Lost in Love is Lost and Found

I downloaded this free pattern about 4 years ago and purchased the fabric to make the quilt a little while later. I placed the pattern and the fabric in the "to do" basket and it was promptly forgotten. It was just recently, Jan. 2018,  I decided to get it out of my old stash and make this quilt for Valentines Day. I didn't make the deadline for the sweetheart day, but I did finish it a few days afterward. It was lost for years, then found to be a cherished creation by me and a special friend.

The pattern and fabric are from  Riley Blake. His website has many free quilt patterns.  The fabric, designed by Jen Allyson, reminds me of years past and the modern love of fabric. This was a quilt I knew I wanted to keep for myself.

The name itself implies romance. Forget the roses that die within a week. What better way to spend Valentine's day wrapped up in this lovely quilt?  A quilt that will last years and years and can be passed down for generations. 

I'm not that great a picking out fabrics ( well let's say I'm a fan of not reinventing the wheel) so I was thrilled when I found a fat quarter bundle of coordinating fabrics for this quilt. 

I'm also not a fan of small squares and strips. You will rarely see me build a quilt of charm squares or smaller because I just don't like them.  I love big blocks, what can I say? 

Because I'm determined to make this quilt, I will follow the instructions to the tee. Yuck... too small for me. 

It's going together anyway, piece by piece. 

This is the finished base panel. 

Next is the preparation for each of the hearts to go in the white squares. On this original quilt, I used ultra heat and bond for each heart.

My Cricut Maker cut the hearts perfectly. Charlie even loved them.

Once the hearts were fused to each square, I used a blanket stitch to anchor each heart. 

The finished panel.

The border was added, the backing created, sandwiched with the batting, pinned and quilted.

The binding was next. I really love to bind quilts. I use a wave stitch to adhere the binding around the quilt.

Clips make it easy to adhere the binding.

Love this backing. I learned to make original and creative backings from the quilting gurus I follow on the internet and  Pinterest.

On some quilts, I will make a special label, but not all. This one gets the embroidered label.Someday, one of my family members will get this quilt. I hope they love it as much as I do.

One of the reasons this fabric caught  my eye is the snowflake pattern on the red fabric.

Here in upstate NY, Valentine's day is sometimes a cold and snowy day. This quilt is just perfect in every way as a valentine's gift for someone special. 

Lessons Learned:

1. If there is fabric you like and a pattern for the fabric, purchase it as soon as you can or it will be tedious to find the fabric available in the future to make the quilt.
2. Ultra Heat and Bond is to stiff for a quilt like this. On the next one, I'll use Heat and Bond Lite.
3. Because I'm not a fan of small pieces, I felt like I didn't take the necessary time and care on this quilt to perfectly match the seams. If I ever have to create a small piece quilt, I will pay more attention to matching the seams.

Do you have a favorite quilt? I'd love to see some pictures. Feel free to leave some love and pictures in the comments below.

Happy Valentine's Day almost 2 months late.

Easter Bunny Treat Bag

Such an easy creation.

You can fill this bunny bag with whatever you want to. If I had grandchildren, I'd make these for each of them and fill with a mixture of  Easter sweets.

But none-the-less, I gave this as a thank you gift to a person at work who has never let me down. A thoughtful and gracious person, she never fails to help a colleague in need. She puts her students first and is a union advocate who strives for better for her colleagues.

I chose leftover Kaffe Fassett fabrics because they are so bright and cheery. We really need some incentive for Spring here in upstate NY.

In the ears, I used  Heat and Bond Lite to give them some stability.
The bags were made from 5x5 scraps of fabric. I folded the edges and made a button hole to thread some ribbon through the casing to make the bowtie.

You can find this free pattern and instructions for this treat bag at Sew Can She.  Click on the caption below the image. 

Bunny Bag Tutorial

A few years ago I made an Easter basket full of bunnies. I just love this basket of "no calorie" bunnies to add to the tables in your home during the holiday.  Click on the link in the caption to view more. 

Multiple Bunny Basket

Do you have a special "go to" easter pattern to make for kids or grandkids? I'd love to hear about them. 

Have a wonderful Easter holiday, 

 

St. Patrick's Day Dinner Different

Corned beef and cabbage is the norm, but Rich decided to make something different on this St. Patrick's Day 2018. He chose a recipe called Bangers and Mash. Bangers, an English term and not Irish, means sausage.

Bangers & Mash with Stout (Guinness) Bacon and Onion Gravy

This St. Patrick's Day, serve up some delicious Bangers & Mash with Stout Onion Gravy for a quick and easy dinner the entire family will love.

Prep Time  20 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Yields        3-4

Ingredients

Bangers

·      1 pound chicken sausage (I used bratwurst)

·      1 tablespoon olive oil

·      3 ounces stout (Guinness)

Mashed potatoes

·      3-4 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced

·      2 tablespoons butter

·      1/2 cup buttermilk

Stout onion gravy

·      ½ lb. turkey bacon crisped and chopped

·      2 tablespoons butter

·      1 medium sized onion, sliced thin

·      2 tablespoons flour

·      1 cup stout (I used Guinness)

·      1 cup beef broth

·      salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Sausages:

    Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages and stout. Cover with lid and crack just to allow enough steam to escape. Cook covered for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through. After they've cooked for 10 minutes, remove the lid and allow the liquid to reduce a bit and coat the sausages. When the liquid is almost gone, lower heat to medium-low and continue cooking with the lid on, rotating occasionally, until evenly browned and cooked through, about another 10 minutes.

Gravy: 

In a separate pot, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add sliced onions and cook until slightly brown and fragrant, 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and allow to cook 2-3 minutes. Add stout and bacon and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Add beef broth and allow to simmer until no longer foamy, 10-15 minutes.

Potatoes:

   In large pot cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil.           Cook until soft. Drain and add butter and buttermilk.
   Mash to your preferred consistency. To serve, top potatoes
   with sausage(s)and top with as much gravy as your heart
   desires.

What did you enjoy for food and drink this St. Patricks Day?  Hope it was a fun day for you and your family. 

#Bombogenesis Bullseye

127 got socked with snow yesterday. No quilts, no crafts, and no kitchen delights on these days. This noteworthy storm is one of the biggest snowstorms  I can remember in recent years: 28+ inches. I live in the pink area to the north in the Schoharie Valley. Neighboring villages and towns had almost 40 inches. Friends and family were without power for hours.

The following pictures tell the story of a full day snowstorm in which it snowed ALL day long. I truly figured I would have to travel an hour to work in the snow on Friday; I had no idea it would be this bad. A nice surprise of a snow day? No way. Not when the snow is so wet and heavy and needs to be cleared from land, decks, and roofs. My muscles, bones, and mental state will take at least the weekend to bounce back.  I would rather have been in school celebrating Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss' birthday.

Trees and bushes all over the neighborhood will hopefully survive the weight of the snow.

Many branches, some huge, broke from trees all over the valley. 

Yes, it looks pretty, but only for a while.  

Charlie loved the snow and everything about it. He thought the shovels, falling snow from the trees, and noise from branches cracking were all a part of the "snow games"  of which he was determined to win.

This was the second round of snow after the first removal.

Heavy branches I'm hoping won't break.

At the end of the day on Friday, it was exhausting and just too much on the body.

Saturday morning the roof snow removal began. Can't let it melt and freeze here in upstate NY or you would have a mess of leaks down the wall in your house.

 These pines sure do look pretty though.

Hopefully, there will be no more snow storms like this around 127.

What was the weather like where you were on Mar. 2, 2018?

Lessons Learned:
1. Check the generator weeks before the winter season. Ours bit the dust on Mar. 1.
2. Try to keep up with snow blowing and shoveling if you don't have a plow or someone to do it for you. I heard of many who burnt out their snowblowers because the snow was just too heavy.
3. Remember, in the great northeast: IT IS WHAT IT IS. :)

A Preview of Things to Come

Riley Blake Lost In Love Quilt: One for Me
and one for a Special Friend