snack saturday

Orange Carrot Cake

4

eggs

3

cups all-purpose flour

2

teaspoons finely shredded orange peel

1 1/2

teaspoons baking powder

1/2

teaspoon salt

1/4

teaspoon baking soda

2 1/4

cups sugar

1 1/2

cups vegetable oil

1

teaspoon vanilla

2

cups finely shredded carrots

1

cup flaked coconut

1

11 ounce can mandarin orange sections, drained and coarsely chopped

1

recipe Orange-Cream Cheese Filling

1

recipe Chocolate Ganache

1.

Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease three* 8x1 1/2-inch or 9x1 1/2-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper; grease the paper. Set pans aside. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, orange peel, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; set aside.

2.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes more. Add flour mixture to egg mixture; beat on low speed just until combined. Using a wooden spoon, stir in carrots and coconut. Gently fold in chopped orange sections. Pour batter evenly into the prepared pans, spreading evenly.

3.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove layers from pans; peel off waxed paper. Cool thoroughly on wire racks.

4.

To assemble, place one cake layer on a serving plate. Top with half of the Orange-Cream Cheese Filling, spreading evenly. Repeat layers. Add top cake layer. Spoon Chocolate Ganache over cake and let it drip down the sides.

Chocolate Ganache

ingredients

• 2/3
  cup whipping cream
• 8
  ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped

directions

In a small saucepan bring whipping cream just to boiling over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate (do not stir). Let stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let stand at room temperature until slightly thickened.

Orange-Cream Cheese Filling

ingredients

• 2
  8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2
  cup orange marmalade
• 1/2
  cup powdered sugar

directions

In a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in orange marmalade and powdered sugar.

card friday

today

Was a stupid day. 

We all have them. One of those days were nothing seems to go the way it's supposed to. But in the end, it all gets completed.

That was today. It wasn't the most pleasant of days so when I got home tonight I told my family that I need, NEED, an hour in my sewing room.

And made myself a new fallish table runner.

I love this print. Sadly I used the last of it up in this runner.

And I was able to sneak in the borders on a baby quilt.

It's ending up to be a pretty good day after all.

wordless wednesday

countdown

Today is 3 months until Christmas. THREE MONTHS! I've already been busy working on Christmas themed quilts; they seem to come earlier and earlier every year.

Bea pieced this beautiful winter/Christmas quilt.

quilted with Mini Starflower

I love this quilt. Bea's embroidery is beautiful.

I love the silver thread she used here and there.

I spent 14 hours quilting this next quilt for Hamels. 

14 very long hours. 

And you can't even see all the quilting lol. But that was the whole point. I kept it simple; outlined the appliques; did a double piano key in the outer board. A simple ribbon stitch in the inner borders. My favorite part of the whole quilt is the various backgrounds in each block.

I followed the patterns in the block backgrounds. The bell block is cross-hatched; the wreath straight line quilted. So simple.

I love how the border turned out.

This is another Hamels quilt. I love snowman and this quilt I love.

quilted with Starflower

Now before I start getting asked, on both these quilts I did quilt right over the embroidery. It's not something I like to do but it's entirely possible to do. It's all up to the quilter and what the quilt owner wants done to their quilt.

I love the backing for this quilt.

And my favorite block

So three months until Christmas. I think it's time to start thinking about what gifts I'm making this year.

quilt monday

I'm not a big fan of this fabric so I had no clear idea of what to do with it. I had a few hours one evening and figured I could just do a jelly roll race quilt.

fabric-a stitch in color by Malka Dubrawsky for Moda

Because of the brightness of the fabrics, I kept the quilting simple and did a wavy hourglass shaped lines on the quilt.

I still need some practice on the quilting but I think it works for this quilt. It's such a fun quilt, I wish I liked it more.

snack saturday

Almond Butter Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 cup natural almond or peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer, beat butter with sugar until creamy, about 1 min.
3. Beat in egg and yolk, almond butter and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, gradually stir in flour mixture until just combined.
4. Scoop about 1 tbsp dough and roll into a ball. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat, placing cookies 2 in. apart. Dip a fork in granulated sugar and press a criss-cross pattern on each ball.
5. Bake in centre of oven 7 to 8 min. Remove sheet to a rack and leave for 2 min. Cookies will look undercooked, but will continue to bake as they sit. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.

randoms

How is it Friday already? I'm not sure where my week went but it went quick. So no Card Friday today, I'm going with some random stuffs instead.

This mini quilt kit is free. I'll even pay the postage; who wants it?

And I have this kit for sale. Retails for $399.00, I'm asking $150(not including postage) as it only has 4 blocks for the center and not 9 like the original kit.

I can't decide which to use for borders on this baby quilt.

Pale green/blue

or yellow.

What do you think?

I posted on Twitter last week about binding for this next quilt. I ran out of white so I went with charcoal. I think it works; I'm still undecided.

Lastly, I posted this as a giveaway. And never heard from the winner. Leave a comment and it could be you!

wordless wednesday

i should blog

But I'm at a loss of what to blog about lol. Summer 2012 is continuing on in spectacular fashion. Our pool is still in full use; BBQ's and dinner parties are still happening with a surprising regularity that makes it feel like summer is never going to end. 

I do have bunches of things to show you. I got creative with my time at work and have managed to quilt 8, yes 8!!, things in the past 2 weeks. No, they aren't all for me (grin) but they do count as mine.

Quite a few of our friends reached the big 4-0 this summer. Sandra celebrated her's with a couple's trip away for a weekend. It was fabulous. We had dinner at a very trendy restaurant downtown Vancouver. 

Check out these funky chandeliers; they are actually a shocking bubblegum pink.

I went with my favorite quick giftie. But this time I used yardage and didn't factor that in when I cut the pattern. As a result, I ended up with two of these runners; not a bad thing!

Quilted with lovely, lovely straight lines. I just might be addicted to those.

not sure why the fabrics are so grey here, the above picture is the true fabric colours.

Earlier this month, Sandra's husband Darrell turned 40. He's a serious fisherman;  I knew I had the perfect quiltie for him.

The fish is actually a fish ruler. Well, not a real ruler.

I love the numbers!

Now I'll have to get to work on binding some quilts so I can show you some more.

snack saturday

Blackberry Cobbler

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 6 cups fresh blackberries
• 1/4 cup melted butter
•  
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup melted butter

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x13-inch baking dish. Whisk 1/2 cup sugar with the cornstarch in a small bowl; set aside.
2. Place the blackberries into a mixing bowl, and drizzle with 1/4 cup of melted butter. Sprinkle with the cornstarch mixture, and toss to evenly coat. Spread the berries into the prepared baking dish. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt until evenly blended. Stir in the milk, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup melted butter until combined but still slightly lumpy. Pour the batter over the berries.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the berries are tender and the crust is golden brown, 55 minutes to an hour.

card friday

surprises

Yesterday, our oldest son A turned 17. Where does the time go? He is a BIG Reese Peanut Butter Cup fan and when I saw this cake online, I knew it was the birthday cake for him.

Super good but super sweet.

Another surprise? Was searching for a pattern this afternoon when I found this kit.

Can you guess what I'm doing tonight?

wordless wednesday

pinwheels and pumpkins

Today has been a great day. I got to spend the entire day home alone. HOME ALONE. It has been bliss!

I picked up a little pattern yesterday and whipped it up this morning. 

I made the outer border a wee bit bigger than called for; I just can't get enough of that pumpkin fabric.

Next up, a new baby quilt in the works.

I'm not sure if I have enough Kona to finish off the quilt top so this may stop here until I can snag more tomorrow. But don't worry, I have something else itching to get finished ;)

quilt monday

I wasn't sure if I would have something new to show today but I had a small open window at work last week and was able to sneak in a little something for myself.

I finished this quilt top a few months back, then debated back and forth about adding a border to it. I had originally bought this fabric for my Birdie Quilt, but I fell in love with a different line lol.

Quilted with Daisy

I am so glad I went with the border, I think it just finishes off the quilt.

I also put some muslin on the back, I love how the quilting pattern looks on it.

A little bit of summer on a day that certainly felt like fall!

snack saturday

Lemon Squares

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 lemon
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

To make crust: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, 2 cups of the flour, and confectioners' sugar until fluffy. Scrape mixture into the pan and smooth. Bake 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar. Grate the rind of the lemon and add the rind, along with 6 tablespoons of lemon juice, to the egg mixture. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour and the baking powder over the mixture. Fold in the nuts and mix until well blended. Pour the lemon mixture into the crust.

Bake for another 35 minutes, until filling is set. Let cool before cutting.

card friday

it's coming

Did you know that Christmas is only 110 days away? And it's been in full swing at work for a few weeks now. 

But it's not just Christmas coming; the quilt show season is about to start up full-force across Canada. The first big show is next weekend in Edmonton. I spent a very, very long day working on this fabulous Christmas quilt for the show.

And now it's time for me to head for home. I'll be back at work again in only 12 hours to finish this off. 

But first, I should probably sweep up the floor.

wordless wednesday

goals

Today seemed like a good day to blog about goals with it being the first day of school here. I'm a wee bit shocked that our oldest is entering grade 12; how can I be old enough to have a child in his last year of high school?? *sniff*

Yesterday I cleaned up my sewing room a bit and realized that the sewing goals I had set out for myself over the summer didn't materialize. In fact, I can't remember the last summer I have sewn less.

One of my big goals for the summer was to finally finish my Birdie Block quilt. I had December's block to finish but before I started that, I decided to redo one of my other months. I did complete that(I should have taken a picture eh?) and here is my progress on December.

Fingers crossed I finish it this week!

One of other goals was quilt alongs. I love how in January they pop up all over the place. This year, I didn't sign up for any but I put the buttons on my blog(right over on the right side if you are interested) of the ones I want to take part of.

The only one I was able to start, and finish!, was the Sparkle quilt along.

I bought the fabric way back in March and it sat waiting and waiting. Last week I started cutting and yesterday I finished the top.

fabric from Joann's

I didn't realize how small the small sparkle quilt was(28x28) so I decided to do 8 blocks. Than realized I needed a 9th block and I had next to none of this fabric left. So I created the one in the middle and I really like how it works.

I've already decided that I will be cross-hatching this. At least I think I will. I'm not 100% sold on it but I think it would look really neat in the center block. For now, it's getting hung on the to-be-quilted rack.