Dandelion Flower Jelly

Last week we finally got a taste of spring here in Germany.  The flowers bloomed, the birds sang, the squirrel discovered our bird feeder; yes, all was right with the world.  Alas, it did not last and we are back to sweater weather here.  But, while the weather was nice I decided to get out Big Blue here and do some early canning.

Big Blue, is my huge vintage immersion canner that I picked up very reasonably last season.  I love being able to put food by for the winter months.  There is something very satisfying about opening a jar of cherry pie filling at Christmas and having the cherries actually taste like cherries and not red colored flavorless canned glop.

I didn't have to go far to find our first fresh produce of the season.  In fact, I just had to look outside my door to see the wonderful harvest awaiting all those little helper hands.

If the post title didn't give it away, my first jelly of the year is dandelion jelly.  

I love dandelions!  I love seeing a yard full of these beauties rather than a nice manicured lawn.  

So, the kids and I started the season by gathering buckets of dandelion flowers in order to make tea and jelly.  The best way to gather flowers is when they are in full bloom around the noon hours.  Trust me, they just taste better this way.  

For those of you who are concerned about eating Dandelions, don't be.  They are completely edible from root to flower.  I personally love dandelion greens, dandelion root tea, and dandelion flower tea (although the root and flower taste different and have different uses).  Just make sure that you harvest your flowers, roots, and leaves from a site where they have not sprayed with herbicides or pesticides, and also avoid harvesting near the side of a road.

To make dandelion jelly you first need to gather at least half a pitcher of dandelion flowers (about 4 cups).

  

I've got a lot more than four cups in my colander because I made a double batch, but four cups is enough for a single batch.  If you have a little more or a little less, it is fine.  More flowers just means that you are making a stronger "tea" base for your jelly.  Now you need to clean and de-stem your flowers for the tea. 

There seems to be some debate in the dandelion jelly world about if you should leave the green base on your flower or not.  Really, it's just a matter of taste.  Leave it on for a jelly with a bit of good bitterness to it or take it off for a lighter flavor.  I like it both ways, and so I make both versions.  Dandelion Jelly tastes a lot like honey.  It is very sweet and the kids just love it.  

To clean your flowers you need to rinse them well in luke warm water.  Not hot, not cold, but room temperature.  This is so the flowers do not completely close while you're rinsing them.  It's much harder to de-stem closed dandelion flowers.

I've seen instructions for de-steming dandelion flowers that involves scissors, knives, and even tweezers to get every bit for green off, but honestly the easiest way to do it is just with your own two hands.

Gently pinch the petals in one hand and grip the green base in the other.

Pinch the green base and pull the two sides apart.

Seriously, it's that easy. You might have to give it a little twist and adjust where you hold the base, but after about 4 flowers you'll find a rhythm.

Don't worry if you don't remove every speck of greenery from the petals.  It will not ruin your jelly or drastically change the flavor.

To make the tea pour 6.5 cups of boiling water over your prepared flowers (or your whole flower heads if you chose not to separate the petals).  Cover your pot, bowl, or other container (not plastic), with a lid and let it steep for a few hours or even overnight.

Strain the tea using a jelly bag or a strainer so that you remove the petals.  You'll need 6 cups of tea.  If you don't have enough, just add water until you do.

Dandelion Jelly recipe:

6 cups dandelion tea

5 cups white sugar

2 pkgs of pectin

The juice of 1 medium lemon (or 3T pkged lemon juice)

*1/2 of a finely grated lemon rind or orange rind

*optional

Cooking:

At this point I'm assuming that you've canned before.  If not, please look up more detailed instructions on sterilizing your jars and lids and just a good overview of the ins and outs of immersion canning.  Put a few saucers in the freezer now so they will be cold enough to test the set of your jelly later.

In large pot add dandelion tea, sugar, and lemon juice and *grated rinds.  Heat until it comes to a full boil that can't be stirred down (around 8-10 minutes).  At this point add your pectin.  Because all brands of pectin are a bit different, how much you need is going to depend on your type.  I use 2 packs of gelfix 2:1, which is a European brand that I have not seen in the states.  I think a good US equivalent would be a less sugar pectin like sure-jell's.  Add pectin and stir for 4 minutes (for best results, check your pectin's recommended cooking time and adjust accordingly).  Test the set of your jelly with a frozen plate.  If it's not set enough, cook the jelly a bit longer and retest.  If it's still not setting, you may need to add a bit more pectin to the batch.  

Once the jelly is ready, pour it into your jars leaving a 1/4 inch head space and process them for ten minutes (higher and lower altitudes will need to check the recommended processing times on their pectin packages).

Let your jars cool down and check to make sure that they all sealed.  Your jelly should be the color of honey.  Make sure that you leave out a jar for the family to sample and hide the rest otherwise you'll find empty jars and crumbs in odd places around the house :)

Don't forget to add a nice label to your jars listing all the vital jelly information that you'll want to remember.  I've been having a lot of fun designing my own labels this year.  

        

I hope that you found this post helpful, and I would love to hear if you decided to make some dandelion jelly using my recipe.  

Next it's watermelon jelly!

What jams and jellies are you planning to make this season.

Apron Exchange

This month I've been busy on lots of projects, but one of the most pleasurable has been researching, planning, and sharing ideas for the crafty cooks apron exchange that I've been participating in.  I've been stalking my secret partner and have come up with an Asian inspired apron for her.

I really hope that she likes it.  It has a nice wide waistband and ties around the front.  Do you recognize the fabric on the pocket side :) ?  This was one of my recent purchases from the Im Patchworkhimmel shop that I found here in Germany.  You can read more about my German Fabric trip here. 

The three pockets should hold anything that my partner wants to stow away while she's cooking or working.

My partner is also a quilter and loves the little details, so I appliqued a cherry blossom branch on the corduroy side of the apron and added a border that reminds me of one I'd use on a quilt.  Plus, who doesn't like binding?

Now, because I've been stalking my partner, I've gotten to read a bit about her two beautiful children, and I couldn't let her little helpers go without their own aprons too.

Her little lady is a bit older than my model, but I hope that she feels special in her apron that is made to coordinate with her Mommy's.

I got to go a bit more girly with this apron by adding a frilly edge to the umbrella fabric that matches the main fabric on the Mommy apron.  As you can see from above, it also ties in the front so that her little girl can tie and untie it more easily by herself.

She also has a little man that I just couldn't leave out either.  So he got a manly cars apron.  I didn't think that  he'd want to match the ladies ;)  

I also created another little extra that I'll be posting (with a pattern) soon for everyone to enjoy.  For now, I hope that you like my aprons, and feel free to visit my apron pinterest board for more apron inspiration.  

April Stork Sketch

I was working on a sketch to share for April that I really love, and then I went on a pre-Easter trip to the city of Colmar in France that totally changed my idea for this month.  The trip to Colmar was cold and a bit wet, but I got to see some beautiful architecture and visit their wonderful Easter Egg exhibit 

 
I wish I could have taken photos of some of the beautiful painted eggs that the artists there were making, but alas, photos were not allowed at the Egg exhibit, but I have lots of photos of the town that are just to beautiful not to share!

 
Colmar is sometimes called little Venice because it has these wonderful canals all through the old part of the city.  I loved the half timber buildings and the canals.

The feel of the whole town was just wonderful.  I loved walking the streets and seeing all the different buildings and colors, but what really inspired me was the symbol of Alsace, the stork.

Storks come to roost in the Alsace region and are a protected bird in the area.  The storks are encouraged to nest in town and also in various bird sanctuaries in the region.  I thought that it was super cool that we actually got to to see a stork on Colmar's main church.  I was so excited that I started sketching storks as soon as a got home that night.

I wanted to sketch something illustrative that captured the stork and a bit of the town.  I made a few color variations of this sketch by changing the window frame color and the flower colors.  This one has a red window frame with purple flowers, but I also did pink flowers and a blue colored window.  I'm having a hard time choosing between the two.

So, what do you guys think of this one?  I'd love some feedback.  

Easter wreath and mini bunting

Can you believe that Easter is almost here already.  I can't!  Have you been having some Easter fun?  We've been dying eggs and visiting some fun Easter markets.  That poor little bread bunny didn't last long.

I don't feel that I've gotten a whole lot done this week, but holidays are always like that :)  I have managed to tweak my Spring Wreath for an Easter theme by adding a small nest and a cute chalk board inspired mini bunting.

If you remember, my plan is to use this same wreath all spring by adjusting it slightly each month instead of making a whole new wreath. I made up a little mini chalkboard Easter bunting for the wreath that says rejoice.

I love using mini buntings in different projects.  They are just so cute.  I've used them over cakes and cupcakes, on baskets, and on wreaths.  The whole mini bunting I designed says Rejoice He is Risen.  It would be nice on many different projects and I have it available to download in chalkboard black and green.  Feel free to download either and use them in your Easter Projects.

If you do use the bunting, take a picture and share your project with us :-)  Have a happy Easter.

I found a German Quilt shop!

 I know that their are probably many great quilt shops in Germany, but I've lived here for a few years and have had a really hard time finding a dedicated German Quilt Shop in my area. I've been to many lovely fabric stores, but a patchwork store is so much more. A quilt store caters to the fabrics, notions, and supplies that quilters look for, and it is a great place to get new ideas, meet other quilters, and get advice on your projects.

This is why I'm so excited to share my trip to the Im Patchworkhimmel shop in Grünstadt, Germany with everyone today. The folks at the Im Patchworkhimmel shop kindly allowed me to photograph their store so that I could share the quilty goodness with all of you!

From the first moment I stepped into the shop I was so impressed with how organized and well lit it was.  I love a shop that has plenty of natural light so that I can accurately see the fabric colors, and I love a shop that organizes it's fabrics by type and color.  I was also very very happy that they have parking right in front of the store!  Those of you who live in Europe know that parking here can be a real problem, and I'm super thrilled that I didn't have to scour the area for a spot.

I also love a shop that has seasonal displays of fabric groupings and products.  Look at these bold colors; it makes me want to decorate for Spring! And, if you're searching for a great new pattern to go with the fabric, they have a selection of really nice patchwork books in both German and a few in English too.

Speaking of seasonal items, this shop also carries a German quilt magazine that the owner, Astrid Reck, is Editor of.  It has many great seasonal patterns in it, and some of the samples are displayed in the shop.

This cute little bunny table runner is in the current issue of the Patchwork Ideen magazine.  I was so in love with the brown bunny toile displayed next to this runner, and the little log cabin chickens are just too cute.

  

They also had this gorgeous Spring colored storm sea quilt made by Lieselotte Neurohr, who works in the shop and let me take her picture in front of her creation, on display with their other Easter and spring supplies.  This quilt was made with batik fat quarters and is also in the magazine.  Lieselotte graciously gave me a tour of the shop and helped me find some awesome fabric for my current project.   

Did I mention that the fabric that they carry here goes on . . . 

and on . . .

and on :-)

They also answered a question that I have been asking since first moving to Germany.  Are there any German quilt fabric designers out there?  The answer is yes.  Here is some fabric by the German fabric designer, Brigitte Heitland, for Moda.  It's called Zen Chic.

Now, I know that I've gushed uncontrollably about the fabrics and the store, but I also want everyone to know that this in not just a quilt fabric store.  The folks there have all the notions that you need to make many types of quilt projects.  Rotary cutters, rulers, paper piecing, needles, fat quarters, and batting; just to name a few.  They also offer classes in their back room.  Classes are a great way to acquire new skills and meet other local quilters.

I had such a great time talking and shopping.  I found some wonderful fabric and batting for my current project and I'm so thrilled that I was able to support a local quilt shop.  Thank you Astrid and Lieselotte.  I'll be back :-)

Simple Spring Wreath

Is it that time again already.  Time for a new door wreath.

With everything that has been going on here over the last few weeks, I really haven't had much time to redecorate my door, but I wanted to put something up in time for Easter.  So I dug into my stash and came up with a really simple Spring inspired wreath.

Yes, it's very simple, but I decided to only use what I already had, and I think that the colors as so bright and cheerful that it doesn't have to have anything else.  I wish that I had had a yellow and orange ribbon to better match the wreath.  I might break down and see if I can find something that works better if I have the time.  I also think that if I want to change it up a little for April or May that  I might just tweak this wreath a bit rather than make a whole new one.

What do you think?  Could I add little umbrellas to this for April?  Any ideas? :)

Puppy Birthday Party

This last week I have been super busy getting ready for my baby girl's 3rd birthday.  It's hard for me to believe that she's already three years old!  The time has flown by.  This year, my little lady wanted a puppy party.  She loves (and I mean LOVES!) all puppies.  Many of our neighbors have dogs, and she gets so excited when she gets to love on them.  So, we went puppy crazy this week at my house, and I'm going to share some of the craft patterns and ideas that we used for the party with all of you here.  Make sure to read to the end so that you can get all the printables for your very own puppy party.

This is the invitation that I drew for my daughter's party.  I think that most of the puppies are more interested in that cake than they are the little girl blowing out the candles :)  My daughter got super excited when she noticed that I included our neighbor's west highland terrier in the picture.  There's also an old english sheepdog, a pointer, a bulldog, and a red retriever in there.

I'm going to count this invitation as my month of March sketch.  Two birds; one stone! Buya!

The Puppy Party Decor!

This is the sign that my boys made for our front door to welcome the guests.  Sorry my cat loving friends; dogs only.  NO CATS ALLOWED :)

We did some great and practical decor for the party.  I skirted the buffet with some tissue paper and bought some cheap dog bowls to use for the buffet table.

A nice red and pink tulle swag with balloons hung across the entrance to the dining room!

We also made another sign to cover some art I had on the wall over the buffet.  I think my 8 year old did a great job with the water colors.  It's an easy way to keep the theme going without pulling down any of your decor.  It also got me thinking how much my life revolves around art. I think I spent as much time designing the art that we were making for the party as I did on the guest list, games, and food combined.  

We also made a cute and colorful "Happy Birthday" bunting to hang across the windows.  I wanted to do something simple.  I checked out a few printables available for free online and just didn't find what I wanted.  After a bit of computer work, I came up with a design that was simple, fun, and easy.

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I printed out the letter circles and water colored them to get a fun whimsical look, then I glued them onto flags cut from 12x12 cardstock.

If you would like to make your own birthday bunting like mine, You can download my simple scribbles bunting circles and flag template here.  I've included the happy birthday sign and all the other letters too, plus the flag template.  These can easily be customized to any style that you want by simply changing the flag paper or printing the letters onto colored paper.  I love options, so the choice is yours.

If you do use my templates, I'd love to see what you make!

I"m also thinking about scanning the final buntings and making them available as finished printables.  I don't know if people would rather have just the water colored circles so they can adhere them onto flag papers of their choice of if they'd prefer the whole flag?  I was just thinking that printing 14 colored flags would use a lot of printer ink!  Any opinions?

Puppy Party Fun!

Here is our Adopt a Puppy station.  Each child got to adopt a small stuffed puppy to take home with them.  They each chose a puppy, named it, and gave it a collar (I found these cheap little collar bracelets as our version of the dollar store).

You can download the bone sign for the adopt a puppy station here.  It comes in the blue and pink and also a green and blue.

They then got to fill out and color an adoption certificate.  Again, I look around the net for a puppy adoption certificate that the children could color in, but didn't find exactly what I wanted so I ended up making my own version.  You can also download the adoption coloring page to use at your party here. This was great fun.

Here's the birthday girl hard at work on her coloring page :) Notice she and her friend are wearing puppy ears.  The kids got to choose from a variety of puppy ears made from felt and glued onto a headband for their puppy makeovers. We also played games and had cake :) All the toddlers walked away sugared up and exhausted.  I know that I needed a nap when it was all over.

I know that this post was long and I'm glad that you stuck it out until the end :) I hope that you guys can use the printables that I've posted here.  Please remember that the images are for your personal use only and not to be redistributed or sold.

Let me know if you like them or if you have any problems accessing and downloading them.  Enjoy!