Dutchbaby

So, after seeing that flat Dutchbaby picture from yesterday, I had to give it another shot.  Let the baking begin!

We watched in amazement as it grew and grew.  The little hill in the center shifted into a mountain, then erupted into a volcano as the eggs cooked.  Oh, this is so very much better than our last Dutchbaby.   Savory aromas are filling the air as it cooks.  I  CAN’T WAIT!!!

Sweet and savory joined at the hip to create some serious yumminess.  Yep, that’s a word.  LOL

Snapshots of life

 

This is what butterfly kisses look like up close.  

Do you know the difference???  Left eyeball ~ chicken egg from my backyard that's been in the fridge for a couple of days.  Right eyeball - chicken egg from my backyard that's fresh from the chicken.  The look of surprise mouth ~ chicken egg from the grocery.  Um, I think fresh is best:)

 If you want to see a perfect Dutchbaby,  you'll need to click the linky because there was NO LIFT in this poor flat ugly, but yummy treat.  If anyone wants to comment and share what happened and how I can make these tasty things fluff, I'm all ears (or eyeballs since I'll read them). 

 

And, what have I've been sewing???, this beautiful svelt Barbie-esque figure so my friend @ S.C. Whimsies can display her fine jewelry.  She's such a talented artist!!!  If you'd like to display something fine too, visit Jackie Westlund @ Etsy and see what you can create.  I plan to make another one with scrappy fabrics.  I love scrappy!!!

Sew or Bake???

Today, my challenge is to sew or bake.  With no soccer, shopping, or traveling to do, I'm reduced to fun!  I happened to catch this corner of a photo:

Sweet Baby with Little Engine That Could in the back

and cracked myself up!  When the Cadillac of the Kitchen

Cadillac of the Kitchen (with Mrs. Crotchety in the background)

pushed the Little Engine That Could off the countertop, I thought for sure that I'd only drive the Caddy.  However, as you can tell, that Little Engine thought-it-could right into second position on my sewing table and has been basking in the background of my sewing experiences ever since.  Every now and again, he gets pulled into the kitchen to make my life easier or quicker.  With cupcakes, I use the Caddy for the double batch of frosting and Little Engine for the cakes (two different flavors, please).  What a great little helper my Little Engine is!  LOL  And still, my sweet backup sewing machine is in front position and today it beckons me like the good friend that it is.  With Mrs. Crotchety on the fritz again, I think a play date with Sweet Baby is in order.  Yippy!!!

Moda's Love It, Pin It, Win It Contest

Ok, so most of you know how much I thoroughly enjoy baking in the kitchen, but do you know that I'm totally in love with sewing???  Moda Bake Shop is a site I explore to see what others are doing with precut fabrics whose cuts are named after baking.  We have jelly rolls, honey buns, layer cakes, turnovers, etc.  (I'm still waiting for the cupcake cut as that's my favorite thing to bake.  Sweet, 2 1/2 inch circles is what I envision, ah, but I digress) Sewing "recipes" are shared, chefs are introduced, and shopping from the "bakery" is just plain fun. 

An example of precuts sewn together is Eli's Wheels Quilt:

Someday soon I'm going to love stitching this one up.  The colors are this years finest (juicy red and eyepopping blue, oh yeah!) from Moda's Ruby fabric .  I love how the quilt looks difficult to create, but when I review the pattern I can say with confidence, "Hey, I can do that!"  But the main reason I chose this recipe is because those pinwheels dancing across the quilt bring out my inner child and make me want to share that joy I feel with others.  (My niece, Robin, would love this one!)

I'm a Winner!!!!

I want to dedicate this post to Lily's Quilts and The Running Chicken who have made my day.  Well, really, my week.  I won 19 fat quarters of this sweet Lotta Jansdotter fabric called Bella.  NINETEEN!!!  That's the whole line!

Lotta Jansdotter, Bella

Take a peak at The Running Chicken's quilting store where you too can scoop up on this or other luscious fabric.  A huge THANK YOU!!!!!!! to Lynne @ Lily's Quilts and Karen @ The Running Chicken for this very generous prize!  I'll surely be singing all day.

Camera Bag???

Ooooo, la la!  I really love this camera bag from Epiphanie! At first, I couldn't believe it was a camera bag, I mean seriously, doesn't it just scream "Super Fine Lady Bag"????

Then, I went and opened it up (virtually) and found nifty little pockets for lenses, filters, flashes, batteries, etc.  Yes, I would really love it if this sweet bag found it's way onto the birthday gift list.  Just sayin'.

Coming up Daisies

Time to do for someone else.  This sweet daisy is being shipped off to Krochet Krystal in NY for her charity blanket making.  You can see the blankets she has created using these blocks and even join in the fun.  She'll send the pattern if you pinky promise to only use it for charitable purposes (including giving it to your best friend or best friends baby). 

 

I must admit that I ripped it out at least 4 times before I got the beginning part correct, but since I plan on making many squares, I now know that I can do it right.

My love for daisies comes from my love for genealogy.  What??? you might ask.  What do daisies have to do with genealogy?  Ha!  My great grandmother's name is Daisy.  My grandmother's name is Pearl and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE pearls and daisies together as a reminder that family is forever.  So in honor of my Great Grandmother Daisy, this square is only the beginning.

From Sewing to Growing

It's been a week of sewing, cooking, and gardening (if you can call it that).  I love to create new patterns and this week was no different.  I made a flirty apron for a bride to be and was stitching right into her shower!  I was late, but the cupcakes weren't.  LOL  Right now I'm so very thankful that my son has a driver's license and can follow directions and is willing to help a gal out!  No picture due to the visualization that we don't want you to have!  And aprons lead right into cooking (even if they are flirty):

I'd love to say these MasterChef worthy eggs were his reward, but he wasn't home and doesn't like the runny part anyway.  My man and I were watching a new challenge on MasterChef where the chefs had to cook 4 perfect eggs:  poached, sunny-side up, soft boiled, and a 2 egg fluffy omelet.  Now, I often find MasterChef truly inspirational and this challenge was no exception.  The exception is I'm the only member of my family that likes runny eggs. 

 Ah, snack for one. 

Since we have sweet laying chickens, I was able to cook these up with fresh eggs (which means no vinegar or lemon are necessary).  And it's true, if one follows directions (I love Food Network!) to a T, one can have amazing eggs in 4 minutes.  

After checking out the sunny side of food, I went to check on another sunny side.  We planted 3 sunflower seeds that we hope will bloom just before it starts getting cool and low and behold, 2 of those babies started to grow!

I've carried my black thumb with me throughout many planting endeavors, and often get them to this point.  I sure hope I'm able to see this one all the way through to flourish.  Wish me luck!

Goals: Take 3

Well, after all this time, I can now say I've finished.  Whew!  I guess setting deadlines on my blog didn't inspire me to finish quickly, but I did finish more quickly than if I hadn't blogged.  All that guilt making me hang my head kept tickling the back of my brain.  And now . . .

The Reveal:

My son is very into skulls, I think it had something to do with his high school mascot.  He is also a major paintball player.  He colors outside the lines and loves to be in the thick of it all.  This quilt is a reflection of all that.  

Goals

Goals are extremely important.  Working toward those goals is extremely important as well.  Having finished one of four rows of my quilt, I can only reset my goal.  Crying hasn't helped, it actually slowed my progress.  So, I'm setting a more realistic goal of finishing (with binding and everything) within the next 14 days.  I'm also going to work on it for 90 minutes EVERY day.  Good luck and God bless.

Finishing

Ok, today no photos!  I'm challenging myself out loud to work on my unfinished projects this year.  I have so many, I didn't know where to start.  Then I remembered that if you start in one corner of a room and work your way around, eventually it has to start improving.  That's my cleaning advise to myself.  Well, why not use that same guide to work on my projects.  This morning I picked up my son's birthday quilt (from last August) and started quilting away.  It was right inside my bedroom door.  I give myself ONE WEEK to finish quilting or its 50 lashes with a wet noodle!  I really can't wait to see it finished and in his room, on his bed, keeping him warm on these cooler nights.   I heart my sons!  When it's finished, I'll go ahead and post before and after photos.  7 days.  7, SEVEN!  Ok, I've said it three times, it should stick.