Because, really, who doesn’t like cookie dough?

Heaped on a big spoon, fresh from the mixing bowl, nothing can beat a big ol’ hunk of cookie dough.  At least not in our family!  We have to make a double batch of dough just so we’ll end up with one batch of cookies… that’s how much dough we eat.  (Note– cookie dough is especially good with Coke!)  So, here is a recipe that we really enjoy!

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Cookie Dough

1 c. butter, softened

1-1/2 c. packed brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon water

6 oz. chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar together; add remaining ingredients, mixing well.  Roll into balls (actually, we like to use a tiny ice cream scoop); freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.  Store in refrigerator.

These always disappear quickly– make extra!

We Love….

This_and_that_006Kristie
I love…. Jesus Christ, my husband!, my children, family & friends, being a mommanee, flea markets, old tablecloths, vintage linens, Mexican food, quilts, pink & red, giving & living, laughter, enamel flower pins, fabric, his/her pillowcases, old cotton sheets, sewing, cherry coke, freedom, flannel, cookie dough, a warm fire, polka dots, pizza, pearl buttons, turtlenecks, paper & pens, dimples, old dishes, bright colors, ric rac, cigar boxes, fresh flowers, hot baths, the smell of babies, white Christmas lights, the smell of burning leaves, smooth oak furniture, my home.
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Apphia– age 20
I love…. my Savior Jesus Christ, my family, my friends, good books, music, polka dots, clear fall days, vanilla cokes, chandeliers, long walks, fabric & sewing, baby feet pitter-pattering across the floor, ballet flats, old movies, plushy chairs, Nan’s roses, Mexican food, wind in my hair, ribbons, beads & buttons, smiles & laughter, hugs, hay in the barn, Church history, cookie dough, vintage sewing patterns, big sunglasses, cardigan sweaters, being my father’s daughter, giving & loving, foggy mornings, family pictures, Ethan’s dimples, talking to my best friend until 3 am, cheeseburgers & french fries, fresh flowers, singing & dancing, melamine dishes, pink, cotton skirts, pretty papers, milkglass, porch swings.
Brooke_bag_006Achaia– age 18
I love…. The Lord, my family, dear friends, flowers in my hair, pie birds, paper lanterns, Mexican food, vintage fashions, dancing, singing, sewing, fabric, weddings, purple, orange, yellow, green, red, swimming, the beach, windy hayfields, Scotland, old movies, pretty paper, planning parties, pretty rings, walks in the evenings, marshmallow cokes, a good bargain, old family pictures, rhinestone jewelry, lady’s head vases, sour gummies, granny squares, chunky cardigans, our old turquoise and white truck, hugs, pretty writing, cold sheets, babies, old swings, giving.
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Abigail– age 15
I love…. Jesus, my family, my friends, bright rugs, old dolls that remind me of my Nan or Mom, finger paints, singing with my sisters, getting dirty in our friend’s creek, going swimming, bright socks, mismatched clothes, smiling, flip-flops, my cowgirl boots Pop bought me, running through the yard barefoot, watching old movies, horseback riding, laughing, loving, trunks, bags, old toys, cookie dough, giving, cutting hair, parasols, sewing, writing letters to my grandparents, talking on the phone, talking, babies, H. Rider Haggard books, bright typewriters, hugging, sneakers, costumes, talking with Achaia while I’m in bed, Mexican food, pizza, my aunt’s toenails, wearing orange, taking walks, rushing, fun & bright colors, praying, bright sheets, soft pretzels & vanilla cokes, country music, talking to my friend Anna, dancing.
Long_girls_023Abiah– age 14
I love…. Jesus, my family, my friends, sewing, swimming, writing letters, being creative, singing, green, pink, horses, swinging, gel pens, bright paper, colored markers, ladybugs, bright t-shirts, flowers, taking pictures, old movies, shoes, watermelon, Mexican food, purses, pizza, marshmallow cokes, parks, parties, fancy dresses, weddings, squeezes, barefoot in the grass, fabric, curly hair, hushpuppies, swimsuits, candy, soda pop, cookie dough, jelly shoes, lip balm.
"Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage forever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart."  Psalm 119:111

Looky here!

Jennifer Paganelli of SisBoom said this about our brooke shopper (made from the fabrics that she designed)!

"Friends of mine– Look what came in the mail today!!! To order yours get over to the Marie-Madeline Studio The Long girls put the patches in all the right places!! This is the largest summer bag you’ll ever need!! Ask Kristie for your Modgirls satchel and tell them I sent you…I just love what these women are about great design and functional product……Hugs for the long girls!!!"Beavh

Notion Nuts

We Long ladies are self-professed notion junkies…. that’s right, buttons and ricrac and buckles and ribbon and thread and pins and zippers and lace trim– we love ’em all.  As a matter of fact (our brothers will attest to this!) we could spend all day on the button aisle in the fabric store.  All day.  We love to add ricrac to a lampshade or buttons to a pillow sham.  Or lace trim along the bottom edge of a seersucker skirt.  So!  Here’s some of the evidence….

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Who can resist all of these gorgeous colors anyway?

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We’re Pickled Tink…

… we mean tickled pink!  The Lord has extremely blessed Dad and the boys gardening venture with an overwhelming abundance of things– green beans, squash– and in particular that small green vegetable…. the cucumber.  We never knew there were so many cucumbers in the world until now!  Our cucumber situation::

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Need I say more?

Since we are pickle eaters (after all– who doesn’t like pickles?), Mom and we girls have been working hard to have pickles-a-plenty for the next year.  I’m just hoping we don’t have a "pickle story" to tell like Andy Griffith

I wonder how many jars we’ll end up with?….

Img_1194 Easy Dill Pickles

4 lbs. cucumbers

3 cups water

3 cups white vinegar

1/3 cup pickling salt

For each pint jar you need– 2 TBS dill seed— 3 peppercorns— 1 or 2 dried cayenne peppers

Wash cucumbers– leave whole, make spears, or slice. Combine vinegar, water, and salt- heat to boil.  Pack cucumbers into clean hot jars (we’ve been putting ours in a sink filled with boiling water).  Boil water in a saucepan with flat lids.  Add dill seed (fresh dill is fine too), peppercorns, and dried cayenne peppers. Pour in hot vinegar mixture, put flat lids on, and twist cap on securely.  Leave jars approximately 1 inch apart to allow breathing room.  Makes 10 pints or 5 quarts. Note:: For Kosher dills add 1 clove of garlic to each jar.

Frozen Cucumbers

8 cups cucumbers- scrubbed, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup onion- sliced

1 cup green peppers- sliced   (optional)

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons celery salt

2 cups sugar

1 cup apple cider vinegar

Mix cucumbers, onions, and peppers– put into 1 pint jars.  Heat sugar, vinegar, and spices until sugar is dissolved.  Cool and pour over cucumbers, onions, and peppers in jars.  Allow expanding room in top of jars.  Put lid on jar and freeze.  Makes 8 pints.  Note:: You can also use glass jars with plastic snap on lids.

Q & A

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Question:

Sunny commented…. "I would like to know if you pre-wash your fabrics before you make your items for sale?"

Answer:

Thanks for writing, Sunny!! Actually, no. We do not pre-wash the fabric we use to make our for sale items. We prefer not to for the simple fact that fabric has a "factory finish" when you buy it  (and the clothing, etc. that you buy from a store isn’t pre-washed either) and we want our customers to get exceptional items every time. Also, the high-quality fabric that we use will shrink very little. However, if we were making ourselves a piece of clothing we would always pre-wash the fabric(s).

Thanks again! If anyone has a question, please feel free to leave us a comment or email us and we’ll try our best to answer it.

We hope you all have a blessed Friday!

As Promised!

As we promised, here’s some more cute pictures of our "gracie" ruffle skirts. These are terribly fun to put together… we love to mix fabrics! And, we’d like to say a special "thanks!" to Emily, Taylor, and Emerson (plus their moms!) for letting us show their pictures off to you all.  Enjoy!

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Emily and Taylor (above– aren’t they cute?!) are modeling our regular length "gracie" ruffle skirt in Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabrics.  And Emerson (love you!) is wearing the "gracie" shorter length ruffle skirt in Barefoot Roses.

Meet Gracie! (…this is surprise #2)

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So here she is, our "gracie"— the very first marie-madeline sewing pattern for girl’s clothing!  We’re in the process of having our pattern cover designed, and then she’s ready to go.  Constructed to provide lots of playing room and all-day comfort, with an elastic waistband and two length options, the "gracie" ruffle skirt is the skirt for dress or play.  With full size pattern pieces and illustrated instructions, our pattern will include sizes 2/3 through 14/16!  More pictures soon….

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By the way, we plan to list some ruffle skirts in the shop tonight!

Dressmaking fun!

A bit of background first… we began making these little t-shirt dresses a couple of years ago for some of our little girl friends. They were absolutely taken with them and so were their moms. So, we love this concept of a quick dress for a little girl to play in. And they are pretty simple to make! Could you ask much more out of a piece of clothing? With these you can…. We like to think of it as a way of reusing something that seems to be lifeless. Make these cute, fun dresses with a t-shirt that’s streched out at the bottom… or a t-shirt’s that has a stain on the lower half of it… or out of a t-shirt that’s too short. Make up your mind, find an old shirt, and jump right in!!

Simple T-Shirt Dress

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Step 1:: Grab a t-shirt! Measure from your girl’s shoulder to where you’d like her dress to stop. Next, decide how long you’d like the t-shirt part of the dress to be. Measure all the way across (from the bottom to the cutting area is easier) and lightly mark with a pencil, and cut. Note: make sure you leave approx. 1/4" seam allowance! (We like to make our dresses slightly empire waist. Usually for a bigger girl the t-shirt part is about 9"-10".)

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Step 2:: Now you need to cut the skirt part out of the fabric of your choice. Do so by taking the measurement of the finished length of the dress, subtracting the length of your cut off shirt, and adding seam allowances of 2" total (this will allow room for the hem as well.) For a small girl use only one width of fabric; for a bigger girl use two. It also depends on how full you want it.

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Step 3:: Sew  twill tape to bottom of t-shirt to help prevent stretching. Mark sides and middles on the front and back of your t-shirt with pins.

Step 4:: Sew the skirt together at the side seams. (For a smaller girl you may only sew one seam.) Finish with a zigzag or serge stitch. Now sew a gathering stitch around the top of the skirt. Mark sides and middles on front and back with pins.

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Step 5:: Pin t-shirt and skirt right sides together by pulling up gathering stitches to fit. Sew at 1/4". Finish with a zigzag or serge stitch.

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Step 6:: Mark up hem at 1 1/2". Press. Turn raw edge in to meet crease and pin. Press again. Stitch.

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Step 7:: Iron skirt one last time. Stand back and admire!

T-shirt: Lands End

Skirt fabric: Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern (yellow martini)

We’d love to see pictures of your simple t-shirt dresses! You can send them to us here.