Valentine’s / Spring Wreath

I haven’t been in the crafty mood for quite awhile, until this morning.  I woke up and wanted to clean and organize the house and add some cute new decorations.  I’m sure much of that is due to the weather being in the high 60’s here (crazy!) and the Christmas stress that has melted away since I got home from vacation. So, I made a quick trip to the craft store and picked up a few things to revamp my old grapevine wreath.

I didn’t want a Valentine’s Day wreath, I wanted more of a generic wreath to hang on the door through spring.  But, I tend to get bored with the same old décor day after day.  So, I had this great idea to add my holiday décor to the center of the wreath and change it out from holiday to holiday. 

My youngest daughter and I set out all of our wreath knick knacks I bought and we wrapped, cut twisted, and poked until we came up with this…..

It’s just a few floral stems, burlap, and a ‘centerpiece’, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.  Now, I can add a little green for St. Patty’s Day, yellow for Easter, and maybe some dark blue and red for 4th of July!

Happy Crafting!

Stormy

Pinwheels and Stars Baby Quilt

I can finally share pictures!  Yeah! Super busy get ready for Christmas time and go visit family vacation time is over! Yeah!  Not that it wasn’t fun, I’m just very, very tired. 

Now, I get to share pictures of one of the cutest quilts I have ever made.  Yes, I love it that much.  And yes, I gave it away to my super, awesome, big sister, Steffanie.  She is having her third boy (good luck with that) and totally deserves to be spoiled.  So here it is, ‘Pinwheels and Stars’.

The fabric line is “Little Things”.  I bought a fat quarter bundle, so I have just enough to make a throw quilt for myself. Grin.

I was inspired by this adorable quilt I found on flickr and knew I had to make my own version for my sister.  When she pinned the original quilt onto pinterest  (after I had started working on it) I knew I had picked the right pattern!

One of my favorite parts about the quilt is the back.  I put some extra time and effort into quilting it and ended up with this…..

To quote Doctor Who, “I Know!”

Didn’t it turn out brilliant?  I’ve never done 1/4” shadow quilting on both sides of the seam before.  Let’s just say it took awhile.  But the finished result was worth it.

Now, I just need to wait a few more weeks to see my new nephew bundled up in it.

Stormy

Our Christmas Tree

Every year I make a goal to be finished with all the Christmas shopping and decorating by December 1, so I can enjoy the season.  By mid December I just sigh because it was a nice goal and maybe I’ll do better next year.  There are just too many things going on.  Oh well, at least we got our tree up! 

I’ve decided to slowly create a vintage looking Christmas tree.  Each year I pick out a few tree decorations that have an old look to them, so as the years go by, my tree will start looking more and more vintage.  Plus, it will mean more to us because we will remember the fun time we had picking out just the right ornaments to buy and how fun it was to find the perfect spot to hang each one.

I hope everyone gets a few  moments here and there to slow down and enjoy the Christmas Season!

Stormy

Great Aunt Katie’s Granola

Even though I have been doing lots and lots of sewing, I can’t really show anything now because all my projects are gifts.  But, I’m taking  lots of pictures so I can show off a little after Christmas.  Meanwhile, I thought I’d share one of my favorite recipes.

My Great Aunt Katie made the most fabulous granola.  I stayed with my sister once for a couple of nights (who lived at Aunt Katie’s house) while she was attending college.  For breakfast, Aunt Katie served granola and fruit.  I had never had anything like it, but I LOVED it. The only comparable granola I have ever had since, was in a little French bistro in New York.  I had granola served with yogurt, a chocolate croissant, and steamed hot chocolate.  YUM!

So now, when I feel like spoiling myself (and my family), I make a big batch of homemade granola. 

GREAT AUNT KATIE’S GRANOLA

10c Oats                                                         1/2 c Molasses

1c Wheat Germ                                             1c Honey

1/2 lb Coconut                                              1 1/2 t Salt

2c Raw Sunflower Seeds                             2t Cinnamon

1c Sesame Seeds                                          3t Vanilla

3c Almonds (whole, slivered, sliced…)   

1 1/2c Brown Sugar

1 1/2c Water

1 1/2c Vegetable Oil

Dried fruit (optional)  I like to add fresh fruit to mine right before eating.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients.  Stir in wet ingredients.  Mix very well (otherwise you might get spots of strong molasses in a bite of your granola).  Spread on jelly roll pan.  Cook 20-30 minutes.  If you like it a little more crunchy, cook an additional 15 minutes. 

I like to eat mine with milk and fresh berries mixed in.  My husband eats his with yogurt.  My daughter eats hers plain .  Anyway you like it, it’s super yummy.

Enjoy!

Stormy

It’s crochet season!

It’s finally starting to cool down here in Texas (mid 70’s is cool right?) and I’m so excited because that means it’s the beginning of ‘cuddling with quilts and afghans’ season.  It doesn’t last long, so I try to make the most of it.  This year I’ve decided to try something new and zig zag!

As I stood in front of the yarn section at the craft store, I waited for the colors to call out to me.  These three colors called the loudest….

It has taken me about 7 hours to crochet a foot.  I had grand plans and thought I’d go big.  So, it may take me awhile to finish this one, but it’ll be worth it!

In case you are wondering, I got the pattern here at hand crafting with love.

Stormy

Nancy Drew birthday quilt

My oldest daughter turned sixteen yesterday! Gasp! I’m still in shock.  Sixteen. Wow.  I wanted to do something special for her big birthday, so we had an awesome night party that included s’mores, a water fountain full of bubbles, lots of glow sticks (for games), a fire pit, and Christmas lights strung all over the backyard.  It was awesome.  I also wanted to give her an extra special gift. 

Last year, I bought a “Get a Clue with Nancy Drew” layer cake because my daughter LOVES all kinds of mystery like  Sherlock Holmes, Judy Bolton, The Shadow, and of course Nancy Drew.  And, I also happened to find a super cute Nancy Drew quilt pattern here at Moda Bake Shop.  Of course I left it all until the last two weeks, but I finished it on Friday (yeah!) and it was her favorite present.

I think the appliqued book covers totally made the quilt.  Such a cute idea.  I liked the books spread out a little more than the original pattern, so I changed it just a bit.

I’m so in love with the black and white striped binding too. I really struggled picking it out, because I was once told never to put black with dark blue, but I went with it anyway and I’m so glad I did. 

I quilted big loopy swirls to go with the fun feel of the quilt (and to get it done a little faster).  It’s a simple pattern but, I think it turned out pretty cute.

Now, on to another baby blanket…..

Stormy

A quilt for my nephew

Last Sunday my new nephew was born!  I’m so very excited!  I live over 800 miles away from my family, so when a new baby is born I have to wait until our Christmas or summer vacation to see the new addition.  But, a few years ago we were lucky enough to have my husband’s brother and his family move in to our neighborhood.  And since then, we have welcomed two new nephews! 

The newest addition surprised us all by coming a month early, which meant I had to do some speedy sewing to get his little quilt finished.

I used two charm packs from the ‘Ten Little Things” line.  The fabric is so bright and colorful, I decided to keep the pattern simple and just sew the squares together. 

I thought big loopy quilting went best with the fabrics.   It’s fun and playful.

And of course, I had to go with the striped binding…..

Since we are a household of many girls, my only son is thrilled to welcome another boy cousin into the family!

Stormy