Wednesday, December 27, 2017

A Very Merry Christmas


Here is the finished stocking I started

It was a very Merry  ... and snowy ...
Christmas at our house. 


Christmas Eve, not a creature was stirring when it started to snow.


Best of all this year, my grand-darling was here with my daughter and son-in-law.
Everyone in my family made is here safely.


Everly loved the Disney pugs that Grammy and Grampy gave her.


The boys playing with my grand-darlings new bubble toy.


Our little house was filled with laughter and love.
The new stocking was for my son's girlfriend.


My daughter and her family and pets are now traveling south to my son-in-law's new post.


Home is very quiet again.

Time to make some New Year Quilty Resolutions.

I have a lot on my list. 

What are your quilty plans for 2018?







Sunday, December 17, 2017

Sew Ready for Christmas!


I am making a new Christmas Stocking to welcome an
extended family member to our Christmas Day Celebration.


I decided on a French Braid pattern for this one
to showcase the beautiful ornament print 
fussy cut in the center.
The center is a 4.5" square on point.


I cut and sewed 1.5" squares and strips for he braid. 



I used the same pattern I have saved for all our family stockings

Free Maywood Studio Pattern and Template

and followed my own tutorial ...



I will show the finished stocking after it is gifted.

Are you sew ready for Christmas?

:-)




Saturday, December 16, 2017

I Love Art Gallery Fabrics


Have you seen these new Color Master Bundles from

I love these!

When I was perusing the AGF site today,
I also found this wonderful ...


AGF Free Pattern Download Here

It calls for one of the half yard Color Master bundles
and background, border and binding fabrics.

Looks like a fun project to add to my list.

Today the 
Fat Quarter Shop Flash Sale
is on all regularly priced fat quarter and half-yard bundles.

Now all I have to do is decide what color quilt I want to make for whom?

Pleasant thoughts for the day.

May you have a happy day, too!

:-)

Thursday, December 14, 2017

FQS Countdown to Christmas




<3 Fabric Love <3

Today may be a good day to stock up on yardage
I love and know I will use for multiple projects
or backgrounds for future quilts.

My palette choice for this of late has been
low volume prints, dots, soft grays and greens
like the ones above I purchased previously on sale and discounts.

I think I need to add some soft aqua to this stack ...

so I am visiting the


Fat Quarter Shop

I have always enjoyed the daily

Fat Quarter Shop Flash Sale - Countdown to Christmas

I have been a long time customer of the FQS.



My First Blog Post

features a quilt made from a kit I purchased
almost ten years ago from FQS.
Over the years I have appreciated
these good people who have always provided
good products and good service,
and who once replaced an entire order for me
which my local post office admitted they failed to deliver,
even though it was only partially covered by reimbursement.

Even though I live in the northeast and the FQS is an online shop in Texas,
it feels like my "favorite local online quilt shop."

The FQS is also very generous with charity projects
like the upcoming


Clementine Quilt Along 2018

I am participating!

So when I was asked if I would like to apply to become
and Affiliate Blogger, I did not hesitate to say yes.

So occasionally I will be posting about their sales and such.

My blog will otherwise remain ad and commercial free.

If you make a purchase through these links or
via the banner at the top right side bar of my blog,
I will be receiving a small percentage of the sale.

Thank you and may you enjoy!


Wednesday, December 13, 2017

It's a Wild Life BOM Coming in 2018!



This wild and wonderful free BOM
is coming in 2018!



Here is the month by month schedule:

February


March


April 


May


June


July


August


September


October


November


December


January



All the blocks are free
for the month that they 
have been released.
After that, there
will be a small fee.

I do hope that you plan on 
quilting along with us.
There will be a monthly
prize drawing for those
who finish the blocks with us.

We would love it if you 
are on Facebook, to join us.
You can find it, HERE.



This quilty fun is organized and hosted by 


Thank you, Amy!



Tuesday, December 12, 2017

And the Winner Is ...





of the

$25 Gift Certificate to the 


for my 



is

Rosalind,

who commented, 

"A favorite cookie of our family is Sunbakkels which is a Norwegian sugar type cookie made in individual tins. Your cake also looks great."

for her entry as a follower on 


Congratulations, Rosalind!

Thanks to all who visited me and left so many kind comments
to my cookie post.

Time to bake more cookies!

May all of you enjoy all the holiday goodies!



Fat Quarter Shop Countdown to Christmas Quilting Sale


Friday, December 8, 2017

A Little Blog Hop Love





When 

announced this lovely blog hop today,
I knew I just had to participate.

 I love hearts on quilts!

Putting a little love in every stitch is what I do with all my quilts
and I know you do too.

Put A Little Love In Your Quilt


Hope to see you joining in the fun!




Thursday, December 7, 2017

Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop 2017


"The cookies that taste like Christmas"

This is what my daughter calls these spritz cookies.

I am joining in the fun today at the



@

I have been making them as long as she can remember.


My hubby bought me this battery powered cookie shooter about 30 years ago.

I have been making these cookies every year since.

The recipe is a small variation from the one which came in the box.

The box has long since been lost.

One year hubby let the barrel roll off the counter and it broke.
He ran out and bought another cookie press and replaced it
 before I knew what had happened.
A few more pieces have been lost or broken over the years,
but I still have enough to put it together
and it works as well as always.


This model is an old Proctor Silex and is only available used on ebay
or maybe at flea markets for about $10-$12 dollars,
which is what is was new 25 years ago.

The cookie sheets are at least as old, black coated steel and the surface is rough,
so I cover them with aluminum foil,
because they still bake the best cookies.

This the recipe ...

it is a my personal variation of the one which came in the box

Iced Spritz Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white vegetable shortening
1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
(dash of salt, optonal)

Cream butter and shortening until light and fluffy.
Beat in sugar slowly in small additions.
About 5 minutes.
Add vanilla.
Beat in eggs.
Add baking powder to flour and mix into wet ingredients in three additions.
Batter will be very stiff.
If batter is not stiff, add a little more flour a little at a time
until batter is stiff and not sticky.

Fill your cookie press as directed by manufacturer and press.

You may roll the batter in small balls and flatten slightly if you do not have a cookie press.

If you refrigerate the batter until cold, you may also roll and cut with cookie cutters.

Bake spritz cookie at 375 degree for 10 - 12 minutes,
just until set,
not brown.
Do Not Overbake.

Makes about 11 dozen small cookies.

Icing

4 cups 10x confectionery sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
milk as needed to make a thin icing
food coloring as desired

Mix all ingredients together until icing coats spoon but is still thin enough to pour.

Dip tops of cookies into the icing and set on wire racks
that are set over foil to catch the drips.

Sprinkle with decorator sugar as you go.

When icing is completely dry,
store in tightly covered tins with waxed paper between the layers.

These cookies have a short shelf life,
only about a week.

They disappear so fast in my house that they never last a week.


This is my first batch of several
and they are for welcoming my daughter home for Christmas and gathering
and decorating our tree on Saturday.

I may have to make another batch by then ... ;)


The Tumbling Christmas Blocks Quilt 
behind the cookies is one I made a few years ago when a friend asked if I knew how to make the tumbling blocks pattern without "Y" seams.
At the time, I had never made this pattern, 
but the challenge was on!
I soon figured out that if I cut the top of the block into triangles 
and sewed the pieces into rows 
and then sewed the rows together,
it would be all straight piecing.
Easy peasy.

All the steps may be found here ... 





These free tutorials are the most frequently visited posts on my blog,
month after month, year after year. 

If you ever try this method,
I would love to hear from you.

Giveaway Time!

I have been sew blessed this year
that I am sharing the gifts by giving away a

$25.00 Gift Certificate to the 

Fat Quarter Shop

This is a Rafflecopter Giveaway
Enter below ...
a Rafflecopter giveaway



Be sure to visit all my Cookie Exchange friends 
today for more yummy fun!




Carol asked us to share a favorite seasonal memory.
One of my favorites is a small one.
My husband and I were doing some last minute grocery shopping for our
Christmas feast when our children were still very young.
 It was snowing.  We ran into the mother of one of our sons'
friends from his very culturally diverse public school.  Her family had moved to our country to escape a rigid regime that did not allow then to live their own way.  We were welcomed into her home and we learned about a culture from a far away, much warmer climate.
During our parking lot chat she commented on how she had never seen snow before.  
As we were getting ready to say our good nights, my husband wished her a very Merry Christmas.  This warm and lovely woman smiled broadly and said,  "Thank you!  As you know we do not observe this holiday ... but we love all the parties!"  
With this thought, I have gone through life celebrating all the parties life has to offer.
So I wish you a heartfelt ...



Merry Christmas!

How to Make Folded Fabric Ornaments Tutorial Here

Happy Holidays!

Celebrate Life! 

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

More Holiday Baking


Hot Milk Lightning Cake

Ingredients
2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk (see note below)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
4 eggs
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups sugar
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prepare a bundt pan or 2 9-inch cake pans. I grease and sprinkle with flour.  
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
On medium heat, melt butter and milk together heating just milk starts to bubble around the edges.  Keep warm on stove.
Beat eggs until fluffy and add sugar slowly, beating about five minutes total time.  Add vanilla.
Add flour mixture in two additions and mix lightly.
Slowly pour in the hot milk mixture, stirring as you go.  The batter will begin to rise as soon as the hot milk meets the baking powder.  Pour quickly into prepared pans and set in preheated oven.
Bake about 50 minutes for bundt cake or 25 minutes for layer cake pans.  Test with cake tester.
Cake will be spongy on the surface.  
This makes a very spongy tasty cake that is excellent for just dusting with powdered sugar, filling with jam, serving with fresh strawberries and cream, or icing with a thin vanilla glaze.
Glaze for this cake:
Mix 2 cups confectionary sugar, 1 teaspeoon vanilla and just enough milk to make a thin pourable icing.  Sprinkle with holiday decors.
I think this is called Lightning Cake because of how fast it rises, but I call it Lightning cake because of how fast it disappears in my house.  I made this cake early in the week and it was gone in 24 hours.
Will make another soon ... :-) 

For more wonderful holiday recipes follow along with the



Great recipes, quilts, goodies and great giveaways, too!

Here is the complete schedule ...

December 5