Getting a little bit done!

Over the past year I've been posting pictures of flower basket blocks that I'm doing as a bom from Sisters' Scraps in Amarillo, TX. Well here is the center all put together...finally.

 

I'll get the borders next month and hopefully it will be ready for the quilter May 15th. I did buttonhole/blanket stitch applique with mostly silk thread, by hand and it is looking very pretty.

Back to the salt mines....lol

I've received the nicest award

from Elly and from Rosa, two of the nicest people that you'd ever want to meet!

 

I really do feel a sisterhood with my fellow quilting bloggers. I find myself praying for them when they're in need and thinking about their projects and lives and sometimes even talking to them (hi Rosa :o))

So in order to officially be the recipient of this prestigious award, I need to do a few things first --
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate 10 or fewer blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person from whom you received your award.

Okay, here it goes...in no particular order.

1) Elly - we share a love of applique (she's really good!) and we're birthday twins...yeah August 18th (she's older...lol). Plus she lives in a beautiful part of the world and someday I would love to visit her.

2) Rosa - She is the funniest, kindest, most helpful person I've met blogging. I've also actually spoken to her and she has an accent or do I have an accent...lol...I'm just not sure. Rosa has a web cam so sometimes you can see her in her sewing room.

3) Penny - Penny is a fellow Okie, although she doesn't live here right now. Penny makes these awesome quilts and then quilts them on her long arm and they're beautiful! She also has two pretty dogs, Evelyn and Pearl and she works as a Child Advocate, so quilting really is a stress reliever for her.

4) Marja - Marja is amazing in that she has two little children and she manages to not only quilt, but work on several other crafty hobbies. Her work is beautiful and so are her kiddies. We both like embroidery and hand work and have several of the same projects going right now.

5) Perry - Another fellow Okie and we have other connections as well....hi Jackson! Perry makes some beautiful quilts, let me tell you and she's always witty and amusing! Someday we will meet up in OKC, when the weather cooperates.

6) Janet - I love everything, I mean everything that Janet does. She's fearless, I think. She can look at a quilt and draw it off and then make it!!! Because of Janet, I have several new books in my quilt library this month...lol

7) Kaaren - Kaaren is not only a talented quilter, she paints these tiny cute itty bitty Santa's for charity. Plus I love her pincushions and her antique pincushion collection.

8) Hanne - Hanne doesn't know me, but her blog was one of the first blogs that I bookmarked. Her work is a constant inspiration to me. Plus I think that red and white might be one of her favorite combos. Her Nearly Insane quilt is why I started over on my NI and made it red & white.

9) Sonia - Sonia does it all. She a paper artist, a stitcher and a quilter. She is extremely talented and generous as evidenced by the gifts sent to me as seen in a previous post. Thanks again Sonia.

Okay, there you have it. Please take time to visit these blogs, you won't be disappointed because they are all so talented and always provide inspiration.

p.s. I would award my friend Sharon as well, but she doesn't have a blog!

Okay so maybe I spoke too soon...

 

This is about 30 minutes after the other snow picture was taken....LOL

The spring blizzard that WASN'T...

I don't know if you can tell or not from the picture, but it finally started snowing at 9:30am, Central time. To be fair to the weathermen we did have sleet for about 20 minutes last night.

 

Can you see the tiny snowflakes??? See my new green chairs for the deck? I love them! We're going to paint the glider yellow, I think. I love it too. We'd probably be painting the glider this weekend, but it is too gross outside.

Oh I've been reminded several times to post the Coffee Cake recipe, so here it is.

Coffee Cake Recipe that dates back to 1850.
2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. sugar
2 Tbs. baking powder
Sift the above ingredients together into a bowl. Cut in 1/2 c. butter (1 stick) and don't use margarine it wouldn't taste the same I'm sure.

Beat 1 egg into a 1 cup measuring cup & fill remainder of cup up with milk. Beat a little and add it to dry ingredients. Add 1 tsp. vanilla. Pour into greased 8x8 pan. Dredge generously with brown sugar & cinnamon. Dot with butter (use lots).
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve warm...yummy! Reheats well in the microwave too! Let me know how you like it, okay?

Here's another little Janiebright block that I finished. I also did another triangle but have yet to take a picture of it.

Stay warm,

How can it be almost a week...

Since my last post??? I haven't really felt like blogging much, although I have been checking lots of blogs. It's just been a weird week. Monday started off with a doozie of a weather system passing through for about 8 hours off and on. Wave after wave of strong thunderstorms with major wind, hail and rain. Here is a picture of one bout of hail early on in the evening. If it had been the hard kind of hail it would have done so much damage.

 

Tuesday dawned bright and clear and the day was spent with Kathy and Sharon making these cute little bags for our travel irons.

 

You can put your iron in it pretty warm because it has insulbrite inside of it. Took me all day to make 2 of these...lol I figured I'd have it whipped out in no time and could work on a quilt, but no it was much more detailed than that!

I've also been working on my new DJ quilt, Janiebright and here are pictures of a few of the blocks I've done.

 

I love making these little darlings. The bright colors make me happy, but I'm not going to forsake my other projects to do this quilt in a hurry. Kathy and I went to the Dear Jane monthly group at the local quilt shop last night and it was fun. I think there were 8 of us and we talked one more lady into starting one. It's such an addictive quilt, but I love it.

I did get a wonderful surprise in the mail from Sonia. She was the person that I sent my Secret Santa gifts to last year. I also sent her a pattern later so that her and her Mom could make a table runner. Well for a thank you to me here is what she sent

 

all the way from Australia! Sonia is very talented and I am grateful! Thank you so much for making my day...you are so sweet!

Well I think that's all for now. We're supposed to get a huge snow storm starting later today. Right now it's pouring rain. I stopped at the grocery store to get supplies yesterday...you know I wouldn't want to be snowed in without food...lol...I'm sure the snow will be gone by Sunday, but one has to take precautions, just in case!

Are you all having a great day???

I sure hope so, because I'm having my favorite kind of day. I've been puttering in my sewing room all day long. I'm not even dressed yet...lol But that's okay because it's gloomy, sort of rainy and cool outside.

Here is the quilt that Kara made and I quilted. If you look closely you can see our little Pom, Shia peeking at you.

 

It's really a pretty quilt and I just did an all-over meander on it. Remember before you judge, I'm not a quilter, I don't have a long arm and it's not my favorite thing to do. I decided this year I was going to quilt some of our quilts because at about $100 a pop(for just a panto or meander) I could go broke really fast. Plus I already paid to have my Dear Jane custom quilted and it wasn't cheap, but it was well worth it. Here is another shot so you can see the fabrics in this quilt. They are so sophisticated and lovely!

 

Remember the applique class that I took? Well I've already shared the first 2 blocks with you and so here are the last 2 blocks.

 

 

I've really loved learning some new techniques and I've already got more applique projects underway!

Last but not least I started my new "Bright Janie" quilt and I pieced one block and prepped two more for applique to take to the monthly DJ group on Thursday.

 

As I was working on these little blocks, I realized how much I had missed them. Isn't that silly, but it's true. The Nearly Insane blocks are similar to make, but so different. I did get another one of those made as well, but I'll save that picture for tomorrow.

Well I'm back in my little room to find something else to do. Oh several of you have asked for the coffee cake recipe and I'll try to get that posted tomorrow.

Coffee Cake anyone?

 

Now I'm no PioneerWoman (how does she get such good pics, oh I know, she doesn't quilt) but I occasionally do a little something in the kitchen. Last night I made a Coffee Cake for hubby. The recipe is from a friend from Boston and it dates to 1850. It's yummy and not too sweet, just perfect with a nice hot cup of coffee or a nice cold glass of milk. Yummy!

On to the quilty front, I did get a Nearly Insane block done

 

And I sewed down 2 sides of the binding on Kara's quilt, so I should finish that tonight and show some pictures tomorrow. I'm going to really celebrate National Quilter's Day tomorrow by sewing all day long. Well I'm off to make another NI block and then do our taxes.