i am quilting

in between day camps, painting the outside of our house and tearing apart the garden, i've been sneaking time to work on the rooster wallhanging from better homes and gardens quilting online. i'm doing the applique all in raw edge not with a buttonhole stitch

home again

miss me? we took off on a somewhat spontaneous trip to Victoria. am amazed at what we crammed into in the few days we were there-i swear we logged miles walking everywhere!

here's some highlights:

the looooooooooong ferry ride


BC Parliament building

loved the stained glass windows

legislature assembly


Undersea Gardens-too claustrophobic!



Craigdarroch Castle

87 stairs to the 3rd floor

looking down from the 3rd floor


Chinatown-oldest in Canada


Esquimalt Miltary Base. saw the Snowbirds take off for the Abbotsford Airshow too


whole reason for the trip, the Titanic display at the Royal BC Museum. no pictures allowed in the exhibit though

snack saturday

Layers Of Love Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:

* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup Baking Cocoa
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut in pieces
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 3 large eggs, divided
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 cup chopped pecans
* 3/4 cup White chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
* 3/4 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease 8-inch-square baking pan.

COMBINE flour, cocoa and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Reserve 3/4 cup batter. Spread remaining batter into prepared baking pan. Sprinkle nuts and white morsels over batter. Drizzle caramel topping over top. Beat remaining egg and reserved batter in same large bowl until light in color. Stir in semi-sweet morsels. Spread evenly over caramel topping.

BAKE for 30 to 35 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares.

heartbreak

sympathy cards aren't preferred cards to make-and this week i've had to make 3. 1 for an internet friend who lost her dad to cancer, 1 for a blogging friend and the hardest one of all, for my dear cousins. they adopted a little boy back in December-4days old. got a phone call in May that the birthdad had changed his mind. a judge ruled in the birthdad's favor and tomorrow my cousin, her husband and their 3yr old daughter make the long trip back to Florida to give Nicholas back.

my thoughts and prayers go with all this week

Nana's little helper

M was thrilled when my mom asked him if he wanted to wash the doors of the studio the other day. if only he was that excited about cleaning his room lol!!

card friday

two for one today lol. thank you cards for my brother in laws for their hard work last weekend

finished another

Hamels quilt yesterday. trying to get caught up on the 15 quilts they dropped off for us last month. i'm trying to get as many done as i can before next week-my machine table is here and because i had originally transferred my money into US funds-i'm short roughly $500(ack) so the more quilts i complete, the less money i have to make up lol!

this quilt is the one i was ripping apart last week. i quilted it with a Superior Brytes thread(3ply poly thread. that was fun pulling out lol) used a So Fine in the bobbin. quilted with Lorien's Vortex pattern


edited to add that this is a new Moda line of fabrics

wordless wednesday