Bread for the Journey

Bread for the Journey

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Deadline finishes

Rushing towards the finish line. There's always some last minute sewing going on in my sewing room.

Minnie Mouse Pillowcases for the daughters of friends.

 Baby quilt for our newest grandchild.

And this unexpected gift that is gracing my dining room table.

How about you? Are you rushing to finish before December 25th?

Happy Quilting!

Can I get a Whoop Whoop? 
Finished or Not Friday 

 Finish it up Friday 

Quick and easy gift

Many years ago my friend and I made Peppermint Trees as table decorations for a Christmas luncheon.  Over the years I've made the Trees to give as gifts.  They are great for co-workers, friends, teachers or for someone who is hard to buy for.

Start with these basics -

I've always used hairpins, but you can use straight pins too.  I like the hairpins best because you can just pull a candy off the tree and the pin stays in place, and you don't have to worry about discarding a straight pin.

Start with the bottom layer

 You can make the candies as tight or lose as you prefer.  I like to leave a little space between rows.

The closer you get to the top, you will need to angle the pins into the styrofoam.  

Cut pieces of thin green ribbon and pull them into a knot (not too tight) 

 then insert another hairpin

 which goes right into the tree.

You can put as many or as few ribbons into the tree as you like.  I loop some ribbon and take another hairpin and stick it into the top of the tree.

This makes a really nice gift for someone who can set it on their desk at work or school. Or maybe a loved one who lives in a Nursing home. It's quick and easy. This year I had a difficult time finding the hair pins, which used to be available at Walmart. I ended up going to a beauty supply store, but also found them online. So next year I'll be ordering them through Amazon.

Enjoy!

Bread for the Journey

Winner winner!

 

It's been a busy time here at the cottage. I hope everyone is just about ready for Christmas. I gathered up all the qualifying entries, gave the Random generator a click and the winner of my Deck the Halls giveaway is ....

Vicki H from Kansas.

I've sent Vicki an email, but if you see this post Vicki, please send me your mailing address.

 Thanks to everyone who entered.

Happy Quilting!

Let's Panel

Panels often make a quick quilt. Adding borders and quilting can end up being a lovely gift.

Case in point.

Last month I saw this panel made up in my local quilt shop. It looked like something my DIL would like.

Soooo.....

I added a border and finished the binding...

.....ready for gifting!

Happy Christmas Quilting!

Can I get a Whoop Whoop? 
Finished or Not Friday 

 Finish it up Friday 

Pumpkin Pie Cake

My daughter makes this yummy dessert recipe. With the holidays very soon upon us, this is one recipe you will want to make. 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.

Bread for the Journey

Christmas all around

We've talked about decorating for Christmas, but this year I wanted to add some Christmas cheer to our guest room.

JoAnn's has this really cute fabric with a red truck carrying a Christmas tree in the bed. There are also quilts and puppies. What could be cuter.

So being that I was on a pillowcase binge, I thought I'd make a couple of pillowcases and brighten up the room's decor.

Maybe by next year I can add two matching Christmas quilts at the foot of the beds.

And don't forget to sign up for my giveaway. You can find it on my last post HERE.

The giveaway is open until December 15th.

Can I get a Whoop Whoop? 
Finished or Not Friday 

 Finish it up Friday 

Deck the Halls plus (givewaway)

 This time of year we do more decorating with quilts than any other.  Tablerunners, wall hangings, throws on the sofa.

Do you decorate for the Christmas holidays? In the past I've participated in Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway day. But I don't see it listed for this year.  So it's been a long time since I've hosted a giveaway, and I thought to end the year with my own giveaway.

Here it is! A layer cake from Tula Pink called Holiday Homies plus a copy of the Fall issue of BLOCK by Missouri Star PLUS a variegated thread by Connecting Threads to pull it all together!

To enter just leave a comment on this post telling me where you are from and how you decorate for the holidays. That's it!  The giveaway will close on December 15th, announcing the winner on the 16th. Be sure that you leave your email contact if you are not a no-reply blogger. 

Thanks for hanging so faithfully with me all year. I've not done a lot of quilting this year, but I love hearing from each one of you. Wishing you a very Merry and joyful Christmas!

Happy Quilting!

Snow Man wrappers

If you want to make something too adorable for words, and does not involve sewing, check out these Snow Man Candy Wrappers.  I made mine with those 99c stretchy gloves. Just stick one on as a hat and tie it up at the top.  The fingers will look like the fringe on the pattern.  What a great little stocking stuffer or quick gift for that special child in your life :-)

I'm posting a second link in case the first one doesn't work.

Snow Man

Bread for the Journey

Case for Smiles

For the last few weeks, I've been working on a project.

It all kind of started when I read about the One Million Pillowcases. I knew I couldn't get them done in time for the challenge, yet I wanted to do my part. And it seemed like a good way to work down my stash (at least a little bit).

So I will be delivering 22 pillowcases for Ryan's Case for Smiles to my nearby Quilt shop. I have more cut out, but I thought maybe these would make it to some of the kids before Christmas. 

Can I get a Whoop Whoop? 
Finished or Not Friday 

 Finish it up Friday 

Christmas tutorials

Here are some fun tutorials for your Christmas gift giving.

GIFT TAGS

TRAVEL SIZE TISSUE COZY

PLEATED PURSE

FRIENDSHIP BAG

SOFTIE DOLL

CUTIE POUCHES

NOTEBOOK COVER

CHARMING HANDBAG

VINYL FRONT ZIPPERED POUCH

VINYL POUCH

DOLL BEDDING

NEEDLE BOOK

DOUBLE POTHOLDER

LUGGAGE TAG

Happy Quilting and gift making!

Bread for the Journey

Giving thanks

One more walk in a quilt shop

After purchasing the Home for the Holiday Christmas panel in South Carolina, we discovered they were out of the coordinating fabrics. So after arriving home, off I went to my local quilt shop to see if they might still have fabric in this line.

 I found a variety of Christmas inspiration.

And low and behold! They had the coordinating fabric :-)  

woo-hoo!  Christmas project in the works.

Happy Quilting!

Cranberry Pineapple Salad

We love making this recipe during the holidays.  Although it's a refreshing salad/dessert any time of the year.  But the festive Whole Berry Cranberries goes so well with the holidays.

Cranberry Pineapple Salad

1 can (20 oz) Crushed Pineapple

2 packages (3 oz ) OR 1 large package Raspberry Gelatin

1 can (16 oz) Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

1 medium apple, chopped

2/3 cup Chopped Nuts

Drain pineapple, reserve all liquid.Add enough cold water to measure 3 cups and pour into saucepan.

Bring to a boil, remove from heat.  Add gelatin, stir for 2 minutes until completely dissolved.  Add Whole Berry Cranberry sauce, and stir until well blended.  Pour into a large bowl and refrigerate at least 1 1/2 hours until slightly thickened.

Stir in remaining pineapple, apple and nuts, stirring gently until well blended.

Pour into mediums size cake pan (or festive bowl) and refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

** When in a pinch, I have used Strawberry Jello as a substitute for the Raspberry.  

Enjoy!

Bread for the Journey

Do not be anxious, said our Lord.

Have peace from day to day - 

The lilies neither toil nor spin,

Yet none are clothed as they.

The meadowlark with sweetest song

Fears not for bread or nest

Because he trusts our Father's love

And God knows what is best.

~ Helen Steiner Rice ~

Another Quilt Shop hop

This quilt shop was by far my favorite stop on our trip. Located in Lexington SC, just on the west side of Columbia, it was a delightful treat.

Although not a terribly large shop, we were greeted with warm Southern hospitality. Everyone was helpful and offered smiles instead of frowns. (I've never been able to understand why employees of some quilt shops can be so grumpy) Beautiful selections of fabric.

And this is what we bought.

The panel and fabric to make Sidelights. (not the yellow fabric)

If we lived in the area, this quilt shop would be a regular stop for me and my quilting buddies.

It's sure to make for Happy Quilting!