Snippets

The last few days have been full!

Made a little bag at the very last minute for a friends birthday. That's when I usually get things done. ;)

The hand quilting didn't take very long at all and adds so much.

Worked on a knit dishcloth for my daughter as we drove all day for a short visit. Busy hands helped the miles go by.

She lives in a beautiful part of Northern California.

One highlight was a visit to a farm.

Lots of vegetables and flowers. Oh my ! I love country living!

I even snagged a recipe from my daughter's friend.

Mmmmm......

This Dutch oven recipe has me intrigued!

Gotta love fresh baked bread!

Friday Finish

I finished this quilt yesterday!

I've had a backlog of baby quilts to make

and this is the LAST one that has a due date!

Yeah!

 I quilted it simply with my walking foot...

following along with the chevron pattern.

Good thing it's a baby quilt!

There was a lot of stopping and turning involved.  

I even found a great fabric for the backing!

This quilt went together SO quickly.

Thought I'd share with you how I did it....

the SPEEDY way.

;)

I began with 9 different fabrics

cut in strips 7"wide width of fabric.

One strip of EACH fabric.

I folded them in half and made a few RANDOM cuts

using my 45 degree line on my ruler.

I began Placing my ruler at the top left corner

and finished on the bottom right corner.

Each SLICE is different.

I didn't MEASURE how wide each slice would be.

Some are wide.

Some are thin.

I was able to get 4 slices from each strip.

ACTUALLY it looks like 4...but it's double...so it's 8!

I put my slices off to the side as I cut.

I had a lot of triangles left over.

I saved these.

Then...

I opened my stack of slices and made TWO stacks.

One slice goes one way....

the other slice goes another way.

I  made SIX columns of slices.

(this photo shows only 2)

Three columns go one way.

Three go the other way.

I just picked them up RANDOMly and sewed them together.

I have a DESIGN FLOOR at my house.

As I worked I laid them out and EYEBALLED the lengths.

For you that are NEW to sewing....

this is what the seam looks like.

The point hangs over the end a bit where the seam begins.

Here they are all lined up together.

When they were all ABOUT the same length...

I added the leftover triangles to the bottom and top of each column/row.

and then cut OFF what was too long!

(my quilt measures 38"x43")

It was a FUN way to sew.

NO stress!

NO worries.

ONLY FUN!

I also made bread yesterday.

Actually...

the BREAD MAKER made the bread.

I just added the ingredients.

:)

Mmmm...It was yummy.

(instead of candied fruit, I used some dried fruit I had on hand)

baking

I bake bread...

once in a while.

It's much easier (for me) to make a bunch of loaves of bread

than it is to bake cookies.

When I make cookies......

I always have a batch or two that end up in the oven

too long!!!!

and you know what THAT means!

I made some Carrot-coconut bread this year

using a recipe from an

old cookbook of mine that I see is still in print!

Wow!!

I also saw another recipe book that has me intrigued.

I've always loved the Taste of Home magazine

and have used some of their recipes for years.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a WHOLE book

JUST with baking recipes???

Yes. it. would.

Here's the recipe for the bread if you're interested:

Carrot-Coconut Bread

2 1/2 C. flour

1 C. sugar

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

combine then add:

3 eggs

1/2 C. oil

1/2 C. milk

Stir until dry ingredients are moistened.

stir in:

2 C. shredded carrots

1 1/3 C. coconut

1/2 C. raisins

1/2 C. pecans or other nuts

Bake in small greased/floured baking tins

30 - 40 minutes.

Each batch made about 5 small loaves.

Add a thin strip of Christmas fabric.

Tie a bow.

Give them away and say

Merry Christmas!!!

home

The rain came down in buckets yesterday.

Thankfully, the only time I had to go out

was when the rain had subsided!!

While it was coming down, I was finishing up this baby quilt.

This is one that will be hard to say goodbye to.
I just love those soft colors.

All the little 1 1/2" pieces are scraps.

Even the whites!!

Yes, all the whites are different, but I tried to make

sure they were all white and not off-white.
You wouldn't believe the amount of scraps I have

and I want to make a dent in my pile...someday!

After one of the large downpours I was admiring my
husbands flowers.
He loves these icelandic poppies that are just ready
to bloom!


This little guy loved the rain!



So did these pretty flowers.




I even have a nice paper white bloom inside!
Looks like those roses are at the end of their life.:(

My last rainy day activity involved this.

Do you know what it is?

This machine has been in a cupboard for a long time.

After reading Mama Pea's blog about bread...

She inspired me to make bread.

But...I made it the easy way.

I wish I could say that I slaved over this bread.

kneading.

waiting while it was rising.

rolling.

etc.
But that bread machine did ALL the work.

The family doesn't know, though, how easy it is.

Let's let 'em think I really outdid myself...huh?

Here's the recipe I used....just in case you want to impress

friends or relatives.:)

Whole Wheat Bread-small loaf

2/3 Cup plain yogurt

2 1/2 T. water

1 1/4 T. butter

1 1/3 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 Cup white flour

1/3 Cup oats

2/3 Cup wheat flour

1 t. yeast

Fill your bread machine with the ingredients in THIS order.

push the button.

Enjoy!

pineapples & Chocolate

Wish I could say I made this.

But I can't.

My friend Linda made all these little pineapple blocks

by paper pieceing them using LOTS of scraps.

Have I said before...I like scraps??

She put them together and is now working on the

appliqued border.

I'll try to show it to you when she's done.

Isn't it wonderful??

Yes. I think so too.

Instead of pineapples, I was making these.

Candy Cane Chocolate loaves.

Problem #1

DRIZZLING

How do you drizzle white chocolate?

I see I'm pretty good at

GLOBBING.

Problem #2

HIDING.