Sister's Choice Quilts

2015, Mini Quilts

2015 was the Year of the Mini Quilt for me.  I found making these smaller quilts lots of fun.  Using them as little table toppers throughout the house made me happy.   Mini quilts use little fabric, and are ideal for charm squares, layer cakes or scraps.  Anytime you love a fabric collection, but don't really want to commit to purchasing the entire bundle, keep mini quilts in mind for a project.  Best of all, you can easily quilt them yourself.

The one above is by Kim Diehl, one of her Simple What Nots patterns.  Season 2, Pattern 1.  Made with a little half hexie template.

A Pinwheel baby quilt that Sara gave to a friend.

Hen Pecked, another sweet Kim Diehl mini.

Just fooling around with diamond shapes resulted in this cute little table topper.  I used some charm squares from an old Sandy Gervais collection.

Tidbit, a Miss Rosie Little Bites pattern.

Tumbling Leaves, a pattern by Lori Smith of My Heart to Your Hands.

I started a Christmas table topper for Sara, using the Paganini Schnibbles pattern by Miss Rosie, but alas, did not finish it.  Only a couple more blocks to make.  She will get it next year for sure.

Wishing you all a great year of sewing in 2016!  Honestly, you would be surprised how much you can accomplish, even with "life" getting in the way!

2015, A Retrospective, Part One

 2015 was a year I hope never to see the likes of again.  I lost my youngest sister to cancer, our area had a devastating fire, my father suffered an injury, my daughter rolled her car over....Seriously, not a great year.  2016 brings a fresh start, and with any luck at all, better times.  I will live in the moment, appreciate my loved ones and do my best to make things better for others.

When I do these annual retrospectives and see what exactly I accomplished in the past 12 months, I am always sort of surprised at how much I actually got done.  Granted, the first six months of the year were more productive than the last, but all in all I am not too dismayed at what was finished.  The quilt above is "Rhubarb Whirl", one that I especially like, made with Primitive Gatherings fabrics.

Flowering Snowball, made with Kaffe Fassett fabrics.  

Scrappy Trips, made with American Jane fabrics.

Second Hand Clothes, a quilt pattern by Bonnie Blue that I had wanted to make for the longest time.  I used Kim Diehl fabrics, and gave the quilt to my sister Trish.

Past and Present, pattern by Kim Brackett, fabrics by Kansas Troubles.

Steam Punk, with Denyse Schmidt fabrics.  Technically I still need to sew the border on this one,but I am counting it anyway.  This is without a doubt, my favorite quilt of 2015.

Crop Circles, a Miss Rosie pattern, using Jen Kingwell fabrics.  Another quilt that was super fun to make.

Jacob's Ladder, using Civil War Reproduction fabrics.  I didn't love this quilt as much as I thought I would, but it is as big as a circus tent and covers the bed nicely.

Looking Glass, a Miss Rosie pattern.

Simple Granny, another quilt I feel rather "meh" about.  Bought the border fabric, but haven't bothered to put it on.

Bow Ties, made with Civil War Reproduction charm squares.  Love this quilt.  Totally therapeutic to make.

Stars in a Time Warp, a Barbara Brackman sew along.  I enjoyed making this SO much.  I used Civil War charm squares and worked on it for months in between other projects.  Love this quilt.

In my next post, I will show you some of the smaller and mini quilts I made during the year. 




 

Best Gift Ever

My Dad's Christmas wish came true.  He got to go home and be with his family for Christmas!  He is happily sitting in his special chair having coffee and reading a book.

I will be taking turns with two of my sisters, staying with him until our sister in Wisconsin arrives on January 2nd.  I am not sure how good a nurse I am, but I am ready and willing to learn!

Merry Christmas everyone.

The Heart of My Holiday

In spite of the terrible losses my family has borne in 2015, I have to take a moment and express my gratitude for the person who makes my every day a joy and every interaction an adventure.  That would be my sweet sweet grand daughter Evangeline.  I am so blessed to see her as often as I do, and never take her presence and affection for granted.

Now that she is four, she loves to do "projects", particularly anything creative.  Anything I do, she is game to do it along with me.  We spend lots of time making things, and it is my hope that she will come to love creating things as much as I do.  

Whatever life brings, Eva is a constant.  She is generally cheerful, upbeat, optimistic and generous with her affections.  She is now at an age where she loves to have conversations, and it is a miracle to witness her thought processes and blossoming understanding of how things work.

As this year has taught me more than any other:  life is short, the unexpected can happen, unthinkable losses can occur.  I am thankful each and every day for the time I have with those I love and know that's all there is---  Just this moment.

So treasure it my friends, and have a fabulous holiday with your loved ones.  All my best wishes for the happiest Christmas and a New Year full of adventure and possibility.

Some Holiday Baking

I made these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies last year, which were a rousing success.  I trotted out the recipe again and will share it with you.  It was a fairly simple process--you do have to let the dough chill, but then all you do is make balls, roll them in powdered sugar, bake and top with a Hershey's Kiss.  Festive and easy.

Chocolate Crinkle Kiss Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

 Hershey  Peppermint Kisses 

 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. 

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir flour mixture into sugar mixture, until just combined. Place plastic wrap over bowl and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours.

Meanwhile unwrap Hershey kisses, place in a small bowl, and freeze until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray with baking spray; set aside. Place powdered sugar in a small bowl; set aside. 

Scoop dough into 1/2 tablespoon balls, roll in powdered sugar, and place on baking sheet. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until cookies crackle and no longer look raw (they'll start to look cakey). 

Remove from oven. Immediately press a frozen kiss into each cookie and allow to cool completely

Greetings of the Season

I hope all of you are enjoying all the blessings of this holiday season.  It has been a busy time at my house, and I hope you will forgive my absence of late.  I thought I had better check in and let you all know I am still alive!

As you know, my poor father fell and broke his leg just before Thanksgiving.  He is still in a rehab facility doing physical therapy to boost his strength in order to be able to go home.  Not sure if he will get out by Christmas, but we may be able to get him home for a day trip.  It will involve renting some sort of a van I think, because due to his leg, he can't really fit into a normal vehicle.  He is doing well, despite coming down with a cold.  

My son and his fiancee are here for a holiday visit, which is the main thing that has been keeping me busy.  Mary Ann now works in Denmark, and Ahren works in Ireland, so they met up in Dublin and flew in to San Francisco a week ago Sunday.  I keep staring at them, almost not believing they are here in the flesh!  Eva took to them both almost immediately, and has been following Mary Ann around relentlessly, asking her if she would like to do art projects.

The house is decorated, the presents are wrapped, and I have even done some holiday baking.  Of course no sewing has been managed, not even the gifts I had planned to give the gals at work.  

My goal for the New Year is to tackle those monthly Frivols and Simple What Nots projects that arrive relentlessly in my mail box.  I now have about $500 worth of Frivols, not a one of which has been opened.  In January I should start making those and setting them aside to give as Christmas gifts for next year.  Now that is an idea.

From now until my guests leave and the holidays are over, I will try to post occasionally.  Definitely plan to resume regular blogging in January.  And regular sewing.