The Fabric Maverick: June 2008 Archives

Ladies, I have sent the Fabric Maverick to the grocery store and I have Victoria working on some projects. It's time to be planning our Fourth of July celebration! Next to Christmas, this is my favorite holiday. This recipe is not for dieters or the calorie conscious. Just step away from the table, this is a down right delicious, calorie packed, true Southern cobbler from my great grandmother! I do not even think the calorie had been invented yet. For our Northern brethren, a cobbler is the South's fruit pie only better.

Ingredients:

11/2 cup all purpose flour (not self rising)

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup lard less 1 Tb.

1 stick butter

1 package frozen strawberries, thawed

1 package blueberries, thawed

Lemon juice- splash to taste

Now, understand my great grandmammy did not use measuring spoons. It was all tasting and touch and feel. Some of you out there have passed out from the mere mention of the word "lard"!  Lard still makes the flakiest crust. You may substitute shortening but it will not be the same.

Tools:

Rolling pin

wax paper

13 x 9 baking dish

Medium size mixing bowl

Measuring cup

Medium size sauce pan

Wooden spoons

Instructions: Heat oven to 375 degrees

1. In medium size mixing bowl, add  flour and salt. Cut in the lard until the lard is well mixed with the flour. Add enough water to make into a ball. Place in refrigerator, until ready to roll out.

2. Place thawed berries in saucepan. Add 1 cup of sugar. Heat until sugar is melted and fruit completely thawed. Add a splash of lemon to bring our the flavors of the fruit. Taste and add more sugar if needed for your taste buds.

3. Prepare your 13 x 9 baking dish by spray of Pam or you may use butter. I am trying to save a couple of calories for you.  This is to make clean up easier, but someone will probably scrape the pan for you any way.

4. Pour 1/2 of the berries in your pan.

5. Bring our your crust- divide into 2 balls.

6.Using wax paper with a sprinkling of flour, roll one of the balls into a pie crust no thicker than 1/4 inch. Cut to the size of your baking dish.

7. Place crust on top of berries.

8. Add rest of berries on top of crust.

9. Cut butter into small pieces and sprinkle over fruit reserving some for the top crust.

10. Roll out remaining pie crust and place on top of fruit.

11. Sprinkle crust with sugar and rest of butter. May add more butter if you wish.

12. Place in hot oven. Cook 35 to 45 minutes. Crust will be golden brown and you will be salivating.

I have sold many houses by cooking this recipe at open houses!

Cobblers are best when served warm! Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you have red, white and blue cobbler!

Put the scale away and Bon Appetit!

Notions are the unsung heroes of sewing.  Notions are tools or aids to make sewing easier or more efficient. I am constantly amazed at how many there are. For every type of sewing, some clever person has developed a tool to help you. I tried to find where the word "notion" came into existence but could not. What a strange word to use!

Think about thread for a moment. There are embroidery thread, machine quilting thread, dual purpose thread, invisible thread, upholstery thread and more.

There are books devoted to interfacing. Interfacing can make or break a project. If you are using the right interfacing, no one will notice.  If you are using the wrong interfacing, your project will somehow just not turn out like you thought it would. There is interfacing for clothes and crafts. We have recently added three new interfacings to our store. For the apparel sewer, we have added a hair canvas (NR-497) to use in more tailored outfits. For the craft sewer, we have added a mid weight interfacing (NR-498) and a heavier weight (NR-499) comparable to TimTex, TimTex was used to give a rigid construction to weekender bags and totes. I was surprised when Timtex was no longer available.

I must confess to a secret fetish. I love rulers! Big rulers, little rulers; I have them. I think sometimes about people who design rulers.  Are they closet mathematicians? All I know is that anything that takes the math out of the equation works for me. We have added a new ruler called the Strip Tube Ruler (NR-506). It is used primarily with strips of fabric such as the 2 ½ inch Jelly Rolls. I have become addicted to Jelly Rolls, but that is a subject for another day.

We will some be adding Best Press to our notions section. If you have never used this, you are in for a treat. This is a light starch which brings back the body to quilting fabric after it has been prewashed. It is not for cotton only. The beauty of it is that when you spray it on a dark fabric, it does not flake. It also comes in several scents such as lavender.

As you can see, we are adding notions everyday. If there is something you feel we are missing, please let the Fabric Maverick know.

Well, I have a new ruler to test so have a happy sewing day!

Oil Cloth and cotton laminates are fun to work with once you have a few tips to make it easier. Oil cloth and cotton laminates are different. Oil cloth is 100% vinyl which has been screen printed and can have a cotton mesh or flannel backing.  Cotton laminate is 100% cotton which has been heat bonded to a laminate or vinyl base. These fabrics have several common denominators:

1. Not machine washable

2. Cannot fold -should be rolled

3. Require special sewing methods

Do's

1. Use a Teflon presser foot or masking tape when sewing. If you are using masking tape, apply it to the presser foot. If you place on the fabric, the residue will be hard to remove.

2. Use binder clips or tape to hold fabric in position. If you pin it, make sure it is within the seam allowance. Otherwise the holes will show on the finished side.

3. If using an interfacing, you might want to use a temporary spray adhesive to hold the fabric and interfacing together. I have used this method and found it works really well. You can also reposition the fabric on the interfacing easily. It does not gum up your needle.  I used NR-369 with great success.

4. Use a size 16 needle if sewing 2 pieces of oil cloth together. If you are working with cotton laminate, you may use a size 14 or less.

5. You may use a regular cotton/polyester thread in most applications.

6. Fabri-tac is a good adhesive for most projects.

Don'ts:

1. Sew one time- if you have to remove stitches they will show

2. Do not use pins 

3. Do not fold

4. Do not apply heat or iron.

5. Do not put in the washing machine- wipe clean with a sponge and mild detergent

If your fabric is wrinkled or is showing a fold mark, lay out in the sun or warm room.  Give the fabric the chance to remove the wrinkles. Fabric.com mails all of these types of fabrics on a roll to minimize that problem.

These fabrics are waterproof, but where you create seams are not. If you wish to have a completely waterproof product, you will need to apply a seam sealant.

Finishing raw edges:

Since this fabric does not ravel, nothing needs to be done. If you want a more finished look, you can use double sided bias tape or sew a hem.  Sewing a hen will be easier with cotton laminate than oil cloth.

Look out for Thursday- Kristl is back with a great sew or no-sew project for oil cloth.

 The robin is considered the first sign of Spring. Lest anyone think I do not know when summer starts, it is June 21st officially. The true harbinger of summer is the sound of flip-flops going by my office. Even now I hear an army slapping by my office! That familiar slap slap on the carpet tells me summer has arrived!  To me that means school is out, pool parties are in, working in my garden is in, working overtime is out.  The days are longer and calling me to enjoy outdoor fun.  Heat up the grill!  Chef Bubba get ready!

Of course, we are going to make somethings easier for you.   If you are wearing flip-flops, you must be  wearing T shirts. We have new selections of knits both poly cotton knits and cotton jersey knits. We have some great patterns for casual wear shirts- one of my favorites is CJP-002 Christine Jonson Shirred Top and Princess Wrap Pattern. Make several using different fabrics. Of course if you are in a designing kind of mood, add a flip flop pillow to your decor. Would this pillow not be perfect for a young person in your life?

To start off summer try my flip flop drink which can be served to the entire family:

Blend 1 cup of plain yogurt with 1 cup of pineapple juice. Add spears of pineapple, maraschino cherries, bananas, grapes, mandarin orange to set it off. Those little umbrellas are a perfect touch. Of course, you may use any flavor of juice that you like. Now lean back in your lounge chair and say "Ahh!"