Life has been super busy and will be until at least after Christmas.  

Yes, I said winners!  Since in the midst of the Quilt Gallery's birthday giveaway I surpasses 100 followers I'm going to give away a second mystery prize to someone!


The first prize of the Basic's charm pack goes to, Vicki who said,


It is hard to see but I did some echo quilting around the main Dresden Plate. and 1/4" on the inside of each strip of color.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful week.  Mine seems to have been extra busy, running lots of errands and doing a bit of Christmas shopping.  I'm getting close to done, but I still need to finish my daughters quilt.  I keep running out of hours in the day.  

I entered my 'Frosted Stars' quilt in this weeks quilt contest over at the quilting gallery.

Welcome everyone!  I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced again this week for the W.i.P. Wednesday.  If you're looking for some inspiration for a quick holiday gift or even an ongoing project you should check it out.  Just click the picture below and it will take you there.

Before we moved 2 years ago there was a pizza joint called Pizza King in our area and they had the BEST Stromboli Sandwiches.  I have been craving them for a while now.  No I'm not pregnant nor do I have plans to be anytime EVER. lol  So I turned up the super taster and  have attempted to create my own.  

Now, do you have the song running though your head?  For those of you who haven't visited me here at Pieces to love, welcome.  I love to quilt!  I also do some cooking, stop in for Test Kitchen Tuesday, where I share a tasty recipe.  I also make some cute dresses for my 4 year old daughter.

I mentioned a party. The Quilting Gallery is turning 5 and to celebrate Mishka is hosting a Blog Hop Party with giveaways!   What a way to celebrate.

Good Morning friends,  I hope you all are having a wonderful day. If you are visiting from W.i.P. wednesday at freshly pieced, welcome.

It is a bit chillier here today than it has been upper 30's vs. upper 50-60's.  It is starting to feel more like Christmas weather wise at least, but it is still pretty warm for us at this time of year.

I have been busy doing swap gifts and I have 2 different ones to show you today.  They are not finished yet so they are still works in progress.  One of them has to be sent out no later than tomorrow.   Normally I wouldn't share a full shot picture of the gift, when I don't know if the person/s they are going too even read my blog, but since there are 2 I figure that I can get away with it and they can only stalk to the mail carrier to see which one they get in the end.



I hope everyone has a wonderful day and I hope to finish these off and make it to the post office today.  Next on my list of things to finish up is my Sew Intertwined quilt so someone can have it for Christmas.

I've linked up with WIP Wednesday with Lee over at Freshly Pieced, if you have some time or need some great project ideas I strongly encourage you to go and take a look at all the great stuff that is linked up.

Hello everyone!  Sorry I haven't been around for a while.  I have had way too many irons in the fire combined with doctors appointments and running a sweet little 4 year old everywhere I haven't had much time for myself.

The quilt guild that I associate with is having their Christmas party tonight.  While it is nothing too special, they have a cookie swap, so I am to bring 2 dozen cookies.  When I'm told to bring cookies to something I get all happy because it is a great excuse to try a new recipe.  I guess you can say I'm that person in some aspect, but honestly why not try something new?  If it doesn't turn out to your personal tastes, you get to get rid of at least 2 dozen of the suckers and whether or not they get thrown in the trash mere hours later you will never know so you don't feel guilty, right?

As I was flipping through my cookie cook book last night I came across Lemon Cardamon cookies, and though those sound really good.  Now, I have never used cardamon personally  (until today) I had seen it used in several recipes from soups and stews to cookies.

So, today after lunch, the girl and I stopped at the grocery store and picked up a bottle/jar of cardamon (it is with the rest of the dried spices if you have never heard of it) and a few other things that I needed.

When we got home I realized I didn't get a lemon, or lemon extract, great now I had to find a plan B.   Pinterest here I come :-).  I came across orange cardamon cookies,  here is where I got all excited because I do have oranges! so I clicked on the picture, crap there is no recipe attached to the picture.  Look out google here I come!   First on the list was a  recipe at Epicurious.com, so I looked at the list of ingredients to make sure I had everything, and just buy luck I did.  I'm sure I could have used regular milk in place of heavy cream, but for some strange reason I had some heavy cream in the fridge.

Instead of copying the recipe you can just click HERE to find it and print out your own copy.

I didn't follow the refrigeration instructions as printed.  I was in a hurry so I didn't refrigerate at all, I just dropped on my cookie sheet and flattened them to about 1/4".  You can chill them and use cookie cutters if desired.

I will though show you a picture of these very fragrant deli-sh cookies.


I couldn't find a recipe I liked for the orange frosting, so I winged it.

WARNING!!! Amounts of some ingredients may vary, lol

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine.
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
2 Tablespoons orange juice (add just a little at a time as you need to thin it out and for flavor)
1-2 cups powdered sugar (start with 1 cup and then add more as needed to get the consistency you want)

The folks over at the Fat Quarter shop are having an extended black Friday sale.


25% off your entire shopping cart.  I can't believe it.  What pains me the most is that I've been 'cut off' for a few weeks since I just purchased a new sewing machine and some quilting feet to go with it.  If I spend anymore money right now my hubby just might shoot me.

I hope to get back here and share some things that I have been up to lately this coming week, but the calendar is looking super busy, so I can't make any promises.

Happy Shopping!
Debbe

I am not the typical 'girl' I hate shopping well unless it is for fabric, and even then sometimes I loathe it.  Right now I am shopping for a new sewing/quilting machine.  I have a modest budget so that makes it even worse.

I have finished all the quilting on my Christmas quilt.  Now to trim off my excess and do the binding.



I am completely in love with this quilt, and I can't wait to curl up with it while watching tv.  It is the perfect size to drape over the back of the couch or chair for display.

Welcome to the late edition of Test Kitchen Tuesday.

I totally had a recipe ready to go for yesterday, and then life happened.  I always take my daughter to the library for story hour on Tuesday mornings, well my son didn't have school yesterday because almost all the local schools in the county are polling places so they put it in the schedule as a teacher in-service day for the 'safety' of the students. AKA the office ladies would get sick of buzzing in thousands of people since once the students are in school it is basically on lock down.

Enough excuses lets get on to the the food.

My kids love french fries and I don't have a lot of freezer space to keep fries around so on occasion I will make them 'potato wedges'

You will need:
1-1.5 potatoes per person
Olive oil
Seasoned salt (like Lawerys)
Black pepper (optional)

Wash potatoes and cut into wedges or fries (peeling them is optional)


Put cut potatoes in a bowl and toss with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, about 1 teaspoon of season salt and a dash of pepper.  If you are only using one or two potatoes you can get away with a lot less oil and salt.

Mix/toss until well coated.

Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet/jelly roll pan covered with parchment paper to avoid sticking.




Bake at 425 for about 40 min. or until nice and golden brown. Turn about half way through.   Now don't get busy playing referee and trying to coach homework at the same time because well they just aren't as good when they are over done...




I hope everyone has a great day.

Debbe

Life has gotten crazy busy and November has snuck up on me.  I started to post on Friday, and then I got distracted by...

Whipping up this cute little dress.



 I also made an outfit for 'Dolly'



The kids had a wonderful Halloween.  Here is the Mario costume I made.


A sweet little butterfly.  I made her the pink sweat suit so she would stay warm.


And after all that sewing I have made a decision to put my 'Circle of Hope' quilt on the back burner for a bit and finish up the 2 quilts I have tops done for already.

Things this week don't seem to be slowing down any so if I want to get the backings for my 2 quilts put together, then I must  get moving.

I hope everyone has  a great week.

I didn't finish up anything this week.  I did get started on cutting out my next quilt though, so that has me a little excited.  

See progress. :o)



I totally forgot to get me a 28mm rotary cutter when I was at the store yesterday, so I have been tracing all of those curves on with a pen and cutting them with my trusty scissors.  It isn't too bad, they aren't super tiny pieces so I just take my time.   I hope to maybe sew a few pieces later today to keep my motivation going and to see just how many more pieces I have to cut out.

I hope everyone has had a great week and I hope you have a good weekend.

Debbe

I am starting to think I have taken on too many projects to get done by the end of the year and am starting to stress out.

First up to be finished is my son's Halloween costume.  He wants to be Mario from Super Mario Brothers.  I   winged the overall's for his costume last week while he was home sick from school.

 I still need to put the buttons on the straps and hem the pants but beyond that they are done. Just need to make a hat now...

I've finished my secret santa swap gift, I just need to package it up and get it in the mail.  I love how they turned out and I hope that my swapee likes them too, if she doesn't I know someone who does.


I hope everyone has a great day and please forgive me if I don't make it back the rest of the week, I am trying to crank out some projects.  I will be sure to take pictures to share with you all when they are done.

Blessings,
Debbe

My father in law visited over the weekend so I took the opportunity to try a new recipe for a Slow-Roasted boneless pork loin, it turned out amazing!

Slow-Roasted Boneless Pork Loin

1 2-3 pound boneless pork loin roast or pork sirloin roast
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon dried Thyme, sage oregano and rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic crushed

Combine all ingredients in a large ziploc bag and let marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, can be longer.

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Place roast in a baking dish or roasting pan (can use a meat rack if desired).  

Bake at 450 for 12 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 275 and cook for 60-80 minutes.  (my roast was about 2.5 lbs and took about 70 min to cook).

Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

I'm sure this could be adapted to be cooked in the crock pot.  This was very tender and juicy.

I took pictures, but for some reason they are not showing up on my phone. 

Wow! This week is flying by for me.  If you are visiting from Freshly Pieced, welcome, and please take a look around. Yesterday was my first time doing anything sewing related since Thursday last week when I literally threw together a quick purse since I was still carrying my spring purse.


Today, I'm working on finishing up the quilting on my Secret Santa swap gift.  I have had fun making it and have one more decision to make on it before I call it good and ship it off to its new home.


My son wants to be Mario from Mario Bro's. for Halloween, so I figured I would make the overall's portion of his costume.  I have the fabric, all I need to do is find a pattern or a good picture to follow to whip them up.

The Sew Intertwined quilt and my Christmas quilt are still awaiting quilting.

I also need template plastic or something and make my templates for the Circle of hope quilt I hope to get done in time to give my mother for Christmas.  If I don't get it done, then I have to figure out what in the world to get her and I will then keep the Circle of hope quilt for myself.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day.  I had to pick up my son from school because he is ill, so I'm guessing I won't get much of anything done today. 

I hope everyone had a good weekend, and has a great Monday.  I'm waiting on hubby to come home for lunch and then we have to go buy a new battery for my car so we have no issues this winter with it.  The current battery is 5 years old and is original to the car.   I've already impressed the hubby by removing the old one.    I hope that I get in some sewing this afternoon, but that isn't looking too promising since there is a mountain of laundry in the hamper calling out to me.

Hello everyone!  I'm a little slow in getting here today, but I have been busying working on a Christmas swap gift.  I can't let you see too much or let you know just what it is since it is a 'secret'.


When I have finished and my secret person receives their gift, I will share the whole thing with you.  Hope you are all having a great day!

I'm Linking up with Lee's WIP over at Freshly pieced this week so be sure to stop over there and look at all the great projects!

With the holidays coming up, I think I am going to post a few of my favorite holiday recipes. Of course they can be made year round, but we save them for special occasions most of the time because they can be a lot of work. This week I am sharing my favorite aunt's recipe for Cranberry Salad.

Cranberry Salad

2--3 ounce boxes of jello (your choice 1 lemon and one cherry or 2 cranberry work best, I have used strawberry with no issues)
1 cup chopped cranberries (about 1/2 of a bag)
1 medium apple chopped (does not have to be peeled)
1 orange chopped or 1(15 ounce) can of mandarin oranges (save the juice)
1 (15 or 20 ounce) can pineapple, crushed or tidbits work best. (save the juice)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine the chopped cranberries, apple, oranges, and pineapple in a bowl and mix with 1 cup of sugar. Let stand for one hour (the fruit and sugar mixture should yield about 1 cup of juice). Combine the reserved juice and either water or more juice to make 1 cup if needed. (you should have about 2 cups of juice total from what you saved from the cans and what the fruit sugar mixture yielded)

In a separate bowl, combine jello and 2 cups boiling water.  Let set/chill for about an hour until cool, but not set firm.

After the hour, combine the fruit mixture, juice and jello. Stir in the chopped celery and pecans, then chill until set (5-6 hours) or overnight.



I apologize for not having any pictures of this weeks dish.

I hope you all had a great weekend.  I finished up my Frosted Stars Christmas Quilt top and am in awe of it.  I can't believe I made it.  Do you ever do that?  I have stepped out of my comfort zone this year with quilting and get excited every time I conquer the what I thought to be impossible.


I went with a green sashing instead of the very bright blue that the original pattern showed.  I also plan to bind it with the same green to frame it up.

I have another new pattern I can't wait to dive into to make a wall hanging/throw for my mother for Christmas, but first I have a Christmas themed item to make for a Secret Santa swap.  I can't wait.

I hope you all have a great week and don't forget to come back tomorrow for Test Kitchen Tuesday.  (I've already scheduled my post so I don't get busy and forget again.)

October is my favorite month, I'm pretty sure.  Not because I have a birthday this month, but because of all the changing colors.   My daughter started last year calling the colorful fall trees 'Rainbow Trees',  I love it, of course when all the leaves are on the ground she says they are 'naked'.  

I got one block done for my Christmas quilt over the weekend.  We had a very busy weekend and I so far this week it looks like Friday will be my day of rest.  I started to think Thursday would be a good day to rest, but alas I volunteered to go and chaperon my son's field trip that day.

Here is my first block, I only have 14 more to go.


Happy sewing everyone.

As if I didn't have enough things to be working on right now, I started a little scarf for me last night.

I purchased some of the 'Sashay' yarn, it is comes with the fancy crocheted look to it and all you have to do is knit it or crochet it into your scarf.


Here is my progress, It is a cloudy rainy day here so I didn't get a great picture of the true colors but, you ca see the finished look.


I have some cutting to finish and then I am going work on the scarf while watching movies and waiting on laundry this afternoon.  Have a great day everyone.

Last October, when my husband and I were on vacation I came across a quilt at a shop in Las Vegas called 'Frosted Stars'  I immediately fell in love with the design and the fabric used. Seriously who doesn't fall in love with cute little snowmen?

Yeah, I've got nothing really today.   I did make for myself the Italian Chicken Pasta last week and I do have to say it was delish!  So today I am going to tempt you with pictures of yumminess.


I did not add the peas that the recipe called for since I think I over did it when adding the other veggies.

In the sewing world, I finished my table runner and got it mailed off yesterday.  I will talk more about that later in the week.  Today is library day, so I need to round up books and movies to return.

Have a great day everyone.

Debbe

Welcome everyone!  Today I'm linking up with Lee's WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced. 



One thing I haven't really talked about on my blog is a little group I belong to on Facebook called Sew Swap-it where we do monthly swaps.  The group is open to anyone. This month we are doing fall table runners, Sign-ups are currently open for next months project for which will have a Christmas theme to it.

I have the top of my table runner pieced but have had some sewing machine issues so I need to experiment on some scraps to make sure quilting won't be a challenge on my Grandmother's old machine.


This little candle mat was the start of my original table runner, and well things don't always turn out the way you want.  It is still usable and not a total flop so I'm not too disappointed. The patter for the candle mat was adapted from a Moda Bakeshop pattern.  It is very easy to do, I suggest following the pattern, instead of trying to make it will smaller pieces.  I will learn these things one day. :-)



I also still need to quilt my Sew Intertwined quilt along quilt.  If you would like to make one you can access all of the links to the blocks on the flickr group.



Thanks for stopping by, I have lots of quilting that I need to figure out how I'm going to get it done.  If you found your way here from Lee's WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced, thanks for stopping by.  I hope you come back again.

Debbe