Friday Find: Nut Grinder

My grandmother had a nut grinder like this one - that's probably the only way I knew what it was. You just put whole nuts in the top and hand grind them. It's perfect for one of my favorite recipes, Martha's Macaroons.

All kinds of swords, embroidered

Here's the last in the embroidered children's drawing pillow series I did for parents at my school

for our fundraising auction. Here are the other two I made:

Friday Find: Kissing Salt and Pepper Shakers

Aren't they great? On the bottom they're dated 1956. She has been broken and glued back together, but still looks great on my kitchen table. Here's my question: which one is for salt and which one is for pepper? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Revived and ready for school

I covered a back-to-school youth revival at a black church for the newspaper. It's so fun to be a journalist and to be invited places where I wouldn't normally go and have these experiences I wouldn't normally have. I love the way these folks made church such an enjoyable time with music and energy. Be sure to check out this photo Saul Young took of the choir.

Bon Appétit with Julia Child

I'm on a cooking kick and I just discovered that PBS has 25 full episodes of cooking with Julia Child online to watch for free.

Maybe you've heard about the movie coming out soon that profiles Child alongside a blogger cooking her way through a cookbook Child wrote. I may go see it, but I don't think it'll be as good as watching Child herself in her kitchen.

As a side note, I'm thinking of trying this tomato pie recipe, even though it's more Paula Deen than Julia Child.

Summer Salad Shopping

I'm making a salad for the potluck party I'm attending tonight with this awesome produce I got at the farmer's market, but I wanted to quickly share the tote bag I made from months of coffee packages and half a role of duct tape.

It's really strong. It looks ... very recycled, but I think it'll be handy for something.

Favorites from the AQS Quilt Expo

Beauty from Within by Renae Haddadin of Sandy, UT

I love the design of this quilt. It reminds me of stamped leather from a fancy cowboy boot. The light coloring in the lightest section was done with shadow embroidery, a technique similar to trapunto, where a stuffing, usually colored yarn, is showing through the top fabric from within the quilt. It was the winner of the Best Longarm Workmanship award.


Silverlight by Betty Busby of Albuquerque, NM

Quilter's Choice first place winner

Dae Geun (Great Piety) by Shin-hee Chin of McPherson, KS

This is a portrait done entirely in yo-yos. So impressive.














These bras were made for breast cancer awareness. The sock monkey bra is my favorite.


You can look at photos of all the award-winning quilts from this show at the American Quilter's Society website.

Quilt Time in Tennessee

Tennessee Pink Marble by Julia Needham

Today is the first day of the American Quilter's Association's Quilt Expo in Knoxville. I wrote about Master Quilter and Knoxville native Julia Needham's exhibit of 18 quilts for the newspaper. Read it here.

Find the list I compiled of all the quilting events going on in town right now here.

I missed Manuel.

Here I am in front of Manuel's Exclusive Clothiers, the showroom for designer Manuel's amazing rodeo tailor work. I only got to peak through the window at the suits inside because the sign on the door says he's only open by appointment on Saturdays. I'll have to wait until my next trip to Nashville to go inside.

I am working on a project with some local Western wear collectors that I'll post a link to once it's ready. In the meantime, you can check out Manuel's website and last week's post for more links. There aren't many photos of his work, but there is a small sampling of photos with some of the stars he has created suits for (including one of Manuel taking Johnny Cash's measurements).

A friend of mine in Nashville told me that he heard that clients don't tell Manuel what they want in a suit. Manuel gets to know the person then makes a suit that he thinks suits them.

Yard Sale Finds

Here's a piece I wrote for the newspaper about a mint green teapot I found at a yard sale. Share your best yard sale story in the comments below.