Fa La la

I recently bought this book, it has a whole lot of great ideas in it. I like the cover & would really like to make a set of these. Aren't they adorable? Obviously, from the title, you'd gather the idea that these projects all use felt... & you'd be right! Felt is great to work with, as it doesn't fray, making it perfect for hand sewing. Hand sewing is very soothing to do, it has a rhythmic quality, like knitting or crocheting. Your mind is free to think about things & I find myself deeply relaxing.
I loved these little critters! I'm wondering if my kids or grand kids need some for their Christmas tree this year. I hope they do!
What do you think? They are my first project from the Fa LaLaLa book-I think they're a success!

All the sudden, I had to preserve some food. It was impulsive. Our local Farmer's market, that I like so well & don't go to often enough with our family of two, had a half bushel of apple second's.For $ 5.00. Need I say more? No, but I will. They were Cortland apples. One of my all-time favorite varieties. When I saw it, I had to have it. I just had to. Visions of bubbling, plop-plop-plopping applesauce simmering on my stove filled my head. I could just imagine the steamy fragrance filling the kitchen with cinnamon-y goodness...

And it did. A young friend came over & we visited over the companionable task of peeling, coring & quartering apples. I stirred the the fruit with water till the apples softened & broke down into a sauce like consistency. I added brown sugar, cinnamon & nutmeg. It was, & is, wonderful. I made another batch that same afternoon & now my freezer holds some of that Autumn treasure.

I still had some apples left & felt an urge to can something. It's been awhile since I've preserved something by canning. I ended up making canned apple pie filling.

Normally, I make an apple pie with fresh apples, but sometimes it's really nice to have a quick way to make a pie. No peeling & mixing, the labor is all done except for the making of the piecrust. That's a pretty fast way to make a pie.

I found some cute printable labels from a sight called http://www.oneprettything.com/. Did you know labels make home canned goods even more special? It's true! I could have just called it Apple Pie Filling, but I came up with "American as Apple Pie Filling". The blue & white tag with the red & white cord is my patriotic touch.

I was so pleased with my success with the apples, I also made some Salsa-make that Jill's Sassy Salsa & some Chili sauce-Mom's mmh mmmh Chili sauce.

Enjoy my little harvest, I might even do some more!!