Lark Quilt

Hey everyone! I have a very long overdue project to share with you all.

As you may know, I'm on kind of a house decorating kick right now and so I thought, what makes a living room homier than a quilt? The only quilt I've kept for myself thus far is my first quilt, because really, you just can't give that way. I figured it was time a splurge a bit and do something nice for myself. So I made myself this lovely...

About this Quilt:

Fabric: Amy Butler's Lark and Kona Cotton Solids in Slate and Medium Gray

Binding: Amy Butler's Ivy Bloom in Cinder

Size: approx. 50" x 60"

Pattern: 5" squares

Quilting: Linear quilting following lines in white

I fell for Amy Butler's Lark when I first laid eyes on it. The prints are so diverse that they almost don't look like an actual collection, but rather a well-chosen selection from the scrap pile. That's what I love most; the way that the fabrics work amazing well together but almost look haphazard. It's a mix of sophisticated, funky, and, though I hate to repeat my husband's words, a bit "flower power" seventies retro. Okay, so I'm hoping not too many people think "flower power" when they look at my quilt, but I see color, design, and love. Love! It's simply a gorgeous collection that can't be overlooked.

Are you thinking "flower power"?

I really tried to keep the design simple since the fabrics say enough on their own so I stuck with simple  five inch squares. I'm glad I didn't do anything more complicated because this design really shows off the large scale prints without making you dizzy.

Some days I'm even almost adore the back of the quilt more than the front. I love how the Kona Cotton Slate and Medium Gray solids really cool and calm things down. And as usual with solids, they really let the quilting add something to the conversation. 

This is one of those quilts that I really wish you could see in person. Right now, it's bringing some much needed color and cheer to my living room. I can't wait to pull in more of these fun colors to my decorating. 

Anniversary & Double Hourglass Quilt

It was just one year ago yesterday that I finished my very first quilt.

I really can't believe that it's been such a short time! I am so thankful for the joy that quilting has brought me this year and for the support of my family and friends. I have officially finished 11 quilts throughout the year and it's been fun to learn from each one of them. I'm thankful that I've finally landed on a hobby that I've stuck to for awhile (unlike knitting, playing guitar, or running (that lasted about 15 minutes)). Thanks for journeying along with me in my first year of quilting!

Here's my eleventh quilt, which was finished a few weeks ago.

 This fun quilt was made for my friend’s niece. I love making quilts for babies and kids, because it means you get to use bright colors and fun patterns. I mean, I wouldn’t complain about putting something like this on my bed either, but kids just require cheerful quilts. I used Allison’s tutorial for the Easy Double Hourglass over at Cluck Cluck Sew.  I’ve never made double hourglasses the traditional way, but I can promise that this block construction is quite simple and the blocks come together quickly. This was my first time using a template for cutting my blocks. It was fun to try something new. By the way, Allison offers some amazing free tutorials! I think Sprocket Pillows are in my future.

About this Quilt:

Fabric: Cotton solids (Kona, P&B Textiles, and one I don’t remember) and Kona Cotton White

Binding: Carolyn Gavin’s Spring Street, Spring Stripe Red

Size: approx. 40" x 50"

Pattern: Double Hourglass

Quilting: Horizontal linear quilting in white

Diapers Can be Cool

Fall has escaped me, at least in the blogging sense. One day it’s September and the next it’s November.  There wasn’t much to report on the sewing front at first, but once I started sewing again, I was out of the habit of blogging. Funny how that happens so quickly. But I’m back and I have a few things to share that I’ve been working on, so stay tuned. I will even attempt my first tutorial (no promises!)

To ease me back into blogging, I thought I’d share a quick project that I whipped up this week for my friend’s baby shower. Who knew that carrying diapers could actually be cool? Well, apparently Anna at Noodlehead because she came up with this stylish diaper pouch and then was kind enough to share it (for free!) Thank you, Anna!

Fabric: Joel Dewberry, Heirloom, Ornate Floral in Gold

I don’t have any little ones so I can’t rave about how much I love carrying diapers in this, but I can imagine it would be nice to have something quick to grab and throw in the stroller or in the car if you don’t want to lug around your whole whale of a diaper bag. You could easily stick this in your oversized purse and be on your way. And as Anna points out, you can quickly take stock of the number of diapers that are in there before leaving home and getting stranded with two wet kids and one diaper between them. Yikes!

Add to Anna’s sleek and simple design anything that fabric designer, Joel Dewberry, has had his hands on, and you’ve got a classy, colorful, and hip little bag that might tempt you to empty the diapers and tote it along as a cute clutch next time the baby sitter relieves you for a night out with hubby. Maybe that’s just me.

If you’re stumped on a baby shower gift and can sew a straight line, I encourage you to give this a try, especially if you stuff it with some diapers, wipes and maybe some diaper cream as Anna suggests.  It’s a fun unique gift that you can customize to fit any style. 

P.S. Was just over at Anna’s blog…please pray for her and her family or send her some words of encouragement.

Paint Colors

Hey everyone! Sorry I’ve been kind of MIA lately. There isn’t much sewing going on in my house right now, though I do have a custom quilt that I’m collecting fabric for so I’ll be posting about that soon. But more than sewing, what’s really been going through my head is decorating. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m ready to finally settle into my house and call it home, instead of just my temporary resting place. And that means that I should start resolving some of those places in my house that I look at and say, “I can live with that for now,” and make them a little more to my liking for the long haul. It’s funny, I can live with pretty much anything for a short time, even when it turns into a long time, as long I tell myself that it will only be temporary. No more! It’s time to get serious about settling in.

I have to admit, I’m both very excited and a bit nervous. Picking paint colors is hard work and since we’ve already painted our dining room three times since we moved in four years ago, my husband is really adamant that I pick the right color the “first time”. So I’m going to shell out a bit more cash and get those little samplers, just to make sure. But before I do that, I wanted to share a bit of my plan with you because I know that there are tons of you out there who really do have an eye for decorating. I’ve seen your blogs. I would appreciate any input you are willing to offer.  

So first off is my living room. I’m a bright-color girl, but decided to go with this warm gray so that I could have fun pops of yellow and blue, but can also change my accent colors a bit if I get bored with them over the next few years. This color will also go up my stairs and in my upstairs hallway. This is the big one!

Color: Benjamin Moore "Coastal Fog", Fabric: Joel Dewberry's Rose Bouquet in Jade from his Heirloom line (I just bought some for some roman shades so I'm stuck.)

Then off my living room is my dining room. I wanted it to be this soft yellow because my house doesn’t have many windows and I wanted a little brightness. Plus, I hope it will go well with the yellow accents in my living room. I did actually paint my dining room yellow once, but it was too bright. It was kind of like standing in a room full of highlighters. I’m hoping this one will be more subdued. What do you think? I think I will buy a table first though because yellow and some wood colors can look pretty unappetizing together.

Color: Benjamin Moore "Lemon Grass" with my dream table from Old Barn Star.

As for my kitchen, I’m thinking this creamy white. Who wouldn’t want to cook in a kitchen painted with Vanilla Ice Cream? I love a white on white kitchen with fun pops of color in dishes, towels, canisters, etc.

Color: Benjamin Moore "Vanilla Ice Cream", Le Creuset Au Gratin dish (which I just found at a yard sale), and two cute dish towels from Crate and Barrel, Anjou and Tomato.

The plan is to take things kind of slowly. I’ll probably start painting the living room and dining room first. Our kitchen needs a major overhaul so that will probably be next summer, and then the bedrooms and bathrooms can come as they will.

Isn’t it fun to change things up a bit? I just want to make sure I won’t have to change them again any time soon; much better to think hard, Pinterest like crazy, and know that I have a clear vision before I start anything.

241 Tote

I have been happily putting this tote to good use since Sunday, and I’m in love. It’s such a light weight, casual tote which can literally go anywhere! I took it dressed up to a classy restaurant over the weekend and it’s also cute dressed down with a pair of jeans. It fits all the necessities, plus easily fits a paperback book, point-and-shoot camera, sunglasses, or whatever else you might need to bring along. It’s the prefect size for an all day outing!

If nerves are all that’s keeping you from giving Noodlehead's 241 tote a try, just go for it! This was the third purse that I’ve made and while it was the most complicated, it wasn't difficult. I can’t say it didn’t go off without a hitch, but it still turned out to be really cute. I’m excited to make more so I can improve my construction skills. The part that I had the hardest time with was sewing on the side panels without catching the seam of the bottom of the bag in the stitching, which made a little unintended pleat. (Did anyone else have this issue? Any suggestions?) But, you really can’t tell since there is a seam there anyways.

In making this purse, my husband's voice once again became like that little cartoon angel that sits on your shoulder and tells you what you should or shouldn’t do. My husband expects a lot of himself and other people. He believes in always doing your best work. However, I’m usually okay with brushing things off as “oh well, I’m new to this thing." For example, when I sewed on my very first zipper, I sewed it on very crookedly, well, kind of in a wave actually. I took it proudly to my husband and said, “Look, I sewed on my first zipper. It’s a little crooked, but that’s okay.” I was expecting a standing ovation, but he said, “Why is it crooked?”

Let’s just say he wasn’t confused as to why I sewed it on crookedly, he was confused as to why I hadn’t taken it off and done it again until I got it straight. I did redo the zipper and with only a little time and effort, it was much straighter. I’m glad he said something instead of just patting me on the back; though I’m sure I gave him a begrudging look at the time. Otherwise, that zipper would have always bothered me and whenever anyone would have given me a compliment on my bag, I know I’d end up saying, “Thanks! I made it. The zipper’s a little crooked though.” Isn’t that weird how we point out our mistakes before someone else can? I’m assuming I’m not alone!

So he’ll be proud to know that when I didn’t quite like the look of my top stitching, I just took out my seam ripper and started over. I’m trying to keep his voice in my head. It’s the voice that says (though these aren’t his actual words, thank goodness), don’t be lazy, do it right. Those are words that I need to hear often. I'm usually glad when I listen.

241 Tote - Work in Progress

I’ve been taking this 241 tote slowly. It actually took me awhile to get up the guts to start cutting because I don’t have much experience with bag construction and though the pattern is very clear, I was still just a little intimidated. And to make things worse, I really wanted to go the zippered-pocket route. After all, I live in the city and don’t want all my stuff hanging out in those open side pockets (through they are cute). I’ve never sewed a zipper on anything though and I was nervous! I ordered 10 zips from Zipit (at Anna’s recommendation) in 5 different colors to audition and landed on the lovely eggplant. Then there were no longer any excuses, I had to get started. I decided that I would use the interfacing since I’m doing all the work any ways and I might as well make it sturdy, right?

Everything was going along splendidly, except I didn’t really think through my marking tool. I used my brand new blue Crayola Washable Marker because I wanted to try their wash-ability on something small before I attack a whole quilt with them. So I made my bold blue marks, but slowly started being haunted by fears that they wouldn’t wash out, especially as I ironed the marks a few times and I know that can set some inks. So after I finished the center panel and got my pockets all in and, hooray, my zippers on without too much to-do, I took it to the sink and started rinsing.  Some of the ink came out, but not all of it. Then I started getting really nervous and threw it in the wash for a quick cold wash. Thankfully, the blue marker did come out beautifully, but my fabric was also bubbled away from the interfacing and sadly, my purple zippers had bled some pink dye onto my cute white elephants. Boohoo!

All that to say, I’ve learned three very important lessons already and have only finished the exterior! Important lessons learned: 1) use a marking tool which will come out either with a good steam, with a damp cloth, or use a hera marker; 2) only spot clean the tote (though most of the bubbles did smooth out when I ironed it); and 3.) pre-soak the zippers, especially if they are dark and are of the red family (silly red dye!) That’s my little bit of novice wisdom to pass on to you.

But despite the pink smudges and the wrinkly fabric, I'm still pretty in love with it. How could you resist those elephants? I'm excited about using my new tote, once it is officially a tote. If I get my rear in gear, I should have it done this weekend.

Thank goodness for first time mistakes that make second attempts all the more sweet.

Rethinking Redecorating

When my husband and I bought our house four and a half years ago, we knew we'd live here for at least four years because my husband was in graduate school, but I always thought of this house and Philadelphia as a temporary resting ground before the next big something came along. Idealized visions of the romantic life abroad started tickling my fancy. Though my house is my home and has been for many years, it never felt like the place where I wanted to sink my roots.

But on Thursday a conversation with my husband started changing my thinking. I don't remember quite how it came up, but we were talking about refinishing our kitchen (which should not surprise you if you've seen our kitchen) and I was pulling my usual, "Well, who knows how long we'll be here...", but he surprised me by saying, "At this point, this is where we're going to be, maybe for the rest of our lives. It doesn't seem like we're going to leave anytime soon." And it hit me. He's right. We love our friends here and are settled into a great church, we have jobs that we like and coworkers we enjoy working with, my family lives close by, and we own a house. Whether I like it or not, I've sunk my roots without thinking about it. But his saying it really struck me. I, all the sudden, was not just a passer-through. I was responsible for the life of my home, my neighbors and my neighborhood. The parts that I love and the parts that I hate, I have to own them.

Things I love about my house:

This gorgeous mantel (though the fireplace itself is, sadly, a fake).

The wainscoting and wood floors.

Things I hate about my house:

That there's no room in our kitchen for a fridge(?!)
So it resides in this little shed/shack off the back of our kitchen.

Our dusky pink laminate countertops. Mmm, pretty...

I looked around my house, which is decorated with a haphazard collection of Craigslist finds, things friends were throwing out, or other frugal collections of stuff, and realized that my house is piecemeal, it's not very pretty, and I wonder if it's even very welcoming. I struggle here because I also don't want to become obsessed with the cleanliness or togetherness of my house. I don't want that to become my worth. But I do want to honor my house as a gift and to make it as beautiful as I can on the resources that we have.

So I got on Pinterest, which I know many of you already make good use of, and started making some boards with decorating ideas that I find lovely and inviting. As long as we live here, whether one month or 60 years, I want to sink my roots. I want to be more present. I want to flourish were I am and work towards the flourishing of others, and that includes my little old house.

Over the next few months, be expecting a few decorating posts! I always appreciate the input of those more gifted in decorating than I.

Little Apples-Baby Quilt

Forgive me for my quietness through August. I have been working hard on a baby quilt for my dear friends who are due with their first baby in mid-September, but my friend also happens to be a dear reader (thank you!). Therefore, secrecy was a necessity. But we gave them the quilt last night, so it's with great relief that I can finally share with you all this sweet baby quilt made with Aneela Hoey's most adorable Little Apples collection.

I was so thankful when my small group at church agreed to let me make a quilt for our friends for part of their group gift. I was dying to get my hands on Little Apples and this was the perfect opportunity. Our friends have decided to not find out the gender of their little one beforehand which I admit made things a bit more difficult, but I think this fabric collection, with its aqua, olive, gray, and red, keeps things pretty gender neutral.

The best part about Aneela Hoey's prints are these little drawings which make fussy cutting such a pleasure. There are kids playing Ring-around-the-Rosie, cute back-to-school outfits, turtles, snails, squirrels, apple trees, and hula hoops. All the things that remind us of the fall when we buy new pencils, pull on our sweaters, and look forward to jumping in piles of raked leaves.

It seemed that when our friends received this quilt last night that this little white block was the most special part. Everyone from our group signed it for them. This was such a fun way to remind these new parents of our love for them and their new baby and to let them know how excited we are to help raise this newest member of our family.

About this Quilt:

Fabric: Little Apples & Medium Gray Kona Cotton

Binding: Michael Miller's Dumb Dots in red

Size: approx. 36" x 36"

Pattern: Windmills and Pastures (designed by me)

Quilting: Hand-stitched with Perle 8 in red

Now, I just can't wait to meet the little baby who will get wrapped up in this quilt! I know I'm not the only one :)

Just for me!

Sometimes when I tell my mom I'm working on a quilt for a friend or to sell, she'll say, "You should keep some things for yourself. Are you ever going to make anything for you?"

Well, since my first quilt (which I wouldn't try to sell or give away), I've given away/sold/tried to sell every quilt that I've made. So, no, I guess I'm not keeping anything for myself.

But then...

Totes and photography by Angela of Fussy Cut

I came across these gorgeous tote bags on Angela's equally gorgeous blog, Fussy Cut. The 241 tote bag pattern is from the brilliant Anna over at Noodlehead. She has such an amazing gift for construction and function. Her creations are always perfection!

I admit, unlike most women in the world, I'm not really a bag girl. I have two purses, one I use every day and one that almost always sits in my closet. I am just too lazy to move everything over to a new purse every time I change my clothes. So I just stick with my black leather purse and it works great almost all the time. But Anna's 241 tote looks like so much fun that I started dreaming of fun fabric arrangements. I hopped right on Hawthorne Threads and got to work. I've desperately wanted to use the Tip Top Canvas Elephants for something, and this bag gave me that opportunity. I think I might even avoid the interfacing by using a heavy weight fabric for the lining.

I love how the youthful elephant print pairs so well with these sassy floral prints from Lourdes Sanchez.

I'm hoping to find some time very soon to get started on my new fall tote!

Baby Boom

Did it happen to anyone else? One week in January, I commented to my coworker, somewhat disappointedly, that no one I know is having a baby. I don't have any kids myself yet, but the blogosphere is so full of adorable baby things and I wanted a piece of it (without the sleepless nights). Of course the responsibility then falls to my friends. Come on, guys!

Well, just a week later I found out that one of my good friends was pregnant and after her it seemed like every fourth woman at church, at the grocery store, and walking in the park was starting to show signs of growing bellies and glowing faces. What a lovely time of year!

Admittedly, I haven't been a baby-gift producing factory as hoped this summer, but after making my 2-D Zoo quilt for my sister's friend, I had some adorable scraps to use up. While browsing blogs one day, I stumbling upon Maked's tutorial for reversible fabric baby booties, I got right to work on a gift for my friend's baby. I found the tutorial to be quite clear, but I struggled a bit with the final step of sewing everything together. It sure was hard to keep everything flat and lined up, but the booties still turned out to be pretty adorable and are certainly worth a try by new and experienced sewers alike.

To match the little booties, I also appliquéd some onesies using the elephant and hippo from the Alexander Henry's 2-D Zoo print.

This was my first time doing applique on clothing. I used Steam-a-Seam Lite and it was very easy to work with and lightweight so it was just perfect for the thin cotton material. These onesies (0-3 months) were practically doll-sized and I am still not convinced that a real baby will ever fit in them!

Given together, these are a sweet simple gift for any new baby.

Cross Quilt: Ready for the Show!

As hoped, I breezed through my second Modern Cross Quilt (especially once all the cross piecing was done). On Saturday afternoon I had a borderless quilt top and by bedtime I had bordered, basted, quilted (in multi-colored thread), embroidered, and attached my binding! Yay for tiny quilts! That left just the hand-finishing of the binding to be done in bed on Sunday morning. Once again, I feel that the quilting has redeemed the quilt. Something about all the quilting lines, the colored thread, and the texture really pulls the randomness of the quilt together and leaves you with a very modern, artsy quilt. I’ll be honest in saying that it’s still not my cup of tea (I’m more of a shabby chic/French country type of girl) but I can imagine this fitting in very nicely in a house with bold, colorful splashes (like my mom’s house, wink, wink).

About this Quilt:

Fabric: Robert Kaufman's Kona Cotton in various colors, 

border and back in Kona Slate, and "pops" of Heather Bailey's Pop Garden

Binding: Kona Cotton Slate

Size: approx. 18" x 20"

Pattern: Modern Cross

Quilting: Machine quilted in multiple colors

Tonight, I’ll be figuring out how to attach a quilt sleeve to this baby so it can be hung up for the show on Friday. Phew, I made it!

P.S. Thanks to Mr. Side Stitches, who worked very hard to give my little blog a facelift! I love it!

Work in Progress Wednesday

Last Saturday, my sister called asking if I want to put a quilt in an art show that raises money for her church's community center. I decided that I could probably put something together since my Picket Fence quilt is finally done, so I said yes. The art show is a week from Friday.

So I got cracking on this small modern cross wall hanging (I know, another one!)

This time I used a few scraps from the Pop Garden collection along with a variety of Kaufman's Kona Cottons. I feel the same way about this quilt top as I did about my other cross quilt at this stage, which is, I'm not in love with it. However, after I quilted and finished my previous quilt, I loved it (which is always good when you're gifting it to a father-in-law)! Quilting really does change the look of the quilt top. I'm hoping the same thing will happen with this one. I'm not quite sure what I don't love about this one, but I think that its the randomness of the blocks and the mix of colors. I'm much more used to very organized and coordinated quilts (I'm so glad designers make collections of prints!) I need more practice matching fabrics from different collections, but I may wait until my scrap collection is a bit bigger before I take up that challenge.

My background (and maybe border) fabric should arrive tomorrow so I'll get to quilting this weekend if all goes according to plan. I'm looking forward to quilting this one. Everything is so much easier when your quilt is only 20" squared!

Celebrate a Friend Today

Did you know it's International Friendship Day today? So why not celebrate a friend today and tell them how much you love them and appreciate that they put up with all your shenanigans?

So to celebrate, I want to tell you about one of my best friends, Jacki. Here are 10 reasons why I love her:

1.) She encouraged me to start this blog and to get writing (she started a blog of her own around the same time).

2.) When I say let's make chocolate chip cookies, she says let's make French macarons.


3.) She is a hilarious story teller and always has me laughing at her tell-it-like-it-is outlook on life. Check out her blog, The Delighted Life, to see what I mean (Dairy-Land is one of my favorites!)

4.) She introduced me to beets and sweet potatoes which I could not imagine living without. If I were stranded on a desert island and could only eat three things for the rest of my life, I would eat roasted beets, sweet potato fries, and Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream (so refreshing!)

5.) Whenever I need good advice, she always has some to give, but not usually advice that I would expect. Something better.

6.) Her passion for life - to have adventures, love people, and to use her gifts to benefit others - pushes me out of my little bubble of comfort.

7.) We made a wedding cake together and lived to tell about it. Let's just say there was a brick of frozen icing, hair dryers, and a whole cake to be assembled mere hours before the wedding.

8.) She uses quirky idioms that I think must be straight out of the 50s and she has a special finesse for working Britishisms like "stonking" into everyday speech.

9.) She is a cheese, spice, and balsamic vinegar connoisseur.

10.) She always makes sure we have time to catch up and hang out, even when she's rushing to make writing deadlines.

Jacki, my friend, you delight me!

Who are you thankful for today?

Etsy Shop Now Open!

My Picket Fence...

and Deer Valley quilts...

are now available for purchase in my brand new Etsy Shop! 

Strawberry Ice Cream

I've been on an ice cream kick lately. Mostly due to the fact that I finally joined the crowd and started using recipes from this brilliant book:

David Lebovitz's, The Perfect Scoop, has taken ice cream making to a whole new level with this recipe-packed cookbook, which is often referred to as the "Ice Cream Bible". 

Now, anyone who knows me, even a little, probably knows that I'm a sucker for ice cream. Growing up we had a mugful of ice cream every night (not sure why mugs?) It's a saying in my family that my legs are hollow, so even if my stomach is full, there was always a place to put some ice cream, and by some, they mean a thigh-full. 

So you can imagine my despair after many failed attempts at ice cream making (and this was after the amazing providence of finding a brand-new, never-out-of-the-box Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker for $5 at a yard sale!)  My first attempt, if I remember correctly, was a pumpkin ice cream which had a nice flavor but it was basically frozen pumpkin pie filling. It was so thick and had a similar texture, not the smooth and creamy I was hoping for. Then there were the sorry attempts at a custard base which left me with a pot of scrambled eggs floating in sweetened cream. There was the time I added the cream too early and things didn't come together (duh, read the recipe!) I fiddled with Philadelphia style ice cream, but my husband kept asking questions like, "Is it supposed to be this icy?" So my ice cream maker sat in our cupboard for a year. 

That's when I had some delicious homemade honey ice cream at a friend's house and that got me to thinking again. I admittedly didn't try her recipe because it was an (eek) custard based ice cream, but I tried this simple honey ice cream that I found on 101 Cookbooks. I, unfortunately, didn't have any vanilla beans around so I instead did a basil honey by infusing a few basil leaves in the warm milk and honey in place of the vanilla. It turned out pretty well, but more importantly, it gave me a little ice cream making confidence. From there it was on to Green Tea, Strawberry, and Peach, all from The Prefect Scoop and all have turned out wonderfully. Even the Green Tea with a custard base. No scrambled eggs this time!

I want to share the Strawberry ice cream with you. With the strawberries that we picked this weekend, this ice cream is packed with intense strawberry flavor and is probably one of the best strawberry ice creams that I've had. The flavor was so good that I even got mad at my husband for eating it too quickly and not enjoying it like it deserved. Remember, this ice cream isn't full of air like the store-bought stuff, it should be eaten slow and savored.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Source: The Perfect Scoop

1 lb. fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp. vodka
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 t. fresh lemon juice

Gently mix strawberries, sugar, and vodka in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Let the mixture sit at room temperature, stirring once or twice.

Put the strawberry mixture, sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice in a food processor or blender and pulse a few times until blended, but still slightly chunky. 

Chill the mixture for at least one hour and then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacture's instructions. 

This ice cream thickened up nicely in the ice cream maker and would be good fresh out of the machine, though it's still much softer than store bought. Enjoy it! If that means scarfing it down...well...okay...just don't tell me about it. 

Note: This ice cream is best eaten the same day it's frozen. It seems to get icy after that, but you can leave it out on the counter for 10 minutes and that should help. Still, eat it the same day if you can (preferably not by yourself!)

Picket Fence Quilt Finished

After more than a month, my Picket Fence quilt is finished. This quilt reminds of country summers with its breezy colors and flower fields, just like looking over a picket fence into a vast meadow. These fabrics by designer Joel Dewberry are from the perfectly named Modern Meadow collection in the berry pallette. The colors range from raspberry to pink lemonade with mossy greens and warm beiges. I want to drag this quilt out to my imaginary wrap around porch on a cool summer night while watching the fire flies dance in my beautifully blooming (I must be imagining!) wildflower garden. *Sigh*

If you have a wrap around porch and a beautifully blooming wildflower garden with dancing fireflies, this quilt will be available in my brand new Etsy shop as soon as it's washed and dried. (Oh yeah, my country dream house also has a clothes line that's just perfect for drying quilts.)

About this Quilt:

Fabric: Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow and Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton White

Binding: Pieced binding of various Modern Meadow prints

Size: approx. 50" x 66"

Pattern: Pendant Pattern inspired by Joel Dewberry's Pendant Quilt (though I didn't use his pattern)

Quilting: Hand sewn using pink and  green 100% cotton thread

I'm extremely pleased with the finished quilt. It's so satisfying to see it finally come together. I think the pieced binding finished it off perfectly and it gives the quilt a lot of character. 

The back of the quilt mainly features the Dogwood Blooms print but also showcases the Majestic Oak print (a personal favorite) along with the Nap Sack and Flower Fields prints.

Check back soon to see my first Etsy item posted! 

A Summer Saturday

We went fruit picking this morning and picked the sweetest strawberries along with some blueberries, peaches, and nectarines. 

These strawberries will be finding their way into some ice cream soon. Did you know July is National Ice Cream Month?

Found some leisure time to finish my binding. Goal accomplished! More pictures to come.

Work in Progress Wednesday

I realize I've been bad about sharing my work-in-process quilting this summer. I've been taking it slow as summer seems to permit me to do with little guilt. But I would be lying if I said that I'm not sick of seeing this unfinished quilt sitting around my house. I'm certainly not sick of the quilt, no, I love it, but besides my first quilt during which I got a serious case of quiltophobia after finishing the quilt top, I'm used to cranking quilts out a little bit faster. So I've set myself a goal (is that allowed in the summer?) I'm going to have this quilt all finished by the end of the day this coming Sunday.

So as not to deceive, this quilt is not a bed-sized quilt, it just perfectly fits on top of a full-sized bed for picture taking :)

I finished my Jane Brocket-style hand-quilting this weekend and I love the simple lines with the pop of pink and the subdued green. It gives this gorgeous quilt another layer of texture and more handmade character.

So binding's up next. I'm thinking of doing a scrappy pieced binding which will be my first of that kind, but I think it's the right choice for this quilt. I can't wait to share my finished quilt pictures with you!

Bibimbap!

I'm going to share with you one of my favorite recipes. As you may or may not have deduced, my husband is Korean. Therefore, many Korean recipes have crept into my cooking repertoire, and for that I am glad. However, my love for bibimbap started even before dating my husband. I lived with a Korean pastor and his Caucasian wife for a summer and she was the best Korean cook! Even our other Korean friends agreed. She introduced me to this delicious bowl of rice, marinated meat, veggies, and fried egg to top it all off which I soon learned was called bibimbap (which basically means "mixed rice").

I've made this recipe many times since and I don't really measure much anymore. So sorry that these instructions are somewhat vague. But the great thing about this recipe is that it's so flexible. If you are having more people over for dinner, just add an extra cucumber and zucchini and make a bit more meat. No problem!

Bibimbap
Adapted from Dok Suni
Serves 2-3

2 cups rice
8 oz. tender beef
1 cucumber
3-4 carrots
1 zucchini
1 bunch spinach
a few leafs of Romaine lettuce
2 or 3 eggs
2-3 cloves of garlic ( I usually just press a few into a little bowl to use throughout the process)

Seasoning:
rice vinegar
soy sauce
saki
brown sugar
sesame oil
course sea salt
sesame salt (optional)
black pepper
gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)

Cook 2 cups of rice (sometimes I forget this until I'm about to make up the bowls and, boy, is that frustrating!)

Thinly slice the beef and marinate in 2 T. soy sauce, 1 T. saki, 1 t. brown sugar, 1 t. sesame oil, a pinch of minced garlic, and a few grinds of black pepper while you prepare other ingredients.

Cucumber: Cut cucumber into 2" long match sticks and season with rice vinegar, salt, and minced garlic.

Carrots: Julienne carrots. Bring an inch of water to a boil. Boil carrots in the water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

Zucchini: Thinly slice the zucchini with a mandolin slicer. Heat some vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute the zucchini with some salt and a little sesame oil until somewhat transparent (about 3 minutes).

Spinach: Wash spinach well and boil until wilted (about 1 minute). Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Squeeze dry and chop if necessary. Add a splash of soy sauce, some minced garlic, some sesame salt, and a bit of sesame oil. Mix well and season to taste.

Lettuce: Wash and chop roughly.

Okay, all your veggies are good to go! Now just cook the meat in a little oil until browned and fry one egg per person.

To each bowl (use big, shallow bowls if possible), add a scoop of rice and a pile of each veggie and the meat. Top with an egg.

Now for the super important part. The "special sauce".

Spicy Sauce
2 T. gochujang (can be found at any Korean store and most Asian markets)
1 t. rice vinegar
1 t. sesame oil
1 t. water
pinch of minced garlic

Mix all of the ingredients together and plop some on top of your bowl of goodness.

Now mix, mix, mix! Cling that spoon all around and make a jolly racket. This is the fun part. Add more spice to taste. Mmm, enjoy! (Sorry, no pictures of the mixed bibimbap. It doesn't look as pretty.)