Quilt Alongs

I am contemplating on joining a quilt along. Have you ever done one? I see many bloggers talking about them. Either they are doing them or sponsoring them. I found two that I thought I would like to do. I know, here I go wanting to do two not just one and I have never even joined one before!



Over at Sew Sweetness they are doing a paper piecing quilt called New York Beauty.

I have always wanted to do this pattern. I love paper piecing. It is so easy. My favorite part when paper piecing are the perfect points you get every time. Now all I need to do is decide on the fabric. This is the hardest part for me.

Then over at Clover & Violet the ladies are doing Garden Steps. I like this one too. They haven't given much information yet except on size and a really cute visual. I'm going to keep my eye on this one as well.







So check out these quilt alongs and maybe you will want to join them too. I hope you do and I hope I do too.

Have a great day!

Vera

Crayon Valentines

 One of my favorite craft projects that I have done with children is this melted crayon heart. Last year I was in charge of the craft for my son's second grade class Valentine's Day party. I searched for a fun craft that both the boys and girls would enjoy and when I came upon this one I just loved it.

Stand up card 

There are two sources for this craft on the web  - Disney's Family Fun and Martha Stewart. The Family Fun site gives you the directions to make the heart into a stand-up card, which is what we did. Martha's site makes them into pretty stained glass hearts to hang in a window. Which ever one you choose you will love the final result.

Have a great day!
Vera

Orange Pecan Muffins

I have been taking the a quilting class now for the past 14 years with the same teacher and almost the same group of women. Some of us might miss a semester here or there because life is complicated but we all seem to come together at one point or another. To say we just quilt would not be accurate at all. We share our lives. When I have to miss a class or take a semester off because of "life" I am very sad. These ladies make me smile and make feel like I am part of something special.

One week our instructor Joan brought in this recipe and all of us were surprised to hear the technique used to make these delicious muffins. "You put a whole orange in the blender- minus the seeds" she says. We were all very curious to try our hand at making them. 

My friend Janet made some and was generous enough to bring them in for the whole class. I made them too but my husband and I gobbled them very quickly. 

The muffins are so good that I knew I wanted to share them with you. Now Joan says this was her best friend Norma's recipe originally so I must give credit where it is due. Thanks Norma for a really tasty treat. I hope you all can get a chance to try them. It's a really easy recipe.

Orange Pecan Muffins

1 1/2 cups of flour

3/4 cup of sugar plus 1 TBLS.

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 orange, scrubbed, seeded and cut into 8 parts

1/2 cup orange juice

1/ 2 cup chopped dates or raisins or craisins

1 egg

1/2 cup butter, room temperature 

1/4 cup chopped pecans

18 whole pecan halves

• Preheat oven to 350
• Line 18 muffin cups with cupcake liners.
• In a large bowl mix flour, 3/4 cup sugar,baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• Place cut up orange in a blender along with the dates if you are adding them and orange juice- pulse.
• Add butter and egg to blender and blend. (I used a food processor instead because I like the quicker and smoother result)
• Add orange mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine. Add raisins and/or craisins at this point if you are using them.
• Pour into muffin tins.
• Mix chopped pecans with the 1 tablespoon of sugar and sprinkle on top of batter.
• Place one pecan half in center of each muffin.
• Bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Vera

Brownie Banner

It's been a while since I have posted something. I have been busy doing lots of stuff ! I finally have the time to share one of them with you. My daughter is a Brownie and this year her troop needed to make a banner. Since I am one of the few moms who knows how to sew more than a button I was chosen to execute this project.

The first thing I did was search the web for ideas. I didn't find many but I did find one that I thought the girls would enjoy. I chose to have the girls trace their hands onto a piece of cotton fabric backed with Heat and Bond ( to then fuse onto the felt banner). They then attached a felt heart to the hand with their name on it. A simple running stitch around the heart was perfect for these girls who are mostly 7 and 8 years old.

I fused all the hands on to a piece of pink felt along with the troop number. And then the "bedazzling" began. 

 Ribbons, gems and flowers. The girls had a great time. We used self stick gems as well as ones that required glueing. 

I hot glued the ribbons and the decorative flowers on the letters and numbers. I then took the pink felt and sewed it to another piece of brown felt. To hide my stitching, I glued ribbon all around the pink felt.

 

Now the girls can march in style at our next parade!

Hope this gives you some ideas on your banner.

Have a great day!
Vera

My Favorite Almond Cake

I love this almond bundt cake from Solo.

Solo makes all sorts of fillings and one of them is almond and it makes the most delicious cakes. You can find it in the baking aisle with the other canned fillings like apple and cherry. Once you make it you are hooked. It's my son's favorite and I bet if you try it it will be yours as well. I brought it to my PTA meeting this week and not a single piece was left! Nicest complement a baker can get.

The best part is that it's super easy and it always comes out perfect. I have friends who like to make it as 2 loaves and then they freeze one for a later occasion. Your friends will asking you for the recipe. I guarantee it. We can keep this secret between you and me but I prefer to share. So click here for the recipe. Now it's up to you.

Have a great day!
Vera

Princess Wristlets

Well, we finally got to take vacation and right when we got home the kids finally went back to school! Before we left on vacation I made a few of these wristlets that I'm calling "Princess Wristlets" for our friends in Virginia.

I simply took this handbag pattern I had and skipped making the regular shoulder strap, added a zipper and a wrist strap. I played with the design a bit by making the opening straight across. One of these wristlets (far left) has it with a scoop top. I decided I liked the straight across version better. Easier to sew the zipper in that way.

These were lots of fun to make. Really quick. Almost instant gratification. It's a lot quicker than making a quilt. Maybe you have a pattern somewhere that can be converted into something new. Give it a try.You never know what you'll come up with.

Have a great day!
Vera

Summer.....

Well it's getting to the end of August and school is not that far away. I was looking at the pictures I've taken this summer and thought I might share some with you. Photography is one of my great loves next to my family, so I take a ton of pictures. Ever since I got my new camera last year I have had so much fun. Here are a few of my favorites so far this summer.....

I don't know about your yard, but the black eyed susans are exploding in mine!

No, this isn't my backyard. These are barns at Caumset Park in Huntington, NY. I thought they were very interesting.

My children acting silly.

We have a local Fireman's fair every year in July. I had a lot of fun taking pictures there. Here's the ferris wheel.

If you can believe it that's my daughter on the left in this motion shot.

The kids at the beach.

A beautiful sunset I caught on the way home from the beach that night.

Hope your summer has been wonderful. Enjoy the last few bits of it. I know I will.

Have a great day!

Vera