Out with the old.

New goals for 2014!

 

This coming year I am going to be better about writing on my blog.

I am going to sew more, and get some of my UFO's finished.

I would like to become more confident  in my free motion quilting and grow my long arm business.

There it is I have said it, it's out there in the universe and I can't take it back.

 

2013 was a very good year, I have so much to be thankful for.

My children bring me great joy! I have been blessed with two wonderful kids.

 

I am also blessed to have this great guy as my husband. He is always encouraging me, helping me with all my projects and always supporting everything I do.

I have lost two friends to Cancer this year and have rekindled a few old friendships, I went back to work part time and back to teaching a few classes.

I may have a few more pounds, a few more wrinkles and even a few more gray hairs but grateful for all I have.

I wish all of you a very blessed 2014





Blessed Life

My life has become very busy but everyday I thank the Lord for all I have, I am truly blessed.

 

With that being said, I have gone back to work a few days a week at the original quilt shop I worked at many years ago. I love it and love seeing all the wonderful creative customers. I will be teaching a few classes in the coming months. The first class is called Fun with Dresdens. I will teach three different Dresden techniques.

Here is a picture of the shop sample for this class.

 

The second class is a Scrappy Trip, these quilts are so fun to make, you would be surprised at all the variation you have for laying out these blocks. The technique I will be teaching is fast and fun. I will teach you a fun and easy trick to putting these blocks together fast and easy.

 

I have an update on our chickens (the girls) we now have three producing eggs.

Two brown and one white egg a day.

They really are beautiful eggs.

 

Yesterday was the perfect fall day to stay home and sew and bake.

A pumpkin recipe was in order so I made these yummy Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cookies.



In a separate bowl add,

2 1/2 cups flour

1 Tsp. baking powder

1 Tsp. baking soda

2 Tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg

1/2 Tsp. Clove

1/2 Tsp. Salt

 

In a mixer add,

 1/2 cup soften butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup can Pumpkin

1 egg

1 Tsp. Vanilla

Blend until combined. Add one cup at a time of flour mixture until all is incorporated.

Scoop onto a lightly greased pan and cook in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Once the cookies are cooled you can frost them with this yummy cream cheese frosting.

 

Cream Cheese frosting.

1 stick soften butter

6 oz. soften Cream Cheese

2 cups powder sugar

1 Tsp. Vanilla.

 

I also added raisins to the last batch of cookies, my husband liked the raisins ones the best so next time I make these raisins will go into the whole batch. You could even add chocolate chips.

 

Enjoy.

 





 

 

 







Absent

 

Absent doesn't even describe my lack of post.

 

I have been busy but that is no excuse for not taking a few moments to write a post.
 

I first want to say how excited I am to announce I have gone back to work a few days a week. Back where my first obsession for everything quilting first started. Yes, I am back to work at A Quilters Oasis, the first quilt shop I worked in many years ago. It has been great fun and I love seeing all the wonderful customers. One of the things I am trying to do is help Kathy get information out via social media. So please follow us on Instagram @aquiltersoasis  and like us  Facebook at A Quilter's Oasis.

 I am busy sewing up two class samples that I will be teaching in the next few months. I will post pictures and class dates in the next week.

 

In other great news, we have gotten our first egg!!!!

 

Isn't it a beauty! 

We think Luna might be the one giving our first eggs.

 

 

I posted a picture of some cookies I made the other day on Facebook and several people asked me for the recipe. I think the original recipe came from one of my brothers girlfriends in high school. They were a favorite bar cookie that my Mom made. So easy to make and a crowd favorite.

Scotch a Roo's

Take on cup light corn syrup and one cup sugar and cook over medium heat until it comes to a light boil and all sugar is dissolved.

Remove from heat and add one cup of peanut butter.

Once combined add 6 cups of Rice Krispys.

(or any Chex cereal)

Next take 6 oz. of Chocolate chips and 6 oz. of Butterscotch chips and melt in a double broiler. Once melted spread on top bars.

*warning* These cookies are highly addicting.

 

I will try and be better about posting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 



 



Who needs cupcakes, just give me a bowl of this frosting!

Well it is no secret that I love to make cupcakes, I have played around with lots of different frostings and yesterday I found a new favorite.

 

 

I have the best chocolate cake recipe that I also use for my cupcakes.

and if asked I will share it but for now it's all about the frosting.

 

I am not sure where I found this frosting recipe, I like to give credit whenever I find something that turns out so good.  I follow so many great blogs, I am not sure which one I found this on because I copied it on a pink birthday envelope. I don't even have the proper name so I am just re-naming it the best fluffy frosting.

 

2 jars of Marshmallow Fluff

3 Sticks of Butter

1 cup powder sugar

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

 

Whip Marshmallow Fluff  until it is nice and creamy, add soften butter 1 tablespoon at a time, mix until nice and fluffy.

Add one cup powder sugar and Vanilla.

That's it, so simple! The hardest part is getting the Fluff out of the jars, I immersed them in hot water for a few minutes and that seemed to help.

You can add food coloring and even another flavor extract.
I feel it is my duty to warn you, this frosting is so yummy you could skip the cupcake and eat it right out of the mixing bowl! 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Looking forward to fall!

Fall is my most favorite time of year, I love the cooler weather, the changing of the season and most of all the colors.

Right now we are getting ready to plant our fall garden. I have really missed being able to walk out into my yard and pick fresh vegetables. Here in Arizona it is hard to grow much when it is 115 degrees outside. The only thing that survived the extreme heat was our eggplant, peppers, okra and cantaloupe.

 

 We are planting a section just for our chickens

I think they are going to be very happy!

We joined this great seed of the month club, every month we get 3 to 4 seed packets in the mail.  They are from Mike the Gardener and what I like most about them is the are GMO free!

 

The girls are getting so big and we are hoping they are going to be laying eggs very soon.

This is Luna, she seems to be the boss lady, she loves Wally and follows him around.  All you have to do is shake the treat bag and she comes running.

This is Mable,  we refer to her as the annoying little sister.  She is always making the other girls mad!

 

Pepper is the black and white chick, she seems to be the cautious one, but when she is out in the yard she is the protector, she chases all the birds out of her backyard.

 

Matilda is the Red chick, she is the quite one, just kinda goes with the flow.

Our girls are a great source of entertainment. We love to sit on the patio in the morning drinking our coffee and watching our chicks run around the yard.

 

I see  lots of frittatas in our future, fresh eggs and fresh veggies.

 

 

 

 



Please help!

Reaching out to the Quilting Community.

 

My friends son has gone missing in Oregon.

He was traveling alone and was heading back to Arizona after visiting a friend in Settle WA. His car was found in the small town of Riddle Oregon.
Below is the Facebook link with his picture and more information.
Please share this link so we can get this information out, the more people who see this the better chances someone will have seen or know something.
Please keep Monica and her son Johnathan in your prayers.
Monica is a quilter and has a long arm quilting business , we need to come together and help anyway we can.  Thank You!
 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=644455742241430&set=a.293336600686681.71900.212865135400495&type=1&theater



Family Favorite

Many of you have asked me for this recipe, so I thought it would be easier to share it on my blog.

 

Easy Chicken Enchilada's

 

 

Ingredients you will need.

2 cups cooked chicken breast

( I bake a whole and half of breast in oven with a little olive oil and seasoning and when it cools down I chop it up.)

 

10 soft shell tortillas

2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese

3 tbs butter

3 tbs of flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

  4oz can of diced green chilies

Recipe didn't call for Cilantro but I love it and I think it cuts the richness of the sauce.

 

Pre heat oven to 350

Mix chicken, 1 cup cheese and some chopped cilantro in a bowl. I add the juice from the chicken into the mixture as well. It add more flavor and keeps the mixture moist.

Here is where I eyeball the amount of mixture I add to a tortilla. I usually use my hands and use a fist full. Lay it on one edge of the tortilla and roll it, place it in a baking pan. I use a 9 by 13 and also an 8 by 8. You don't want to smash them all into one pan.

Next melt 3 tbs of butter in a pan, add flour and cook for one minutes whisking as it cooks. Add broth and continue whisking until mixture thickens and is bubbly. Remove from heat and add the sour cream and green chilies.

Pour mixture of enchiladas, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 22 minutes or until cheese is slightly brown on top.

Serve with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

MIA

Yes, I have been MIA from my blog!

Every time I have thought about posting a blog I think to myself I don't really have anything that interesting to say. Okay, so some of you are thinking when has that ever stopped me before!

 

Lets see, I finished the dreaded tie quilt. I really didn't enjoy this project so I didn't take any final pictures. I did post one on Instagram.

 

I have been obsessed with Instagram lately, you can check out all my pictures there. Follow me at Sewbella50

 

We sent Amanda off to Jr High, can you believe it, Jr High already..... where did all that time go?

 

 

 I am also going back to work a few days a week, I will be back at A Quilters Oasis. That's right back where my obsession for quilting and fabric first started.

I will also be teaching some classes there in a few months, I will be sure to post those classes.

 

Where did our summer go?

 

 

 



No Excuse!

I have no excuse for not blogging in way over a month...except maybe....

 

Okay, I will share with you some of the things that have kept me busy during this past month and maybe you will forgive me for being absent.

Our little backyard farm which we have now named Dill-Licous Farm has kept us very busy, no complaints we are loving it.

 

 

    

There is nothing better than picking fresh vegetables from your own yard.

 

 

 

I made these carrot cake cupcakes from the carrots we grew in our garden.

 

We have also added a few new members to our family (Amanda's not to pleased) but we are loving these girls.

 

 

 

I helped Wally construct the addition to the coop as well.

 

They are so fun to watch and they really have started to develop their own personalities. Yes, they really do have personalities.....

 

My quilt room has been a little neglected this summer. I did make Amanda a duffle bag to use when she goes to Boulder to visit Aunt Barb, I will post a picture of it in the next few days. I am also working on a quilt made with silk ties and a baby quilt for our neighbor Bo and Jessica, who are expecting their first child in a few months.

 

I finally got Wally to help me recover my kitchen chairs. He had 4 days off of work so I chipped away at some of my honey do list.



Before



After



I have also enjoyed some girl time, some shopping, having lunch and lots of laughs.

 

So I guess I have been rather busy this past month, I guess it is true what they say, Time does fly when you are having fun!

 

 



 

 



 

 

 



A gift for a good friend.

I have been wanting to share this quilt with you for a while now, but it was a gift for a very good friend and I know she reads my blog so I couldn't post anything until she received it.

 

I have been having some fun with  Dresden's lately and a while back I saw a similar Dresden quilt on Pinterest.

A year ago my friend Nancy was in town for my son's graduation, she always loves going into my sewing room to see what my latest projects are. She was telling me  that she had recently changed the colors in her living room and was pointed out the new colors in a fabric collection I had in my stash.

After she left I pulled those fabric and put the aside, I decided I would make her something with that fabric for her house.

Time had passed and I kept looking at those fabrics, I went through my patterns and books but nothing really talked to me. I know for some of you that may sound strange, but for the rest of you , you know our fabric talks to us!

So one night in my menopausal 3am in the morning, wide awake, get out of bed and get on the computer time, I found a quilt on Pinterest that called to me. I knew I had found my quilt for those fabrics Nancy picked out several months ago.

As soon as I started making the different Dresden's I fell in love with the pattern.

The next part that I pondered over was the quilting. There was a lot of negative space and I wasn't quite sure what to do.  So it sat on my design wall for a month while I doodled in a sketch book.

It was calling for feathers but it had been a while since I had quilted feathers and I was having a mental block while trying to sketch them. Boy those were some funny looking feathers. I decided I was just going to put the quilt on the machine and start quilting. I convinced myself that it wasn't going to be hanging in a show or judged by expert quilters. Once I relaxed I actually started to get into my design.

I was very happy with the outcome and almost sad to see it go.

 

My fathers has been bugging me to make a quilt for a friend of his. He gave my Mom a box of silk ties several years back and asked if she could make something with them. I think this pattern will be great with those silk ties.

 

I apologize for the poor quality of my pictures, I had to use my cell phone to take the pictures and they just don't show the detail. 

This mornings harvest.

 

Our tomatoes are so happy! This is what we pick this morning.

 

So of course I knew what I had to make for dinner, Lidia Bastianich Pasta with Baked Cherry Tomatoes.

First I halved the tomatoes and put them in a large bowl.

 I added 3 TBS of Olive Oil, 1/4 tsp. pepperoncino flakes and 1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs. Mix gently and place on baking sheet and place in 350 oven.

While the tomatoes were in the oven I sliced 10 cloves of garlic and chopped 1 cup basil and grated 1/2 cup pecorino.

I put a large pot of salted water on the stove and just before the tomatoes were lightly caramelized  I added the pasta.

Next I added the sliced garlic and 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large pan.

Once the oil starts bubbling I added 2 cups pasta water and turn heat up so I had a rapid boil. Reduce the liquid by half.

 

Next I removed the tomatoes from the oven.



 

Once pasta is AL denta, I lifted it out of the water and into the pan of garlic and olive oil.

Lightly toss pasta and then add tomatoes.

Remove from heat and add the half cup of Pecorino and basil.

Next I add small dollops of Ricotta.

 

As my dear sweet Mother would say "Manga"

 

Sorry for the poor quality of the final picture, it was still steaming and it cause the picture to be a bit blurry.

 

 



 



Cooking from our garden.

Our garden is producing some amazing vegetables!

 

Last night for dinner I made Lasagna using Zucchini instead of noodles.

 

 

I used my mandolin and sliced my Zucchini lengthwise and replaced the noodles with Zucchini.

I place a small amount of Olive Oil on the bottom of my baking dish and put my first layer of Zucchini down.

Next I took Ricotta cheese and mixed in one egg, chopped Chives from the garden, grated Romano Cheese, grated Mozzarella, crushed garlic and salt and pepper.

I then spread a thin layer of the Ricotta mixture over the Zucchini and then laid another layer of Zucchini on top of that. My next layer was sliced tomatoes and lots of fresh Basil on top of the tomatoes. Another layer of Zucchini, more Ricotta another layer of Zucchini and then I topped it with Marinara sauce and grated Romano and Mozzarella cheese.

Baked it in a 350 oven for 30 minutes and let is sit for 15 once out of the oven.

It was delish! My daughter went back for seconds and that says a lot!

Our Cherry tomatoes are starting to turn red and yesterday I picked our first Cucumber. We planted Watermelon and  Pumpkins yesterday and will plant more Sunflowers and Musk Melon this weekend.

We have really enjoyed our garden and learning about the growing season in Arizona.

 

 





Summer Purse

This is one of those projects that I start about a month ago and  almost finished it but them didn't like the straps, so it sat until I got inspired again.

When I first saw this purse I loved the look of the Burlap. The original pattern by Kenzie Mac called for the straps to be Burlap as well. Very cute in theory but when I sewed the straps they felt so scratchy I knew they would drive me crazy so I decided to make the straps fabric instead.

Now this is where my anal retentive personality kicked in. I could not decided what fabric I liked for the straps. I absolutely love the line of fabric I made the purse with. It's PB&J by Basic Grey. The whole line is wonderful. The baby quilt I posted recently was also made from this line.

The problem was I kept laying different prints from the line next to the Burlap and I just was not feeling it. So my poor purse laid in my sewing room for weeks unfinished.

Last week I was out to lunch with my friend Sherry and we stopped at the Quilt store. Now Sherry doesn't sew, I know right!!!! But I love her anyway.....

I told her the dilemma I was having regarding the strap and showed her the line of fabric I was working with. Well, she helped me picked the fabric out. It's helps to have a neutral eye sometimes.

This pattern is called Elite Tote and has the option of three different sizes, I went with the medium size. The original pattern had two straps side by side but I changed it to one longer strap so it would hang better off my shoulder.

Of course I had to add a little bling and flowers to the purse because that's just how I roll.

 

 

 

 

Garden Update.

I have been crazy busy lately!

 

 My husband had his 4th 50th birthday last week and I had two different dinners for him.

My daughter was off to Sea World for her 6th grade trip. Oh what fun she had.

I have had no time in the sewing room other than to make 12 cloth napkins.

 

We have also been very busy with our garden. It will be no time until we are harvesting all of our wonderful goodies.

Our first little head of cabbage is forming in the middle, so cute!

 

Look at all those Cherry Tomatoes, and that's just one of many plants.

 

It's had to see in this picture but there are several white flowers on our pepper plants, won't be long before we will have lots of peppers.

 

This is one of 6 zucchini plants, boy are we going to have lots of zucchini!

So many beautiful variations of Sunflowers!

There is nothing better than creating a garden, this was something I wanted for years but I have to say I not sure who is getting more enjoyment out of it, me or my husband. 





 









Couldn't wait to share!

I had so much fun working on this baby shower gift, I just couldn't wait to share.

 

 

I have been getting a lot of my inspiration from Pinterest, the fabric blocks were originally a post by Camille Roskelley.

Aren't these fun!

 I used all different types of ribbon to add a sensory feature on these blocks.

 

I saw a quilt similar to this on Pinterest and thought I could make my own version using half square triangles.

 

Because there was so much empty space on this quilt, I really wanted the quilting to pop so I added two layers of a poly batting.

 

My daughter wants me to make those blocks for her. I think they would be fun with some wild fabrics and made much bigger, I will post them when we get around to making them.    







My second passion.

I don't even have to tell you what my first passion is!!!

But this has quickly become my second passion.

 

Our garden.

This is the first year for a garden so we are what you call newbies.

Yes, we have made a few mistakes but are thrilled with this years results.

We have planted onions, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, eggplant, leeks, several varieties of lettuce, two different types of peppers, strawberries, cucumbers, zucchini, basil, sage, thyme, mint, parsley, rosemary and several different types of tomatoes.

Everything is blooming and taking off nicely.  We added ladybugs over the weekend to eat all those annoying bugs.

We really had to work our bad Arizona soil this year and with the help of our compost we hope to have even better soil next year.

I have been doing a little research and we are contemplating adding a few chickens. I love the whole idea of chickens and all the benefits that come with having them, but I am just a tiny bit scared. I think I have to go visit a few local back yard farms that have them.