Fun For Friday - Chocolate Lab and Cake

Hello from Connecticut~  I hope you are having a great summer.  Our move was long, wet and difficult, but we are here and the unpacking has started and will continue for some time.

Coco is missing her fenced yard and freedom.  She'll be getting an invisible fence soon but in the meantime, I made her a frozen treat for fun.

Freeze in a bowl:
Beef or Chicken Broth
Water
Miscellaneous treats (I used rawhide and jerky strips)
Miscellaneous rubber toys (if your dog likes them)

We put it in a plastic bowl on the deck.

We soon lost the bowl and I assisted to keep it from sliding around.

Coco moved to the grass for a better biting angle.

Then the front yard, where she kept a suspicious eye on me.  Our drive way winds around this large rock outcropping.  I am planning to do a lot of planting around it this fall and in the spring.

Success!  She finally got the rawhide out.  That's our new home behind her.  Not an older traditional home I had hoped for, but we love it.  It is set on 2 private acres.  Quite a switch from Jersey :)

And now for the beloved humans in my life - Copycat Chocolate Cake from Chicagoland's Portillos Restaurant.

On our recent trip to Illinois we made an emergency stop for Chicago Hot dogs - Oh my.....

All the recipes on line are the same Click Here.  Surprise a cup a mayonnaise - just like my friend Maureen's recipe. 

They all use Betty Crocker Frosting, but I always make my own.  Click Here for the one I like best.

Portillos' version here:

And Mine:

I hope your summer is filled with fun, family and some stitching - see you soon.

Quilts = Priceless

Hello!

Here is an update on the Cathedral Windows doll quit.  I try to get a little done here and there.  I've really enjoyed this process.

My moving date is finally about 1 week away!  Since I consider my quilts priceless, I've moved them all to a friends' house.

I didn't count, but Margaret is a trusted and dear friend and is so generous to offer her home as a storage for them.

I stacked them up and wrapped them with sheets.

This is a big bundle~

Here they are at Margarets house.  bye quilts.....see you in July.

On the home front, the sewing room is closed for business.  I have pre-organized everything for the packers so I'll know what is where.

It was a sad day when I took down the design wall.  I'll be replacing it and maybe I'll do a tutorial. It is so easy to make.

Sad....I'll never have another sewing room like this one.

On Sunday I celebrated the end of my Jubilee year.  I am grateful to my friends and family for making it a special day. 

I want to share this great gift that I received.  (I actually got 2 from different people....guess they know me :)

This is an icicle that you freeze and insert into a bottle of wine to keep it perfectly chilled.  It can also be used to quick chill red to the perfect temperature.

Brilliant! 

I don't know when I'll be back, but thank you all for the support during this move.  I hope to come back with fun and inspiration from Connecticut.  In the meantime, happy sewing!

Fun For Friday - How to Make a Quilt

Hello - Just checking in with a couple of fun items to share. 

While going through over 20 years of "kid" papers, like writing assignments, homemade cards, school art project, etc, I found this gem.

This 4 page book was made by my now 20 year old daughter, Hanna.  She was probably 6-8 years old.

"How to Make a Quilt" by Hanna

Take a needle and thread -

And now you have a finished top -

Add borders and now you are done -

The dedication page on the back cover.

Oh, if only it were that simple - I love it!

My little coco had her first Dairy Queen this week.  It is an especial treat and she really enjoyed it, I think......it was over so fast :)

I'll pop in next week for an update on my Cathedral Windows doll quilt which is all I'm working on when I can steal a few minutes.

Hello from the Home Front!

Hello!  Hope every one is having a good spring. 

This weekend was a fun a busy one!  My son, Andrew, graduated from Ramapo College, sum cum laude.  His college career had many ups and downs and I know he felt they were all worth it.

There were over 1,400 matriculating students at the Izod Center.  Yes, they read each and every name presented with their degree.

We were blessed to have Andrews aunts' with us for the event.  Thanks again Nancy and Glenna!

What a wonderful family occasion.  Hanna has a couple of years to earn her cap.

On Saturday I presented my son's beautiful girlfriend, Sigourney, with the Flying Fiesta quilt for her 21st Birthday.

I found this re-usable "missoni-esque" bag at TJ Maxx.  I thought it went really well with the quilt.

I also made a fun bouquet for her.  A vase filled with her favorite candy, peanut butter cups,  a girly flask and little liquor bottles - Happy 21!

I missed the quilt photo shoot, so I don't know what Andrew said, but it really cracked up the Birthday Girl.

Have a Wonderful Week!

Fun For Friday - Somewhere over the Jello Rainbow

Happy Spring Friday!  I hope you are having lovely spring weather, except for my friends in the snow belt - hang in there!

Last week I had a Birthday luncheon party for my friend, Norma.  I love to have "ladies lunch" and sit and sew and gossip, chat.

The hit of the party was Jan's Rainbow Jello.   It was a masterpiece of patience and beauty!  If you want to try one yourself, you can find one of many on line recipe like this one here.

Jan lives a few blocks from me and recently sold her home.  It was so nice to have her support and help.  Thanks Jan!

Lunch was simple, Rubens, chips, pickles and soda and the Rainbow jello - yum!

Norma requested the Orange Crunch Cake that I recently posted.  I decorated it with cuties orange sections and a paper parasol.

Flying Fiesta! 

On a recent post I asked if anyone could guess what the "keys" were to my scrap flying geese quilt.  I had over-heard someone say "She just throws all those colors together and somehow it works".   I took it as a great compliment, but it's not exactly true.

Successful scrap quilts nearly always have a some unifying elements.

Exchange Rules:

Solid colors
Modern Prints (so this ruled out repros, pastels, muddy colors)

Construction Rules (mine):

Take the exchange sets (4) and piece them into strips.
Make color blocks by pairing blocks with similar background colors.
Make all the blocks the same:
   Geese flying down on the right and up on the left.
Alternately turn the blocks.

The next time you see a scrap quilt that you really like, take a little time to study it and see if you can come up with the unifying "keys" to the quilt.

Lastly, look what I made!  I've always wanted to know how to make a Cathedral Windows and our friend, Ruth Ann, gave our sewing group a tutorial.  She has made several bed sized Cathedral Window quilts.  They are Stunning!

I'm planning to make exactly 1 doll bed sized quilt.

Happy Weekend and I hope it involves some sewing!  I'm off to the Northern Star Quilt show and will share photos next week.