On The Road Again

Despite the blowing and drifting snow, my oldest granddaughter and I are traveling to the Philadelphia area this morning to spend the week with the lil' cowboy and his parents.  I wish that the roads outside were as warm and dry as they are on the My Little Town play quilt that I made for the lil' cowboy's second birthday, but I'm certainly not going to let a little snow keep us from all of the fun we have planned for the week!

Merry Christmas!

The branch that bears the bright holly, the dove that rests in yonder tree.
The light that shines for all to see, the peace of Christmas Day.

May your home be filled with peace and love this holiday season!

Christmas Eve

Cookies For Santa

Peppermint Shortbread

1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 cup flour
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy canes
 -----------------------------------------
1 cup white chocolate melting candy
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy canes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together butter and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Stir in vanilla and peppermint extract. Mix in the flour, and then crushed candy canes.

Shape dough into 2 x 1/2 inch logs. Place logs 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes in preheated oven, or until firm. Let cookies cool completely before removing from pan.
Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler, stirring frequently until smooth. Dip one end of each cookie into the chocolate and sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Place onto waxed paper until set.

One To Go!

One last pair of mittens to finish before Christmas. (What was I thinking when I decided to make FOUR pairs of mittens in December as Christmas presents?)  As long as I can keep up the feverish knitting pace, I shouldn't have any trouble getting them done and remarkably, with time to spare!  (Someone please remind me to start my Christmas quilting and knitting a little earlier next year!)

The Knit-a-thon Continues

The good thing about knitting for small children is that the projects are small as well and they go together quickly!  These mittens are for my 3 year-old granddaughter and I should have them done with a couple more hours of knitting time...in plenty of time for Christmas!

Another Pair Of Fingerless Gloves

Fingerless gloves seem to be all the rage these days because Miss Two also asked for a pair.  I made these using the same pattern that I used for her sister's fingerless gloves, only I used a 2x2 rib at the cuff and a smaller size needles for a better fit.  I guess now that the two older grandgirls will have new mittens for Christmas I should make the two younger girls mittens as well.  How many days until Christmas???

Selvage Cup Cozy

Here's another quick gift idea...a cup cozy!  I based my cozy on the tutorial found at House On Hill Road.  I did make the template a bit larger and I pieced together selvages instead of using a solid piece of fabric, but other than that I followed the directions as written.  Now I just need to add a coffee shop gift card and maybe a few cookies and I will be able to cross another gift off my list!

Pillowcases!

Pillowcases are fast and easy to make and now they are even easier to make with this tube method.  Pillowcases make great gifts and they can even be used as gift wrapping, so if you need a quick last minute Christmas gift or gift bag, a pillowcase project might just be for you.

If you have all of your Christmas shopping and projects finished and need something to do, consider making a pillowcase or two and giving it to a shut-in, sick child or anyone who could use a bright spot at this time of year as part of the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge.

Chocolate Pretzel Rings

There just doesn't seem to be enough time in a day to get everything done that needs to be done before the holidays.  There's the decorating, the shopping, the wrapping, and then the baking,  How's a girl to get it all done and still have time for quilting?  Thankfully there are these little chocolate pretzels that only take three ingredients and only minutes to make...easy peasy and time leftover to quilt!

Chocolate Pretzel Rings

1 package pretzel wheels
1 package milk chocolate or white chocolate wafers
1 package M&M's

Place the pretzels on foil lined baking sheets; place a chocolate wafer in the center of each ring. Bake at 275 degrees F for 1-2 minutes or until chocolate is softened. Remove from the oven. Place an M&M on each, pressing down slightly so chocolate fills the ring. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes or until chocolate is firm. Store at room temperature.

Ami Simms Is On The Quilt Show!

Ami Simms is this month's special guest on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims!  You can watch the full one hour episode at www.thequiltshow.com for free simply by registering a user name and password with the website. This show is a "must see" for anyone whose life has been touched by Alzheimer's or for those who want to learn more about the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.

Another Kool-Aid Experiment

For this dye session I used a skein of "I Love This Wool" in Winter White from Hobby Lobby.  It is a blend of 93% wool and 7% polyamide (a type of nylon) and according to the label it is machine washable.  I had a 40% off coupon, so I thought it would be worth a try to see how it would accept Kool-Aid dye.  I used Blastin' Cherry Berry, Pink Lemonade and Black Cherry Kool-Aid and as you can see the yarn preformed well through the dyeing process.  I do have to wonder how it will wash once knitted though.  Even though the label clearly shows that it can be machine washed and dried, on the inside of the label is a pattern for a felted bag that uses "I Love This Wool" yarn. (???)  I think it will be a good idea to hand wash whatever I decide to make with my new variegated red yarn!

Kool-Aid Addiction

Who didn't love a glass of ice cold Kool-Aid on a hot summer day when they were a kid?  My favorite flavor was always lemonade, but now I love ALL of the flavors colors!  I'm not drinking it though...I'm dyeing wool yarn with it!  I began with this tutorial from Knit Purl Gurl, a few packages of Kool-Aid and a skein of Patons Classic Wool.  My crock pot was not large enough to hold the yarn, so I used a large glass baking dish (with a lid) and the oven (set at 325 degrees) instead, but other than that the process remained the same. 

As you can see, my yarn turned out beautifully and I'm afraid that I am now hopelessly addicted to Kool-Aid!

Snow Lies

Normally I can knit and no one pays much attention to what I am making, so I don't have to hide those projects like I do the ones that are in the sewing room, but that was before Miss One learned how to crochet!  Apparently she has developed a yarn addiction that rivals her grandmama's because she spotted this project from across the room and wanted to know what I was making with the "sparkly white yarn".  I had to think quick, because they are actually the fingerless gloves that she has been wanting for Christmas, so I told her that I was making more mittens for the mitten tree. (A friend of mine calls these little white lies told at holiday time "snow lies"...isn't that cute?) Anyway, I guess I'm going to have to be more careful about where I leave my knitting from now on!

Christmas Cover-up

Holiday time sure does make craft related blogging difficult!  Even though my sewing machine was humming along all weekend, I can't post about it because I was working on a gift.  It is also difficult to work on gifts with family coming and going, so have been using this Christmas "cheater" quilt that I made last year to keep a few special projects out of plain view...it adds a festive touch to my sewing room too!

More Mittens

The knitting for the mitten tree project continues!  This pair of mittens was made using a free pattern, Basic Pattern for Children's Mittens, by Elizabeth Durand.  This pattern offers sizes for children from 4 to 14 years old and is very easy to follow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Apple Bread

Apple Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup apple, coarsely shredded
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

In bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, place oil, sugar, egg, vanilla and apples.  Stir into flour mixture.  Add walnuts and mix.  Pour mixture into greased 8x4 inch bread pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until bread tests done.  Cool for 10 minutes on wire rack before removing from pan.

Knittin' Mittens

A friend of mine is collecting new hats, scarves and mittens to be added to a "mitten tree" for the holidays, so of course I volunteered to make some mittens for the project.  All of the donated items will be distributed to people in need.   These mittens were made using the free Chunky Mitten Pattern from The Fabric Addict.  Bulky weight yarn and size 7 needles makes these mittens a quick knit...perfect for charity projects!

Mighty Oaks From Little Acorns Grow

This felted acorn will never grow into an oak tree, but it sure makes a cute decoration for fall, doesn't it?  All you need to make this acorn is a bit of brown wool (I used Patons Classic Wool in Chestnut Brown), size 5 double pointed needles, an acorn cap from a nearby oak tree and a few minutes of time!

Cast on 6 stitches.
Divide stitches evenly among the needles and join in round, taking care not to twist.
Round 1: kfb all around. (12 stitches)
Round 2: knit.
Round 3: kfb, k1, kfb, k1...repeat to end of round. (18 stitches)
Round 4-9: knit.
Round 10: k2 tog, k1, k2 tog, k1...repeat to end of round. (12 stitches)
Round 11: knit.
Round 12: knit 2 tog all around. (6 stitches)

Break yarn and thread through remaining 6 stitches.  Stuff the acorn with a bit of wool yarn before drawing the stitches together and then tie off.

To felt the acorn:  Add a few drops of liquid soap to a small bowl of hot water.  Wet the acorn thoroughly in the water/soap mixture and then roll the acorn around in the palms of your hands until you can no longer see the knit stitches.  Rinse in cold water and squeeze out excess water while forming into an acorn shape.  Allow to dry and glue on an acorn cap.  

Tumblers

I have had this 3" tumbler template for awhile and never used it, so during a recent stitching session with a few friends, I took the opportunity to try it out.  As I was cutting, I commented that the template makes the job so much easier than cutting tumblers with a ruler and then a friend had to burst my bubble and tell me that AccuQuilt just came out with a 3" tumbler die to go with their new Go! Baby.  Just think how fast I could have cut out this little wall hanging if I had a Go! Baby!  (Hint, hint...are you listening, Santa?) 

Wavy Wiper Win!

Have you heard about Messy Karen's Wavy Wipers?  If not, they are wonderful little knitted dishcloths that are just about the same size as a sponge.  They are the perfect size for wiping up little spills and the best part is that they can go right in the wash, so they won't breed germs the way a sponge can!  If you are a knitter and would like to make your own Wavy Wiper, Karen has the pattern available for free on her blog, Messy Karen.  If you prefer to have Karen do the knitting, you can purchase a Wavy Wiper from Karen's Etsy shop, Ruthie, Rosie, Norie.  If you are feeling extra lucky, you can try to win one like I did...Karen is very generous with giveaways and has them often!

Have You Ever?

Have you ever donated a Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative?  Have you ever gone back to the AAQI  website to see what became of your donation?  I did just that recently and found that my Becoming Scraps quilt had indeed sold and earned $55.00 for Alzheimer's research!  I was stunned!  This little 9"x12" quilt was made straight from my scrap basket, cost me nothing and only took a little bit of time to put together and yet it raised $55.00!  Think how much money we quilters could raise for Alzheimer's research if we all made just one little 9"x12" quilt from our scrap baskets and donated it to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative!  Earlier in the week, Lori of Humble Quilts challenged her readers to make and donate one Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt before the end of the year and I accepted that challenge.  It's the season for giving and I can't think of a better (or easier) gift to give...won't you join us?

Veterans Day

Heartfelt thanks to our nation’s military service members, both veterans and active duty, for their dedication, courage, accomplishments and sacrifices to protect our everyday freedoms.

There Was Shopping Too!

My son and daughter-in-law did a great job in choosing their new home.  Not only is it a beautiful apartment complex, but there is also a wonderful little quilt shop just down the street!  Quilter's Corner is a small shop, but they have a very nice selection of fabrics and many of them were quite different from what the shops here at home carry.  Now goodness knows that I don't need fabric, but when I saw this panel and coordinating fabric from Exclusively Quilters I couldn't resist.  It will make the perfect Christmas (or birthday) gift for the lil' cowboy!

Home Again

The weekend went by much too quickly, but we had a wonderful time and as predicted, the Buzz Lightyear quilt was a HUGE hit with the lil' cowboy!

The Adventure Takes Off!

Mission Accomplished!

The Buzz Lightyear quilt is quilted, bound and ready for take off!
I think this is the fastest I have ever completed a quilt, but I haven't done anything else this week either.  It was a bit of a challenge to get it done in time, but I think the real challenge will be finishing everything else that I need to have done before we leave!  Laundry, a bit of cleaning, packing...let the countdown begin!

Quilting On A Prayer

I really REALLY wanted the backing for the lil' cowboy's quilt to be a solid piece of the Buzz Lightyear fabric, but once the top was finished I realized that it was just about the same size as the backing fabric.  Now the "rule" is that the backing fabric should be 6-8 inches larger than the quilt top on all sides.  Rules are made to be broken, right?  I loaded the Buzz backing, said a little prayer and started quilting.  I was sweating a bit by the time I got to the last couple of rows of quilting, but as you can see, I had a whole 2 inches to spare!

It's A Top!

I don't think there is a faster quilt to put together than the disappearing nine patch, so that's what I chose for the lil' cowboy's Buzz Lightyear quilt.  After just a few hours of cutting and sewing and I have a finished top.  Now to get it quilted!

To Infinity And Beyond!

Our Marine, daughter-in-law and the lil' cowboy have finally settled in their new home and the best news is that they are now only a short 4 hour drive from our home!  Which means that Mama and Papa are close enough to go down and visit every now and then!  This coming weekend we will be on babysitting duty, but it's been a couple of months since we have seen the lil' cowboy, so I thought it might be nice to take a little something along in case he has (*gasp*) forgotten us.  From what I hear, the best way to make friends with the lil' cowboy these days is through Buzz Lightyear, so when I found this flannel I knew I had to make him a quilt.  He loves his blankies, so no doubt a Buzz Lightyear quilt will get us back in his good graces in no time! 

Happy Halloween!

Fall Felting

Fall and felting just seem to go together, so when I saw several different felted pumpkins on Ravelry I just had to try and make one!  For the pumpkin itself I used the Miniature Felted Pumpkin Pattern from Wool Windings.  I followed the pattern exactly, but for some reason I could not get my stitch count to match the pattern.  I'm not sure if it was something that I was doing wrong or if it is a pattern error, but either way it worked out just fine.  For the stem I wanted something a little more like these that I found on Knitty.com.  I modified the stem pattern a bit by using smaller needles and leaving out a few rows, so it would fit my pumpkin.  I am really happy with how the finished pumpkin turned out.  Now I think I need to make some felted acorns and felted leaves to go along with it!

Do You Recognize This Quilt Pattern?

My cousin (Cheryl of Quilts & Art by Cheryl) is trying to find some information about the quilt shown in this photo.  The quilt was made by Cheryl's great grandmother sometime before 1964 in northern Pennsylvania as a gift for Cheryl's mother.  Unfortunately, the quilt is no longer in existence, which has prompted Cheryl to try and duplicate it for her mother. There's no question that a pattern could be drafted by studying the photo, but making a reproduction would be much easier if she had a block name and pattern...can anyone identify it?

Thanks to Murial in Ontario, Canada we have an answer to the mystery!  The name of the quilt is Chinese Box and a pattern very similar to the quilt in the photo can be found online at Quilted Indigo.

1000 Quilts To Houston

I Won!

I entered several giveaways during the Fall Into Fall Quilter's Giveaway extravaganza and I was the lucky winner of this beautiful fall bag and accessories from The Quilting Booklady! Becky's blog was a new to me blog and I'm so glad to have found it! She is working on some great projects and shares fantastic quilty ideas...I see an ironing board cover just like the one she just finished in my future!

Pills

I have been fighting a sinus infection and finally broke down and went to the doctor on Tuesday. I came home with several bottles of pills and a promise that I would start feeling better in a couple of days. With that bit of good news, I prewashed some flannel, so I would be all set to start working on a new quilt once I started feeling better. I don't know how well you can see in the photo, but antibiotics and decongestants weren't the only pills that I got this week. All of the other flannels came out of the wash beautifully, but the white flannel (which was washed alone) came out covered in pills! It really gripes me that quilt shop quality fabric preformed this way, but I'm happy that I discovered it before it was sewn into the quilt!

Banana Blueberry Muffins

These are my husband's all time favorite muffins!

Banana Blueberry Muffins

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/8 cup buttermilk*
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large banana, mashed
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, buttermilk, egg and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Stir in mashed banana. Add flour, baking soda and salt and mix just until moistened. Stir in blueberries. Spoon into paper-lined muffin cups. Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick in the center comes out clean. Makes 1 dozen muffins.

* 1/2 teaspoon vinegar plus enough milk to equal 1/8 cup can be substituted for 1/8 cup buttermilk.

Are You A Good Witch, Or A Bad Witch?

One of my all time favorite movies is The Wizard Of Oz, so when I saw this pattern by Bloomin' Minds a few weeks ago I couldn't resist! I'm just tickled with how the top has turned out. It's a small wall hanging (14 x 17) so I shouldn't have any trouble getting it quilted and bound in time to hang for Halloween, but I love it so much that it may find a permanent spot in my sewing room!

Wordless Wednesday

Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's Exhibit 2010

A Bit Of Backstitch

As much as I would like to be an embroiderer, I just am not, but sometimes a project comes along that I can't resist and I end up having to do a bit of backstitch. It's not the best work, but I think the finished project is going to be so cute that the bad stitches won't matter!

Getting Ready For Winter

It seems like there is always so much to be done this time of year to get ready for winter and this year is no exception. We have been working at putting a new roof on our house, plus I've been doing a bit of fall house cleaning and now that the sun has returned there are flower beds that need tending and leaves that need to be raked. Don't worry though, even with all that have to be done, I am still finding some time to do some things that I want to get done...like basting my Dear Jane, so it will be all ready for me to quilt once my chores are finished!

Speaking Of Cake...

Birthdays are nature’s way of telling us to eat more cake, so today I will be eating cake!

4 - Layer Cake Quilt

The pattern that I used for this charity quilt is called 4 - Layer Cake. I still haven't figured out why it's called a 4 layer cake because it only uses 1 layer cake to make a nice sized throw. For those of you who aren't familiar with layer cakes of the fabric variety, they consist of 40 - 10" squares from a collection of fabrics...very pretty and zero calories! I made my own layer cake from scratch for this quilt using scrap plaids, but even without the pre-cut layer cake it still went together very fast and easy!

Not Pumpkin Bread

Has anyone else noticed that it's darn near impossible to find a can of pumpkin on the grocery store shelf? Apparently poor weather conditions have created a pumpkin shortage! In my book, it's just not Fall without pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bars or pumpkin bread. What's a pumpkin lover to do? Replace the pumpkin with mashed sweet potatoes! I used mashed sweet potatoes in place of the canned pumpkin in my regular pumpkin bread recipe and it was impossible to tell the difference!

Not Pumpkin Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the four, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Mix the sweet potatoes, oil, eggs and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes or until bread tests done.

Yo Mama's Big Fat Booties

I just love this slipper sock pattern! I'm not sure if it's because the socks knit up fast with worsted weight wool, because they fit so nicely and keep my feet toasty warm or just because I love the name of the pattern so much...Yo Mama's Big Fat Booties! Either way, this pattern makes a great pair of slipper socks!.

The Ladies of the Valley Quilt Guild's Show

The Ladies of the Valley Quilt Guild of Addison, NY held their annual quilt show this past Friday and Saturday. This guild was just formed in 2008 and has already grown to over 40 members and judging by the quilts that were on display, they are a group of very talented ladies! As you can see, gorgeous quilts covered almost every square inch of the Addison Town Hall. It was well worth the trip to see the quilts that they have been working on for the past year and I'm already looking forward to next year's show!

Kim Diehl Trunk Show

The pile of quilts in this photo are just a small representation of the quilts shown by Kim Diehl during a trunk show and lecture that I attended last Friday night. Kim showed quilt after quilt from all four of her books including quilts and projects from her new book, Simple Graces, that is due out in a couple of weeks. My first quilty love has always been country folk and seeing these quilts made my heart literally skip a beat! I had almost forgotten how much I enjoy this style of quilt. I think it's time to put away the bright colors and hand dyed fabrics for awhile and go back to my country colored roots!

Fall-O-Ween

Get ready for the big Fall-O-Ween blog hop! For the next ten days the designers listed below will be offering a free fall themed pattern. As if a free pattern isn't enough, at the end of the blog hop there will be a grand prize drawn randomly from all of the people who commented on each of the ten designer's blogs, so make sure you pick up your free pattern each day and be sure to say thank you when you do!

September 27 - Gudrun from GE Designs http://www.gudrun.typepad.com/

September 28 - Sandy from Pieces from my Heart http://www.piecesfrommyheart-sgervais.blogspot.com/

September 29 - Roseann from Rosebud's Cottage http://www.rosebudscottage.typepad.com/

September 30 - Kari from New Leaf Stitches www.newleafstitches.com/blog

October 1 - Terry from Atkinson Designs http://www.terryatkinson.typepad.com/

October 2 - Heather from Anka's Treasures http://www.ankastreasures.wordpress.com/

October 3 - Terri from Whimsicals http://www.whimsicals.typepad.com/

October 4 - Carrie from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co http://www.lavieenrosie.typepad.com/

October 5 - Linda from Linda Lum DeBono http://www.lindalumdebono.blogspot.com/

October 6 - Pat from Pat Sloan & Co. http://www.patsloan.typepad.com/

About The Name

I need to acknowledge another person who helped with "Sugar and Spice and Everything Bright"...Julie of Me and My Quilts ~ Exploring the Possibilities. Julie gave me the name for this quilt! Back in July she was asking opinions about names for a quilt that she had just finished and offered "Pink at Play" and "Sugar and Spice and Everything Bright" as options. I commented that I thought she should name her quilt "Pink at Play" because "Sugar and Spice and Everything Bright" was the perfect name for the top that I had just finished! She emailed me right away and graciously told me that I was welcome to use the name for my quilt. Considering the story of how the quilt came to be there really couldn't have been a better name for it!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Bright

"Sugar and Spice and Everything Bright" is my entry for the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's 2010 Exhibit. It is the quilt that I made with the help of my two oldest grand- daughters over the past few months. I knew that they would get a huge thrill out of seeing a quilt that they worked on hanging at the art center, so that is why I chose this one for the exhibit. It was such fun taking the girls to see all of the quilts on display, but the most fun came when a woman stopped to admire the quilt while we were there and getting to see the proud looks on their faces when they said, "I helped make that quilt!"

Happy Fall Y'all!

And so it begins...quilting season! Today is the first day of Fall and around here Fall brings cooler temperatures, less daylight and long boring football games on TV, all of which equal more time for me to spend in my sewing room! Happy Fall y'all!

AAQI Ties That Bind Competition

One of the other challenges for this year's Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild Exhibit was to make an Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative donation quilt. The theme was "Ties That Bind" which required that each entry to contain a piece of a necktie. As you can see from the photos a wide variety of quilts were entered with no two alike! At the close of the exhibit all of the Ties That Bind quilts will be donated to AAQI to help raise money for Alzheimer’s research.

To find out how you can make an AAQI donation quilt, please visit www.alzquilts.org

"Out of the Box" Challenge

The challenge for the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild's 2010 exhibit was "Out of the Box". Guild members were asked to make a quilt (less than 36" in any direction) in any shape quilt other than the traditional square or rectangle. My entry turned out a little more rectangular than I had hoped, but it certainly was a leap out of my box. I used all of my own hand dyed fabrics, free pieced curves in the style of Ricky Tims' Caveman Quilt's and then I "quilted it to death". The whole project was a real stretch for me, but it was fun to step "Out of the Box"!

Dear Jane Progress!

The borders are finally on and I can now say that my Dear Jane top is finished! It took me two years to get to this point, but that's with it sitting untouched in the closet for a good part of that time. My plan is to keep it out of the closet and finish it this winter. If the winter is as long and cold as I anticipate, then I will have lots of time for hand-quilting!

We Must Never Forget

Apple Dumplings

What in the world could you possibly make with ingredients like refrigerated crescent roll dough, apples and Mountain Dew? Apple Dumplings! I honestly thought twice about trying this recipe, but The Pioneer Woman has never steered me wrong and I needed a quick easy dessert for a crowd, so I threw caution to the wind and made Ree's Apple Dumpling recipe. They were, as The Pioneer Woman says, "beyond imaginable".

Apple Dumplings

2 granny smith apples
2 cans (8 oz.) crescent rolls
2 sticks butter
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
cinnamon, to taste
1 can (12 oz.) mountain dew soda

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauce from the pan over the top.