Ahh, Delinquency

Pretty.

I was trying to hold out on posting until it was time to post the winner of the May SMS Giveaway, but I'm here now.

Sooooo, if you're looking for the SMS Giveaway (ends tonight), go here.
If you're looking for the SEWN Giveaway (ends June 7), go here.
If you're looking for the super-duper Fat Quarter swap (sign-ups end June 3), go here.

Some real hippos (Lake Naivasha, Kenya)

Now on to other delicacies and delights, or just delinquencies.

*Last week I managed, just barely, to post a recipe for a Soba Noodle salad. I said I would be returning to Friday recipes. I meant to post a custard fruit tart and/or cheesecake recipe this week -- it was Shavuot, one of my favorite Jewish holidays in part because of the tradition of eating dairy feasts. (Other highlights of the holiday include the emphasis on learning through all night learning sessions the first night, the reading of the book of Ruth (my favorite Biblical text), the barkey harvest (or just that it's the edge of the spring/summer divide), and the fact that it's a reasonable 2 ay holiday). In any event, delicious dessert recipes to come...sometime sort of soon.

*Way back when, about 2 weeks ago, I posted about the gift I made my mom for mother's day, out of the delightful Alexander Henry Juicy fabric. I promised to post pictures. But then I forgot to take pictures while at home in range of the gift. As a result, I'll have to wait until the next time I'm home to grab some photos and share it. Apologies.

*Finally, even farther back into the past, I posted about this whirligig quilt. In the comments, I promised a tutorial on my non-template method. I still owe you that one. It's on my list of June things-to-do. I'll do my best.

On the non-delinquent front, I offer you one of Laura Gunn's new fabrics, Climbing Lantern Pods in Turquoise. Can you really not swoon over this one?

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SMS Giveaway Day

It's (almost) giveaway day, coordinated by SMS. Head over there on Wednesday morning for a full list of giveaways,

This one is pretty simple. There are three fat quarters up for grabs, to three different people. Comment, express a preference (ladybugs, hippos, flowers), and maybe you'll win! Make sure you leave contact information, either via your blogger id or in the comment. Comments open through 11.59 pm on Sunday. I'll choose three winners randomly on Monday and mail out your prizes soon thereafter. And I'll ship internationally.

While you're here, 2 other things may interest you:
1. A Fat Quarter Swap. Go here for details, then email me to sign up and join in the fun.
2. Another giveaway, this one is part of the SEWN launch and is open through June 8.

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Fat Quarter Swap

As I noted here, I've been thinking about a fat quarter swap and I think it's time to get one going.

The basics:
*Anyone may join this swap.
*Each person will send 1 fat quarter to 2 or 4 other people (you choose, 2 or 4 partners) and thus each person will receive 2 or 4 fat quarters.
*A fat quarter is a piece of fabric that measure 18" x 22". Take a half yard (18") of fabric, fold it in half, selvage to selvage, and cut along the fold. Voila, a fat quarter.
*Send quality fabric -- no "grandma" fabrics or anything you wouldn't want to receive.

The Nitty-Gritty:
*Sign up by emailing me: 2hippos [at] gmail.com
*Emails should include the following information:

1. Name
2. Mailing Address
3. Email Address
4. Blog Name/URL (if available) or anything you want your swap partners to know about you.
5. Number of swap partners: 2 or 4
6. Are you willing to ship internationally?

*Sign-up by June 3. At this point, I will match all the groups and then send you emails with your swap partners.
*Once I email you your swap partners, you should mail your fat quarters within 2 weeks.
*Please spread the word as the more people who sign up, the better. Feel free to grab the image above, post it on your blog, and link back to this post.

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(Almost) Friday Recipe: Soba Noodles with Peas and Feta

I'm striving to get back on track with Friday recipes. So, a little bit late for this week, I present this Soba Noodle with Peas and Feta salad. It's delicious, perfect for a summer salad meal, great as a side dish, and, best of all, very quick. And if you can't find soba noodles, as I couldn't this past week (ok, I only went to one store, but whatever), other Asian buckwheat noodles work just as well.

Soba Noodles with Peas and Feta
Makes 4-6 big portions, 10-12 side portions

1 pkg soba noodles (usually 10-12 oz)
1 pkg frozen baby peas (10-16 oz -- decide how many peas you want)
1/3 c. scallions, chopped
1/4 c. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1.5 tsp. soy sauce
3/4 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. pepper
6 oz. feta, crumbled

1. Boil Water. Add noodles and peas, and cook until noodles are done (~5 minutes)

2. In a large bowl, whisk together scallions, olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and pepper.

3. Drain noodles and peas. Add to bowl.

4. Add feta. Mix noodle salad together.

5. Enjoy!

Notes
*I usually use Trader Joe's crumbled feta -- it's kosher, vegetarian, and comes in a 6 oz. container.
*The salad holds well, so it's good for picnics and potlucks as well as for lunches on subsequent days.
*I usually use about 12 oz. of peas -- approximately 3/4 of a 16 oz bag.

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A Juicy Thank You

Just a quick thank you to the lovely comments about my new kitchen color.

Today was an insane day that started at 12.01 am with switching a plane ticket, continued with a 3 am wake-up, 45 minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off for me to get up and catch a bus to the airport...except that I slept through the alarm (I've never done that before...I barely sleep before early morning flights but somehow I coaxed myself back to a deep sleep at a bout 3.15 am to my detriment). I woke up at 6 am, way too late to make a 6.35 am flight...called my parents hysterically, rushed to drive to the airport knowing parking would cost me an arm and a leg but hoping I could make a 7 am flight. Too late for the 7 am flight, but they put me on an 8.57 am flight...and my wonderful mom met me to pick up my bag before sending me off to the archives and then picked me up tonight. So it's been a long, draining day, and reading your supportive comments really brightened it. So thank you.

And since I finally got to give my mom her mother's day present, I can unveil it here too. But I have to take pictures. it does incorporate the Juicy fabric (pictured above) from Alexander Henry.

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Tibetan Orange Makes Me Very Happy

It's amazing what a $17 can of paint and some time can do to a kitchen.

After living with the white kitchen (and *charming* mustard linoleum floors) for almost a year, I decided it was high time to make the kitchen look better. While the floor is, alas, here to stay for the time being, the wall color could change more easily.

Before:


And after (I'm afraid the pictures don't do the lovely deep orange with hints of red justice, but it's the best I've got):

Even the floor looks better with the new wall color.

It's so much warmer and inviting inside now.
I think a few plants on top of the fridge might be a nice addition as well.

My cookbooks and recipe box and scotch.

I'm trying to decide whether or not to touch the cabinets. Part of me feels like enough is enough and the other part of me thinks painting the outside of the cabinet rectangle (in other words, leave the centers and the frame white and painting the middle) would be even better. Any thoughts? In the meantime I plan on recovering the wall clock to make it fit and make it more interesting.

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Stop Drop & Roll

From fire safety to quilting...I learned this weekend that I won a copy of Heather Mulder Peterson's new book Stop, Drop, and Roll.

I'm particularly excited about the Buttercup design, previewed here.

In other news, I realize I desperately need to update the blogroll over on the right. Maybe this week...along with a variety of works-in-progress that range from a paper to a few quilts.

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Cityscapes

Within 12 hours, 2 different friends living in 2 different places told me about their most recent print purchases from Ork Posters.

My favorite US city.

My hometown (cough, um metropolitan area, cough).

My current region.

Beyond cities, for your favorite doctor, med school grad, or med student.

* * * *

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

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Sash and Stash

I made this sash for a friend who is now officially a doctor...of the Ph.D. variety.

wrapped up like so:

And I got a lovely packet of fabric in the mail from Dayna (you can see her wares here). The swap started with the Wonderland Snip, Snip squares, to which I added more fabric. And she sent me this colorful array.

I'm especially pleased to have more ladybugs on yellow, and I love the Fiesta fabric.

Now I just need to decide how to use this colorful goodness. I'm thinking a bag, or maybe some (fussy-cut) squares for a quilt.

A few more aprons and baby quilts coming up soon...

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SEWN

SEWN is a new craft website out of Australia. Here's their mission:

SEWN is new and innovative online quilting and sewing community for all lovers of fabric crafts. We have Tips and Innovative Tools to help with your projects, an Advice Centre for all your sewing questions, online forums and chats, and information on your local shops, sewing groups, quilt groups and classes.

SEWN will feature designers and shops from Australia and New Zealand, as well as the latest from the USA, Canada, Europe and Japan.

There will be articles, interviews and tutorials from industry experts, competitions and free patterns! We’ll even be reporting via podcast from craft shows around Australia and the USA.

In honor of their opening, they are giving away and hosting giveaways. To celebrate with them, I will give away 2 fat quarters, fabric to be determined. I will entertain color requests (put them in your comment), but no guarantees.

To enter, comment on this post by June 8, 2009. Winner will be determined randomly on June 8.

p.s. I know I'm off-track on Friday recipes. I'll try and get back on-track next week.

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