things learned

Wisdom shared is wisdom gained.  

So here are things I have learned this week--

Our new favorite iron is the Turbo Steam Master by Sunbeam.

Purchased at Costco for about $30.

We have been using 2 for about 16 hours a day for 4 days with zero complaints.

Sometimes bigger is not better.

We were using up a large bag of wool strips to make felted pincushions.  The strips are wound up tightly and fastened with a rubber band.  They are tied up inside a nylon stocking, then washed and dried a few times.  They usually come out looking cute like these--

But we had a few casualties of the wraps that were on the large size, they sort of burst and turned out more like softballs than pincushions!

Pellon 44F is a good thing.

Tshirt quilts continue to be a popular choice for high school and college students, so there have been a couple of them assembled during our time here. 

The interfacing of choice is Pellon P44F, applied to the wrong side of the tshirt sections and then sewn into the quilt to stabilize the knit and make it much more useable.

Clear Windex is just the ticket 

for removing pencil marks from fabric.  

Who knew??

Squash can be delicious!

Even though I'm not a big fan of squash, I had a second helping of Nancy's squash soup at lunch today.  

Here is Nancy's recipe:

1 Sunshine squash

1 Sweet Mama squash

(or any squash of your choice)

Cook in the microwave until soft, then after they are cooled peel them and chop them up.

In a large pot, melt 1/2 cup butter.  Add:

1 large onion, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

Saute until translucent.

Add the chopped up squash and chicken or vegetable broth to cover.  Cook for "awhile" until the squash gets very soft but not completely mushy.

Use an immersion blender and blend some of the lumps out.

Add 2 tablespoons (roughly) of Tuscan seasoning from Costco, 1 can coconut milk and salt to taste.

Serve and enjoy!