Friends

So many times I tell my family, "Reach out to others."  and "Do hard things."  Well my littlest man is such a good example of both.  He's been tying his shoe for some time now, but his birthday buddy (their birthdays are within 10 days) struggles with those laces. 

We caught this on film by accident and I can't help but post my treasured photo of these two boys working hard and sharing their knowledge.  It's great to have good friends!!!

Some Things Take Forever

So my sweet baby niece was born about 7 months ago and it has taken me this long to complete AND mail her blanket.   This is the Jaybird Quilts Hugs & Kisses pattern.  I love personalizing my work by adding a love note and date.  That's such an important addition to any art!

And since she has a sweet older brother, I couldn't leave him out! I love online tutorials for sewing and Make It and Love It provided a great tutorial.  I saw a few other ideas in my search that showed a couple of toy cars, too.  So I combined these great ideas and now he can carry crayons AND cars.  Spoil 'em rotten so they love you forever!

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.