The Long Project/Missouri-Made Mondays

I've survived Craft Show Season 2016. And now is time for the Long Projects.

By request, I have official approval for this color combination.

Calling it The Green Palette.

Ignore that bit of purple over on the left. It's just hangin out.

And this sampling is called a Star Stitch. I began this project with the variegated yarn called 

Aspen Print. In a future post I'll try for a better picture to show the blues, greens, and browns in the yarn. 

From Missouri, wishing you a wonderful Monday!

Missouri Wine Country/Missouri-Made Mondays

Did you know that Missouri has a history of wine-making that dates back to the 1850's? In fact until Prohibition, it had developed a sophisticated image during those years. Prohibition ended it for a time but it was reborn in the 1960's and is increasingly winning national acclaim.

I present for the Missouri-Made Mondays, a little Grape/Wine theme Microwave Baked Potato Bag.

And now some images of the winery at Rocheport, Missouri.

The Vineyards

Overlooking the Mighty Mo.

I need to revisit on a clear, sunny day. Taste-testing is in my near future.

From Missouri, wishing you a wonderful Monday!!

Rice Is Nice/Friday Flavor

In the cookbook corner of my kitchen counter is this little helper.

Turning to the Rice Pilaf recipe, I see a variation that could prove pretty useful in using up that garlic.

Why I bought so much is beyond me.

But it is that time of year to make the kitchen smell good.

There are also a good bunch of these to use up.

Does anyone else have trouble with green onions staying good very long?

Sticking to my guns, I did NOT stir the rice once the liquid was added.

I used chicken broth instead of water by the way.

Much better, trust me.

After 'the stir'.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Do You Have Anything Smaller?Missouri-Made Mondays

This message came to me from Etsy last Thursday. So a plan came about to show some fabric samples I have on hand, choose a favorite and start creating the 'smaller' version of a kerchief. The request was specifically for an 18 month old.

Neutrals were the request, but I speculated for a little girl, there needed to be some flowers.

Here were some choices.

Once the great debate was finished, I began the creating. (Favorite part😁)

I love how this one turned out.

 I may have to make a 2nd one just because I know it'll look so adorable.

Wishing you a wonderful Monday!!

Warmin' the Walls/Missouri-Made Mondays

My seemingly endless pile of scrap fabric was dented a little this weekend.
The frugal penny pincher in me saved these batting pieces, and tacked them together.....

Pardon the strings attached, but you won't see them inside a quilt.

And I may or may not have ever mentioned one of the greatest inventions ever in a sewing machine......

The Walking Foot. I will explain more later on this add-on that didn't come with my machine.

There are still things that are best done by hand.......

Like basting together the layers. I love it best when I have a small enough quilt that I can do this on the table rather than on my knees. Too many knee surgeries make for much tenderness when you have to crawl around to baste. Just sayin'.

Maybe my quilter friends out there will give a miraculous suggestion on saving the knees??

Masking tape helps guide my stitches when I don't feel like drawing lines with quilter pencils. And I can reuse the tape a few times when transferring it to the rest of the quilt. 

Binding tomorrow evening while waiting on the election results.

Please remember to Vote! 

In the words of Missouri's own Mark Twain:

"Politicians and diapers must be changed often,

and for the same reason."

Versatility/Missouri-Made Mondays

Many accessories are out there for keeping us warm in the great outdoors. Both in stores and online you can find just about anything that suits your fancy. To keep up with new trends, I decided to change up one of my most popular items and create a scarf with a bonus attribute. This is my newest item for sale in the Katy Trail Creations Etsy shop.

Infinity scarves have long been popular. Not to mention they are pretty helpful when the wind is blowing. Who in the world wants to worry about their scarf blowing off.

But making it a little larger this go-round gives you a little extra for evenings out where you need a little shoulder coverage.

Or what about keeping grammy warm in church? Beats trying to hold up her coat on her shoulders.

Come back next week for another Missouri-Made Monday to see what's new in the shop.

Gonna Make This/Friday Flavor

It's not too often I blog on a topic twice, but this is one that had double duty for me. Over on WordPress, I had the priviledge to enter my Thursday Doors post using a set of photos from last weekend. This is Part 2 using the rest of my pics.

Port Fonda is what was once a restaurant in an Airstream trailer turned into 2 restaurants of very classy "Inventive Mexican Food". One in Lawrence and the other in Westport, Mo. 

I have to admit I played it safe and tried the Chorizo Fundido. But Only after I inquired on the level of heat those poblano pepper strips carried. This Was All Mine! Sorry, I  had already dug in to the skillet. 

The view to my left.

The Bar behind me.

Note to the chef/owner, Patrick Ryan, (who by the way is doing the Midwest proud with some pretty outstanding awards)

I am going to attempt my own homemade version of your dish.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Berry Fresh! /Missouri-Made Mondays

blue·ber·ry

ˈblo͞oˌberē/

noun

1. 1.

   a hardy dwarf shrub of the heath family, with small, whitish drooping flowers and dark blue edible berries.
2. 2.

   the small, sweet edible berry of the blueberry plant.

This handmade item is new on the list at the Etsy store.

They are 100% cotton, hand crocheted scrubbies.

This set of 10 is done in a variegated "BlueBerry" yarn with a mix of

 Lime Green, Blue and Purple coloring.

For less than $5 you can indulge in a little treat for yourself

before the holiday rush.

*Start a nice hot, bubbly bath.

* Lather up these scrubbies with your favorite soap.

*Wash away the stress!

Hope you check out this and other items in my Missouri-Made shop!

Cooking Empowerment (& a Birthday)/Friday Flavor

Ok, so I thought I'd keep the birthday thing under wraps on social media. But a couple family members had other ideas. Thanks daughter #1 and Only Sister. I say that with my sweetest reminder that they too will be celebrating someday.........

At least my Mother-in-law tried to sweeten the deal for real with this personal cake.

It. Was. Wonderful!

Thank you Nancy :)

Kirsten surprised me with flowers, balloons and a lovely little package. 

Thank you for making my day special!

#LoveMyDaughters

Fast forward to Thursday,

we worked on a lil' recipe with the children.

This was on Pinterest and as you can see, we altered it a bit to fit my ingredients on hand.

Have you ever tried Pear Honey? It was one of the substitutes for the maple syrup. 

The doubled batch made enough to fill that pitcher in the end.

With special permission, I can show you the 'action'. Just look at the intent on those faces!

Sure added some Flavor to my day.

Hope you'll be back next week for more Friday Flavor!

World With Octobers/Missouri-Made Mondays

It's been a beautiful October weekend here in central Missouri. Just look what I opened my truck door out into.......

If only we could bottle this up.

Love this time of year!

Also love the fall colors as you will see in this latest kitchen helper.

Stop by Katy Trail Creations on Etsy for other great Missouri-Made items!

Those Monday Blues/Missouri-Made Mondays

Blues in this instance are symbols. Looking into the symbolism of blue I read that it can convey a sense of trust, loyalty and understanding. It's no wonder it's a favorite color of most people.

So when I worked on various projects this weekend, I wasn't surprised in the common denominator of blue I ended up with. Time to share them with you....

This wrap took me through 5 skeins of Homespun Yarn. It's extra wide and was nearly part of a new garment, but I ran out of yarn. sigh! Maybe next time.

Maybe it's width will qualify it for a "Super Wrap", (Super being the trend in crochet this season)

More blue in this vintage fabric. Storage never looked so lovely!

I hope these pillow cases I embroidered by request will make the newlyweds feel like royalty. Thanks to my cousin for letting me help out! 

To see more Missouri-Made items, drop by my Etsy Store, Katy Trail Creations.

One Dish, Four Meals/Tasty Thursday

What's in the Cabinet?

This Tasty Thursday began with a box of these Oven Ready Lasagna noodles. You may not realize it, but this means you don't have to preboil them. And guess what else?

The recipe is on the back.

Now we ad libbed a bit in the seasoning and made it our own. 

Parsley?? Naa. We used Italian Seasoning. Much better, trust me.

First night, we dug in and had 3/4 of it left.

On #2 meal night, I thought I might add a pic of the garlic toast and salad.

We ate on this fabulousness for 4 evenings. 

And it is Gluten Free, convenient, and good for you. 

Random Food Fact:

 McDonald’s sells 75 hamburgers every second of every day.

Why not keep your $$ and eat home cooked meals??

Dinner for Two / Tasty Thursday

 It's pretty awesome when you don't feel like cooking and you know you don't need to go out to eat. No one else wants your sneezes. So to the rescue was the hubby. Smothered Steak is on the menu this Tasty Thursday.

Still have some of these from the garden.

After cleaning them up and joining them with the other vegies.....

You simply add the steak to the pan with some butter n oil.

 Simmer for around 5 minutes on each side.

Finish off by

topping them with this rainbow of nutrition and simmer to the desired consistency.

In my opinion, I should have chopped up More vegies.

Check out the Tasty Thursday host site here.

In The Round/ Missouri-Made Mondays

Thinking of a quick gift idea? Many times we think of bath items for someone. I mean, you never have enough items for you skin care, right??

Paired with a special scented soap, bath salts/bombs and lotion, this creates a very nice basket combination. 

A new baby will love the tag-free softness.

Pampering never felt so good!

These also work great 

*as a drink coaster

* displayed in a dish on your counter

*as teether biscuits 

*and are wonderful for little hands in helping with dishes.

More colors will be coming soon to Katy Trail Creations on Etsy!

Check back each Monday for more Missouri-Made items.

I Do Not CArrOT All/Tasty Thursday

One item that has been illusive on our store shelves is tomato soup. Let me clarify.....Gluten free tomato soup. And once we found a decent brand(in another town), it was high time we used up a pepper or two from my latest harvest for a family favorite side dish. This one is perfect for the latest round of extra warm weather we've been having. 

Carrot Salad or Penny Salad. Whichever you prefer to call it is the one dish I haven't cooked up in the years we've had to avoid gluten. Until now.

And it was lookin' purty good.

And this happened.

The green of these flowerets stared back at me.

So in they went. The whole bag. 

New recipe name suggestions??