Garden Of Daisies

I've shared this before, but newer followers may not know 

why I use this as my profile picture.

It's from a prized set of tea towels, made for me by my Grandma.

She loved to embroider.  When I was little girl 

she asked me to pick the embroidery pattern I loved most, 

and said she would stitch up a set of towels for me. 

I picked this one: 

a cute Little Miss working on her weekly chores in a garden of daisies.

And this is what she made.

These treasured linens from my Grandma are displayed in my kitchen

and are a visible reminder of how much she loved me.

And they're also one reason why I picked the name Garden Of Daisies for my blog.

I'll have to save the other two reasons for a future post.

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A few days ago I started a Garden Of Daisies facebook page

for readers who prefer to follow via Facebook.

Please follow this link and click on "Like".  

Thank you.

Baby Ribbon Blanket

My daughter asked if I would make her a baby ribbon blanket.

Sure!

That's a quick and easy project!

I used a 10 inch square of flannel, soft minky cloth for the reverse

and several coordinating ribbons.

Arrange all your loops on the right side of the flannel square.

(loop of ribbons facing in towards the center)

Pin then machine baste in place. 

Remove all pins. 

Nothing worse than giving something to a baby with a pin left in it! 

Sew Minky cloth to flannel square, right sides together ,

leaving a small opening for turning.

(Keep all those ribbons in towards the center as you sew.)

Trim away corners and any excess ribbon.

Turn, right side out. 

Sometimes I use a pin to help make nice neat corners .

Top stitch close to the edge to close up the turning hole.

All finished!

Ready to tuck into the bag along with the other shower gifts I've made.

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I've just started up a Garden Of Daisies Facebook page.

For anyone wishing to follow along that way, stop by and "like" my page.  

Apple Blossom

Who remembers Kiddle Kologne?

This is Apple Blossom.

She's missing some of her pink hair ribbons, but she's still in pretty good vintage shape.

I had one when I was a kid, so I did the happy dance when I found her.

I had a Lily of the Valley Kiddle Kologne, too.

And I think my sister(s) had Honeysuckle and Violet.

How many of these sweetly scented Kiddles were there, anyway? 

Apple Blossom, Lily of the Valley, Honeysuckle,Violet,  Sweet Pea, ...????  

Can you help me remember all of their names?

I have such wonderful memories of fun play with these tiny dollies.

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You'll find another Liddle Kiddle post here. 

 And Liddle Kiddle Paperdolls on my paper doll page.

Little Basket For The Nursery

The baby shower is just a couple of weeks away

Actually, there are two of them.  Showers, not babies.

Very lucky Little One to have so many people celebrating along with us.

I'm using all the spare time I can find to finish up my projects and get ready for company. 

Can't show too much yet, in case she looks here.

But this one little thing won't matter.

A simple, yellow, crocheted basket to hold odds and ends in the nursery.

(baby nail clippers, thermometer, diaper pins etc...)

I used  Lily, Sugar and Cream cotton yarn in Vanilla Cream and White. 

It's about  5.5" across and 2.25" high, after it was folded down. 

(But you could keep adding rings to make the basket any size that suited you.)

The bottom is a simple chain 4 slipstitched into a ring, with 8 singles in it.

Then put two singles in each stitch.

Next, single crochet in one stitch and two single crochets in the next. Repeat for that round.

Then two singles in every third stitch,

and then two singles in every fourth stitch,

etc...

Switch to all singles when you are ready to build up the sides.

Add any border you like to finish it off.

Stamped Cookies - Lemon Mace Rounds

Cold days are perfect for turning on the oven and baking.

So bake I did.

I wanted to show you how I make my stamped cookies.

You may use any smooth dough that you can drop by the spoonful, 

such as peanut butter, or soft sugar cookies.  

I mixed up a batch of Lemon Mace Rounds.  (recipe at the bottom of this post) 

You can find actual cookie stamps at kitchen specialty stores. 

Or 

you can do what I did:

Look around the house and find a glass or dish that has a cut or pressed pattern.

Butter the bottom of the glass pieces, getting butter into each little crevice.

Dip the buttered glass in a sugar mixture.

Then stamp each ball of dough with the buttered-sugared-glass. 

(Dip back into the sugar mix between each cookie.)

 Bake according to directions.

And Viola!

So pretty!

(I had trouble getting the pattern on the baked cookie to show with the camera flash,

but you get the idea.)

* * *

Lemon Mace Rounds

(from Better Homes and Gardens Cookies and Candies)

2 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon mace

2 eggs

2/3 cup salad oil

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon mace

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and 1/4 teaspoon mace together. Set aside.

Combine next 6 ingredients:  eggs, oil, sugars and lemon juice and peel.   Beat until thick.

Stir in dry ingredients.

Drop by spoonful about 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar, nutmeg and mace.

Lightly butter bottom of glass.

Dip in sugar and spice mixture and press cookie flat.

Bake in 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes, until lightly browned.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Notes:

You may use nutmeg and mace, or just nutmeg.  

You may use just white and brown sugar or just white.

These are easy and delicious.
Super fun to make with your kids.

From Better Homes and Gardens Cookies and Candies, 1972 edition.

We baked from this same cookbook when I was a kid, only it was the 1967 edition.

My sister has that original cookbook now, 

but copied down all the notes we wrote into the margins of our favorite recipes. 

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PS.
For anyone who is not familiar with mace, it's from the same plant as nutmeg.
And it's the flavor used in donuts. So if you like donuts, you like mace.

Snowy and Cold

It is snowy. 

And it is cold. 

Winter in Kansas.

:-)