Pieceful Monday

After a fairly busy weekend, this is truly a peaceful Monday. I am pondering whether to quilt for the remainder of the day, or get my Christmas decorations up. The tree will be coming soon.

In my family when I was growing up, we didn’t put the tree up until mid-December. I am a December baby, so my mother wanted my birthday to be a separate event from Christmas. Not putting the tree up until after my birthday was one way she felt she honored that. My family has followed that tradition, although I truly would like the tree up earlier. I love having a twinkling tree to look at!

I had three activities this weekend, one on each day (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Sunday afternoon I fell asleep in my chair for a very long nap.

While I enjoy cooking and putzing in the kitchen when I’m in the mood, sometimes I draw a blank when I need to bring something as simple as an appetizer to a party. However, this weekend I managed to pull it off, sticking with the principle of keeping it simple.

The theme for the weekend could have been “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”. Not even a chance, really, for there certainly were meatballs. Tasty ones, if I do say so myself. Armed with frozen meatballs and my crockpot, I conquered those parties like a boss. However, I did not take pictures like a boss. I didn’t even think about pictures until after the last meatball was eaten! So I’ll provide you with a Pinterest link for one of the recipes I used and you can see photos there.

This is the recipe I used for the meatballs. She gives precise measurements for the sauce; I basically eyeballed it and it turned out fine. Rather than mixing the sauce in my crockpot, I heated it in a pan on the stove and then poured it over the meatballs. I used 3 lbs. of meatballs for the first run, and they were a bit dry. If I use that many again, I would make a recipe and a half of the sauce. I used 2 lbs. the second time and it was just right. You could easily use homemade meatballs as well, but I would brown them before adding them to the crockpot.

The other simple recipe I made is a favorite of our family. I will sometimes make them if we are having a movie night. The recipe is for sliders using King’s Hawaiian dinner rolls. I buy two packages of the rolls. Without separating the rolls, cut them apart from one end to the other with a bread knife. Because the rolls are on a sheet of waxed cardboard, this is simple to do because they stay put. I begin slicing on one short end and work my way to the other, holding on to the cardboard if need be to keep it from sliding. Lay the bun tops aside, and place the bottom halves into a 9 x 13 cake pan. You may have to snug them in a bit, but it will be just fine.

Layer meat and cheese of your choice on the buns. I’ve used ham and cheese, turkey and swiss; you could easily use shredded chicken, etc. Whatever appeals to you. Place the tops on, and brush them with melted butter. Sprinkle your favorite garlicky seasoning on top. I like Penzey’s Sandwich Sprinkle for this. Cover and heat them through in a 350 oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

In the midst of all this, I have been stitching away in my quilt room. Much of what I’m making while likely end up as gifts so I can’t show them to you yet, but I can show you this little soon-to-be pillow that will be tucked into my Christmas decorations. I have had this book for years, and while much of the decor is outdated, I still find myself going back to it time and again for a cute gift idea.

This pillow is based on a project from that book and has been adapted to use wool for the lettering. I also added the heart and holly. I think several of the little projects could easily be updated with a modern flair, so I may try some of that this week.

The pillow is about 6-1/2″ x 15-1/2″. All that’s left is to sew the back and front together, stuff it with polyfil and it will be ready. I have had the background fabric for longer than I care to admit. Do you ever hang on to a particular piece of fabric because you just knew it was meant for something? That’s what happened with this fabric. Even though this pillow is nothing special, the fabric is just what I was looking for!

I also finished the November woolies, along with one of the December blocks. In these cooler months, I am really drawn to wool projects, so this makes me happy.

This week I’m waiting on an order of some supplies so I can complete some of these projects. I am still working on getting my quilt room organized, and I’m happy to say that I’m making good progress. So far I’ve managed to empty about 9-10 bins of various sizes. Pretty excited about that!

Not sure what I’ll be up to today, but I’ll at least try to take some pictures this time!

I’m linking up today with Cooking Up Quilts. Beth’s blog is one of my favorites, so pop on over if you have a few minutes!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Wendy