Make-A-List Monday

The Week of January 21, 2013

(in review)


1. Work on some Just Takes 2 blocks and put together the first quarter of the quilt top.

Here are the 3 blocks I finished this week.

Here are the first 28 blocks sewn together.  The original pattern is done in red and white.  I decided to change it up a bit and replace the white background with black and then make the other blocks a variety of jewel tone.  I think this quilt is going to be GORGEOUS!!!


2. Finish piecing a snowball quilt top that I started in April, 2011 at PQW Stash Club.

This is a picture of just a part of the quilt as it was draped across the ironing board.  It was a great stashbuster.

3. Spend a day with Little Ryder.

Ryder and I had a wonderful day together last week.  He loves to sit on the ledge of the bay window and watch the cars and trucks go by.  On this particular day we also saw a school bus, an ambulance and a mail truck.  A very busy day on the boulevard!

4. Add 49 hexies to my Bonnie Hunter inspired Christmas Quilt.

431 Hexies

5. Make progress on my Git-R-Done list.

Oh dear...not a good week for this list.  I got a little bogged down because I was waiting on a pattern board to be delivered that I needed to use on the quilt currently loaded on Annie.  When it finally arrived my thread kept shredding.  I've adjusted the tension, changed the needle and adjusted the tension again.  Nothing has worked so far.  And to add to my list woes, I finished 3 more quilt tops.  That means I now have 15 tops to be quilted.  I'm not sure if I will ever get this list down to a manageable length.  But I will keep plugging along.

6. Work on the January block of my Paper-Pieced Heart Sampler.

Don't you just love this little block?  I'm trying to remember the size of this block...I think it is 6 1/2 inches.  I chose the colors that I did because it reminded me of icicles.

7. Work on the January block for the Byrne Sewing Connection $5 BOM.

This block measures 12 1/2 inches.  The pattern called for using the polka dot fabric in all the background areas.  I thought that was way too many polka dots so I replaced some of the background with Kona bone.  I'm happy with the way it turned out.

8. Attend Strip Club at The Village Quilter in Mt. Holly, NJ.

This is the pattern we are using for this strip club quilt.  The fabric is reproduction reds, blues, browns, salmon, olive and teal.  It is a simple pattern but the effect is striking.

9. Start working on another Stash Club quilt I started in May, 2011 at PQW.

Not only did I start working on this quilt but I was able to finish the top.

I had all the blocks done so I just had to arrange them, sew them together and add a couple of borders.  I chose to turn the blocks in a random manner but I arranged the yellow, green and pink blocks in diagonal rows in a pattern.  

10. Start working on an ABC quilt with Hungry Animal fabric.

I have to admit, this was one of the easiest quilt tops I have ever pieced.  Actually, it is not pieced at all.  It is a panel that I trimmed and to which I added borders.  

This has truly been a very productive week.  I wonder what the coming week will bring.


The Week of January 28, 2013


1.  Finish the last 3 blocks of The Village Quilter BOM "Building Blocks."

2.  Finish the 2012 PQW Saturday Sampler quilt top - Stonehenge colorway and prepare a backing.

3.  Continue working on the 2012 PQW Saturday Sampler quilt top - Stella colorway.

4.  Finish piecing the blocks for the 2011 Byrne $5 quilts (repro and batik colorways) and prepare the finishing kits for sewing.  

5.  Make 9 blocks for the Dancing Stars Quilt Along  sponsored by Amy's Creative Side.

6.  Spend 2 days with my DGS Ryder.

7.  Add 38 hexies to my Bonnie Hunter inspired Christmas Hexagon Quilt. This should complete the center.

8.  Make some progress on my Git-R-Done! list.

9.  Work on the PQW June 2011 Stash Club quilt.  This quilt is a floating braid pattern.

10.  Work on the first two blocks of the Skill-Builder BOM sponsored by Alyssa Lichner of Pile 'O Fabric.

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Sunday Soup-athon

Hearty Beef Barley Soup

•                         Vegetable Cooking Spray
• 1 lb.                  Boneless Stew Beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 C                   Sliced Fresh Mushrooms
• 1/4 t                 Garlic Powder
• 3 1/2 C              Beef Broth
• 1/4 t                 Dried Thyme Leaves, crushed
• 1 C                   Sliced Carrots
• 1/2 C                Uncooked Quick-Cooking Barley
•                         Salt & Pepper to taste

1.  Spray a 6-quart sauce pot with cooking spray.  Heat over medium-high heat for 1 minute.  Add the beef and cook until it's well browned and juices evaporate, stirring often.

2.  Add the mushrooms and garlic powder to the sauce pot.  Cook until tender.

3.  Add the broth, thyme and carrots to the sauce pot.  Heat to a boil.  Stir in the barley.  Reduce the heat to low.  Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the barley is done.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Makes:   4 Servings

Prep:      5 Minutes

Cook:   30 Minutes

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Make-A-List Monday

Make-A-List Monday

The Week of January 14, 2013

(in review)

1.  Spend a day with my daughter, Shea.

Unfortunately, Shea was not feeling well on our scheduled day together.  Thankfully she is feeling better now.  We will have to reschedule.

2.  Attend Byrne Sewing Connection 2013 BOM class.

I did not participate in this BOM last year because I did not like the quilt very much.  I like this year's quilt much better but I think I will still alter some of the fabric choices.  Byrne Sewing Connection is about an hour drive from my home in pretty Doylestown, PA.  

3.  Celebrate my DMIL's birthday.  

My wonderful MIL turned 77 years old this weekend.

Here she is holding little Ryder right before .... 

he decided he wanted DOWN...haha!

I love this picture!

4.  Add 39 more hexies to my Bonnie Hunter inspired Christmas Hexie Quilt.

I was only able to get 29 hexies done this week. 


5.  Make more progress on my Git-R-Done list.

This week I finished the 1930's sampler quilt...

and I loaded a mystery quilt I finished piecing in June, 2012.

6.  Work on the January blocks for the PQW Saturday Sampler.

I was able to not only finish both PQW Saturday Sampler Blocks but I also finished the 19 extra blocks needed for the two quilts.  I have kitted up the finishing steps for both quilts and I plan on working on them when I am on Brody duty in the kitchen.

7.  Make one paper-pieced heart for my Paper-Pieced Heart Sampler.

When I got this project out to work on it I decided to pre-wash my fabric. Since this took a few days I was unable to get to the paper-piecing of the block.  But now my fabric is ready so I should get to it this week.

 8.  Do a few blocks for my Dear Jane quilt

Here are the seven blocks I finished this week.

As of today, here are my numbers:

Blocks completed      167
Triangles completed    40
Corners completed       0
Pieces                   4396

I am beginning to see light at the end of the LONGGGGG Dear Jane Tunnel.


The Week of January 21, 2013

1.  Work on some Just Takes 2 blocks and put together the first quarter of the quilt top.

2.  Finish piecing a snowball quilt top that I started in April, 2011 at PQW Stash Club.

3.  Spend a day with Little Ryder.

4.  Add 49 hexies to my Bonnie Hunter inspired Christmas Quilt.

5.  Make progress on my Git-R-Done list.

6.  Work on the first block of my Paper-Pieced Heart Sampler.

7.  Work on the January block for the Byrne Sewing Connection BOM.

8.  Attend Strip Club at The Village Quilter in Mt. Holly, NJ.

9.  Start working on another Stash Club quilt I started in May, 2011 at PQW.

10.  Start working on an ABC quilt.

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Make-A-List Monday

The Week of January 7, 2013

(in review)

1.  Finish piecing Easy Street Mystery Quilt.

My Easy Street quilt top is complete.  I found a large piece of white on black fabric for the backing.  It was large but not quite large enough. 

 With borders my Easy Street quilt measures 102" X 102".  

I had plenty of left over fabric to add a wide pieced fabric to the white on black fabric to make a great pieced backing.

2.  Make some more progress on my "Git-R-Done" list.

I've been working on the second quilt of the year, a 1930's Sampler quilt.  Unfortunately I was away a lot this week so I did not complete it but I did make some progress.  Because I finished Easy Street and my Craftsy BOM top, I am now back to 13 quilts to be quilted.  Ugh!

3.  Add 39 more hexies to my Bonnie Hunter inspired Christmas Hexie quilt.

353 Hexies

4.  Spend a few days with Ryder.

Here is Ryder learning Cause & Effect.

Here is Ryder learning to crawl - 7 months old.

Ryder's first NY Knicks game.

5.  Go to my Quilts for Kids workshop and Saturday Sampler at PQW.

It was great to be back at the Quilts for Kids workshop after missing last month.  I am currently working on two pinwheel quilts for Q4K.

This was the last month of the 2012 PQW Saturday Sampler.  Now the fun begins to get these quilts put together.  I'm sure this will take me awhile.  

The new Saturday Sampler is scheduled to start in April or May.

6.  Work on The 2012 Craftsy Block of the Month quilt.

This quilt top is done and added to my Git-R-Done list.

For the most part, a very productive week.




The Week of January 14, 2013


1.  Spend a day with my daughter, Shea.

2.  Attend Byrne Sewing Connection 2013 BOM class.

3.  Celebrate my DMIL's birthday.  

4.  Add 39 more hexies to my Bonnie Hunter inspired Christmas Hexie Quilt.

5.  Make more progress on my Git-R-Done list.

6.  Work on the January blocks for the PQW Saturday Sampler.

7.  Make one paper-pieced heart for my Paper-Pieced Heart Sampler.

8.  Do a few blocks for my Dear Jane quilt

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Sunday Soup-athon

French Onion Soup

• 1 T          Vegetable Oil
• 3/4 lb      Onion, cut in half and thinly sliced (~2 1/2 C)
• 1/4 t        Sugar
• 2 T          All-Purpose Flour
• 4 C          Beef Broth
• 1/4 C       Dry White Wine or Dry Vermouth
• 4 Slices    French Bread, toasted
• 1/2 C       Shredded Swiss Cheese

1.  Heat the oil in a 6-quart saucepan over low heat.  Add the onions.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Uncover.

2.  Add the sugar to the saucepan and increase the heat to medium.  Cook for 15 minutes or until the onions are golden.  

3.  Stir in the flour.  Cook and stir for one minute.  Add broth and wine.  Heat to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low.  Cook for 10 minutes.

4.  Divide the soup among 4 serving bowls.  Top each serving of soup with bread and cheese.

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Make-A-List Monday

Make-A-List Monday

The Week of December 31, 2012

(in review)


1.  Work on clue #7 and #8 for Easy Street mystery quilt by Bonnie Hunter.

Block A --- I have 10 of 16 completed.

Corner and side triangles complete.

To see what other mystery quilters are doing check out
 Quiltville Quips & Snips.

Later this week I should be able to get to the rest of block A and block B.

2.  Organize my 2013 Blocks of the Month.  

I am doing the following BOM in 2013:

                  1.  Dancing Stars by Amy's Creative Side (Amy Ellis)

                  2.  Skill Buildeer BOM by Pile o' Fabric (Alyssa Lichner)

                  3.  Sugar Block Club by Stitchery Dickory Dock (Amy Gibson)

                  4.  Lucky Stars by Don't Call Me Betsy (Elizabeth Dackson)

                  5.  Pieceful Nights by Jo's Country Junction (Jo & Kelli Kramer)

                  6.  Back to Square One Medallion Mystery by Patchwork Times

                                                                                (Judy Laquidara)

All of these BOM look great!

3.  Prepare a list of "Quilts Ready to be Quilted."  

My list is done and appears as a page on the side of my blog called
"Git-R-Done".  I will list all quilts ready to be quilted as well as those completed and the one on which I am currently working.  I already have one done for 2013.
  
4.  Add 39 Hexies to my Bonnie Hunter inspired Christmas Hexagon quilt.

314 Hexies!

5.  Finish the Craftsy Block of the Month quilt top.

I still did not get this done.  All blocks are completed but I am a little undecided about the borders.

6.  Watch the USC Trojans play in the Sun Bowl.

Unfortunately Marquis Lee and Robert Woods were unable to get the job done.  Even so, I really enjoyed watching the boys in scarlet and gold play this year.  

FIGHT ON!!!

7.  Do a little decorating for the winter season.

This is a small sample of my snowman collection.

8.  Work on a paper-pieced heart sampler.

No.

9.  Work on a few Dear Jane Blocks.

No.

10.  Spend a day with Ryder.

<3

The Week of January 7, 2013

1.  Finish piecing Easy Street Mystery Quilt.

2.  Make some more progress on my "Git-R-Done" list.

3.  Add 39 more Hexies to my Christmas Hexie quilt.

4.  Spend a few days with Ryder.

5.  Go to my Quilts for Kids workshop and Saturday Sampler at PQW.

6.  Work on The 2012 Craftsy Block of the Month quilt.

My list is short this week because I will not be home much to quilt.  

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Sunday Soup-athon

Corn and Red Pepper Chowder

• 2 T           Vegetable Oil
• 1              Large Sweet Onion, diced (about 2 C)
• 1/4 C        All-Purpose Flour
• 2              Cloves Garlic, minced
• 6 C           Chicken Broth
• 2              Medium Potatoes, diced (about 2 C)
• 2 C           Fresh Corn Kernels 

                                 -OR-

                      1 Pkg (10 oz) Frozen Whole Kernel Corn

• 1 Jar         Roasted Red Peppers, drained and chopped (7 oz)
• 1/3 C        Chopped Fresh Basil Leaves

1.  Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat.  Add the diced onion and cook until tender.  Stir in the flour and garlic.  Cook and stir for 1 minute.

2.  Stir in the broth and diced potatoes.  Heat to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low.  Cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.  

3.  Stir the corn and red peppers into the saucepan.  Cook for 10 minutes more.

4.  Add 1/4 C of the basil.  Season to taste.  Divide the soup among 6 serving bowls.  Sprinkle each serving of soup with the remaining basil.

                       

     
Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn              

Foodie Friday

Eastern Shore Crab Cakes

• 1               Egg, beaten
• 1/2 C         Dry Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 C         Mayonnaise
• 3/4 t.         Seafood Seasoning (I used Old Bay)
• 1/2 t.         Lemon Juice
• 1/2 t.         Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/8 t.         White Pepper
• 1 lb.           Fresh Lump Crab Meat
• 2 T.           Canola Oil

1.  In a large bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, mayonnaise, seafood seasoning, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and pepper.  Fold in crab.  Shape into six patties.

2.  In a skillet, cook crab cakes in oil for 4-5 minutes on each side or until browned.

ENJOY!!!

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn

Git-R-Done!

Quilts to be Quilted

I am very fortunate to be the proud owner of a long arm Handiquilter quilting machine that I call ANNIE.

  I am unfortunate in that because of the size of Annie's frame, I must keep my long arm in my unfinished basement.  

Now, I'm not complaining, but I do sometimes find it a little creepy to go downstairs all by myself.

Because of this, I often procrastinate finishing my quilt tops.

As of today I have twelve tops that are ready to be quilted.  The oldest top was finished in May of 2012.  My goal is to get this number down to three or less by the end of the year.  I'm sure as the year goes on, I will add to the "Quilts to be Quilted" list so I will have to be very prolific in getting this quilting done.  

Key:    In Progress

          Waiting to be quilted

          Finished

Here is my list as of January 1, 2013:

                                                                         Top Completed

 1.  Kindred Quilts Saturday Sampler                             5/18/12     

 2.  1930's Sampler                                                     5/27/12

 3.  QT Spring Mystery Quilt                                         6/06/12

 4.  PQW 2011 Saturday Sampler - Ocean Colorway         6/09/12

 5.  Heather Spence Spring Mystery                               6/12/12

 6.  2011 NJ Shop Hop Quilt                                         8/09/12

 7.  English Paper Pieced Sampler Quilt                         9/26/12

 8.  PQW 2011 Saturday Sampler - Home Colorway        10/10/12

 9.  2009 Patchwork Party Quilt                                   10/26/12

10.  Heather Spence Fall Mystery Quilt                         11/13/12

11.  Pirate Tumbler Quilt                                            12/09/12

12.  2012 NJ Shop Hop Quilt                                       12/18/12

As I finish a top I will add it to the list.  As I finish quilting a top I will cross it off the list.  

It will be fun to watch my progress throughout the year.  Do you have any aspect of quilting that bogs you down?  Let's make 2013 the year to 

Until Next Time.....Happy Stitching!!!

Sharyn