Thursday, April 30, 2009

Playing on the porch

Woohoo, found a 5 foot snake in the tall ground cover yesterday while walking the yard with the gardener...he jumped and screamed like a teenage girl! Macbeth came to the rescue and stood between us and the snake. The snake was smart and retreated to the other side of the fence. Macbeth was smart enough not to chase him. All good. Now I don't mind snakes but it did give me reason to spend more time on the porch! Maybe that is why the little guy in the photo hangs out here has well....(he is the perfect color for my porch!)The porch - the real reason for today's post. We gave away our deck/porch furniture when we went overseas. I have been shopping around for the past few months and haven't found what I want. What I want is my porch that doesn't look like everyone else's in the neighborhood. I also don't want to spend a fortune...seems like those two plans were at odds.

So I took a page from that home show that only uses stuff you already have (except I allowed myself a $100 to buy paint and repair stuff since we couldn't ship that and so have zilch in the garage....) This has been a lot of fun! I'm using colors I love (I know I do because when I was emptying a box of stuff in the garage I found color chips from 6 years ago that match what I am using now!) And it is color...I am so tired of brown, black and beige I could scream!So what have I done so far...I painted some old wicker chairs lilac (before and after shot above.) I painted a discarded iron table bottom a textured black. I primed a 3 foot by 3 foot piece of wood and broke up lots and lots of chipped china to make a mosaic table top. I found a small canvas "rug" I painted years ago and some tin folk art for the side of the house. Fun no? So far I have spent about $40...couldn't even get a decent chair for that!

I am debating with myself on the china...I definitely want to go with the smaller pieces but do I only want to use the china? It was starting to look a bit girl-y...so I tried tossing in some beer caps and buttons and beach glass....definitely shook it up a bit....I'm going to wait a day before gluing it down to make up my mind. Besides I have to smash some more china (very therapeutic I may add....) Also there are a few pieces that I have to use the nippers on to make sure I don't lose the pattern like on this china mark....Still lots to do but it is way more fun than shopping (who would have ever thought I'd say that!)

The basket quilt came out of it's bath in good shape. There are still a few stains but I'm going to wait and decide how much they bother me. It may do more damage to try and get them out. At least it is clean and smells good! Important in a quilt! Photos later...still a bit damp in spots and is doing its final drying in the dining room....oh and here is a Brownie photo for Dianne....I suspect Brownie was out there hunting the little lizard...oh, dear. Both cats like to hang out around the lavender plant...wonder what it smell like to them?

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Trying new things

I was just wondering if this would work...I so need to take some "blogging for idiots" classes. I have no patience to go through the tutorials on my own...I saw this on Clare's site and really thought it was fun...spent way more time playing with letters than I should!

s40mex Letter I Banksy 4 B letter H Boneyard No. 38 N is for Public Gardens

Monday, April 27, 2009

Quilt Auction Find


I learned (or rather relearned) a quilt lesson this past weekend at the country auction - you cannot judge an antique/vintage quilt from a photo. Take the quilt photo on the top of this page. Doesn't it look great! This quilt was one of the main reasons I drove an hour in searing Georgia heat to look at quilts (yes, I do have AC but even so...)

Well folks in person it isn't the runway model it looks to be in the auction online listing. I was hoping it would be circa 1910 but it ended up being more like 1950. There were some fabrics in there that would outlast a nuclear explosion..thick, thick polyester and some pre-quilted mattress covering type of fabric. Call me a quilt snob but I will only go so far as to have silk, wool, cotton, velvet or corduroy in my quilts. The handles were machine stitched down with some raw edges peeking out (I don't think that was on purpose.) Also the batting in the bottom half had gone walk-about...there was very little quilting holding it all together. So no, I didn't get this one (though even knowing all that I took a quick breath when they held it up during the auction....)
Here is another that I loved in the photos. Not visiable is some rough polyester. The patternreminds me of the weaving projects we made at camp with gum wrappers.

It was interesting to see which ones they chose to put in the cataloge...there were several good ones on a side table that weren't showcased. Go figure.
Now I didn't think I was going to be able to afford this next one. It was part of a collection of Southern Folk Art and based on the listing I thought it would be out of my range. I was wrong!

I heard one dealer saying it was a poor quilt because the muslin backing was pulled to the front which "means it was not original (had repairs.) Lots of southern quilts don't have bindings and just turned the backing fabric over to the front...but hey, if he didn't want to bid on it because of the I was happy! He was also very critical of the points being lost on two sides...doesn't bother me too much...otherwise the piecing is really good and it has these great wonky baptist fans!
Also, this one is all cotton and has just one little spotty stain on the back (may be rust...)

This painting is by one of the artists that was represented in the southern folk art collection...I have two of his paintings. This one hangs in my kitchen. So the quilt should feel right at home in the hallway of red quilts right next door....

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Challenge Progress

This week I jumped into the Victoria's at Bumblebeans Matisse challenge. I'm proud to stay I stuck with it and just a few minutes ago finished sewing the top together.

Here is the painting she choose for us to use as inspiration:
Here is my top...
Along the way there were some suggestions and hints - like the 3 minute put your fabric onto the design wall challenge and how to make a basic sketch. All fun. I am happy I got to play with fabrics that I love but haven't worked in any quilts for a long time. (like the large white circles on blue - I almost made it into a bag just to do something with it...this fabric has frequent flyer miles!) Now I am playing with ideas on how to quilt this...I may just use the swirl from the paintings background as inspiration or I may each section of the top slightly different....
I mentioned earlier I was perusing my batiks and trying to decide if they were earning all the space they take up in my stash. I pulled some that I had "real" yardage of (for that read at least a 1/3 of a yard with WOF) and cut some 4 inch strips to make an around the world "quick quilt." The photo above shows 1/4 of the quilt. The girl that walks Mac for me graduates this year so I will give it to her for a dorm quilt.

Other than that it is a quiet Sunday. I am nursing some poison ivy patches on my arm and trying my best not to scratch...ughhhhhh. Before I went out to garden I had put on some ivy blocker cream on my arms and hands, while gardening I wore gloves and when I finished I washed with gardener's soap but still the ivy got me...can you imagine how bad it would be if I didn't do all that! I think I just need to walk near poison ivy for me to break out. I generally do not use chemicals in my yard or garden but for PI I make and exception...that stuff is evil!
I've made a bit more progress with my challenge quilt...it is about half sewn together. Should finish the top tomorrow and if I am lucky get a back ready for it.
I'm not sure if Brownie appoves of the new style or not....

After several days of MD appointments my Dh took pity on me and drove me down to a real country auction about an hour from here. There was great folk art going under the hammer and I kick myself for not pushing him harder to get the pink dancing chicken but he said it was just a bit scarey. Oh, well.

We did end up with two quits. Both of them are southern. They came from the same collection as the artwork and the pottery. This first one is most likely from the 1940's. It looks as if the baskets were all done by different people. The baskets and flowers are appliqued with a running stitch and have french knots in the flower centers. The quality of the stitching varies pretty widely. Also, the flowers and petals are arranged just slightly different in the blocks. This quitl also has the most unusual "binding" I have ever seen...more like a ruffle but not really a ruffle...there is a two inch fold of pink fabric with no batting inside around the entire quilt. Has anyone seen anything like this before? There was another one in the auction done the same way but it was in very poor condition so I didn't get it.

Tomorrow will be spent giving this a really good bath...it has some age spots and some general dirt that needs to go before it joins the rest of the gang. It should be a warm day again without too much humidity so a good quilt washing day.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Trying something new

Over at Bumblebeans there is a new sort of challenge. She has posted a photo of a Matisse painting and is guiding us through using it as inspiration for a quilt. This is different for me but since I have had cards from the Matisse Jazz series pinned to my art board for the past two years I thought it was kizmet....
So I have done the first step...I looked at the photograph then raided the stash. I then went back and looked at the photo for several minutes then hit the design wall (or in this case floor since my wall is covered at the moment with two other projects!)

I think I am ok with it...I need another green for the lower left. I know there are some elements in the painting I missed (like and arched mirror) but obviously that wasn't the part that really hit me so...
Other than that I planted some tomato plants for Earth Day and did some hand weeding in the garden. Look what I found in my garden! I had forgotten about this Iris! It has beautiful ruffled edges and is much brighter purple than the photo.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Spring wanderings....

I've been slow blogging this week...the weather has been just too nice to stay indoors. The first hummingbirds came to the feeder, dragonflies are buzzing the garden, roses are in bloom in the side yard, and the thermometer never got higher than 75 degrees. This will not last long so I am determined to enjoy it while I can!

A sure sign of spring here are the strawberry booths...we have lots of strawberry farms around us and several of them set up temporary stands along the busier roads. These are not to be confused with the hard supermarket strawberries - oh no. These are large, red, and sometimes strangely shaped sweet soft berries.

So this weekend I was invited to a wedding shower (the photo on top of this post is from the deck of the house) and I decided to make a strawberry pie for the first time ever! I went to the local stand and got a gallon bucket (you always have to have some left overs!) I found a recipe in an old cookbook and thought I was good to go. I had just taken the crust out of the oven when my DH came home complaining he had missed lunch and was hungry. So I put aside the pie recipe and get dinner. When I did get back to it about 4 hours later I just hurried through making the filling...it wasn't until I read the recipe for the last time that something in my head went "huh???" Seems the cookbook had two recipes for strawberry pie...one on the right hand page and another on the left....so my pie has the crust from page 40 but the filling from page 41. What tipped me off was the first used a spring form pan and the second a pie plate...duhhh.
In the end my strawberry experiment was fine. I was afraid that when I took off the spring form the filling was going to run all over the counter but it held up fine. Who knows I may even make it that way again!

I also have been going through some of my sewing room stuff again. I packed a box of fabric for the girl scouts. I am debating with myself (and a very intelligent debate at that!) about what to do with my batiks. I went through a batik phase but now haven't really used them for years. I pulled a few that I love and made a couple of shopping bags with them. The fabrics didn't go into the donation box yet...

BTW I did post how I wash vintage blocks as I promised however since it took me a few days...or rather weeks to finish the post when I published it fell back in the list of postings on my blog. So if you are interested it is under the April 6th (or so...) post.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Back to normal

Well after a week of "all things golf" here in Augusta today we have a bit of rain and a bit of normalcy returning to the area. Yards still look beautiful, the golf carts are still in the front of local stores, an a half-million Mercedez is parked at the entrance of the next subdivision but those will all be taken care of soon (and unfortunately that includes the manicured yards!)
I did watch a bit of the tournament with my DH. It was exciting as area all Sundays at the Masters! In honor of the day I made some of these very fun pincushions that go into your spools of thread using a golf tee! (This really did make my hubby shake his head but during a commercial he went into his golf bag and fetched a few for me...good hubby....) The tutorial for this was at Polka Dot Pineapple's blog. The only thing I changed was substituting ultra suede for the felt - ony because that is what I had on hand! Also I used boiled wool/felt for the center and stufed it with wool scraps...I love how that feels on the needles.

My other big accomplishment this week -my water barrel is full! First I had to built up a stand for the barrel. That ment digging down a few inches, adding stones and sand then putting in a few large pavers to raise the barrel up so I could get a watering can under the spout. The guys came in and put the the gutters just in time for the rain the other night. Voila - a full rainbarrel! Now it may not do much for our lawn (watering restrictions are already in place!) but it should really help the 4x12 raised bed veggie and herb garden going in right next to it later this week.

Now, off to baste a quilt top...really need to get a few things moving this week!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

A bit homesick and another finish

It was a good day to work on almost finishes...not a lot of energy and a bit homesick.

So as promised Goldie presents my finished Twist and Turn quilt top! This is another one of Bonnie's pattern from quiltville.com. I made this one extra long for my very tall brother. I have a few blocks left over so I may make some pillows or something to go with it. That is if I can get it away from Goldie!
When I was growing up Good Friday was always a family day. My Dad would take us all into Boston's North End to do the Easter shopping. My Dad was the assistant principal at the middle school there so lots of folks in the shops knew him. We had to be on best behavior. Now this was before the yuppies took over the area so there were all Italian bakeries displaying bread rings with eggs baked on the top and cakes in the shape of lambs, butchers with whole butchered lambs hanging in the windows, fish markets where Dad would buy some fish for my Mom to make chowder that night, the flower stands packed with lillies and tuplips always took a long time to get agreement on what to bring home. There were all sorts of wonderful things for a girl from the suburbs to look at! Just before noon we would stop in at St. Anthony's Church and then go for pizza.

So today, feeling a bit homesick I called one of my sisters. No answer. Called another (I have 4.) No answer. Finally I dug out a cell phone number and would you believe they and my nieces were in the North End having lunch! They wanted to know if my ears were burning!

My Dh took pity on me and brought home some tulips and a large lavendar plant. Maybe tomorrow I'll get some lillies too! Instead of pizza we had pieorgies with carmalized onions that I served on my Polish pottery...reminded me of my trip to Poland last spring. I may just try baking one of those lamb cakes if I can find my lamb cake pan....

Have a wonderul Easter!

Friday, April 10, 2009

The Masters invasion

For one week a year Augusta Georgia is on the map...for those of you who aren't golf fans, married to a golf fan or who hasn't accidentally had the gold channel on this week then you may not know what I am talking about.
The Masters is one of the oldest US golf championships and unlike others is played on the same course each year. That course is here in Augusta. The course is admittedly beautiful. Azaleas, dogwoods, and all sorts of other flowering bushes surround almost all the holes. The grass is better kept than my husband's beard...heck than almost all men's beards. They limit the number of attendees, no cell phones are allowed, and you can get a sandwich, beer and a candybar for about 6 bucks...how many sporting events does that happen at!And as much as the locals complain about the traffic it is nice to have all the activities going on and the yards and parks all cleaned up for visitors. We have had visitors in town for the Masters again this year. ( My Dh's family are big into golf.) Unfortunately my legs aren't feeling up to the long walks and I hate falling behind so I chose to be the taxi driver and cook this year.

I did have one great moment this week though...I thought a few small quilts given to me by friends had been lost in the move to England. Well, I opened a recipe folder and would you believe there they were!
This mug was made for me by my non-blogging friend Rachel. Isn't it fun! That is acually sort of how I've felt this week...not enough caffine on earth to get me going....

Tomorrow the house empties out and my Dh goes to play poker with his buddies...maybe I can get some real quilting time in!

Monday, April 06, 2009

Washing Vintage Blocks

After my post about our quilt show challenge I got several questions about how I wash vintage blocks. The easiest answer is very, very carefully!
OK, kidding aside...here goes my thought process. As each block is individual there is no guarantee that this would work for you and your block. Washing blocks is a bit like playing blackjack...you can memorize all the tables with the odds and play by the book but there is always an element of chance...so if you are one who likes to live dangerously (but like to follow the odds) here goes.

First and foremost - what are you going to use the blocks for? I collect blocks for the pattern or the fabric. In a way they are just study pieces. However I have worked on blocks that belonged to a friends great grandmother and the family wanted to make into a quilt. Knowing what I want to do with the block before I dunk it in the sink(or not!) is important. Waiting a day or two isn't going to make a huge difference to the block...unless of course you just spilled a glass or red wine on it (in which case you are on your own!)

It is highly doubtful that washed blocks are "worth" more than unwashed blocks just as vintage blocks sewn together my not be any more valuable than as blocks. (And according to many quilt historians you can devalue an antique quilt top by quilting it.) This isn't something you do to get rich - you do it because you love vintage quilt blocks.
Supplies I use when working on blocks:
1. a magnifying glass (even young eyes can use the help!)
2. gloves (not to protect the blocks as much to protect my hands. As a quilter I always have little cuts or needle pricks on my fingers. A few years ago I got a really bad infection in my Thumb after rummaging through a few bags of blocks from the 1930's that had spent years in a plastic box in a neighbors garage. (Note to self...if they don't smell good there may be something there that isn't good for you...wear gloves!)
3. q-tips or cotton balls
4. old towels
So you have block and a plan...do not go to the water yet...now take a really close look at the block.

o What age are the fabrics? There are lots of good resources out there to date fabric. I still use my well worn copy of Barbara Brackman's Clues in Calico. If the blocks are prior to 1900 or have writing or stampling (any ink) on them I do not wash the block. The likelihood of damaging the fabric is too great. Also, my primary reason (read plan) for having the blocks is to have samples of old fabric...the less they have been washed the better sample I have. Only if the block is in really bad shape (like mildewed - in which case it is on fabri-life-support anyways) will I wash it. I try and take a do no harm approach.

(This is an example of a block that will remain a bock in my collection. I think I would do more damage to it by even the most gentle of washings...dye is starting to migrate from the darker brown.)

o How strong are the fabrics? This is where the magnifying glass comes in handy.
If there are holes in the fabric either from tears, heat, or dye rot then washing is going to be a challenge. Generally a reason to not wash. Heat or dye rot makes the fabric so fragile that it may almost disappear when you put it in water. Too much heartbreak. If it is a "good and natural" tear then get out your darning egg (remember those!) and fix any holes before washing! Any action in the water will only pull at the loose thread and make the hole or tear larger.
Loose weave fabrics purchase off the shelf today can be difficult to work with and I hate to tell you they don't get better with age. (who does! except maybe George Clooney and Harrison Ford...sigh..Ok back to blocks) Generally I see the loose weave on quilt blocks made from sugar sack (not feedsacks) and from some dress materials in the 1940's. I have sewn a loosely woven block to another muslin block before washing to give it some extra strength. I then separate them afterwords (or not...it can help with storing or handling the block)(The background fabric in this block is weak...the fabric is fraying and there are little to no seams on the edges. It will only ever stay a block that sits in my someday stack. I don't wash it because I love the original colors in the red fabric.)

o How strong is the construction? Let's face facts - there are some good reasons for blocks to remain blocks and one of these is they weren't the best in the basket! Check the stitching - will it hold up to even a light wash? If points are important to you this is a good time to check seam allowance within and around the block. Go back to "what is the plan for this block." If it a sample only I don't worry to much. but if I want to use it I may have to seriously consider if it is possible or if I am going to be adding a lot of new fabric. In that case it may be easier to just make a replica...(This block was washed however the rust stain in the upper right hand corner goes right through the fabric. The background fabric is very thin so I don't want to go any further with washing. I can live with a bit of rust...call it character...)


o Stains? "Most often asked question: Will this stain come out? Best answer: It depends." that is how Camille Cognac address the issue in her book Quilt Restoration: A Practical Guide. I also like the sign in my dry cleaners that says "If you can't tell us how you stained it we can't guarantee we can clean it." Sounds like a lot of waffling but there you go. So we enter the netherworld of stain identification...sounds like a CSI program? Here are some common ones:

Dye Migration: I see this a lot down here in the south were some fabrics spends their summers baking in attics. This is almost impossible to take out without damaging the fabric more. It looks like rust or brown stains that generally are not consistent across the fabric. According to Cognac brown, red, black, yellow and orange fabrics are the culprits most often. If you really want to try to clear it up a Vintage Soak product found in some LQS may have a shot. Just understand that the dye that has migrated is likely to run again and your block is not going to look remotely the same after its wash.
Age Spots: I've also heard them called fabric freckles...so much nicer than age spots. These are the light small dots usually on the lighter fabrics. If they are light they will come out easily with a wash in either Orvus paste, Woolite, or Ivory Snow. If they are a bit darker or there are more of them then Vintage Soak may help.
Mildew: Again, here down south I see a lot of this. Often you smell it and maybe even sneeze it before you even see it! In it's mildest form you have a chance to save the block however if the mildew has taken hold then it is almost impossible to get rid of it without damaging the fabric. So how do you tell if it is mild or deep? If the grey scrapes off and leave only a small shadow you may have a chance. If however, it refuses to budge or leaves a skid mark in its wake...not so good. I have tried some crazy things (putting the fabric in the freezer!) but the basics seem to work best. I separate any fabric/blocks with mildew immediately from other blocks. Than I take the block outside and spray with Lysol. After the block is dry I hand wash the block in medium warm water with Ivory Snow and a bit of Borax. I rinse, rinse, rinse. If there is still a stain I may try some lemon juice on the stain using a q-tip and put the wet block in the sun for a few minutes then rinse, rinse, rinse. My rule is if the mildew is bad I am not going to use the block for anything but a sample...can you tell I really hate mildew?

Dirt/Smoke/Yucky stuff: Some seemingly not so bad looking blocks can make the water in your sink turn the color of weak coffee. Just remember that is why you are washing it. (and that is why I wear gloves.....) These blocks may have had a tough life. They may have been tossed into old cardboard boxes then lived in the attic for a few years before someone stored it in their garage for months until they hauled it to the Goodwill where you rescued it. Or maybe they were found at a garage sale by an e-bayer who put that "as is" line on their post which you didn't see because you were so excited by the great aqua color in those Sun Bonnet Sue dresses. Little did you know Sue was living in a trailer with a half-dozen three pack a day cousins...it takes a toll on a girl even if she is made of cotton.

These are my favorite blocks though. A short bath in some soapy water, a gentle hand rise, then blocked on some clean towels and allowed to dry. They come out looking (ah, and smelling) like new!


Finally some notes on pressing and storing:

Press all blocks as if every edge was a bias edge...they very well could be. Remember there were "bad" quilters back then too and just maybe it was those wonky edges that sent this block into the cardboard box to start with.

The optimal way to store vintage fabric is to layer it with acid free tissue in an acid free box. Now for the reality check. You are not going out to buy all of this for your thrift store finds. So how about washing some inexpensive muslin and cutting it into squares to put in between your blocks and storing them on a shelf in your sewing room closet. If you are feeling really flush hit a yard sale for some cotton pillowcases (got 4 nice ones today for only a dollar!) As long as the blocks are flat, dry, getting some air, and protected from sun and dust they should be ok until you are ready to use them...whatever your plan.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

April means an early finish

Only five days into the month of April and I can scratch one a quilt off of my "to-do" list! This month I tackled the Scrappy Around the World top that only needed two more borders...so it wasn't a big deal to finish even though the border was made up of 2-1/2 inch blocks and a narrow 1 inch white inner-border! (The free pattern for this quilt can be found at www.quiltville.com Bonnie Hunter's website...sorry I forgot to put this on the original posting!)Goldie was "helping" show the quilt. She has a particular fondness for 1930's fabrics! The girl knows what she looks good on! BTW this is her kitty yoga pose...
I've been spending a lot of time washing vintage blocks for my quilt guild's show challenge. A woman donated a box of blocks that had belonged to someone in her family. We sorted out some for our silent auction table then are using the remainder for our challenge. Since the blocks are not all the same...restate - none are exactly the same as you can see from the photos.(Mac gets very photo-jealous of the quilt blocks....) Each block will be put in it's own paper lunch-bag (that can be reuses as a thread/scrap bag in a class or bee!) and quilters who want to participate will just select a bag. The block can be sliced, diced, pulled apart or quilted as is. They can bead it, stamp it, or use it as inpiration for a totally new block. The only rules are the final product must be influenced by the selected block, it must be quilted, and it must be less than 24 inches tall and 24 inches wide (though it can be 3-dimensional or wearable!) So how does this get to washing you ask? Well, the original quilter smoked...a lot...and later the blocks were stored in a garage. They are all now clean, smell good, and nicely pressed. It will be fun to see what comes out of this challenge!

Friday, April 03, 2009

Pound cake and musings

I've had a slow few days since the class. It has rained constantly and my balance is not up to puddle dodging! Ahh, but this morning the sun is shining and you can almost hear the grass grow.

So before I go out and do battle with the weeds in the back garden I thought I would post my Peach Brandy Pound Cake recipe. One slice of this cake was all it took to "sweeten" the young sheriff earlier this week and make him forget to write me a the speeding ticket that yes, I deserved. (My bad....had a great CD on and was sipping a cuppa coffee thinking about everything but the speedometer...granted I was in the middle of nowhere!)

Peach Brandy Pound Cake
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
dash of salt
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons light rum
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon exrtract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup peach brandy

Using an electric mixer beat butter at medium speed for 2 minutes or until soft and creamy; gradually add sugar. Beat at medium speed 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears.

Sift together the flour, soda and salt. Alternating with the sour cream, add the flour mixture to the batter. (begin and end with the flour) Beat after each addition only until just blended. Stir in the rum, extracts, and brandy. Pour into a greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan.

Bake at 325 degree for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack in the pan. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

If wrapped well this cake will keep for several days. I think it tastes best about 3-4 days after backing! The flavors have a chance to develop. I serve it plain or with some sliced fruit (like strawberries!)

I did do a quick kitchen project between storms...my dh's DVD collection spread to my former cookbook bookcase. I don't mind losing the shelfspace as much as I just didn't like looking at the DVD's...very messy.
So I was cruising the internet and saw a quick coverup project using fabric over the glass....


It may not be perfect but it keeps that corner from being an eyesore! Even Dh approves...just knock me over....