800!

800 blog posts. Wow to the wow. I'm such a yacker. Just wanted to say I enjoy each and every one of you. Those comments make me smile and I appreciate all of them.

I stumbled across this hilarious collection of Tumblr posts about family. This one made me LOL. I love a fun family.

How about a giveaway? Why not? I have stuff you might like. I might buy you something. Or make you something. It'll be a total surprise, but if you're game for something free in your mailbox that isn't junk mail, just leave a comment below. If you're a "No Reply" blogger, include your email address so I can contact you.

St. Paddy's Day is Tuesday. I like to celebrate with corned beef and cabbage. The Inspector likes to celebrate with Guinness drinks. We stocked up on all things Irish yesterday. We're not Irish, but any holiday that celebrates a saint who drove snakes out of Ireland, is a holiday right up my snake magnet alley. It's almost snake season, ya know.

I'm making this One Bowl Fudgy Whiskey Chocolate Cake today. That's the ganache melting above. If you're not into corned beef, boozy cake or beer, here are some green recipes I thought looked delicious. And they're healthy to boot!

This is a grandmother's flower for Eleni. I've followed the Stitched in Color blog for years. Rachel recently gave birth to a little girl who could use some special thoughts and wishes. Jodi at Tales for Cloth has organized a flower gathering to make a quilt for this sweet family. If you have a minute and like to EPP, maybe you can help the quilt grow. There's also an auction going on this weekend over on Instagram: auctionforeleni. I love the loving and giving nature of quilters.

Bones needed to go out while I was writing and this little guy was out on the pool deck. Did you hear my snake scream? So I guess it's officially snake season. Let the games begin.

Shabby Apple Frock Giveaway

I've been a fan of Shabby Apple for a while now. Their vintage and retro style clothing is timeless and classic. I doubt the fashions will ever go out of style. Love this polka dot number.

How fun is this houndstooth dress? Their dresses are well made and have tons of detail. I think they would be flattering on anyone.

This dress is called Pop Mode and is really fun too. I love the vintage styling and colors. If you love vintage clothing, you will love Shabby Apple.

Here's the dress I'm giving away. It's a size 10/12 and a gorgeous orangey-red with a lacy white floral print. It has a longer length and wrap around bodice. I'd say the bodice part is more of a size 8. The skirt is very full and there's a big bow that ties in the back. The dress is fully lined. It's new with tag. Leave a comment if you'd like to have it. I'll send it anywhere. If there's more than one comment, I'll use a random method to select a winner.

Throwback Random Thursday

I really enjoy seeing old photos. Everyone's going to be bummed when all these hard drives and storage methods fail. Myself included. I haven't printed a photo in years. Here's an oldie of me that appeared in our local newspaper. My friend of 44 years, Doug, posted this on Faceplace. I'm the bearded lady on the left. That was my real hair. Only the beard is a prop. I'm kidding. But I did get a perm in the 80s that looked a little like that. My first grade class performed a circus for the school. I was also the horse tamer.

Frico grilled cheese sandwiches. How have I never fried cheese on purpose? Everyone knows it's the best part.

50% off coupon for Jo-Ann compliments of the Quilted Cupcake. Valid until Halloween. Are you like me? Get to Jo-Anns with a purse full of carefully collected and clipped coupons only to find out everything you want or need is already on sale and you can't use a coupon. Probably just me.

Yesterday was my 700th blog post! I didn't realize it until today. To celebrate, I'm giving away this calendar I thought I had to have. It's a Modern Quilts Datekeeper and has gorgeous photography of modern quilts. Unfortunately, I need a real calendar with the days of the week indicated. I would be mega confused using this as my regular calendar. This type of datekeeper works great as a perpetual calendar to record birthdays, anniversaries, birth years, etc. I have one I've used for years for that purpose. Leave a comment if you're interested. I'll ship anywhere.

Ha!

Mondo Mushroom Pincushion Giveaway

I had the awesome opportunity to test drive one of La Todera's new patterns. Julie creates the cutest patterns. They're all very unique and always colorful. Julie and I both have a thing for toadstools, so I was thrilled when she asked if I would like to test the Mondo Mushroom Pincushion. Mondo, indeed!

I took the pincushion outside to try for some beauty shots. Here it is on the rocks. This baby will hold lots and lots of pins. It measures approximately 7" across. Or how about using it for threaded embroidery needles? I'd like to practice my hand embroidery skills and having the needles pre-loaded with different colored threads would be convenient. 

I used some eyelet lace I had, but the pattern shows you how to make your own sassy ruffle. La Todera patterns include lots of photographs and step-by-step instruction. Even I can't mess them up. I got to fire up the glue gun for this one. Fun!

Julie has given me a Mondo Mushroom Pincushion pattern to give away. Just leave a comment below and I'll put you in the running. It's a fun pattern, I know you'll love it.

Cruising Pinterest again. Too bad it doesn't pay. These blackberry pie bars were really good. I used frozen blackberries, but fresh would be even better. Most of the fresh berries are still pricey around these parts, but you can always find them frozen.

I tried Hollandaise sauce for the first time last week. Sheltered life, right? How did I miss out? We were eating breakfast out and they served the English muffins and poached eggs on top of fresh spinach and avocado. Then they drizzled hollandaise sauce all over the dish. Oh my. After that delicious breakfast, I came home and obsessed thought about hollandaise all week. So yesterday's brunch I whipped up a batch. Uh oh, that stuff is really good. Now I want it on asparagus and artichokes. 

Log Cabin Baby is quilted, bound, washed and then tossed in the grass for a picture. I used a hunk of starry, starry night batik to back it. I think it will make a fun outdoor baby quilt and not show dirt. I've been doing machine binding on these baby quilts so they're more durable and can be washed a couple times a week.

Working Hard

So many fun distractions today. I saw this Squash Blossom block by Bloomin' Workshop this morning and couldn't get it out of my head. 51 pieces later I got her done. Now I want cheese stuffed squash blossoms. I've never had them, but they sound delicious.

Instead of decadent cheese and squash blossoms, I made soup for lunch. It's been chilly this week, plus I had homemade chicken broth I needed to use. I found the inspiration for this recipe in a magazine and gave it a try. Here's my version:

Kill the Limas* Soup

1 bag frozen succotash (nasty baby plastic green lima beans and corn)
1 bag frozen broccoli
spices (salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, garlic and onion powders)
chicken or vegetable stock to cover veggies

Bring to a boil and then let simmer 15-20 minutes (kill those lima beans). Cool slightly and use an immersion blender or food processor to puree. Leave some chunks.

*I am not fond of frozen baby green lima beans. It's a texture thing. The taste is great, but the tough skin and mealy insides have never appealed to me.

My new Liberty Love book has a great pincushion pattern. Too bad I don't have many Liberty fabrics, but I do have lots of scraps. Lots and lots of scraps.

I need to find a home for this. I'm currently flush with pincushions. I may even be a pincushion hoarder collector. It's about six inches square and filled with poly-fil. If you'd like it, leave a comment below. I'll chose a random winner if it comes to that. ;)

The last of my Madrona Road fabrics. I organized my scraps early this morning and unearthed them. So I made a pouch. I guess I better get some real job work done. It's almost quitting time!

Football Food

I continued with my football game dinner menus all last week. Appetizers are so much fun to make and eat. I was going to grill the chicken wings, but my propane tank had a leak. Luckily, they're easy to bake. College Boy inhaled half of these. I think he was hungry. There were no leftovers.

I had leftover pumpkin puree from making some nasty pumpkin bars. The bars were bland and not a big hit around here. Inspector Gadget took them to work where apparently people will eat anything. I told him to put them in the break room anonymously. Sneak in, sneak out. I have a reputation to uphold. This pumpkin oatmeal I mixed the night before and let sit in the fridge. In the morning I baked it off. I added a touch of milk to reduce the richness. It was okay. No more pumpkin until October.

Farm progress. Just look at that celery go. It's all organic too. I guess I better look up when you're supposed to put it in dirt. Or maybe I'll go all hydroponic like Epcot. I should have a bunch of celery by Fall. Ha.

Creamed spinach, Meyer lemon, bacon, and goat cheese pizza on the left. Based loosely on this recipe. Next time, I'll steal a car and get the proper ingredients. The whole wheat crust from that recipe is really good. I did have the proper ingredients for that. The other pizza was Italian sausage and mozzarella. Some people don't like spinach around here.

I won these five fat quarters by Kaffe Fassett from A Quilting Life. They are so pretty. I've been so lucky winning giveaways lately. I should play the lottery. Speaking of giveaways, the winner of Rene's Peace pattern is ritainalaska. Congratulations and thank you to all who entered.

Our Super Bowl menu was chicken wings, blue cheese guacamole. veggie platter, deviled eggs, bacon wrapped water chestnuts and chicken livers, and tomato caper bruschetta. We had a small crowd this year. Wasn't the game exciting? Back to normal dinners this week. Happy Monday!

Peace, Baby

Feeling Groovy by Rene' of Rene' Creates, 2010.

I had the lucky opportunity to test my friend Rene's very first quilt pattern. I first saw this quilt while Rene' was putting it together during one of our guild's Sew Days. She pretty much had me at batiks, but you know those rainbow pinwheels and purple background had me swooning too. It's hard to believe she gave this to her children's school to auction off.

Peace, Love, and Happiness by Rene' of Rene' Creates, 2012.

Not only is Rene' an accomplished quilter, she is quite the photographer. I love seeing the "beauty shots" of her quilts. Doesn't she make them shine? Seems kind of excessive to travel 2,500 to get a shot like this, but that's Rene'! ;)

Peace Baby by Rene' of Rene' Creates, 2012.

I really loved the baby version of this quilt pattern. Rene' made this for her darling little Leo, her very first (and really adorable) grandson. I call him Kirk because he has the cutest dimple on his chin. Okay, back to the quilt, I could talk cute babies all day long. But just look at all that dense quilting. You know Leo Kirk loves the bright colors, bold prints, and texture. Just perfect for a baby.

I Spy Peace, Baby by Michele of Nostalgic Cafe, 2012

Those three quilts are a hard act to follow, but here's my version of Peace Baby. I call it I Spy Peace, Baby. It's still in flimsy form until I get up the nerve to quilt it or buy some quilting for it. I used my I Spy charm squares I've been collecting for years. The baby size is perfect for charm squares because you can get four squares from one 5" square.

The pattern is beautifully written and gives detailed instruction, diagrams, and tips. The quilts can be made with solid squares or pinwheels. It works up quite quickly and the design options are endless. I added a border just so the peace sign would stand out. I thought once the baby gets older, he or she could find the similar prints a la the matching game.

Check out the blog hop to see even more versions of Rene's inaugural quilt.

• Monday, January 21 -  Katie at KT Quilts (http://ktquilts4fun.blogspot.com)
• Tuesday, January 22 - Michele at  Nostalgic Cafe (http://nostalgiccafe.blogspot.com)
• Wednesday, January 23 - Cindy at  Live a Colorful Life (http://aroundtheblockdesigns.blogspot.com)
• Thursday, January 24 - Michelle at  Frustrated Quilter (http://frustratedquilter.blogspot.com)
• Friday, January 25 - Stephanie at Peas in a Pod (http://peasinapod.typepad.com)
• Monday, January 28 - Terri at Terri's Notebook (http://terrisnotebook.wordpress.com)
• Tuesday, January 29 - Doris at Made by a Brunnette (http://madebyabrunnette.com)
• Wednesday, January 30 - Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski (http://maryonlakepulaski.blogspot.com)
• Thursday, January 31 - Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts (http://www.prairiemoonquilts.com)
• Friday, February 1 - back to me Rene' at Rene' Creates (http://www.renecreates.com) for a give away

Rene' has graciously offered a free pattern to one lucky commenter on this post. If you can't wait to see if you're a winner, you can purchase the pattern here. I'll draw a winner this weekend. Good luck! Congratulations on your fun first pattern, Rene'!

P.S. If you're a "No Reply" or "Anonymous" commenter, please include your e-mail address so I can contact you if you're the winner. :)

Soup and Randomness

This soup is yummy. Basically, I compiled a couple of different recipes to suit what I had on hand. The result was a creamy, spicy, flavorful broth with a bit of shrimp and chicken, snow peas, and green garnishes. Yum! I ate it for breakfast this morning and it was even better left over.

Red Curry or Fire Pot Thai Soup

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 tablespoons red curry paste
1 14 oz. can coconut milk
32 oz. chicken stock/broth
1/2 lb. raw shrimp
1/2 cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup snow peas
1-2 dried chili peppers
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup brown rice
parsley, basil, scallions for garnish

1. Cook rice in 1-1/2 cups water. Steam 40 minutes or until tender.
2. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add curry paste and continue heating.
3. Add coconut milk, broth, and chili peppers to pot and simmer 30 minutes.
4. Add raw shrimp, chopped chicken breast, and snow peas. Squeeze juice of one lime and add rice. Cook 5-10 minutes until shrimp are done.
5. Garnish with generous amounts of parsley, basil, and scallion.

Vegetarian version: replace shrimp and chicken with firm tofu and use vegetable broth.

Work has been busy, but I played with my selvages to make a coaster.

And also prepared my fabrics for my second January Lucky Stars block. This time I printed the patterns the right size and used gray for the background instead of white. I forgot I was using gray for the backgrounds on these blocks. Maybe by June's block I'll have my act together.

My Scrappy Trips are growing slowly. I'm kind of getting bored with making them. I doubt I'm good for many more. I like how everyone else's blocks are turning out, but mine seem kind of flat. Meh.

I basted some hexies last time I was away from my machine and computer. It doesn't happen often. I did these while I was visiting with my dad. His grandmothers quilted but he doesn't remember ever seeing them do it.

An adorable little pouch I won. Hollywood is the owl girl, so I'm sure she'll relieve me of this cutie as soon as she sees it.

600 Posts!

Squishy mail alert. Lucky, lucky me. I won four, count 'em, four giveaways for Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day. I've always thought this A Walk in the Woods fabric collection was really cute.

Another charm pack of adorable novelty prints. I think I have a project in mind for these. The wheels are a turning.

To celebrate 600 posts I'm showing you 600 of my Christmas ornaments. Just kidding, you have things to do. But here are some of my favorites.

Bones is not impressed with his Christmas Snuggie. Probably because it's 100 degrees.