Rag Quilt Table Runner

by Wardeh Harmon

Rag Quilt Table Runner
Finished Size: 12″ x 32″

I’ve wanted to try rag quilting ever since my sister-in-law made a rag quilt for my father-in-law. Recently, Traci, our dear administrator at T2CHK, mentioned she would like to sew a rag quilt for her guest bedroom. That was just the inspiration I needed! I have a friend with a birthday coming up who loves new things that look old. A rag quilt project seemed just the thing to try out for her gift.

What an easy project this turned out to be. I spent about 15 minutes cutting out the squares (not including washing and pressing the fabrics), about 20 minutes to sew it all up, and another 30 minutes to clip the raw edges. That’s a little over an hour, total! What an easy, rewarding, and very pretty item to keep for yourself or give as a gift. If you do what I did, make two of them so you’ll have one to give away and one to keep.

I chose 4 uncoordinated floral fabrics for the top. I went for the unstudied look, but coordinated fabrics would turn out scrappy looking in a rag quilt, too. You should play around with what works best for you.

Floral fabric for the top squares — uncoordinated for an “unstudied” look.

If I were making an actual quilt, I would choose warm flannel for the middle layer. For this project, I desired the look of a rag quilt but not necessarily the thickness or warmth, so I chose a cotton sheet for the middle layer. The backing came from a floral printed sheet I bought at the thrift store.

Backing fabric — from an inexpensive thrift store sheet purchase.

For the two table runners I made — one as a practice to keep for myself and one for my friend — I organized the top squares differently. One I arranged in a diagonal pattern and in the other, I distributed the squares randomly.

Top squares can be arranged orderly or randomly.

Have fun with this project! Please let me know if you have questions, comments or suggestions. You may comment below or email me at wardeh@t2chk.org.

RAG QUILT TABLE RUNNER PATTERN

Note: All the sewing will seem backward because you are going to sew stacks of squares together and the top squares will be facing right side out. All seam allowances are 1/2″.

Supplies Needed

• (24) 5″ squares of random prints (top)
• (24) 5″ squares cut from a solid color cotton sheet (middle)
• (24) 5″ squares cut from a printed cotton sheet (backing)

1. Lay Out Quilt

Lay out top squares in a 3 x 8 grid in desired fashion — in a pattern or randomly.

Lay out tops in a 3 x 8 grid.

Turn all top squares to the wrong side. Put one middle square, wrong side up, and then one backing square, right side up, on top of each top square. Each stack, starting from the bottom, should now be in this order:

a. top square, wrong side up
b. middle square, wrong side up
c. backing square, right side up

2. Construct the Rows

Turn the stacks over so the top squares are now on top, right side up. You will sew each row of 8 stacks together. Sew the first 2 stacks of the first row together, top squares right side out, with a 1/2″ seam allowance.

Tip: Before sewing the first seam, check to see that the stacks are in the right order. The two stacks placed together right sides out should be in this order, from the bottom up. When you’re sure they’re in the right order, sew through all 6 layers.

a. 1st stack — top square, wrong side up
b. 1st stack — middle square, wrong side up
c. 1st stack — backing square, right side up
d. 2nd stack — backing square, wrong side up
e. 2nd stack — middle square, right side up
f. 2nd stack — top square, right side up

Open it up so the backing squares, right side up, are facing you. Place the 3rd stack, top square right side up, on top of the 2nd stack and sew the 2nd and 3rd stack together. Repeat with the remaining stacks of the 1st row. Set the 1st row aside. Complete the 2nd and 3rd rows in the same manner.

The three rows, each constructed.

3. Sew the Rows Together

Pin the bottom of the 1st row to the top of the 2nd row together, right sides out with seams opened up. Sew the rows together using a 1/2″ seam allowance.

Pin the top of the 3rd row to the bottom of the 2nd row, right sides out with seams opened up. Sew the rows together using a 1/2″ seam allowance.

Sew a 1/2″ seam around the entire outer edge of the table runner, keeping seams opened up.

Completed table runner top — all three rows sewn together.

Tip: When all sewn together and opened up, the top should have all the raw edges visible, while the back doesn’t have any raw edges visible.

4. Finishing Up

Clip all raw edges perpendicular to the seams. Space the cuts 1/4″ apart. Each cut should go through all layers and extend about 3/4 of the way from the raw edge to the seam. Clip the seams around the outer edge of the quilt, too.

Wash and dry with other similarly colored cottons. The raveling of the raw edges begins with the first washing and sets in with subsequent washings.

© Copyright 2006 by Wardeh Harmon. Used with permission from the author.

Planning Ahead for Hassle-Free Healthy Cooking

by Wardeh Harmon

Anyone who looks into providing more healthy foods for their family to eat quickly realizes that they must do more cooking from scratch, which requires more time in the kitchen. Sure, there are more healthy versions of convenience foods available, but those are typically more expensive. Now we’re back to having to spend more time in the kitchen to provide healthier foods for the family.

I wish I could share some a secret way to cook healthily without spending more time in the kitchen. If there is such a way, I haven’t found it. Instead, I can tell you the ways that I make cooking from scratch less daunting, less overwhelming and more doable. What it takes is a little planning — some preparation ahead of time to make the before meal cooking experience less harried and more enjoyable.

In order to know what preparations to make ahead of time, making a menu (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly) is helpful. I have just recently begun planning my own weekly menus. Previously, I would plan for a day or two, which was a help. But planning the meals out for a week is most helpful because it allows me to look ahead a little further in making my preparations. Choose the time frame — weekly, bi-weekly or monthly — that suits your family’s schedule best.

You can use your menu to guide you in knowing what components of your meals can be prepared ahead of time, which will save you when it comes time to put the meal together. So many foods can be prepared and stored for a few days up to a few weeks, depending on how they are stored. Generally, foods can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Foods can be stored in the freezer for a month or even more. The following list (not exhaustive) details many of the procedures I follow in my kitchen to help myself with future meals. Basically, all the effort savers I employ boil down to preparing more food than I need at that time.

1. When cooking dry beans, cook more than you need. I routinely cook 6 or 8 cups of beans in my 6.5 quart crockpot, which generates around 18 cups of cooked beans. I use some that day and freeze the rest of the 4-cup portions in quart size freezer bags. Cooking them in the crockpot makes them relatively hassle free. While they’re cooking, I don’t have to monitor them at all. For more information, see How to Cook Dry Beans.

2. When chopping nuts, chop more than you need. I chop 3 or 4 times what I need at a given time and store the extra nuts in quart size freezer bags in the freezer. Then they’re ready for the next recipe. When they run out, I repeat the process.

3. When grinding flax seeds, grind more than you need. I grind a few cups of flax seeds — to use as an egg and fat replacer — and put the extra amount in the freezer for later use. However, when we consume flax seeds for the Omega-3 benefits, I cannot grind them ahead of time, as they lose that particular health benefit through exposure to light and the passage of time.

4. When grinding flour, grind enough flour for the weeks’ baking needs. I grind flour either the evening before or the morning of my bread baking day. I grind enough for the day’s baking and the rest of the week’s baking projects. The extra amount I store in the freezer in labeled gallon size freezer bags.

5. When baking bread, bake enough to last a week. I bake 6 loaves of bread, which is enough to last my family a week. I leave one loaf out to consume that day and I bag the rest of the loaves and freeze them. They require about 4 hours to thaw completely, so I pull a new loaf out of the freezer the night before or the meal before it is needed. For more information, see my favorite bread recipe, Whole Wheat Bread.

6. When making tortillas, prepare enough for a few days. I prepare at least 36 whole wheat tortilas at a time. This feeds us with various roll-up type meals for two to three days. For more information, see my moist Whole Wheat Tortilla recipe.

7. When cooking grains for main dishes, double the batch. This works for most grains — like brown rice, millet or quinoa — and grain products — like whole wheat or other whole grain pastas — which comprise the carbohydrate element of our main dishes. I set aside what we don’t consume that day in the refrigerator for the next day’s meal. Grains are delicious when warmed up in a cast iron skillet using low heat and few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil along with sea salt, pepper and other spices. Grains and pasta only keep well if stored in the refrigerator — not the freezer — and consumed with a few day’s of their initial preparation.

8. When browning ground beef, prepare enough for two to four meals. I brown ground beef in a large stock pot, drain the grease, and add diced onions. I allow the onions to soften. Then I add 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper for each pound of ground beef. I set aside what I don’t need for that meal and save the rest for future meals. I store the ground beef in airtight containers or freezer bags, in the refrigerator (if using within a day or two) or the freezer (if not using for a week or more). However, I allow it to cool before putting it in a plastic container or plastic bag. Otherwise, the heat will melt the plastic, resulting in plastic particles being incorporated into our food.

9. When roasting chicken, roast two whole chickens. When the chickens are cooled, I debone them and store the meat separately from the bones in freezer bags, either in the refrigerator or freezer, depending on when we will be eating the chicken. My family is able to eat varied meals from two roasted chickens for up to four days, including all dinners and lunches.

10. Wash produce, at least lettuce, ahead of time. I soak a few heads of lettuce for about 15 minutes in a sinkful of cool water. Then I gently agitate them to shake off the loosened soil. In a few batches, my salad spinner can spun the excess moisture off the leaves. I use about a head of the lettuce for the given dinner’s salad and I bag the rest in plastic storage bags in the refrigerator. If you don’t have a salad spinner, you can lay the leaves out between layers of towels on the counter. Periodically change the position of the leaves to allow all the moisture to drip off. When dry, store in plastic zipper bags in the refrigerator. Other vegetables can be washed ahead of time also, if desired. I have found that if I at least can wash and dry the lettuce, this is the biggest time saver for salad preparation.

11. Double up on hot or cold grain-based breakfast dishes. Our favorite breakfast meals are muesli in the summer and oatmeal in the winter. Since the muesli must be prepared the night before eating it to allow the grains to soak sufficiently, this makes serving breakfast extremely easy — it is all ready to go when we wake. As for oatmeal, I make a double batch. We eat it fresh one morning and then I save the rest in the refrigerator for the next day. On the second morning, I warm up the extra on the stove in a pot with a little water added to make it the consistency of fresh oatmeal. For more information, see my recipes for Muesli and Decadent & Hearty Oatmeal.

The ideas I mentioned previously help me prepare the components of our meals ahead of time. There are other components of the meals that I can prepare beforehand, such as sliced olives, grated cheese, diced onions and other chopped vegetables. However, instead of prepping these up to a few days ahead of time, I usually complete these tasks with the help of my children in the morning or in the afternoon as part of that day’s meal preparation. Then I take all the components — beans, grains, meats, and vegetables — and combine them with spices and sauces to create our meals.

In addition, I often cook double batches of a meal, so it will last for two days’ worth of dinners and lunches. Some main dishes and side dishes that lend themselves easily to this are — spaghetti sauce, chili, tacos, refried beans, and stews. Sometimes we are not in the mood to eat a particular meal for two days, or four total meals, so I freeze the second half of it to eat the following week. No matter whether we eat it the next day or the next week, it saves me work to do the cooking of both meals at the same time.

You might be thinking, “Okay, so you do alot ahead of time, but even that requires a significant amount of time — so when do you find the time to do that?”

Even these preparations take time. So I do them when I can. I try to accomplish some of my doubling-up preparations every day or every other day. Some people are great proponents of once-a-month cooking. That means they do all their cooking for an entire month during one cooking session. The way that works best for me is to double up on the results of the efforts I am already making each day. Some days I cook more than others, because that’s the way it works out. The result is that about half the time, I really don’t have to cook much at all.

The point of all this is to get you thinking about what things you can do while you’re already in the kitchen working, to save you a little time in the days ahead. If you’re baking bread, why not bake enough to last a week? If you browning ground beef, why not brown enough for tomorrow and the following day’s meals? Most of us probably grew up making double and triple batches of cookies. The principle is the same. Why not make double and triple batches of other meal components and/or main dishes? I love it that when I make a little extra effort (but not much, because I’d really already be doing most of the work anyway) I save myself some work later on.

I welcome your comments, questions or suggestions. Please email me at wardeh@t2chk.org.

© Copyright 2006 by Wardeh Harmon. Used with permission from the author.

Pass me a cinnamon bun and a tissue

Just recently I have been going through some difficult and emotional times! Not only has my fibromyalgia flared, causing me pain and fatigue through not sleeping soundly, but I have had to contend with hot flashes and the roller coaster of feminine hormones both rising and waning- mostly waning I suspect!

I know I am not the only woman on earth to go through this stage of life- but I can only write about how it has effected me- anything else is hearsay and observation! The curious thing is that I thought I left Menopause City behind, but as I walk through the Path of Life, I have been confronted with another sign post that tells me I am still in the boundaries of the City.

Today, for example, Chris and I were having a coffee and cinnamon bun at our shopping Centre…apart from tiredness, I was feeling OK emotionally. A darling little baby girl was in her stroller eating some of her mother’s cinnamon roll and she was making quite a mess of herself. I was captivated by her- she was so cute! As I turned smiling to mention her to Chris, a very pregnant lady walked past me and my mood suddenly spiralled downwards to regret.

With intense sadness, the knowledge that pregnancy and motherhood were no longer things which I would enjoy personally, hit me like a blow across the mouth. The realisation that I was not only getting old- but WAS old, took me by surprise and I tried to counteract it’s horrible gripping effect on me by mentioning the delightful baby girl drooling cinnamon icing, to Chris, who was happily sipping his cappacino.

To my utter horror, my eyes started to fill up and I could not control the feelings of despair and sadness that threatened to overtake me! As I grabbed a serviette to dab my eyes, and to both of our embarrassment, I started crying into my cinnamon bun! Chris was taken unawares as well and just rubbed my hand.

I ran to the ladies restrooms, where I cried for the years of childbearing and mothering that flew by too, too fast!…I cried for the hunger to feel a baby kicking inside me, and to smell that irresistable smell of a new-born baby and to feel the velvet skin of a new blessing against me as it nursed!

Blowing my nose, I battled the jealousy I felt seeing women carrying babies in their wombs and in their baby slings. I battled the feelings of fear of old age and disappearing waist line and loss of my youthful vigour and health. I panicked momentarily as I realised that I was probably 2 thirds through my life already- and I still felt at times like a girl!

I flushed the toilet as I waited until the tears abated, hoping to drown them out from the ears of other people. It was a frightening and embarrassing moment! And a puzzling one too! For I “know” I am too old to be a mother..too many health issues too..too fatigued to take on a child 24/7 for the rest of my life…too selfish in a lot of ways now…YET the desires and maternal feelings haven’t died!

And now that I have had a cry, thought through the whole thing and had time with the LORD, I feel silly. I suppose I shouldn’t really feel silly…the maternal hormones are a God-given part of being feminine and so too is this season of my life. I just find that sometimes the maternal hormones go on hyperdrive as the childbearing ones wane.

How grateful I am that God has given me an understanding husband…one who says he understands even when I don’t. One who passes me a cinnamon bun and a tissue without too many questions….and rubs my hand…it all helps.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Where The Rubber Meets The Road

Have you ever stopped to think about how most of us prepare for marriage and childbirth and then once that is accomplished, we fall by the roadside? How many websites, magazines, articles, CD’s etc are there dedicated to these subjects? We are prepared for the BIG DAY: the wedding day, the delivery day- yet how many of us find a sense of disillusionment in life after the BIG DAY has been? We are simply- unprepared!

It is not that preparing for one’s wedding day or impending birth of a child is wrong in itself, but to focus all one’s attention on the BIG DAY and lose focus on the YEARS thereafter is foolhardy. After all, a marriage comes after a wedding and a lifetime of parenting comes after a birth. The years after the BIG DAY is where the rubber meets the road..

So many women put all their attention on their wedding- the preparations, the drama, the dreaming, the romance and the culmination of years of planning and rehearsing in her head. But once married, how many are prepared for the hard work of tending and nurturing that marriage. For marriage is hard work at times and we would be foolish to think otherwise.

Let’s be honest: how many of us have taken the time to study about marriage as the institution it is- not the romanticised notion but the reality? Often if we have not prepared and studied not only the scriptures on marriage but studied and observed our husbands- we will find ourselves being bogged down by feelings of disillusionment and disenchantment.

Likewise, how many of us expectant mothers haven’t bothered to read up on childbirth, practised all the exercises and relaxation tips for labour, eaten well and obsessed about ours and our child’s health? But how many of us have read up on childraising, education, and marital adjustment and so forth for the years of parenting ahead? It is very short-sighted to place all one’s attention on the delivery of a child to the neglect of acquiring knowledge about the raising of that child. After all, childbirth is a day, parenthood is for life!

We must equip ourselves and our daughters to be the best wives (not brides), the best mothers (not labouring women), so that they will be well prepared to cope with the reality of life. When the rubber meets the road and they find that their BIG DAYS are followed by years of hard work and effort, they will be women of strength, fortitude and confidence- and they will be wonderful wives and mothers.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

The BEST Sugar Cookie

This is the BEST sugar cookie I have ever eaten, and it’s a no-roll type of cookie so you don’t have to refrigerate the dough and wait til it’s firm! The kids can all join in this one, even the very smallest. Hope you use this one often and enjoy it as much as we do!

Makes 48 cookies

© 2006 Sylvia Britton