Thursday, June 25, 2015

Dotty Disappearing 9-Patch Baby Quilt

A sweet new baby girl has arrived in the family -- welcome, Nova Jade -- and her special quilt has been completed. The pattern is a Disappearing 9-Patch made with 5" charm squares of Classic Dots from Connecting Threads. Each center square was plain white before cutting. 



This quilt was so much fun to make, I think the Disappearing 9-Patch is going to become a favorite of mine. I used 96 polka dot charms and 12 white charms to make a dozen 9-patches. After cutting each into fourths, the yield was 48 6-1/2" blocks. Used 45x60" crib sized Warm & Natural batting and finished size was approximately 40" by 53" with binding.

To honor baby Nova and personalize her quilt, I replaced one 6-1/2" block on the front with a variable star block. Her name, birth month and year were embroidered on it in light green thread. I made the star points with the colorful backing fabric to bring it to the front and make the star pop.



On the extra block, I embroidered label information and attached it to the lower back along with my Handiworking label made by Lilla Lotta.



I figured why stop the dottiness now and bound the quilt with mini dots white-on-black fabric. Since I prefer not to prewash my quilting fabrics, I did wash and dry the quilt to clean and crinkle it up before sending.



Congratulations and much love to Nova's momma, daddy and super big brother!



So many projects, never enough time!

Friday, June 12, 2015

No-Bake Chocolate Tart and Easy Corn on the Cob

I'm all for easy cooking, especially now that we've hit the hot summer temps in Phoenix, and this chocolate tart is one of the easiest, most impressive desserts ever. It goes together quickly and tastes incredible. We made this one while we were preparing dinner ...





We topped the ganache with strawberries and chopped pecans but I'm also planning to make it with raspberries soon.

This link will get you the recipe and even provides a quick step-by-step video.

The chocolate tart this evening follows hubby's BBQ'd T-bones covered in Montreal Steak Seasoning with pesto butter and corn on the cob. Here is the best trick ever for microwaving corn in the husk and shucking it like a boss ...


Hope these tips make your kitchen as happy as they do mine!

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Farm Girl Vintage Potholders

Made a birthday gift for a chef friend recently and I was excited to have Lori Holt's new "Farm Girl Vintage" pattern book on hand to work from. I'm completely smitten by the blocks and projects in this beautiful book and plan to make a sampler quilt from it someday.

The "Baking Day" and "Canning Season" potholders turned out great ...


Used some cute kitchen print fabric for the backs ...



And my custom Lilla Lotta labels made wonderful hang tags ...


Check out the Bee in My Bonnet blog and the Farm Girl Vintage book. So Much Fun!

So many projects, never enough time ...