Bartlett & Craft

Bartletts 2024 Greetings, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! A physical card in the mail happened not again this year, my apologies to all, but between getting a puppy (yes, a puppy!), renovating our kitchen and all the rest (waves wildly at the chaos around us), it just didn't happen.  BUT, I bring you an update with pictures of our year; a summary.   (Shout out to Signal Return in Detroit for hosting a lovely workshop where this artwork above was made.  If you are in the southeast Michigan area, I highly recommend signing up for a class!) And now for an update on the family :)  Peter - He celebrated his 15th year at the same workplace this year.  We are very thankful for a job that allows him to work from home (although he says he misses the office life a little bit) and close to family.  And 15 years means some extra, extra perks in the form of being able to take off almost every Friday from October- December! Woo-hoo!  He has been working hard, bu...

 In an effort to be more environmentally friendly this year (and because we ran out of time to send anything before the New Year), we have transitioned over to a e-Christmas Card!  And now you get to see more pictures of our beautiful faces (a win, win!).   Enjoy our Bartlett 2023 by the numbers and a few photo favorites. The kids took up rock climbing lessons this year, and it has been fun for the whole family!  Here we are 'topped out' on the bouldering wall. The kids have been enjoying their 1st and 4th grade years, its been smooth sailing so far with some pretty awesome teaching staff. We had our first family ski trip this year, we are hitting a sweet spot with kids enjoying activities that challenge them and us at the same time.  Eli lost his first tooth! Our 2023 garden at its peak! And a new pantry designed by yours truly to showcase our bountiful squash harvest :) Happy New Year!

I had time today to start assembling my center quilt block (for you newbies, like me, a quilt block is basically the basic pattern on a quilt that is repeated.  For this quilt, it is my center design that will help communicate my design aesthetic, colors, etc to the next person in line to add to my quilt). I decided to do something a bit challenging and something that reflected who I am.  Luckily I was able to find some super cute fabric at JoAnn Fabrics and I did some searching online to find a pattern that I liked.  I landed on the Scandinavian Star block - getting back to my roots!  (pictured below) I had chosen four different fabrics for my quilt block, though, so I had to improvise a tad, which I liked...more of an adventure :) I followed some of the directions from  http://www.aquiltinglife.com/2014/07/scandinavian.html  for this block.  While it was helpful to get an idea of what pieces I needed, I needed a little extra help actually as...

Had some extra time today to add the next few photos of baby girl into her artifact uprising photo album that will be complete once we celebrate her first birthday.  Can't wait, but can wait.  Here are a few of my favorite photos from each month so far... 5 days old One month Two months Three months Four months Five months Six months Seven months

 

A few baby bows for my niece made from some of grandma S.'s lace, grandma J.'s buttons and a few odds and ends from my beads/ribbon box.  Can't wait to take pictures of them on my niece! made from grandma's lace made with grandma's buttons Made with grandma's buttons

A Recipe of my mother's that I have used on many a birthday cake. 5 Tbs flour 1 Cup milk Mix together and cook on low heat in saucepan until it thickens into a paste (stirring constantly).  When it forms a ball when stirring then remove from heat and cool. Beat together til creamy:       1 Cup sugar       1 Cup butter       1 tsp vanilla Add flour mix to butter mix after it’s completely cooled – Whip together

There is nothing like moving from side of town to the other to distract you from posting stuff on your blog.  But figuring that the new place has hardwood floors, lots of sunlight and a beautiful garden...I am NOT complaing.  Nope, not one bit. I just went outside today (brr!!) to take a few picture of the flowers.  I have not planted a single thing...and yet this is what the garden has brought forth since we moved in: They are the most wonderful shade of pink!  I am debating whether or not to cut them and bring them inside.  They would look so beautiful on the dining room table.

A recipe passed down from my grandma.  My mom uses this recipe to make delicious cinnamon rolls. Directions: *½ c warm water *4 t sugar *3 pkg dry yeast (not rapid rise) *Mix above ingredients and set aside to proof 4 c hot water 3 tsp salt 1 ¼ c Crisco shortening 1 c sugar Mix previous 4 ingredients until sugar dissolved and Crisco is partly melted and partly in very small “chunks” When Crisco mix is cooled to lukewarm then add yeast mix and stir together then: Add 4 eggs – beat in one at a time Then add about 12 –14 cups of flour. Knead to make a dough that is soft but not sticky. You will likely have to knead it on a board to get all the flour in. Don’t add so much flour that the dough gets stiff – should be spongy and “stretchy”. Put in one or two LARGE tupperware containers with cover – put in fridge until needed. Check it every few hours to make sure it hasn’t “sprung” the cover. This will last about 3 days in the fridge. When you want to make r...

A few photos I have take over the years, in the various locations I have been in... Bayeux, France Bath, England San Francisco, USA Mesa Verde, USA Redwood National Forest, USA Bath, England copyright Rebecca Bartlett 2011