Missouri

 We went to Missouri last weekend.  We got to ride on a ferry for the first time - it was awesome!  We had to get on it to get from AR to MO.
This is where we want to move, get out of the big city and move to the country.  Isn't it beautiful?

 We spent one day on Bull shoals Lake.  We rented a fishing boat and had a lot of fun!  We hardly saw anyone!

 My husband said I looked like a hick!

 This was our picnic area!  We didn't want to sit on the grass because of ticks.  I hate ticks and had more ticks on me this weekend than my entire life.  So gross!

 Me looking for rocks.

 My husband likes to say goofy things to me, and he snapped a picture when I gave him my "huh?" look!  Now I know what it looks like!  Can you tell it was pretty windy, that hair is crazy.

 This is the resort where we stayed.  Pinder's Resort in Protem, MO but they are in Yellville, AR also.  That is literally on the border!  My husband tried to teach me how to play pool.  He says I cheat with my "do overs"  Excuse the signs in the background, I think they collected them or something, but there was not any alcohol there.  You probably would not have noticed if I had not said something.

 This was the view from our cabin, Bull Shoals Lake.

 I had to take a picture with the bear.

 Our cabin is in the middle.

 Sunset was the most beautiful time.

 It was too cold to go swimming, but I had to get me feet wet at least.

 It was not anything fancy, but affordable and probably one of the most restful, quiet vacations we ever had.

If you are hungry you can always go to Forsyth, MO and choose from either a burrito, Chinese or fish!  We just laughed when we saw that sign!

 Look what I found in an old, abandoned house!  A vintage singer, I would love to take that home and see if I can get it to work!

 There was also a quilting loom, but it was falling apart.

I also took some pictures of a couple of small quilt shops, I'll share those later.

Thank you for sharing my vacation with me!

Missy

My childhood quilt

 This is a very special quilt from my mom.  My mom used to do a lot of painting with tri-chem, I was surprised to learn that they are still in business.
http://www.trichem.com/
She was a single mother raising two daughters by herself.  She wanted a quilt for both of her daughters.  She did not sew, but she could paint with her tri-chem!  She made one with dolls of the world and one with kittens.  Mine was supposed to be kittens with the blue border (my favorite color) and my sister's was supposed to be dolls with a yellow border (her favorite color).  The lady who did the quilting accidently swapped the colors, so I got the dolls and my sister got the kittens.  She is three years older then me so I started Jr High when my sister started High School.  These were our gifts for this new time of our lives.  I've had this quilt for 25 years!

 My mom and I are very close.  She is on the far left, and my grandmother on the far right, my sister is up front.  1992

 Here is our old fashioned picture with my husband.  2008

My mom and I riding the horses at the stockyards!  2008

This is our most recent picture. 2011  Not a great picture since we had been at the fair all day and my hair is all pulled up.  We go to the fair every year for mine and my sister's birthdays.  Her birthday is the day before mine.  It was not as much fun as it was when we were little though.  My mom is on the end, my sister in the middle, me on the right, and my niece in the front.  Does this remind you of the picture at the top except this time my mom is the grandmother?  I always thought it would be me, my mom and my daughters hanging out, just like when I grew up.  The Lord has not blessed me with any children yet.  My grandmother always was a part of our outings.  Us "girls" have always been closely knit together, I'm the only who still does not live in Lubbock.  I miss my mom and getting to hang out with her and my sister.  I call her all the time.  I have the best mom and my quilt goes with me everywhere. It has been to church camps, youth conferences, camp meetings, college, marriage, vacations, everywhere.  It has always been a part of my life and comfort to me, just like my mom.
Thank you mom for being such a great mom, I love you!
Happy mother's day,
Missy

color question and traveling kit

 I have been cutting hexies getting ready to go camping (in cabins this year).  A friend is house sitting for us and babysitting my kitties.  To see some of the finished flowers go here:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/04/design-wall-monday.html it will give you a good idea of what they will look like when I'm done.  Most grandmother's flower gardens are pretty uniform in their color scheme.  You can check some out on my pinterest board:  http://pinterest.com/missyshay/quilts-hexagon/
I'm thinking of switching it up a little bit, just because of the number of the colors that were cut.  I was going to do all the middle hexies either blue or green, but I had forgotten about this purple batik I had, and since there is a lot of purple in the panel I'm using I really want to add it (instead of that maroon which I realized does not match the panel after I cut it.)  Would it look okay, if I put a middle blue with an outside green, and a middle purple with an outside blue, middle orange with outside purple, etc.?  Most of my oranges have been outside, can you see what I'm thinking from the pictures?  Since the purple is more of a solid, I wanted to put it with some of the splotchies (new word, but it fits), the oranges and blues.

 I cut my hexies and put them in the flower sets, ready to sew.  I have some navy cut (for the background between the flowers) and I'm hoping I'll have all of the flowers sewn and ready to add the navy by the time I get home.  I have an 8 hr drive there, so that is 16 hours of sewing!  (minus my car naps of course)

 I usually carry my snap bag in my purse filled with my hand sewing.  Nothing fancy, I'll do a tutorial when I make another one.  I put one flower set, thread, and fold up scissors in the bag.  I added a little holder for my needles that I fold up when not using.  (see it in the above picture)

 If I am going to be gone a little longer and may need more flowers and I drop it and my extra "flower kits" in this bag which I decorated many years ago.  I also keep my hexagon template and marker in my bag.  One day I will make a nicer sewing kit, but this works for now. I put the extra hexies in sandwich baggies to keep them from getting wrinkled.  As the quilt gets bigger I will need a bigger carrier!

 Did I mention that I made my snap bag on a hand crank?  Isn't that awesome!  I really want a handcrank sewing machine to use!  It is called a snap bag because it has carpenter's measuring tape (which you can get at the Dollar Tree for a dollar) in the top so it "snaps" open.

Please give me your opinion about mixing up the colors for my flowers!  If you need an invitation to pinterest let me know and I will send you one when I get home.  I have several new quilting categories also so be sure to follow me!

Thank you!

Missy

"Healthy" Tater Tot Casserole

I wanted to make my husband a tater tot casserole, but did not want to use a can of "cream" soup.  I prefer to control the ingredients that goes into my food.  My husband loved it, he would not even let me take a picture before serving himself.  You make a milk gravy with cheese added for the sauce.  If you want the taste of Lipton onion soup mix, but without the artificial ingredients, use dried onion flakes.

Normally I would probably dice up some onions and garlic using fresh ingredients, but I was very sick when I made it.  I had what we refer to at church as "the sickness".  It is awful!  Headache, a cough so bad you think you are going to throw up and it makes your chest hurt, congestion, sore throat, overall yuckiness.  I made this after I was starting to feel better, but still weak.  My husband cooked for me all weekend and even washed the dishes while I was sick.  I have the best husband ever!  For a shortcut I used a handful of dried onion flakes and garlic salt.  I didn't measure it.

INGREDIENTS
dried onion flakes
garlic salt
seasoned salt
1 pound ground chuck or hamburger meat (I used chuck)
2 tbl flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (please don't buy pre-shredded, it contains cellulose which is what is used in dry wall)  plus one cup set aside.
1/2 bag tater tots

The good thing about cooking is that the ingredients can be substituted for other ingredients and none of the measurements have to be exact.  You change anything according to your own taste.  You can buy organic tater tots, sweet potato tater tots, hashbrowns, even mashed potatoes (A great way to use up leftovers!)  You can even throw in some corn or peas if you want to.

Fry up your meat in a skillet.  Saute your onions and garlic with the meat.  I also added season salt to the meat.   If you use chuck you might not have enough grease, if so add some olive oil to make about 2 tbl grease.  If you use hamburger you will have to drain some of the grease, but leave about 2 tbl grease.  The grease is necessary for the gravy.  Have your milk ready before adding the flour.  Add the flour in the grease and whisk until incorporated into the grease.  Slowly add the milk while whisking.  Be sure to get all of the flour incorporated.  Continually whisk to keep from getting lumps, lumps are bad.  Continuous whisking is good!  Add the cheese and keep whisking until thick and bubbly.
Pour into a greased 9x13 (I used olive oil).  Top with tater tots and lightly salt.  You have already added seasoned salt and garlic salt, so wait until after it is cooked to see if any more salt is needed.   Sprinkle the top with the remaining cup of cheese.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  It will be nice and bubbly.  When we go camping in cabins, I am going to divide this up in disposable pans and freeze it so I can just pop it in the oven one night and not have to worry about cooking.
I hope you enjoy this as much as my husband did!
Missy
Here's a cute picture of Muffin

Rotary Cutter Mat Bag

Have you ever had a problem and needed to find a way to fix it?  I did, isn't it a pain to carry your mat for your rotary cutter places?  I had bought a big one, then my teacher recommended I get a smaller one, so I got a medium size.  It really did not fit in any of my bags though and I was constantly dropping it.  I really needed a more convenient way to carry it so decided I needed to make a bag, but not just any bag.  A bag that would fit over the handles of my sewing machine case.

I made this bag the night before my TOGA(Treadle and handcranks, quilting retreat)  I stayed up until midnight finishing it and forgot to take pictures, but that's okay because I needed to add a top to keep it from gaping open.

I finished it today (I'm supposed to be cleaning the house, but as I was cleaning off the table, there it was, and I didn't want to just move it to another room and forget about it)

The first step is to measure your mat, to decide how big you want your bag.  I added an extra inch.  It looked like a pillowcase!

 I sewed two pieces of material right sides together.  I did this for the top piece and bottom piece.  Then turn right side out and sew the top.  On the bottom piece, make sure you sew the straps on BEFORE sewing it up into the bag, I forgot and what a pain that was!  Fold your bottom piece and hold it up to the sewing machine case to decide where to sew the bottom strap.  It will be resting on top of the case to keep it up off the ground.  You don't want it dragging.  Sew the second strap.  Make sure you measure the top of the handle, I measured the bottom, then could not get the strap over the handle.

 Since the top was gaping open, I decided to sew a top onto it.  I'm glad I made it in two pieces, this way I can have rulers sticking out the sides, even when the bag is closed.

 I did not use interfacing, but wish I had.  It would provide more stability and make it last longer.  I took my top flapand put the mat and rulers in the bag to decide how tall to make it.  Give a couple of extra inches, just in case.

 I sewed the flap to the back, gave myself an inch of the bottom hanging inside the bag, hoping this will give it a little more strength.   I used my ruler to decide where to put my magnetic snaps.  I was going to use velcro, but then remembered I had these snaps.

 I made sure both snaps lined up, using two rulers helps a lot!

  Let's back up a moment though.  Sew your snaps onto the flap, BEFORE sewing the two pieces together, another "oops" moment.  I had to cut a slit in the material to put the backing in, otherwise you would have been able to see it in the front.  Maybe I should have gone ahead and done that, it would have been more stable.  Another reason for interfacing!

 I then put another strap on the back of the flap.  I put this one an inch down from the top.  Otherwise the weight of the mat brings the bag forward.

 Here, Boots is showing you the front of the bag.  He's my old boy, 16 years old.

 The baby, Pippi, is showing you the inside with the flap up.  Today is her birthday!  She is one (we think, she was a feral kitten and we guessed her to be about four weeks old).

 I turned it around to show you that side and Tiger, my big boy, wanted to get in the picture!  He'll be two in September.

 See the three straps?  I definitely recommend all three straps, for stability.

 Squeeky, my pretty girl had to investigate also.  She squeeks when you pick her up.  She is about ten years old.

 I hope this tutorial helps!  I'm pretty excited about it.  This was actually an original idea to me idea!  I've not seen one before!  I'm sure someone else has come up with the idea though!
Let me know if you have any questions!
Missy
I love this material!  I have used it to make a laptop bag here: http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/04/lap-top-bag.html
and an essential oil carrier here:
http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2012/01/essential-oil-bag-tutorial.html