Thank you gift Light Box Finish....

I finally finished the light box this morning.  I meant to have it finished this past weekend but time got away from me and company kept me company!
I think it turned out beautifully and I do believe QuiltWorks will love it.  I hope so anyway.  It is a surprise for the next guild meeting so don't let the cat out of the bag please.  :)
Here are the pictures as promised, I hope you like my creation!

Getting things done!

As the quilt show draws near we are little little elves working away getting ready for the show.  We have so much to do and so little time left.  We even have one more workshop to complete.
I have all the tags done thank God! I used my SIL and the print and cut function this made our tags looks so chic :) .

We've sent all the thank you cards and an extra special one to Connie at QuiltWorks and we've made and delivered all the thank you gifts 38 of them..wow that was work in itself but these ladies are so worth it!  I have the Light Box started.  All the pieces cut out and the finish is complete.  All I have to do is assemble it, well that is the actual hard part but I'm half way there.  Here is a picture of the pieces and sentiment.  I'll post another picture when it is all together.

I also finally completed my spools.  My big drill died so my spools were on hold.  I got a new drill and now my spools are complete.  I still have 11 of those ruler crates to make but that's an easy job.

My new drill press...oh she's a beaut

Of course here are the spools...:)

And then, I didn't like my  hand painting on the tin can raffle bird house so I redid those but printed them and modge podged them onto the signage for the bird house.  Looks so much better!
 

My list of "To Do's" is getting shorter but it isn't short!  I have had a ton of fun with the boutique but will be so glad to have my life back.  Oh it's not so bad but it does take lots of time.  We are so excited to see how we do.  We hope that the boutique is a success.  Our guild does so much for the community and the more money we have the more we can do.  It is a blessing to be involved!

Boutique Giveaway quilt now complete!

Finally, after months and months of getting this together.  Picking the fabric, getting 5 ladies me included to each make a row, sewing the rows together, getting it quilted and sewing the binding and rod pocket on the back the 2014 Quilt Show Boutique's giveaway quilt is finally complete.
With the help of Mary Brownlee, Linda Love, Debby Dodge, June Jaronitzky and of course me building the quilt top and Pam Barman quilting it so beautifully.  It has turned out sensationally.  I just finished the binding and wow, I am in love.  I will definitely have to make one of these for myself!
You must come to the 2014 Peach Love Sew Quilt show and make a purchase at the boutique for your chance to win this beauty.
Enough talking about it...here are some pictures!

Jason's Quilt finally complete

So after about 6 months or so Jason't quilt is finally back from Sweet Magnolia's....  Jason picked the fabric completely by his self and I'm Jealous he seemed to pick out fabric with such ease...never quilted a day in his life, never picked out fabric a day in his life and he just DOES it...good grief...wish I had it that easy!
Anyway, I took this one to Sweet Magnolia Fabric Shoppe for quilting...and I knew she didn't do quilt show quality but more beginner quality work....You do get what you pay for.  I got the run around a bit with this one, wow I was actually starting to get angry.  Not because it took so long but because of the stories I was told and expected to believe...okay Barbara is a very nice woman...and she means very well, and I hate to sound mean.. but wow!  But on the flip side, you will not get a quilt quilted as cheaply as she does it...so if you don't mind waiting for a long time and if you don't mind your quilt not being perfect then she is still a viable source for quilting.

So I get it back...and the back side of the quilt has bird nest on one entire row....and a couple wrinkles quilted into it...okay so I knew it wouldn't be perfect so....okay but because she had it so long it smelt like her shop...a very moldy musty smell.  So I after struggling to get the binding and label on while inhaling this stench...I finally put it into the drier with some of those drier sheets...didn't work, I sprayed it with free breeze..didn't work so I just told Jason that the smell will eventually fade...  I think she should get one of those Scentsy burners or something cause the smell is nauseating to say the least.
Anyway enough of that...here is Jason's quilt.  Graham hates the green in it...but I don't.  It has all the colors of the rainbow in it but in civil war tones.  Blues, greens, purples, yellow's oranges, and black, grey and white too.  I do not like civil war fabrics, never purchase them but I love the way his quilt turned out so I might rethink my stash and add some civil war stuff too!

Shoyu Ramen

Here is the Magazine Picture

And here's the one I made:

So sometime the middle of last year my husband picks up one of my Bon Appetit magazines and see's this recipe.  He say's to me.  I want this for new year, it takes three day's to make.  (thinking to myself, I think, wow it must be nice to have a wife you feel comfortable enough to ask such a task :) )
So 4 day's before New Year's I go to every single place I can think of to get Japanese grocery's and finally ended up at Hong Kong Market where I was able to get every single item except the Menma (I will post the recipe below for the Menma) which is fermented bamboo shoots.  So you will either need to order these online or make them using the recipe below.  After finally getting all the ingredients,(and let me tell you that was the hardest part) the following day I began the process of making this dish for my adoring husband.
I will say that even though it takes organizing and being prepared to make, it really isn't hard to make.  It was finished on time and we had our New Year's Shoyu Ramen and hubby was happy.
Did I think it was worth the time involved...hm...not so much.  I do think now that I've made it I would be able to come up with a more flavorful broth and that would help a bunch.
I've added the link to the recipe, along with the recipe in case the link at some point stops working.
Give it a go, it was a fun experience.  My eggs turned out awesome!
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/shoyu-ramen

INGREDIENTS
KOMBU DASHI AND TARE
2 pieces dried kombu
½ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp. dry sake
1 Tbsp. mirin
PORK AND STOCK
1½ lb. boneless pork shoulder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lb. chicken necks, backs, and/or wings
1 lb. pork spareribs
2 bunches scallions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, cut into pieces
1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
1 1” piece ginger, peeled, sliced
¼ cup bonito flakes
RAMEN AND GARNISHES
3 large eggs
6 5-oz. packages fresh thin and wavy ramen noodles (or six 3-oz. packages dried)
½ cup menma (fermented bamboo shoots)
6 scallions, thinly sliced
3 toasted nori sheets, torn in half
Chili oil, toasted sesame oil, and shichimi togarashi (for serving)

KOMBU DASHI AND TARE
Two days ahead: For the dashi, combine kombu and 4 quarts cold water in a large bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours. For the tare, combine soy sauce, sake, and mirin in a small bowl; cover and chill.
PORK AND STOCK
One day ahead: Season pork shoulder with salt and pepper. Roll up and tie with kitchen twine at 2” intervals. (This helps keep the meat intact while cooking and makes for round, compact slices.)
Heat oil in a large heavy pot (at least 8 quarts) over medium-high heat Cook pork shoulder, turning, until brown all over, 10–12 minutes. Add chicken, spareribs, scallions, carrots, garlic, ginger, and bonito flakes. Remove kombu from dashi; discard. Add as much kombu dashi as will fit in pot once liquid is boiling (reserve remaining dashi). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, skimming the surface occasionally and adding remaining dashi as liquid reduces, until pork shoulder is tender and stock has reduced to about 2 quarts, 2½–3 hours.
Remove pork shoulder from stock and let cool. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill until ready to use. (Chilling pork will make meat easier to slice.) Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into another large pot or a large bowl or container; discard solids (including ribs and chicken). Cover and chill.
RAMEN AND GARNISHES
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Carefully add eggs one at a time and boil gently for 7 minutes. (Egg yolks should be shiny yellow and almost jammy; egg white should be just set.) Drain eggs and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking; let cool. Peel; set aside.
Remove string and thinly slice pork; cover and set aside.
When ready to serve, bring stock to a simmer; it should be very hot. At the same time, cook noodles in a large pot of boiling water according to package directions until al dente; drain (no need to salt the water, as ramen noodles contain more salt than pasta).
Just before serving, divide noodles among 6 deep bowls. Top with sliced pork, placing it off to one side. Add tare to hot stock and ladle over pork to warm through (stock should come up just to the level of the noodles).
Place a small pile of menma next to pork. Halve eggs and place next to menma. Place a small pile of sliced scallions next to egg. Tuck half a sheet of nori between side of bowl and noodles so it’s just poking out.
Serve ramen with chili oil, sesame oil, and shichimi togarashi.
DO AHEAD: Eggs can be cooked 1 day ahead. Keep unpeeled eggs covered in cool water. Cover and chill.

Menma Recipe:

http://motherbliss.blogspot.com/2009/06/homemade-menma.html

Homemade Menma
300 grams bamboo shoots
1 T. sesame oil
500 cc water
1 T. Chuka Dashi, a chicken & pork flavored stock/seasoning
1/2 T. sugar (to taste)
pinch salt (to taste)
1/2 T. soy sauce (to taste)
Slice the bamboo shoots into thin strips. (If using shoots from a can, boil in hot water for approx. 2 minutes first to get rid of the smell.) Saute in sesame oil, once coated with oil add the water, stock, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer until half of the liquid has evaporated. Add soy sauce and cook till most of the liquid is gone. (I added a little more sesame oil at the end for that added flavor.)