Tree Skirt, Yummy Cookies and a Winner

Twenty years ago, I made this tree skirt. It is the first quilt that I did free motion quilting on. (The quilting is so tight and small that the skirt can almost stand up on it's own!)

 The backing is simple muslin.  I got the fun idea (somewhere) a few years ago, to use the back to trace around the hands of my grandchildren each year.  As they grow, it's been fun to compare their prints from year to year and for the kids to practice printing their names. My grandchildren range in age from 4 months to six years....hope I have enough room for all those hands as the years add up!

 Soft, chewy cookies......love 'em, don't you?  We had a cookie exchange at the modern quilt guild meeting last week.  These are the cookies that I wanted to bring, but didn't because I tried to do too many things that day and the cookies got pushed aside.( Sorry, ladies.)

Saturday, as the wind whipped up outside and snowflakes started to fall, I got out the mixing bowl and stirred up these yummy cookies.

 I thought I would share the recipe just in case you have a cookie exchange coming up and want to make a big impression.  I'm not lying...........these morsels are worth every calorie!!


MACADAMIA NUT WHITE CHOCOLATE CHIP GINGER COOKIES
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup shortening
2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
4 cups flour
5 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. ground cloves
2 tsp. baking soda
12 oz. pkg. white chocolate chips
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Cream butter and shortening. Work in 2 cups sugar till well mixed. Beat in eggs and molasses. Sift together dry ingredients and add to butter mixture. Add white chocolate chips and nuts, mixing well. Drop by large tablespoon onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes. This makes about 6 dozen cookies; enough to share and some to keep for yourself. They freeze well. Be sure to not overcook these if you like soft chewy cookies like I do. (Especially good while still warm from the oven!)

                                                                           Enjoy!
There were 81 entries for the FQ Pack on my 100th post! So many of you have made a disappearing nine patch quilt or are hoping to give it a try in the future.  Thanks to everyone of you for visiting my blog and a special welcome to the new followers. Come visit often.
My personal Random Generator chose the winning entry this morning..............

Number 36, Melissa, said, "My Project Plume runner was in a Disappearing 9 Patch and it was fun!

Congrats on 100 posts! I've sure enjoyed reading them!" Melissa is actually a member of the KC Modern Quilt Guild with me.  Congrats, Melissa!

New Challenge

                                                         Oh, my!  What's all this?!

 Yep!  You guessed it right.........charm packs of Kona solids!  100 of them to be exact.....One for each member of the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild (plus a few extras).

 Our challenge, should we accept it, is to create a quilt using all the charms in the color story that we chose. Some of the squares can be used on the back, if we want, but each one must be represented in the quilt somewhere.  We can add as much fabric as we want to make the quilt, as long as it is solid.  No prince  prints allowed!! Oh sure, we cut up the squares into any shape, and do not have to use the entire square, but at least a small piece of every color must be pieced into the quilt.

 Of course, I couldn't resist!  It was soooo hard to decide which pack to choose. I started out with the brights (the most popular with the quilters last night, I'd say), then changed to the dusty packet before finally ending up with the pastel charms in my bag. The quilts are due at the March MQG meeting...a celebration, of sorts, of our one year anniversary! Thank you, Robert Kaufman, for such a nice gift to our guild.  We love us some solid colors!!!


We also love us some prints!  Look at this beauty, made by Paula and shown off by the maker and our President, Jacquie.

Paula did a presentation of the Six Minute Circle (which she can make in four minutes!) She used the method to create the circles on this wonderful quilt.  I am definitely going to try it!
I love me some modern quilt guild!!

100th Post Give-Away

Today's post is a milestone for me and Lollyquiltz...........number 100! I've enjoyed the last nine months of blogging tremendously and have made some very nice invisible friends....some have even become real flesh and blood quilting friends! To celebrate, I've got a Fat Quarter Fabric Pack, donated by OldCountryStoreFabrics.com , to give away.

 I used a Fat Quarter Pack just like this to make this Disappearlng Nine Patch quilt top. The Pack contains eight fat quarters of Moda's Happy, by Me and My Sister Designs. I added 1/3 yard of black and white polka dots as the 9th fabric in the nine patch blocks. (It was the center square, in case you are interested....why didn't I take a picture before I cut it up?!)

For a chance to win the Happy Fat Quarter Fabric Pack, leave a comment telling me if you have made a disappearing nine patch quilt. Become a follower (and tell me in a separate comment) for a second chance to win. The winner will be chosen on Monday, December 13. Be sure that your email address is listed on your profile so that I can contact you if you win.  Happy # 100!!

Happy Surprise

I love a surprise! A Disappearing Nine Patch quilt offers just that. The surprise comes when you cut up  basic nine patch blocks into four equal pieces and then twist and turn those smaller blocks to create a more interesting quilt top. It's a quick and easy quilt to make, perfect for a baby quilt. Here's the quilt top I put together in just a few hours, using Jennifer's great tutorial.

 The fabric itself, called Happy by Me & My Sister Designs , was a surprise gift from The Old Country Store in the Lancaster county village of Intercourse, PA. The Old Country Store was chosen as one of the 10 best quilt shops in the US by Quilt Sampler magazine and houses a quilt museum on the second floor of their historic building. Their Online Fabric shop is well stocked and the prices are very competitive.

I'm adding the Old Country Store to my online shopping mall! The nice folks at the store sent along a little something for you too.........so check back tomorrow for the scoop.

QADD

I'm pretty sure I have it.  You know, Quilting ADD. The main symptom is hopping from project to project...starting something, putting it aside for something else. Yep.  I have it.  Last night I unearthed this project from a basket in my sewing closet...........

 Since I made a note on the page for the pattern, I know exactly when I started this Christmas quilt.  January 2008.  I remember that the Christmas charms and jelly roll were on sale after the holiday and I fell for them. I cut out the blocks, sewed some and set it aside.  Then, before Christmas 2009 I sewed some more....set it aside.  Here's where I'm at in December 2010...the blocks are already all pieced!  I'd apparently even laid them out in a pleasing arrangement, because each row of blocks was pinned together and numbered. All I have to do is sew these together into rows, sew the rows together, quilt it and I've got a new Christmas quilt.  Keep your fingers crossed!

 I've had a request to see the back of the Peppermint Delight quilt, so I took a picture. This fun fabric in pink, red, green, grey-blue and white was the inspiration for the color scheme.

It's an Alexander Henry fabric. Isn't it delightful!

Cover Girl

One of my quilts has been given a special compliment....a month long spot as a cover girl!! Well, kind of, anyway.  If a blog can be seen as a magazine, the blog banner as it's cover,  and if a quilt can be seen as a cover girl, then that's the deal!

Remember Peppermint Delight? That's her in the photo above.  Well, I entered her picture into a contest for a spot on the December banner at Stash Manicure. I was so excited to learn that she had won! She's got good company, too.  I hope that you'll hop on over to pay her a visit and check out the other four  bathing quilting beauties. It's a swell blog whose main purpose is to share ways to organize your stash and use it successfully. There's always a good idea being featured!

Hope Valley Flimsy

 The hexagon quilt top is all put together.  Yay! !  As you can see, I couldn't stop making those six sided deelies and added some one inch hexies to the border. I think they look like gum balls! Sort of.

 Now to decide how to quilt this fun top.  I don't want to mess it up. Any ideas? Do you think adding the straight-line quilting that I like so much would look good? I really want to love it!

Today, I finished up a couple of blocks for Heidi in the Nittany Block Party.  She provided the fabric and this interesting pattern called  Zig Zag Path. I can't wait to see the finished quilt.