sewin' and cookin' and Martha

One day late in August, Thing 2 finished up two projects in a fit of productivity right before school started. (She's a freshman this year. A fact that is causing me loads of anxiety because I literally don't know how this is possible since she was riding in a car seat only last week...)

First finish was this bright and funky table runner for her bedroom. She was smitten with the pink floral Alexander Henry prints the moment we walked into an LQS, and carried a bolt around with her until finding the perfect pattern. The front of the table runner has the focus fabric paired with some coordinating AH and other prints:

The back is one solid piece of a striped AH print. She stitched the binding on entirely by machine (her first try at this technique) and likes it so much better than hand-sewing it to the back.

The pattern she used:

Immediately after the table runner finish, she brought out an apron that was already cut out - only the assembly steps to go! We purchased this fabric from our local JoAnn's store, but it feels like pretty good quality stuff. The pattern she used is Simplicity 2691.

The perfect baking apron!

I may have mentioned before that our family loves, loves, loves desserts. In fact, we have two 3" binders dedicated to recipes in our kitchen. The first binder is tab-divided into categories like Salads, Veggies, Chicken, Seafood, Pasta - all that stuff you've got to eat to stay alive and healthy. The other binder is tab-divided into Coffeecakes, Brownies & Cookies, Cakes, Pies & Tarts, Cheesecakes, Ice Cream & Custards - all the foods that make eating fun!!

Now here's where Martha comes in... Last week while eating dinner, we were lamenting the fact that we had had no dessert in the house for three nights and hatched a plan. We would cook our way through Martha Stewart's three dessert cookbooks à la "Julie and Julia"! Due to work and school time constraints (and our mutual desire to avoid obesity) we will not have a one-year deadline for this challenge. Rather we will choose 1-2 desserts to bake, evaluate, and share with friends each week. And we won't be baking everything in the books - certainly nothing with "Prune" in the title.

First up for this weekend: Berries and Cream Tartlets on page 33 of Martha Stewart's Pies & Tarts. Other cookbooks we'll be using are Martha Stewart's Cupcakes and Martha Stewart's Cookies.

Stay tuned for updates on our dessert-a-palooza! It needs a better name, though. Any ideas?

half-way there!

I've got 57 of my 114 paper plates finished! The triangles are currently sewn into half-hexagons; they won't be sewn completely together until the layout is finalized at the second class meeting. But you can get the idea of what they will look like eventually :) Here are a few of my favorites so far...

The book we are using is One-Block Wonders Encore! by Maxine Rosenthal and Joy Pelzmann. And the absolute must-have to make this pattern: the Super 60 Clearview Triangle ruler from aliciasattic.com.

I have found that five hexagons is the perfect number for me to work on at once. With five there are not so many pieces floating around to become confused, I can chain-piece 10 seams in one pass, and my cheap-o iron manages to stay hot between pressing sessions without timing out. I am still not convinced that an expensive iron will make me a better quilter or seamstress. One day I may cross over to that way of thinking, but until then, I am content with my Black & Decker that times-out after about 5 minutes of inactivity.

Some close-up shots of my favorites.... I love the little "seed-pods" in this one...

And all the peacock blue in this one...

Happy orange flowers...

and this is one of the few dark ones... love the forest green!

Here's hoping I can maintain this pace and get these ready to go waaaayyyy ahead of schedule... something that never happens for me. What would that be like?

If you are wondering what a finished one-block wonder might look like, there is a flickr group here with lots of photos :)

Enjoy the day!

one-block wonder

At 9:00am Saturday morning I started with five yards of this fabric...


and at 3:00pm Saturday afternoon, I had this...


114 paper plates loaded with 3 3/4", 60-degree triangle kaleidoscopes. See them all stacked up there in the top left corner?

The fabric is Alexander Henry "Kebede" purchased online at From Here to Quilternity. Isn't that a great quilt shop name? The class is One-Block Wonder Kaleidoscopes taught at my LQS. I love taking quilting classes; you learn so many little tricks in class that you could never pick up from a book.

I now have four weeks to sew together ALL of these triangles, so that we can arrange them on a design wall at the next class session. While I'm not excited about all that repetitive sewing, I am happy to have a deadline to force me to get it done :)

I've been wanting to make one of these quilts for a long time now, but was too chicken to start it on my own - I wasn't sure I could get all six layers of repeats lined up correctly. Turns out it wasn't that bad - you just need LOTS of flat-head pins!

I'll update you on my progress in the next four weeks. Wish me luck!

Oh, heavenly day!

Today I spent an entire hour outside walking my dog, and it is a glorious day here in Northern Illinois. All of our snow is finally gone, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and LIFE IS GOOD! I have also spent A LOT of time staring out the window today, finally feeling that soon I'll be seeing this view...

This is a small garden area near the gate to my back yard. It is the view I see every time I drive the car into the garage, every time I come home from walking the dog, and every time I go out in the morning to get the paper (during the summer, of course.) It is a lovely little area filled with boxwoods, snapdragons, coneflowers, zinnias, as well as other annuals that spring up from seeds that were just "dropped in." But my favorite part is the sign. I made that several years ago from a pattern found in a Mary Engelbreit craft book. I have to repaint it and the post (a painted stairway spindle and ball-topper from Home Depot) every few years, but it is worth the time - so cheerful! It stays outside all year long, and every year the twine holding up the sign breaks, and sometimes the entire thing is covered with snow. But it is always there, waiting for spring and flowers - just like me!

Speaking of flowers... these Anna Maria Horner Garden Party prints came in the mail last week from hawthornethreads.com. I just had to get them out and photograph them on this wonderful day along with these cuties...

Aren't they happy! Alexander Henry Willow line... again from hawthornethreads.com

I did have a few moments of productivity today when I managed to get some more paintbox quilt-along blocks done. Only six more solids to go and I"LL BE READY FOR SASHING!! I am love, love, loving how they have all turned out!

Hope you are having a glorious sunny day at your house, too!!