April 29, 2010

Fun At Michelle's

SURPRISE! It's been a while since this girl has posted. Sorry for the dead time. I felt a need to look and talk about quilts. So I will use this occasion as my outlet! I love all my quilt friends! Here's a look at all the fun things we did at Michelle's house in April.

Kim wins the prize for such a cute ending to our "project" This was our Christmas present to each other last December. We each made a block from the fabric line "Simple Abundance" and then we exchanged them with each other at our Christmas party. Such fun! This quilt represents all the blocks that were made. Of course I haven't even started to finish mine! We all especially loved the blue border! Way to go Kim....she's a finisher!

Welcome to Julie Lines! She is the new member of our quilt group. We love her! And...by the way, she is Carol Killian's sister. More true talent in our group. She put on a show for us with this quilt. Geez....it's complicated and beautiful. It makes my eyes blur! This one took alot of hard work!

Again, Julie has made the cutest quilt from Simple Abundance....I think? Both of her quilts are labor intensive. I think she will be a fun one in our group!

Wow! These tumbling blocks seem to be the think this month. This is on beautiful quilt. Marene has been working on this for awhile and was able to finish it this month. You guys need to slow down! I can't keep up! Marene always has something beautiful to show!

Yeah!!!!! I have a quilt to show. This is a rare occasion! But I must say I love, love his quilt. It was pretty labor intensive as the pieces are quite small! But you know me, I love tedious things. This was fun to make because I used alot of my scraps. I made this quilt because I loved the border. This is a pattern from Thimble Blossoms. What fun!

Well now....this is a larger version of my quilt. Just by chance Debbie Jensen and I chose the same quilt idea. This is absolutely darling (hmmmmm copy cat!) Just kidding! She used the cutest fabric. She finished hers first...I'm such a slow poke. Don't ya love it????

You won't ever see a baby quilt like this again! Debbie's daughter did her nursery around owls. This quilt was so fun to look at. The word is that her son-in-law helped pick the fabric! Can you see those little owls in her quilt...so cute.

This gives me a headache....only because a few of us started this "time consuming" quilt and here Elaine (and Kim) have finished theirs. We all used our scraps and nothing else (did everyone abide by the rules?). We even traded a few scraps here and there. It is a Buggy Barn pattern that takes some time and effort....but it is fun! Don't worry, I have 8 blocks finished...hmmmm. Elaine, you're a trooper. It turned out wonderful.

Here's Elaine again. This was one of my favorite quilts of the day...because I like scrappy! This is just all around fun! She is helping her "other" quilt group make this quilt. I actually got the pattern from her because I love it so. Thanks for sharing Elaine!

Our girl, Heidi, has been practicing and perfecting her applique skills. It is her mission to learn to applique nicely....and she has indeed. This is a perfect wall hanging she came up with in secret of course! We will all be taking lessons from her before long. I love applique, but never have time to practice and produce anything worthwhile....so hats off to Heidi. Love it!

Michelle, our hostess, has a thing for pin cushions. I think she has started collecting them. So it is only natural she should turn up with these cuties! She always is creating something new and fun. The rest of us want to copy! By the way, she made us all one for Christmas. Yes, she is always doing something extra!

Well, like I said, Michelle is at it again. She loves to make bags and flower embellishments. This is her new creation...a gift for someone in her family. Where does she get her time??? Good question, but I always love to see what she is up to. We count on Michelle for fun things and she never disappoints! So cute Michelle!

This is our yummy lunch menu. Someone teach me to make these rolls!!!!!! Michelle fixed a great salad and had fresh rolls and a fattening dessert. Just down my alley...Yikes!

This is our hard-working hostess dishing up the calories! It is always hard to resist food at quilt group. We all make it easy and eat! Thanks Michelle for your hard work. One thing I love about going to Michelle's home is that she has a great room upstairs that we all fit in nicely! A fun place to sew and visit.

We ate outside...the weather was beautiful. Summer is making an appearance. Is that good or bad? The company was perfect, the conversation enjoyable and the surroundings unbeatable! Our quilt friends are the best! Thanks Michelle for a fabulous effort for this month's quilt group. Take time to sew.....there is next month you know! We will be meeting at Kim's home right? See you then.

April 13, 2010

April Recipes

I know a fabulous post is on it's way from Debbie but I thought I'd post the recipes from our April quilt day. Thanks to everyone for coming. We had all 12 of our fun group together.

Crescent Rolls

2 Tablespoons yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cubes butter
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt
7-8 cups flour

Dissolve in the mixer the yeast, water and teaspoon sugar. Let it sit for 5 min. In a saucepan heat the butter, milk and salt until warm (not hot). Add the eggs and sugar to the yeast and mix well. Add the warm milk and butter. Add the flour 1 cup at a time until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl but is a little sticky. I usually use all 8 cups flour. Mix another 5 minutes. Remove dough from mixer and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let raise until double about an hour or little more. Punch down and divide into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a large circle and then cut like a pizza into 16 triangles. Roll up starting from the large end to make a crescent roll. Place on a greased cookie sheet and raise another hour. You will have 2 cookie sheets with 24 rolls on each. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and with a pastry brush lightly butter the rolls.


Mandarin Confetti Pasta

16 ounces Bow-tie pasta
10 ounces baby spinach
6 ounces craisens
3 11 ounce cans Mandarin oranges, drained
1 8 ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1/4 cup sesame seeds
6 ounces honey roasted peanuts
2 cups cooked chicken

Dressing

1 cup oil
2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
2/3 cup white vinegar
6 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Rinse and drain well. Mix the dressing ingredients in a large Ziploc bag and add the cooked pasta. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Just before serving put everything in a large bowl and mix well. This makes a ton.


Lemon Jello Cake

1 lemon cake mix
1 small box lemon jello
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon rind
1 box instant white chocolate jello pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk
1 small tub cool whip

Make the cake according to the box directions. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. Dissolve the lemon jello in the hot water. Add the lemon juice and rind. Poke holes in the warm cake with a large fork and pour the jello over the top of the cake. Put in the fridge for several hours.
Mix the white chocolate pudding with the milk until it starts to thicken. Fold in the cool whip and frost the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.