Snow on Mother's Day! Well time to start a wool sweater, I guess.

Already on to my next project. I've made one sweater from Garnstudio and it came out beautifully.  AS soon as I saw this sweater it spoke to me. I'm making this one for my husband, Michael. The yarn, Karisma, is beautiful to work with. this will take some time, but perhaps by Autumn! The pattern is number 85-5. (I think I found an error in the pattern. It says to cast on with size 2 needles. I did and it didn't look right, especially when the rest of the sweater is knit on size 6 needles. I frogged the ribbing and tried again on size 4 and it looks great. Thinking of notifying the company.)  Anyhow, I'll keep you posted to it's progress.

Stash buster and a Diet buster.

My one book I continually refer to is Karen Comb's "Combing Through Your Scraps". To me this is a Five Star book!  I love illusions using color values in quilts and Karen rocks at this.  This simple book is wonderful. I never dispose of scraps and keep boxes of precut strips and squares ready for the making of another scrap quilt.  If I have a few minutes on hand, or need a break from another quilting or sewing project, I'll piece together a 9 patch block. That is how this last quilt was created. I can't even tell you when I started it. I accumulated enough split nine-patch blocks until I had enough to make this quilt called "Off-Set Spiral". I love it. Even the less than lovely fabrics or fabrics you tire off are given new life using this method.

I added a binding without any border and I love how it looks.
I also did meandering quilting using the Bernina BSR. It was my first time experimenting with the BSR and what a great tool. I had the entire quilt "stippled" in no time. This quilt has some of my least favorite and tired out fabrics incorporated into it and they have been transformed into one of my favorite quilts.




The back of the quilt. Thank you Bernina Stitch Regulator!






Last but not least. Another cookie recipe.
Chocolate Mountain Cookies. My mom loves chocolate drop cookies. With Buttercream icing. Really reminiscent of homemade chocolate cake and wonderful with a glass of milk or cup of coffee.
So I just made her a batch. Happy Mother's Day!

CHOCOLATE MOUNTAIN COOKIES

(This recipe makes a ton, so you may want to halve the recipe)

1 cup shortening (don't use butter as they won't puff up quite so nicely)
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk
3 cups flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cocoa
1 recipe Buttercream frosting

Mix shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Mix dry ingredients together in another mixing bowl. Mix in flour mixture into the sugar egg mixture alternately with the milk. Mix well, but do not over mix. Measure a round tablespoon for each cookie onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 14-15 minutes or until tested done. Frost with your favorite buttercream frosting.
(I mix 3 cups of confectioner's sugar, 4 Tablespoons butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and add 2-3 Tbsp. half and half until icing is the right consistency. It makes the ideal amount of icing.)

Recipe notes: I use buttermilk as I like the tender crumb that it creates. If you do, add 1/2 tsp. baking soda with the dry ingredients. Also, I'm not a big vegetable shortening user. However this is the one recipe I do.

Cleaning out the sewing supplies and the freezer

A week of activities. Then last two weeks were spent helpingh with costumes for our School Drama Club's production of "I Remember Mama". I love this show, but this was especially wonderful as the cast was truly amazing.
We had to come up with most of the costumes from what we could salvage in our costume room and scouring the local second hand shops. Along with resewing and fitting and reconstructing costumes, I made 6 nurses caps from a pattern I found on-line. Amazingly so, they were made with things I had on hand; muslin, stabilizers, fusible interfacing, spray starch. In fact it pretty much used up a good deal of my interfacing, as well as other things in my sewing cabinet.  Easy and I made them all within a 2 hour period. Here is the website: http://sewing.about.com/library/nnurse.htm
The pattern was easy and fun. No sense buying a costume!

The weather has been gorgeous. Time spent outdoors is just great and the birds are absolutely deafening on Deep Spring Road. We spotted our first bluebird. The aerial battles between the bluebirds and the swallows are pretty constant. Hope the bluebirds hold down the fort. I managed to catch a friend basking in the sun
Of course, we are preparing the garden beds for another year of growing. Last year we purchased a share of a local CSA to buy our organic vegetables and we are doing the same this year. Since we will be receiving new vegetables with a month or so, I have been spending the last few weeks starting to clean out the freezer of last summers bounty. I had one bag of frozen pumpkin puree left and as unseemingly as it seems for a springtime dessert, I made our favorite recipe for pumpkin bars. I think I liked them just as well now as in the fall. First of all, pumpkin puree made by ourselves is satisfying and tasting pumpkin a few months after the holidays was quite pleasant. Cleaning out the freezer; you do what you have to do!
Anyhow, these are delish. It also makes a ton; plenty to share with a friend or neighbor.

PUMPKIN BARS
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 (15 ounce) can or 2 cups solid pack pumpkin
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup golden raisins
ICING:
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese,
softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
DIRECTIONS:
1.    In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour into an ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely.
2.    For icing, beat cream cheese, sugar, butter and vanilla in a small mixing bowl. Add enough of the milk to achieve desired spreading consistency. Spread over bars.

Updating with the latest and greatest~ EQ7

Announcing the arrival of EQ7
Well now that I own a new Bernina I am pretty excited to see that Electric Quilt Company is coming out with EQ7. I have had the EQ 5 for several years ~ perhaps 10? In fact I it has lived through 3 computers. Pretty excited to see what this new software holds for me.I have been so happy with EQ5, I never even upgraded to EQ6. However I just upgraded from my Kenmore machine to a Bernina, so it's all about venturing into a new world and delving into the latest technology. The imaging aspect has me absolutely drooling with excitement.There are just so many new features, it will be difficult to resist!  It is coming out in June!

Spring to life with a new Bernina

Spring Break. I have been waiting for this week all winter long. I have been carefully saving my money for my dream sewing machine. Well, last Saturday I did it. I drove to Patchwork Plus in Marcellus, NY (an amazing quilt & yarn shop by the way (a candy shop for my eyes!) Fortunately (or not), it's 40 miles away, just far enough for me to limit my trips so I don't spend every last penny I have there.
Upon much deliberation, I bought the Aurora 440 QE.

 I brought it home and immediately set upon finding out what makes this machine so special. I was intimidated at first. Was it buyer's remorse? Well, the only way to find out was to delve into it and try everything out imaginable. I designed a placemat using scrap fabrics. Something that I could use to try the bells and whistles of the machine. And start sewing I did....

First I was thinking, okay...it feels different from my last machine and then I was hooked. I have been sewing non-stop since last Saturday afternoon. I woke up in the middle of the night wanting to go sew. I stayed up until 2:00 a.m. one night to explore more features on the machine. I was saying things  to myself like, "So that is what a walking foot is supposed to work like". The BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator) is awesome. There was a little bit of a learning curve, but I am well onto my next quilt to explore the use of this feature. 

The bobbin winder!

The light over the workspace!

The needle threader!

The stitches...it does basic embroidery stitches (letters and numbers)!

I am so pleased. It is a terribly expensive machine. It is worth it knowing that I can have it serviced easily and that technical support is only a 45 minute drive away.

Things I practiced and explored upon using my machine. Started with a small project, easily finished in a short amount of time.

• patchwork (piecing 1 1/2" fabric strips)
• embroidery stitch (blanket stitch) around fused fussy cut squares in corner
• walking foot
• BSR ~ some stippling and free motion quilting.

Now I have a nice little placemat to go under a plant. Officially my first test project on the Bernina.

Now I am on to the next project. A quilt made from 2 1/2" squares (all scraps that I dutifully cut up from leftover fabric). The squares are done and now the sewing begins. I love how it is starting to look.

It's called "Off Set Spiral". I'll keep you posted.

Midnight Garden Quilt
A Jo Morton Design featured in the the April 2009 Better Homes and Garden publicaton; American Patchwork & Quilting magazine.

Finished April 11, 2010

It is a beautiful wall hanging and will look great on any wall in my house. I just have to decide where...


This was officially my last project on my Kenmore machine. I am going sewing machine shopping. I have a Bernina in mind.

For the love of being home. Finished projects and biscotti

Now that the endless rehearsals are over it's back to having fun on my UFO's.

A trip to Maine (6 1/2 hour trip) to see our kids is one great way to get those knitting projects done.

I managed to finish my "Basic Sweater Pattern" by Jacqueline Fee (seamless bottom up sweater) made from Noro Silk Garden yarn. It turned out very well. Interestingly enough, the Spring weather turned a balmy 80 yesterday so it may be a while till I wear it on a regular basis.

The car ride allowed me to start and finish the matching sock to one already made.
Love tying all these projects up. Makes me hungry for more, though.
This is a great sock pattern. No fuss and easy to follow. I discovered this nice yarn shop when upon a visit to Brunswick, Maine, where my children and grandchild live.
The shop is called "The Knitting Experience" and the pattern of the sock is called "Comfort Socks"

Well, for the love of being home and being able to schedule my days activities for once, I knew tea time today was going to need something to go with that tea so I tried this recipe for Biscotti sent to me from my daughter.
Don't laugh. It has Weleda Pomegranate Body Oil in it. (I know~everyone has that in their cupboard..yeah right!) The only reason I do is that my daughter gave it to me. It is fabulous after a bath. It's so pure and natural, you can eat it. Nice to know that there are products out there like that! But getting back to the recipe....
Very yummy.
Simply substitute another oil for the body oil. Click on Recipe title to get the link....

Almond Pomegranate Biscotti