I don't like to cook any more, but I still can. I'd rather be quilting!

Blog 35

I'm sharing a recipe with you.  I don't like to cook any more, but I still can.  I'd rather be quilting so call it a Christmas gift from me to you.  It's one of my oldest and most requested desserts - my family loves it. Please don't tell them it is so easy to make.  It is so old, I don't remember where I got it. The recipe card is tattered and was made on a typewriter, remember typewriters?

I hope, No, I know you will like it!

PLEASE NOTE: Ingredients, temperature and time are all based on low elevation.  I tried to make this in Reno NV at 5000 foot elevation and it creates a crater cake - it falls!  I never could figure out a high elevation fix.  If you do please let me know.

LEMON JELLO CAKE

Ingredients:

Box of yellow cake mix

3 oz. pkg lemon jello

3 eggs 

3/4 C oil

3/4 C water

Oops, I forgot the eggs in this picture, whether they are in the picture or not doesn't matter, put them in with the other stuff.

Mix well, pour into 9 x 13 pan  sprayed with Pam (I use Pam for baking), bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Icing Ingredients

juice of 2 - 3 lemons, about 1/4 C

2 C powdered sugar

Mix icing ingredients. While cake is still warm, use a fork to poke holes all over the top of the cake then pour the icing over the cake. That's it.

And here it is, YUM!

Did you notice the recipe card in the first photo? It takes me back to another time long long ago and far far away.  Many Christmases ago (is that a word?)

ENJOY

Christmas Quilts

Blog 34

It's the Eve of Christmas Eve, so I thought I'd show you some of my Christmas Quilts.

A Nancy Halvorsen pattern.

Another Nancy Halvorsen pattern, you'd think I like her books and you'd be right!

Yes, this is another one of Nancy's.

"Kisses under the mistle toad"!

aha! a Crabapple Hill pattern in Redwork.

"Over the Hill and through the Woods to Grandmother's house we go."

Oops! Another one of Nancy Halvorsen's patterns.

"Winter... a time to gather friends"

A dimensional Poinsettia table runner.  It's hard to photograph the 3-D.

A pretty little pattern I found on a card made a great table topper.

And finally McKena Ryan, who doesn't love  her patterns?  I want to do them all!

To All my quilting friends out there, Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

Blog 33

I'm posting a few quilts I've made for the Thanksgiving Holiday Season:

Thanksgiving designed by "Joined at the Hips"

A topper designed by Nancy Halvorsen

Fall Ohio Star using the "Square in a Square" method by Jody Barrows

Log Cabin Pumpkins Table Topper.

Pineapple place-mat designed by Nancy Halvorsen

I am Thankful for all of you, my friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

"MY BLUE HEAVEN"

Blog 32

Today at last, I have a Quilting / Guest Room.  I began moving in my furniture and sewing items but it will be a while before it looks like I want it to.  I'm over the moon happy to have a quilting room again. I've named it "MY BLUE HEAVEN"

Moving in, My large cutting table

Next, My sewing table, chair and Ironing board

Bookcases, queen size bed and a work table.

I started with a blank canvas, now I want to put the pieces together to make it into a room I will love to be in.  I have so many ideas my head is spinning.  What to do first?  I hope you come with me as I put on the decorative touches that will make my room into a Studio where Creativity Flows. 

Just a little bit of Chaos

Blog 31

Here we go, the beginnings of my new quilt room....  TOTAL CHAOS! 

Far left, you can see the hole in the wall that used to be a coat closet.  Behind that, the pocket door to the powder room.  In the middle, the hole in the wall that used to be the linen closet and the step in closet. Behind that, the sliding glass door to the outside.  In the middle where the ladder is, was the strange open wasted space in the hallway.  Far right, the hole where the 3rd door to the laundry room was and right front, most importantly, my wonderful hubby John who knows that a happy wife equals a happy life ;o)

A little more wall gone, the skylight area opened up, some clean up and Lola the cat.

Yes, I wanted a sky light.  The main consideration for the new room is good lighting.  A skylight lets in natural light which is the best.

The new wall is studded in.  The new doorway is to the far left and it is a 3 foot wide door for ease of moving things in and out.  See the folding chair in the middle of the room? I put it there so I could sit where my sewing machine will be and think about what else I needed.  And the chaos, see the queen bed mattress in the front room......chaos.

Remember lighting? This is what I had before, two lights on a track light system that never pointed to where I needed them.  We are fixing that. I can't wait.

We added another heat vent.  Got to keep my toes warm!

Next the electrician.  Three way switches, no more walking through the dark to find the switch.  We had him add a dedicated plug just for the iron.  Have you ever had your lights dim when the iron kicked on?  I have, but no more.  He's also adding a plug in the floor in the center of the room where my sewing machine will be.

The sky light is in, ahhhh.... the sun is shining.

Insulation in the wall between the living room and quilt room for sound.  No more dueling TV shows.  Football against HGTV or audio books.

Plastic goes up as the drywallers start their work.

Taping takes forever. Tape and mud and dry.  More mud and drying.  Then even more mud and drying before the texture goes on.  This picture is important for more than just the taping and mud.  It shows how much room was added. I'm loving this.

The flooring is brought in and stored in the living room to add just a little bit of Chaos.

More texture touch up.  ohhh - look at that beautiful wall hanging my friends made for me.  It's our new house!

Today, the beginning of the fourth week of construction, the paint goes on!  I just love Tiffany box blue!

My blue heaven!

Rodda paint company matched the existing paint perfectly, you'd never know it is a new wall.  I love that paint store, those people are great.

Well, tomorrow is another day of the remodel, I'm excited.  Stay tuned for the finish of the room and all the decorating and projects I've got planned.

I'm SEW happy! I'm SEW VERY HAPPY!

Blog 30

I am so very happy, I am getting to build my own Quilt Room from scratch! (within reason). As you know from my previous blogs we just moved from Reno, NV to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.  We found a perfect house with everything on our wish list EXCEPT a big enough quilting room. I thought I could make it work, but it didn't.  My quilting room needs to be a guest room when we have company, so I share my quilting things with a Queen size bed.   

 

These pictures were taken before we bought the house. This was the bedroom and surrounding closets and it is right next door to a humongous laundry room. (laundry room door right next to the bedroom door - ODD - The laundry room had 3 doors - EVEN ODDER) The bed isn't even a queen size - it's only a full size - and there is nothing else much in the room. If you sat on the bed and looked back to the door you can see a door to the right that was small walk-in closet.

  

And I am talking SMALL!  Really, not a walk-in, barely a step-in.

 

Outside the door into the bedroom was a HUMONGOUS six foot linen closet - I don't have that many linens, lets get real. And just around the corner another HUMONGOUS six foot second coat closet.  There is already a coat closet by the front door for heaven's sake.

It was VERY chopped up with closets and an odd hallway that didn't make sense. 

Why oh why did the laundry room, hallway and closets need so much space?

I wanted that space!

So, what do you do in a case like ours?

WE TORE IT ALL OUT!

Stay tuned for the next blog where you can witness step by step destruction and building of my quilt room!

SEE HOW HAPPY I AM!

"A River Runs Through It"

Blog 29

A challenge at the Block Party quilt show had such a wide range of ideas and designs, I just had to show samples of it.

And the next one I thought most clever of all, a triptych:

Approaching from the right, an arid scene with the river through it.

Looking straight on, a city view with the river.

Then with a look from the left, a forest view and there is the river.

All the challenge quilts were so different and so wonderful too, each in their own way.