One Step Closer to My Dream

Do you have a dream of owning a cute vintage trailer.  Something to decorate real girly and show off at the campgrounds?  ME TOO!!!!!!  I have been looking for a canned ham for a while but no luck!  I even tried to get a neighbor down the road to sell me his but he said no.  He needed it for ........brace yourself........storage!  I left my number if he ever comes to his senses and wants to buy a storage shed instead.

So, to hold me over, I bought a miniture kit and am playing with it until a real one is in my driveway.  Plus my granddaughters might enjoy it too.

Mind you it is not decorated yet.  It took days to put together and paint.  I laminated a "vinyl" floor in a pink and white checkerboard.  A couple buys on ebay got me the sink, stove, and dishdrainer.  I made the booth and bed.  

Too cute!



Let the decorating begin......

Diana

Windmill Quilt From Magic Square

Same method, different arrangement.......(see previous posts).  I am calling this one a windmill!  The long blades remind me of old windmills that spotted the farmland out west. 

Quilted on my little Elna, this large lap size quilt was a little harder to handle.  I went with a simple all over swirl design.  It repeated the design on the border so it was an easy choice.

What's not to love.  Favorite color combo, nice size.......and hardly any mistakes.  On to the quilt pile it goes......maybe someday to find a new home.

Diana

Pinwheel Baby Quilt

Here is the finished baby quilt I pieced using the tutorial from this previous post.  It went together quickly, days ago in fact, but I was too busy with outside chores to post it!  The garden needed to be tidied up and the fields were getting overgrown!  Now that I have made some headway with the yard work I can spend some time on the blog too.......

I haven't someone in mind for this baby quilt yet but it can join the pile that is rapidly growing in the sewing room.  I sometimes have a hard time letting them go.  I love them all so much.  Greedy, I know.......

The  photo is a little off on the colors.  It is much brighter in person.

I machined quilted on my regular sewing machine.  I am gaining confidence and the more I do the better they turn out.  Which is good cuz a longarm does not appear to be in my future anytime soon......  I quilted a wind like pattern with swirls and gusts (humor me) blowing across the quilt.  How else would you quilt a pinwheel baby quilt?  Check back later for another "windy" quilt. 

Diana

Magic Square Pinwheel and More......

Today I am going to show you how to make a pinwheel square using a four patch square and the magic square cutting method shown here.   When I discovered magic square cutting it seriously changed my life!  Check out my earlier quilt, a simple half square triangle one, constucted using magic square.

You will be amazed at how quickly this square comes together.  Start out with a stack of charms in two colors.  You will need four of each color for each finished block.  Well you actually end up with two finished blocks.  More on that later.   If you are cutting your own charms, you will cut them as 5 inch squares.  You will be repeating each step twice ( or more, depending on how many blocks you will be making).



 

Sew opposite color squares together, two by two,

Press seams towards the darker fabric, in this case, the red.

Now arrange the pairs to form a four patch.

Sandwich the seams and sew the long seam on the four patch.

Press towards one side.  You now have a four patch.  Actually, you should have two four patches.

Now comes the magic.  Cut two squares of fabric 9 1/2 inch square.  You can use a layer cake but just cut it down.



Layer one four patch on a 9 1/2 inch square, right sides together. 

Sew 1/4 inch seam on outer edge on all four sides.  Think of this as a pillow construction without the hole for turning.  That's right, close this guy up!  If you are having trouble understanding, view the video link at the beginning of this post.

Here is a close up of one corner.

Now that all the edges are sewn it is time make the diagonal cuts.  Using a rotary cutter and ruler, align the ruler so the stitch lines of the four patch are centered on the edge of the ruler corner to corner and in the center.

Forgive the shadow but maybe this will be easier to see.  You will be tempted to want to line the ruler to bisect the square based on seam allowances instead of the stitch lines.  NO, NO, NO.  Since the seam allowances are ironed in different directions, they create an optical illusion.  Use the stitch lines to bisect the square.

Make the second cut and you should end up with something like this.  Repeat for each additional square you have sewn.

Open up each section and iron the seam in one direction.  Because the cuts are on the bias, you will want to be careful not to stretch the square during ironing.  

Now arrange the squares to form a pinwheel.  You will now see why you needed to make at least two magic squares.  If you are confused about what I am talking about notice that some of your pinwheel blow to the right and some blow to the left.  Aha!

Sew your pinwheels together, matching seams.  Because this is bias sewing, it is so easy to force the seams to line up!

In quilting you always iron your seams to the darker fabric.  Here is one of the exceptions to the rule.  Because of the bulk that would create in the center of the pinwheel, you will iron the final seam open.  

This will allow the seam to lay flat on the finished side.

Here is the finished block.  It has taken longer for you to read this post that to actually sew this block!

Two variations using the same pieces.

Block with blue center and red edge.

Block with red center and blue edge.  This is the combination I have chosen to make the quilt.  Well, actually two quilts, each blowing a different direction.  More on that later.  You can also use the squares to make blocks other than pinwheels.  But that is another post!   Diana

Best Ever Peanut Butter Cookies/Whoopie Pies

 Made with honey, these are not your ordinary peanut butter cookies.  Soft and chewy, they are soooo good!   And you can really taste the honey! 

I used My Baking Addiction's recipe.  Then I turned them into whoopie pies!  Here is her recipe with my tips added.

1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup honey
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of sugar for rolling dough balls

 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat shortening, peanut butter and honey on medium speed until well combined and fluffy - about 3 minutes.  Don't beat too long or the batter separates.
3. Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix well.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1 cup of sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined.

I used a cookie scoop to make uniform size balls

 Roll in sugar, and place on prepared baking sheets.

I flatten the balls with my hand, or the bottom of a glass.  They measured about 2 1/2 inches across.  Leave plenty of space cuz these babies really expand!

Flatten with a fork.  Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes.

They now are about 3 1/2 inches round.  Let set on cookie sheet about 5 minutes and then move to a rack.

I made up a batch of frosting and piped it onto half of the cookies.  Now place a cookie on top of each frosted cookie.  The frosting I made was delicious.  Take one egg white, 2 TBS milk and 2 tsp vanilla.  Beat well.  Add 1/4 cup of softened shortening, and 3 cups powdered sugar.  Beat until fluffy.  I used a few drops of white food coloring to brighten the frosting.  Then I added enough additional powdered sugar til the frosting held it shape.  I also added about 1/4 cup granulated sugar cuz I like that bit of texture.  I know some of you worry about raw eggs, so you might want to try meringue powder instead.  You will have to adjust it somehow to account for the missing moisture the egg white gives.  Call me crazy but I use raw eggs a lot and never have a problem. 

Diana

A Wee Break at the Cabin

Sunday night we packed up and headed to the cabin.  The weather was mild and cool, perfect for a impromptu camping trip.

The grass has begun to turn green and is in need of a mow.

Don't you love old fence post and dirt roads?

There are so many things at the cabin for which I am grateful and that make staying there so nice.  Number one is running water, great for doing dishes and even more important, flushing the toilet.

My grandmother's blanket and a creaky rocking chair.

A warm fire and S'mores.

A cozy loft to sleep in.  The air mattress is in the tub and someday we will finish the walls and floor, but for now it will do.



All the little signs of nature we get to enjoy!

Walks in the meadow fresh with the morning's dew.

A view to die for.

Signs of spring.

Reminders of summers past.

A swimming hole waiting for the warm weather that's just around the corner.

A morning spent turkey hunting and an afternoon spent mowing the front meadow.  All these things are simple pleasures we are often too busy to enjoy.  It is nice to slow down once in a while!  This trip we didn't tackle any projects, except for the mowing, we just had fun.  The projects can wait a few weeks........