October 2006
Dear Friends,

Fall is already in the air, even here in north Florida! We’ve had some cool mornings and are grateful to be able to turn off the AC and open the windows again. It’s time to get out winter clothes, blankets and flannel sheets and be sure you and your family are prepared before winter begins.

Food safety has been much in the news in recent weeks with the widespread outbreak of e. coli in fresh spinach. And it was only a year or two ago that some bagged salad was found to be contaminated with bacteria. We have so many convenient products these days, but ladies, they all need to be rinsed thoroughly. I don’t care if they do say “triple washed!” Rinse fruit and veggies under a steady stream of water and then rinse the sink and wash your hands.

Whether you’re handling raw meat or eggs, or fruit and veggies, safe food handling cannot be emphasized enough. Anything that grows on the ground needs special attention because bacteria from the dirt may be present. Not too long ago illness from e. coli was reported from eating cantaloupe; the bacteria from the outside of the melon contaminated the fruit when it was cut open and handled. Wash the outside of melons before cutting into them, and then wash your hands. You can find information about safe food handling, the current e. coli outbreak and more at http://www.fightbac.org .

The holidays are just around the corner! If you have not seen our special heirloom book for children, please take a moment to look at “Classic Prayers for Children.” The book is a gift that will inspire families to prayerfully turn their hearts to our Lord throughout the day. Most of the prayers are lovely poems, well suited for devotional time. You can read some of the prayers on our Devotionals page.

Here’s what Catherine Staat from “Making It Home” magazine had to say about the book:
"This book is truly a treasure...one of those you will pass down to your children...grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The look and feel is reminiscent of times gone by. I love the pictures throughout. Thank you for bringing back this treasure from the past! I will be ordering these for baby gifts and for children's birthdays." And a great gift for Christmas, too – a gift that will have eternal value!

Speaking of Christmas gifts, you may want to make some of your gifts. Some baked goods need to be made close to the time you want to give them, although cookies and quick breads can be baked ahead and frozen. Just be sure to allow time to thaw them before you wrap and give them. If you freeze baked goods in foil, be sure to remove them from the foil and wrap loosely in paper towels as they thaw to prevent them from becoming wet and soggy. Once they are at room temperature you can re-wrap them or place in plastic bags.

Don’t have time to do all the baking you’d like now? Give a gift certificate for homemade cookies, a loaf of bread, or a casserole that can be redeemed any time during the year. At the holidays, people are often swamped with “goodies” and a special homemade treat later in the year will be much appreciated.

A flannel board is an easy-to-make gift that provides quiet play for young children. Use a piece of ¼” plywood or purchase some foam display board at an office supply store. You can also use corrugated cardboard if you glue 2 or 3 layers together to create a firm surface. 18” x 24” is a good size, but you can make the board any size you wish. Lay a piece of solid-color flannel over the board and wrap it around all four edges. Secure to the back of the board with a hot glue gun or other sturdy glue.

Cut out circles, triangles, squares, and other shapes from brightly colored felt. Make different sizes of each so the child can create houses, people, etc. The felt pieces will adhere to the flannel board with just a gentle touch – no glue needed!

Interfacing, such as Pellon, also adheres nicely to the flannel board. Get a medium weight interfacing. Lay it over a coloring book page, trace and cut out objects. Color them with markers and crayons. If you or your children are artistic, let them draw right on the interfacing. They can draw people, cars, trees, flowers, birds, Christmas scenes – whatever they like – then cut them out and place them on the flannel board. Children enjoy moving the pieces on the flannel board, creating their own scenes and using them to tell stories.

A small flannel board that fits on the lap helps occupy a child in the car or doctor’s office. A larger flannel board can be propped against the back of a couch or chair if the floor is carpeted. Otherwise lay it on a table or bed, or it can be mounted on the wall.

You can make a variety of gifts using Gingham Embroidery. Red or green gingham with ¼” checks make nice seasonal gifts. Cut a piece of gingham 18” square. Machine stitch around the entire square, ½” in from the raw edge. Pull the threads from all four raw edges up to the stitching line to create a fringed edge. With embroidery floss or pearl cotton (pearl cotton is easier to use), make snowflake stitches around the edge of the cloth; white snowflakes on the dark squares look especially nice. Embroider snowflake stitches in a zig-zag border, or stitch a cross in the center of the cloth, or a letter to create a monogram. Stitch the snowflakes in a triangle shape plus a couple of stitches for the trunk and you can make a Christmas tree.

This makes a nice cloth to cover or line a bread basket. You might even use it to wrap around a loaf of homemade banana bread; what a welcome gift!  Below is a photo of a bread cloth my neighbor, Debbie, made - her very first embroidery project.  Way to go, Debbie!

In the same way, you can make a set of napkins. A 20” square of gingham is a good size.

A 36” square of gingham will just cover most card tables. For a little longer tablecloth, make it 40” square. We often use card tables for extra seating at holiday time and how pretty they would look with gingham tablecloths in holiday red or green. Decorate with snowflake stitches as described above.

For more information on Gingham Embroidery, click here. If you are looking for books with more detailed gingham embroidery projects, Pegasus has published several books years ago that are still available. You can view the books at their website, www.pegasusor.com – click on “Chicken Scratch.” They also have a free project online. To purchase a book, click on “Order” and you will come to their “Dealer Locator” list to find someone who carries the books. If there is not a store in your area, contact one on their list and have them mail you the books you want.

A recipe file box or recipe notebook is a wonderful, useful gift for young and old alike. Include some of your favorite recipes, perhaps some family recipes to make a special recipe book or file that can be used now and handed down to future generations. Or make a homemaking notebook full of helpful tips you already know or have cut out from magazines or online sites. Decorate the notebook with paint pens and personalize it with the recipient’s name. Include some plastic sheet protectors (purchase at an office supply store) to protect recipes from splatters.

There are many helpful forms you can add to a homemaking notebook available free at www.organizedhome.com . Look for “Printable Forms” in the sidebar; there are checklists, calendars, planner forms, a price comparison book and much more! What a great gift to help someone start out their new year feeling more organized.

One more cute gift idea: Use your child’s artwork to create shopping list pads. Scan something your child has drawn or painted; vibrant colors show up best. Size the image to about 2” x 3” and insert it at the top of a blank page twice, once on the top of the left side of the page, and once on the top of the right. After printing, you will cut the pages down the center the long way so that you end up with pages that are 4 ¼” wide by 11” long. Use the paper cutter at the office supply store to cut the pages quickly.

The office supply store can make gummed pads of the pages you have printed. I was quoted $5 to make 10 pads of 50 pages each (although you can use more pages if you wish for the same price). This was the cost if I do the printing and cutting myself. If you can’t do the scanning and printing, take it to the copy center at the office supply store and ask what they would charge to do that for you. What sweet gifts for relatives to have a pad of paper with artwork from the children they love!

Next month: Pie Making Lesson just in time for holiday pies! I will share my
3-Ingredient, Foolproof Piecrust. Yes, you can do it, and this is a great lesson for your FCH groups, too.

Until then ~

Yours in Him,

 

Copyright, 2006, Laurie Latour.  www.FutureChristianHomemakers.com

You may make one printed copy for your own personal, private use.  FCH leaders may make one printed copy for each person in their group.  Copyright line above must be included in all copies.  Permission for any other use must be requested in writing. 
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