Pastimes Quilt Design

"Tribute to Judie" my latest work in progress

2012-06-07T11:35:00.000-06:00

Normally, since I design patterns, I don't have time to make quilts from other designer's patterns. But my long arm quilter quilted a "Tribute to Judie" by Carol Hopkins Designs for one of our local quilt shops last year and I happened to be at her home the day she took it off her machine. We both absolutely fell in love with it. I am such a huge Civil War fabric fan. She and I traded fabrics and each came up with enough to make a queen sized quilt. Wow, what a lot of little pieces were needed to make about 350 star blocks 3 1/2" square. I am finally in the process of laying out the quilt. The blocks are set on point and I am using a variety of browns as the alternate blocks. Here are some pics of what I have laid out so far. I can't wait to finish it up and put it on my bed. Have any of you made this quilt?

Focus on Fun

2012-04-02T11:13:00.000-06:00

I had some darling vintage style fabric showing kids marching in a patriotic parade in my stash that I didn't want to cut up. So I designed this quilt using large pieces of my focus fabric in the blocks as well as in the border. I had so much fun making it, that I made a lap quilt with monkeys and a wall hanging with jack-o-lanterns. This pattern will work for any focus fabric up to 4 1/2". The blocks and sashing use the partial seam piecing technique. I used an acrylic octagon template to fussy-cut the centers. Why not look through your large print fabrics to see what kind of fun quilt you could make?

Green Chili Rice

2012-03-29T22:57:00.001-06:00

I'm addicted to this yummy rice. It goes well with any Mexican entree. It's an easy dish to take to a pot luck party and always gets rave reviews. You will need the following ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Brown or White Minute Rice
1 can chicken broth 14 oz.
1 can green chili enchilada sauce 10 oz.
1 Tblsp dried minced onion
1 can diced green chilis
1 can original Rotelle tomatoes
shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese for the top

Drain liquid off tomates. (If you prefer a less spicy version, just omit the tomatoes.)
Combine everything except the cheese in an 8 x 8 baking dish.

Mix it all up and bake uncovered for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

Top with shredded cheese and bake 5 more minutes until cheese has melted.

You can serve this with additional toppings if you like, such as fresh chopped tomatoes, guacamole, olives, sour cream, cooked chicken, etc.
Note I usually increase the recipe by using a 28 oz. can of green chili enchilada sauce, 2 cans of broth, 4 cups rice, and 2 Tblsp onion. I leave the green chilis and tomatoes the same as the original recipe.

Hearty Italian Marinara Sauce

2012-03-26T09:29:00.000-06:00

I used to buy Ragu or Prego sauce for my Pizza, Lasagna, and Spaghetti dishes, but now I love to make my own sauce. There's just no comparison, this crock pot Marinara sauce is divine. Simmering it all day allows the flavors to blend into sweet, rich, fabulous, tomato goodness.

4 cans Italian style diced tomatoes
1 6 oz. can tomato paste or 8 oz. tomato sauce
1 Tblsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion finely diced
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tblsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tblsp. brown sugar
1 Tblsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 Tblsp. ground oregano
2 whole bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp coarse ground black pepper
or crushed red pepper flakes if you like it spicy

Put everything into the crock pot, cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer on low for 8 hours. Remove bay leaves before serving. Start a pot full in the morning for a quick meal when you get home from work. Absolutely fabulous for Lasagna, Spaghetti, or Goulash.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

2012-03-26T09:06:00.000-06:00

Who doesn't love a heaping plate of Italian spaghetti and meatballs? For this recipe, you can use your favorite store bought spaghetti sauce for a quick meal, or use my crock pot marinara sauce recipe if you have the time to make your own. For the meatballs you will need the following ingredients:

1 lb extra lean ground beef
3-4 green onions
1 egg
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/8 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
1 tsp basil leaves
1 tsp oregano leaves
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper or
crushed red pepper flakes if you like it spicy

Place slice of bread in your blender to make crumbs.

In a mixing bowl combine, egg, milk, and bread crumbs, Whip a little to moisten the bread.

Slice the onions thinly. Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix well.

Shape the meat into 1" balls. Place a wire rack in the bottom of a large baking pan. Place the meatballs on the rack so they are not touching each other.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Place spgahetti on a large platter, cover with your favorite sauce and meatballs.

Ladybug Twist & Shout

2012-03-26T08:19:00.000-06:00

My granddaughter's nursery is decorated in ladybugs. I designed this fun quilt for her room with flower-pot pinwheels and ladybugs dancing all over the quilt. The flower pots are done with a little bit of simple paper piecing. I used large rick-rack for the flower stems and a bright button for the pinwheel centers.. The ladybugs are appliqued and their anntenae are embroidered. I added a piano key border using the leftover fabrics.

And The Winner Is???? Blog Hop Party Results

2012-03-25T19:31:00.000-06:00

Thanks so much to everyone joined the party, followed my blog, and took the time to look at my patterns during the St. Patrick's Day blog hop party. I had so much fun reading all of your comments and finding out which patterns you liked. Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner. I know I was supposed to announce on Saturday, but I thought my litttle grandson would get a kick out of drawing the winning name from my lucky leprechan hat when he came for his Sunday visit. He did think it was great fun to draw out a name. In fact he had so much fun that he wanted to draw out two names. What kind of Grandma would I be to disappoint the little guy by saying no? So the two lucky leprechan winners are:

Vicki T. who chose Starflower and Pretty Petals
Lisa Cox who chose Triangle Tricks and Grandma Chessie's China
Congratulations to both of you. Yipppee! Hooray! Awesome!

Please send me your-mailing address so I can ship your patterns this week.

Windmill Garden a flowery quilt for Spring or Summer

2012-03-22T19:05:00.000-06:00

This quilt was all done by applique. The flowers, the blue block border scallops, and the cream outer border scallops. I don't usually do quite that much applique on one quilt but I had fun with it.

Here are some closer views. Don't look too close as I am not an applique experts or perfectionist.

Plane Patrol

2012-03-22T09:30:00.000-06:00

This was one of the first quilts I gave to my grandson. He sleeps with it every night. I had to borrow it back once to take pictures and he cried and cried when I hung it up. He thought I was going to keep his beloved airplane quilt. It was fun going through my stash to find all those blue fabrics.

Light & Lemony Angel Whispers

2012-03-19T14:57:00.001-06:00

This is a very light, low-fat dessert. I saw the idea for this easy recipe on Pinterest, from Jessie at Living Practically . I added an extra step to make mine even more lemony. Wait, is that a word, lemony? Well I like it so I think I'll use it today.

You will need the following ingredients:

1 pkg Angel Food cake mix
1 or 2 cans of Lemon Creme Pie filling
Powdered sugar to sprinkle on the top
Yep, that's all you need.

Pour the egg white and cake flour envelopes into a large mixing bowl. Add one can of pie filling and stir until smooth. Ta-dah! That was easy.

Spray and flour a 9 x 13 baking pan. Spread the batter evenly in the pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. It should be slightly browned on top. Allow the cake to cool for 5-10 minutes, then dust lightly with powdered sugar.

You are now finished, unless you want to take it to the next level of lemony goodness. Are you with me on this?

After the cake has completely cooled. Cut into 24 squares. Slice each square in half horizontally but not quite all the way through.

Open the second can of pie filling. Spread one heaping spoonful of pie filling in between the layers. If you like coconut you could mix some in with the pie filling before spreading it between the layers.
Ooooh, I should have thought of that before taking the pictures.

Now that is both beautiful and delicious with just the right amount of luscious lemon flavor. I served them on my great-grandmother's Early American Pattern Glass blue daisy and button cake stand from the early 1900's. They looked so pretty. A great Springtime dessert.

Be sure to refrigerate the leftovers if you add the extra pie filling to the center.

BLOG HOP PARTY starts today. Yippeee!

2012-03-17T10:28:00.000-06:00

Just click on the party icon at the top of my sidebar to join the fun. You can register to win giveaways at over 130 quilting blogs. Wow! This is a week-long event ending March 23rd. I posted my giveaway on Thursday, March 15th. Check it out and enter to win two of my patterns. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Snowflake Block Free Pattern

2012-03-16T20:54:00.001-06:00

I know I have posted this before on my Free Patterns Page, but I am doing some re-organizing on my blog and decided it would be best to have the free patterns listed under Labels rather than on a stand alone page.

Snowflake Block 7 1/2" finished

I have had many requests for the directions to the snowflake block I used on my Snowman quilt.
I designed this quilt using a panel several years ago and didn't write anything down. So I have re-figured the block and here are the dimensions and directions for you. Enjoy!
Background fabric (blue)
4 2 1/2" squares
Snowflake fabric (white)
1 5" square
4 2 1/2" squares
8 2" squares

Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of four

white 2 1/2" squares. Place the white squares with right sides together on top of four blue squares.

Stitch 1/4" from each side of the drawn line.

Cut on the drawn line. Press toward the blue fabric. Trim each to 2" square. Repeat with remaining 3 blue squares to make 8 blue/white 2" half-square triangles.

Stitch a white 2" square between two half-square triangles as shown. Make four units. Stitch one unit along the top edge of the 5" white square, and one unit along the bottom edge.

Stitch a white 2" square to each end of the remaining two units.

Stitch one unit along the left edge of the block and one unit along the right edge.

Your block will measure 8" square which will give you a 7 1/2" finished block. This is a strange size I know but I originally designed it to fit my snowman squares.

How to Clean a Goopy, Gummy Iron

2012-03-16T18:25:00.002-06:00

Last night I realized I had left my iron on. No big deal right? Well unfortunately it was too close to a plastic ziploc bag of scraps that I had setting on my pressing station. By the time I smelled the hot, melting plastic it was too late. Ugh! Now my iron has goopy plastic on it. Wait a minute, I remember how to easily get that mess off.

Place a towel or piece of fabric on your pressing station. Sprinkle some salt on the fabric. I used coarse salt like the kind you get on soft pretzels.

Heat your iron and rub across the salt until the goopy mess is gone. This takes relatively little effort.

Whew! Thank goodness I remembered that trick. Now I can use my iron again without having to run to the store for iron cleaner. Do they even sell that stuff anymore?

I think it cleaned up rather nicely, don't you? No more melted plastic gumming things up.

Now just go ahead and throw the salt away. Warning: Do Not Feed it to Your Family. I probably didn't need to tell you that. Lol But seriously, throw it out.

Circle Fun - Free Quilt Pattern

2012-03-16T13:21:00.002-06:00

For one full year my quilt group of twelve fun ladies exchanged 6 1/2" squares of black on white, and white on black fabrics. At the end of the year we each had a large assortment of black and white fabrics to use however we wanted. This is what I made from mine. I called it Circle Fun. It is approximately 70" x 90".
Since it's St. Patrick's Day weekend, I decided you should all enjoy a little Irish luck with this freebie.

This was such a fun, no-brainer type quilt to make, and a great way to use up your scraps. I appliqued the quarter circles by hand while waiting at the Dr.'s office or watching TV at night. I find this very relaxing and it takes my mind off the idleness. You could machine applique them very quickly if you prefer.

Fabric Requirements:

70 black 6 1/2" squares
70 white 6 1/2" squares
140 bright 3 1/2" squares to cut quarter circles from
1/2 yard stop border
1 2/3 yard outer border
5/8 yard binding
5 1/2 yards backing

Place a white 6 1/2" square right sides together on top of a black 6 1/2" square.
Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner.
Stitch 1/4" away from each side of the line. Cut on the line to make two half-square triangles.
Press, then trim each square to 6". Repeat with all 6 1/2" squares of fabric to make 140 half-square triangles.
Trace a 5 3/4" circle onto freezer paper. Cut the circle in half twice to make four quarter circles.
Press a paper template onto the wrong side of a bright fabric scrap. Cut on the straight edge but 1/4" away from the rounded edge.
Fold the rounded edge over the freezer paper and press well. Make 280 bright quarter-circles.
Remove the paper and applique a quarter circle into the two seamless corners of each block.

Note: I just did a random variety of color combinations. You may want to lay out your quilt prior
to making the last 10 or 15 blocks so you can adjust the colors if necessary.

9. Repeat for all blocks using a wide variety of interesting, bright fabrics.

       10. Lay out your blocks in fourteen rows of ten blocks each, alternating the white and black
       sides of each block. Make sure you will have four different bright colors to form each circle.
       11. Stitch the blocks together in rows.
       12. Stitch the rows together.
       13.  Stitch two stop borders 2" x 77 1/2" to the sides of the quilt and two stop borders 2" x 58 1/2"
       to the top and bottom of the quilt.
       14. Stitch two outer borders 6 1/2" x 80 1/2" to the sides of the quilt and two outer borders
       6 1/2" x 70 1/2" to the top and bottom of the quilt.

15. Cut nine strips 2 1/4" x width of fabric for binding.
16. Quilt and bind.

My entry into Just Something I Whipped Up sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines, .

French Onion Soup the easy way

2012-03-15T20:59:00.002-06:00

The other day I wrote a post about making caramalized onions in the crock pot. It made quite a lot so I still had a jar of delicious onions sitting in my fridge begging me to make something out of them. I've never tasted French Onion soup before but the pictures always look sooooo good. I went online to search for recipes and found a few ideas to mix and match. Another new adventure in cooking. Since my onions were already cooked, I was able to skip that step tonight which really cut down the preparation time for this meal. Go ahead, make yourself a nice large batch of caramalized onions one day, then make the soup the next day. Or, put the onions in your crock pot in the morning so they will be ready for you to make the soup when you get home from work. Oh so easy.
You will need the following ingredients:

2 cans low sodium vegetable, chicken, or beef broth
1-2 cups caramalized onions depending upon how much you love them.
1/2 tsp fresh minced garlic

1 bay leaf

pinch of Thyme leaves or fresh Thyme sprig
1/4 tsp pepper
1 beef boullion cube
2 Tblsp butter
2 Tblsp flour
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup white wine
Sourdough bread, Gruyere, or Swiss and Parmesan Cheese

Optional substitute for the wine is apple juice

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the caramalized onions and garlic. Stir for 1 minute. Add the flour and stir for 1 minute. Add the two wines and stir for 2 minutes.

Add the broth, bay leaf, thyme, pepper, and beef bouillion cube if you like. Bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered on low for 30 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, cut the sourdough bread in slices. Place your soup bowl upside down on the bread and trim it into a circle to fit each bowl. Place the bread rounds on a baking sheet under the broiler until lightly toasted.

Place your oven safe soup bowls on a baking sheet. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprig from the soup. Spoon the soup into the bowls with a ladle so you get the onions as well as the broth. Add a bread round on top of the soup.

Cover the bread with a slice of cheese. I only had shredded Mozzarella on hand today so that is what I used. Place the soup under the broiler for 2-5 minutes until the cheese is melty.

Oh my, doesn't that look good? Oooey, gooey, melty cheese on top of toasted sourdough bread. I'm in heaven.

My entry into Just Something I Whipped Up sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines, .

Quilt Shop Block of The Months - Do you participate?

2012-03-15T15:57:00.001-06:00

Today I have been diligently working on my March block for the Block of the Month class that I take at one of my favorite local quilt shops Quilts Etc. This is how I began quilting. The first year I signed up for 7 block of the month classes at different area quilt shops. I think I've mentioned before that I have been accused of being an "over achiever". They were so much fun. I learned new tips and techniques each month. The best part of all is that I got to meet so many fun people and be inspired each month by the projects they were working on. It didn't take long before I was addicted.

We started this class in September 2011. The theme this year is "Blocks from Japan". All of the blocks are very geometric. They give us the choice of doing two blocks, a beginner or an intermediate. These are the intermediate blocks I have done so far. A lot of the pieces end up being 1/2" when finished. I don't mind them but it's sometimes hard to get them to line up perfectly.

Do you participate in any quilt shop Block of the Months? Any favorite themes?
I'd love to hear your comments. Happy Quilting.

St. Patrick's Day Blog Hop Party and Giveaways - JOIN THE FUN!!

2012-03-15T11:35:00.002-06:00

Join me March 17th - 23rd at the fantastic "St. Patrick's Day Blog Hop Party and Giveaways" hosted by The Quilting Gallery.

This is sure to be a super fun, week-long event. Register to win prizes at lots of different quilting blogs!!! I will be giving away two of my patterns and the lucky random winner gets to choose which two she/he wants out of over 25 of my published patterns. Yeah!!

Starting Saturday March 17th through midnight March 23th, all you need to do to register for my giveaway is:
#1 Join my Blog or already be a member
#2 View "My Quilt Patterns Page" (click button at the top of my blog) and pick your favorite two $9.50 priced patterns
#3 Leave a comment below this post telling me that you are a member and which two patterns you would choose if you win.

Of course, I'd love to have you browse through the rest of my blog as well.
Happy Quilting (and Cooking). Have fun at the party!!

I'm sorry but I will only be able to ship to the United States and Canada.

Chicken Pot Pie

2012-03-14T23:16:00.003-06:00

There's something about chicken pot pie that just makes me feel all warm and nostalgic inside. This is not a really quick recipe but the efforts are well rewarded by the heartwarming flavor. I made this today to take to a friend who has been very sick all week with the flu. I guess you could say it's my version of taking chicken soup. This smelled so divine as I was driving it to her house. I was very tempted to snitch a little taste. I left her half of the pie and took the rest home for my family. I'll admit, I had to ask her for a plastic spoon so I could sample it on the drive back to my house. Yum!
You will need the following ingredients:

3 chicken breasts
2 carrots sliced
2 ribs celery sliced
4 green onions sliced
1 cup frozen peas thawed
2 small red potatoes chopped
1/4 cup red pepper chopped
1 Tblsp olive oil
1/2 tsp rosemary leaves
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
1 chicken bouillion cube
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 Tblsp butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 pie crusts either pre-packaged or homemade plus 1 egg for wash. If you want to make a homemade crust, please see my recipe for No Fail Pie Crust on this blog. It is super easy and always turns out nice and flakey. Just type pie crust in the search box.

Heat oil in large fry pan. Add garlic and rosemary. Generously salt and pepper the chicken and add to the pan. Brown well on each side, then cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes to steam the chicken and create a wonderful broth.

Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and cut into bite sized pieces. (note: my picture shows five breasts but this recipe only calls for 3). Add the chopped veggies (not the peas) to the broth along with 1 cup water and the chicken bouillion cube. Simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.

Remove the veggies from the pan and measure the broth. Add enough water to make 2 cups. Add the cream and milk to the broth.

Melt 2 Tblsp butter in the fry pan. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute or two. Slowly add the liquid and stir continuously until thickened.

When the gravy has thickened, add the chicken, veggies, and peas.

Place 1 pie crust in the bottom of a deep baking dish. Add the filling. Cover with a second pie crust and pinch the edges to seal. If you want to be fancy, cut a few leaves or flowers from a small amount of the pie crust with a cookie cutter to add to the top for decoration.

Beat 1 egg in a small bowl and lightly brush the top of the crust with it. Add the decorations. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and just a few rosemary leaves. Make 3-4 small slits in the top of the crust with a knife. Place the pie dish on a cookie sheet in case the filling bubbles over.

Bake for 40-45 minutes at 400 degrees.

My entry into Just Something I Whipped Up sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines, .

No Fail Pie Crust

2012-03-14T16:49:00.001-06:00

My ex-husband's grandma Fern made fabulous pie crust. She shared her recipe with me years ago when I was a newlywed. I've tried other recipes but always come back to grandma's. It's quick, easy, and always turns out nicely. You will need the following ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shortening
1 Tblsp vinegar
1 egg
1/4 cup ice water

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt. Cut the shortening into the flour with two forks until it resembles coarse crumbs. If you really want to have fun, I recommend using a vintage pastry cutter. This makes me think of grandma and always puts a smile on my face.

In a small bowl, beat the egg, vinegar, and water together. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour the egg mixture in.

Mix with a fork until the dough starts to form a ball. You may need to knead it with your hands a few times but be careful not to handle the dough any more than necessary.

Tear off two large sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper. Divide the dough into two equal balls. Place one ball at a time on a piece of plastic wrap and cover with the other piece. Roll the dough between the sheets into a large circle. This prevents the dough from sticking to your rolling pin and makes it simple to lift into your dish.

Remove the top sheet. Place your baking dish on top of the dough. Lift the plastic wrap and flip your dish over.

Carefully form the dough into the bottom of your dish and trim the edges if necessary.

If you are making a single crust pie, place aluminum foil on top of the crust and fill with dry beans or rice. Bake at 425 degrees for 6 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 6-8 minutes.

Pineapple Quilts and ruler

2012-03-13T16:09:00.001-06:00

When I worked at a quilt shop several years ago, I was asked to make a Pineapple quilt for a shop display and class. I made two versions using the book Positively Pineapple by Lynda Milligan and Nancy Smith.

I used their Pineapple Rule to make sure the blocks were even and accurate which was extrememly helpful and fun.

The first quilt was from the pattern Mocha Latte. I really liked the light, medium, and dark tones of this pattern. Here is the picture from the book.

I made my quilt in my daughter's favorite color tones, turquoise blue. It has been tucked away in the closet to save for her someday wedding. I pulled it out the other day and finished up the binding. My sister Debbie in Marietta, Georgia quilted this for me on her HQ16.

The second quilt I made was from the pattern Jelly Beans. I did this one using the same color scheme as the picture in the book, Lime green, Yellow, Hot Pink, and Orange. It is such a bright, cheery quilt. It has not yet been quilted as I've had too many other projects in front of this one. I think I'll save it for one of my grandkids.

My entry into Just Something I Whipped Up sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines, .

Orzo Pasta with Chicken, Spinach, Tomatoes

2012-03-13T09:50:00.000-06:00

This is a delicicious, light pasta dish that doesn't require any sauce. It is also quick and easy to make. You will need the following igredients:

1/2 bag of fresh baby spinach leaves
2 large chicken breasts
3-4 tomatoes
2-3 green onions
1 cup dry Orzo pasta
1 Tblsp olive oil
dash of rosemary leaves,
red pepper flakes, and
lemon herb seasoning
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
salt and pepper
Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. Either pound the chicken breasts flat or filet them to make them thin. Salt and pepper the chicken.
Heat oil in a large fry pan. Add 1/2 tsp of the garlic, a couple shakes of rosemary leaves and crushed red pepper flakes. Simmer 20 seconds or so until fragrant. Add the chicken and brown on both sides.

Cover pan with lid and let chicken simmer about 10 minutes until cooked through.

While the chicken in simmering, chop the tomatoes and remove the stems from the spinach leaves.
You do not need to chop the spinach.
Remove the chicken from the pan and cut into bite sized pieces. Add the cooked pasta to the browned juices in the pan along with the remaining 1/2 tsp of garlic. Stir well to coat. You may want to season with additional rosemary, lemon herb seasoning, and salt and pepper.

Add the chopped tomatoes, onions, and chicken. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Add the spinach and carefully stir.

Simmer just until the spinach slightly wilts. This does not take long at all.

Serve with Mozzarella or Parmesan cheese on the top.

Dresden Baskets WIP

2012-03-12T14:46:00.001-06:00

This is my current work in progess. Dresden Baskets. I got a little sidetracked with my blogging so I haven't worked on it for about a month. I hope to get back to it soon.

I have all of the blocks sewn together with the setting triangles and the yo-yo flowers stitched on.

Vibrance of Spring WIP

2012-03-12T14:23:00.002-06:00

We had lovely Spring weather this past weekend and I noticed that I finally have bulbs bursting through the soil. Yeah! I just love Spring flowers, especially daffodils.
I thought I should get out this quilt that I designed last year and finish it up quickly so I can hang it over my stairwell for Spring. I only had to put the borders on it. I have drug it around with me to numerous quilt shops over the past 9 months trying to find a batik border for it. I just couldn't find one that didn't detract from the center of the quilt. Do you ever have that problem?

I decided to just use the fabrics that were in the quilt for the borders so I could finish it up.
It has 3-D flying geese on the daffodils and the pansy and daffodil centers are made using the Clover Kanzashi Flower Maker tool. This quilt really puts me in the mood to go to the "Tulip Festival" at Thanksgiving point. Acres and acres of gorgeous Spring flowers in bloom around mid April.

My entry into Just Something I Whipped Up sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines, .

100 Blog Followers Giveaway Winner!

2012-03-12T10:55:00.000-06:00

And the random drawing winner is........... Kathy from Washington!! She will be choosing two of my patterns as her prize for entering the giveaway.
I'd like to once again thank all of you for joining and supporting my blog to help me get to the 100 followers milestone. I am really enjoying sharing my quilting and cooking adventures with you. I especially like making new friends and getting to know you through your comments and e-mails.
I can't wait to get to 200 followers. Thanks again.

Easy Homemade French Bread

2012-03-11T23:20:00.001-06:00

I found this recipe for homemade French bread on http://dealstomeals.blogspot.com I adjusted it a little to make just one large loaf. It worked out great for my pulled pork sandwiches. You will need the following ingredients:

1 1/4 cups warm water
1 Tblsp dry active yeast
1 1/2 Tblsp sugar
1 Tblsp white vinegar
2 1/2 Tblsp vegetable or canola oil
2 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour
baking spray, cornmeal, egg wash

Add yeast, sugar, and vinegar to warm water and let stand until foamy. About 3-5 minutes.

Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add oil to the water then pour over the flour.
Mix well, then knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Place the bowl in the oven with a pan of boiling water. This will keep the dough moist. Allow to raise about 90 minutes.

When the dough has reached the top of the bowl, punch down and let it raise again. Repeat this process 2-5 times depending upon how much time you have.

Shape the dough into a loaf. Spray a baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with cornmeal. Place the loaf on the sheet, cut 3-5 slashes in the top with a very sharp knife. Beat 1 egg in a small dish. Use a pastry brush to apply the egg to the top of the dough. This will give it a nice crusty top when baked.
Allow to raise for at least 30 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on the top. Allow to cool before slicing.