Paisley Quilt in Progress

I am rather excited that this quilt is finally underway. It is composed of blocks that our students did at TOG co-op. They were studying paisleys in art and each one of them decorated their own on a muslin square. I have just recently been sewing the sashing in. We are giving this away at the end of the year. Still have to sew in the tangerine strips in order to complete the top, but it is fun to look at in the floor and pretend it is done! (Ignore the wrinkled green sheet under it-just wanted to keep it off the floor)

Weekend Happenings

I had a full but relaxing weekend. I managed to follow a DIY dishwasher detergent recipe from Pinterest that works beautifully. I sewed a navy year round wool skirt for my daughter's upcoming trip in March. I sewed more sashing into my school quilt. Helped hubby work on the window casings for the barn (froze). Celebrated my oldest daughter's 20th birthday, which is really today. Made a yummy pork roast, sweet potato casserole, baked mac n cheese and broccoli for her dinner. We also had a Heath Bar Cake for dessert. Had a great day at church yesterday. Talked to my mom a ton-which is always nice. We were discussing our Craftsy blocks. She is a wonderful quilter-I am a newbie! Now it is back to the laundry and school and a few Etsy orders. Life is good!

Craftsy BOM #4 done

I am quite proud of myself for finishing all 4 of these before the end of February. I am so not a "designed" quilt kind of person. Scrappy squares would suit me best. I have enjoyed learning new things and relaxing a bit about points not meeting up perfectly. I will press on to March when the tutorial is available!

Lemon Blueberry loaf

I found this bread on pinterest this morning while I was looking for the large hair bow my oldest daughter wants me to make for her. The bread looked so yummy, I decided to throw it together. I made a few adjustments to the recipe, but the bread is WONDERFUL!

For the Loaf:

• 1 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (I used 1/2 cup vanilla 1% milkfat and 1/2 cup sour cream)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)(I used dried zest & 1/2 tsp lemon extract-I'm sure fresh would be better!)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/4 cup oil & 1/4 cup applesauce)
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and rinsed

For the Lemon Syrup: (I didn't add this part to avoid the extra sugar and maybe too much lemon for my family)

• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 cup sugar

For the Lemon Glaze: (I only used half of this to cut down on the sugar as well.)

• 1 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of one 9 x 5-inch loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess.(I used spray and no flour)
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla and oil. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of flour, and fold them very gently into the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing loaf to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet.
5. While the loaf is cooling, make the lemon syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir together the lemon juice and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once dissolved, continue to cook for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside.
6. Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf. Brush the top and sides of the loaf with the lemon syrup. Let the syrup soak into the cake and brush again. Let the cake cool completely.(You are kidding, right! We dug in about 15 minutes later)
7. To make the lemon glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and 2-3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The mixture should be thick but pourable. Add up to another tablespoon of lemon juice if the mixture is too stiff. Pour the lemon glaze over the top of each loaf and let it drip down the sides. Let the lemon glaze harden, about 15 minutes, before serving.

Now I think I will probably try this the RIGHT way one day, but this lower sugar, less lemon way worked and the bread is still incredibly yummy and moist and sweet. Here is a link to the Smitten Kitchen that gives you other options for this bread as well.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/04/lemon-yogurt-anything-cake/

Craftsy BOM #2 & #3

I really like this "one block at a time" thing. This first block for February-Balkan star-was more "quilting" than I have ever done. I typically go for squares. Simple, yet effective. This is getting me out of my comfort zone for sure, but I actually like it. Granted, I haven't sewn the thing together yet, but I am going to be optimistic. I really like the grey, yellow, white and black combo. It matches nothing in my house, but who cares. The "wonky pound sign" block was super easy and I can certainly see a cute baby quilt with these in different scraps. I will use my Slice to cut cute baby shapes out of the same fabric and applique them in the centers-CUTE! If you want to learn to quilt, this free class from Craftsy might just do the trick.

My First Craftsy Quilt Block and paisleys too

I always seem to find other things to do when I actually have time to quilt. It really scares me. I think getting everything to line up sparks dread and fear in me. I just want everything to be even so that I don't have to worry about squaring everything up at the end. Uneven rows, points that don't meet, sashes of different sizes-uugghh! But today, I decided to jump right in to my Craftsy-Block of the Month video and try one. I had watched the video to see how "easy" it would be. Suprisingly, today went well. Not fast mind you, but well. It took me about an hour to do one block. I know-speed demon! Maybe I will do the next January block this weekend. (This pic is pre-squaring)

Now all this Craftsy quilting reminded me that I desperately needed to work on the paisley quilt for our Tapestry group. All of our Upper Grammar and Dialectic students did 1 paisley block in art class and we (me) decided to sew them all into a paisley quilt to be given away at the end of the year. I started the sashing today. There will be 5 rows of 4 blocks each. I am using a turquoise paisley for the vertical sashing between the blocks and a tangerine paisley for the horizontal and outside vertical edges. I have an extra wide piece of chocolate brown paisley for the backing. I am just excited that some of the blocks are together and all the turquoise sashes are cut!

A Digi stamp and finished love heart embroidery

I recently had someone on Etsy ask me if I had a monkey in a stroller stamp? Random, but there is some serious "Monkey Love" out there. There are sock monkey hats, monkey cupcake toppers, monkey fabric, etc. etc. Well I managed to put two of my stamps together to make an image, but I haven't heard whether she liked it or not. This all prompted a search for said stamp. End result: couldn't find a rubber or cling stamp. I did stumble upon Bugaboo stamps which are all digital stamps. Pretty cool. This lady draws all of her own designs and then you download them to use. You can sell the items you make with them, but you can't physically turn them into stamps. So I printed off some in wallet size and doodled on them last night for a bit. They are really cute and would make cute cards or shower invites. May have to play some more. (can't get my picture of this to upload-will try again)
On another note, I finally finished my Valentine's embroidery. I get the embroidery newsletter and this was the free pattern last month. I normally don't download them, but this was really cute. They don't come with instructions, so I just winged the stitches. I am glad I finished it. I really like needlework. Very repetitive and soothing. I am just that kinda girl.
Have a great weekend!

Lovely Lavender

I adore the smell of lavender! So fresh and clean. I ordered some recently and made a little sachet tonight. I think these would make simply perfect gifts for any female friend or family member I know. They make closets, drawers-well just about everything smell better. I saw a lady on Etsy who sells them as reusable and eco-friendly dryer sheets. They probably don't help with static but your sheets and towels would smell wonderful. I think it is a pretty awesome idea that I might try.

Sweet Little Onesie Frame From my Slice Elite

I recently cut out several onesies with my slice and used them to decorate some pillow box favors. I started thinking about how cute these onesies would be as a matte in a frame with a baby name or birth date, weight and height. These aren't actually secured, but I tried it out tonight. So stinkin' cute! It would look really cute with another matte on top and a cute tan or white frame. I will have to play around with it some more, but this Slice is really pretty fun! I am a little afraid that I won't be able to find extra blades and such soon. Our Micheals clearanced them out and I have read that other craft stores have done the same. I guess I will still find supplies at Making Memories. For the time being I will just play and create!

Cock a Doodle Doo-Metro Rooster Oven Mitt

I have been busy today doing something that I haven't done in a while. SEWING! I have been very busy lately with stamping and paper crafts, but today I cut out and sewed 2 skirts for my youngest daughter who will be attending TeenPact in March. They have to wear skirts that cover their knees while standing and sitting. They emphasize conservative dress while they are in the capitol building. I did a slim line skirt with double front darts and single back darts out of a purple linen blend. It is now waiting on the zipper I need to purchase tomorrow. I also did a navy and white gingham circle skirt that only needs hemming. After I accomplished those 2 things, I decided to use some of the new quilted and batted Thermo fil I received yesterday along with a cute piece of Robert Kaufman Metro Rooster fabric. I think this pot holder is just too cute. I trimmed it out with dark denim bias tape. It has been fun sewing all these goodies today.