dipped pretzel rods

Last night, I finally made some pretzel yummies that I'd been intending to make since Christmas!  I melted carmel bits, dipped in the pretzel rods, and let them cool.  Then I rolled the rods in warmed candy melts and immediately sprinkled some of them with "rainbow jimmies".  They taste just as good as Disneyland's version....well, almost!

domestic bliss boo-boo

Top photo:  pieced quilt top
Bottom photo:  pieced quilt borders

Fabric:  Domestic Bliss from Moda
Mission:  Use purchased charm packs 
(Note: a charm pack is a set of precut 5" squares of coordinating fabrics)


I love sales.  I hate sales.  After Christmas one of my local quilt stores had a 20% off everything sale which is rare in the quilt store world.  So I buzzed over to Fat Quarters and spent a little money.  Sadly, I did end up with one purchase regret.  Because I was determined to buy a couple of charm packs, I bought two in a fabric line I only kind of liked - just because they were on sale.  After I got home with them my challenge became to quickly sew the undesirables into a baby quilt before I shoved them to the back of a closet/cupboard/drawer and forgot about them. The "X" pattern in this quilt is a reminder to NOT buy something just because it's on sale and to NOT buy something just because you set your mind to it.
Lesson learned.

market bag

Last night was my "night off".  My husband and I have been trading every other Thursday evenings for more years than I can count.  It's nice to know that twice a month FOR SURE I am free to go and do as I please (well, for the most part).  Because last night was my Thursday, I went to JoAnn's Fabrics and bought myself some fabric to stitch up a little hobo type bag (I had recently purchased the pattern).  I came home, shut myself up with my sewing machine, and produced this bag.  The project was a nice break from quilting and gave me instant gratification... after a couple of hours anyway.

quilt blocks

These are quilt blocks I put together for a baby quilt I'm going to donate.  I love the print fabrics, but am not pleased with how the quilt pattern is turning out.  The white is so harsh, and I wish I had used a softer background fabric...maybe even a low contrast print.  There's a huge learning curve to quilting, and most of the time I feel like I'm in over my head!  Right now I'm taking a quilting class and am hoping that exposure to quilts will make a difference in my ability to compose one myself.  For now I'm thinking I  should probably seek out preassembled quilt kits until I get the hang of it all.....

modern churn dash/framed four patch

While my grandson was here for Christmas, his mother used the cowboy quilt I had made about a month ago. It measures 36"x36" and is a great size to use with a larger baby while in the car or stroller.  Because my daughter likes a more modern looking quilt, I made this one (same size, different blocks)  for her to use with little Evan 
on their daily trips to Target!

This close-up of the churn dash and framed four patch blocks better shows how I combined the fabrics.  I obviously didn't worry about making the print on the center square symmetrical, and overall it's not noticeable.  My machine quilting is sparse so that the quilt stays flexible and is better able to wrap around baby.  The back is blue flannel with green threads - a perfect match!

 

Chrismas tree trim

One last Christmas-y post......  A couple of years ago, I bought a roll of silver floral netting at Michael's for not much $.  I cut the width in half, and knotted the strips together.  This created a sparkly ribbon for our Christmas tree which has added a modern look to my otherwise traditional tree.  It rolls up quite nicely when you're done and doesn't mind getting squooshed when packed away until next year!

A quick recycling idea: For Christmas, I bought two green candles with a metal decoration tied with black string on the packaging. Knowing I could reuse the decoration somehow, I stuck them in my bathroom drawer(?). My sweet husband bought me this yummy hand soap from Williams Sonoma as one of my Christmas presents, and I felt it deserved a little fancying up. So I slipped one of the candle decorations over it and had it adorned in a second!

Simple Quilted Placemat

This simple placemat idea comes from an old copy of "Quilts and More" (Winter 2007). I love it when I can justify a purchase by finally using it...even if it is four years later!! You really could make your own pattern by measuring a rectangular piece of tissue paper to the desired size and cutting it on the diagonals (be sure to include a seam allowance). The pattern didn't call for any quilting, but I made another set without it (which I mailed off to relatives in Washington) and wasn't completely satisfied. When I make the next set, I'm going to quilt straight lines on the horizontal. BTW...mug from Target @ $1.99.

Mug rug....plug

OK....this is more like it! A rectangular mug rug makes me much happier than a square one. Plus I don't risk my children using this one to take something out of the oven! As far as the pieced star goes, I am still trying to figure out how to make the points on triangles hit where they are supposed to....which probably means I need to take a quilting class. The mug pictured is one I bought at Marshall's and is like the pattern on my grandmother's dishes. Love you, Grandma 'Shell!

Mug rug...ugg!

My first mug rug....which definitely looks like a potholder. I immediately began sewing a new one in a rectangular shape that will make it look more mug rug-ish. I finally used my walking foot for this project and what a difference it made with the line quilting! I can't decide whether to give this to a friend as a birthday gift or to someone I'm trying to get to know as a belated Christmas present. Hmmmm......
P.S. Loving my new ironing board cover (what the mug rug is sitting on). The one it replaced was well used and seriously abused! Also, you might recognize some of the mug rug fabrics which were used for Natalie's wallet. RRR.