WIP Wed, T@tT: Wildlife and Kale

I spent a good chunk of yesterday quilting my Wildlife Quilt that I'm making for a belated birthday present for my husband.  When I showed him the finished top, and asked him for input on borders and quilting, his one and only comment was "There's no elk!".  Hmmm...  So I had to figure out a way to get an elk in there somehow LOL.

I found an elk image on Google images, blew it up on the copy / printer, and traced it onto some tracing paper / physicians' office exam roll paper that I have on hand.

Then I stitched it onto the quilt.  I'm glad I only did one first to see if I wanted to do several throughout the quilt.  It hindsight, I wish I had stitched only the outline onto the paper, removed it, and then did the shading, because this

is a

to remove!! Anyone know if this will come out in the wash?  The rest of the quilt is quilted in a "sharp stipple" that I tried hard to make look like antlers.  I hope to get the binding on it today!!  Joining up with WIP Wed at Freshly Pieced!

I also just had to post a food item for Tuesday at the Table after making these kale chips last night for dinner!  Sorry for the lousy picture... I'm a card carrying member of the kale haters' club, but after getting 2 heads of it in our CSA / Co-op bin last week, I didn't want to throw it in our compost bin without trying something.  I found this recipe on the Food Network, and low and behold, they're actually pretty darn good!  Even my husband and kids agreed!

I also hope to make one of the Triple Zip's that Debbie is hosting a zip-along for.  Little does Debbie know, but I love zippers, and find them irresistible each time I spy them in thrift stores.  I have quite a collection, and hope to make up more than a few of these nifty pouches!!

Tuesday at the Table: Walla Walla Sweet Onions, and a Thread Storage How-to

Debbie, over at "A Quilter's Table" has decided that this month's theme is picnic!  There's just about no more perfect food item for picnics as the sweet Walla Walla onion!  There are other places that grow these (Vidalia, GA comes to mind), but one of the food gems of our area that I see popping up all over the place this time of year, is the Walla Walla sweet.  I feel so lucky to live in such a great food-growing place!

These sweet onions are really best eaten raw, as they are indeed, incredibly sweet!  My favorite way to eat them is simply on top of a fresh salad, but they're also fantastically delicious in cucumber salads or tomato salads, or on sandwiches or burgers.  I had plans for pasta tonight though, so I cooked them up with some tomatoes in a pasta sauce!  Yum!

Now, I just HAVE to share what I've been working on the last few days as well.  I've been searching for years for the perfect thread storage rack, to no avail.  I wanted something that I could cover, to protect from dust, and my cat, who likes to eat thread, and something with pegs that are long enough to store the bobbin on top of the thread spool.  For some reason, I just couldn't find it, so I decided to make my own.

I bought a small 2 by 4 foot piece of 1/4 inch plywood, a few 3/16th inch dowel rods (which fit my bobbin spools perfectly), and some cheap plastic shoe box storage bins.

I measured the floor of the bin (in my case, 6 by 11 inches), marked the lines on the plywood, then used first a hand saw, then a jig saw to cut the rectangle out of the plywood.

I sanded the piece after cutting it.  Then I drew out a simple "template" of where I wanted holes drilled to put the spool pegs into.  For "regular" spools, I spaced them every 1.5 inches.  For my bigger spools, every 2 inches.  Then I centered the template onto the board, and used my 3/16th inch drill bit to drill at each spot.  Yep, that's a band-aid on my finger, and yes, my boy scout son got to practice a bit of first aid on me after I cut it with the saw :-O.  We ladies-of-the-thread can take it though... no worse than a needle through the finger LOL!

I then cut the dowel rod into 3 inch lengths for the regular spools, 4 inch lengths for the larger spools, and sanded the ends smooth.

They fit so perfectly, that I didn't even need any glue.  All that was left was putting the pegs in place, and loading them up!!  I am beyond thrilled at how easy and amazing these racks are!!  My sewing space looks great, and now I'll never have to match up my bobbin thread and spool thread again!!  Now that they're in these bins, I can move and stack and store them easier too!  Yipee!!!!

Best yet, the panel (enough to make 16) cost under $10, the dowel rods about 60 cents and the bins a dollar, so each bin is under $3 to make!!!  Trust me, if I can make it you can too!!!