a lovely giveaway

Is happening over at BlueBird Quilts so hurry over!

overwhelmed

And it is pictures like this that will keep me going.

I've done 6 quilts in 4 days(2 of them queen sized) I'm exhausted. Today was one of those days where it felt like every step forward, I was pushed back 2.

But I am thankful. Thankful that in today's economy, people still want to finish their creations and bring them to us for quilting. Thankful for the beautiful sunshine I can admire outside my window while I'm working. Thankful that my family is being supportive while I'm working these crazy hours.

Saying all that, I have been way too busy to have anything new to show you. I have two goodies that I've just recently finished that I need to remember to take pictures of so I can show them lol!

wordless wednesday

antique serenity

Another one for Hamels. Quilted with Morning Glory

quilt monday

I made this quilt for Jim's dad and step-mom when they got married 5 yrs ago. Happy anniversary!

we went back

To the New Moon set today to get some daytime shots. And how cool it was. I am not ashamed or embarrassed to admit that I may have squealed like a tween. And more than once.

Bella's house. It isn't even a real house; just a complete shell. The chimney is actually made out of styrofoam

The telephone/utility poles are also fake


And fake trees

The cars. I hope they remember to change Charlie's license plate to a WA state one lol

Bella's truck(one is a stunt double?? lol) And Bella and Jacob's motorcycles


We actually made it to these (fake) trees Friday night. Now we understand why security was so upset; we were super close lol!

View from infront of the trees we got too Friday night. Yup, we were pretty close


And where too next? How about Jacob's house? It was a fair drive away but we figured we were going for it. And so glad we did.

Rumour has it that this is *THE* meadow


What a great day

we heard wolves

Yes, I am a Twilighter. And with filming for New Moon happening around Vancouver for the past 6 weeks, when some friends and I were given a tip where some filming was happening last night, we literally bolted for the car cameras in hand

We were disappointed when the road we discovered we needed was closed for construction. Was it real construction??(we were told the roads had all been closed by the city for filming) We did end up wandering up to see the construction and yup, it was real construction lol

Not to be discouraged, I reprogrammed our trusty GPS and off we went to find the other end of the street. While driving through what seemed like the middle of no where, Jill yelled that she could see lights. And WOW those lights were bright; and on cranes taller than the trees. We were in the general area, was this it?

And I have to make a comment here. When we got home last night, I popped my card into the computer to look at my 100+ pictures I shot and what do you think happened? My computer froze during downloading and not a single picture was saved. AHHHHHHH! So I've stolen these pictures from Jill and Cindy.

We hiked through a field(thankfully it wasn't a cow field so no *presents* left behind lol) We could see lots of trailers and more lights. And the best part??? We could hear wolves. Yes, wolveS-more than one. What we had read online before we headed to the set, the big break up scene between Bella/Edward was being filmed. Hearing the wolves literally sent chills up and down my spine. How many more days until the movie??(208 lol!!)



Than out of the bushes, mr security guard. He was polite, he told us it was a closed set. Couldn't say what they were filming and asked if we could leave. I debated about taking a picture of him and one of the all the trailers behind him but than a *very* cranky guy jumped out of the bush and told us that we were trespassing and could be arrested. I'm thinking he was a tad tired of chasing people away lol

So we did leave; but our plan was to find other fans. The location of the filming had been written up in this city's local paper on Friday; surely there was more people.

We drove to the next block to drive under where they were filming and the lights! I don't' understand why there weren't more people there taking pictures. We found the dirt road they had made to drag in all the trailers and equipment. I should point out that this house they were filming at, it was made just for the movie and it is a shell of a house. It was moved into this location during the week and filming is occurring there until the 30th. At least that is what the road closed sign told us lol.

Driving around the block, we did discover fans huddle on blankets patiently waiting. Apparently the security guard at that checkpoint was really mean, we didn't wander up to find out lol. We got talking to a TwilightDad, he drove his wife and daughter down from Kelowna for the weekend to see filming, how cool is that?? He said that they were able to drive past the house during the day so we might make a trip out there again during filming. I would love to see the house!

snack saturday

Glazed Chocolate Sour Cream Cake


1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food cake mix
1-1/4 cups sour cream, divided
3 Tbsp. Instant Coffee, divided
1 Tbsp. hot water
1 pkg. (8 squares) Semi-Sweet Chocolate
4 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 cup thawed Whipped Topping
1 cup each: halved strawberries and whole raspberries


GREASE and flour 2 (9-inch) round cake pans. Cover bottoms of pans with parchment paper; set aside. Prepare cake batter as directed on pkg., substituting 1 cup of the sour cream for all of the water. Stir in 2 Tbsp. of the instant coffee granules. Pour evenly into prepared pans. Bake as directed on pkg.; cool 10 min. Remove layers from pans to wire racks. Immediately remove parchment paper. Cool completely.

DISSOLVE remaining 1 Tbsp. instant coffee granules in hot water; set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1-1/2 to 2 min. or until chocolate is almost melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add dissolved coffee and remaining 1/4 cup sour cream; mix well.

REMOVE 1/3 cup of the chocolate mixture; place in medium bowl. Add whipped topping; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Place 1 of the cake layers on serving plate. Spread with the whipped topping mixture; cover with remaining cake layer. Pour remaining warm chocolate glaze over top of cake, allowing it to drip down side of cake. Top with berries. Refrigerate 30 min. or until glaze is set. Store in refrigerator.

card friday

civil war stars

Sharon designed this quilt herself. I love all the Christmas fabrics she used in it. And the pieced backing; how fun is that?

Quilted with Shooting Stars

tea party

I love how the quilting on this quilt has basically disappeared, not taking away for the piecing. Another one for Hamels and quilted with Floral Meander. Can you tell that is one of my favorite quick and easy quilting patterns? lol

wordless wednesday

i'm getting backlogged

With quilt pictures to show you! We are pretty busy at work(yay!); i'm averaging 3 quilts/week. Not leaving me much time to get things of my own accomplished but that's okay for now

I did this one a few weeks ago for Hamels. I might have to use up a jelly roll and make this quilt; I also LOVE the Wildflower Serenade line. So yummy

Quilted with Wildflower

want to win a jelly roll?

Than head on over to Diary of a Quilter. Amy is giving away a Wonderland Jelly Roll

quilt monday

snack saturday

Easter cheesecake
just a note, the picture isn't of this particular cheesecake. I don't have a picture of this one

Ingredients

* 2 cups (500 mL) graham-cracker crumbs
* 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cardamom
* 1/2 cup (125 mL) unsalted butter, melted
* 3 (8-oz/250-g) blocks cream cheese, at room temperature
* 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) granulated sugar
* 4 eggs
* 1 tbsp (15 mL) vanilla
* 3 tbsp (45 mL) all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup (125 mL) each chopped glacé mix and finely chopped candied ginger



1. For crust, lightly butter a 9-in. (23-cm) springform pan. In a bowl, stir crumbs with cardamom. Using a fork, stir in butter until crumbs are evenly moist. Press onto bottom and partway up sides of pan.
2. Preheat oven to 325F (160C). For filling, cut cheese into chunks and place in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar until evenly mixed. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Then beat in vanilla and flour. Stir in glacé mix and candied ginger until evenly distributed. Remove pan from refrigerator. Wrap bottom and outer sides with foil. Pour in filling. Place wrapped springform pan in a broiler or shallow-sided roasting pan in oven. Pour enough boiling water into broiler pan to come about 1 in. (2.5 cm) up side of springform pan.
3. Bake in centre of preheated 325F (160C) oven until filling is almost set when pan is jiggled, from 11/4 to 11/2 hours. Remove broiler pan from oven. Set on a wire rack. Let cake stand in water in pan just until water cools, about 40 min, then remove cake from water. Remove foil from pan. Run a knife around inside edge of pan to help prevent cracking, but leave cake in pan with ring still on. Cool, then refrigerate until firm and well chilled, at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Cheesecake will keep well, loosely covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Or freeze, wrapped in plastic and overwrapped with foil, for up to 1 month. Excellent with orange sauce (see below).


ORANGE SAUCE FOR CHEESECAKE

Finely grate 2 tsp (10 mL) peel from an orange. Then peel 2 oranges and cut out fruit segments. Squeeze juice from membranes and save. Pour juice into a measuring cup and, if necessary, top up with more orange juice or orange flavoured liqueur to measure 1/2 cup (125 mL). Stir in 1 tsp (5 mL) cornstarch. Place peel, orange juice mixture, 1/4 cup (50 mL) granulated sugar and 2 tbsp (30 mL) grated fresh ginger in a small saucepan set over high heat. Stir often until mixture begins to thicken, from 3 to 5 min. Strain into a small bowl. Stir in reserved orange segments. Sauce will keep well, covered and refrigerated, up to 2 days. Great over our Easter cheesecake or scoops of your favourite ice cream. Makes 11/4 cups (300 mL).

card friday

wordless wednesday

a new pattern

For us. And I love it. Linna's Charm and it was perfect for this quilt by Margaret

swap

A few months ago Kimberly posted this cute stitchery on her blog. I fell in love with it and asked if she was going to make some to sell. Kimberly than suggested we do a swap.

Last week, we finally swapped our goodies. I made Kimberly the quilt posted for Quilt Monday and she made me this fabulous stitchery

It looks perfect in our family room. Thanx again Kimberly!

quilt monday

I made this quilt for Kimberly from My Brown Bag Studio. We did a swap and I LOVE what I got from her. I'll blog it later today, I promise!

Happy Monday

snack saturday

Easter Bunny Cake

this was my brother and my favorite when we were kids.

box cake mix(I use white or lemon)
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
Tray or cardboard, covered with foil
container fluffy white frosting
cup shredded coconut
Construction paper
Jelly beans or small gumdrops
cup shredded coconut
Green food color



1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make and cool cake as directed on box for two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans.
2. Reserve 1 layer for another use or to make a second bunny. Cut 1 layer in half as shown in diagram. Put halves together with frosting to form body. Place cake upright on cut edge on tray.
3. Cut out a notch about one-third of the way up one end of body to form head (small end) as shown in diagram. Attach half of cutout piece from tail with toothpicks. Frost with remaining frosting, rounding body on sides. Sprinkle with 1 cup coconut. Cut ears from construction paper; press into notch on top. Use jelly beans for eyes and nose.
4. Shake 1 cup coconut and 3 drops food color in tightly covered jar until evenly tinted. Surround bunny with tinted coconut. Add additional jelly beans if desired. Store loosely covered.

a fun friday givaway!

Head on over to A quilting Life and be entered to win this beautiful bag. Good luck!

card friday

birdhouse

I used to collect birdhouses but I needed a change so I gave almost my entire collection away. Now I need to find something new to collect. Besides fabric that is lol

wordless wednesday

ready for baby

And not mine lol! I quilted this for a friend. Donna makes charity quilts; a lot of charity quilts. She supplied most of the quilts for me to practice on when I first got my longarm. Thanx again Donna!

Quilted with Surf's Up

a card for a friend

I had a very successful stamping day yesterday(I was planning on quilting lol) My friend likes it too

quilt monday

My stash quilt. I LOVE how this turned out; so bright and cheery. And I'm totally loving the pieced binding.
Quilted with Shooting Stars

snack saturday

White Chocolate-Raspberry Cake



Cake:
1 pkg. (6 squares) White Chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pkg. (250 g) Brick Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 pkg. (6 squares) White Chocolate, melted, slightly cooled
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups icing sugar
2 Tbsp. Red Raspberry Jam
1 cup raspberries



PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans; set aside. Microwave chopped chocolate and 1/2 cup butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted; stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool slightly.

ADD eggs, cake mix, milk and vanilla; beat with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened, stopping frequently to scrape side of bowl. Beat on medium speed 2 min. or until well blended. Pour evenly into prepared pans.

BAKE 25 to 28 min. or until toothpick inserted in centres comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans 10 min; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

WHITE Chocolate-Cream Cheese Frosting:

BEAT cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add melted chocolate and vanilla; mix well. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy after each addition.

PLACE one cake layer on serving plate; spread with layers of 2/3 cup of the prepared frosting and the jam. Cover with remaining cake layer. Frost top and side of cake with remaining frosting. Top with raspberries just before serving. Store in refrigerator.

card friday

stars

This had to be the boringest quilt ever. And huge, 110inches square. All in browns, solids, not even tone on tones. I'll admit, we had it floating around work for a long long time. Mom wanted to custom it but the cost wasn't worth it since it was/is a show quilt for Hamels

In the end, we put a panto on it. My favorite, Blowin Wind and a Lava thread(mom's favorite lol)



We both quilted this one. Mom started it and didn't finish before she went on holidays so I did the rest. And it turned out stunning. This is a case were quilting really makes the quilt. And I love it now. No longer boring

i failed

Fail #1, this baby quilt. It just screams *I'm ugly!!* to me. I bought waaaay too much of the center fabric to make a baby quilt out of it and it is really hard to work with. I think I'll back this with the rest of it just to get rid of it. I had a friend tell me that she likes the quilt but I think she was just being nice lol!!

So that brings me to a question, could/would you give away an ugly quilt and not feel guilty? What if the recipient hated it?

Fail #2, and this cracks me right up. When we were in Seattle, ds#4 got a stuffie. Well ds#3 wanted one but we didn't go near a store again that had the kind of stuffie that he wanted(Webkinz anyone? lol) Yesterday, Jim took me out for a small drive(cabin fever had been REALLY setting in). We ended up near a store that sells Webkinz. Jim thought it was best for us to wait until #3 came home from school than take him so he could pick one out. I wanted to get him one and surprise him. I picked one out(I think it's adorable!) and brought it home.

Ds didn't have the greatest day at school and was not thrilled about his Webkin. I figured give him some time to settle down from the school day and he would feel differently. Instead, I go to go to bed last night and on my side of the bed is the bag with the Webkin inside and a note on top that reads *I don't like camels*. I'm still laughing.

And as a side note, #3 picked out a cocker spaniel Webkin this afternoon ;?

wordless wednesday