Welcome back! I have been working on re-arranging my space as well as sewing this week. All three projects that I'm working on are still a work in progress, I haven't finished any of them yet, but the design wall makeover just needs a few small finishing touches and it will be done!

I needed more space to hang more than a few blocks up when I am trying to lay out a quilt.

This is what I started with...


and this is what I 'upgraded' to...


I stole borrowed, the flat sheet from our flannel sheet set, and used some handy dandy thumb tacks to hang it up with.    I also, moved my cutting table/catch-all to the other wall, it was on the same wall as the design wall but with the larger space to design, the table covered half the new area.

With things moved around, it was time for some cleaning...


I've made some progress, but there is still a lot of things that don't have a home.



And the new design wall in action!


If I didn't have to share my sewing space with the home office, then I would have room to put my ironing board somewhere else, but alas, I can make do with moving it now and again.  I need to get me a power strip to plug my lamp and iron into since my design wall covers my outlet.

I should get my secret project finished up today and possibly finish piecing my Sew intertwined quilt along top.

I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Welcome back to Test Kitchen Tuesday.  I'm not sure today's recipe is much of a test, since I'm the only one in my house who would actually eat everything that is in it.   If I took out what everyone doesn't like to eat I would be left with chicken and pasta. You see, I live in a house full of picky eaters.  My hubby won't even touch most vegetables, and my kids well they are kids and just  because something is a certain color they don't like it. So on that note, I have not tried to make this weeks recipe, but the picture in the cook book makes it look really good.

So without further ado....

Italian Chicken Pasta

6 ounces uncooked bow tie pasta (about 3 cups dry)
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 small yellow or red bell pepper cut into thin strips
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch strips
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves pressed/minced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm

2. While pasta is cooking, prepare your veggies.

3. Heal oil in skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Press garlic into skillet and then add the chicken.  Stir-fry for about 5 min. until chicken is no longer pink. Reduce heat to Medium.  Add onion, zucchini, bell pepper, peas, seasoning and salt; stir-fry 1-2 minutes stirring gently until heated through. Remove from heat.

4. Stir in warm pasta. Grate Parmesan cheese over pasta. Serve immediately. Yields 6 servings

I finished up my woven blocks yesterday.  I must say, I LOVE them. I got excited and laid some of my blocks out only to find...

Today's post is really aimed at some of the ladies doing the 'Sew Intertwined Quilt Along'.  Judith in the group gave a great explanation on how to finish your woven blocks without the dreaded Y-seam,  She calls it a 'partial seam',  that sounds a whole lot less scary.  I'm going to say this tutorial is a joint effort since the words are mostly Judith's and the pictures are mine. Ready do do this with me now?  Lets Gooooo!

I marked my 1/4" lines because I don't have a 1/4" foot.

 Here you can see where I stopped sewing about 1" from the edge of the center square. Partial seam :o)

Pressed away from the center square.


I started sewing from the center square out on all my blocks to avoid puckers or bunching.


 The back of my block. Isn't it pretty?  Don't mind where I forgot to trim my paper piecing and had to sneak in and snip my seam allowance.


Admire your awesomeness!!!

Welcome to Test Kitchen Tuesday!  Today I'm going to share a knock off recipe with you for those delicious garlic cheddar biscuits that you get at Red Lobster.

The only sewing I have been doing has been on the Sew Intertwined quilt along.   We have moved onto the 'woven' blocks.  I have chose to do the paper pieced version because I love the crisp corner and edges you get with the paper piecing.    

The center medallion block for the Sew Intertwined quilt along is a Dresden plate, and of course it has that pretty circle in the middle of it.  Easy peasy right?  Well for some of us it is pretty simple.  We drag out our Go circle die and cutter or our olfa circle cutter and go to town, but what about those who do not have either of those fun little toys?

Well, this tutorial is just for you!

To start you will need 2 pieces of fabric larger than you want your center circle to be.



Place them wrong sides together (I chose a solid for my second piece since it will not be seen), place a pin in the center to hold them together.



Find a round object the same size you want your finished circle to be.   The nice thing about Dresden's is there is no law on how big your center circle should be.



Now place your round object on your fabric and trace around it with a pencil.




Take your fabric to your sewing machine and slowly stitch along your line.  You will most likely need to raise your presser foot and slightly turn your fabric every 2-3 stitches to stay on your line.



Once you are done trim your fabric to about 1/4" of your seam.



Now, take and make little slits in your seam allowance being careful not to cut through your stitching.



Finally, make a cut in the backing fabric of your circle so that you can turn it right side out.  You can see the slits I cut a little better in this picture.


 Use a blunt object to push your seams out making it nice and round.  I used a pen cap to push my seams out.


 Now press, and applique to the center of your Dresden Plate.


You can use your machines fancy stitches for this or just the basic straight stitch.

Hello!  I know I have been slacking off some on the blog, I have been having terrible headaches the past few weeks.  I think I have pin-pointed the cause/s, and have made a few diet changes, and am trying to avoid stress. I know, I know, good luck with that second one.

Today, I have an appetizer for you.  You could most certainly use it as a side dish though.  I personally would just have it for lunch, since I am the only one in my house that would even touch it.

Artichoke Dip

1 (14 oz.) can artichokes (water packed)
1 c. mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
1 c. grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Muenster cheese

Drain and chop artichokes.

Combine first 3 ingredients, top with Muenster cheese and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with crackers or tortilla/corn chips.

Additions you can make
Frozen spinach to this as well, make sure to thaw and drain well.
Mushrooms fresh or canned, if canned drain well before adding.
1-2 cloves minced garlic (garlic makes everything better right?)
Like spicy food, try adding some red pepper flakes or chopped Jalapenos



My son started back to school yesterday.  I can't believe he is in the first grade already.

Silly boy won't smile for the camera.

He came home in a good mood and said it was a lot of fun, but it was a long day and he was tired.

The girl and I passed some time playing Uno. While I worked on figuring out what color combos I needed to cut and sew for my Sew Intertwined quilt


I did get a little sewing in and got one corner block made.


I hope to get a few more blocks made today, but first we are heading to story time at the library.

I'm Linking up with Freshly Pieced this week. If you have checked out Lee's blog, you should hop over and take a peek.  The Wednesday Link ups may just inspire you. If your visiting, welcome to my blog.



Melissa has great tutorial on how to make them, and best of all, There is no line drawing!  You should check her blog out and see how she does it.

I didn't venture out very far this past week.  I was trying to make do with what I had on hand, and am doing the same this week.  I have a week before next weeks post so I have time to dream something up.

This week I'm going to share with you my recipe for breaded tenderloins.

You will need:

2-4 boneless porkchops or pork cutlets (I slice off pieces of pork sirloin roast for my pork chops about 3/4" thick before pounding)
1 egg
2 TBSP Milk
1/2-1 sleeve crackers (ritz, saltine, club they all work)
dash of red  or Cayenne pepper (don't worry, they aren't spicy, if you are worried paprika works too)
dash of salt
vegetable oil for cooking, enough to make it about 1/4"-1/2" deep in the pan. heat to about 350 degrees.


Mix your egg and milk with a fork until frothy


Put one of your pork chop on your cutting board and cover with plastic wrap and pound thin with your meat mallet. If using pork cutlets, they are usually already 'tenderized' and you can skip the pounding step.


I usually go about 1/4" when I pound it out.


Next dip your meat in the egg mixture and from there into your cracker crumbs making sure to get it well covered.  From there put in your pan of hot oil and cook until golden brown on both sides.



Breaded tenderloins are very popular in Indiana.  I have family who live in Kansas and they say they can't find them in restaurants out there. So this may be an Indiana thing.

I hope you have a wonderful day.  I am going to try and get some sewing in this afternoon.

No, I'm not speaking of any fabric I have ordered recently.

Does anyone remember the Speedy Delivery or am I just old?  Our local library had a special guest yesterday and I was able to take the kids to see the original Mr. McFeely from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.


I think the kids were having a good time.


He had several duplicate puppets from the show, like X the owl.


It was a great time and I'm really glad I took the kids.   I learned that PBS (for those in the U.S.) has a new show coming out called Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood that is going to be an animated series that starts this fall.

While we are at the library, I also got the kids their first library card. I let them sign their own.



Two proud kids ready to go check out their first book with their new card.


Melissa, this time I was the crazy mom taking 'dorky' pictures of my kids.