Aprons...

I love aprons. My grandma always wore one....from making biscuits in the kitchen to the chicken house to gather eggs. I wear them but not as often as I should.
I like to make aprons. I sometimes use a pattern, sometimes not. I kinda splurged the other day....using a 40% off coupon at Joanns, I picked up their last copy of the latest issue of *apron-ology*. New fabrics. Old fabrics. Old shirts or skirts. Vintage linens. Half aprons. Full aprons. I'm finding lots of inspiration! I found it interesting and disappointing though that when I went to check out the Etsy shops of the featured designers, several, not all, their shops were empty. I hope they fill up soon so we can see more of their fabulous aprons.
Vintage linens used to be a weakness of mine while browsing the antique shops. I've sold some. I've upcycled some. I actually use some of the tablecloths.  I think I've still got a few of them tucked away in a closet waiting to be transformed into something new.

Mema's Chocolate Sheet Cake

Of all the made from scratch chocolate cake recipes I've made over the years, I think this one is the best. Why shouldn't it be? It's from my mother in law.

Chocolate Sheet Cake
Sift:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Melt:
2 sticks margarine (or butter)
4 Tablespoons (slightly rounded)
1 cup water
Bring water mixture to boil. Pour over dry ingredients. Beat.

Add:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
Bake in a greased and floured sheet cake pan at 350° for 20-25 minutes.

Icing:
Melt 3/4 stick oleo (or butter) and 6 tablespoons buttermilk. Add 3-4 tablespoons cocoa. Bring to boil. Add 1 box powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Spread while hot over cooled cake. Add 1 cup nuts if desired.

My little farm girl...

Ramblin'.....

It was a quiet weekend here in my little corner of the world. John was out, kids were busy. As much as I needed to run errands on Saturday I decided they could wait one more day and I spent nearly my entire day in my sewing room. I turned the tv off and popped a Michael Connelly book into the cd player and got busy. All alterations had been done and delivered so I got to work on what I call the fun work. I managed to get two aprons and two little needlebooks done, all using supplies from my stash. It is dwindling down. After cleaning and reorganizing my stash cupboard a week or two ago, I found that I've used up more of it than I thought but I do have a little ways to go.
So what's next? I received this *pure and pleasant* (primitive bettys) chart in a swap some time ago, along with the linen. It's charted for threads by The Gentle Art but since I don't have them, I found a conversion chart here and with all the dmc that I have, of course I still lack one of the four colors.
I've also got *Brown Egg Farm* (Notforgotten Farm) set aside for when I go out with John in the truck this summer.
So besides the cross stitch projects, in taking inventory of my fabrics  and supplies and the thoughts of getting my etsy shop going once again, I can see more aprons, mini-quilts, make-do's and pinkeeps being made.
What's going on in your world?

Who needs toys?

She is happy to just run, giggle and stop to pick a dandelion or two......

The view.....

.....out my front window last night just before dark.

Oatmeal Cookies...

Because I had a few ingredients needing to be used up (and maybe because I had sweet tooth), I made these yesterday.

Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 cup white chocolate chip
1 cup dried cranberries
Preheat oven to 350°.
Cream together shortening &sugars. Add egg & vanilla. Stir in flour, salt & soda. Stir in oatmeal, chips & berries.
Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake 10-12 minutes.
Enjoy!