wordless wednesday

granny squares

Have you caught the Granny Square bug yet?

When Jolene first posted about her Granny Square quilt, I oohed and awed with the rest of blogland. But when Dana posted that she was going to do a Granny Square Quilt Along, I knew this  was one quilt along I was signing up for.

And than I realized, I have a Granny Square quilt. 

This was either the third or fourth quilt I ever made. Don't you love the rounded corners?

For this version, I picked some fun fabric.

I can't wait to see how it looks with a darker background.

I'm looking forward to this time around. The Quilt Along is kicking off March 1st; still time to get your fabrics and join us. Details are on Old Red Barn's Flikr. Join us!

quilt monday

This is a very special quilt for a very special friend. I met Shelley in our church. Recently she has been diagnosed with cancer for a second time. Once she started chemo, she is always, always cold and I knew I needed to make her a quilt.

 Made from an older Blackbird Designs jelly roll; the colors are so soft and relaxing.

I backed it with some snuggly minkee fabric.

Quilted with Flowing Feathers

A simple rail fence quilt that means so much.

 

snack saturday

Pizza Buns 


Bread Dough(use your favorite recipe. I do mine through my breadmaker)
pizza sauce
cheddar cheese
mozzarella cheese
Italian seasoning(garlic, basil, oregano)
whatever ever pizza toppings you want
olive oil

Once your dough is made, dust countertop with flour and roll dough out into a rectangular shape roughly 1/2inch thick.
Spoon on pizza sauce and seasonings.
Sprinkle with cheeses and other toppings.

Roll the dough jelly-roll style; careful, some toppings may try to escape :)
Refrigerate for 20 minutes; makes the dough easier to cut without mashing it.

Slice into 1 1/2 inch slices.
Place slices on a parchment lined backing sheet. Make sure to leave some room between slices.
Brush tops with olive oil and sprinkle with some more cheese(we like parmesean)
Cover and let rise(about 25 minutes)

Bake at 375 until cheese is bubbly; about 20-25minutes.

card friday

wordless wednesday

*achoo*

Today I had planned on a sewing day with some girlfriends but yesterday I started feeling 'coldish' so I cancelled. Good thing since I woke up today with a wicked sore throat and a runny nose. Lovely. So a sewing day at home it is!

I had originally planned on finally finishing up my last Swoon block,

But I didn't feel like attempting putting the block together while not feeling 100% so I figured it was time to finally get my Valentine's Day quilt finished.

I'm pretty excited with how this is turning out. I hope to get the top finished up today and possibly get it quilted before the end of the month. Good thing it's a leap year eh? lol

And if I get that finished, I can finally get started on this little quilt. This line is just so adorable!

Now it's time for another mug of tea; happy sewing!

quilt monday

I finally finished Jim's Christmas present. Actually, it's been finished for a few weeks, I just didn't get it hung up. 

Fabric is a found charm square pack; an older Moda line. The pinecone fabric is a Thimbleberries fabric; pattern from United Notions.

I didn't have enough charm squares to make the quilt bigger but it worked out in the end as it wouldn't have fit where I wanted it if the quilt was bigger.

I wanted to try something a little different this time with the quilting and went with a wavy line. I didn't get the distance between the lines as consistent as I wanted but not bad for a first time run.

Have a great Monday!

snack saturday

Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

1-3/4  cups oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked), divided

• 2  Tbsp. firmly packed brown sugar
• 1  cup all-purpose flour (add an additional 2 tablespoons if using old fashioned oats)
• 1/2  cup granulated sugar
• 1  Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/4  teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1  cup skim milk
• 2  egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute with yolk or 1 egg
• 2  Tbsp. canola oil
• 1  tsp. grated lemon peel
• 1  tsp. vanilla
• 1  cup fresh or frozen blueberries (do not thaw)

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 12 medium muffin cups with cooking spray; set aside. For topping, combine 1/4 cup oats and brown sugar; set aside.

In large bowl, combine remaining 1-1/2 cups oats with remaining dry ingredients; mix well. In small bowl, combine milk, egg substitute, oil, lemon peel and vanilla; mix well. Add to dry ingredients; stir just until moistened. (Do not overmix.) Gently stir in berries. Fill muffin cups almost full; sprinkle with topping.

Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool muffins in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm.

card friday

field trip

Yesterday I went on a field trip with some friends. We met right after school drop-offs and headed for the border.

First stop, Joann's Fabrics. One day maybe we will get these stores in Canada! I had a handful of coupons and scored some great fabrics.

A fun graphic fat quarter bundle I have in mind for a quilt along.

Next, some Denyse Schmidt fabrics.

 I can't wait to get started on these.

On my way to check out, I realized I had forgotten to check on the minkee fabric. And it was on sale for half price #score!

This is actually a very very pale green. I took a bunch of pictures and could not get the color to show up right.

Next, we were off to one of my favorite quilt stores, Fourth Corner Quilts.

Next time,  I will have to bring more money; so many goodies to buy! I did score something that I have been wanting to purchase; Hometown!!!

I did think I would have to battle Andrea for it though lol.

A quick stop for lunch and we were home with plenty of time to do the after-school pick-ups. 

Thanx for driving Kim; when do we go again?

wordless wednesday

happy love day

I got my Valentine's cards mailed on the weekend. Some will be late this year but I'm not worried; it's the thought that counts. I have some of the bestest friends and I love telling them so. And who doesn't love getting mail?

I haven't had a chance to start on the Valentine's Day quilt idea I've had running around in my head. No better day than today to (hopefully)get that done.

Happy Valentine's Day.

quilt monday

Today was insane; just running from here, there and back to here all day. I think, no I know, I made 4 different trips to our high school campus today. And piano lessons, trip to the store for shoes, another trip back to get secret Valentine gifts...Plus I worked; got 2 quilts quilted too!  But the sun was shining and I got to have the sunroof open and the radio blaring.

I finally got mom's Christmas present quilted today(I first blogged the quilt here). One reason I waited so long was I had no idea how to quilt it. Than I saw a quilt done with a pattern we had and I thought why not?

quilted with Gothic Vine

 I absolutely love how it turned out. And so does mom. Now to get the binding on so she can truly enjoy it.

snack saturday

ROCKY ROAD SMORE BARS

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. flour
1/2 c. graham crackers, crumbled
2 c. miniature marshmallows
1 (6 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add combined flour and crumbs; mix well. Press onto bottom of greased 9 inch square pan. Sprinkle with remaining ingredients. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Cut into bars. Serves 16.

card friday

surprises

I came home this afternoon to this box waiting on my doorstep. Gotta love fabric deliveries!

I have special plans for those goodies ;)

And a surprise in my garden; daffodils already?!?! We have snow in the forecast this weekend!

blue and yellow

I love the combination of blue and yellow together; it just seems springy to me. And with the beautiful sunny, spring-like weather we have been having lately, it seems appropriate that I've had a few blue and yellow quilts to quilt.

This is Rose's first quilt; she did a great job at it.

I love the design.

quilted with a meander

Next up, this gorgeous star quilt by Margaret.

So very very pretty!

quilted with Shooting Stars

Margaret also did this adorable bunny quilt.

The quilt is all hand appliqued; needle turned applique and the bunnies, flowers/leaves are all painted. The flower stems are embroidered.

Margaret wanted the quilting simple so I piano-keyed the border, did a wavy ribbon in the sashing and a meander in the blocks.

Now I'm totally ready for spring!

wordless wednesday

love day

One more week until Valentine's Day and I managed to make these two little wall hangings. One is now hanging in the studio; I still have to finish the binding on mine.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can get this one finished this year. I got it half quilted last year and didn't finish.

Maybe tomorrow?

quilt monday

Home again, home again. We went on a somewhat spontaneous trip to Washington State to visit Jim's grandparents this past weekend. Saturday was Jim's first day off since January 9th; we all needed to get away and just relax. And relax we did; the weather was fabulous. Perfect for walking along the beach and just being a family. 

Lucky for me, I had some very special quilts to deliver to one of Jim's cousins. He and his wife had a baby almost 2years ago; I didn't make her a quilt :( Just before Christmas, they had their second child. Now I had to do one!

I meant to take this pictures outside on the beach but I got too busy chatting. Than it was dark lol. I did manage to get a bit of the ocean in the corner of the pictures.

This is Esther's quilt. She'll be 2 in April.

quilted with Butterflies and Loops

I scored this backing fabric at a local fabric sale on buy 1 get 3 free. 

For sweet little baby Jillian, a matching quilt. Only difference is Jillian's quilt has a border of white.

quilted with Angel Wings

Now I need to get the other 2 quilts finished.

snack saturday

Raspberry Lemon Scones


2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Sugar
5 tablespoons cold Unsalted Butter
1 cup Heavy Cream, plus more for brushing the scones.
1 cup frozen fresh Raspberries
1 Lemon zested


Lemony Glaze:
1/2 cup fresh squeezed and strained lemon juice
2 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

For the scones; sift together all the dry ingredients and zest of one lemon. Using a pastry cutter or 2 forks, blend the butter into the flour until it resembles wet crumbly sand. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream, mix just until combined making sure not to over work the dough. Fold in the raspberries, be careful not to mash or break the berries.

Press the dough out onto a floured surface forming a rectangle approx: 12x3 by 1 1/4 inches {thick}. Cut the rectangle in to half {width wise} then cut those halves into half, forming 4 rectangles. Next cut across the 4 rectangles lengthwise creating 8 squares. Next cut diagonal leaving you with 16 triangles. Brush the tops with a little heavy cream and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let the scones cool a little before applying the glaze.

For the glaze; sift the powdered sugar and whisk in the strained lemon juice. Whisk in the butter and zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Whisk again and set aside until scones are slightly cooled. Drizzle, Brush or Dunk the scones in the glaze

wordless wednesday