I have had this Michael Miller 'Giraffe Garden' fabric sitting in my sewing room for almost a year now. I thought it would be nearly close to sinful to cut-up such an adorable sheet of fabric, so I avoided it...'till now. My solution...don't cut it! I decided to leave the fabric intact, and I am so glad that I did!! I used an equally adorable black and tan fabric to for the backing and stitched the quilt together using, what I call, 'freestyle straight stitch' -- letting the machine do the steering more or less. I think my daughter's expression sums it up best: We are both so in love with this quilt, that I think I am going to have to hunt down some more yardage so that we can duplicate another one, just like it, for ourselves!
Congratulations to comment #7: Katie!! You have won the Presidents' Day Give Away :) I have sent you an email (to the address provided) with more details. Thank you to everyone who entered -- I always love a good give away!
Have a great week!
Because I am so excited about the upcoming 3 day weekend my husband gets to spend with us, I am delighted to host another give away in celebration! Up for grabs is my Snips N Snails quilt! I absolutely adore this quilt! It measures 36" X 36" and would make the perfect stroller blanket, floor mat and tote-a-long -- would make a wonderful gift too! Here's how to enter! If you haven't already, go to The Spotted Lamb's Facebook Fan Page and hit the 'Like" button to become a fan and stay up to date on the latest happenings. Next, COME BACK HERE, leave ONE comment at the end of THIS blog entry....it can be about anything...just be sure to leave your email address in the line provided when making your comment so that I have a way to contact you! :) Monday night, 9:00PM PST, I will draw a random number -- that coordinating comment will be the winner! Good Luck!!
Every time I visit family, we inevitably end up eating, at least once, at the greatest bruschetta restaurant....ever. Postinos, is known in the local area, and beyond, for its famous and delicious bruschetta selections. If you are ever in the Scottsdale, AZ vicinity, walk (...no run) to Postinos! Because I am only in AZ a couple of times a year, I am not able to have their bruschetta at my beck and call....so I decided to make it myself! Well, my busy mom version of bruschetta... Postinos has a never ending variety of bruschetta on hand, but the last time I visited, the fig, apple and brie stood out to me the most. Sweet and savory rolled into one delicious bite after the next! Here's my version:
Ingredients:
Sliced Wheat Sandwich Bread or Cinnamon Raisin Bread (yow-zers!)
Baby Brie Cheese Wheel
Sliced Granny Smith Apples
Fig Butter (butter is really the best because it is less sweet than jam or other fig spreads)
Honey Directions:
Toast 2 pieces of sandwich bread in your toaster to desired crispness (in my opinion, the crispier, the better). While waiting on the bread, cut a few sections of brie from the cheese wheel, remove rind. Cut about 2/3 of a granny smith apple into small slices, set aside. When bread has toasted, spread brie over the top of warm toast. Next spread a layer of fig butter over the brie. Add sliced apples on top of the fig butter, and finally, drizzle with honey! That's it, enjoy! This little snack is so irresistible -- I have literally had this for lunch every day this week! And although it surely doesn't look as pretty as the Postinos version, it tastes just as good and is a quick, healthy eat for a busy mom!
Birds in the Air is a very traditional quilt block that dates back to the mid 19th century/Civil War Era quilts. The graphic nature of the pattern caught my eye, and I thought I'd give it a go for my next baby quilt project. I chose two equally graphic printed fabrics that I had leftover from my Sea Glass Quilt and paired each with a crisp white for added contrast. I struggled with the decision on what to use for my backing fabric -- I wanted to keep the quilt gender neutral, which narrowed my choices for fabrics greatly. I finally decided on a linen cotton fabric, that, in the end, I think is just gorgeous for this quilt! I also used it for the binding. I am very happy with how this 'Birds In The Air' quilt turned out!
I've stumbled across a wonderful, eco-friendly, skin friendly, idea to replace all of those annoying dryer sheets. Laundry Sachets! While trying to think of a hostess gift idea for my husband's commander and his wife (in particular), I came across this wonderful tutorial on how to make your own Lavender Dryer Sachets. Intrigued by the idea, I did another search to see just how difficult it would be for me to get my hands on some Lavender buds and lavender oil -- to my utter surprise, it was simple! There is a wonderful herb shop in San Francisco, SF Herb Co., that has more herbs, spices, and essential oils than you can shake a stick at, at very reasonable prices...and they ship! I received my order in a day and was busy making my first dryer sachet right away! Here's a quick run-down of how I made mine:
For One Sachet:
1 Cup Lavender Buds
2 Drops of Lavender Oil (or more)
2 6X6 inch squares of Linen fabric (or any cotton fabric of your choice) -- keep in mind neutral colors are best, you don't want the colors from your sachet fabric bleeding onto your laundry...
Thread
Place your two linen squares, right sides together, and sew a 1/4 inch seam around 3 of the 4 sides, leaving about a 2 inch opening on the fourth side. Turn the sachet ride side out. Topstitch the same 3 sides of your sachet, to provide extra support of the seams (stop topstitching at the opening)
In a medium bowl stir together lavender buds and essential oil until well combined and fragrant!! Adjusting the strength of smell by adding more oil if you would like (keep in mind the scent will have to fill the entire dryer load, so don't worry about it being too potent at this point).
Using a rolled up paper towel as a funnel, pour the lavender buds into the sachet through the opening.
Fold in the fabric at the opening and iron flat. Close the opening by continuing your topstitch from the first step. Done!
*If you want to get 'fancy' you can add an appliqued embellishment to your sachet, I chose to add a heart. Just be sure to sew this to one of your linen squares BEFORE you start with the first step*
Toss your new lavender sachet in with your clothes, just like you would a dryer sheet. Your clothes will come out smelling like a dream! These sachets should last aprox. 20 loads. Once the fragrance fades, you have the choice of either re-freshing the sachets by spraying more oil onto it, or using the sachet in drawers/closets for a lighter lavender smell.
You can also play around with different fragrances -- be sure to check out all of your options at the SF Herb Company!
I think these will make a great hostess gift and I am excited to have them in my own home!
Another great recipe to share! Fruit Butter Bars -- adapted from a recipe I found over at 52 Kitchen Adventures -- I added a few more grains and spices to the recipe and played around with two different fruit butters, the results were delicious! FRUIT BUTTER BARS
INGREDIENTS:
6 T Butter, softened
1/2 Cup + 2 T Brown Sugar
2 T Milk
2 Eggs
1 1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 T Wheat Germ
2 T Oat Bran
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Cup Fruit Butter (I used Fig and Mango)
DIRECTIONS:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Cream butter and brown sugar in a large bowl
- Add milk and whip until light and fluffy
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until combined after each addition
- Add dry ingredients (baking faux pas...) and mix until soft dough forms
- Collect dough into a ball, cover with seran wrap and place in fridge for 4 hours, or overnight
- Divided chilled dough into fourths. Set aside one fourth, return the remaining three sections to the fridge
- Roll our dough section into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle
- Working quickly (dough becomes very soft when it warms) spread 1/4 cup of fruit butter on top of the dough, leaving a small edge.
- Fold the dough in half, enveloping the fruit butter, and press edges gently to seal.
- Place dough onto baking sheet and repeat for the remaining sections of dough
- Bake for 20 min or until golden brown.
- Place on cooling rack. Cut into squares after bars have cooled. NOTES:
I recommend dividing the dough into fourths, instead of halves because I found it very difficult to work with in the larger quantity. Be sure to work quickly, because once the dough comes out of the fridge it gets soft fast! Also, don't worry about the rolled dough shape being a perfect rectangle, or the edges coming together perfectly once you fold the dough over -- I liked the way mine turned out rustic looking! These would be awesome with any fruit butter, apple may be next on my list! After all, with something that tastes this good, you're not going to think twice about the way that they look :) Enjoy! Oh, and I promise to post about sewing/crafting again soon...I've been working on a few projects and have yet to get one completely finished...soon!
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