Sunday, December 28, 2008

My Flaming 9-Patches

I've finished the binding on my Blooming 9-Patch. Steve decided my 9-patches didn't just bloom, they were flaming. I tend to agree. The colors are so bright and lively.

It will be displayed at the Comfortable Companions quilt show at Glad Creations. It will run from January 1-10. Go check it and you can see it in person.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Holiday Treats

While I was in Utah for Christmas, we made some great treats.

The first I'm calling White Chocolate surprise. We melted 3 bags of white chocolate chips in the microwave. We poured it over peanut butter filled pretzels, dried pineapple, apricots, cherries and blue berries, mixed nuts and Chex cereal. Mix it together and a yummy snack was born.

We also made Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake with Cranberry-Raspberry Compote. It was delicious! As you can see we baked it in a heart shaped spring-form for some extra love. The flavor is perfect for the holiday season.


Friday, December 26, 2008

Homemade Christmas

Happy St Steve's Day everyone!

Christmas was fun for me and a little merrier with some homemade presents. My sister, Martha, with her family and I visited Caroline and her family for Christmas.


I decided everyone needed a pillowcase. My sister Martha decided everyone needed a warm hat for Christmas. Caroline made everyone aprons. Mine is the coolest. Check out how well the hats, aprons and pillowcases turned out. I'm looking styling in my apron.

I've decided that homemade is the way to go when it comes to Christmas!

Friday, December 19, 2008

A Walk on the Wild Side

It is Scrap Tamers tomorrow at Glad Creations. If you have been following my blog you will know that I've been making lots of progress.

This past month month I finished 5 projects, Batik Jamestown, Four-Patch Fun, Nate's New Amish, Steve's Tree Skirt and 4 Farkle bags. I also put bindings on two quilts, my Blooming 9-Patch, and my Forever Friends. I also have my Bargellographix quilt at the quilters.

I'm also very excited about my new project. I've started a One-Block Wonder quilt using a Native Arts 2 fabric.

I finished my piecing the blocks. Now I wanted to lay them out and also make some hollow cube blocks.

I'm excited to see how it turns out.

My goal for this month is to finish the quilt top of the One-Block Wonder quilt. I also want to finish the bindings on Blooming 9-patch, Forever Friends and Bargellographix quilts.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

It's a Keeper!

If Steve and I try a new recipe and it is tasty, he says, "It's a keeper." We just made Lamb and Winter Vegetable Stew. Let me tell you it was delicious. It has a great savory flavor.

There was nothing I would change and, yes, it is a keeper.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sweet Dreams, Georgia!

My friend, Georgia, is now bedridden while her ankle heals. I made this pillowcase to brighten her days (and nights) in bed.

The pillow case is sewn like a sham. I got the pattern free at Glad Creations with the purchase of fabric for the pillowcase.

I think it turned out cute. Pillow cases make great Christmas presents.

I hope the pillowcase brings you sweet dreams, Georgia!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Farkling to the End!

I took a little time this week to make Farkle bags. Here is a link on instructions on how to play Farkle. I think the bags turned out cute and would work well as a gift bag. I took pictures as I made them, so I could give you all instructions.

I cut a 7" x14 1/2" piece of the focus fabric and a 7" X 18" piece of the accent fabric.









I sewed the the 7" edges of the focus fabric to the accent fabric. I pressed the seam toward the focus fabric. I matched up and pinned the seams and pressed to then ends. I stitched the ends leaving a two inch opening near the end of the accent fabric to turn the bag inside out. I also left a half inch opening on both sides at the seam between the two fabrics going into the accent fabric for the drawstring. I pressed the side seams open.

I turned the bag right side out and ironed it. I stitched to two inch opening closed.









I tucked the accent fabric inside of the focus fabric, matching the corners together. I pressed the top. I top stitched along the seam and half inch down at the bottom of the opening for the drawstring. I threaded the drawstring through the channel created by the top stitching, creating two complete loops that started at opposite sides of the bag.


You now have completed bags. Enjoy!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Steve's Skirt

This is the skirt Steve's tree used to wear at Christmas.


This is the skirt that Steve's tree wears now at Christmas after a makeover by Nathan.

Which do you like better?




The pattern is called "Gather 'Round the Tree", and comes from the 2007 issue of the "Quilt It for Christmas" magazine. It ends up being 64" in diameter, so it is a nice big tree skirt.

I got the fabric and started on tree skirt last year, but didn't finish in time for Christmas. I pulled it out this year and finished it up. The quilting was done by Kars Quilting Service. They did a great job!

I love the finished project. Merry Christmas Steve!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Nate's New Amish

Well, I finally finished my sixth and final binding from my previous posting. I love this quilt. I actually made it 6 or 7 years ago, at the beginning of my quilting career.

I designed the quilt, which I wanted to be an updated Amish look. I love how the bright colors play off the black fabric. As always, Carol's quilting makes the quilt. She did such an amazing job.

I'm calling the quilt "Nate's New Amish". What do you think?

If seeing this quilt has got you in the mood to work with solids, you are in luck. Glad Creations just got a new shipment of solids. Go check them out!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

"Tote"ally Terrific

Well it is official, I had a totally terrific time visiting my brother and his family in San Antonio. You know me, I can't help but spread the joy of tote making everywhere I go.

Julie wanted me to show her how to make tote bags, so we got fabric and canvas to make three totes. So pictured is Julie, my sister-in-law, with her tote and Hope and Vanessa with their totes. I think Julie and I did a great job sewing them.

Julie has already started making two other totes. You'll have to check out Julie's blog for pictures of them. They were looking pretty fantastic before I left!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Not Your Mother's Beans

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! So they aren't my mother's beans, they are my brothers. I'm visiting my brother in San Antonio, TX. We just had a very delicious meal, which included his secret recipe for green beans, that will soon not be so secret.
1 pound green beans (preferable fresh)
1/2 cup sauteed bacon
1 cup fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped red onions
1 medium ripe tomato
Saute bacon mushrooms and red onions together uncovered until soft. Add diced tomatoes and green beans and saute for an additional 10 minutes or until desired softness. Salt and pepper to taste.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Fun With Bugs


Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that the only bugs I like are either no where around me or cute bugs on fabric. That is why this quilt is go great. This is my Four-Patch Fun. It is made out of the Flutter-By line from Moda.

I put a wool batt in it, so it turned out soft, fluffy and warm. You can see some of the quilting in the picture, which I think really makes the quilt. And guess what, it has binding on it. That makes another finished project!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Nate's Trip to Jamestown and Back

So I took the pattern for the Jamestown quilt and made it my own. The original quilt used the fabric from Jo Morton's Jamestown line, which I wanted to recreate in batiks. I picked out fabrics in the red, blue and green color familys, trying the mirror the colors from the original quilt. I also wanted lots of variation texture and color, so I used around 50 different fabrics, almost all of which have some pattern. I think the quilt turned out beautifully.

This quilt will be part of the New Year's quilt show at Glad Creations. If you go to the show, keep an eye out for Annemarie's matching quilt made out of 30's reproduction fabric.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Squash Delights!

Well, I guess the recipes actually aren't that light, but they sure are tasty. The first picture is of a meal I made that included Potato and Squash Mash and hamburger patties topped with melted blue cheese. Both Steve and I really loved the mash, had seconds and maybe even thirds. We will definitely be making it again. I highly recommend the blue cheese burgers too.

The second picture is Spaghetti Squash with Sausage Filling, a recipe that Steve and I made. It was so good that we ended up eating a half of the squash each. No leftovers. Nummy Num Nums!

Try the recipes you will love them.

Friday, November 14, 2008

The Taming of the Quilts















Tomorrow is Scrap Tamers at Glad Creations and it's been almost a month since I posted my list of projects, so I decided I should post an update. As you can see I completed five projects and made progress on a couple of others.

I started off the list with a completed project, the Halloween tote. I have completed three bindings, my Twice As Nice, my Dove In The Window and what I called my 30's Scappy Star Quilt. I'm snuggling under the last two in the picture.

I completed The Aspen quilt. I also finished the Mystery Weekend #42 quilt top, Forever Friends. I also got my Four-Patch Fun quilt back from the quilter.

I have to say that making a list has helped me stay focused and to really accomplish a lot. I'm hoping to have three more projects completed by next month. I want to finish The Gather 'Round the Tree Christmas tree skirt, and put bindings on my Batik Jamestown and Four-Patch Fun.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Star Struck!!!

The last mystery weekend session ended yesterday, so now I can post pictures of my mystery quilt. My sister and I were in the first mystery weekend session. The first picture of the two of us having fun sewing. We had so much fun, we are already planning for next year.

I made a little progress on all the steps of the quilt, but focus on and finished the first step. This was to make friendship star out of a medium and a dark fabric. These blocks end up in the border.


The next week I spent on the next couple of clues, which was to make triple Irish chain blocks. Each block uses a dark fabric on the outside and a medium fabric on the inside of the chain.



The next week I spend on the next clue, which was friendship stars on background fabric. I ended up pairing a dark and medium fabric in each star. Each star is border with background fabric and the accent fabric in the corners.

It took another week to get all the blocks together into a quilt. You may have noticed by now that I was a little obsessed with getting this quilt done. I think it turned out amazing. The pattern name is "Forever Friends". When I finished the cutting for the quilt, I told you that I cut 1004 pieces. Now that I've finished I can give you the total number of pieces in the quilt. 2,407. Quite a few, but totally worth it.

I'm debating between two names for my quilt. Since I used Kaffe Fassett fabric and the friendship starts, one is "My Friend Kaffe", and the other is "The Fassetts of Kaffe". Which do you like? Other ideas?

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Not My Quilt

So yes it is my quilt technically. I did buy the fabric and the notions and did all the sewing and cutting. But I feel like this quilt has many creators and is so much better because of everyone that gave me input.

Cheri made this same quilt for the employee show at the end of the year at Glad Creations. She talked me into making it and helped me pick out batik fabrics and the background fabric for my quilt.

Then when I was ready to put it together, she gave me the Wonder-Under to fuse it. Everyone at the sew-in last weekend was very encouraging with the oos and aws.

I went in to the shop on Monday, and Cheri and Shelly pick out my border fabric. So with all the help, I think it turned out great and I have one more project done.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Do you know the muffin man?

Any good sew-in is all about the food. Thanks Georgia for hosting. Everyone brought such good eats. I brought Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Steve and I have made this recipe a few time and we have changed it a bit. We use 1 cup of pumpkin puree, substitue applesauce for the oil and double the amount of spices.

My muffins certainly were not the best thing to eat, but I'm am the only one posting my recipe on my totally awsome blog, so I get the last laugh.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Jack-O-bama

It is that time of year, to carve up your pumpkins and select your candidate of choice. Who knew you could do both at the same time?!

Steve and I made a trip to the farmers market and selected a very special pumpkin. Then we spent some quality time doing some carving and placing some strategic toothpicks.

I would hope you all are Obama supporters, because of his longtime stance of pro-quilting. You can find a template for the candiate of your choice or their spouse here. Is that Cindy McCain?

Saturday, October 25, 2008

49 and Not Counting

















So in the spirit of taming my scraps, I've organized all my projects and scraps into 5 storage bins and an Excel spreadsheet. It contains all the projects I have at the moment. And as the title suggests, I have 49 projects. The snapshot is of the first twenty projects.

Some of you may not know that Glad Creations has a monthly lecture call Scrap Tamers Club. The objectives of scrap tamers are to tame your scraps, control your clutter and to finish those projects. It goes from Sept 2008 to Aug 2009.

So you will notice that in order to make myself feel better, I've listed a project that I've already completed. Wahoo! Also I've set a goal to finish 19 other projects by the end of the club. This would put me at 29 projects in Sept 2009.

I've also set a goal for myself to finish the year with fewer project than I started with. You all know how we quilters are, we can't stop buying fabric. I had to leave room to buy more fabric.

Stay tuned to see how I do.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Show and Tell

Since everyone couldn't attend the first session of the Mystery Weekend, you may not have seen the Show and Tell that I brought to share. So here you go!

This is a quilt that I put together this year. It is a Glad Creations' pattern, called Nifty Nine-Patches. I love this quilt. It uses 16 fabrics for the blocks and one fabric for sashing. I tried to use very natural colors. When the quilt was put together, I noticed that I had used a lot animal prints and that was why I ended up with the animal print on the back of my quilt. Well that, and it was in the half price fabric section.

Oh, I almost forgot. This quilt was one of the 6 quilts that needed bindings. As you can see the binding is on and it looks great!


Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Potatoes - The Lucky Ones!


Why is it that only potatoes are mashed up and made into a side dish? The answer to this is that they don't have to be.
Here is a great recipe for Mashed Roots, a tasty alternative to Mashed Potatoes.
4 cups cubed peeled baking potatoes
2 cups sliced peeled parsnip
2 cups cubed peeled turnip
1 large onion finely chopped
1/2 cup celery finely chopped
2 bay leaves
5 tablespoons butter
1 cup evaporated milk
Salt and Pepper
Place first 6 ingredients in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook 20 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Drain well and discard bay leaves. Return veggies to pan; add butter, milk, and salt and pepper. Beat at medium/high speed until smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Enjoy!

Trick or Treat!!!

For part of my Caroline's visit, we took at trip to Stillwater, MN to do some antique shopping and make a stop at Aamodt's Apple Farm. Any trip is not complete without a trip to a quilt shop and if the trip is to Stillwater, then that would be Charlotte's Quilting Web. It is a great little shop and has a discount on end of bolt fabric. I took advantage of this to get a couple of backs.

While we were there, Steve found some cute Halloween fabric and decided he need a tote. Here is a couple of pictures of the finished product. As you can see the tote is reversible and will be great for handing out candy at Halloween. Who knows it might be filled with tricks!

Monday, October 13, 2008

The Mystery Continues

Mystery weekend is over and Caroline is headed home. I'll miss her. We both got a good start on the mystery quilt. It is a winner. Anyone doing the mystery quilt will love it. Unfortunately, it is a mystery so I can't post pictures of the progress I'm making until after the last mystery session. So instead I'm posting a picture of the fabric I found for the back of my quilt. It was in the discount fabric upstairs at Glad Creations. It is from the Ragtime collection put out by Moda.

I plan to continue to blog about my progress on the quilt, but they won't post until the last session of the Mystery weekend. So stay tuned!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

'Sis'tery Weekend

So my sister Caroline is visiting me for a week this week. The plan is to do the Mystery Weekend at Glad Creations on Oct 11 and 12. We spent the last two days cutting out our fabric for the quilt. So we needed a post to celebrate the accomplishment of finishing the cutting for the quilt. I'm a statistician, so here are the stats for this quilt. The quilts finished size will be 90"x110". It requires 16 7/8 yards of fabrics. There are dark fabrics, medium fabrics, one accent fabric and one background fabric. The dark fabrics get cut up into 331 pieces. The medium fabrics get cut up into 213 pieces. The accent fabric gets cut into 44 fabrics. The background fabrics gets cut up into 416 pieces. Do the math, that adds up to a grand total of 1004 pieces. Wish us luck!

I picked fabrics designed by Kaffe Fassett, in the first photo. Caroline did a mix of fabric but the majority of them are from Moda, in the second photo.



Caroline also brought a great recipe with her from Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine. She made Rigatoni with Roasted Pumpkin and Goat Cheese. As you can see from the picture she did a good job. Let me tell you it was delicious.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Season for Soup

Steve and I planted a few plants this year. You can see two of the many butternut squash. Steve found a great recipe to use up one of the squash. We made Curried Squash Soup. The recipe is yummy. Very delicious! You'll have to try it.

The recipe came from allrecipes.com. It is a cool website. You can post pictures of the recipe after you make it. You can also comment on what you thought about the recipe.


Also here is an update on my bindings. I have all the binding sewn on all six quilts. Now I just need hand stitch them to the back of the quilts. Look for pictures of the quilts as I finish the hand stitching.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Blast from the Past

I just have to say that I love my sister-in-law, Julie.

You need to see her blog, Our Flock Rocks. I think you will see from the blog she is such an amazing person and raising a wonderful family.
Putting the link to her blog is a bit selfish. Her latest blog entry, The Quilts of N.E.C. Part 2, is about a quilt I made for her. It was fun to make and it is wonderful to see the quilt still being enjoyed and being taken care of. It is in such great shape even after 6 years. Thanks Julie for the blog dedication! You are wonderful!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Borscht and Bindings

I am really buried in bindings. At the beginning of the week I had six quilts that needed bindings and all the ingredients for borscht.

Does anyone hate as binding as much as me? It is definitely the least favorite part of making a quilts. I've been quilting for about six and a half years and my first binding was this year. A few tutorials later, now I know how to do binding, but I still don't like doing them. I started doing binding and now I have three bindings sewn on the front of three quilts and three left to cut. That leaves all the hand sewing as well. The first picture is of the first three quilts with the binding attached. The second picture is of the three quilts waiting for bindings.

Like I said I had ingredients for borscht, the infamous Russian beet soup. Let me be the first to tell you it is delicious.

Here is my attempt at writing out a recipe for something I just make from memory.


Ingredients:

1 package of stew meat (about 1 pound)

2 Bay leaves

2 large potatoes, cubed

1 medium head of cabbage, shredded

2 medium beets, grated

2 large carrots, grated

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 15 oz can of tomato sauce

fresh parsley and dill


Directions:

Brown the stew meat in olive oil in a large pot. Once the meat is browned, add 6-8 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Salt the broth to taste, maybe even a little salty. Add the bay leaves. Boil for 15 min. Add the potatoes. Cook for an additional 10 min, until the potatoes are almost tender. Add the cabbage and return to a boil.

While the meat and potatoes are cooking, in a frying pan saute the beets, carrots, onions and garlic. You may find it worth your while to find a sucker to grate the beets for you, to save you from red hands for the day. (Thanks, Steve!) Cook until onions are clear. Add tomato sauce and simmer until cabbage has been added and the water has returned to a boil. Add the tomatoes and vegetables to the pot. Also add fresh the fresh chopped herbs, about a tablespoon of each. Simmer for 5 min. Remove from heat. Borscht is better the next day, so better to prepare ahead of time. It is served warm. Garnish with additional fresh herbs and a dollop of sour cream. Enjoy!