Thursday, September 27, 2007

SEWING WITH ELIZABETH

I have actually started sewing. I have managed to make one Roman shade.. only 4 more to go. I went to JoAnn's yesterday and bought pulleys and nylon cord. Hopefully I will have them all finished by the end of the weekend. It is just one of those boring obligations that I have put off for too long.

Bill is diligently working on my table for the HQSixteen. It will have a leaf on each end and a large table in the back.



It has a board that pulls out and will then have 3 drawers. It has locking wheels so I can move it out of the way when I am not using it. Then there is the shelf that will extend underneith to hold the machine so the sewing area is on the surface of the table. My husband is so talented. I'm pretty lucky to have someone around who can build something for me that I draw up on graph paper.
Recently, I saw the movie Elizabeth I that was a miniseries on HBO it had Helen Miren


and I saw this ELIZABETH at Walmart and bought it. It is a movie and I am watching it now. Cate Blanchett plays Elizabeth in this movie. It's a very good movie, and makes me feel sorry for any poor woman who would be queen and have everyone telling her what she has to do. There is a sequel coming out called Elizabeth, the Golden Age. I look forward to seeing it. I think that I will have to make a date with my daughter, because my husband would never go to see it.


Anyway, I have started sewing a little quilt. I did it on a whim.

It is a Burgoyne Surrounded, and is not even paper pieced. I was going to do it in red, dark blue and black, but I changed the black to a deep turquoise/black print. It is an odd combination. I'm not sure it will even work, but it's something to do, and I have gone a long time without making a quilt. I've been in a kind of slump I guess, and I have not been inspired to do anything quilty.
I cook in iron skillets that have ben used by my Great Grandmother, my Grandmother and my Mother. I love them because of their history, and they are really great for cooking. Another pan I use is a heavy pot with a chipped enamel lid. Ever since I was a child, we used it to make popcorn. I think my mom also used it to make peanut butter fudge. Have you heard all of this stuff on the news about "Popcorn Lung" that popcorn factory workers are getting from breathing the chemicals used to make butter flavored popcorn? I don't guess I have ever thought about the chemicals in my foods. I started paying more attention after friends were discussing how they no longer cook in plastic containers. I decided to drag out my mom's old popcorn pan and start making popcorn the old fashioned way.Sorry that the picture is blurred, there was corn flying all over the place. We used to try to see how far we could get the lid to pop up. I forgot how much of a mess it was to pick up all of the popcorn, and we didn't have a gas stove, so the pieces didn't catch on fire either!
But it was so good, and so much better than I remembered. Of course it is no healthier in the way of calories than it's microwave counterpart, so I may not have popcorn lungs, but I will have popcorn thighs I guess!!

3 comments:

Rian said...

Liz would be proud.

I love your picture of the popcorn!

Sheila said...

I, too, love the popcorn picture. What memories it brings.

I am anxious to see how the HQ table turns out, as it's a purchase (HQ) I'm considering for down the road.

My main reason for commenting today was the "not cooking in plastic." I have also decided enough is enough with that, and last weekend went out and purchased a set of Pyrex multi-sizes storage containers to put leftovers in and to carry in my lunch. I get an emotional boost every time I look at them. LOL
Sheila in Ohio (near Columbus)

AmyB said...

We've always made popcorn on the stove -- my mom's largest avacado green club aluminum saucepan (pot?) has been the vessel of choice for really all of my life. I was lucky enough to be awarded it when I moved into my first apartment. It looks terrible, but the popcorn is amazing! Most of my friends think I'm crazy -- it's more and more unusual, I guess, to pop corn the *real* way :)