A Few of My Favorite Things

I've been listening to Christmas music to get in the mood for the holidays. One song I don't quite get making it into the mix is My Favorite Things.

Why that song says Christmas, I'm not sure.

But it did make me think. I have a few new notions that would be on the list of my favorite quilting things.

The first is Grip and Grip. Love it. Great for marking what needs marking.

I've used it for marking my applique and here I was using it to mark my half square triangles for the border of Tapestry.

It sticks to the surface it is on and grips the fabric too. It is smoother than a sand paper board, so it won't scratch up your ruler.

Since I'm making Tapestry king size, I need 28 border units which means 56 half square triangle units.

That made quite the long chain. Enter the Chain Ripper.

It has a weighted holder, which keeps the seam ripper upright. The point on the ripper is broken off, so you can't injure yourself.

Just with slight pressure the chain is broken and you have your units free for your next step.

Both these notions are affordable and would make great stocking stuffers for the quilter on your shopping list.

What are some of your favorite things?

Stewing

I'm a little hurt that no one commented on my last post.

Instead of stewing over it, I'll tell you about my new stew recipe.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew.

Steve and I used up stew meat that had been in the freezer for over a year. About time!

He froze the parsnips from our garden. Really what are you supposed to do with parsnips? Make a stew!

His big innovation was sucking out the extra air from the ziplock freezer bag with a straw. I think he might have got a little light headed.

I begrudgingly let Steve put in some parsnips in the stew. Really they weren't bad, until I had a bite with only parsnip in it. Not so good.

The flavor of the stew really was tasty. It was very flavorful today as a leftover lunch.

If anyone wants frozen parsnips, you know where to find some!