Talkin' Tuesdays: July 3rd - Fat Quarter Shop!

Talkin' Tuesdays: July 3rd - Fat Quarter Shop!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful time with your family and friends.  I am so blessed to be warm and comfortable while there are many people out there who are not.  I had a great time with an old friend who spent the holiday with me.  We ate some wonderful food, reconnected with childhood friends and spent time with special new friends.  I taught my friend how to piece a quilt block this weekend.  I also helped her find fabric inspiration at the local quilt shop! It was her first SEX (Stash Enhancement eXperience)!  Love to see the shine in the eye of the novice who says, "How does this look?" "I made it myself"!

I also made up some photo Christmas cards today!  I just got my son's senior pictures back and I feel like I want to share them here!

A UFO Finish!

I decided to really stick by my guns and finish that July 4th table runner that has been pinned since FOREVER!  This spring was so busy that I did not have time to sew or post, so I am going to work on time management and try to do both!

So I am putting up the picture of the finished project.  I had to dust off my FMQ skills to do the stars in the outer border.  It turned out great!  Took about a day and a half to do the quilting, but worth the wait.  Leave a comment and let me know what you think!  

Have a great week!

 
 

Need to post more often!

Well, I apologize for not posting on this blog since spring, but the end of the school year brought many surprises!  After posting in March, I said yes to taking a role in our school fundraiser, "Nunsense".  I haven't done theater in years, and I had so much fun with a great group of ladies.  The show was a success, raising funds for scholarships.

Needless to say, I did not have much time to work on projects at home.  So, now I am teaching a 3 week summer school class at the local university, but I vow to do some UFO busting!  My current UFO is a 4th of July tablerunner.  It has been pin-basted for almost 2 years!  So-I am working on that this week and hope to quilt and bind it this weekend!

I am going to the NQA show in Columbus, OH with friends on Friday.  We aren't taking in any classes, just wandering the exhibits and trade show, but I am dying to see the Mariner's Compass exhibit!  I will take pictures if I am allowed.  So-off to be productive!  Feel free to comment and let me know if you finish any UFOs!  

Busy, busy, busy!

Well, work has kept me so busy lately!  I have finished a small St. Patrick's Day mug rug for a swap.  See the picture at the top of this blog post! 

I am working on a T-shirt quilt for a friend and it is going to be very neat.  I dropped a quilt off at the longarm quilter and hope to pick it up this weekend.  She told me to put it in a show at the end of the month.  I must really haul tail to get the binding done!

I also did something really crazy and said yes to being in a musical for our school fundraiser!  Now I know I can do it, but just added another thing to an already full plate.  What am I thinking?  But I do plan to squeeze in some sewing time so that I do have that "me" time!  

Have a great week and leave a comment!
 

 

Finished t-shirt quilt top! Now working on UFOs!

Wow, I finished the T-shirt quilt top I was working on earlier this month!  It turned out beautifully!  I had to self-design each block, since each shirt was a different color.  You can see a picture of it  before borders were put on, on my Facebook page.  The batik fabrics are gorgeous!  Now I hope to quilt a flannel baby quilt for a church donation.  It is a fun pink and chocolate brown theme.

I am joining in my first swap in several years and I am very excited.  We are doing a year of mug rugs!  I am already thinking about what I might do for my March assignment-some clever take on St. Patrick's Day.

I tried a new recipe last night, one that I found on Pinterest.  It was a recipe for Spinach Cups.  I varied the recipe to include baby portabella mushrooms and scallions for a bit of extra flavor punch.  They were absolutely delicious! 


Have a great week and sew up a blue streak!

Working on a T-shirt quilt on a 3-day weekend!

I am working to finish the top of a T-shirt quilt.  It has been challenging since each shirt is a different size.  I am working on the math to make all of the sashing strips fit into rows.  The sashing is batik fabric and it is beautiful!  I will post pictures shortly.  On another note, my young nieces LOVED their quilted journal covers that I made them for Christmas.  As soon as I get the camera working again, I will share pictures of those too.  Yes, my cheapo camera gave out...right before Christmas!  So, hopefully I can replace it soon.  Have a great weekend and happy quilting.  Oh, and I am going to the LQS for the pajama sale tomorrow.  Early birds get 30% off!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of you out in blogland!  I hope that you have a blessed time with family and friends.  I plan to enjoy the morning with my son, then have a delicious breakfast casserole, spend time with old friends in the afternoon, and do a bit of sewing, just for my own enjoyment. 

Quilted Lizard Creations: I am going to keep up with this better!

Quilted Lizard Creations: I am going to keep up with this better!: Wow, I had no idea I had not posted since September. I am going to get it together and post more regularly. (New Year's resolution?) I mad...

I am going to keep up with this better!

Wow, I had no idea I had not posted since September.  I am going to get it together and post more regularly. (New Year's resolution?)  I made a few Christmas bags for a local business to sell.  I totally forgot to take pictures of them before I sent them over.  So silly, because they were really pretty. And I would love to share them here!  I did make two quilted journal covers for my nieces.  I will post pictures of those shortly.  I hope all of you have a great Christmas and a happy and healthy 2012!

Working on a T-shirt quilt!

Well, I am starting to get in the swing of things now that school has settled in.  It has been one hectic ride!  My son is playing varsity football, so I am keeping busy with traveling to games the past 2 weeks.  It has been lots of fun watching the boys play.  I haven't used the sewing studio much since school started, but I am going to make more time to work on projects.  I have T-shirts cut out for a quilt, and I have some beautiful batik fabric for the sashing.  It will not be the normal sashing with cornerstones, because the recipient is not a traditional quilt girl!  It will be a scrappy sort of look, so it is requiring some calculations on my part!  I think it will turn out just great.  I will post pictures of my progress!

I have spent the last 2 weeks canning and freezing fresh vegetables.  Corn was frozen last week, and this week I made homemade pasta sauce and salsa.  I will surely appreciate the fresh tastes this winter!  What have you been doing?  Got the creative juices flowing?  Leave a comment!

Back to school!

Well, I haven't posted since I have been back to school-shame on me!  I swear, I have not had time to change my mind since school has started.  We have new technology that is just kicking my butt!  It is a huge learning curve and I am sure I will manage to get the hang of it, but for now, it is trial by fire!  I haven't sewn much, just made 2 more potato steamers.  I am working on a plan to make time each day to put in a few stitches.  Wish me luck!

Announcing a great blog giveaway!

Hey all, I wanted to let you know about a great fabric giveaway at 1 Choice 4 Quillting!  They are giving away precuts of some of Moda's newest lines of fabric!


http://blog.1choice4quilting.com/2011/08/new-fabric-giiveaway-with-3-lucky.html

My 1600 quilt!

This is a picture of the 1600 quilt top that I finished in only one day!  Lots of fun for a quick finish.  You don't have to use jelly rolls, you can use any 2 1/2 inch scraps!

My camera is not so great, so the colors don't show up as bright as the real deal!  My birthday is this month, if anyone wants to give me a great upgrade!

Quilted Lizard Creations: Sharing some brownie recipes!

Quilted Lizard Creations: Sharing some brownie recipes!: "So a twitter friend wanted some chocolate recipes and these are both so rich and scrumptious! Mint-Chocolate Brownies Ingredients: 1 bo..."

Sharing some brownie recipes!

So a twitter friend wanted some chocolate recipes and these are both so rich and scrumptious!

Mint-Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:
1 box chocolate brownie mix (any kind)
**any ingredients called for in brownie mix
1 can chocolate fudge frosting

Mint Filling
2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 T water
1/2 tsp. mint extract
5 drops green food coloring

Mix brownie mix and bake as direced on package in 13 X 9 inch pan.  When it is finished, take it out to cool completely.  With an electric mixer, add together ingredients for mint filling until it is fluffy.  Spread onto cooled brownies.  Put the pan in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours or overnight, until the filling is set.  After they are set, simply spread on the fudge frosting, cut into bars, and enjoy!

Turtle Brownies

1 pkg German chocolate cake mix
1 c. chopped nuts (we like pecans at my house)
3/4 c. melted butter
1 (5.3 oz.) can evaporated milk
12 oz. package caramels
1 c. chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet)

Combine cake mix, butter, nuts, and 1/3 c. evaporated milk.  Mix (don't beat).  Press half of dough into greased and floured 13 X 9 inch pan.  Bake 6 minutes at 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, melt caramels and 1/3 c. evaporated milk.  Spread over hot cake.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Crumble remaining cake dough over top. (It will spread when baked.)

Bake 15-18 minutes at 350 degrees.  Cool, refrigerate.  Enjoy. (Or enjoy hot with ice cream on top!)

One more thing!

I just wanted to share some pictures from International Quilt Festival in Cincinnati!  The first one is a picture of the quilt police.  Yes- they DO exist!

And the next one is a picture of Pat Sloan, myself (totally NOT photogenic) and Heidi Kaisand-they were so nice to visit with at their very busy booth! Thanks gals and fellow quilters!

Quick finishes this week!

So, I made this cute purse from some scraps I found in a box in the garage, and I made this potato steamer for my school cook (who also happens to keep me supplied with chocolate!) I spent about an hour on Sunday cutting out T-shirts to make a friend's daughter a T-shirt quilt. This friend also went shopping with me last week to the LQS (local quilt store) to buy batik fabric to go between the T-shirts.  It is going to look awesome!

My summer is quickly coming to a close, and I will go back to school to teach some wonderful teenagers in about 2 weeks.  The teachers go back at my school on August 11th!  Wow, it seems earlier every year.  But I get so pumped up to begin the school year EVERY year!  Remember what it was like opening the brand new box of crayons in the fall?  I get to do that at the beginning of each year.  Cool or what? 



Top done!

Hello from the blast furnace of Indiana!  Wow, it has been a scorcher! But being inside, I got some sewing done while enjoying the AC.

I finished the quilt top I was working on last week.  I have been using up odds and ends that I have found in the sewing studio.  I think this pattern is just so easy, using charm packs as a base with a small amount of accent fabrics.  Love the fall colors?  Comments?

Top almost done! This is the last border fabric?

Posting a picture today of the quilt top I made with fabric I found around the sewing area.  I am auditioning the outer border fabric...what do you think?  The blocks are made using 2 charm squares packs and goes together very quickly.  When this is done, back to qulting the flannel baby quilt.  It is adorable in pink and chocolate brown.   Any comments on the border fabric will be welcomed!