Is it Monday or Tuesday?

Voting is open for the Blogger's Quilt Festival. What a festival it was. So many lovely quilts and loads of inspiration. I was smitten. Go check them out and vote for your favorites.

It's finally happened; the modern quilting movement has gone gangsta. I knew it was only a matter of time. Art Gallery Fabrics introduced the AGF Fat Quarterly Gang. Hardcore, I tell you. I can't wait to see what kind of mayhem ensues.

It was a fun and relaxing holiday weekend. We did a little boating before the rains moved in. There was plenty of wind though. It was rough out there. I donned some SPF 110 and threw caution to the wind. I could almost hear my dermatologist cheering me on.

I bring these little blocks to Sew Day every month and make a few. They're boring. I finally made enough to make a lap sized quilt. They're all sewn together willy nilly. I think a couple of borders and this flimsy will be done. Stick a fork in her. I bet she'll love hanging out with my other quilt tops that need quilting.

Since I shed a few pounds, I ate a couple of these egg, cheese, bacon muffins. And cheese grits. Not in one sitting, mind you, it is bikini season.

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day. I hope you are enjoying the long weekend and perhaps a barbeque or two. A heartfelt thanks to those who served to keep our country safe and free. And to those who continue to do so. We are a lucky and grateful bunch.

Beth (aka, the fastest quilter in the land!) at Love Laugh Quilt gave a shout out for star quilt blocks. She is going to whip up a quilt or two for her Veteran's Hospital. Beth gave superb directions for an Ohio Star block, so I went with that, but any star in patriotic colors (red, white, blue yellow) would work. This gal is a serious quilter and so productive. If you have a chance to whip up a block, let her know.

Sunday Stash #50

From our monthly guild meeting at The Sewing Studio. I used a bit of restraint for a change. I'm hoping to attend our guild's field trip to a fabric shop that I haven't been to, so that restraint might just fly out the window. Plus, it will be my birthday weekend, so even more reasons to celebrate with fabric.

The winner for the charm pack and thread was Diane who blogs at Random Thoughts...Do or Di. Thanks to all who entered.

Graduate in the House

We have a graduate in da house. My baby graduated from high school. Sniff, sniff. Where did those years go? Like her older brother, she decided not to walk with her graduating class. She spent her senior year attending only one high school class and completing her freshman year of college with dual enrollment. We did a ghetto photo shoot with my bathrobe, her cords from the Law Magnet program and my Omnigrid cut and press tool as her mortarboard. Creative bunch, aren't we? Too bad we were both cracking up so much during the shoot.

Anyway, it's summer for the Smoothie girl. She'll be working, but I'm sure she'll find time to goof off and enjoy the summer before she starts her sophomore year. I may make her unload the dishwasher too. You know what fun that is. I couldn't be any prouder of this girl. She is smart, funny, and beautiful.

On another note, did you see all the giveaways for Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day? I may or may not have wasted an afternoon set aside for sewing to see all kinds of new blogs and enter a zillion giveaways. I don't usually win, but it has happened. Wish me luck. But in the meantime, I found a bunch of fun new blogs and inspiration galore. The quilting industry is bigger and better because of us.

You can enter my part of the giveaway here. Comments close Friday, May 25. I'll choose a winner after that date. I hope you win something if you've entered any of the giveaways. And keep your fingers crossed for me too.

Do you Zentangle? I first got into these drawings when I was active on Swap-bot. They're fun, relaxing and kind of remind me of quilting designs. You can find tons of ideas and instructions at Tangle Patterns.

Jackie at Canton Village Quilt Works had the opportunity to see Pat Ferguson who does Zentangle quilts. They are amazing! Go see.

Giveaway Day

To celebrate 500 posts and Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day, I'm giving away a charm pack and some colorful thread from Pick Your Plum. If you'd prefer something handmade, just let me know in the comments. I'll ship anywhere. Just leave a comment.

The charm pack is Flora and there are 10 spools of thread. Go check out the other giveaways for more swag.

Last night I made the worst pork roast. It was tasteless, dry, and awful. My cousin told me of a technique where you simmer the pork roast for a couple of hours and then roast it. I think the problem was that I chose a lean roast versus something with fat. Rookie mistake that I've made before. My braising liquid above had grapefruit and orange juices, cilantro, jalapeno, onion, garlic, and lime juice. It sure smelled good.

I made a new coaster for my drippy water glass. This quilt-as-you-go method is fun and easy, although I spaced out and forgot I was quilting as I was going.

Monday Fun Day

Searched high and low for this issue of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks. There was one block in particular I wanted to try.

So I scanned the pattern after cutting the large pieces to fit my scanner. Oops, there's also pattern on the back side. Duh moment followed by a taping session. I'll probably never use the other side, but you never know.

Lil' Matryoshka by Sonja at Artisania. Sonja creates the cutest paper piecing patterns. There's even some free ones on her site. Paper piecing keeps me on my toes. This one was no exception.

I love quiche. Inspector Gadget will tolerate it if there's nothing else to eat. The kids wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole. My basic recipe for the egg custard is four eggs and 1-1/2 cups half and half or milk. From there add in anything. This one had pancetta, tomato, green onion and cheddar cheese. I use refrigerated pie crusts most of the time, so it's a quick and easy meal. Bake at 325 degrees until puffy (45 minutes to an hour).

500 Posts

I gave this easy crusty bread recipe a try. Three ingredients, people. Flour, salt, and yeast. Water too, but I don't count that as an ingredient. I used 1 cup of rye flour and 2 cups of bread flour just because I had some rye flour I needed to use. I totally flaked out and forgot the caraway seeds. Getting the loaf into a pre-heated 450 degree dutch oven is a little tricky, but I didn't burn myself. Progress for me, but be careful if you try it. I'm usually sporting a burn or three from cooking. Luckily, I'm not as klutzy with knives. I hate knife wounds. They freak me out. Paper cuts freak me out too. I don't like cuts. I'll never be a candidate for plastic surgery even if I could afford a face lift.

Yummy batch of hummus made on Hummus Day, which was May 15. I flavored it with sun-dried tomatoes and green olives. Then I burnt the pita chips. We had to go all healthy and dip vegetables in it. Bummer.

I also made a simple potato salad to share at Sew Day. I used boiled tiny new potatoes sliced in half, scallions, diced red pepper, Italian parsley, buttermilk blue cheese (any blue would work, but I'm addicted to this buttermilk blue) and a vinaigrette made with lemon juice, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Easy. I was afraid the blue cheese would overpower everything, so I added in the crumbles after the other ingredients had sat in the fridge overnight. Try to get the vinaigrette over your taters while they're still warm, so they soak up the flavors.

So today marks my 500th post. Wow. Thanks to any and all of you that read my ramblings. If I can swing it, I'll hitch up a giveaway with Sew Mama Sew's Giveway Day which starts Monday. I have lots of stuff to share or if you'd prefer a handmade item, I'll get to sewing something just for you. Leave a comment here or there for a chance. Catch you on the flip side.