Dear Finny,
I once again found myself with a group of girlfriends yesterday explaining the origins of your nickname. Thankfully, they didn’t ask me about Donk. Can you believe we’ve been coordinating these sew-alongs for 3 years? I must say, I never thought we’d host one with one of YOUR books. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve long since known how fabulous you are. I just didn’t realize you were planning on conquering the literary world as well.
Dude.
You are awesome! Look at your book! Naturally, we’ll use it as our sew-along book for the year. And while we are destashing with these great patterns, we’ll also destash around the kitchen. Each month’s challenge will also include a recipe.
There are a handful of kitchen techniques that take you from being simply a cook”to a domestic goddess. This year is officially the year of going from good to great. The best part of these great secrets is they are easy! (Just like most cooking or sewing projects, they simply take leaving your ego behind and jumping in with both feet.)
So — to be clear: each month Fin and I will select one project from One-Yard Wonders and one recipe.
Interested in playing along? Whether you are new to the group or have been hanging around since day one — the rules of such a sew along remain the same (and are set up to be as easy as pie, I must say):
- At or around the first of the month, Jess (Finny) and I will both post the month’s ONE sewing and ONE cooking project and one of us will announce the previous month’s winner. It’s possible that the number of projects might change and we’ll just expect you to be adults about the whole thing. Embrace change and what not.
- By the last day of the month, anyone who wants to participate will finish one or both of the projects and post pictures to our new One Yard Wonders : Sew Along 2010 pool for judging.
- We will then show back up at or around the first, announce the winners and do the rest of the stuff I just said in the first bullet.
One-Yard Wonder project: The “Good Hat Day” Hat by Rebecca Jo Malmström
Recipe: Spicy Garlic Salad Dressing
Homemade salad dressing can take any salad from “eh” to “Wow!” Plus, it is healthier and less expensive than anything you’d find in a grocery.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon or more of Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons red vinegar
1 pinch of garlic salt
1 pinch of coarsely ground black pepper
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon honey
any fresh herbs you may have — I used thyme
Blend this in a food processor, adding more red wine vinegar and lime juice if necessary. This is also easy to make if you want to omit the chopped garlic by simply adding all ingredients to the Dijon mustard bottle and shaking with fury. Then pour over your salad and enjoy the fresh, rocking dressing you’ve made!
Do you have a salad dressing idea? Share it!
Thanks again, Fin. Looking forward to another great year of creativity with you!
-donk
P.S. The winner from Nov-Dec’s sew-along was: Askercado. Bravo! Email me with your contact info for your prize.