Happy Memorial Day!

Ray's aunt & uncle own a condo in Gulfport and they're in town visiting from Chicago, so the whole clan is driving over today for a little Memorial Day shindig. I love a good celebratory dessert, so I whipped out my Mary Jane pan and put together a buttery cake, filled it with some homemade custard cream, and topped it with strawberries. Yum in my tum.

A Mary Ann pan is simply one with a small indentation in the middle so that you can fill a small area of the top of the cake with ganache, custard, etc. (see this photo for a better idea). I bought my pan from Williams-Sonoma a few years ago, but I believe Wilton has them online under a different name. You could also probably use a 12" Springform pan and then cut out a piece of the top yourself.

Here are the recipes I used...

Mary Ann Cake
from Williams-Sonoma

• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
• 1 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a Mary Ann cake pan or other similar, deep 12" pan.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter on medium until smooth and creamy (about 1-2 min). Reduce speed to low and gradually add the sugar, beating until blended. Increase speed to medium-high and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy (3-5 min), stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and stopping to scrape down the sides. Beat in the vanilla.
4. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until just blended and no lumps of flour remain.
5. Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool 15 minutes. Turn out cake and let cool completely.

Custard Cream

• 2 cups whole milk (it's best not to substitute for a lower-fat milk)
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a non-aluminum pan over medium heat, warm the milk until tiny bubbles appear on the surface (about 6-8 minutes). Stir occasionally while heating to make sure the milk doesn't scorch.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar. Add the cornstarch and salt.
3. While whisking the egg mixture, gradually pour in half of the hot milk (to temper the eggs).
4. Whisk in the remaining milk and return entire mixture to saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens to a firm consistency (about 5-8 min). Note: One minute you'll be stirring and the mixture will be normal, and then almost if by magic the next second it will be thick as pudding and slightly curdled looking. Don't panic - that's what's supposed to happen! Once it gets all thick and lumpy, remove the custard from the heat and follow the next step.
5. Scrape into a bowl and whisk in the vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface of the pastry cream. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

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Telschow Drive-In Theater

It's been in the 70's down here in New Orleans since late January, so we've been enjoying grilling out and gardening for quite a while.  I'm pretty much obsessed with fresh basil, and my little plants are coming in nicely out on the front porch. Ray's working on building me a raised veggie bed in the backyard so I can transplant our veggies & herbs back there when it's time.

Using a seed starter I planted two types of Heirloom tomatoes (Mortgage Lifter & Golden Jubilee), some Green Bell Peppers, Lavender, Sweet Mint and Rosemary. I've grown plenty of herbs before, but this is my first encounter with full-on veggie action. The peppers don't seem so bad, but I'm fully intimidated by those tomatoes. If it weren't for the fact that my piggy little snout is watering for heirloom tomatoes, I wouldn't have attempted it. Because let's face it, I have zero interest in gardening unless it produces some kind of food. Flowers...meh.

So any and all advice is welcome - please help me grow heirloom tomatoes! I'm gonna post my plant's progress on here so you all can see how I'm doing :)  I'm so excited about it! Eating fresh herbs and tomatoes from my very own backyard will be a dream come true. Yum....now I'm thinking of all the burgers and caprese salad I can enjoy with them...

And speaking of grilling out, we decided to take things a step further this weekend. My husband is a big kid in the most adorable sense, and since the weather has been so nice, he decided to try out his new brainchild this weekend: movies in the backyard.

 



Ray's been talking about doing this for a while, and it was actually pretty ingenious. We have a big backyard (well, by New Orleans standards) with a very high & sturdy fence. There's also a big gate that swings open because the previous owners owned a boat. Ray's brother owns a projector, so naturally Ray thought we should throw up a white king size sheet on the fence, drive the car in the backyard, and have a Telschow Drive-In Movie Night, lol! Ray's immediate family came over (parents + brother & sister-in-law) and we grilled out and chatted in lawn chairs until it got dark enough to project the movie.

We also bought some tiki torches with mosquito repellant to add ambiance and ward off bugs, which unfortunately didn't work :( I have mosquito bites everywhere, even on the bottoms of my feet! THE BOTTOMS OF MY FEET!!! Curse you mutant swamp mosquitos!!! I shall find you and smote your ruin upon the mountaintop with Deet. And then rename myself Kaelin the White and save humankind from the mechanations of Mordor...er wait...mosquitos.

So for those of you looking for cheap family entertainment this summer, here you go! We plan on revamping our mosquito defenses and trying this again soon for the College Ministry we lead at our church.  We watched Up! this past weekend, but for the college kids we're thinking a fun, summery movie like Jurassic Park, ET, Super 8, or Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm going to try my best to talk them into Heavyweights, but hardly anyone's heard of that movie so it might be an uphill battle.

Also, we went to see one of my favorite bands ever this weekend - The Boxer Rebellion. And they rocked. Don't you just love when a band sounds even better in person? It's a rare and beautiful thing.

 

Here's to GREAT weekends!

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Loopholes

Since I can't sew, I've been trying to find other ways to unleash my crafty energy. Loopholes, if you will, to Ray and the medical community's strict "no sewing" policy.

 My solution? Ice cream dish towels.

My brother-in-law is getting married next month, and their wedding shower was yesterday. They've both been out of college and living on their for a few years, so they already have most of the household necessities. And since my future sister-in-law loves ice cream more than any human being I've ever met, I decided to give them a fun "date night" present instead. It included all the tasty fixin's you'd need for a proper ice cream soiree. Sprinkles, hot fudge, caramel, brownies, and I even filled some small glass storage cups with their favorite candies - chocolate covered peanuts, mini Reese's, mini M&M's, and mini Oreos.

And to add a little extra cuteness, I picked up a few kitchen towels (you can never have too many of those) and parfait glasses at Target, and folded them inside to mimic ice cream.

 Yum O!

To round things out, I bought them a gift card to the grocery store down the street (so they can purchase lots of ice cream when the time comes), and a gift card to Best Buy so they can pick up a movie to watch while they munch on their favorite frozen treats. 

Enjoy you crazy kids!  (I know it will probably be eaten within the next few days, rather than after your actual wedding....and that's okay ;) )

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Round Two

Since I made my first attempt at cross stitching last week with the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's dessert of the month club, I've officially become addicted! It's the perfect way for me to keep my hands busy while I'm on break at work, or when we're driving around town or crashing on the sofa at night. I've become slightly obsessed, so I might have picked up a few more patterns from their shop recently - Toast Jump (the one pictured above) and the Leaning Tower or Macaroons.

I finished the Jump Toast one last night, and it's going to my sister in Memphis. She started law school last fall and has a new apartment in Memphis, so I thought I'd make something cute for her walls. I finished the stitching last night and plan on picking up a cute frame for it sometime this week- yay!

Not gonna lie, it's really satisfying to be able to finish a project a few days after starting (rather than weeks or months later like quilts!)

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A Griswold Family Christmas

The holiday weekend got off to a rough start for me. After experiencing a situation eerily similar to this, the Griswold Christmas Vacation continued when I was up in the attic and accidentally put my foot through the bathroom ceiling. The whole family was over for Christmas Eve and we were short a stocking, so I went up in the attic to grab one. I didn't bother to turn on the light because I knew the location of the box I needed, and while stumbling around in the dark, my idiot self thought there was a board over one section (where there obviously wasn't, lol!) and I stomped right through the ceiling. I let out a yell, and when Ray and his brother came running, my size 11 foot and part of my calf were dangling through the bathroom ceiling. Aside from a small bruise on my knee (and ego), I was completely fine, and we all got a pretty good laugh out of it! ;)

The good news is, it's not as big a deal for us as it would be for most, because my father-in-law and brother-in-law both work at the family roofing & drywall business, so fixing it should be quick & painless :)

The hubs and I are currently laying on the sofa watching mindless reality TV (Ice Road Truckers - woot woot!), so here's a quick Telschow 2011 Christmas in review...

These are the handmade gifts I mailed to my family in Kentucky. The Echino bag & Strawberry clutch were for my sister, the houndstooth bag for my mom, the box pouch sets for my aunts, and the coffee coozies for my mom and dad.

This is a plaid yoga mat carrier I designed for my dad. It wraps around and velcros in place. I didn't know the circumference of his mat, so I made the velcro strips pretty long to allow for adjustment. The inside is flannel to keep the mat from sliding around.

Another Sidewalk Satchel for my future sister-in-law. The purple Keyka Lou clutch was also for her, and the Amy Butler one was for my cousin.

Puppy Adventures...

Human Adventures...

 Zoolander.

 Blue Steel.

 I made homemade cinnamon buns - yum!

My mother-in-law drinking eggnog out of a gravy boat. Long story, but my husband's usual shenanigans are to blame ;)

My new cutting mat wouldn't lay flat, so naturally the logical solution was to lay on it (rather than re-rolling it in the opposite direction)

We're a crazy & colorful bunch, but we always manage to have a good time ;) 

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas with your loved ones (and Santa brought you all the quilting supplies on your list!)

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Strawberry Pocket Clutch

It stinks because I really wanna tell you more about this pouch - like who I made it for and the thought process behind it - but I can't because I'm afraid they'll read this!

So all I can tell you is that it's a Christmas present for someone close to me, and it's not Ray (although he did think it was "cute").

I used Keyka Lou's Pocket Clutch pattern (which was incredibly easy, by the way). The most time-consuming part was cutting out the fabric, because it literally took me about 20 minutes to sew this puppy. And I liked how it turned out so much I made a duplicate for my shop! I'm slowly but surely managing to build up my inventory - a big thanks to those of you that commented / emailed me with tips the other day :)

And in case you're wondering where I got the fabric, the Navy Dot was from Joann's Premium Quilting Cottons section, and the adorable Strawberry print is from Hancock Fabrics (I don't know if they still carry it though, because I picked it up pre-incident and haven't been back since then, lol!) I know a lot of people rag on Hancock's and Joann's...yes, some of their fabric is really cheap, scratchy and/or thin, and 99% of their employees are oblivious to anything sewing related...but I actually find a lot of cute fabric there. You just have to be willing to dig a little bit! Because let's face it, they do have some nice stuff that most people would buy if they saw it sitting in their LQS - but since it's Joann's, they turn up their nose. I put on no such airs because hey, let's be honest, I come from a small town in Eastern Kentucky, plus momma didn't raise no snob. She can bargain hunt with the best of them :)

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A Family Affair

Maybe it's the impending holiday season, the crisp Fall weather I woke up to this morning, or a combination of the two...but I'm feeling very sentimental today :)

Since I started quilting 5 years ago, I've managed to rope my mother-in-law, and more recently, my future sister-in-law into the quilting world. We love having a hobby that we can all share together, and every so often we'll get together on a Saturday afternoon and having a Telschow women sewing party.

I feel very blessed, because it's a rare and special thing to share a passion with so many people in your family. Not only because it gives you something to talk about and do together, but also because it provides you with a support group. My mom, my mother-in-law, and my future sister-in-law all sew, and it's amazing having a group of women in my life who understand the technical aspects of what I'm doing, who can critique my designs and push me to be better, and who encourage me in my creative passions when I hit a rough patch.

As the years pass, I find myself looking forward to Christmas and birthdays more and more, because it's so much more fun and meaningful to give and receive handmade gifts from one another. After years and years of my mom making me handmade Halloween costumes, Easter dresses, quilts, and lunches with PB&J sandwiches cut into the shape of a heart, it's wonderful to be able to spend time on her and send her something I made with my own two hands - especially since I'm only able to make it up to Kentucky a few times a year to see my parents :(

So. In celebration of the women in my family, I'd like to share with y'all some photos I have of their beautiful handiwork :)

This is my future sister-in-law Katie's very first quilt! Can you believe how good of a job she did?! - it looks a heckuva lot better than my first attempt, that's for sure! She bought a kit at a local quilt shop and my mother-in-law helped her put it together. I popped by her house the other day, and she was snuggled under it watching tv - so cute!

One of the local quilt shops sells a lot of New Orleans-themed fabric, so my mother-in-law Lana made this Saints quilt for her son's birthday (my brother-in-law). She can't wait to give it to him next week! There's a layer of fleece sandwiched in the middle instead of batting, so the thing is super warm. You could probably boil a kettle of water under it, lol! (which works out well, because both my hubby and his brother are polar bears and refuse to turn on the heat in the winter because they like sleeping in an ice cold house)

And this amazing quilt was my mom's wedding present to Ray and I almost 6 years ago (I can't believe it's been that long...time flies when you're having fun *wink*). She told me a while back that in order to find so many different coordinating prints, she drove over to Hancock's of Paducah and spent the better part of an afternoon there picking out fabric with an employee :)

It makes my brain hurt to think about sewing all of these curved pieces...

...and the real kicker? She did every bit of it on a 30 year old Bernina, with arthritis in both hands.

Yikes! Just look at how intricate her free motion is!!! Thanks mom :)

And bonus, look what arrived in the mail yesterday! My friend Kelly from Kelby Sews is a total sweetheart! Neither of my local Joann's carried them, so she grabbed some of the Merry Main Street and 5 more yards of the Sugar Creek Floral print for me (after I used all mine in this quilt).

And since I'm trying to be extra good heading into the holidays, here is my "out" pile. All the prints you see below are now up for grabs in my Etsy shop. Use PLAIDSCOTTIE10 for 10% off.

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I love my sister

Her Facebook statusi bring me joy. A sampling of my favorites...

1. GaGa needs to take off the spiked thong, put on some big girl panties, and start writing good stuff again. I'm sorry but this last album is stinking up my hard drive.  
2. I just lost 5 minutes of my life figuring out how to spell acquaintance.
3. Just regained consciousness after seeing Robert Smith without eyeliner 
4. Specifically not going somewhere because it looks like a place that someone I hate would go. 
5. If you're going to molt and leave your exoskeleton on my porch that's one thing, but don't hang around afterward like a hillbilly. [cicada infestation]
6. I shot 910 pounds of rabbit, but was only able to bring back 100 pounds of meat. [posted with this picture] 
7. I can't be the only person still throwing their clothes on the floor.
8. I don't know why I learned to read, it only makes me mad. [posted with this article]
9. Just saw a 'Law Offices' sign that I'm 99% sure was stencil and spray paint. I wonder what the odds of them having a walk-in fridge in the back are. 
10. The world will never know a hatred greater than that between Mega Shark and Giant Octopus. 
11. Just looked at clothes at Talbots. It's the end for me now, I'm sure of it. 
12. ...sometimes worries how our world can ever be saved, but then I remember we have Russell Crowe.
13.  It's really annoying when people call about an interview RIGHT when the Nazgul attack the hobbits on Weathertop. I was so waiting for her to say something about the horribly loud screeching sound...."Well yes ma'am I'd be able to..." "SHIRE! BAGGINS!" 
14. Is YouTube considered a good thing to list on a job application under "relevant software application skills"? 
15. Sunday morning wood floor dust bunny roundup.
16. It's 1:30 am and I just javelined a gigantic katydid lurking on the crown molding with an unclothed Swiffer followed by several minutes of intense and inaccurate pounding. The carcass has been flushed, it was a closed casket funeral. Husband is still asleep but might be faking it so he doesn't have to get involved. 
17. Facebook is now like being in a naked dream. And you're awake, and everyone can see you.  
18. What cometh from eBay, returneth to eBay. 
19. I know I'll like the shoes when reviewers say the heel is just too high to be practical. 
20. Seriously underestimated how loud her fart would sound in the airport terminal
21. Will start caring about vampire love stories, when vampires start caring about MY love stories.
22. Make me some food, internet. 
23. Discovered a new and unexpected foe- furniture shopping.
24. Considers herself environmentally conscious, but would shower a thousand pounds of DNA-altering, earth-scorching chemicals on any place I even thought had a spider in it.

Happy Thursday :)

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Finished Scrappy Spidey Quilt....wahooo!!!

I'm done I'm done I'm done! Ahhh-hhaaaaa-aaaahhhh-hhaaaa-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! (that was the sound of the heavens opening and angels singing) I've been working on this since JULY (if you click on the label "Spiderweb" along the left-hand side of the screen, it will pull up all my posts on this quilt) and I'm glad I was able to finish it in time for Christmas and the end of 2010! Once I post photos later this week of my other finished quilt, I'll make a lovely mosaic of all my finished quilts and swap items for this past year :)

My husband was completely surprised (for once!) and has been living under it the past few days. He gets a little possessive if I try to use it, which I think is really cute ;)

Apparently I must have accidentally touched the lens before I took these, because there's a smudge in each of these photos. I'm sorry! Unfortunately I didn't notice until late last night when it was dark and I couldn't go outside to retake them....and it's raining right now, so I can't run outside and snap a few quick photos this morning either. Boo! So for now dear readers, you'll just have to live with blurry spots :(  I cleaned my camera last night after I discovered the annoying blurry spots, so it won't happen again.

And please pardon all the dog hair. My parents have a St. Bernard and his fur got ALL OVER this quilt. The hair you see is what remains after 2 vigorous washes, so I can tell I'm going to have to lint roll every square inch of this quilt to get it all off...not looking forward to that. 

I used Kona Cotton in Indigo (navy) for both the sashing and backing, and perl cotton in a kelly green color for the hand quilting. For the binding I chose Joel Dewberry's Herringbone in Lake because it matched the navy really well, plus I thought it was kind of spidery looking when I laid it horizontally next to the quilt....so that's how I cut it. This print in Lake and Pond are my two favorites from the Modern Meadow line and I've been stockpiling them like crazy!

I needed to bind it in time for Christmas so I could have a somewhat presentable quilt I could wrap, so I still have to quilt the semi-circle webs that run along the outside edge of the front (next to the sashing).

Ick. The dog hair is seriously grossing me out. If I'd thought it would show up this much in the photos, I would've spent an hour sticky-rolling it. But I didn't. Because I'm impatient. And wanted to put photos up for you guys. Please don't imagine I have a dirty, disgusting house with dust and dog hair floating about on everything...because I don't! Far from it. Whiskers is a low-shed dog, plus I vacuum and dust religiously. Scouts honor.

P.S. In case you'd like to make your very own Spiderweb quilt, here is the pattern I had my fellow bee members use.

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