bits and pieces

I started making another Swiss quilt.

Sorry about the nasty ironing board cover. Would you believe that isn't even a year old yet?

I also got distracted by a little something something.

Sometimes some mindless sewing is exactly what you need.

real life

I debated about writing this post since I usually keep 'real life' from my blog but it explains my sudden disappearance last week.

We got a phone call Monday afternoon that Boy2 had gotten into an accident on the highway. Jim and I took off fairly quickly out to the scene. We weren't prepared for what we saw when we got there.

Boy2 and his friend were hit by an impaired driver. 

At 3pm on a Monday afternoon.

God was watching over the 2 boys. For an accident like this(the car rolled twice off a major highway), we are beyond blessed that both boys are in as fair shape as they are.

They both have a long recovery ahead of them and we are hopefully that they will both make full recoveries. 

The fact that they are both here is a miracle in itself.

card friday

wordless wednesday

quilt monday

I scored a layer cake of Evergreen by BasicGrey and had way too much fun making up a bunch of door prizes and surprise gifties.

I ended up making 4 different table runners(you can see the first one here).

This is almost identical to the first runner I made except I did the stars in white(grunge) instead of red.

quilted with PaisleyMax

I love how fast this pattern goes together.

I love the simplicity of the white binding.

Next, this cutie from Simplify by Camille Roskelley.

And the leftovers went into a disappearing 9patch.

The 9patch was quilted with one of my favourites, Dragons Breath.

quilted with Paisley Max

I love how just changing a pattern can change the look of the fabrics.

Happy Monday!

card friday

Christmas

I didn't get around to sharing some of my favorite client quilts before Christmas so here you go.

I'm not a basket quilt fan but I love this one of Tillie's.

quilted with Dandelion

So pretty

Betty Ann's jelly roll star.

quilted with Swirl

I love how she did her colour layout

I love this Christmas quilt by Hamels

quilted with Dragon's Breath 

I love the details

And this lovely winter scene panel quilt

quilted with Flirtatious 

So pretty

This chevron by Velma

quilted with Swirl

The colours represent a beach scene; the yellow at the top is the sun, than the sky, the water than the sand.

Lastly, this amazingly fantastic quilt by Tara.

Tara took her boyfriend's 'snapchat' account and printed off the pictures and made this quilt.

This was Tara's first quilt; she learned by watching YouTube videos.

I stitched in the ditch between all the pictures and did a simple X in the corner stones. In the border, I did a 3 inch piano key.

So fun! 

wordless wednesday

quilt monday

When I made my pumpkin quilt in the fall, one of my girlfriends tried more than once to take it home with her lol.

I had a few blocks left over so what could I do but make her a few pumpkins of her own.

quilted with Pumpkins

I could seriously make these over and over; so much fun!

Binding perfection in more ways than one.

And the pumpkin quilting? 

Love.

And she does too.

snack saturday

Gingerbread Spice Cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsulphured molasses 
• 3/4 cup hot water 
• 1/2 cup  unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)

• 8 oz full-fat brick style cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 2 Tablespoons  unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 and 3/4 cups  confectioners' sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt together until combined. Set aside. In a separate bowl or dish, whisk the molasses and hot water together.
3. In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy - about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and beat on high speed for 1 minute until creamed together fairly well. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the hot water/molasses, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Avoid overmixing. Batter will be thin. Whisk out any big lumps.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for around 35 minutes or until the cake is baked through. All ovens are different and your cake could take a little more or less time. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean with only a couple moist (not wet) crumbs, it is done. Allow cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack. The cake must be completely cool before frosting.
5. Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until creamy and no lumps remain- about 2 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for 20 seconds then increase to high speed until everything is completely combined and the frosting is creamy. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. Spread on top of cake. Spread around the sides if you have extra frosting.
6. Slice, serve, enjoy! Leftover frosted cake keeps well covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The flavor gets even better after a day or two

card friday

I loves it!!!

wordless wednesday

2017

Happy new year! 

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas season. We wait all year for it and then it seems to go by so quickly!

I got a few quiltie gifts this year. Two lovely FQ sets; my friends know me so well :)

I have ideas for both stacks. I even managed to snag some more yardage of one of them.

I also managed to get the embroidery finished up on my snowman quilt.

Would this be my final finish of 2016?