Why did the little boy throw the clock out the window?

Posted by: BCQuilter on: 9 November 2008

• In: quilting
• 4 Comments

To see time fly… and boy, has time just flown by. I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since I have written in my blog.

The binding class went very well. I received several phone calls, emails and a few personal discussions on how well the participants enjoyed the class. They have suggested that it be done next time on a Saturday, instead of an evening… just a little more time. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am glad they did too.

Life has been a roller-coaster… when is it not, eh? But I think I am on a bit of a smooth patch right now.

I’ve been busy making “microwave potato bags”, and they are the bees knees. I was sceptical at first, you know… items cooked in the microwave are just not quite the same as the oven or stove. Well, I can tell you, I am no longer a sceptic. Okay, yes, they are not quite “my” perfect potato, but they do look and feel as if they have just come out of the oven. (I like mine a bit over done so the peel is nice and crispy… mmm, smothered in gravy… mmm… okay, back on track).

The first four potato bags - 3 small, and 1 large.

My potato bags are made with 100% cotton fabric, batting and thread. The velcro closure is not a problem in the microwave. They are machine quilted, I thought it added a nice touch, and the binding is bias binding. I had considered using the pre-made stuff you can buy, but it is 55% polyester, and I didn’t want to take a chance with that in the microwave. Polyester is probably better than nylon, but… why take the chance right?

Potato already to be cooked.

I have seen several microwave potato bags in different venues on the internet, and most of them say “cook potato as per manufacturer’s instructions”. Well, what if you are like me, and you don’t know where your microwave instruction manual/booklet is? Or… what if you have a different wattage microwave? Did you know the “standard” microwave oven is 700 watts? Good grief, mine is 1200 watts! How long will a potato cook in mine? Well, I was fortunate, I have a preset program, so i tested my bag with that. OH what a wonderful potato. Ummm… the next bag of potatoes we bought… were huge… they are probably the size of 3 fists… where a typical potato is 1 fist. Now, how am I going to figure out how long to cook them.

To answer some of those questions, I did a little sleuthing on the internet. If you look, you can find just about anything on the internet, and I did. I found a website that offers conversions, for example 700 watt to 1200 watts cooking times. The site has microwave cooking tips, and much more. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really go much past the Conversion page.

I have found that working on the microwave potato bags has rejuvenated me… or perhaps it was something small I could do while in the roller coaster of life, and now that things are a bit normal, I can work on the “bigger” projects. Well, whatever it is, I have gotten back to work on a few projects. I am embellishing my first Bargello – West Coast Sunset, and I’ve been working on the second, which is for DD#1… I haven’t named it yet, will have to get it all pieced together, and see what it looks like.

And my butterfly quilt is calling me, to have some more quilting done on it too.

I hope that all your quilting needs are fulfilled, and I suggest you stop, and pick up a small project, if you are feeling a little overwhelmed with life, or larger projects, it may be the little boost you need.

-Alice

Tags: bargello, microwave potato bag, quilting