It's Giveaway Time At Sew-Fantastic

Terri, author of the Sew-Fantastic blog is featuring a giveaway in celebration of her 1000th sale in etsy. Visit Terri's blog for a chance to win one or more of eight prizes.

Friendship Bag Swap

I'm participating in a Friendship Bag Swap coordinated by Mishka at Quilting Gallery. There are 26 countries and 41 states that make-up the 288 participants. Although I don't have to mail my friendship bag until October 6th, I wanted to get it mailed sooner because the recipient lives outside of the United States and I'm not sure how long it will take for it to be delivered.

Here is my completed friendship bag. I used a pattern featured on Moda Bake Shop, called Charmed Gift Bag. I modified the pattern slightly so the bag is more of a box shape because I will be adding some goodies in the bag before I mail it. I love how it turned out.

Here is a look inside the bag. The insert allows the bag to sit upright. I hope the recipient likes it.

Welcome to my kitchen today

While at my sew-in last Saturday, one of my friends was generous enough to give me some rhubarb stalks from her garden. I love rhubarb.... Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam and Rhubarb Custard Pie are two of my favorites. I didn't have any strawberries to make the jam, but I had more than enough rhubarb to make a pie while freezing another 18 cups. Yummy!

Rhubarb Custard Pie
400° 50 – 60 minutes


9-inch 2 crust pie crust

4 Tbsp flour
3 eggs

1 tsp nutmeg
2 2/3 Tbsp milk

4 cups rhubarb, cut
2 cups sugar

1 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 400°. Beat eggs, slightly. Add milk. Mix together and stir in sugar, flour, and nutmeg. Add the rhubarb. Fill pie crust shell with mixture and dot with butter. Place top crust and seal edge. Cut vents in top crust to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes.

Bake in 400° oven for 50 – 60 minutes. Cool pie to room temperature before placing into refrigerator.

2 Crust Pie Crust

2 ½ cups flour

1 cup butter, cut into small cubes and frozen
1 tsp salt

4 to 8 Tbsp ice water
1 tsp sugar

In food processor, add flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse to mix. Add frozen butter and pulse until mixture resembles sand. Add ice water, one tablespoon at a time, and pulse just until mixed. You have enough water when the mixture holds together when pressed.

Place a piece of plastic wrap onto counter and spoon half of mixture onto plastic wrap. Tightly wrap pie dough with plastic wrap compressing pie dough as you wrap. Repeat for remaining pie dough. Place into refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Remove pie dough from refrigerator and roll dough out to fit pie plate on a lightly floured surface. Line pie plate and add filling. Repeat for top crust.

100th Post Give-Away

Be sure to visit missymack blog and help her celebrate her 100th post. She's having a great give-away one lucky reader. While you're there, check out her great free BOM.

Scrappy Baskets

I’m what I consider to be a traditional quilter with a hidden desire to add some spark to my designs. Of course I haven’t given way to this desire… Not yet, anyway. I tend to carry this theme in other areas of my life as well.

For instance, baking. I’ve made everything from scratch since I was a young girl. I could bake bread, roll out a pie crust, and bake a cake on my own since I was about eleven years old. However, just let me attempt to use a box shortcut and everything falls apart. Not so much with boxed cake mixes, but I’ve tried bread mixes and have never been very successful with them. Usually I get a very heavy, flat as a pancake loaf of bread. Not very appealing to the eye or stomach, huh? Perhaps it’s my love of creating and personalizing that stumps my success. Even when I bake from scratch I tend to modify the recipes. If it’s a newly tried recipe, I generally follow the recipe step-by-step. But after the first go around, the gloves are off and I modifying the recipe to make it mine. So, perhaps this is why I’ve never been able to conquer paper piecing.

I’ve tried to teach myself how to paper piece several times. In fact, a couple of years ago one of the quilting groups I participate in has a Washington State Block Swap (the blocks are our interpretation of the state of Washington) each year and I had the bright idea to use a paper pieced pattern for my block. It was a friendship star and I had purchased several prints of tulips, daffodils, apples, strawberries, corn, and other flowers or produce grown locally. The pattern was one I had found on the internet and it didn’t come with any instructions. This didn’t deter me because I had watched several demonstrations on paper piecing and it looked simple enough. I thought if I could hand piece an eight pointed star or complete a stack-n-whack block, I could surely stitch together a ‘stitch-by-number’ block. HAH!

Being the organizer that I am, I cut my fabrics into smaller pieces and laid them out according to their number corresponding with my pattern. I printed out several copies of my pattern, inserted a new needle in my machine, wound a couple of extra bobbins, and placed my ruler, small cutting mat, and rotary cutter next to my machine on my sewing table. I started my first block. I carefully lined up the first two pieces, shortened my stitch length, and began stitching. Simple enough. At least it was until I went to finger press my pieces. Because the shapes were angular, the pieces didn’t completely cover the shape. Ripping out 1.5mm stitches is not an easy task, especially when you are doing it with every piece. Within 5 minutes the paper began to fall apart and I was having some very wicked thoughts. Oh, did I mention my husband was sitting in my sewing studio with me? Well, he was until I began to verbalize my wicked thoughts. He promptly got up and went out to his shop until the smoke cleared.

Let’s fast forward to Saturday, September 5, 2009:

It’s a sew-in day with several of my quilting friends and I’ve been prepping all week on projects I want to work on. My friend, Diane, does beautiful work using the paper piecing method and she has offered several times to teach me how to paper piece. I always thought I was a lost cause because I’ve failed so many times. So I selected two different blocks to start with, both of them designed by Carol Doak. I found her patterns to be very user-friendly. She provides cutting information for each piece needed to complete the block which is a huge timesaver.

I arrived at the sew-in and got all of my things organized. After reviewing the blocks I selected, Diane felt the scrappy baskets would be a good one to start with. She sat with me for about 15 minutes and went over the basics and had me stitch a couple of the pieces on my pattern. Diane was so helpful in making sure I had the basics. She is a great teacher. She has a knack for identifying and organizing each step so you can easily understand the process.

I was so successful on Saturday that I stitched two blocks at the sew-in and have stitched four more at home. What do you think of them?

I'm no longer intimidated with paper piecing and am having lots of fun stitching these. I highly recommend Carol Doak's patterns. For the beginner, having the dimensions for cutting the individual pieces is a huge timesaver, not to mention keeping your frustration level down to a minimum. She even has a Yahoo! Group for added support and monthly challenges. Lastly, havinga friend who so generously takes the time to teach this method of quilting is invaluable. Thank you Diane. Without your help this method would not have had such an easy learning curve.

September's Challenge Block

Although I haven't posted for a week, I have been busy in my sewing studio. I was able to complete September's Challenge Block last Saturday while at a sew-in.

This month, my friend Jo, author of the Pieceful Afternoon blog, selected Triangle Chain Block as our challenge block. The block itself went together rather quickly, but I'm not a fan of the sewing instructions. I found I used the written directions for cutting the pieces and assembled it on my own. I really like this block and think it will go nicely in my sampler quilt at the end of a year.

Fabric Tinting Tutorial and A Give-Away

I came across a technique today that I was not familiar with and thought I'd share it with you. Plus, the author if the tutorial is having a Give-Away too.

Norma, author of Petit Debutant blog posted a tutorial on a technique for tinting fabric using colored pencils. The tutorial is well written and the end results are beautiful. Click here for the tutorial: Fabric Tinting Tutorial

But wait, there’s more. She is hosting a Give-Away. The winner of the Give-Away will receive the necessary supplies to do some fabric tinting on one of their own projects. Visit Petit Debutant to see how you can enter her Give-Away.

Have fun!

Trends and Traditions is Celebrating with a Give-Away

To celebrate her first year anniversary in blogland, Heather Mulder Peterson, author of Trends and Traditions blog, is having a Give-Away. Heather designs and publishes quilt patterns and as prizes for her Give-Away is offering a couple of quilts and a stack of charm squares with a couple of patterns. Visit Trends and Traditions to learn more on how you can enter her Give-Away.

A Peep Into My Sewing Studio

I always considered myself to be rather organized in my sewing room. My philosophy has always been like goes with like, something I picked-up while in college, in chemistry no less. Throughout my sewing / quilting studio you’ll see where I have followed this method; scissors are all together, needles are organized by type and size, fabric is arranged by color or theme, embroidery thread is stored by type and color, etc. Everything is kept relatively neat and organized… until you get to my cutting table.

My project status is at an awkward state right and it seems to be spilling into my sewing studio. For instance, I’ve finished the top to my musical angels quilt and it’s ready to be machine quilted except I’m not ready to machine quilt it until my machine quilting technique is perfected. While I’ve been working on my machine quilting technique I’ve also been working on a couple of other small projects.

Here's a picture of my cutting table from Angle #1...

Angle #2...

And, Angle #3...

This is going to be a coaster. I still need to finish the edge with a satin stitch.

These will also be coasters but I'm not sure how I will finish the edge. These designs are larger than the first one I showed and I'm not sure I want to do an edge finish.

What's Baking In My Kitchen?

I love to bake and find myself a little picky about the things I eat because of this. One of the things I don't like is store bought bread, especially white bread. Although I prefer wheat or whole grain bread, I've had a huge problem in finding a recipe where the bread isn't like sawdust once it's baked.

In comes my friend Judy, author of Gramma’s Quilting Room blog. We participate in a couple of quilting group’s whose members generally live in Washington State. We have lots of fun attending sew-ins and other group activities, as well as online events. So, Judy sent me a link to a blog with a Whole Wheat Bread recipe that she uses.

I printed the recipe and decided to make if for the first time yesterday.

I was surprised at how easy this recipe was as it only requires one rise after kneading. To get a good rise out of my dough, I preheat my oven to 170° before turing it off and placing the dough inside with a warm, wet towel over the dough. This provides a warm place for the dough to rise without the risk of cold air disturbing the process. This is the dough after allowing it to rise in my warm oven for about 1 hour. I placed the pans onto my counter while the oven preheated to the proper temperature to bake the bread.

After baking for 30 minutes, this is the end result. See how much rise I got out of the dough?

Here is the ‘crumb’ shot of my bread. I am very impressed with this recipe as it produced a tender, moist texture without it being dry like sawdust.

Once in a while you come across a great blog with a plethora of information. Patchwork Times is one of those places. So stop on by, print out a couple of recipes, and browse the Patchwork Times blog. She has some great quilting information too.

It's a Give-Away at Lurline's Place

I just love give-aways, don't you? I also love reading all the wonderful blogs and absorbing the tons of inspiration I get from each one. My biggest problem is that I just don't have the time to sit and read everyone's blog. Well, that and any of my other responsibilities.

One of the blogs I read regularly is Lurline’s Place. She always has great projects that she shares with the readers of her blog. She’s just a wonderful source of inspiration. Today she announced a Give-Away of ten 10”x20” strips, or fat-eighths, of some reproduction prints. They are beautiful!

So swing on over to Lurline’s Place and enter her Give-Away. You never know, you just might be the winner!

Its a Give-Away at Quilt N Quilt Things!

Regena, author of Quilt N Quilt Things blog is having a Give-Away in celebration of her 100th post to her blog.

OK here is the list of items in this GiVe AwAy.

set of mini spool lights.
one mini wall hanging
one package of sew it! buttons
one cupcake pincushion
one package of quilt note cards
one bottle to store your old or broken needles and pins in to safely throw them away.
one "quilt diva" note pad
one Fons and Porter scissors lock to protect your favorite scissors.
one petal pouch full of a sweet treat
and 4 fat quarters

Plus a quilt

If you want to learn more about Regena's Give-Away, please visit her blog at Quilt N Quilt Things.

Good Luck!

What's Cooking?

It has been awhile since I posted a recipe so I thought I'd share two recipes with you today. First, let me say I would have posted this yesterday but Blogger was having hiccups and rather than try to fight with it, I thought I'd wait until this morning.

I love make-ahead recipes because it makes preparing a meal so much easier. They’re especially welcoming when you’ve been working all day or you’re running late because the soccer game went into overtime. Two of my favorite recipes are Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting and Grilled Lemon Chicken. Super Easy!

My children always loved working in the kitchen with me while they were growing up and I always stressed for them to read the recipe and gather all of their ingredients before they begin baking. This will prevent you from getting into the middle of a recipe only to discover you don’t have everything necessary to prepare your food.

I gathered all of my ingredients to make my chocolate cake. Of course, after this picture was taken and I had started assembling my ingredients, I discovered the eggs could not be seen in this picture... But they really are there. I did not show the boiling water.

These are the utensils required to make the cake. The mixer is shown with the ingredients.

Prior to assembling the ingredients in my mixing bowl, I sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. I choose to use a fine mesh strainer over a deep bowl for this technique. Simply add the ingredients to be sifted and gently shake the strainer over the bowl.

The purpose of sifting is to remove all of the lumps from your flour and cocoa.

If you do have some lumps, use a spoon to break the lumps before proceeding to finish sifting the ingredients.

This is what they will look like. All of the lumps have been broken up and you have a light powder mixture.

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla in mixing bowl.

Add the boiling water to creamed mixture and blend until dissolved. Add eggs and mix well.

Add dry ingredients to wet mixture. I use a 1/2 cup measuring cup and mix well between each addition. This will help eliminate any lumps that may form.

Batter will be very thin.

Pour into a 13" x 9" baking dish. I spray the dish with a cooking spray to prevent the cake from sticking. Bake in preheated 350° oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool.

Once cake has completely cooled, add powder sugar, butter, vanilla, and milk to mixing bowl. Mix well. I use a wire beater because I like the light texture it gives the frosting.

With a rubber spatula, scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure everything is mixed well.

You don't want to over beat your frosting, but you do want it to be smooth.

With an offset spatula, spread frosting over cooled cake.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

To make the grilled lemon chicken, you will need olive oil, a couple of lemons (even though I only pictured one), salt, pepper, chopped garlic, and chopped rosemary.

We'll use poultry scissors, a citrus reamer (or similar), a fine grater, small bowl, and a 13" x 9" baking dish.

I've washed the chicken in cold water and dried inside and out with a paper towel.

From the backside of the chicken, using your poultry scissors, cut the spine from the chicken.

The removal of the spine will allow you to lay the chicken flat on the grill.

Open up the chicken and remove any additional fat. You can either cut the fat out or, like I do, grab hold of it and pull. It peels right off.

The fat has been removed and I've wiped the inside of the chicken with a paper towel.

Lightly sprinkle both sides of the chicken with kosher salt.

Add olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, rosemary, and pepper into bowl. Whisk until ingredients are well combined.

You know it's combined when you can no longer distinguished between the olive oil and the lemon juice.

Add chicken to baking dish and pour marinade over chicken. Coat both sides of the chicken well. For a strong lemon flavor, put chicken skin side down in dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Remove chicken from refrigerate and allow it to sit at room temperature for 20 - 30 minutes while grill is preheating. Place chicken on grill and turn off burners underneath chicken. Grill chicken for about 20 - 25 minutes on each side. Chicken is done when juices are clear or leg moves easily. If chicken is not browned enough, place chicken over burners on other side of grill for about 5 minutes on each side. Allow chicken to sit for 5 minutes before cutting.

Squeeze fresh lemon juice over chicken before serving.

Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Frosting
350° 30 minutes


2 cups flour
½ cup cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
½ cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 cups boiling water
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In mixing bowl, cream together vanilla, butter, and sugar. Add boiling water, blend well. Add eggs and mix until well blended. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into 13” x 9” baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. Allow cake to completely cool before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
½ cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 – 5 Tbsp milk
Dash of salt

Add all ingredients into mixing bowl and beat until smooth. For chocolate frosting, add ½ cup cocoa. With offset spatula, spread frosting over cake. Cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate.


Grill Lemon Chicken


1 – 3 ½ lb chicken, flattened
Kosher salt
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tsp grated lemon zest
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp rosemary, finely chopped
2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
3 lemons, for juice and zest

Wash chicken with cold water and dry with paper towel. Remove spine using poultry scissors. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with kosher salt. Combine olive oil. Lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, and pepper in small bowl.

Place chicken on baking dish and pour marinade over chicken, coating both sides well. Cover dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Turn the chicken a couple of times while marinating.

Remove chicken from refrigerator and set out at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Preheat grill. Place chicken, skin side up, on grill. Turn off burners underneath chicken. Cook for 20 – 25 minutes per side, until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from grill, loosely cover with foil and let rest for about 5 minutes before cutting. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over chicken before serving.