Nubees Block Swap.....

I'm proud to announce I have another month of Nubees Block Swap under my belt.  This was a fun one as well.  The swap started off a bit later than usual so it overlapped March and April so feeling quite confident I signed up not only for the March/April swap but the "true" April swap as well.  It wasn't until I realized I had never made 10 quilt blocks in a month before that I started freaking out a bit.  So, off to find the pattern I wanted to make for my March/April swap.

I have pinned so many amazing blocks with tutorials to my "Quilt Blocks I Want To Create" board that I was not lacking for choices.  I decided to go with the November block from the Sew Mama Sew Modern BOM Sew Along.  I had loved this block from the moment I saw the pictures and tutorial posted on their site.  I knew this was going to turn out to be an amazing block on everyone's colors, and I was right!

Don't you just love how the colors pop in these blocks!
Truly excited to drop them in the mail.

I'm so excited to have these blocks completed and am so pleased with how they all turned out.  They'll be dropped in the mail on Monday, then it's off to finish the Nubees blocks for the "true" April swap.  Luckily, I have 3 of those done with two to go....I'll post pics of the finished group soon.

Have fun and Happy Sewing

Pancakes. . . For Lunch!!!

Yes, you read correctly, we had pancakes for lunch today (per the request of a special little 3 year old).  Let me explain.

It was a little over a month ago and my hubby and I were set for a trip to Naples, Florida for a banquet with his employer.  (Naples was a beautiful place to visit and we had a glorious time but as most moms know, leaving the kids behind ALWAYS comes at a price)  So, we are off enjoying our weekend getaway and my parents were gracious enough to come and stay and watch our two precious little angels while we were gone.  Thank you Mom and Dad!

Well, little did we know that my dad would become the king of the pancake while we were gone.  Apparently, my little munchkins twisted his arm just right so that I think he may have made pancakes for them every single day while we were gone.  Now, I don't know about all of you but I rarely have the time on a weekday morning to make pancakes.....and these weren't just ANY pancakes, they were made from scratch (no mixes, no boxes, no Bisquick).

Now, my kids (especially the little 3 year old princess) are totally hooked on these pancakes (which of course "Papa" made into little mini sizes).  Thus the reason for the lunchtime pancakes.  I try oh so very hard to limit the amount of pancake eating that goes on but sometimes I just give in and get out the griddle.  And now, I'm sharing the super delicious, kid-approved, addictive pancakes my dad made for my girls while we were away.  These pancakes should come with a warning:

Do not feed to little children as it will cause unforseen begging, pleading, and whining for more.


I'm just going to call this little recipe how I see it:

Super Stack of Fluffy Deliciousness

Super Fluffy and Supremely Addictive Pancakes


3/4 C. Milk
2 Tbsp White Vinegar
(Mix milk with vinegar and set aside for 5 minutes while you prep the rest)

1 C. All Purpose Flour
2 Tbsp White Sugar
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Butter (melted)
1 Egg

1. In a small bowl, measure and mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and milk.  When well combined whisk in the milk and vinegar mixture and combine.  Add the dry ingredients and blend until smooth.

3.  Heat griddle on medium heat and begin pouring pancake batter onto the griddle in desired sizes.  (My kids love the little silver dollar pancakes and a 1 Tbsp measuring spoon is perfect for that size)

You know you want to
make these

Enjoy with your favorite pancake toppings.  Mine happen to be fresh strawberries with whipped cream.  Yummy....oh, did I mention I'm addicted to these little things myself!!








Happy Cooking

P.S.  Come back next week, I'm having my very first super fantastic fabric giveaway - you won't want to miss this.....it's going to be a lot of fun!!

Newbie Blog Hop.....

Are you looking to find new bloggers just like you?  Have you been yearning to see what other bloggers are chatting about on their sites?  Do you want to be an online blogging expert?  Or, perhaps you just want to find some great tips, recipes and craft ideas.  If you answered "yes" to any of these questions then be sure to check out the Newbie Blog Hop going on RIGHT NOW!!

This is the place to be in the "know" when it comes to what's new and trendy in the blogging world.  Don't you just love that blogging can be trendy!!  Haha.  Well, join the H-O-P and get yourself noticed.

Have fun, hop, hop, hopping along......

It Must be Bunco Night......

Yes, it's true, this Friday the 13th is Bunco night!!  Not sure what Bunco is, just check out more about it here at the World Bunco Association website.  What, there's a World Bunco Association???  Who knew.  Well, I literally just played in my first Bunco Night last month with some good friends and other moms in my area and we had such a fun night of laughing, dice rolling and stealing prizes!

It was time for me to figure out my prize for this month's Bunco Night.  These prizes can not exceed $5 and can be anything from a gift card, to a handmade item to something you bought at the store.  I decided this month it was going to be a handmade gift (with a surprise inside) and I had found the perfect idea in this great little book from my library called Pretty Little Cozy's.  This book along with many of the other Pretty Little series contain a number of fun, simple, and useful projects for the sewing enthusiast!

The "cozy" I chose to make is a Keychain/Card Cozy that you can use when you run those quick errands to the store or head out to the gym.  You don't want a big bulky purse so this little "cozy" is perfect.  I love how it turned out and since this one is a gift, I'm now going to have to make another one for myself.  I hope you enjoy taking a look at some of my project photos and perhaps you'll want to make a cute little "cozy" of your own.

Getting Started - Fabric Selection, Cutting, Pressing

Finished Pretty Little Card Cozy

It's Keeping My Cards soooooo Cozy

Add Keys and Your All Set

Now, I'll go pick up the "surprise" that's going inside my little "cozy"......this gift is certain to be a hit at tomorrow night's Bunco game!

On another note, if you love great giveaways (and who in their right mind doesn't?).  Bianca, over at just posted a teaser today about an awesome giveaway on her blog.  More details to come tomorrow but be sure to check out the amazing pile of prizes that are a part of this giveaway.

Liebster Award.......

My little blog has been chosen for the Liebster Award!  I couldn't be happier today.  It was a wonderful surprise to find in my inbox this morning.  I was chosen for the Liebster Award by one of my blog followers, Marian, who is a blogger herself over at Lady Face.

Of course this e-mail took me by surprise and I said to myself "What is the Liebster Award?"  Well, I did a little research of my own and found out that there is some fun history to this award.

Well, I looked up the origin of the word Liebster and the translation into English of this German word is "favorite".  So what does that mean?  My interpretation after some research is that I was chosen as a favorite blog and given this tremendous award!  Thank you so much to Marian for finding my blog posts interesting enough to present me with this award.  More specifically this award is given to your favorite small, up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers.  

Now that I have had the honor of receiving this award, I get to pass it along to 3-5 of my favorite bloggers following these rules:

1.  Thank the person who gave me the award and link back to their blog. 

2.  Choose 3-5 blogs with less than 200 followers and pass this award onto them.

3.  Display the Liebster Award somewhere on my blog site!

4.  Let them know you awarded them by sending an e-mail or posting a comment on their blog.

5.  Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

Here goes, I have carefully contemplated my choices and my favorite bloggers from the array of bloggers I currently follow and my choices are the following:

Bijoux Baby - I absolutely have to choose this blogger for my first award recipient.  After all, for those of you who follow my blog know, she is the dear friend who got me into sewing in the first place.  She is a great friend and incredible quilter.  Just take a look at some of the amazing pieces she has created and shared on her blog.  She has helped me learn this craft and therefore is my top choice for this award.

Eclectically Delicious - Jennie's blog is a new one I began following and immediately became intrigued by the similarities in our taste for fabric selection and design.  She is having a great giveaway on her blog right now and has some great posts with fun craft and sewing ideas. 

Sweet Diesel Design - This is a great blogger full of fun swaps, quilt alongs and informative, funny posts.  I have had fun watching Bianca's projects come full circle.  I was lucky enough to get in on her "over the rainbow" charm swap and I've been hooked on her blog ever since.

Modern Pink Designs - Sara is the blogger over on this site and she has a lot to say!  She shares her project ideas, her fabric selections and some fun tutorials.  I have picked up some fun ideas from her posts and her project photography is amazing.  

Hopscotch....along!

Well, my decision has been made. After weeks and weeks of debate over which pattern I should use for my daughter's bed quilt, I have finally become so obsessed with one pattern in particular that it HAS to be the one I make for her.

This will be my first bed sized quilt ever and I am so excited to get the ball rolling on this one. I honestly found out about the pattern from my good friend over at Bijoux Baby who was showing me her next quilt design idea. After putting the finishing touches on the quilt top of the Swoon A Long group she joined here she decided to continue quilting along with this group. The group creator offered two choices of quilt patterns for the next quilt along.....The choices were patterns both created by the incredibly talented Camille Roskelley. She was deciding between On A Whim or Hopscotch.

Oh My Gosh, the minute I saw the Hopscotch quilt I was totally obsessed about that design. I love everything about this quilt....the equilateral triangle flip-flopped in rows and finally coming together to create a 6 pointed star in the middle of each "block".

But could I actually sew this quilt? Do I have the skills? Being fairly new to sewing and quilting, I had my doubts but nonetheless I jumped in and purchased my pattern and fabric and began planning.

I actually put my first triangle together a couple of days ago and am quite pleased with the end result.  I used some scrap fabric I had lying around so I would not damage my "good" fabric with my first block.  It did take some heavy starching of the fabric and a few ripped out seams to get the hang of sewing this thing together but I know once I get rolling with this pattern it will come together nicely.

I'm loving how this triangle turned out and I can't wait to see more of this come together over the next several weeks.

Stay tuned, more reports to come....and if you're so inspired to try your own Hopscotch quilt you can find the pattern here.

Have fun, be bold and Happy Sewing!

Mini Quilt Challenge.....My Mug Rug Entry

Yay!!  I finished my mug rug and now I'm posting my entry up to the Mini Quilt Challenge.



As you may have read in my previous post, this is my first attempt at a Mug Rug and my first time ever for Free Motion Quilting.  I decided to practice and practice to really make this Mug Rug something special.

One think I know for sure is I love when the idea in my mind translates perfectly to the design in my finished piece.  I'm including a few photos of progress along the way.

I had so much fun making this mini quilt and now I know I definitely need to try my hand at another mug rug.  This has been such a fun way to experiment and try my hand at something totally new.

I hope you enjoy my piece......

The beginning stages, paper-pieced branch
with hand appliqued blossoms

Sewing on the binding....I decided to go with the brighter
pink print I used for the larger blossoms.  I just loved the contrast!

My finished piece....ready for a cup of coffee and a snack!

A closeup on the quilting.  I added this little cherry to my
FMQ design.  I just love how this added to the overall
look of the finished piece!

Happy Sewing!!

My First Mug Rug.....

Okay, so what's a mug rug, you may be asking.  I actually had to figure that one out for myself as well.  Being new to quilting, I kept seeing swaps, pictures, and contests for these things called mug rugs.  But, what is a mug rug?  Well, to clarify for those who are not quite certain either a mug rug is a beautiful little hand made "coaster" for your coffee mug which is conveniently made large enough to also hold a small snack.  This idea is ingenious!  Whoever coined the terminology on this one and came up with the idea of a mini quilt for a coffee mug is truly gifted!

The best part about a mug rug, or at least in my opinion, is that it is small.  Why is being small so great?  There are a few reasons:

1 - You can complete is really quickly and get that immediate satisfaction of a finished project
2 - You can get rid of some scrap fabric on this project (since it is small it takes very little fabric)
3 - You can try something new, something more difficult or advanced because you aren't making a bed-size quilt out of the object you can really take your creativity to the limits!

Paper-pieced branches with
appliqued blossoms....not quite
done with the applique.

4 - You can show off your style, have a quick gift for a friend and give your coffee mug a boost!!

I thought I'd share some pics of my mug rug in process and once I'm done quilting and binding (which will be tomorrow) I'll post final, finished pics.

I tried some fun techniques with this mug rug.  I am making this for 2 purposes.  I am entering my mug rug in the Ellison Lane Mini Quilt Challenge and this is actually a mug rug for a swap group I am part of so this little gem will be going off to my swap partner (shhhhh, it's a secret).

I hope you like my mug rug and I hope this inspired you to make something special to remind you of spring every time you sit down for coffee and a snack!

.....And The Winner Is

The drawing for my Fugly Fabric Giveaway this morning goes to SassyCathy!  Congrats to you and I can't wait to hear how you put this fabric to use in an upcoming project!

Thanks to all who entered, left a comment, checked out my blog and became a follower!

I'll be having another great giveaway in the weeks to come, perhaps tied into an upcoming holiday.....hint, hint.  Be sure to watch my blog posts as this one will have a quick turnaround.  Be sure to refer your friends to become followers of my blog!

You'll gain an extra entry in my upcoming drawing by referring your friends.....when they become a follower and post a comment on this thread telling me you referred them you get an automatic entry!

Good luck, you're going to LOVE what's coming up next!

Happy Sewing

Mmmmm, Mmmmmm, Soup

Okay, so I promised I would post an amazing recipe yesterday and Oops! it totally slipped my mind. Was I too obsessed with finding my "fugliest" fabric? Perhaps? Please don't hate me for drifting off a bit....it's hard battling a textiles addiction along with a food addiction!

So, for the recipe.....I have to admit this turned out WAY better than expected and will definitely be a staple in our household from now on. So, onto a little background about this recipe. As you all know, I've taken a bit of a detour from posting my favorite recipes and I have been venturing into the world of quilting. If you haven't tried it yet, I highly recommend this "hobby"! Well, since I've been a little off course I have to admit I've cheated a bit in the "homemade" meals category lately and I recently purchased a container of frozen soup from our infamous Schwan's guy (the girls know him by name).

A couple of nights later, I proceeded to take the tub of soup out of the freezer, let it defrost a bit then warmed it up on the stove. I made some sandwiches to go along with this meal and quite frankly the soup was pretty good. I love Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice Soup anyway, and this wasn't bad.

While we're eating this dinner, my hubby looks at me and says the most wonderful words a woman can hear....."You should try making this soup, it would be so much better!". So, off I was in search of a great recipe for Chicken and Wild Rice Soup.....I found it, modified it, modified it some more and now, it's perfect and I'll share it with you:

Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice Soup:

Ingredients:

Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice Soup

5 Cups Chicken Broth (I use the low sodium, MSG free variety - you choose your favorite)
2 Cups water
2 Cooked, Boneless, Skinless Chicken breasts, shredded
1 (4.5 oz) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with season packet
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. butter
2 cups milk (the original recipe called for cream and I substituted milk and it is wonderful)
1 c. sliced carrots
1/2 c. diced celery
1/2 c. diced onion

Instructions:
1 - In a large pot over medium heat, combine water, broth, and chicken.  Bring to just boiling then add the rice from the package.  Cover your pot, remove from heat and set aside.
2 - In a skillet, add a little olive oil, onions, celery and carrots.  Saute over medium-high heat until they just start to get tender.
3 - In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour.
4 - In a medium saucepan, over medium heat melt the butter.  Once melted and bubbly, add the packet of seasoning from the rice.  Reduce heat to low then gradually stir in the flour mixture.  Continue whisking this until all of the flour is incorporated into the liquid.  Begin whisking in the milk slowly, stopping to whisk the mixture and absorb the liquid before proceeding with more.  Continue to slowly add until all of the milk is incorporated into the roux.  Cook an additional 5 minutes or until thickened.
5 - Add your carrots, celery, onions to the pot with the chicken and broth.  Next, stir your roux into the pot with the broth and chicken.  Continue to stir until all ingredients are combined.  Heat soup over medium another 10-15 minutes until heated through.

This is a delicious soup that will fill you up and satisfy your hunger on a cool winter day!  Enjoy with your favorite sandwich, salad or on it's own.  This was a huge favorite of my girls as well.  They both ate the soup and loved it.  The best part, this soup WAS better than the frozen and much, much healthier with no preservatives or weird ingredients I can't pronounce.

So, enjoy, have fun and don't forget - if you find a recipe you like, make it your own and add or remove what you want.....after all, it's your kitchen, you're the cook!!

Have fun!!

Happy Cooking!

It's Fugly Time....

I've thought about this overnight and checked my stash.  Viola!  I found a few fabrics that I am okay parting with.  I don't necessarily think they are "fugly" in the raw sense of the word but it's not likely I'll use these pieces anytime soon.

Let me explain:

I have 2 FQ of "boy" fabric with dump trucks, cement trucks, etc (these are 2 FQ left over from making my nephew's quilt).  I have 2 girls and won't be putting this in any of their pieces anytime soon.

I have a full yard of fabric my grandmother purchased so I'm not sure where this came from but it is bright pinks, oranges, reds, purples with bumble bees....could be cute.

I have 1/3 yard Christmas fabric I just don't think I like much anymore

Fugly Fabric Stash

I have 1/2 yard of a pale yellow and orange checked flannel....good to use for baby blankets, burp cloths, etc.  Just don't love the colors anymore.


I also have an unknown quantity of upholstery fabric....I purchased this on a trip to Spain several years ago and I just don't know what I'm going to do with it. 









HELP!!  Let me know if you want this fabric stash.....I'm giving the entire stash to one winner who will be drawn randomly from comments on my post.  After you win, I'll need to get in touch with you to get your address details so please be sure I can contact you.  You will get 1 entry for your comment that states:

"I want your Fugly Fabric"

You will get a second entry when you follow my blog and post a second time stating you are a follower.

Thanks for looking and have fun with your own Fugly Party!!

Happy Sewing

To Fugly or not to Fugly.....

Okay so I stumbled upon this great little "fugly" fabric giveaway/swap and I'm seriously considering this idea. I don't know if it's a good idea or not. I have some fabrics in my stash that although I don't exactly hate them or think they're "fugly" I certainly could swap or give them away to a home where they might be better appreciated.

I'll consider this option and then decide tomorrow after taking a close look at what I have that I am willing to part with....I like the idea!

On another note, I got another great little shipment in yesterday from Fat Quarter shop and eBay with some luxurious new fabrics. I'll post some pics soon. I can't wait to put them to good use in a couple of projects I have going.

I'm getting nearly finished with my Valentine's table runner and just in time as well....given V Day is just a week away. What was I thinking putting so much on my plate this month. I can't wait to see the completed table runner. Who knows, that may be a good giveaway option....

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post.....I've got a super yummy recipe to share!

Until tomorrow.....

Happy Sewing and Cooking

Bee Block....

Well, I finished my first block for my Nubees quilting bee!  I'm so excited to have this block completed.  I debated and debated over the pattern to make for this first bee and I'm really pleased with what I chose and especially how this first block turned out.

I started with one of my hive mates who chose a rainbow mosaic.....I pondered over my fabric stash, chose a few favorites and then began constructing the block.  The arrangement for the rainbow colors was my toughest decision.  There are so many ways to make a block rainbow and how to best piece this block together to take advantage of the fabrics, the design of the pattern and capture the feel of a rainbow.

I'm hoping the other quilters in my hive will be pleased with this design and I can't wait to see how all of the color choices look as each block is completed.

My next task, to make this block in my color mosaic!!  I love working in my own colors so I try to tackle the colors I'm not accustomed to working with first so I can get a good feel for if I'm going to like the block.  I'll finish my colors in the block tonight and post a photo when it's completed.

Oh, and I'm super excited, I just bought myself a mini cutting grid.....well, actually it was a pack of 4 mini grids ranging in size from 4 1/2 inches square to 12 1/2 inches square!!  Yippee!!

Happy Sewing

Bee Happy!

So, I've decided to be a part of two different quilting bees and I couldn't bee more excited!!

My good friend Eva over at Bijoux Baby, who was one of the two that got me into sewing and specifically quilting was telling me all about the quilting bees she was a part of.  Quilting Bee?  That was my question to her.  I had NEVER heard of a quilting bee so I was intrigued.

She began describing the structure of the quilting bee and began showing me the block she designed for her "hive" mates and the blocks she had been receiving.  WOW!  How cool was this.....a community sampler quilt!  I was IN, I was hooked from that moment.

So, here we are at the beginning of February and I am so happy, so thrilled to be a part of two quilt bees.  These are both considered "mini" bees as they don't last the traditional 12 months and I would label a "micro" bee since it is a 1 month bee.

As soon as I signed up, I began deciding on the blocks I was going to do for each of them.  The one month bee needed to be a bit simpler, something I could finish 5 of in 1 month's time.  For the second bee, I am in a paper-pieced bee so I created my own paper-pieced pattern, created a sample and viola!  This is the piece in 4 separate blocks before it's fully sewn together.

I finished the block and gave it as a gift to my friend Eva for her sampler quilt she has been working on for her two bees!  I thinks he liked it!!

I'll post more updates as I get my blocks for both bees done!

If you haven't tried a quilting bee, now is the time to get started.

Happy Piecing!

February = LOVE

Okay so it's the first day of February and of course if it's February that means LOVE!!

My oldest daughter was so excited for February to begin today that she was feverishly getting her Valentine's ready last night for her school friends, her little sister, her dad and of course me (mommy).  She was working, working so hard because as she so plainly pointed out, tomorrow is February and it's Valentine's.

I didn't want to burst her 6 year old bubble but I did gently let her know she had a few more days to get her notes and sweets put together for her friends.  She was picking just the right treats out of the pantry to go with the notes she made each of her friends.

I love this sort of innocence she still has and the kindness she is always spreading.  It makes me smile as a mom to know how much making others feel good means to her.  So, for those of you scurrying about to find that perfect gift to make your Valentine smile this year, remember it's truly NOT about the gift, it's about spreading the LOVE......and it should be spread EVERY day not just on Valentine's Day!

Have fun spreading BIG love in little ways every day!

Mommy....not just for cooking anymore!

Okay, it's been a WHILE since I posted something to this blog and quite frankly, I had even thought about NOT posting today.  So, why do I instead sit here and type?  Great question!

I just want to update on some new "hobbies" I have been taking on over the past few months.  In doing so, I also need to thank the two women that are responsible for my newly found obsession!!

First, let me thank my dear grandmother!  She is truly one of the most wonderful women and has been such a huge influence in my life growing up.  When we had sick days or even not so sick days from school, my mom toted us over to grandma's house for the day of "pampering".  There wasn't anything grandma wouldn't do or make for us while we were there.  What fun days those were.  Well, it wasn't long ago that my grandma asked me, seemingly out of the blue, if I wanted her extra sewing machine.  "What?!?!" was my response.  I don't sew, grandma so I don't think I'll be needing a sewing machine.  That was that, I don't sew and I don't need a sewing machine.

Now, fast forward about 2 months and I'm conversing with a good friend in a MOMS Club I'm a member of and she tells me she thinks it would be great if I joined the Sewing and Quilting Club she was trying to get started.  "What?!?!" was my response to her as well.  I don't sew and never have.....but now I started thinking.  Hmmmmm, why DON'T I sew?  Is it because I don't want to, because I don't like to or because I don't know how to?  I figured that if two important people in my life were PROMPTING me to sew then it must be a calling of sorts for me.

The very next weekend, I visited my grandma and asked her if she still had that "extra" sewing machine.  She was delighted, to say the least, that I was going to take an interest in learning to sew.  So, I toted the machine back home and over to my friend's house for the first monthly meeting of MOMS Club Sewing and Quilting Club.....whew!

My first quilting project - Quilt-As-You-Go pillows

It's been about 6 months and I haven't looked back.  Sewing has become such a passion and so exciting for me that I truly think about it day in and day out.

So, that's just a bit about what's been going on around here with me.....sewing and cooking (among other things I don't wish to do or discuss).  Be on the lookout for more posts, more often with sprinklings of my favorite adventures in all things kitchen and now all things fabric, sewing and quilting.

What fun!!

Happy Cooking and Quilting