Whippersnappers

Whippersnappers are a popular cookie here because they have a little bit of everyone's favorites in them...oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate!

Whippersnappers

3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups shortening
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups quick cooking oats
1 package chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream both sugars, shortening and peanut butter. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add flour, baking soda and salt to sugar mixture. Stir in oats, chocolate chips and pecans. On baking sheet, drop dough by teaspoonfuls and bake 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies begin to brown on edges.

*Artwork provided courtesy of Miss Two.

I Need Help!

I need help. Oh boy, do I ever need help! Saturday the Selvage Blog featured a fantastic selvage wallet from A Spoonful of Sugar. I tried to resist, but by Sunday morning I was rummaging through my sewing room trash can for bits of discarded selvages, so I could make one for myself. Yes, I said rummaging through the trash for bits of selvages! What is to become of me???

Notice A Trend?

Yes, it's another selvage project, but did you notice that my selvage projects have gotten smaller as the week has worn on? There's a reason for that...I have just about depleted my selvage stash while on this stitching binge! It's not like I can run down to my local quilt shop and buy selvages, so I guess the only thing for me to do now is start collecting again. Which means lots of "plain old" sewing and piecing before I can get another selvage fix. Of course, there is another option...I could seek out a selvage dealer. I might be able to find one in the back ally behind Needles Quilt Shop or if I haven't already convinced you that you need to be sewing with your selvages you might consider helping to feed my addiction by sending them to me...in a plain brown wrapper of course!

Spring Is In The Air

Spring is in the air which means it's tissue time for me. I have made a lot of these travel tissue holders over the years and they come in very handy...especially during allergy season! I saw one made out of selvages featured on the Selvage Blog recently and just had to make one to go with my selvage bag.

@#$% Zippers!

I won't embarrass myself by telling how many tries it took me to make this selvage bag, but I'm sure you can tell by the tangled mess of threads on my sewing room floor that it was more than once...@#$% zippers! I wanted to make a simple selvage change purse to match my selvage bag and thought I could wing it on my own. That was my first mistake! After spending a little time searching the internet I found this Wristlet Tutorial which took the mystery out of the whole process. I can't say that I love zippers now, but they certainly aren't the enemy anymore thanks to Jody's great tutorial!

A Selvage Bag Of My Own!

It's finished...my very own selvage bag! I started out using a pattern called Charm Party by Penny Sturges from an old issue of McCall's Quilting (April 2007), but I modified it quite it bit by leaving the pocket off of the front of the tote and adding lots of pockets to the inside. I also made the handles a bit longer and added a button/tie closure. The finished bag size is about 18 inches wide x 12 inches high, so it has lots of room to hold all the things a quilter needs to take to a quilt show with room left over for a few purchases!

Who Influenced Whom?

Who influenced whom? The question has been raised and I feel I must clarify things a bit. Yes, it's true, I did make one little zippered bag out of selvages a couple of years ago for a guild Christmas gift exchange, but I was only experimenting when I made that! Then a few months ago I did make a teeny selvage key chain, but I don't really count that...it was so small and it only took a few minutes to make! There was no addiction and I could walk away from selvages at any time. Apparently since then, selvage use has hazed my memory and things aren't very clear (obviously selvage use is more potent than I first thought). Taking my selvage clouded mind into consideration, I think Anya and I may have been together at the Quilters' Heritage Celebration in Lancaster, PA a few years ago when we saw that first selvage quilt on display and I am pretty sure that quilt was made by Karen Griska herself, the woman who wrote the book on selvages! I believe that it was shortly after that when we discovered Karen's blog, Selvage Blog. I don't remember which one of us found Karen's blog first, but we have since had many discussions about the wonderful projects featured on her blog and talked about making selvage projects of our own. Now, here is the difference between Anya and myself...I tend to talk about projects where Anya actually makes them! If you read the Selvage Blog you will notice that several of Anya's beautiful selvage projects have been featured over the past few weeks. Not only that, but she has also made this adorable selvage bag to take along to the quilt show in Lancaster. Now I ask you, how could I also go along on the same trip and not have a selvage bag of my own to carry my purchases in? It's pretty obvious to me that my friend, Anya, is the one doing the influencing here!

All kidding and teasing aside, do be sure to check out Karen Griska's website and blog. There are amazing selvage projects made by a variety of quilters featured on Karen's blog almost daily. Karen's webpage also has tips for cutting and sewing with selvages as well as patterns. You can also find more detailed instructions and patterns in her book, Quilts from the Selvage Edge.

Under The Influence

I can't tell you how many times in my childhood I heard "If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?" Apparently, I am once again under the influence of a friend and she has me helplessly addicted...to selvages! Monday night at our monthly guild meeting I noticed several quilty friends handing Anya bags full of selvages and before the evening was over she had passed a big handful of selvages to me. I admit that I had some selvages of my own hidden in my closet and I had played with them a little, but I hadn't really sewn with them. Last night the temptation got the better of me and I had to stitch a bit...just to give them a try. I cut some foundation squares and made a couple blocks, then a couple more and even more. I was hooked within the hour! Even though sewing with selvages is terribly addictive, it is legal (no quilt police), free (unless you start buying yards of fabric just for the selvages) and non fattening (unless your husband is like mine and uses Moose Tracks ice-cream to lure you out of the sewing room)! I can think of worse things to be under the influence of, but I can see where this may cause some problems...what if all of our quilty friends start sewing with their selvages instead of passing them on to the addicts or even worse yet, do you think our quilty friends are going to figure out that they can sell their selvages to the highest bidder?

Happy Spring!

Today is the day that I have been waiting for all winter long...the first official day of SPRING! We are still a long way from from green grass, leaves and flowers here in Northern Pennsylvania, but the robins are back and there are a few other signs that warm weather will soon be here to stay. Woohoo and happy Spring!

(To those of you living in the southern hemisphere I wish you a wonderful Autumn!)

Basket-Weave Dishcloth

When I first started learning how to knit I practiced by making dishcloths...lots and lots of dishcloths. Not only are they quick to make and a great way to try out new patterns, but I soon found that using a knit cotton dishcloth is 100 times better than using a stinky kitchen sponge! The basket-weave pattern is one of my favorites to use for dishcloths because it has a nice texture and the pattern is the same on both sides...perfect for washing dishes and wiping counter tops!

Basket-Weave Dishcloth

Materials:
Size 7 knitting needles
3 oz skein of worsted weight cotton

(finished dishcloth is approximately 8" square)

Cast on 40 stitches
Row 1: k5, p5 across row
Rows 2-5: repeat row 1
Row 6: p5, k5 across row
Rows 7-10: repeat row 6
Rows 11-15: repeat row 1
Rows 16-20: repeat row 6

Continue in this manner until you reach desired length of cloth. Bind off.

Another Work Of Art!

I felt like Miss Three was being left out of the artwork wall hanging series, so the other day I ironed some white fabric to a piece of freezer paper and handed our little toddler a box of permanent markers. (Yep, I'm one brave grandmama!) This wall hanging is the resulting masterpiece and it is now hanging in my sewing room with the other two. I guess it will be a while before I can finish out the series unless I can convince my daughters-in-law to let me paint the babies feet with fabric paint...

'Tis Saint Patrick's Day!

'Tis Saint Patrick's Day and shouldn't every wee Irish babe have a shamrock burp cloth for the occasion?

Burgers And Bob The Builder

A couple of weeks ago hubby and I found ourselves in Coudersport for the day. While we were there, we stopped at Fezz's Diner for a late lunch before heading home. Fezz's is an authentic little diner that was moved from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Coudersport a couple of years ago. They have fantastic burgers and it's worth the trip to Coudersport just to eat at Fezz's! Across the parking lot from the diner is the Mill Creek Plaza which houses a small Ben Franklin store. Like most Ben Franklin's they have a little bit of everything, including some fabric, which is where I found this Bob the Builder panel and coordinating backing fabric in the bargain bin. I just couldn't pass it by. I added a little quilting, binding and as quick as one, two, three I had a completed quilt ready to donate to Project Linus!

Cowboy Stash

I'm afraid that I went a little crazy with the fabric shopping when I first found out that a little cowboy was going to be joining our family. On top of that, a lot of my friends gave me cowboy fabrics from their own stashes. (Aren't quilty friends the best?) Needless to say, I have a lot of cowboy fabric in my stash now. After convincing myself that making a quilt from all stash fabric was pretty much the same as working on an UFO I put this cowboy quick strippie together. Now I'll say the same thing that I said after my last post...I just have to piece a backing and get it quilted, so it doesn't become another UFO!

Quick Strippie

I have been trying to finish my UFO's before starting any new projects, but I really needed something bright and cheery to work on while my computer was in the shop. I convinced myself that using my stash fabrics was pretty much the same as working on a UFO, so I dug these fabrics out of the closet and stitched this quilt top together. I used Mary's Quick Strippie pattern and it went together in no time at all and really made a pretty quilt top. Now I just have to piece a backing and get it quilted, so it doesn't become another UFO!

Quilted Artwork

I finally finished the wall hanging that I made from Miss One's artwork. I hand quilted it by following the swirl pattern in the border print and even though it doesn't show very well in the photo...I didn't have any trouble going back to stitching small even stitches.

Back In Blogland!

Why is it, when something is obviously broken, when you take it to the shop for repairs that the repairman can find nothing wrong with it? Did my computer magically fix itself on the way to the repair shop? Did it just need a vacation at a luxury computer spa for a week? Was it a sign from above that I needed to get my bum out of the computer chair and clean my house? We may never know, but my computer is back home, hooked up and working fine...I just hope it lasts!

My Computer Is Sick

Apparently Norton doesn't block everything and my computer has come down with some kind of bug. I'm afraid that it needs more than a home remedy, so it's going to the computer hospital for a couple of days. I'll miss you all terribly, but maybe I'll get some extra stitching done because I won't be spending all of my free time on the computer!

Maybe Someday...

This video clip is of a beautiful Dear Jane quilt that won Best in Show at the 2008 Bear Creek Quilt Show in Fort Worth, TX. Maybe someday I'll have a completed Dear Jane quilt hanging in a show, but I doubt it will be any day soon, so for now I'll just drool over the ones that others have completed.

California Cow

I've been tagged by Melanie at Jellybeanangel. The rules are to open the 6th picture folder on your computer, open the 6th photo and blog about it. Then tag 6 more people to do the same.

The 6th file in My Pictures is the file that I keep the photos that my son and daughter-in-law have sent to me over the past few years. My son's first duty station was at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California. While there he and his wife went to Disney, San Diego Zoo, Universal Studios and all of the other popular tourist spots. This California cow was at one of those places and sent to me for a giggle. Wouldn't the fabric on those boxers look wonderful in a quilt?

Now to keep the fun going, I'll tag...

Anya at Hills Creek Quilter

Shelly at ...a needle pulling thread

Quiltdivajulie at Me & My Quilts

Cheri at Jovaliquilts

Jean at Jean's Page

Kathy at Creative Urges

Forest Paths

This is another alternate block from the Dear Jane software, Forest Paths. I really like this block and how it turned out, BUT there is something that I hadn't noticed with the alternate blocks...a lot of them have more than two fabrics in them. Most of the Dear Jane blocks contain only a light and a dark fabric, so I think some of the alternate blocks that I have made aren't going to make the final cut for "the quilt". Yikes...maybe I'm going to end up having to make two quilts!

Prairie Stitches

Over the weekend I finished the wall hanging that I made from the block that Miss Two made for me for Christmas. I tried to make my quilt stitches big and wonky to keep with the primitive feel of the wall hanging, but that was harder than I thought it would be! Back when I first started hand quilting I didn't have any trouble making big prairie stitches, but after a few years of practicing to get small even stitches it was really hard to go back to making the big uneven ones. I sure hope I don't have any trouble going back to making the small even stitches on Miss One's wall hanging!