Fleece Pillows and Steak and Spotsons:

What a wonderful summer we’ve had!  Plenty of fabric, sewing machines that perform as expected, skeins of yarn waiting to become stockings and a multitude of other things… and the time to work on any of those projects I feel motivated to do.  The past month, my quilting and knitting have taken a back seat while I spent time with a couple of special little grandchildren, but it is a good break from my usual routine.  Yesterday, Quentin and I were planning to go to see Monster University in 3D, but a gaggle of workers with heavy equipment had our driveway blocked, so we were unable to leave.  We thought it was a good thing we stayed home when a storm hit less than two hours later, and strong winds whipped the tall trees behind our house, and rains pounded the ground, pouring off the downspouts as if someone had opened the flood gates!  We would have been on our way home from the movie about that time, and caught in the downpour.  It lasted about a half hour, and we were glad we could watch it from inside the dry house!

Last Sunday, my middle son took Quentin to the movie Despicable Me 2, took him shopping for a new game for his Nintendo DS, and got him several other things.  He took him to lunch at McDonald’s, where Quentin got a Minion figure that was featured in the movie.  He has wanted to make his very own Monster pillow on the sewing machine when he came, and decided he would rather make a Minion pillow, so that is the project we did today.  Quentin loves anything soft, so we made it out of fleece. It was a fun time!

Minion Pillow:

Gold fleece, cut double, 14” by 20”.  Fold both pieces in half the long way.  Use a DVD disk or bowl to cut rounded corner at top of folded fabric.
Make either one or two large eyes.  Quentin wanted just one eye on his Minion. 
Strap:  black fleece, ½” wide by 14” long
Eye:  Beige Fleece:  4” circle
          White Fleece: 3” circle
          Black Fleece: 1-1/4” circle
Pocket:  10” X 14” Navy Fleece (we used purple, since that was what I had). Turn top under 1” and stitch down.  I used a fancy stitch for this step.

Sew black strap onto front of Minion, about 7” from top of head, topstitching along both edges.

Sew beige circle to center of strap.  Center white circle on the beige circle and topstitch.  Sew black circle to center of white circle and topstitch. 

Sew the pocket to the bottom half of the front, with hemmed edge at the top, against the Minion front.  He can put his pajamas in the pocket, or use it to store his Nintendo DS, if he chooses.

Quentin started sewing around the outside of the Minion, leaving an opening in the bottom for stuffing, but I had to finish it because my

machine was breaking thread.  The beige fabric I used for the base of the eye (the goggles?) was a plush and it gummed up my needle and made a royal mess of the thread! 
He turned it right side out and stuffed it, and I sewed the bottom opening shut on the machine. 
Quentin noticed that it didn’t have arms or a mouth… I told him pillows don’t need arms, but he drew a mouth on with a permanent marking pen, and then he was happy.  He was delighted with how it turned out, and said he didn’t think it would look so much like a Minion! 

We had a piece of gold fleece left, and we cut a rectangle the same size of purple fleece.  I cut slashes about 4” deep about every ½” to ¾” around the edges of the rectangles, with them pinned together. I cut out the 4” corner squares before cutting the slashes.  We knotted the fringe all the way around, leaving part of one end open for stuffing.   Quentin stuffed the little neck pillow and we finished knotting the strands, completing the pillow.  My sons are all Minnesota Vikings fans, and their colors are purple and gold, so this will make a good little pillow to accompany Mark’s Vikings fleece throw.  And maybe he won’t confiscate Quentin’s gold and purple Minion! 

My daughters usually come over on Thursday evenings, and tonight was no exception.  I made steak and spotsons for dinner, which is a family favorite.  My Bohemian grandmother used to make them… actually, they are much like the German Spaetzle.  My sister makes the best spotsons, and I watched how she did it the last time she was here… she just makes the dough much “wetter” and kind of scrapes them into the boiling water, cutting the batter as it pours in.  The way I learned to make them was using a stiffer batter, and the spotsons were heavier than hers.  Here’s the recipe:

Steak and Spotsons:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup of water
Mix, adding additional water to make a thinner batter, about the consistency of heavy pancake batter.  I usually make at least a double batch.  Scrape them into a pot of boiling water.   As they cook, they will rise to the top of the water.  I used a slotted spoon to scoop them out into a colander, which is placed over a plate or bowl to catch any water that might drain off.  The smaller the pieces of the dough, the better the spotsons are.  Meanwhile, brown the steak (sirloin is best) in butter… I use a stick of butter in my large electric frying pan.  Salt and pepper the steak, turning when brown.  When I turn the steak, I toss about 6 or so cloves of garlic into the butter along with the steak.  This is a step I have added, not one my grandmother used… but we all like the flavor garlic adds.  When the steak is browned nicely, remove it from the pan and pour the cooked and drained spotsons into the frying pan, turning them well to coat them with the drippings. Heat them through, salt and pepper, as desired, and they are ready to serve.  Delicious with a green salad. 

My German/Hungarian husband made something similar, but with pork, and he put the dough on a cutting board and cut it into the boiling water… he called them Noodlies.  I think many nationalities have similar dishes, with slight variations, no matter what we make.  I wonder if, in this time of canned and processed foods, we will lose these traditions of homemade ethnic-based fare.  I certainly hope not!

While my daughters were here, I told Michelle about my sewing machine jamming up, and she got out a screwdriver and needle-nosed pliers, took the cover off the machine, and worked about a half hour at pulling out all kinds of thread jammed around the spindle or whatever it’s called.  Some was so jammed in with some kind of gunk (possibly more than the plush used today), that it had actually hardened from the friction.  Now, that Janome 8050 sews just as smoothly as when it was brand new a year ago!  Thank goodness for talented children!

Ava called just before bedtime, all excited to tell us she was just on her way home from rock-wall climbing with her maternal grandmother.  She said the wall was around 22 feet high, and it was only scary if she looked down!    She is more adventurous than I am. 

This month of time with the grandchildren has sped by far too quickly.  It’s so nice to have each of the children separately, so they have plenty of one-on-one time, and we can do special things with each of them.  Their other grandmother is the adventure grandma… I am the one who sews, does handcrafts, and bakes with them, and both of us are appreciated for different reasons.  We complement each other’s gifts well. 

Quentin keeps reminding me all day that he has just one more day with me, and he feels sad that

the time has gone so quickly… but then, being the optimist he is, he brightly says he’s very glad we get to see each other two times each year, at least… over spring break and again for summer break.  I used to visit them more often, but this year I have not felt able to make those trips so easily.  I have my home set up to accommodate my handicaps, and it is more comfortable to just stay at home than to visit where there are not lifted toilets or recliners, and even rest areas are difficult to access on the road.  But I miss spending more time with these wonderful children, while they are still young enough to look forward to time spent with Grandma! 

Last night, Quentin  asked me why I think he hasn’t slept in the “big bed” upstairs that is his favorite bed in  my house (and Griffin’s too)… it’s an old antique iron bed, and without thinking when I

moved it, I discarded the steel spring that fit down into the rails.  My son-in-law had to drill holes and screw on the new modern box spring, so it really is very high now… the littler grandchildren need a stool to get into bed, just like the antique beds used to be!  I told him I think it’s because this year, he wanted more to snuggle with his grandma… and he giggled.  Right now, he is fast asleep snuggled with his new Minion under his head.  He might think he’ll miss me when he leaves, but this grandma will cry herself to sleep a few nights, I fear, missing that sweet red-headed little man!