Log Cabin Littles

Here are my February little log cabin offerings.  I made theses two mug rugs for my buddies out of left over blocks from my "Cabin Fever" quilt.  After 18 years, I had to use them in some way.

I'm calling these "Slave Quarters" because they are 1 room log cabins.

I selected the backings based on my friends interests.  I also attached the scrappy binding log cabin style.

Here is a Pretty In Pink courthouse step dolly quilt I made for Diane's Birthday.   We both love double pinks.  She currently has a great liberated log cabin on her blog from the same era as mine.

 

I chose this backing because we also both love lettering and script on fabrics.

And finally a blast from the past.  Here is a funky little liberated log cabin doll quilt that I made at the same 1995 Gwen Marston retreat as my recently finished quilt.

This one is made of all plaids with a yellow center, which is called light in the window.

The backing is scrappy leftovers.

I unearthed several little doll quilt tops while cleaning out the sewing room.  They are nice small projects that I can work on while the sorting and cleaning continues.

I'll be on hiatus for Friday as I'm going to the QuiltFest of NJ.  I'll share some photos soon.

FFF = Fun Family Fotos

Happy Friday!

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite family photo collections.

The dress up tourist gallery shots.

Here we are as a Civil War Era Family.  I'm pretty sure we are Northern Yankees.  Andrew actually looks just like a boy from that era, spooky.

This is my personal favorite!  Andrew and Hanna as Ganstas.  I love Hanna's smile, she obviously has no idea how inappropriate it is to be holding a gun and the bottle of jack.  Andrew is totally into it.

And this is the most recent one.  The staple Western Saloon Gang.  I love that mama's got the money.  My boys look pretty legit here.

While I understand that some people may find these tacky, I am unapologetic about them.  I love them!   They represent our family have a silly fun time together on vacation.

I wish they had them in Europe.  We could posed as Ceasers Family, Greek Gods, French Street performers......

My buddy Kelly is doing wonderful things with her scraps.  Check her out here.  I, on the other hand have an embarrassing technique for scraps.  I have them all in this tall wicker basket that I scrounge through or  just straight up dump out.

Hooray!  It is Oscar time on Sunday!

I think I'll indulge in a movie snack favorite.  Sno-caps sprinkled on top of hot popcorn.  It is sweet, salty, crunchy and chocolaty.  A perfect combo!

On a final note.  We have had some moving estimates and I'm ashamed to admit this but we have 26,000 pounds of stuff and an estimated 200 boxes to pack.  Yikes!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

 

Fun For Friday

Extra Extra Read all About it!

My husband has accepted a great new position in New Haven, CT.  We're excited about the prospect of a new home and I'll still be close enough to my NJ friends to stay in close touch.

My buddy, Jill, made me this cute Valentine present.  Isn't it terrific?   It it were played in Scrabble on a double word score, with a 7 tile bonus, it would be worth 84 points!! 

It came is this adorable vintage valentine bag, complete with pink doily - too sweet!  Thanks Jilly.

At the Garden State Quilters guild meeting Judy gave me this beautiful Danish Christmas plate after seeing them on my blog.  I was so touched!  Thank you Judy!  It is extra special because we don't have this year, and it has the 2 beautiful swans and it came to me the week of my Anniversary!

Here is my favorite "almost from scratch" bread recipe.  Here at our place we just call it Green Bread, but it's really Pesto Cheese bread.

 

You'll Need:

1 16 oz pkg of hot roll mix

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs shredded provolone cheese (I usually use asiago, cause I like it)

1 1/4 cups HOT water

1 large egg

3.5 oz. pesto (use can use fresh or jarred)

Combine roll mix, yeast packet from the mix and 1/2 cup shredded cheese in a large mixing bowl.

Add the hot water and egg and beat 2 minutes at medium with an electric mixer (the kitchen aid works best).  Add pesto and blend.

Cover and lest rise in a warm place for 30 mins or until doubled in size.

Stir dough 25 strokes (isn't that weird?) with a wooden spoon and spoon dough into a greased (I use pam) 2 qt casserole.

Sprinkle with 2 Tbs cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 mins or until nicely browned.

Let cool somewhat before slicing - if you can :)

The first night I usually serve it with a pasta dish.  After that it's every man for himself until its gone.

and just for fun if you missed it -

Here is Banana Joe, an affenpinscher, who won the Westminster Dog Show's Best in Show.  

"Yea, I'm kinda a big deal, even if I fit inside one of my trophies".....

Happy Friday everyone and have a wonderful weekend!

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow!

Happy Birthday Abe!!  This is a magnet that my friend Margaret brought me as a hostess gift.  Isn't he the cutest? 

Interesting that I'm exploring Log Cabin quilts this year.  Coincidence?  I think not....

I'm currently reading (on my ipod) "Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker"  by Jennifer Chiaverini.  It has been interesting and offers a different prospective on Mary and the Freed Slave experience during the Civil War.  It is easy for forget, but these women sewed these gowns by hand, talk bout haute couture!

Non sequitur:  How about those mourning dresses on Downton Abby?  I was sorry to see a character die, but I'm so glad we got to see the Jet dripping black dresses.

After seeing the movie "Lincoln" I decided to make a companion quilt to my Abe quilt.  This one will feature Mary Todd Lincoln.  I feel she is a complicated and misunderstood historical figure.  I'm hoping to start work on it soon!

Friday before the big storm on Friday, I finished my Jubilee Top!!

I had  HUGE snafu while finishing the borders and you can read the whole sad story here on the Jubilee Blog.

When the top was finally together I celebrated!  You know how I roll:

This is the beautiful new Christmas 2012 flute.  It is a BIG flute and has a gold trimmed red bauble on the stem.

I'm hoping to finish the marking and baste it today.  I'm using wool batting for the first time, wish me luck!

Here are some photos of the Blizzard of 2013. It was beautiful!  The best part?  We did not lose power!!  Hooray!

I love the bluish color of the dawn snow.

Our wrought iron chairs look like thrones for the snow king and queen.

 See you Friday with a recipe and fun.

Happy Birthday Abe,
Happy Mardi Gras,
Somber Ash Wednesday,
Happy Valentines Day....
what a busy week!

Fun For Friday - Be Mine!

Happy Friday!

I finally got the Dickens' Village put away and it was time to take out my Valentine's Day decorations.

It is a special day for us because we were married on a snowy, blustery night in Chicago on February 14, 1987.

We've been Valentines for 26 years~

Here are little shadow box valentines I made several years ago in empty chocolate boxes (they are displayed on the mantel on little picture easels).

I lined empty little chocolate boxes with black and white toile' and then bedazzled them with buttons, bow, cards, flowers, trinkets, etc.  I was working with the "king and queen of hearts theme...

here are some close ups.  Lots of references to 2-14

They are in this sized box -

Last year we were on a Carribean cruise at this time.....now we are bracing once again for a snow event!  Nemo is headed our way and colliding with a mid-west event.  Bring it on.  I'm ready.

good nemo -

bad nemo -

let it sew, let it sew, let it sew!

Have a great weekend - I'm posting early in case of power outage.

Cabin Fever - Finished!

Happy Monday!

I finished my Cabin Fever quilt, started in 1995:

The backing is made up of 20 fat quarters (I trimmed them all to 21" x 18").

After realizing on basting day that the backing was short, I attached the NYC subway fabric to the top and bottom.

Here is the backing before quilting.

Coco took a 30 minute sun bath on it one afternoon (she's avoiding eye contact with me).

Here is my favorite FQ on the back.  These funny Chimps.  The eyes are a scream.

I quilted each block and then on the diagonal in one direction.

The label - and hooray, I had the opportunity to use this funny label.  I didn't actually take forever, just 18 years to get back to it.

I couldn't decide on a single binding fabric, so I used 4, one on each side.

Here is a rag ball made of batting and the strip that gets trimmed after binding.  I've been making these for each larger quilt that I do.

And what's next?  I'm working on finishing my last border on the Jubilee quilt and I am piecing more of my flying geese that I traded with Susan and Jill.  It's happy and fun.

What are you up this week?

Fun For Friday - Morning!!

Morning is my favorite time of day!  I'm an early riser and I love having a quiet house to myself for awhile.  I'm one of those super obnoxious people who go around humming and singing in the morning.  My poor family....

I have a morning routine that very rarely alters and here it is:

I make a cup of coffee (thank you Kurig for being so fast) and step into my office.

That is what Rich calls my table and my spot on the green couch in the Gold Living Room.  I took over the living room 3 houses ago for morning time.  It is a pretty room and often under used - so I use it for me time.

I take my coffee (and usually coco) and sit.  My first task is to make an entry in my Five Year Journal.  It is awesome.  There are only a few lines to fill in and now that I'm on Year 3, it is fun to read back.

The second thing I do is a little spiritual reading of some sort.  I've read the Bible 3 times by doing it one day at a time.  This year I'm working on "The Wisdom of the Tao" and a book my friend Mary B gave me; "Help, Thanks, Wow - The Three Essential Prayers".

Then I either do a little more reading, or I write a note to someone.  I often listen to my book and a do a little applique' and have a second cup of coffee.  Sometimes I work on my laptop, but I'm trying not to get into that habit.

Here are two more new books that I got from Mary for Christmas this year: "Making Time", and "How to Live on 24 Hours a Day".   I'm sensing a theme here.

At 7 am I can almost always be found watching Good Morning America.  They don't know it, but there is a suburban NJ woman helping them co-anchor the show.  I weigh in on nearly every topic, especially the legal issues.

Okay, so maybe that wasn't exactly fun, but it wasn't quilting related either.  You know what is fun?  PUPPIES!

Not into the Super Bowl?  Animal Planet hosts the Puppy Bowl click here to see some footage.  It is so cute!  I can't stand it.

http://youtu.be/EjpM-m20pIg

Have a Fun Weekend!