No power = No Sewing

Just a quick note to let everyone know I will be absent to this blog for possibly another few days. We have a big snow and rain storm moving through WA right now and our power has been out for about 2 days now. It's possible we won't have power for another few more days still. I will let you all know when power resumes and we are back in business! I'm not able to use the Internet, print or send orders or do much of anything business related. I just logged on using my iPhone right now. We are well though. The boys are handling things very well. We are grateful for all the quilts I have made right now! It's cold! I have been able to knit 2 hats for the boys, a scarf for my mom and a neck warmer for the hubs. Can't sew so I figure I'll knit. I'm going to start a cowl for me next. If I have enough candle light this evening I'm going to try cutting out the HST's for my next quilt. This one is going to be for my and Jake's bed. Hope everyone is staying warm! Stephanie

Opps... I forgot to show you the quilt

So if anyone has been waiting patiently to see the Little Apples baby quilt I promised to show you the next day on the post from Jan. 15th (obviously that didn't happen), I am sorry!!!

We have had a bit of a phenomenon here lately.  You see, it's snowing.  Maybe not that much of a big deal to you (depending on where you reside) but to us here in WA, it's a pretty big deal.  Usually, if it snows at all where we live, it snows and then melts within a few hours.  Until a few days ago it had not snowed at all here this year.  So... when it finally did snow, I was ecstatic!  The boys were a whirlwind of activity and excitement. 

Shoveling all the snow into the wagon.  They're so funny.

I spent the entire day alternating between piling on the snow gear and sending them out to play, then peeling off soaking wet snow gear and warming them up with cocoa, cozy quilts and hugs.  We figured it would all be gone by the afternoon so it was all about getting out there that day.  They watched a few winter themed movies while warming up. 

Apparently this one had about all the excitement he could handle that day.  He fell asleep in the middle of a sentence. 

Then we woke up the next morning and it was still snowing.  Exciting, though a little odd.  The boys were happy enough to play outside in this novelty again though. 

They both came running inside looking for a carrot, a warm hat and a scarf.  They were making a "surprise" for me to see.  Grampa went outside and helped a little with the surprise too.  

I was inspired by the fresh, pure white blanket and the quiet that always happens when the snow falls.  I spent the day (when not being summoned to fix a glove, re-zip a jacket or scoop snow out of the back of a screeching little boys shirt) sewing and baking.  It was a leisurely few days for us.

At around 5:30 this morning though, I woke up to this. 

This was quite a surprise as I don't think I've seen this much snow in my entire 3 years living in WA.  Now, 27 years of living in AK this is pretty cool to me and very missed.  It's not something I expected to see here though.  The boys however, have been a whirlwind of activity since 6 am. 

"Can we go out now please? I really wanna play! I promise we'll play quietly and not wake any neighbors up.  Plleeaaaaseeee?!? Please Mom!"  Finally, at 7:52 this morning, I let them loose.  The air was charged with their electricity and excitement.  Aiden held his little brothers arm across the boardwalk to Baba & Grampa's house, afraid he might get lost in the snow 'cause he's so little.  Very sweet.  :)

As I was making a pot of coffee and happily smiling out the window at it, I thought how much it reminded me of the crisp white sashing on the Little Apples quilt I showed you several days ago... The quilt I... Oh no! I did show them didn't I? I promised I would.  I, I... (frantic searching through my blog)... I didn't show them! I can't believe it!... I'm such a jerk!

So, without further ado, here's the quilt I promised several days ago.

Front

Back

  I am totally in love with this fabric line right now.  I took a charm pack (2 actually I believe) and chopped it in half in different widths.  They ended up being about 1.5", 2", 3" etc inch pieces.  I kept the 5" length on them and they mixed them up and pieced them back together into random sized coin stacks.  Then I sashed and bordered the quilt to square it up.  The back is my favorite print from the collection with the Gray dots I love.  Must find more of this fabric before it's gone. 

Hope you like it! I think it was worth waiting for.  ;)

Now, I'm going to get a second cup of coffee and watch the snow fall while I do a little more sewing this morning. 

Hope everyone has a great day!

More mug rugs

Here are a few mug rugs I finished quilting the other day.  I am in LOVE with them! I used fussycut pieces from some of Heather Ross's fabrics that are all out of print now and extremely hard to find (and expensive!!!).  I really love these prints and was having a hard time deciding exactly how to use these little snippets I had left.  I am very pleased with how they turned out.  I can totally see a little set of these on someone's kitchen table.  The last rug pictured is a cute snowman scrap I had saved away.  The background and backing are the same fabric on all:  Gray Dots from Aneela Hoey's collection Little Apples.  Love that gray!

Now, all I have to do is get these bound and list them in the shop.  Enjoy!

The pink border fabric is from Denise Schmidt.  No longer available.  Had just enough of a scrap left to make this border with it.  :)

Snowmen are from Riley Blake fabrics.  Sorry, don't remember what collection!

Tomorrow I'll show you all the quilt top I made for a baby using the Little Apples collection.  I am lovin' that fabric right now.

Happy crafting everyone!

Quiet Mornings & Muffins

You know, I do love a quiet, relaxed morning with nowhere to be, nothing to do... just us relaxing and doing as we please.  Just being together.  It's wonderful to have those moments in the middle of all the "doing" that happens in life.  Especially life with two boys.

So this is what we did this morning.

Watched the sun rise together from the living room window.  Sorry, yard's a mess.

Made & ate too many Blueberry Oatmeal muffins.  Recipe follows.

Yep.  Absolute Heaven.  Our new favorite recipe.

Watched the boys play while I flipped through old recipe books.

Turned on the sewing machine but never did actually sew anything.

Sat for a minute, coffee mug in hand, and just looked at the beautiful pile of scrap fabric I have.

Indulged myself with not one, but two mugs of coffee! The boys had cocoa.

Since the muffins were so good, and we're not doing anything this morning, here's the recipe.  Just because I'm nice like that.  :)

Blueberry-Oatmeal Muffins

1 2/3 C. quick-cook oats

2/3 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 C. whole-wheat flour

3/4 C. packed light brown sugar

2-3 tsp. ground cinnamon (I do 3 tsp's & use saigon cinnamon, it's sweeter)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 C. low-fat buttermilk

1/4 C. canola OR vegetable oil

Grated rind of one small lemon (about 2-3 tsp's)

2 large eggs

1 pint OR 2 cups fresh blueberries**

Preheat your oven to 400*.  In a large bowl, mix together oats, flours and brown sugar until well combined.  Add rest of dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Form a well in bowl.  Combine buttermilk with oil, lemon rind and eggs.  Mix vigorously until emulsified (oil is mixed in and does not sit on top of buttermilk).  Pour into dry ingredients and stir just until combined, don't overmix!

Add blueberries and gently fold in just until berries are incorporated.  Taking care not to squish the berries will insure they don't sink to the bottom & keep the batter from turning purple. 

Spoon about 2 TB's batter into greased muffin tins (I use Pam spray) or use paper liners.  Muffin wells should be only about 1/2 full.  If desired, sprinkle a little granulated sugar over tops of muffins at this point.  We skip this step for our muffins.

Bake in preheated 400* oven for approx. 18-20 minutes.  When done, the muffins should spring back when gently pressed with your finger.  Remove from muffin tins immediately and cool on wire racks until just warm.  They are delicious as is (which is how my boys eat them) or slathered with butter (which is how the hubs and I eat them).

You should get 24 muffins from this recipe if portioned correctly.  The muffins will be a little bit on the small side.  We like them this way since they're just the right size for smaller fingers and mouths to handle.  If you'd like to make your muffins "normal" muffin size, fill muffin tins about 2/3 full instead of 1/2 full.  You'll get about 16 muffins this way instead of 24.

** If you can't find fresh blueberries you can use frozen blueberries instead but don't thaw them first! You can also substitute any other berries in this recipe.  It's also really good made with raspberries & chopped strawberries.
Before placing frozen berries of any kind in the batter, mix them in a small bowl with 2 TB's flour until coated.  This will help the frozen berries to float and not sink to the bottom.

Let me know if you try this recipe! I'd love to hear your take on them.  Enjoy!

Mug Rugs

Okay, does everyone know what a mug rug is? I had never heard of one until about 5 months ago when I saw some for sale in an etsy shop.  They are basically small place mats for your coffee or tea and a little snack.  Sometimes they are also called snack mats.  They are so fun to make! I love them because they are small, quick and use up little pieces of favorite fabric I have stashed away.  I have been making quite a few of them lately.  If you do a google image search for "modern mug rug" you will get pages and pages of drool-worthy mug rugs. 

Here's what I made yesterday and today.  It will all be for sale in the shop within the next couple days.  I'm thinking of doing some more of them in pinks/reds/creams for Valentines Day.  Has anyone else ever tried making a mug rug?  If not, I highly encourage you to! They are addicting though, so watch out!

Here's the one I finished a few days ago.  It's listed in the shop.

Heart Applique finished last nite

I finished this heart mug rug last nite and have many more heart appliques in lots of different fabrics just waiting to be made into something.  I may make a few more mug rugs with them, but I'm also thinking of other things to be made... I have an idea, which I'll share after I figure out if it will work first.  :) 

Here's one of the two I made just this afternoon.  Totally in love with this one.  Will be for sale in the shop tonite.

I'm totally diggin' the straight line quilting.

Shop Sale

Good Morning everyone! I am having a sale in the shop through January 31st.  Everything is 30% off with this coupon code: BIG30

Please make sure you apply the code at checkout.  If the code is not applied, refunds will not be given, nor will they be given for items already purchased.  If you're purchasing multiple items, shipping will be calculated when order is packed and any overpayment on shipping will be refunded.

This is a great time to stock up on fabric and a super deal on any of my Handmade Quilted items!  We are selling out of fabric quickly so please stop by today!

Here's a little sample of a snack mat I finished today.  It will be for sale in the shop later this afternoon. 

I used a traditional Log Cabin block with a four-patch pieced back and did straight line quilting from different angles.  It measures about 8.75" squares. 

This came together so easily and I really enjoyed it.  I see more of these appearing in the shop in lots of different colorways and patterns.  Maybe I'll make up some spring and Valentines themed ones today... Hmmm...

Well, back to the machine! Don't forget to stop by the shop and take a peek! Mention in "notes to seller" that you saw this sale on my blog and I'll pick out a free pattern to include with your order.

Happy (Belated) New Year Everyone!

Well, it's a late Happy New Year, I know.  We have been so busy lately.  The holidays were packed with activity for us.

We had both sets of grandparents over to the house for Christmas this year.  It was nice to have us all together and be able to celebrate the special day together.  The kids really enjoyed having all their grandparents here and I enjoyed only cooking for one meal instead of three. 

Both the boys did really well considering how long and exciting of a day it was and then each took about 10 toys into bed with them since they couldn't bare to part with them all.  I just love Christmas with kids! They are so much fun and see so much magic in it.

New Years was a quiet day around here.  We sat around in our pajamas and ate the rest of the cookies and pies and then, just to balance it out with some veggies,  had mashed potatoes for dinner.  It was a super relaxing and low-key day.  Much needed and very appreciated.

Wednesday was my first day back at my sewing machine.  I've been working on a nice warm flannel quilt for my husband.  He gets cold all alone in Alaska.  I hope to get the binding on this weekend and get that sent up to him next week.  I will post some pictures of that quilt later since he doesn't know what it looks like and he reads my blog.  ;)

And as promised, here are some pics of the quilt I made my mom for Christmas.  I really love this quilt.  I used close to 300 different prints on the front (280 I believe it was) and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  She loves it!

And here's a close-up of the quilting I did on it.  I love the little swirls.  I did this all free-hand and it was really fun.  I'm looking forward to trying this pattern again.



I've also been working on finishing some Christmas placemats for our next Christmas together. 

I have to do the binding on several of them this next week before they're ready to store away for the year.  I'm planning on making a lot of them so we have plenty for all the friends and family we hope to have together over the years.  I do love getting everyone together around the holidays.

Pieced back.

Another pieced back.

I have to say I'm almost more fond of the backs then I am the fronts.  We'll call them reversible.  I've been using up little bits and pieces leftover from my other coordinating Christmas decor.  I'll be posting pics of those over the next few weeks as they come along.

A few months ago I was bitten by the knitting bug.  It's bad.  I haven't recovered from it.  I'm not sure if I ever will.  I've made the boys a few hats each and my dad got one for Christmas. 

Odin in his favorite hat.

Several scarves for gifts and a few things for myself.  I am currently working on a sweater for myself.  That will take a little while to complete.  I may post some pics as I progress with it.  We'll see. 

I have also been making a lot of dishcloths.  I sent a few to my grandparents for Christmas and have been making some to use here at the house.  I have to say I'm amazed with how good of a job they do cleaning.  Since they are cotton I can throw them in with the regular wash and keep reusing them - which is a HUGE plus for me - and they look a lot prettier than a stinky sponge.  I'm thinking these will end up for sale in the shop soon.  I do enjoy making them.

And since it's the time of year to reflect on what we did in 2011 and what we'd like to do in 2012, here's a preview of a few quilts & things finished in 2011 and never blogged about.

Table Runner for a friend of mine.

This was my first Quilt sale of 2011.  Super sweet baby quilt.

Nine-patch variation for a little girl.

Frosted Memories Coin Quilt

Paradise in Eden

This was a gift for a friend's little girl.

Eden's pieced back.

My snowman quilt! I have better pics somewhere which will be added later.

Adoring table runner - gift for my grandparents

12 Days of Christmas table runner - gift for my aunt

Central Park baby quilt - gift for a dear friend's new little girl

I adore this fabric!

Sunkissed Pinwheels - gift for another friends new little girl

My favorite mug rug.  This sold within a few hours of being listed.  I'll have to make more this year.

Fandango Tango lap size quilt.  This one will end up listed for sale soon.

I hope everyone had a great 2011 and wish you all the best in 2012! My goals for this year are to slow down and enjoy life more, life a healthier lifestyle and complete at least 8 quilts this year.  I have enough fabric to make at least 8 quilts per month, but I'll start out slowly.  After all, that's my number one goal.  :)