I whipped up a skirt for my daughter yesterday and we had an impromptu photo shoot for her new wardrobe piece :) She loves to pose and never shys away from attention, so this was right up her alley! Although, after about 6 poses, she asked 'mom, is it ok if I go ride my scooter in my new skirt?' -- got to love her!
Never mind that I had originally bought this fabric to make a hi-low skirt for myself that, well....failed miserably :) My daughter now gets to reap the benefits of my blunders and I get to head back to the fabric store for attempt #2...
Now what can I do with the rest of my leopard print scraps??
Here are pictures of two of my most recent finished quilts! The feeling of accomplishment once I finish a project is something I will never tire of....maybe that's why I like quilting so much!?
This was my first attempt at a t-shirt quilt -- my mother-in-law came to visit a few months ago and brought with her a stack of my sister-in-law's old t-shirts cut into various sized squares -- she was hoping that I would be able to fashion some sort of quilt of the shirts for my sister-in-law's birthday (Happy Birthday!). I was certainly intimidated by the task, but willing to give it a go -- this is what I ended up making. I wish I could have done more with the quilting, but the t-shirts were difficult to sew, and I thought I better leave well enough alone.
All in all, I am very pleased with how it turned out! The t-shirts made this quilt incredibly soft and cuddly, which is always a huge plus in my book!
This next quilt was commissioned by a good friend of mine. She had bought one of the very first quilts I ever made and fell in love with it...however, she was looking for something bigger in size that she and her family could curl up with on the couch and that she could use to stay warm during her morning Bible studies. She was immediately attracted to Kaffee Fassett's fabric designs -- and I am so glad that she was! This was my first time working with these fabrics, and it was a pleasure!
As we remember all of the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and its citizens, I want to extend this prayer to all of the men and women who continue to keep our country safe and keep our freedom a reality.
Dear Lord, maker of heavens above
earth and sea below
hear our prayer
for the men and women
of the United States [Armed Services]
as they answer
their Country's call
to serve, defend, and protect
all we hold dear.
Accept their sacrifices
of time, energy, effort, blood, life.
In times of peace
and in times of strife
be with them and with their
families, loved ones
who they want to be with
but must leave ...
our Nation to serve and defend.
Give them hope, peace,
joy without end,
and bless America
with Your Grace and Love.
Amen.
*This recipe has really surprised me with its popularity! Please feel free to share my recipe on your own blog, I just ask that you please link it back to this post as a reference for the original Slim Potato Casserole -- thanks!*
Here is a recipe that I came up with, out of necessity, one lazy weekend morning...it is a wonderfully awesome alternative to the classic hash brown casserole!! No canned soups, no sour cream and every bit as tasty as the original -- in fact, I prefer this recipe to the original...perhaps it's because I know I can eat that much more without the guilt :) I hope you give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!?
I found and interesting fact: Never bake with metal pans when using yogurt, the yougurt's acidity will react with the metal and result in bad taste! Use glass or ceramic instead. You can find more info about cooking/baking with yogurt here SLIM POTATO CASSEROLE:
INGREDIENTS:
1 (32oz) bag frozen SHREDDED Hash Browns
1 1/2 cups plain Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
1/2 cup Milk (at least 2%)
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Season All Salt
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 cup Shredded Cheese (of your choice...but be sure it is NOT low-fat)
Salt and Pepper to taste
*Although this recipe is much lower in fat/calories than the traditional, it still needs some fat to make sure the ingredients bind while cooking...that is why I suggest 2% milk and regular cheese...if you use low fat everything, it will turn out watery....
DIRECTIONS:
PreHeat Oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients into a large bowl. Grease a 9 X 13 glass or ceramic (no metal!) baking pan with cooking spray. Pour potato mixture into baking pan and spread evenly. Bake uncovered for 55 min.
*I have never encountered this, but if you are worried about the yogurt curdling, try mixing in 1.5 Tbs of flour to the potato mixture before pouring into the baking pan*
My daughter brought home the cutest craft today from her preschool -- I wanted to share it with you in case you were looking for an easy, heartfelt and handmade gift for Mother's Day!
In the years to come, when mom actually finds the time to enjoy reading a book for an hour or more, this adorable bookmark will remind her of just how small those little hands once were and just how amazing the journey of being a mom truly is.
I see this as also making a much appreciated gift for the grandma that loves to read!
Although barely at times! :) Sorry to have taken such a lengthy hiatus from my blog, but between being sick, having terrible allergies, and having to deal with constant temper tantrums from my little monsters (a term of endearment....for the most part -- terrible twos times TWO!) I have not had much time to work on a magnificent tumbler quilt that a friend of mine has commissioned! Of course, I want to make sure her quilt turns out as perfectly as possible, so I have been taking each step of the quilt making process verrrrrry sloooooow to ensure I don't miss a single stitch! She chose some absolutely gorgeous Kaffe Fassett fabrics for the quilt top -- I have never worked with Kaffe Fasset fabrics before, but I am so glad that this project fell into my lap...just some amazing colors and designs!
Here is a sneak peak of her quilt!
And, here is sneak peak at how loud it can get in my house, and why it makes concentrating on anything nearly impossible :) ....Keep in mind this is their happy noise....and yes, their sad noise is even louder...so whether they are happy or sad, there is always A LOT of noise in my house -- hahaa! (and yes, that is my nasally allergy voice...)
Never a dull moment, that's for sure!
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