Way back when in January 2011, lulu and I went shopping for fabric for a quilt for her bed.  She chose a fun mix of pinks with a bit of green mixed in.  We set them aside until we came up with a pattern.

That fall, while I was on the Sewing Summit shop hop I picked up the Swoon pattern and started cutting into the stacks.  By sometime in 2012, I had finished two of the blocks and she had decided she didn't love pink the way she used to.

She loved blue and green and I was so happy I had not made any more than two of those giant blocks at this point.

We sorted through my stash and came up with a new stack.  I spent some more time cutting, stitching, quilting and finally last fall (just before the Thanksgiving deadline she gave me) her quilt was finished.

At some point in this whole process, she asked me to hand quilt it.  Since she's on the short list of people I have a more difficult time saying no to, I agreed.  I machine quilted the sashing with some quick matchstick quilting not only because it looks cool, but also to hold the quilt together nicely while I spent the hours it took to hand quilt the blocks.

I took advantage of the left over blocks to fill some space in the back along with a mix of prints.

I also took a huge sigh of relief when I finally finished it and she loved it.

It's the season of late starts at school, kids home with sniffles and coughs, snow days, and yet another blizzard so I'm stealing some time to show you my Parks quilt.

This whole quilt was put together a bit spur of the moment.  I loved the national parks print (by Wilmington) the moment I saw it and thought it would be fun to try something different.  I pulled together a quick stack of fabric, stitched and slashed and built up two log cabin blocks.  One for the front and one for the back.

Once it was pieced, I started in with the quilting.  I ran one zig zag line down the middle and followed those angles out to the edges.

Someone I know is working on visiting every national park.  She's also someone who lives life a bit spur of the moment so I'm thinking this might be a perfect treat for her.

No camping today, though, it's raining, there's thunder and hail, closely followed by freezing rain, it's supposed to start snowing later today with 50mph winds tonight.  All those precipitation types in one day.  Iowa is totally overachieving today.

Most of this week's sewing focused on my bear paw.  I stitched together all the accent blocks so now I can assembly line the blocks together.  

Here they are along with the log cabin accent I already put into a block.

It turned into a fun sampler project.  I pulled most of the blocks from Barbara Brackman's, Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns.  

Here's a block I'm working on today.

My center square, along with the claws are 2 1/2" unfinished.  The accent block and 4 square scrappy blocks are 4 1/2" unfinished.  In the end, I have a block the will be 14" finished.  

Here's another block I shared on Instagram yesterday.

A bear paw quilt has to have bear, doesn't it?

I managed to ignore a good portion of the housework this week in favor of some fun sewing projects. I've started a new quilt for our bed.  I've had a fabric stack set aside to make a bear paw quilt for our bed for over a year now.

Then Dana from Old Red Barn started up a little scrappy bear paw quilt along over on instagram.  It was just the kickstart I needed.

I'm planning to do one special accent paw in each block so I spent some time this week working on some of those.

Lulu's friend has a birthday coming up so she chose the fabric and I did the stitching on this very dear deer.  The pattern is from Issue 2 of Love Patchwork and Quilting.  (one of the cutest quilting and stitching magazines around)

I was also lucky enough to get a request from Anna of Noodlehead to try out her new road trip case pattern.  I'm already thinking about what fabrics I will use on my next one.

I love the button and loop closure.

There are two pocket options.  I chose the four pocket version with flaps.

I'm filling mine with some of my hand piecing supplies.

It was my first time working with vinyl.  I was nervous because I have heard so much over the years about how it can get stuck on presser feet while you are stitching, but I used my walking foot and it was a breeze!  I have to admit, I did get over confident and think that I could machine finish the binding.  A skill I've never been able to master and managed to get some stitches on the vinyl.  In the end, I couldn't take the sloppy stitching lines so I picked them out and finished it by hand.  I was left with some tiny holes in the vinyl, but I think they are less distracting than the line of stitching so I'm happy.

Thankfully this one wasn't a gift so I was able to accept my mistake and stitch on.  Well, again I have to admit first I ate a handful of chocolate covered almonds and then I stitched on.  I think those tiny holes might be a little reminder of how important it is to slow down and finish a project the right way.

Sometimes stubbornness just gets in the way doesn't it?

This was another one of those unfinished projects that has been hanging around waiting so patiently for me to finish it.

My starting point for this quilt was the grey background print.  I loved the concrete look of the speckled grey print and wanted to let it shine.  I was hoping that adding just a hint of vibrant color would let that happen.

And did it ever!  I love how they bring out the best in each other.

The speckled concrete grey print was something that I found at JoAnn.  The brights are from Amy Butler's line Lark.  The whites are a mix of low volumes from my stash.

I quilted it along the white diagonals in white for a subtle emphasis on the chain pattern.

I pieced the back with a mix of prints.

Mostly grey and white, but I couldn't resist adding some more color with the firework print.

It was a chilly day for a photo shoot, but thankfully my helper was able to keep warm.

p.s. this quilt is listed for sale in my shop

A downside of quilting is at a certain point you have more quilts than you can use in one house.

I give lots away each year, as gifts and also if there is a charity auction in need of items, but they still pile up.

I have posted several for sale in my shop, along with a bunch of tooth fairy pockets I found in with the quilts when I was cleaning.  (You can also click to my shop on the link over on the right sidebar where you see my cool new logo)

Happy Weekend!!

I cannot wait to tell you about this quilt, but first I have to do that thing that we all do at the start of a new year.  I used to do resolutions and lists and words an all that but then I got lazy.  Powerful lazy.  Not moving all day kind of lazy.  Long story short, I started stacks of projects in 2012 that are still hanging around today.  My sloth went to  such extremes I finally talked to my doctor about it and this Spring we found out two things...I need to avoid eating things with lots of fructose and it turned out I wasn't lazy, but my thyroid is. I've spent the past year trying different doses and I've learned a lot.  I'm thrilled to not feel miserable.  I've been tackling many of those works in progress and started a few exciting new projects along the way.  So, as for the new year, my goal is to build on what I started gaining last fall...MOMENTUM.  No more excuses. I'm hoping to keep things moving, more finished quilts, more homemade cookies, more laughs, more fun!

Now for the quilt, making a quilt as a gift is always a bit stressful for me.  Finding the right fabrics, the right design, does the recipient even know she wants a quilt.  This one was for my niece who loves camouflage and I'm so happy to share that she loves it!  I used Realtree and Mossy Oak prints from JoAnn along with all sorts of hushed tone prints from my stash.

These tiny maple leaves are just 1 1/2".  A few more tiny leaves are scattered around the front of the quilt.

The brown along the edge of the star in the shot below was dyed naturally with walnut hulls from my dad's vat of walnut dye.

I used my highly scientific method of laying pieces of fabric out on the floor and then shuffling them around for ages to decide on placement.

I also did my best to use up even the tiniest bits of fabric that were left after making all those flying geese.  I used the larger pieces of camo to make the backing.  Along with a star that was going to go on the front, but once I started placing, I just couldn't find the right home for it.

One of my favorite things about this quilt is where the Realtree and Mossy Oak logos pop up.

My other favorite part was the smile on her face when she opened it.

Happy New Year everyone, I'm looking forward to sharing lots of good things with you this year.

I'm so excited to share this fun holiday project today.

Liberty Lifestyle was kind enough to ask me to put together a holiday guest post for Liberty Craft Blog.  You can follow the tutorial here and make your very own poinsettia tea cozy.

I made mine with the Mackintosh print from the Stile line.  Mackintosh has such a rich mix of colors.  They somehow manage to be nostalgic and modern at the same time.  I think the flowers looks extra festive made in this print.

And of course, Christmas tea wouldn't be complete without cookies.  So I'm also sharing my gingersnap recipe.  It came from a dear friend of my mom's and it has always been a family favorite.

marie's gingersnaps

3/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar (plus 1/2 cup for rolling dough)

1 egg

1/4 cup sorghum (similar to molasses, but I prefer the sorghum)

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer.  Add egg, mix well. Add sorghum.  Slowly add dry ingredients.  Chill dough for at least 4 hours but it's even better if you let it chill overnight.  Chilling the dough helps the flavors to blend and also keeps the cookies from spreading too much when they are baking.

Once chilled, roll dough into 1 inch balls, roll each ball in granular sugar.  Place on parchment lined cookies sheet 2" apart.  Bake 375 degrees for 12 minutes.  They should crack on the tops.  Makes around 2 dozen.  This recipe can be doubled.

enjoy

The uber clever Sara Lawson from Sew Sweetness has put together a collection of some of the cutest bags ever in her brand spanking new book, Big-City Bags, Sew Handbags with Style, Sass, and Sophistication.

(photo from Big-City Bags by Sara Lawson, Martingale, 2013; used by permission. Photo by Brent Kane. All rights reserved)

I was lucky enough to be a pattern tester for her Fireside Bowl Bag.

I was excited to try it because the pattern uses some techniques I hadn't tried before.  So I jumped in and learned lots about fusible fleece and using different hardware like swivel clips and D rings.  Sara's step by step directions made the pattern a breeze.  So when it was all stitched up I felt pretty much like I could conquer any bag.  Plus her book has directions on zippers, locks, feet, leather handles and more.  I think I may try the miss independent bag next.

(photo from Big-City Bags by Sara Lawson, Martingale, 2013; used by permission. Photo by Brent Kane. All rights reserved)

Cute right?!

You can order your own copy of Big-City Bags, or if you are feeling lucky, some of Sara's sponsors are hosting Big-City Bags ebook giveaways and if I were you, I would definitely get myself entered to win a copy of this one.

October 28 - Craft Buds October 29 - Sew Mama Sew October 30 - Aurifil October 31 - Fat Quarterly November 1 - Craft Gossip

November 4 - Fat Quarter Shop November 5 - Pellon November 6 - Craftsy November 7 - Pat Sloan Gen Q Magazine November 8 - Sew Can She Martingale

I have been working like crazy to get through the many works in progress I have going on here.  I'm hoping to finish up another quilt top this afternoon and then start basting.  I think I have at least 5 tops and bottoms waiting to be sandwiched right now.  One for us, one for someone special, the rest I'm hoping will find homes in the new shop I have been working on as well. When Monday brought our first snowfall of the season, I knew I better take a break from stitching get a batch of cocoa mixed up, sooner rather than later.  Andy likes to drink it in the evenings when the weather turns and it has definitely turned.

hot cocoa mix

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup dutch processed cocoa

2 1/2 cups powdered milk (I use organic valley because it gives the cocoa an extra creamy texture)

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 cup powdered creamer (flavor of your choice - I used hazelnut for this batch)

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

4 ounces chopped dark chocolate

Mix well in large bowl.  Store in airtight container.

To use, place 2-4 spoonfuls in cup.  The amount depends on how chocolaty you like your cocoa.  Add a small amount of almost boiling water and stir to dissolve the mix then fill cup the rest of the way.

Personally I like with some fresh whipped cream, but marshmallows are great too.

I have no facts to back that up, but here on the last day of September I can't help but ask, "where did it go?" It's been a blur of tumbling, vegetable pick ups, orchestra, yoga, and violin lessons with the extra fun of early outs every other Wednesday.  Personally I see those early outs as the school testing to see how many times I will forget to pick up my kids.

Right in the middle of the month was Sewing Summit.  It's always a great time.  I cannot tell you how fun it is to actually hang out all weekend with the people who generally just hang out in my phone.

along with waffles with Jeni...

and fabric...

and menchie's...

and yarn...

and a roommate who looks a bit threatening, but really isn't...

amazing speakers...

and friends, some who I've been lucky enough to hang out with at past summits and some I just met...

(pic from Pat Bravo)

(pic from Amy)

and then there are the mountains...

oh and did I mention the waffles...

But now it's the last day of September and I am looking at my 2013 project list and I need to get busy.  I will try to make the best of my time today, stuck at home waiting for someone to fix my water heater and hoping I don't have to boil water so the kids can take baths tonight.

I could really use a waffle right about now.

The kids started school yesterday.

One child refused to smile so this is our back to school pic.  It was a half day and it flew by.  This morning I got together with friends to celebrate the return of the quiet.  There was strata, fresh, fruit, coffee for people who don't really like coffee (the secret is ice cream), cheese danish, and laughs, there were lots of laughs.

cheese danish

one package of puff pastry thawed (I use Dufour)

filling

8 oz. cream cheese - softened

egg yolk

4 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch salt

egg wash

egg white mixed with couple Tablespoons of water

icing

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons milk (add more as needed)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  (check temp on puff pastry packaging some are better at 400)

In a small bowl mix filling ingredients together until smooth using a rubber spatula.  Set aside.

On a well floured surface, roll out puff pastry and trim edges so you have a fresh cut on each side.  Cut into 4" squares.  Place pastry on parchment lined baking sheet and scoop spoonful of filling in to center.  Brush edges of pastry with egg wash and fold over corners to seal.  You can draw in two or four corners depending on your preference.  You can also seal with a tiny square of left over puff pastry "glued" with egg wash where all the corners meet.  Sometimes despite all your best efforts, they burst open while baking.  Don't worry, those are great for taste testing.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden. Keep an eye on them since different brands of pastry tend to vary in cooking times.

Once cooled, they can be iced.  I mix the icing with a fork and simply drizzle it over the danish.

(If you like you can glaze the danish with warmed jam as soon as you remove them from the oven)

I made this quilt for my cousin who was married this past Saturday. It's the New York Beauty from Peggy Martin's Craftsy class, Quick Strip Paper Piecing.  It's a fun class.  I whole heartedly recommend it.  I made the pinwheel quilt from this class too. I love using Craftsy because you always have the videos to refer to if you get mixed up on a technique.

The fabrics are from Pat Bravo's Summerlove line. These colors remind me of the bride so I'm hoping she loves them too.

The back is a jumble of leftover summerlove yardage.

With all the sharp points in the piecing, I wanted to try to use the quilting to soften the look a bit.  I went with a scallopy (yes autocorrect that is the word I want to use) stitching line and randomly spaced them an inch to three inches apart in a pale blue thread.

Don't worry, I don't have another cousin getting married next weekend so I won't be showing up next Monday with another wedding gift.  But the kids will be starting school mid week so I am hoping I'm back soon with lots of finished projects.

I made this quilt for my cousin who was married this past Saturday.

The orange print is from Denyse Schmidt's Daisy Mae line for Joanns. I was lucky enough to get a several yards on super clearance when my local Joann store was in the process of moving. The background fabric, Kona pepper, blends in perfectly with the background in the print.

I wanted to hang on to the minimalist feel, so it's channel quilted with black thread spaced 1 inch apart.

It's backed with Kona oyster so while the quilting lines blend into the front, they stand out on the back.

I love the bold pattern on the front mixed with the bold quilting on the back.

You may not know this about me, but years ago (actually decades now), I was a collector of all things mid-century modern.  Starburst clocks, a ridiculous amount of anodized aluminum everything, a sleek vintage black sofa, at one point we even had 4 six-feet tall aluminum Christmas trees. Now we live in a 1920's Tudor cottage so I find myself drawn to older designs when decorating.  That's not to say there aren't plenty of bits of Fire King and Pyrex around the kitchen.

Some stuff you just can't let go of.

I think that's why Jeni's Color Me Retro line pulled at my heart.  It's filled with all those vibrant colors that are all over my dishes so I wanted to come up with a project that I could use in the dining room to really play off my collections.

My second inspiration came from this version, Katy made from her Spring Carnival pattern.  I love the pieces that are floating away or maybe back into their proper place.

I used Katy's templates for all the cutting and along with paper shapes from Paper Pieces.  I appliqued the pieces by hand to a couple of yards of linen.

To help the corners to look pretty and polished, I did a 1" hem on opposite sides and then added a second row of top stitching 1/8" away from the first.  Then I turned up the corner 1 1/2" before I hemmed the remaining two sides.

Once hemmed, I added the second row of top stitching just 1/8" away and I was left with a great looking hem.

(this shot was before I trimmed up the strings - after I did that, trust me it's a great looking hem)

I love having these bursts of color at the table everyday.  To me it's the perfect way to bring a little mid-century fun into my Tudor cottage world.

At the risk of sounding like one of those people who is always saying "oh my, where has the time gone, these summers just keep flying by".  Oh my, where has the time gone, these summers just keep flying by!

We have a tradition of getting together with friends for a big bbq every year to celebrate the Fourth of July.  In keeping with theme, I made another red, white, and blue dessert this year.

It's a layered berry and brown sugar pavlova and you should make it!  It was as good as it looked.

Fourth of July means Antiques Extravaganza around here.

I was up early and power shopped my way through the fields of booths.  I found a tablecloth with the greatest four leaf clovers all over it.  It still had the tag on it.

The seller seamed a bit surprised that I was planning to take the tag off, but I do my best to use the things I buy.  What's the point if these things are just going to hide in a closet?

I also found this beauty.  She's a Singer 99K and she's mine now.

This photo makes me laugh because I instinctively had my hand on the machine while I was taking it - as in "back off everybody because until I can find out more, this hand means I have dibs on this baby!"

I hope everyone is having a great summer.  I just finished the cutest paper pieced tablecloth so I'll be back with more soon.

At the end of June, I had the chance to spend some quality sewing time with friends.  Holly, Jeni, Jacey, Anna, Faith and I met up in Wisconsin at the most amazing vacation house.

We talked about everything, we ate giant pretzels and amazing belgian frites, we checked out Madison (including a chance to meet George), we dyed fabric, we even managed to fit in a whole lot of stitching.

I finished up a new york beauty that will soon be shipped off to someone special.

I tried fabric dying for the first time.  We used an indigo kit and learned a lot about what works well and what doesn't.  These are my pieces before the dye bath.

Here's the top piece after dying.  I will most definitely be doing more with this technique.

It was fun to see what everyone was working on.  There were a lot of secret projects that I'm sure you will see popping up soon.

I brought along a cheesecake.  I didn't want us to go without sweets while we were sewing in the middle of nowhere.

iced mocha cheesecake

crust

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup chocolate wafer crumbs

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 stick butter (softened at room temperature)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

cheesecake filling

3 bricks (8oz. each) of cream cheese at room temp

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon coffee extract

ganache

1 1/4  cup heavy cream

7 oz. bittersweet chocolate (chopped)

1/4 teaspoon espresso powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put a kettle of water on to boil for the water bath.

Mix crust ingredients in bowl of food processor until combined.  Use a straight sided glass or measuring cup to press crumb mixture along the bottom and up the side of a springform pan.  Chill crust while preparing the filling.

Combine cream cheese and sugar in bowl of food processor or mixer until creamy and smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next.  Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl between each egg.  Add heavy cream, vanilla, and coffee extract and blend until smooth and creamy.

Wrap pan tightly in multiple layers of aluminum foil to make water tight for water bath.  Pour batter into prepared crust.  Place pan in larger pan (I use an oversized skillet) and pour hot water into the larger pan until it comes about half way up the sides of the cheesecake pan.

Bake 45-55 minutes,until almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together , but still have a lot of jiggle in the center.  You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage.  Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let it rest in the cooling oven for one hour.  This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently and reduce chances of it cracking on the top.  After one hour, removed the cheesecake from the oven and lift it carefully out of the water bath.  Let it finish cooling off on a rack on the counter.

Once cooled, cover with ganache.

To make the ganache, mix the espresso powder and cream and bring to a boil.. Pour cream mixture over the chopped chocolate and let sift for 45 seconds then begin to mix.  It will become creamy when fully incorporated.  Pour in center of cheesecake.  Allow ganache to cool, then cover and put in refrigerator to cool overnight.

I was thrilled when Jeni mentioned she could bring along some of her homemade salted caramel sauce because this cheesecake is extra delicious topped with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

It was a blast of a weekend that flew by so quickly, so I can't wait to do it again!

One - Lulu turned 9 last week.  That means two kids in double digits next year.  I'm not sure how this happened so quickly.

Two - Ali hosts a fun game/giveaway every month on her blog and this month I'm helping out with July's challenge.  Be sure to check out her post on this month's stash match, play along and you could win some fabric.  {oh and a hit, hmmm, I guess the best I can tell you is after showing the options to a fabric friend who knows my stash pretty well, I can tell you it's the exact opposite of the one you think it is. }

three - If you follow me on instagram you probably knew this, but I just spent the most awesome weekend with friends sewing.  More on that later.

Welcome to crazy week.  The spouse is doing some traveling, someone little has a birthday, and I'm getting ready for a long weekend of sewing with friends.  Truth be told, in all the chaos, I forgot to take Lulu to her yoga class yesterday.  So when I was asked to join in with some friends to celebrate some birthdays, there was a moment of panic about what to give as a gift. It can be difficult to come up with a quick gift that works for anybody, any age, any time, but these heavy duty cardboard covered notebooks fit the bill.

Simply choose your layout and stitch them down with a small zigzag stitch.  Be sure to lock your stitches by reversing one or two stitches at the beginning and end of each line so the stitches don't unravel on you.

Tie a set of books up with a bow and you are set to celebrate the next birthday on your calendar.

I finished this quilt in April, but I'm just getting around to looking at the photos I took just after it was bound and washed.

Can you tell it was a windy spring around here?

The inspiration for the pattern came from Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns.  The four large blocks in the center are #713 basket of chips.  When I mentioned the blocks name to the spouse he immediately pointed out that Cj's favorite potato chips are orange, green, and yellow.

Boom, we had a color palette!

Those blocks were so full of triangles that I continued the idea with different triangles in the borders and added a sawtooth block to each corner with a row of teeth around the edge.

Here's the back.  It's a mix of coordinating prints.

Again, the wind.

This will be going into my shop once, I complete a little shop redo sometime this summer.