A little fall quilt

A pretty little wall hanging one of my quilting buddies made.

Just thought it would make you smile :-)

Happy Quilting!

Another finish

Years ago, someone gave me this floral fabric.

It was not what I usually would buy for myself, so it sat in my stash for a while. At first I thought I would make something for the lady who gave me the fabric, but as time went on, and so did she, it never happened.

Eventually I found the black on black to compliment the floral and the project started.

My plan is to gift this to a Vietnamese couple that attends my church.  He is undergoing chemo for liver cancer. They have difficulty with the language, but aren't quilts are a universal language?

Can I get a Whoop Whoop? 
Finished or Not Friday 

 Finish it up Friday 
Fabric Tuesday 

The Road to Testament

Recently I have been reading books written by Eva Marie Everson. When I find an author I like, I tend to devour everything they have written. Most recently I read The Road to Testament.

 

This a story is about a young woman who was raised in a life of privilege. At age 30, she is given an ultimatum about expanding her boxed in life.  She must return to the small town where her grandparents had, at one time, produced a "home and garden" type magazine. Resurrecting the magazine and working for the town newspaper turns out to be a challenge for Ashlynne Rothschild. Meeting gruff William Decker finds her arrested by his good looks and mysterious behavior. All which taunt her natural curiosity as a journalist. When she uncovers some deeply troubling evidence about some of the towns folk, Ashlynne finds she cannot keep her hands off. Jeopardizing the community, her career and her growing affections for Will.

Eva Marie Everson has a way of transporting you into the pages of her novel. I really enjoyed this book.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

 With the holidays approaching, I thought I would share a few recipes that we enjoy during the season.

My daughter makes this yummy dessert recipe. This is almost like a pumpkin pie cobbler. Try it warm from the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Pumpkin Pie Cake

Ingredients:
2 (15 oz) can canned pumpkin puree
1 (12 fluid oz) can evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 (18.25 oz) package yellow cake mix
3/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease one 9 x 13 pan
2 In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the pumpkin mixture. Melt butter and drizzle over the cake mix. Sprinkle nuts over the top.
4. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until done.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

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Bread for the Journey

The bigger the storm the more we need to trust.

 "He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed."

 Psalm 107:29  (NIV)

Quilting with my walking foot

Machine quilting. It's been my goal, working to finish the UFO's that have piled up. So the question is... how to quilt them?

Over the years I have tried my hand at free motion quilting. Every time I get a little bit of control and ease in the quilting, I find that there is a huge break in time. I lose the momentum, and the next time I sit down at the sewing machine, my quilting looks like a disaster.

Taking the time to practice, practice, practice has brought a sense of frustration. So in light of completing the quilt, I purposed to do straight stitching with my walking foot.

Case in point... I started quilting straight lines through the body of this quilt.

Crossing over to make an X over the white blocks.

But I can also fancy up the quilting a bit, just by adding curves and arcs.

All done with my walking foot.

 

I machine quilted straight vertical lines on this last quilt. 

But then I felt I needed to do something more. So here is what I did.

Starting at one point, I spotted down two rows. Went back to the top and crossed over, again spotting two rows down.

I love the way it turned out.

My quilts are not going to win any prizes, but they are what I love to do. Using geometric designs works for me. Better to be finished than perfect :-)

Happy Quilting!

Can I get a Whoop Whoop? 
Finished or Not Friday 

 Finish it up Friday 
Fabric Tuesday 

Did you miss it?

Did you know that the Quilt  Alliance hosted Quilters Take Manhattan last month? It must have been an awesome experience for those able to attend.

Well I was not there, but I entered for their giveaway, and guess what? I won a prize from Victoria Findlay Wolfe's blog!

So what did I win?

This awesome tote. And...

 all these goodies!

I was also sent a link for the Home Show. I've not had time to take a peek yet, but I will :-)

Enjoy a Happy Quilting day!

Bread for the Journey

He changes the times and the seasons.

Daniel 2:21

UFO's on the march

In my quest to work down my UFO list, I am finding quilt tops that make me smile.

I love this ladybug fabric. Originally the fabric was used to make a baby quilt as a gift. I had enough fabric left to make another small version of the same pattern. I quilted the boxes and outlined the geo's around them. Another cute baby quilt at the ready.

Happy Quilting!

Can I get a Whoop Whoop? 
Finished or Not Friday 

 Finish it up Friday 
Fabric Tuesday 

Apple Pie Goodie

Apples. They are in abundance this time of year. But what do you do with all those apples?

A few years ago I found the yummiest recipe on Kim's blog.

 

Apple Pie Goodie has been a mainstay for us. A dessert that makes up quickly and everyone seems to love it.

Go to Kim's blog post for the recipe. You won't regret it!

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Bread for the Journey

(source)

String quilt

I forgot how much fun it is to make these stripy quilts.

What a great way to use up scraps. I made this following the Craftsy Block of the month from 2012. It was the March block.

So much fun!

Happy scrappy Quilting

Can I get a Whoop Whoop? 
Finished or Not Friday 

 Finish it up Friday 
Fabric Tuesday 

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How quilting has changed

Things change in the quilting world. I recently found the folder from my very first quilting class.

Looks pretty vintage and worn.

And amazingly I had dated the page from the first class. July 6, 1983! Wow, look at my list of supplies for the class.

Between needles
Thimble
Pins - T pins
Quilting thread
Batting
Cloth
Quilting frame
Transfer paper
Plastic for templates
TWO pair of scissors - cloth and paper.......

Okay you get the picture.

It was a fun and interesting class. We were to work on blocks for a sampler quilt. The teacher was patient and very knowledgeable. On the day we were learning about creating and cutting out templates, she brought out a package and showed us a tool that would make cutting much more accurate and easier then using scissors. Yeah, right, we all said. Well of course that tool was the rotary cutter, and the rest is history.

I never did finish my 15 1/2" blocks. As a matter of fact I do not even know whatever happened to those blocks. But a wonderful thing did happen. My sister in law attended a class in a new quilt shop that had recently opened in our area. She not only learned HOW to use this amazing new tool, she was introduced to the queen of stripping, Eleanor Burns and her Quilt in a Day method. She of course shared the information with me, and helping me pick out fabric, we both made a Log Cabin quilt.

This is the one I made.

Yes that was my first quilt. And I've been hooked on Quilt in a Day ever since.

Over the years I've made many different quilts, and they mostly stem from the method I learned from Eleanor Burns. This quilt was made after I watched a QIAD PBS program. At the time Eleanor Burns was showing a 10 year old how to make this fun strippy quilt. I loved her process and enjoyed making, not only the fall quilt, but this Christmas one too.

Now all that to say, the other night I was wondering if I could view the same program with the little 10 year old girl. I went online and tried to find it, but to no avail. However, I did find a link at QIAD community for some past programs. Boy was that fun. I enjoyed seeing lots of quilts that Eleanor has made through the years. This was a great incentive. Here is the link if you'd like to take a look. Even though it says error, type in Quilt in a Day in the search box, and the videos will pop up.

I am not a fancy quilter. I love to make geometric designs and highlight beautiful fabrics. It's been fun to use Eleanor's techniques to make quilts look harder then they really are. Yep, we've come a long way baby.

Have a great quilting day!

Autumn

Bread for the Journey

What's cooking?

 

 What's cooking in your kitchen tonight?