Project for The Quilt Pattern Magazine

Back in August, I did a little project for The Quilt Pattern Magazine. Of course, I couldn't share it with you until after it was published.........

This is "Fancy Fandango" - my test of a pattern by Jan Allston.

I was tickled pink to find the photo of my needle case on the cover!

As you can see, it is a needle case - I used fleece inside, instead of traditional felt. I have been using this needle case since I made it in August - it works quite well to hold needles.

Here you can see the outside of the folded out needle case.

It was a LOT of fun to make and actually went quite fast. There is not a lot of stitching, as the design is achieved by folding the fabric.

Visit The Quilt Pattern Magazine for the pattern and directions, which are in the December 2011 issure.

2011 - A difficult year comes to a close.............

As 2011 comes to a close, I am keenly aware that it has been a difficult year for many people - my family included. Bear with me as I take the time to reflect on our 2011.....

As the temperature goes down to 18 tonight, it is hard to believe it is time to begin thinking about my vegetable garden for the upcoming spring. Last year, I did a great job of pre-planning, getting my seeds ordered and started. The year started with an exceptionally hard (and long) winter - I know, we are wimps in the South..........
 






We were barely beginning to thaw out, and I was so pleased to post these pictures of life emerging from the cold ground in spring:

Shortly after my yard had come into full bloom I had these photos to post:

My heart had just begun to feel the life and renewal that spring offers -to be crushed by the violence of the first tornado to come through Georgia in 2011.









The damage the tornadoes caused to our property is still very evident today. The cleanup is still very much in progress. We are still replacing items lost - and we didn't lose EVERYTHING we own as many people did. 





 

We were blessed that we didn't lose any life. It still hurt though and it was especially disheartening as my soul felt a blow to the tender life that was starting to bloom.





 



I think I have been procrastinating on my first post for 2012, as I have remembered back over 2011 being a really tough year for me and my family. 

I carry on. I am healing. I am growing.






 



To prove it, I will sit down with my seed catalogs and start another year. Again, my heart goes out to all of those who were hit by hard weather last year. I pray that 2012 will be a better year for everyone!

Free Block of the Month from Lecien - Block 3

They got ahead of me somehow, so Block 3 is already available......Time to download the next block of this beautiful applique quilt! Click on the photo below, to get block three:

Free Block of the Month from Lecien - Block 2

Time to download the next block of this beautiful applique quilt! Click on the photo below, to get block two.

Merry Christmas to you all

I would like to wish all of you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas. My prayer is that your family has a peaceful and joyous time together.

Quilt Guild Program, Project and Charity Ideas

After serving a year as President of our local quilt guild, I now know how hard it can be to keep things new and interesting. New ideas for programs, group projects, and charitable giving, whether big or small, seem to be hard to come by. I am not sure why, I know there are lots of busy guilds out there! I decided to start a page on my blog to keep a running list of program, project and charity ideas for quilt guilds. You can get to the page by clicking on the "Quilt Guild Ideas" tab at the top of the page. Feel free to use the ideas! Also, PLEASE send me information if you have participated in anything that would be good to list here.

Here is the first idea I am listing on the page:

Ugly fabric challenge

This one was a lot of fun for everyone. It ends up being a great program and charity project all wrapped into one.

Before the meeting - A month before the meeting: announce to your members and print in your newsletter as well - "everyone bring in at least one yard of the ugliest quilting fabric they can find in their stash."

At the meeting
Show and Tell - have everyone sit in a circle. First, have a show and tell about the fabric. WHY IN THE WORLD DID YOU BUY THAT FABRIC???? WHAT POSSESSED YOU? This part is a lot of fun and laughs.

Next you are going to do a fabric swap of a different kind! Have everyone pass their piece of fabric to the person on their right. Each person should tear the piece of fabric they just received in half (bring a pair of scissors to the meeting, as some fabric is hard to start a tear.) Place one half of the torn fabric in their "stash" under their chair. Pass the other half to the right person on their right.


Tear the piece you just received in half. Place half in your "stash", pass the other half. (Each person should now have two new pieces of fabric in their stash.) Tear the piece you just received in half, pass one piece and put the other in your stash............. Keep repeating this process until the fabric goes all the way around, or it gets too small (one-inch squares) to tear.

Everyone now has a new stash of ugly fabric! Hmmmm.....what should we do with this?


Now for the charity portion of the program.....our guild makes doll quilts for Christmas gifts for needy children. My challenge to the guild was to make a doll quilt (or two) using their newly acquired fabric stash. The challenge was that they could add anything they wanted to the stash, but they must use the entire stash! We had a great response to this. It boosted the number of quilts made for the charity and we ended up with some great show and tell items that people made from the ugly fabrics! Everyone was amazed at what you could do with such ugly fabric!


If you use this idea, I would love to hear about it! I would enjoy seeing your photos.Remember, if you have an idea to share - please do!

Cookies Across America - another recipe

Are you participating in the Cookies Across America campaign? If so, I would love to hear about it!

 

Here is one more cookie recipe for you, from Nestle:

Jumbo Dark Chocolate Cookies Recipe

 
Photo by: NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® 

• 12 Servings 
• Prep: 15 min Cook: 16 min

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) Nestlé® Toll House® Dark Chocolate Morsels, divided
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup Nestlé® Toll House® Baking Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease.
• Melt 2/3 cup morsels in microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 30 seconds; STIR. Morsels may retain some of their original shape. Microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Set aside.
• Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add melted chocolate and mix well. Add egg and vanilla extract, mixing until well blended, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture, mixing just until blended. Stir in remaining 1 cup morsels. Drop dough by level 1/4-cup measure 3 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.
• Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs and the tops have a cracked appearance. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 12 cookies.

Originally published as Jumbo Dark Chocolate Cookies in NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Annual 2011