Reverse Rainbow Starburst – Sweet Sixteen Quiltalong 2015

After some trial and error, I was able to complete my first block for a Reverse Rainbow Starburst which I am making as a 16-patch for Sarah’s Sweet Sixteen Quilt-along.

Flutter Kat’s reverse rainbow starburst quiltMy searches for 16-patch patterns kept turning up a 25-patch tutorial for the Reverse Rainbow Starburst. The photo sold me so decided to convert it to a 16-patch.

The tutorial for Reverse Rainbow Starburst is on the blog of Kat at Flutter Kat. She shows how to do wonky sawtooth stars which are randomly placed on each block, but I chose to stitch a uniformly shaped star. Although I adore Kat’s quilt,”wonky” is not my thing.

I had hoped to use only scraps, but I didn’t have enough in the 2-1/2 inch size I need so I supplemented with a few fat quarters and charms. My scrap organization revealed that I don’t have the “tubs of scraps” that more prolific quilters have, but I have my tubs ready to accumulate more scraps.

Katy assumed I laid the squares out for her pleasure.
The first block is deep purples and my next block is deep pinks. I can’t wait to finish this one!

2015 Plans and Dreams

My husband and I used to talk about retirement and dream about how we could slow things down and just enjoy life. Well we are definitely enjoying life, but regretfully time has not slowed down. Time flies when you’re having a good time!

My goals for 2015 are simple:
1) Have plans and dreams instead of “goals”
1) Enjoy what I’m doing with no pressure on myself
2) Refrain from buying new fabric, yarn, or patterns and utilize my storehouse of goodies

Quilts In Progress (WIPs)

My niece’s grandmother’s quilt top (you can read about it in this post) is now sandwiched and ready to quilt. I’ve “only” had it 3 years, so this is the year to get it done!

The Jingle Bell Rock quilt is sandwiched and quilting is about 1/3 done.

The very first quilt I planned to finish, started in 2011 and still in the designing stages, will be for my daughter (you can read about it here.)

This Math Class quilt will also be for my daughter. I have six blocks completed.

This Winterlude table runner is cut and will be ready to sew after I sort out all the pieces I dropped on the floor.

New Quilt Projects

My Christmas gift to myself was fabric for this gorgeous quilt. I have the pattern, which is found in Fat Quarter Style.

I love the fabrics, which are Moda’s Atelier by 3 Sisters and Autumn Lily by Blackbird Designs.

Scrappy Quilt Challenges

In the spirit of not buying new patterns or fabric, I am learning how to recreate patterns I like and would like to eventually design my own patterns. I love these ideas for scrappy projects:

I am planning to join Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict in her Sweet Sixteen Quiltalong 2015, a scrappy 16-patch challenge. I’d like to try something like the Reverse Rainbow shown above in a 16-patch instead of the 25-patch shown. I found the above picture online. I’m not a big fan of the wonky stars so I’ll determine how to make them as standard stars.

I am a little late to the Swoon Quilt party, but I love Camille Roskelley’s remake of the Carpenter’s Wheel. Yesterday I used graph paper to recreate her pattern and will start cutting from scraps today.

Needlework

I’ve recently become interested in Sashiko, a traditional Japanese embroidery technique and am excited about the ways it can be incorporated into quilting. The photo is from the blog of Jess of Elven Garden Quilts, and she has a nice tutorial here.

Purses

I want to make more coin purses like the one I made for my granddaughter and get started on the pattern I bought for these little see-through bags.

Crochet

I have plenty of yarn in my stash!

I learned to crochet in 1972 and was a crocheting fool for many years. I have not picked up a crochet needle for too long and have a deep desire to get back to it this year. I want to make these cute boot cuffs, and these beautiful Nordic Wrist Warmers, a pattern I purchased from Annette of My Rose Valley.

I have my eye on a couple of crochet patterns – Tunisian Crochet Entrelac throw and Log Cabin Arrow throw.

And while I love crochet, knitted items have a more polished look to me and knitting seems to be more a more versatile stitching method, so I am determined to learn to knit this year. I would love to learn to make the gorgeous drop stitch scarf pictured above with this pattern.

Home and Garden

Outside of quilty/crafty things, I also have a few homey projects in mind:

Last spring and summer we planted a modest vegetable/herb garden, and our moderate success led me to add a bit more space for this coming spring.

In a rush of excited anticipation I purchased a bunch of seeds from Pinetree Seeds.

We also have plans to re-stain our master bathroom cabinets and rearrange the dishes, glasses, and trinkets in my china cabinet. What doesn’t fit gets sold!

Cinnamon Sugar Bread

Sadly this is the last piece of this wonderful bread. Normally I would toss the last lonely piece of bread, but we are loving it, so it will be breakfast tomorrow. The author of this recipe calls it The Amazing Amish Cinnamon Bread Alternative and likens the flavor to the labor-intensive Amish Friendship Bread.

I found the recipe on Pinterest and decided it would make great breakfast muffins. The recipe makes two loaves, so I made a dozen muffins and a loaf. We loved it both as muffins and as bread. It is moist and tender, not too sweet, and fragrant with the warm spices of winter.

Cinnamon Sugar Bread
Adapted from the original

1 cup salted butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk (I used full-fat)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher flake salt

Cinnamon-sugar topping
2/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Prepare muffin tin or loaf pans with baking spray. (I have a lot of “sticking” problems with my loaf pans, so I greased the pan with shortening and laid a strip of parchment in the bottom and up the sides for easier removal.)

Mix together topping ingredients; set aside.

Cream together butter and 2 cups sugar till fluffy; add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. On low speed add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk just until flour is no longer visible.

For muffins: Fill prepared muffin cups about 2/3 full; sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes, loosen edges, and cool on wire rack.

For one loaf: Pour 1/2 of batter into prepared loaf pan; sprinkle with half of cinnamon mixture. Add remaining batter, carefully spreading over cinnamon-sugar mixture, and sprinkle with remaining topping. Can swirl with a knife at this point. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min. or until toothpick tester come clean. Cool in pan 20 minutes before removing to wire rack.

For two loaves: Pour 1/4 of batter into each prepared loaf pan; sprinkle with 1/4 of cinnamon mixture. Add half of remaining batter into each, carefully spreading over cinnamon-sugar mixture, and sprinkle half of remaining topping over each. Follow above instructions for baking.

I made a dozen muffins and one loaf of bread. Freezes very well.

2014 – A Few Non-Quilting Highlights

In October, Randy and I attended a charity function and decided to really
go all out with a long dress and a tux. It was fun to play dress-up.

Our beautiful baby girl married her wonderful guy in January. In the second photo,
Randy and I try valiantly not to cry as they dance their first dance.

Early summer we enjoyed the fruits of a fairly successful vegetable and herb garden.

We vacationed with our son, daughter-in-law, three grandchildren ages 15, 13, and 11, and our daughter and son-in-law at a really neat vacation rental house in Bulverde, TX and had our picture made at a nearby Mexican restaurant.

I am a trained storm spotter and self-declared weather nerd, so during spring and summer I can’t wait to see storm clouds rolling across the horizon.

In October and November we traveled to see our daughter near Dallas and Randy’s family near Tulsa, Oklahoma. We stayed in hotels instead of with our families which surprisingly made our visits more fun!

Top photo: Dallas skyline – we used to live near Dallas, and this sight is always a thrill for us. In the next photos are quick car shots of my beloved Oklahoma – beautiful skies, rolling hills, gorgeous fall trees.

December has been very happy. Randy retired,
so we bought a red Ford F150 to celebrate!

Christmas was so much fun. Even Buddy and Katy celebrated. We went to our son’s house early Christmas morning, then came home to our cozy house.
It was a great year! I am looking forward to 2015 and will have my resolutions in hand by tomorrow.

Winterlude Table Runner

Several months ago I bought a kit for a Winterlude Table Runner Kit by 3 Sisters for Moda, which will eventually resemble the photo above. I procrastinated and didn’t get started on it until yesterday. I spent several hours cutting and then pairing up 420 tiny pieces of fabric, laid them out in rows on my design board, then stacked up the rows in preparation for sewing.

I took pictures from several angles, just in case a piece got misplaced.

As I was transporting the board to my sewing machine, this happened:

Everything is now in a bag in my closet. I’ll think about it after Christmas!

Patchwork Christmas Tree Skirt

On Sunday I realized that my Christmas tree was lacking a skirt. I looked online for something simple and was inspired by an image I found featuring simple patchwork. I found a great tutorial and adjusted the size to fit my needs.

I couldn’t wait to use a small fat quarter bundle of Christmasy fabrics I had purchased at my LQS in August. I don’t know the makers of the fabrics, but I love the gentle metallics and the darker greens and reds mixed with blue.

I quilted it in a mix of straight and curvy lines, added a binding of dark emerald green batik, and was pleased at how quickly it all came together.

I debated putting ties on the opening, but my husband suggested buttons instead. I thought that was an excellent idea, so I added a couple of loops from the binding fabric and sewed on some pretty buttons.

Now our gifts don’t look quite so lonely.

I’m linking this to Amanda’s Finish It Up Friday and to Lily’s Quilts Small Blog Meet

Baked Orange Cranberry Sauce

Every year I count down the days until fresh cranberries are available so that I can make cranberry sauce from scratch. I used to like the canned stuff, but I’ve loved homemade since I first made Allrecipes Pear Honey Cranberry Sauce in 2005. I love all things cranberry and have an entire folder with recipes and bookmarks devoted to cranberries in sauce, cakes, scones, beverages, and cookies.

I decided to try one of the baked recipes this year, and I might even like the baked version better than cooked. The sauce is more chunky, tender, and mellow. Orange really enhances the tart berries, and adding a touch of cinnamon and vanilla to the sauce makes it a true comfort food.

Baked Orange Cranberry Sauce
Yields about 1-1/2 cups

1 – 12-ounce package fresh cranberries, washed and drained
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice, reserve orange peel and pulp
1 teaspoon vanilla

After squeezing orange juice, quarter the peel/pulp and place in 1-quart baking dish with cranberries. Pour orange juice over all. Mix sugars with cinnamon and sprinkle over top. Cover with foil and bake at 325° for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, take out orange peels, and stir in vanilla. Refrigerate leftovers.

Jingle Bell Rock Quilt Back

One more step is done on my Jingle Bell Rock quilt. I finished the back this morning.

I picked up an idea for the back from Crazy Mom Quilts Mini Trees Quilt with simple strips of color representing a Christmas tree. I drew out the design on graph paper, performed a bit of math, and got busy cutting from some of the leftover pieces of fabric plus some extra wide white yardage I purchased at Hobby Lobby.

I think it will be a nice quiet contrast to the riot of colors on the front of the quilt.

Now I must find a floor space large enough to sandwich the quilt and close the door to keep Katy the kitty out. Every time I sandwich a quilt on the floor, she thinks there’s a new game in town!

Texas Pralines II

My husband loves loves pralines. He regularly made them in our early married life but has been out of the habit for many years.

His go-to candy cookbook is Farm Journal Homemade Candy cookbook, published in 1970. We have tried two recipes for pralines from that book, and I thought the Texas Pralines recipe was a bit too creamy when I made them in January, but he wanted to give it a try.

I’m sure New Orleans folks would take exception to the name “Texas Pralines”, but the description on the recipe indicates a yield of 12 “big, Texas-style” pralines. My husband makes them smaller and gets about 18-24 pieces. He used heavy cream in place of the half-and-half but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.

And he truly is the Master of Pralines. These are buttery and creamy, but firmer than mine were – probably the best he has ever made!

Texas Pralines
from Farm Journal Homemade Candy Cookbook

3 cups brown sugar
1 cup half-and-half (we only had heavy cream)
3 tablespoons light or dark corn syrup (we used light)
1/3 cup salted butter (if you don’t use salted butter, add a pinch of salt)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Combine sugar, half-and-half, corn syrup, and butter in heavy saucepan. Stir to combine; bring to boil over medium-high heat then reduce to medium-low, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Cook to soft ball stage – 238 degrees. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm – 110 degrees – without stirring.

Add vanilla and pecans; beat until mixture changes color and begins to thicken.

Quickly drop by large spoonfuls onto parchment paper. If mixture gets too thick, stir in a teaspoon or so of water until mixture is spreadable again. You can alternately pour into a buttered 9-inch baking pan and cut into pieces when cool.

Makes 12 large or 18-24 small pralines.

Jingle Bell Rock Quilt

My husband and I started dated on December 17, 1962. We were both 14, and our date was a school bus trip to go roller skating. The first song we skated to was Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms, so that has become “our” Christmas song.

When I saw this Jingle Bell Rock pattern, designed by Kimberly Jolly for Robert Kaufman, I had to make it! Little holiday birds on bright green from Ann Kelle’s Jingle collection was my inspiration, and I pulled from my stash to mirror the boldness of the colors. I thought the blue diagonal stripe, Curiosities by Nancy Halvorsen, would make a nice contrast to the bright colors and white sashing.

This week I’ll sew on the borders and start piecing the back. I haven’t decided yet whether or not to bind it. I can’t wait to see how it turns out!