Monday, September 30, 2013

My first tablecloth

I've been playing with my Accuquilt GO! Baby die again.  I got this one at JoAnn Fabrics for about $15.  I don't know why they were so cheap a few months ago.  I figured they were making room for the new dies???  This die has a pumpkin, acorn, maple leaf (not shown) and oak leaf.  The back was provided by my lovely friend, Julianne.  Now I must figure out how to quilt it.

 
I'm linking up with Barb at Cat Patches.  This is my new FO for the month.  Check out what all the other new projects started here.
 
 
I need to set my fourth quarter goals for the challenges.
 
My Buttonshe can quilt
 
I have SIX customer quilts to quilt.  My goal is to finish all of them between Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas.  All I have to do is longarm Circle Lord swirls on them all, but they are all for the most part queen size or larger!  I have received Julianne's Easy Street quilt and five others last night.  Whew.  No pressure here.  I know I can do it.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Still on the Frame Friday

I can't believe my Lucky Stars quilt is still on the frame!   I thought straight line quilting with locks on the longarm carriage would be quick and easy.  It's not hard, but it's very time consuming.  I love the effect!  It's worth it.








~Sky
Banana split cake 

Ingredients
• FOR THE CRUST:
• 2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
• 1 stick Unsalted Butter, melted
• FOR THE FILLING:
• 16 ounces, Cream Cheese, Softened at room temperature
• 3-½ ounces, Banana Pudding Mix
• ⅓ cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ cups Milk, Plus More As Needed
• 20 ounces, Can Crushed Pineapple
• 2 cups Fresh Strawberries, Diced
• 2 whole Bananas, Peeled And Diced
• 8 ounces, Whipped Topping (like Cool Whip)
• Optional Garnishes: Chopped Nuts, Chocolate Sauce And Maraschino Cherries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a medium sized bowl, add the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter and stir. Using a 9X9-inch pan press the graham cracker crust mixture into the bottom of the pan making sure that you have a solid bottom. Bake crust for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow crust to completely cool before topping it with the rest of the cake.
In a separate bowl, blend the cream cheese until creamy. Add the pudding mix, sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. Beat until creamy. The filling should be creamy. If it still appears slightly thick and clumpy, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until it is creamy.
Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the graham cracker crust and spread evenly with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon. Open the can of the pineapple and drain off the excess liquid using a strainer. Press the pineapple to squeeze out more of the liquid. Sprinkle the crushed pineapple on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle the strawberries and bananas on top of the pineapple.
Spread the whipped topping on top of the fruit. Top with a drizzle of chocolate sauce, cherries and nuts for garnish. Place in the refrigerator for, at least, 30 minutes before serving to allow the cream cheese mixture to firm.
~Sky
Banana split cake

Ingredients
• FOR THE CRUST:...
• 2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
• 1 stick Unsalted Butter, melted
• FOR THE FILLING:
• 16 ounces, Cream Cheese, Softened at room temperature
• 3-½ ounces, Banana Pudding Mix
• ⅓ cups Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ cups Milk, Plus More As Needed
• 20 ounces, Can Crushed Pineapple
• 2 cups Fresh Strawberries, Diced
• 2 whole Bananas, Peeled And Diced
• 8 ounces, Whipped Topping (like Cool Whip)
• Optional Garnishes: Chopped Nuts, Chocolate Sauce And Maraschino Cherries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a medium sized bowl, add the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter and stir. Using a 9X9-inch pan press the graham cracker crust mixture into the bottom of the pan making sure that you have a solid bottom. Bake crust for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven and allow crust to completely cool before topping it with the rest of the cake.
In a separate bowl, blend the cream cheese until creamy. Add the pudding mix, sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. Beat until creamy. The filling should be creamy. If it still appears slightly thick and clumpy, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until it is creamy.
Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the graham cracker crust and spread evenly with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon. Open the can of the pineapple and drain off the excess liquid using a strainer. Press the pineapple to squeeze out more of the liquid. Sprinkle the crushed pineapple on top of the cream cheese. Sprinkle the strawberries and bananas on top of the pineapple.
Spread the whipped topping on top of the fruit. Top with a drizzle of chocolate sauce, cherries and nuts for garnish. Place in the refrigerator for, at least, 30 minutes before serving to allow the cream cheese mixture to firm.

Monday, September 23, 2013

September Block Lotto Boomer Block

I have only managed to make one Block Lotto for September so far.  Here's "Boomer".
  It's a 6" x 9" block.



Join me on the Block Lotto Blog

Friday, September 20, 2013

Split Decision #1 -- A Friday Finish

I'm happy that I finished this little baby quilt for a friend that is due in October.  These are the colors of her nursery.  This quilt went together really quickly with the help of my Accuquilt GO! Baby and my 2.5" strip cutter.  I am calling it Split Decision #1 because I made more blocks and was not going to add a border.  I only need three more blocks and Split Decision #2 will be made.  This little quilt measures 45" x 50".



Of course it is quilted with Circle Lord Swirls.  The back has the cutoff ends that were left from making the blocks.

I'm also happy to link up with Richard and Tanya Quilts for the Link-A-Finish FRIDAY.
 
 
I'm also linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts:
 
 
This Chicken is TO DIE FOR!!! You Gotta Try it!!! Sooo Tender & Juicy!

 MELT IN YOUR MOUTH CHICKEN

 And it's Healthy...So much better than fried!!!

 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
 1 cup Greek yogurt -plain
 1 tsp garlic powder
 1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
 1/2 tsp pepper

 Spread mixture over chicken breasts, bake at 375 degrees for 45 mins--Absolutely Delish!

 **Be sure to SHARE to save this recipe to your personal FB page for later!!! @[480934048613996:69:Susie's New Skinnier You]

 
This Chicken is TO DIE FOR!!! You Gotta Try it!!! Sooo Tender & Juicy!

MELT IN YOUR MOUTH CHICKEN

And it's Healthy...So much better than fried!!!...

1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup Greek yogurt -plain
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Spread mixture over chicken breasts, bake at 375 degrees for 45 mins--Absolutely Delish!

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Trimming Trees for Christa Quilts QA

 I started cutting out my little trees for the new quilt along at Christa Quilts.  LOVE Christa's QA's!  Of course I'll be doing my own spin on things.  I think I'll make a table topper with the trees.  My trees will be smaller, but cut quickly using my Accuquilt GO! Baby.  I had all 80 of these perfectly cut beauties cut in about 90 minutes.  (I probably could have gone faster had I not been watching tv at the time.  This is 55027.  The three triangles when put together will make a 3" square.  I'll have to figure out how big I want my tree trunks and use my strip cutters for those.

 
I got my solid fabrics from some upholstery/drapery samples that our local quilt shop gave away for FREE last year.  I brought home a whole box of these little packs.


The QA on Christa's blog doesn't start until 9/25.  I just couldn't wait!  There's plenty of time for you to join in on the fun.  The picture below is from Christa's Blog.  This is an option for the QA.

Modern Trees


Christa's Quilt Along

This recipe looks like a yummy fall comfort food!  I found it on one of my friends pages on facebook.

• Salted Pretzel Caramel Brownies •

Ingredients

• 1 box Betty Crocker fudge brownies (for 9x13 pan)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. water
• 2/3 c. vegetable oil
• 3 cups pretzels
• 1 jar caramel sauce
• coarse sea salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, or grease with cooking spray.

• Prepare brownie batter according to package instructions.

• Pour about 1/3 of the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread until the bottom of the pan is evenly coated. Then add two even layers of pretzels, covering the entire surface. Carefully spoon the remaining brownie batter on top to cover the pretzels.

• Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the brownies comes out clean. Remove and set on a cooling rack to cool.

• Spoon the caramel sauce onto the top of the brownies in an even layer. (If it is too thick, spoon the sauce into a small bowl first and microwave for 30 seconds to thin.) Sprinkle the caramel with a few pinches of sea salt.

• Serve warm, or let cool to room temperature then serve.

              ~ Can you say YUM?!?!! ~
• Salted Pretzel Caramel Brownies •

Ingredients

• 1 box Betty Crocker fudge brownies (for 9x13 pan)...
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 c. water
• 2/3 c. vegetable oil
• 3 cups pretzels
• 1 jar caramel sauce
• coarse sea salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, or grease with cooking spray.

• Prepare brownie batter according to package instructions.

• Pour about 1/3 of the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread until the bottom of the pan is evenly coated. Then add two even layers of pretzels, covering the entire surface. Carefully spoon the remaining brownie batter on top to cover the pretzels.

• Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the brownies comes out clean. Remove and set on a cooling rack to cool.

• Spoon the caramel sauce onto the top of the brownies in an even layer. (If it is too thick, spoon the sauce into a small bowl first and microwave for 30 seconds to thin.) Sprinkle the caramel with a few pinches of sea salt.

• Serve warm, or let cool to room temperature then serve.

~ Can you say YUM?!?!! ~

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

WIP Wednesday 9.18.13

This week it was exciting to finish my Tumbler Charm quilt with 1152 tumblers.  I love it!  It's mine!  It's very sentimental with all these different fabrics I have used in various quilts (plus some).



I made a decision to make all the stars the same in my Surround Stars QA top.  It's complete.



I started a new project, Split Decision baby quilt.  Believe it or not, it's quilted and ready for binding!



Here's the pieced back that I made for it.



New Projects
1 Split Decision baby quilt (almost done!)

Pieces Still Need to be Cut & Sewn
1.  Herringbone OSU quilt
2.  Digging up Bones (Owen's dinosaur quilt) -- Gave blocks to LQG Round Robin swap 4.23.13
3.  Quilt Doodle Designs BOM
4.  Rock Island Campfire Quilt
5.  Picadilly Circle
6.  Snowman quilt (pattern from Debbie Mum's book)
7. ...And Sew On BOM at Quiet Play
9.  MSBHQAL (Molli Sparkles Broken Herringbone Quilt Along)

Blocks Still Need to be Made
1.  NY Beauty
2.  Orca Bay
3.  We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler
4.  Red/White Flower Basket Quilt
5.  Maroon Star Sampler Quilt
6.  Color coordinated hexagon quilt
7.  Gourmet Quilter Sampler
8.  Bluepatch Mystery Quilt
9. Amanda Murphy Designs (ugly fabric quilt)
10.  Drunkard's Path Variation baby quilt
11.  Finding Nemo Scrappy Trip quilt

Blocks are made but need to be sewn together (and/or some sashing)
1.  Block Swap Adventure Sampler (2011-2012)
2.  Butterfly Blocks (that I won)
3.  Orange/Blue Fish Blocks (that I won)
4.  Split Stars (blocks won from Block Lotto; October, 2012)
5.  African Violet baby quilt (Block Lotto inspired)
6.  Tall Fly (blocks won from Block Lotto; January 2013)

Quilts back needs o be made (tops are done)
1.  Grandma's WIP -- Cameo Rose (this one is a long-term project)
2.  Grandma's WIP #2 (This is also a long-term project)
3.  LQG Christmas charity quilt


Ready to longarm
1.  Dutchman's Puzzle
2.  Scrappy Christmas QA (I think I am going to straight-line quilt this one.)
3.  Spring Mystery 2013 (still need to rip out those early longarming eyelashes)
4.  Easy Street (still have no idea how to quilt this big one.)
5.  Geese blocks from May 2013 Block Lotto
6.  LQG Ship charity quilt
7.  LQG Just 6" Squares
8.  Lucky Stars
9.  LQG Row by Row charity quilt

Quilted, needs binding
1.  Split Decision Baby Quilt

 Each Wednesday I try to link up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.  Check out what others are doing!


WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Pieced Back for Split Decision

I did an improve pieced back for my Split Decision baby quilt.  I used all the little cut-off ends to make a strip.  I like it!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Split Decision Baby Quilt Top Complete

I made a split decision to change my Split Decision baby quilt.  I added borders and now I am much much happier with it.  Here's the quilt top:


This is MUCH better than the quilt I had laid out on the bed yesterday.  Looks like I just need to make a few more blocks and I will have a second quilt!  Here's yesterday's version:

 
See, the borders really make those blocks stand out.  Whohoo.  It also looks more crib size now too.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Baby Quilt

I like this block.  I like the pattern.  I like the colors.  I don't know if I like this quilt.  It's for a friend who is having a baby boy.  These are the colors of her nursery.  Guess I'll mess with the layout just a little more.  Gotta move that orange one on the bottom...


Of course my tumbler charm quilt is on my bed!

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Surround Stars -- Now that's better!

I couldn't look at my Surround Stars quilt anymore I had to fix that little block.  It just wasn't right.  My take on modern wasn't working.  Here's the way it is NOW.


This is the way it looked before I fixed it.  That little block just keeps looking at me like one eye...

The little block will end up on the back somewhere.  I'm not making this quilt any bigger.  It will have green binding.  I really like the photo at the top.  It makes me happy.  Check out the other quilts at the Happy Quilting flickr group.

For the Star Surround pattern, go to Melissa's blog Happy Quilting.

 
Speaking of stars, have you seen the contest at Alycia Quilts?
 

Submit five stars and stripes blocks (or choose the blue and yellow log cabin block) for each entry for the prizes.  Check it out!



Wednesday, September 11, 2013

WIP Wednesday 9.11.13

Busy busy busy!  Notice I didn't even have time to put commas in that sentence...  I thought with kindergarten starting that I would have more time to quilt.  NOT!  Kindergarten makes me really busy.  Just busy.  Here's what happened this week:

I finished the Quilt Doodle Designs BOM for September.  I didn't really like this block at first, but when I saw how nice my points turned out, it's one of my favorite blocks in the quilt.  This block is called End of Summer.

 
 
I finished longarming the Pegasus Charity Quilt (a group effort quilt for my local quilt guild).
 
 
 
I also picked up a few more quilts at my LQG to longarm for charity.
 
 
 
I'm working on the binding on my Tumbler Charm quilt.  Expect an exciting Friday Finish!  Other than that, not much happening this week.

New Projects
0

Pieces Still Need to be Cut & Sewn
1.  Herringbone OSU quilt
2.  Digging up Bones (Owen's dinosaur quilt) -- Gave blocks to LQG Round Robin swap 4.23.13
3.  Quilt Doodle Designs BOM
4.  Rock Island Campfire Quilt
5.  Picadilly Circle
6.  Snowman quilt (pattern from Debbie Mum's book)
7.  Star Surround QA at Happy Quilting blog
8.  ...And Sew On BOM at Quiet Play
9.  MSBHQAL (Molli Sparkles Broken Herringbone Quilt Along)
10.  MSBHQAL


Blocks Still Need to be Made
1.  NY Beauty
2.  Orca Bay
3.  We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler
4.  Red/White Flower Basket Quilt
5.  Maroon Star Sampler Quilt
6.  Color coordinated hexagon quilt
7.  Gourmet Quilter Sampler
8.  Bluepatch Mystery Quilt
9. Amanda Murphy Designs (ugly fabric quilt)
10.  Drunkard's Path Variation baby quilt
11.  Finding Nemo Scrappy Trip quilt

Blocks are made but need to be sewn together (and/or some sashing)
1.  Block Swap Adventure Sampler (2011-2012)
2.  Butterfly Blocks (that I won)
3.  Orange/Blue Fish Blocks (that I won)
4.  Split Stars (blocks won from Block Lotto; October, 2012)
5.  African Violet baby quilt (Block Lotto inspired)
6.  Tall Fly (blocks won from Block Lotto; January 2013)

Quilts back needs o be made (tops are done)
1.  Grandma's WIP -- Cameo Rose (this one is a long-term project)
2.  Grandma's WIP #2 (This is also a long-term project)
3.  LQG Christmas charity quilt
5.  Lucky Stars


Ready to longarm
1.  Dutchman's Puzzle
2.  Scrappy Christmas QA (I think I am going to straight-line quilt this one.)
3.  Spring Mystery 2013 (still need to rip out those early longarming eyelashes)
4.  Easy Street (still have no idea how to quilt this big one.)
5.  Geese blocks from May 2013 Block Lotto
6.  LQG Ship charity quilt
7.  LQG Pegasus quilt (loaded on the longarm 9/4/13)

Quilted, needs binding
1.  Tumbler Charm quilt


Each Wednesday I try to link up with Lee at Freshly Pieced.  Check out what others are doing!


WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Saturday, September 7, 2013

County Fair Quilts 2013 -- Very photo heavy...

Here are some of the quilts at the county fair that caught my eye. 


 
 
 
 
 (There's my String of Pearls quilt.  It got a 2nd place in the machine sewn category.  First place was the first picture on this post.)  That quilt had awesome quilting!

 
 
 
 


 
This one had amazing feather/crosshatch quilting.  Someday I want to do that!

 
 


 

 
 
 
 

Friday, September 6, 2013

Finish (& Frame) Friday - Pegasus Quilt

This week I was giving the Pegasus Quilt and loaded in on the frame.  It's called the Pegasus Quilt because each year my LQG makes a quilt to be donated to Pegasus.  Pegasus Farms is a therapeutic horseback riding program in our area.  My son and I have gone to a few events there.

Members of the guild made blue star blocks.  The white background fabric was supplied to us and we provided the blue and chose the star pattern.  Most of us made two blocks.  One block went into this quilt and the other block went into our challenge quilt.  The challenge quilt is won by a guild member by drawing a name out of a hat (one chance per block made.)  The winner then selects the theme for the next challenge and provides some of the fabric.  We do two challenge quilts per year.

Anywho... many members contributed star blocks.  The person in charge of the challenge put the quilt top together.  Another person made the back (it's plain white, but nicely surged and square).  I am longarming it.  I will pass it off to be trimmed and have the binding put on it.  Another person will make a label.  Another person will sew on the label.  Somebody will present it to Pegasus Farms for their main charity event.  It's a whole guild effort.  I'm honored that they trusted me to quilt it.

 
 
 

I chose to quilt it with Circle Lord swirls since that is what I am most confident with right now.

For those of you still reading...  You can see my Dodge Ram through the window... AKA my cutting table while my son is in speech therapy.  LOL.  Didn't realize that was in the shot.  Guess it wants credit too.

Low and behold and a little insomnia, I was handed this quilt on Tuesday and it is FINISHED (with my part) on Friday!!!  I was so nervous about having a white quilt around with a mechanical/construction working husband and a six year old son.  I quickly threw it in my truck and delivered it to the next person for trimming and binding.  I'm very happy with the longarming!!!

 

 
I'm also happy to link up with Richard and Tanya Quilts for the Link-A-Finish FRIDAY.