I never told my husband I was saving his t-shirts or little things.  I’d just tuck away anything that had special meaning in a box.  Christmas came around and I had absolutely no idea what I was going to give him.  He is so hard to buy for as he always asks for practical things (think work clothes) but I like to find at least one thing that is special and unexpected.  Then I remembered the t-shirts.  I worked in secret while he was at work and photographed my layout so I’d remember what I was doing!     Rather than just a theme, this quilt tells our story.

This first shirt – front and back – was the first gift I gave him – well almost!  He is a big Rush fan – since he was a kid.  He wore this t-shirt until it was falling apart – so I found him a second one!

When we first got together, he was in the Air Force in Abilene, TX.  We were married there and lived there for a year with him working on the flight line at Dyess AFB with the B-1B’s and I worked for  a wonderful lady at the Museums of Abilene.  My step-daughters lived there at the time, too, and it was a fun time.  These next 2 pictures are from a t-shirt and hat Tom got from work.

When Tom got out of the Air Force he had gotten his Bachelor’s in Computer Science and got a job doing IT and had to go into Microsoft training for 6 months.  For the first two months I visited my mom and my Nana & Pappy.  I went to Ocean City, NJ with my sister and aunt & uncle and then Tom came to Philadelphia for the second two months.  We got lucky because there were an odd number of people in Philly and they arranged for Tom to have his own room so I got to stay with him there.  Anyway – my sister and I took a train trip from Philly to Washington DC and I got him this t-shirt from the Air & Space Museum because he is all about space!

We ended up in Houston, Texas about a year after he got out of the Air Force.  Emily & Angela were then living in Hammond, LA and would visit us in the summer.  This frog t-shirt is from one of their visits and an outing to Moody Gardens, Galveston.  Angela was playing near some fountains and fell in so we had to buy her something dry to wear.  It was pretty funny and a great trip!

After living in Houston for a bit and being married for a few years, we decided to try to have a baby.  I was working for a travel agency working with our international offices doing bookkeeping and ended up “having to” take a trip to London for work with my boss/friend – and got to bring Tom.  We had to have 2 short meetings the first 2 days – but got a week there!  We had a blast and went all over – and still didn’t get to see enough!  But we got home – and I was pregnant!

The new life, new love infant t-shirt was from when the babies were born.   We have one for Andrew and for Sammy.  They are so sweet.   Blues Clues was Andrew’s absolute favorite when he was little.   He got to go see Blues Clues live and had a talking Steve and talking Blue doll and some little Blues Clues outfits.  Was so so cute.   I still have all the Blues Clues stuff- just couldn’t part with them!  There is also a Spongebob shirt because Sam & Andrew both loved Spongebob!

Don’t hate…… but we were all glued to the tv with our friends watching this election and then the news waiting for the recount.

It’s funny how you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when something major like this happens.  I was in K-Mart with my kids and we were heading to the library for story time.  I saw the planes on all the tv’s and thought at first it was a movie.  The crazy thing is that I had a c-section on 8/15 – less than a month earlier! – and had the baby and my 21 month old – and was heading to the library.  What in the world was I thinking?!  Needless to say – I went home immediately where my husband had a home office working for Toshiba.

This square and the patches are from the sleeve of Tom’s Cub Scout Den Leader shirt.  He was Andrew’s den leader for 3 years and they had a lot of fun!

And it ends with some more Rush t-shirts.  We’ve seen them a few more times – and last year took Andrew and Sam to see them for their first concert.

I used blue Kona and and Air Force cotton print for the sashing and for the back.  One mistake I made was not pre-washing my fabric.  I usually don’t pre-wash – and let everything shrink up together in the dryer.  It didn’t occur to me that with t-shirts that had shrunk all they were going to – things would be a little off.  It’s really not bad – and I, of course, pretended I mean to do that – but next time I will prewash my fabrics!

Well, I hope you enjoyed the story!  I really loved making this quilt and Tom uses it every night!  Though things are hectic this month – I’ll be back on a regular schedule next month with tutorials, block of the week, recipe of the week, and quilt-alongs, as well as a monthly giveaway!  I hope you will stop back by!

Krista

I made a bag for my mother-in-law for Mother’s Day.  It is the Amanda’s Knitting Bag pattern by the sometimes crafter but I didn’t stitch the front needle pocket so it’s a big pocket-y tote.  I love how it turned out.  I used home dec fabrics and interfacing so it’s nice and sturdy.

I made something for my mom, too, but can’t share it until after Monday.  My mom is coming for a 10-day visit from New York.  Can’t wait!

I’m behind this week on the free motion quilting for the Japanese Block of the Month.  I’ll be adding that Tuesday along with the next block. Sorry about that!

Well…. onto the winner of this month’s giveaway! The prize is this great book, floss, a hoop, and needles to get your started!

Random.org came up with #27 as the winner:

Lisa McGriff says:

May 2, 2013 at 8:13 am 

I always have some kind of sewing project going, quilting, pillow, mini quilt, hexies… Got to keep the hands busy so the waist doesn’t spreaddddddddddddd

Thanks so much to everyone who participated and to my new followers!  I loved all the comments!  I normally try to answer everyone who comments.  Please, please forgive me this month if I didn’t e-mail you!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Krista

Congratulations Sarah and thanks again to everyone who participated – and to Sew Mama Sew for hosting this fun giveaway!

Hope you have a lovely weekend and Mother’s Day!

Krista

You can find a printable pdf here and on the BOM main page.

As before, if you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you!

Yay! It’s Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day! And I have some lovely fabric to share with you!  These are by Denyse Schmidt and are called Quilters Quarters.  Four different fat quarters in a one yard cut of fabric.  Just cut on the dotted line.  How fun!  The winner will get 2 of these DS Quarters – so 8 fat quarters, 2 of each print!

To enter, please leave a blog comment and tell me what you would make with them.

Bonus Entries:

1) My followers get an extra entry, just leave a comment and tell me how you follow – e-mail, rss, bloglovin…

2) Like me on Facebook and leave a comment telling me so.

3) Share my giveaway on twitter, facebook, or your blog and leave link to your share in a comment.

4)  Pin giveaway on pinterest and leave a comment with link to your pin.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Hope you have a great week!

Krista

Well, onto the fun!  This month I’m giving away a really great book by Aimee Ray!  I love it – so I bought one for myself and one to give away!  Along with the book, the winner will get a 6″ embroidery hoop, some embroidery needles, and a collection of embroidery floss to get you sewing!

I love doing all kinds of crafts.  I’ve done embroidery and cross stitch, crochet & knit, stamping & scrapbooking, and even did a mosaic surface on my coffee table.  But my passion is sewing & quilting!  How about you?  What do you like to do?

To enter the giveaway, leave a blog comment and tell me!  My followers (via bloglovin, email, or rss) get an extra entry.  Leave a comment and tell me how you follow!  You can get a 3rd entry by liking me on Facebook!   Please leave a blog comment for each entry!

Good luck!

Here’s this week’s quilting tutorial.  I had fun quilting this block!  I hope you like it!

I’d better get busy!  What are you working on?

Yum:

I love asparagus.  Love love love it.  If you make asparagus, you know you bend asparagus and let it naturally snap.  What you end up with are lovely ripe stalks as well as a pile of tougher ends.  Most of the time, this adds up to quite a little bit of asparagus and I can’t stand to waste it, so…… pesto!  I trim off the very ends of those pieces and use what remains for pesto.  You roast it and then grind it up … so you get all the flavor and don’t notice any toughness!

Print

Roasted Asparagus Pesto

Like asparagus? Like pesto? You will LOVE this!

Author: Sew What’s Cooking?

Ingredients

• 1 lb. asparagus
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• ½ cup nuts your choice
• ½ cup olive oil + more for roasting
• ½ cup parmesan

Instructions

1. Clean asparagus and cut into smallish pieces. Toss with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and bake until softened and beginning to brown.
2. Place cooked asparagus, garlic, and nuts in food processor and pulse until chunky and mixed. Drizzle olive oil and pulse until blended. Add parmesan and pulse one or two more times.
3. Toss with cooked pasta or put a spoonful into soup.

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Orange-Vanilla Monkey Bread

Homemade Cheez It’s

Giveaways:

Giveaway at To Sew With Love 4/30:

Custom organic labels: 4/30

Pattern giveaway at Andie Johnson Sews 4/30:

Sarah Jane Studios - A mystery parcel of fabric & paper goods and a $75 gift card

Sewlio Designs Star Pattern:

Don’t forget to check Pile O Fabric and Maureen Cracknell on Friday for their great giveaways!

Tutorials:

In Color Order Scrappy Star Tutorial

Circle Quilt Tutorial:

Quilt Design Contest:

Sew/Quilt Alongs:

Alyssa Lichner of Pile o Fabric is starting a new quilt along!

Jamie Mueller of Sunflower Seeds has a fun new Sew Along starting!

Lee from Freshly Pieced’s Quilt Along

There is a new Modern Block of the Month Series on Sew Mama Sew by Alissa Lichner of Pile o Fabric.  Looks fun!

Blog Hops:

Today’s Featured Designers

1. Jennifer Ofenstein sewhooked.com
2. Nancy Mahoney nancymahoney.com/blog
3. Jo & Kelli Kramer joscountryjunction.com
4. Marilyn Foreman quiltmoments.wordpress.com
5. Michelle May theraspberryrabbits.blogspot.com
6. Jennifer Schifano Thomas curlicuecreations.blogspot.com
7. Sandi Colwell quiltcabanapatterns.com/blog
8. Erin Russek erinrussek.typepad.com
9. Peg Spradlin handicraftsbypeg.com
10. Deanne Eisenman snugglesquilts.com/blog
11. Gail Pan gailpandesigns.typepad.com
12. Jacquelynne Steves thenoblewife.blogspot.com

Yay!  Coming Soon:

Print

Pasta with Bacon, Tomatoes and Cheese

Author: Courtesy Rachel Ray

Cuisine: Pasta

Recipe type: Dinner

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound short-cut pasta
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 4 bacon slices, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Black pepper
• ½ cup white wine
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 1 ball fresh mozzarella, cut into ¼ inch dice
• 1 bunch fresh chives, chopped
• 15 fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Place a large pot of water with a tight-fitting lid over high heat and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, add some salt and the pasta. Cook according to package directions until al dente. Heads up: you need to reserve ½ cup of the cooking liquid before you drain the pasta.
2. While the pasta is cooking, start the sauce. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add the EVOO. Add the chopped bacon and cook, stirring ever now and then, until crispy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a little salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the white wine and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and reserved pasta cooking liquid, then bring up to a bubble and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the grape tomatoes and cook them for about 30 seconds, just to start getting them hot and ready to burst. Add the cooked, drained pasta, toss to coat in the sauce, and let some of the sauce soak in, about 1 minute. Turn the heat off and add the diced mozzarella, the chives, basil, grated cheese, and black pepper to taste. Serve.

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So what are you up to this weekend?  Looks like a rainy Friday and Saturday.  Good time to do some sewing and maybe do a family movie.  IF we can find something that both boys will watch.  That is always the challenge around here. I have some top sirloin I want to put on the grill tonight and I’ve been really wanting to make these Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Corn and Bacon.  They are SO good.  I’m going to use frozen corn, though, and about 1/2 the amount of bacon.  I’m going to make a sugar free strawberry/raspberry fool for dessert.  Yum.

Project wise, I have way more to do than I can handle right now!  I am finishing up a tutorial for some fun paper piecing blocks that Elisabetta e-mailed me.  I should have that posted later today or tomorrow for the Block of the Week.  I am also finishing up my Modern She Made swap project, my St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild Room by Room swap, A Lovely Year of Finishes Project, I have quilting to do on Tuesday’s Japanese blocks, and I’m behind on my Skill Builder BOM’s.  I have also been finishing up patterns for three quilt designs.  Whew.  A little overwhelming but one thing at a time – and, of course, I’m working on the ones with deadlines first!

I’d love to hear/see what you are up to!  Please leave a comment ….. and a link!

Have a lovely weekend!

Krista

Anyway… I am working ahead now, though, so that the tutorials post on time!

Ok…This is where we are when this weeks block is completed:

We are on our 6th block and 11th week.  Please forgive the lack of borders on my block…. I need to get some more Kona but have been unable to get to the store.  I’m going to pick up some today.

You can find a printable pdf here and on the BOM main page.

As before, if you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you!

First – I’m in a magazine!  Our guild is this month’s Modern Quilt’s Unlimited.  How cool is that?!

Well, sewing wise, I’m working on a couple of swaps.  Here are a couple of blocks I made.  Quite a few people didn’t like the colors or fabrics or thought they were to busy but I like them.  They are a work in progress so I will post the finished item(s) once our swap is done.  I think the recipient will really like the final item(s).

I’m working on another swap item using Comma by Zen Chic and Kona cotton.  Can’t post it yet… but soon!  It is turning out really fun and I’ll be posting a tutorial for it.

A couple of weeks ago I won a $20 gift certificate to Christa Quilts from Angela at Cut to Pieces.  I put in a little extra and got these yummy fabrics from Amy Butler’s Daisy Chain line.  I know they are older …. but they were on clearance and oh so pretty…..

These are 2 bonus fat quarters I got with my order!

I was really pleased with my order.  It was shipped out so fast (FREE) and all of the fabric was nicely packaged.  If you haven’t order from Christa Quilts, I highly recommend!

I also got the book Fat Quarterly Shape Workshop for Quilters.  One of the fun things is that each designer does a different take some of the blocks.  There are some really nice projects and I’m looking forward to trying some of them!  It’s on sale right now at Amazon for 1/2 off!

Would love to hear what you are up to!

Be back tomorrow with the next Japanese block!

I found this star over at Fresh Lemons Quilts under Faith’s Solstice Star Series blocks.  Faith states that the star is from Barbara Brackman’s book The Encyclopedia Of Pieced Quilt Patterns, page 347 and is attributed to Beth Gutcheon’s Perfect Patchwork Primer.

This is just called Another Star.  I doubled the star to make this fun sewing machine cover.  I referenced this tutorial at Ellison Lane, though my measurements are slightly different.

And this is the inside:

Here is the one by Faith and her tutorial.

And this is Faith from Fresh Lemons Quilts Solstice Star Quilt:

Thanks for playing, everyone!  The winner for April is Dawn who said:

Congratulations Dawn!

Check back May 1st for the next giveaway! And I’ll be having a Sew Mama Sew giveaway in May as well!

Sorry I’m late!  This one was fun but a little rushed.  I decided to do wavy lines and let them be wonky because I really needed to get the block done.  I like how it turned out, though.  And while I was at it… I did finished the next block, too!

“This Coconut Cake is so fluffy, we almost want it for a pillow. But then we’d have frosting and coconut in our ears.. [Willow Bird Baking]”

Maple Bacon Rice Krispy Treats

BBQ Pulled Pork Enchiladas:

French Toast Breakfast Wraps:

Giveaways:

Southern Fabric Giveaway on at Diary of a Quilter 4/19

Whimsy Couture 6 Pack Patterns Giveaway at Hopeful Threads 4/22:

Sew Sweetness Bag Pattern Giveaway 4/23 at Charm About You.

Pure Elements Giveaway 4/19

Giveaway at To Sew With Love 4/30:

Don’t forget to check Pile O Fabric and Maureen Cracknell on Friday for their great giveaways!

Liberty Love E-Book from M is for Make – Ends 4/28

Tutorials:

Lindsay Sews has a Square in a Square Quilt Block tutorial over at Craft Buds:

Big Apple shoulder Bag at Sew In Love:

Quilt Design Contest:

Sew/Quilt Alongs:

Alyssa Lichner of Pile o Fabric is starting a new quilt along!

Jamie Mueller of Sunflower Seeds has a fun new Sew Along starting!

Lee at Freshly Pieced has a great spring Quilt-Along coming up.  I love her approach:

There is a new Modern Block of the Month Series on Sew Mama Sew by Alissa Lichner of Pile o Fabric.  Looks fun!

Blog Hops:

Monday: Susan Phillips from Living with Punks
Tuesday: Svetlana Sotak from s.o.t.a.k. handmade
Wednesday: Megan Pyrah from Brassy Apple
Thursday: Wendy Sheppard from Ivory Spring

Yay!  Coming Soon:

I wanted to check in real quick and link up with my mid-month A Lovely Year of Finishes.  I’m quilting this Moda Eden quilt.  I love the fabrics so I decided to quilt around the design to make it stand out.  I love how it looks.  I’m doing straight lines in the pink strips and I like that, too.  I DON’T like the strait lines in the brown frame fabric and I only did it on this block so I’m pulling it out.  I’m going to use brown and do a small stipple there, I think.

And I have big stippling in the border brown fabrics.

I’ve also been working on this Red Heart rose pillow pattern.

This is mine.  It looks better in person and I’m still working the ruffle all the way to the edge.  Then I have the back to make.  It’s a fun pattern!

Well, that’s all I have for right now!  I will be back tomorrow with the block of the month!

Tonight I made Millionaire’s Bacon.  I usually get applewood smoked bacon which I love but for some reason I ended up with a package of cheaper bacon and I don’t think it’s as good.  Anyway… I found this recipe all over the internet and I guess I’m kind of on a theme!  I made it with my fluffy pancakes and eggs for dinner.  Yum.  I love breakfast for dinner.  It was like candy and so good.

Print

Millionaire’s Bacon

Sweet with a hint of spice, crispy & good bacon.

Recipe type: Breakfast

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  35 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb. bacon
• 5 tbsp. brown sugar
• ½ – 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• ¼ tsp. black pepper

Instructions

1. Line pan with parchment paper or foil. Combine sugar, cayenne and pepper and mix thoroughly. Take each strip of bacon and rub with sugar/spice mix.
2. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until done, being careful not to overcook. Let cool slightly before serving.

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Here’s the recipe.

Print

4.0 from 1 reviews

Spicy Brown Sugar Fries

Author: Sew What’s Cooking? adapted from A Beautiful Mess adapted from Annie’s Eats

Serves: 4

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  40 mins

Total time:  55 mins

Ingredients

• 3 large potatoes
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ¼-1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Peel and rinse potatoes and cut into uniform sized french fries. Soak in warm water for 10 minutes. Rinse and soak 10 minutes more in warm salted water. Pat dry.
2. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Coat a rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with half of the salt and pepper. Coat fries with 1 tablespoon oil. Place fries in a single layer on sheet and sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil.
3. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Rotate baking sheet and cook another 10 to 12 minutes. Flip fries and sprinkle with ½ of brown sugar/cayenne pepper mixture. Bake another 10-12 minutes.
4. Remove to paper towels to blot grease. Sprinkle with remaining brown sugar/cayenne mixture and serve hot.

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And I’m so excited….. my Covert Robin gift arrived!!  I’m sure my mail lady is happy I won’t be stalking her anymore!  My partner was Mary Maxwell and she sent me a gorgeous table top quilt!  It’s so nice for spring and summer.  The fabric has a cute fruit and veg print and the other flowers.  The colors are really lovely and will brighten up my kitchen!  I really love it!  Thank you so much, Mary!  You did such a wonderful job!

and here is the back!

I mentioned before that I made my mom, Sherry, and my mother-in-law, Barbara, giant star quilts for Christmas.

This is the one I made for Barbara.

And here is the one I made my mom.

I really want to make a king-sized one for my bed but wasn’t sure about what fabric to use.  Then a week or so ago I was in Hobby Lobby and found these!

I just LOVE them!  I bought just 1/4 yard of each and am working on designing my quilt in EQ.  I want mine to be a little different and want to do something a little fun across the back so when I fold it over it looks cool!  And I want to make shams as well.

They even had some really cute embroidered pillows.   I didn’t buy any – and not sure if I will – but they gave me some ideas.

I also have in progress my Modern She Made swap item, Lovely Year of Finishes quilting, Japanese Block of the Month, Skill Builder Block of the Month, one block for STLMQG Sew Bee It Bee, and two blocks for Modern Mavericks Bee!  Whew!  I love it, though!

And I will leave you with this yummy breakfast idea.   I had it this morning.  It was so good!

Print

Caprese Eggs

Savory, quick and easy egg dish.

Author: Sew What’s Cooking?

Recipe type: Breakfast

Serves: 1

Prep time:  2 mins

Cook time:  12 mins

Total time:  14 mins

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 tomato
• 3-4 fresh basil leaves
• 1-2 tbsp. chives
• 1 oz. mozzerella cheese
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. First, cover eggs with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let rest for about 8 minutes.
2. While the eggs are cooking, chop tomato, basil and chives. Slice cheese. Peel and chop eggs and top with chopped vegetables and cheese. Place under broiler until cheese just melts. Drizzle with olive oil and season to taste.

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Welcome to our fifth block and and our ninth week!

You can find a printable pdf here and on the BOM main page.

As before, if you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you!