Taking Pictures During Cold Weather

                             

Snow Clad Tress ‹ Nevada, 2001  http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/exposing_snow.shtml

I love taking pictures. My dad was a photographer and he must have passed the camera bug down to me. I especially love taking pics with my new camera, an early Chanukkah present from the hubby. Well, taking pictures in winter weather, especially very cold winter weather is tricky. I don’t have too many problems in Florida (we rarely get into the teens much less have snow) but people up North do. Here’s a great post from the New York Institute about picture taking during winter.

http://www.ritzcamera.com/static/articles/tips/winter-photo.html

Making Kaps for Kendall

After passing on the word about Kaps for Kendall I thought I should make a few caps, too. After all, I have a HUGE pile of fabric and I’m sure there is a piece or two of fleece that would make a few hats to help the cause.            Here’s the fleece I picked out, bright and colorful enough to brighten anyone’s spirits. I used the measurements and guide from Cheri’s “I Am Momma- Hear Me Roar: Upcycled Boy Hats”

After finishing the hat, it sort of reminded me of a kippah. Have to perfect this one for my use. Cute, though.

Made a couple more hats using a pattern I’ve played with before. Here’s the final result.

Too Cute!

Post by Miss Eileen.

Keep a Kid Warm This Winter

Found this in my mail box today. Craftsy teamed up with Project Linus and Kaps for Kendall and the “Keep a Kid Warm This Winter Campaign.” The goal is to collect 1000 blankets (Project Linus) and 1000 hats (Kaps for Kendall) by December 15, 2011. Knitted, crocheted, sewn, it’s all good. Here’s the link:

http://blog.craftsy.com/2011/09/help-craftsy-keep-a-kid-warm-this-winter/

And, here are a few hat patterns to get you started.

Knitted Hat and Scarf. Traditional is always in style.

Color Blocks, totally crocheted. Comes with the cardigan pattern, too.

         This one is sewn from fleece remnants. Vintage styling and very cute!

 

Post by Miss Eileen of GoofingOff and MissEileen on Etsy and Artfire.

The Dressy Overcoat

I'd like to think this has happened to all of us but I know for certain it's happened to me. I spend lots of time making a special outfit, getting accessories that work just right, getting my hair in place, only to reach for a coat that doesn't go with the look. Forgot all about the coat. Talk about a flub up. I keep a coat for fancy occasions now but having something a bit dressy for kids is so much harder. Just when you think it is all put together you realize they no longer fit in their coat and the one they wear to and from school just don't get it. 

Here's a cute cape with capelet and hat that would go well with a dress, just right for those special occasions coming up around holiday time.

Butterick 3041, size 7-10. This pattern includes the cute hat or can be made with the hood. The cape pattern only has 4 pieces which means it would sew up fast.

Happy sewing and always take time for a little goofing off!
post by Eileen Patterson of GoofingOff,  MissEileen, and MetalWoodsnWater.

Chicken Chili Recipe

Bowl of Chicken Chili

The cold weather has me thinking of ways to keep warm and feed people. As I said in an earlier post, we eat a lot of chicken in my home so there is usually leftover chicken waiting to be reinvented into something tasty. Today the hubby and friends are out in the cold cutting trees for an orchard so I thought a hot lunch would be in order. Looking in the refrigerator I found leftover chicken breast and leftover beans. Hmmm, I thought, looks like the basics for chicken chili.
I won’t claim this as an original recipe, although my take on it might be a little different than most. A friend made some for work one day and it was wonderful. Since I don’t have her recipe I had to make my own. Hope you like it.
Chicken Chili     Makes about 8 12 ounce bowls.
2 cups of cooked, diced chicken

1 onion, diced

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
2 cups of beans already cooked. Use 1 can of beans if you didn’t cook any. Kidney beans are great but pink, navy, and black beans work well, too.

1- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons of chili powder

1 tablespoon of crushed cumin seed

In a large saucepan heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until the onions are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another minute.

Add chicken, gently stir, and allow the chicken to heat through, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and beans to the chicken. Turn the heat down to low. Add chili powder and ground cumin and stir.
At this point, you can either continue cooking the chili on the stove over a low heat or do what I do, put it in the crock pot and continue cooking on low. If you continue on the stove, make sure to stir the chili often to make sure it doesn’t scorch.
If you use the stove the chili will be ready in about 1 hour. If you are using the crock pot it will be ready in about 6-8 hours.

Serve with grated cheese, diced onions, and crackers, if you prefer.  Hot sauce is also a welcome addition.
The chili was a big hit at my house. I hope it is at yours. Enjoy and stay warm!

Post by Eileen Patterson of GoofingOff.etsy and GoofingOff.Artfire

Little Winter Girl Candle Holder

Sometimes something catches my eye when I stop at a yard sale. Sometimes it is a seriously vintage pattern, other times it is an old book, still other times it is something out of place. This time this Little Winter Girl by Jasco was sitting among the other "Made in China" stuff. Cute, soft spoken, and pretty was how she looks. Someone else thinks she is cute, too. She made the The Christmas Rabbit treasury by PipingHotPapers. Here's the little girl She is pretty cute.