Corn Avocado Dip recipe & a little about me

 Something you have probably noticed about my recipes but I have not really share a whole lot about myself is that I eat dairy and gluten free. This is true for several members of my family. Several years back I was determined to make some lifestyle changes which included how I ate. At the time one of my cousins was going through a ridged elimination diet and seeing a naturopath due to health issues. She share the Eat Right for Your Type - The Blood Type Diet book. At first I blew it off because how in the world was I going to be able to eat like that. No dairy and no wheat (as well as a bunch of other stuff) come on! I eat cheese for almost every meal and could drink a gallon of milk within a couple day's. Not to mention my addiction to a crusty loaf of bread. I still joke that I want my last meal to be a block of cheese and a loaf of good sourdough bread. Still the blood type diet it was lingering in the back of my head. 

At the time I was going through my own set of aches and pains; vertigo, one sinus infection after the other and shooting pain that ran from my hands to my elbows. Only things doctors would do is tell me to "wear arm braces because you have carpertunal" and prescribe me antibiotics to get rid of yet another sinus infection. Then one day something just clicked. I don't know if it was something I remembered reading or something someone said to me but I was determined to try this diet. Before starting I made no correlation to my pain to my diet but with in about a month of eating for my type my hand and arm pain went away and.... I will do my best not to be gross.... we'll just say my sinuses when through a great purge. That was 8 years ago and you know, I have not had a sinus infection since and colds when I rarely get them only last a couple day's. My husband who is a seasonal allergy sufferer has told me that he has found relief from his allergy symptoms since we changed how we eat too. I was sold and I never looked back.

This is not to say that I don't occasionally indulge in wheat & dairy because I do and quite often around the holiday's or anytime we are celebrating with others. But when I do, no matter how small the amount, I usually have horrible sinus headaches from the dairy and joint pain when I eat wheat. Sometimes those are great reminders why I eat how I eat. It's just not worth the pain not to eat right. I don't consider myself allergic but intolerant or sensitive to gluten and dairy. 

Well, you now know more than you ever wanted to know about my eating habits but hopefully you know what type of recipes to expect from me. I have gotten pretty good and knowing how to do exchanges in recipes and what can and can not be altered or omitted.  So has several of my family members so we share recipes quite a bit. Just like this corn salsa (is it a salsa if it doesn't have tomatoes?) below. We are big eaters when we all get together and get a little sad when we all make things that none of us should really be eating. Little by little we have been adding new favorites to the communal table and this is one of them that everyone loves.

Corn Avocado Dip

1  16 oz  organic frozen sweet corn, thawed

2  4oz cans chopped ripe (black) olives, drained

1  med red bell pepper, diced

1  small red onion, diced

5  cloves of garlic, minced

1/3 c extra virgin olive oil

1/4 c lemon juice (fresh is best)

3 tbsp white wine vinegar (not aged)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

3 med avocado (ripe but firm), diced right before serving

Combined first 4 ingredients in large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together remaining except avocado. Pour over corn mixture. Marinate in fridge 6 hours or over night. Right before serving mix in diced avocado.

Serve with tortilla chips.

* can replace half of the ripe olives with chopped green olives

** Also good over a salad

*** Cucumber has been used in place of avocado.
**** If you like a little spice add a jalapeno

I really hope you enjoy this recipe. Please let me know what you think. I love feed back!

Thanks for stopping by the nest!
Darla

Crafting Crazy - Homemade Foam Stamps

Hi! I'm back! How has everyone's summer been going? Got to be honest, ours has gotten off to a rough start. Mama doesn't do good with routine change but I think we are getting there. Since my last post I have been crafting up a storm. I've had several baby showers so I've had some sewing to do but I really have been working with more paper lately and having a ton of fun learning and experimenting with different techniques. I can't wait to share them all with you.

It all started about 6 months ago, I needed a serious break from the structure of sewing. Sewing will always be my first love but sometimes you just want to throw paint around and get messy. So I pulled out all of my random craft stuff that I've collected over the decades (yes folks I said decades) and my kids craft stuff and went to town. Most of what I produced is not worthy of sharing but this turned out to have some potential.

I adhered craft foam shapes from the kids stash to pieces of cardboard. Then I applied acrylic paint with a brayer to a 12x12 sheet of white cardstock. Then applied a different color acrylic paint to my stamp creation again with the brayer and stamped away.

It's nothing spectacular but I rather like it for a background on scrapbook page for my daughter.

 The patterned paper is scraps I had left from Nana's Nursery by DCWV. The embellishments are odds and ends that I have collected over the years. 

The last time I scrapbooked anything was when I was pregnant with Noah 2 to 3 years ago. I am so ridiculously behind.  Oh well, one down a few hundred to go. At least they are fun to do!

Thanks for stopping by the nest!
Darla

I've been Published!

It's only a little spot in an Australian sewing magazine but this is the first time for me so it feels like a great accomplishment to have my work noticed and appreciated. The publication was in the January 2016 Issue of Homespun (I know, I know I am so horrible at keep up with my blog posts). When my issue arrived I was really impressed with the magazine. This baby was thick. There is so much wonderful content and lots of great articles with many patterns included.  

Since January south of the equator is summer they did their Kids Katwalk layout on sundresses. I was completely giddy to see that I was included with studios & sewist I admire like Ikat Bag, Peek-a-Boo Patterns, Mouse House Creations and Compagnie-M.

Homespun selected the blue and orange pillowcase dress I made for the summer kids clothes week in 2013 that I originally posted here. 

This little accomplishment has encouraged me to get back to sewing for my kids and to try some things I haven't done yet. If memory serves the spring Kids Clothes Week should be coming up here soon. Time to do some planning.

Thanks for stopping by the nest!

Darla

I love you but no

So here I am again, almost six months since my last post, again. It makes me sad when I think of the lists and lists of project ideas I like to create and posts that I want write. On almost a daily basis I ask myself "Where is all my time going? How do I get six months from even writing a draft of a post? Why am I letting things keep me from doing what I love? What keeps me away?" It's not my husband or children, they are what inspire me in the first place. And it's not laziness or lack of organization. I've come to the realization that I am over committed. Like most women I know, I have a really hard time saying "No". It's that "Yes, I can (fill in the blank here)" that fills in the next blank spot in my calendar that's eating my time, Oh, that beautiful blank spot that was going to let me try that pattern that has been collecting dust since I bought it a year ago. I've even said "Yes" so much that I have had to force myself to work on a project while listening to my husband play a board game with the kids that I would love to join in on. 

It's time for a change. It's time to regain some control of my time. So sadly, "I love you but no I can not.... sew on your childs scout badge" or make your window treatments" or help out the play by making costumes" or be in charge of this year's VBS craft table" or teach your child to sew" etc. At my present stage of life with 3 small children 80%-90% of my time is dedicated to my little family. I am reclaiming that 10%(ish) for my sanity. So, I love you but no and I know you love me so you will understand. There will be a day that my kids won't need or even want so much of me and I will have more to give but that day or year is not here yet. Be patient and don't forget about me or even stop asking for help but understand why I have to say "No" now. This "No"is going to allow me to say "yes" to so many other good things, like playing with my family, having the energy to talk to my husband in the evenings, catch up on my spiritual reading  and writing that blog post during naptime.

I am going to stop making promises too. I have hopes of being more consistent but I coming to accept that life is unpredictable, especially with three kids 5 and under. It never fails when I promise to do something someone gets sick or needs a little more loving attention then normal. The only promise I can make right now is to put my kids first and give them the love and attention they deserve.  I am going to work to stay very present and in the moment and not plan to far ahead. That said I am not going to promise any blog series or future post for patterns. My posts maybe very sporadic and lacking as much detail but as time permits I hope to give current crafting events and provide inspiration. 

Thanks for listening : )

Darla

Little Quail Etsy's Shop is Now Open

LittleQuailCreations Etsy's Shop

The day is finally here! My Etsy's shop is OPEN! It has been a long time coming. I have amassed quite a bit of inventory that I really need to get moved out for new stuff.  My shop is going to be a mix of  bags, infant/childrens items, accessories and kids clothing. At some point I may even introduce patterns to the shop but I think I'm going to invest sometime to fine tuning my pattern drafting skills first.

Please go check it out. I'd love some feed back to know what you think! I'm open to (constructive) suggestions. I'd also like to know if there is anything in particular that you would like to see stocked in the shop.

Thanks for stopping by the nest!
Darla

School is in and I'm starting over... again

 Whoo Hoo! School is in session... That's horrible... I really shouldn't be celebrating that a couple of my kids are occupied elsewhere, right? I love my kids, they are my everything most days, most of the time. But now its time to start letting my little Quail's safely start venturing out into the world. It's good for them and its good for me. There is nothing wrong in celebrating this new milestone for my kids and me being a Mom in the school years.

My oldest started kindergarten this year and my second PreK today. We chose to send our kids to the Catholic school at our home parish which is full of our friends and family. So far school has been a wonderful experience for my very young kids. I know they are being loved and cared for. In the past I have not mentioned that my oldest is a little special and we have many challenges that we face and a full schedule of activities. So this summer we spent a good amount of time getting my son ready for the environment and schedule that the school year would bring. I'm happy to see that it was worth the effort. In his words "I LOVE SCHOOL!"

My kids, with the ages they are and the needs that they have, effect my ability to commit to the business of Little Quail. I have spent the summer in quiet prayerful contemplation trying to discern what is the calling of Little Quail and what will I do with this new found time. Even with all that thinking time I'm still all over the place about it. So I am taking a deep breath marveling at this new beginning, a new chapter which is a completely blank page... YIKES!

I guess while I get that all figured out I can share with you what I've been up to over the summer. In my next few posts I finally share what I did for the summer Kids Clothes Week and some other fun projects.

Thanks for stopping by the nest!
Darla

Back on Track - Catalog of Creations

Wow that was quite the extended baby break. I was really hopeful that I would get to post something before now but life has been very busy. I won't bore you with the details just know everyone is happy and healthy.

I have been very busy creating and not given much time or thought to documenting hence no posts. I have really missed it. The other day I was pondering what all I have made over the past months and I can't remember everything. Since I haven't been blogging I don't even have the blog to refer to. So in effort to remedy that here is a list of the creations...

After winter KCW I got to work on some basics for the new baby. A baby blanket (shown in the picture below), a bunch of wash cloths and burp cloths. They are nothing fancy but are needed for every new baby and so much better than anything that you can buy at the store.

Then came Spring KCW. My daughter was in desperate need of clothes and PJ's for the upcoming warm weather season. KCW was exactly the excuse I needed to get some stuff done for her right before the baby got here. First was the Izzy Top and a pair of light denim Capri's from Butterick pattern B4176.

 I love both of these patterns and plan on making them both again for next year. And since Terri expanded her free pattern size to 6-12 I will probably be making this for years to come.

Isn't this floral fabric great? I was very lucky to win fabric from MissMatatabi during the winter KCW. I picked this and a couple other meters of triple gauze that I think I will be using for some winter PJ's for Hannah. 

Next up: the PJ's. I made a total of three of the matching peasant top with the cropped PJ pants. I used the free The Raglan Sleeve Night Dress pattern from iKat bag for the peasant top and the Simplicity 5382 pattern for the cropped pants I just reduced the length.

I wish I had a picture of Hannah in these, they truly were darling. Another do over for next summer and a night gown version of the peasant top. I think it was the little details added that made me love these so much.

These pants were just so easy to make since they are only two pieces so I just zipped through another three and paired them with white under shirts my son had grown out of. 

My husband says that these reminds him of an Easter egg but hey they're cute aren't they?

I figured for the really hot days my daughter needed some sleeping shorts so I made a couple using the same Simplicity pattern as the cropped pants. 

A friend of mine had a little girl a couple weeks before I had my baby. This is her first child so it was another awesome excuse to sew a bunch of stuff. I was able to make a bunch of the baby basics; baby blanket, wash cloths, burp cloths, a quilted taggy and some paci clips. I also made her a little Geranium top (size 3-6 month) with matching bloomers using the Made pattern. Isn't it cute? 

Once summer was here it was very obvious that Hannah's church dresses from last year were just not cutting it. I dug through my pile of patterns and came across the Absolutely A-line dress pattern book and decided to try out the wrap dress version. To be honest I didn't love this pattern or instructions. Next time I will just draft my own. With some tweaking though it still turned out. 

I love this fabric and love that it is fully lined. Hannah on the other hand did not like it. "It's not a twirly dress Mama!" She couldn't get it off fast enough. Oh well, you can't win them all.

Since I was informed that the dresses needed to twirl I got to work on the simple full circle skirt dress that I crafted before here. 

 

Needless to say, it's pink and purple and really can twirly, it was a hit.

Another addition to the church dresses is this pattern from McCall's M5835. I used some old quilting fabric from my stash that I thought fit this style pretty well. Hannah's Just OK with it. There is just enough gathering that it give it some twirl.

I used the suggestions found on this blog post to simplify the assembly of the bodice. On colder day's I find this pairs nicely with a long sleeve T and leggings.   

I spent my late summer making baby baskets for our church's Harvest Ball and Silent Auction. I was in baby mode and was loving the results of these handmade baby items so figured others would too. I did one boy and one girl basket since I just couldn't find a collection of gender neutral fabrics that I liked. The baskets consist of a minky baby blanket, a diaper changing clutch, burp clothes, wash clothes, bibs and quilted taggy. I even had a crafty friend of mine throw in baby thank you cards and made a shower card myself so the basket can easily be given as a gift.

I really should have taken better pictures of these but you can kinda see the baby items I have been making. I have a couple of orders for more these so I will take much better pictures and post them.

And last but not least, my most important creation...
Noah! 

I know this picture doesn't show it but he is such a happy baby. I didn't realize how much our family needed his little personality. Such a joy!

I have been sewing up a bunch of fall goodies too but I think I will save those for one of my next post.

I have the goal to establish an Etsy shop after the first of the year. My shop will have a mix of different things but all kid oriented. Until then if there is anything that you see on my blog that you would love for me to make for you to purchase (excluding items that are made from license restrictive patterns) send an email to littlequailcreated@gmail.com. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Thanks for stopping by the nest!
Darla

Little Quail three is almost here and I am so behind

We made it! Today is the day little Quail number 3 will be delivered. I have been scheduled for induction for tonight at 8pm (odd time of day, I know) so I guess he most likely won't make his appearance till the wee hours of tomorrow technically. It is surreal to think this time tomorrow I will be holding him in my arms. It has been a long month and a roller coaster of a pregnancy but we made it.


This pregnancy as well as a bunch of other family stuff has really put a cramp in my blogging and slowed down my sewing but I have still managed to be pretty productive. My last post I was able to show you what I produced for the winter Kids Clothing Week. Since then I completed several baby sewing project, participated in the spring Kids Clothing Week, drafted a new pattern for a bible cover and created a new recipe. Were I am lacking is in my communication. I am hoping in the few weeks I can do a week long series of posting that I can share all those things with you.


The next time you hear from me it will be to share baby news and pictures.


Thanks for stopping by the nest!
Darla

Blessings of 2013

When I reflect on my blessing of 2013 I am overwhelmed by how much God has done for me and my family.  

I am going to jump forward to the present for a moment and share with you our current blessing or rather miracle. As I reported in my last post, I should be bed rested right now due to my pregnancy issues however I am not currently bed ridden. Beyond all physical reason my incompetent cervix has yet to behave incompetently. Everyone in my life including my doctor know that this can only be due to a miracle provided by God. We always had hope but you never really know if your will is aligned with Gods. We are not out the wood yet however this is cause to continue to be hopeful that our prayers are being answered. Even if we are given only this short reprieve I am grateful and will joyfully accept what ever He wills for us after.

Such a blessing that I was able to spend Christmas day out of bed with my family.

Leading up to today I have been reminded that I have many wonderful friends and family I have. When we found out I was pregnant I was concerned how we would manage bed rest  for a third time. Just as my friend and family happily sacrifice to help my family in the past they all have been waiting to come to our aid again. 

Of course I can not overlook the blessing of our new little baby boy which we can not wait to snuggle in the coming year. (Did you Catch that? It's a BOY!) He is quite the blessing in many ways. The biggest blessing is the reminder that following Gods will is far more wonderful than anything I could do for myself. 

I think the kiddos where pretty happy about it too!

My husband is always a blessing but this year he has been very supportive of me discovering a career path that has no certainty of being profitable and definitely no immediate profitability. He has contributed his time and skills when needed and managing the household when I am tied up with a project.  

This year has reminded me of things I need to be thankful for from the past. Largely the time my Mother spent with me as a child teaching me to sew and encouraging me to craft in general. Since my Mom died in 2002 I haven't done much sewing or crafting but since I begun sewing again I feel very close to her. 

Over a year ago a began praying about a means to help support our growing family in a way that allows me to be there for my family and is enjoyable. I truly feel God has been guiding me in direction of using the sewing and crafting skills he has given me.  I don't think I have it all figured out but I am following the trail of bread crumbs being left by God. With time, patients and prayer I feel confident that I will be as successful as I need to be. As of today I am satisfied to just be on a path.

I am not going to make any resolutions for next year. My life it s a bit in limbo at the moment and I want to spare myself the frustration of failure. I do plan on participating in a few sewing challenges and have started a list of projects I would like to complete however am trying to stay realistic of my current situation and somethings may just not happen. In my next post I will share with you all that I hope to complete in the next year.

I wish you and your family a blessed Christmas season and New Year!

Darla

More Little Quail's and Cross Stitching

I'm still here! I realized that I have taken a long break from blogging but, WOW, I didn't realize that it has been almost 3 months. Please know it has been for good reason. God has sent me on a bit of a detour. I am happy to announce we are expecting a new Little Quail.

As I am sure you already figured out, for last few months I have been feeling a bit out of commission, which is why I have been MIA. I had every intention of completing an entire cold weather wardrobe for my daughter as well as some Christmas gifts however, I have succumb to the realization that is not going to happen this year. I am rather sad that I am going to have to take a pass on.... GASP.... 3! Kids Clothing Weeks. 

If you don't me I know this probably doesn't make sense of why I would be unable to sew or craft my entire pregnancy. I will briefly explain. My pregnancies are anything but normal. I have condition called incompetent cervix. In simple terms, It pretty much means what its called, my cervix doesn't "know" to stay closed. I have to under go surgery then, for me, not long after I am put on strict bed rest.

Presently, I am just over a week away from what I anticipate will be the beginning of approximately 18 weeks of bed rest. I and all my prayer warriors are praying for what would definitely be a miracle. If my cervix does/has not thinned I will not be bed rested. However, I accept whatever crosses God feels best that I bear. He always gives me the grace I need to persevere. The rewards I received during my last two pregnancies where plentiful. I know my husband feels the same way. We both feel truly blessed with our beautiful babies but the gift of deepening our relationship with God and the huge dose of humility and patience are virtues that have altered every aspect of our beings. I completely trust that whatever God wills for us is better that anything we could ever plan for ourselves. After all God is the perfect parent.

Recently, I have been feeling much more myself and have been cross stitching to keep my hands busy. I started cross stitching when I was very young. I was digging out all my needle work tools this summer when I shared this skill with two of my nieces and I was surprised to see that I had kept all of my projects from when I was a kid. I even had them dated. The oldest was completed when I was 8.

I haven't done much cross stitching in my adult years but sharing this craft with my nieces has really woke up my interest in it again. I have a collection of "For the Love of Cross Stitch" magazines that were published by Leisure Arts in 1989 - 1990 that I plan on putting to use. I managed to complete one already.

 

Isn't it darling. I truly love fall.  I hope to sew this row of pumpkins to a kitchen towel to be used next fall. I can't remember exactly but I think I used a 14 count adia in ivory (or was it 16 count? sigh).

The pattern came from September 1989 edition. I seam to be missing one of my magazines so I went out to see if I could replace it. They are not available from the publisher but I was able to locate some on ebay for cheap if anyone is looking. As you can see below this is just a segment of a larger pattern. The whole thing is very cute but I didn't want to over whelm myself right now.

I have started another pattern for Thanksgiving that I would love to complete sometime this week. I am not sure that cross stitching is possible while I am bed rested. I tried doing a bib while I was bed rested with my son and was unable. Regardless I am going to try again.

Please pray for us. I am not sure about my blogging plans through the up coming months. I intended to let God guide me as to how I should spend my time and the words I should choose to share.

I am looking forward to many sewing project for baby. I have quite the list going that I will be starting as soon as I can. I welcome suggestions for future sewing just leave me a comment with your ideas.

I pray that you and your family have a truly blessed Thanksgiving. 
Thanks for stopping by the nest!

Darla

And so it begins.....

....well sort of.  I have been racking my brain all day what I wanted the first comments about this new chapter of my life to be. This must be what it feels like to be a writer and be trapped on the first sentence of a book. The big difference, I really have no idea how this story is going to play out or have any control of the details of the story. So i'll just get to it and keep it simple. 

Hi I'm Darla Quail. I am a stay at home mom, married to a wonderful & supportive man named John. We have two little Quails, Samuel who is 3 & Hannah who just turned 18 months. We live in a small town in central Ohio.  I grew up in a home where DYI & creative frugality were the norm. Through my adult years I have dabbled in many different crafts, cooking & home decorating & DIY projects. However in the more recent years I have strayed from my creative side. I miss it.  A few months back I stumbled upon this mecca of creativity, PINTEREST! It was like the heavens opened & the angels began to sing. It brought back all the excitement I would get going through the creative process, learning something fun & new and getting my hands dirty. I had no idea that internet world had so much to offer creatively. I actually started making (or at least trying to) all the projects & recipes I have been pining.  This my friends is where this blog comes in.....  

Through this blog I am going to record the journey back into the world of creativity. The creative goals:

• Sewing: I was taught to sew by my Mom when I was in elementary and have dabbled ever sense. Mainly on home decor, window treatments, pillows, seat cushions, etc. Recently I have been sewing clothing for the kids and LOVE IT! So you will probably be seeing a lot of that. I have some ambitious plans for my sewing but that is for a future post.

• Cooking:  At one time I was a pretty decent cook I even made a few recipes of my own and then I had kids (I am sure a lot of you Mom's know where I am going with this.) So this blog will hopefully re-excite the chief in me. I know my husband hopes so. I am going to take a family/kids friendly approach to cooking. Don't come here looking for braised lamb shank & fennel salad.

• Kids Crafts: I studied early childhood education in school.  Samuel loves to color and gets to decorate the occasional sugar cookie but I have a box collecting dust in the basement with a whole arsenal of kids crafts that have been left untouched. My babies aren't getting any younger & I want them to have fun childhood memories and maybe even learn some skills they can enjoy their whole life. 

I am sure you will see a lot of different crafts that I pull out from my past. Like mosaic tiling, stained/leaded glass (yes the real stuff), embroidery, candle making, scrap booking and card making. I can't imagine I will ever try knitting or crocheting again. You should see the damage I can do with yarn.

I am also hoping to learn some new things to share too. My awesome husband got me a fab camera for Christmas & I hope to learn a little photography. I am also intrigued by felting. Seen it done and wow that looks awesome.  

I am hoping to post weekly probably over weekends or by Monday mornings. Well that is enough for now. I hope the next time I will have something interesting to share with lots of pictures.