredible artist!  Be sure to check out her wearables too.

Today's quote isn't a quote per se, but something I wanted to share...

Happy Easter!

 

- HERE is something you might like to try.

- THIS is a cute wee project that could serve all sorts of uses.

- And HERE is another little project that wouldn't take much time.

- THESE are a little bit awww-worthy.

Today's quote is from Basil C. Hume..."The great gift of Easter is hope"

It appears...

 Yes, it appears that I'm doing a series of 'Him and Me' landscapes with this being the start of the second one...

- There is lots of inspiration HERE!

- Dandelion season is coming, so HERE is something you might like to try.

- HERE is another fun-looking project.

Today's quote...

Stash reduction

 I wanted to test out a new way (at least new to me!) of joining two colours of yarn and scrounged through my stash to find some part-balls that would work together.  This hat is the result and I know I'll be using that method of joining again.  If you'd like to try it for yourself, here's what I did....on the row where you want to change colours, work 1 knit stitch in one colour and 1 knit stitch  in the other across the row.  I suspect working 2 knit stitches would work just as well.

- I may have provided a link to THIS process before but if I did it was a long time ago and perhaps there are some new readers that might find it useful to know.

- FINALLY a good use for AI!!!  Go HERE to see what I'm mumbling about!

- THIS looks like such fun to make!

- First go and read about THIS amazing artist and then visit his gallery of work HERE.

- There is tons of inspiration HERE!!!

- oooooh - I want some of THESE!!!!

Today's quote...