Chocolate Cupcakes

At first my 4 year old granddaughter declared that these cupcakes were "too pretty to eat", but she quickly changed her mind after "one little taste"!

Chocolate Cupcakes

1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with 12 paper or foil liners.  In a small bowl combine flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Add water, oil, vinegar and vanilla; beat until smooth. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Frost with chocolate frosting when cool. 

Chocolate Frosting

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk

Cream butter, cocoa, corn syrup and vanilla in a small mixer bowl. Add confectioners' sugar and milk; beat to spreading consistency.

And The Winner Is...

And the winner of the vintage sheet fat quarter bundle is...

#8 stitchinpenny said...
I am thankful for my loving and wonderful husband, my beautiful and intelligent daughters, my considerate and kind sons-in-law and my fantastic granddaughters.

Congratulations!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Now it's time to shift gears into full freak out mode and get all those Christmas projects finished before December 25th!

Silent Sunday

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Giveaway

Thanksgiving is by far my most favorite holiday of the year.  A day to celebrate all of the blessings that we have and the people that we love.  With a son in the military, it's a rare occasion to have the whole family together, so this year I am thankful to have all of our children and grandchildren here at home with us!
Thanksgiving is also about sharing, so in keeping with the spirit of the holiday I am giving away nine vintage sheet fat quarters similar to the prints used in the Jelly Roll Quilt that I recently completed.  Simply leave a comment below telling me what you are thankful for this Thanksgiving to enter.  The winner will be selected by Random Number Generator and announced on Monday, November 28.

Comments are now closed!
Congratulations to the winner, stitchinpenny!

A Finished Quilt

It seems like forever since I have had a finished quilt to show, but this Jelly Roll Quilt was just so much fun to work on that I couldn't stop until it was all done!  Now I really need to get back to work on the stack of Christmas projects that I have waiting to be finished.

Silent Sunday

(I think my forsythia might be just a little confused about the season!)

Fingerless Gloves

Don't you hate it when grocery stores keep the shopping carts outside during cold weather?  The handles are always so cold that you can hardly hold on to them with bare hands and it's nearly impossible to shop with mittens on, so what's a girl to do?  Make fingerless gloves!  I found a great free pattern at A Friend To Knit With.  They are very easy to knit and work up fast with worsted weight yarn and size 7 needles.  I may make a pair to match each of my winter coats and an extra pair just to keep in the car too!

Cotton Cellar

I can't tell you how long I have been trying to convince my quilty friend, Kathy, that she needs to have a blog of her own and today I'm happy to say that she has finally given in and started blogging! Not only is Kathy an accomplished quilter, but she makes the most wonderful purses, occasional baby hats and shoes and you never know what else she may come up with!  She knits and crochets every now and then too!  Click over to Cotton Cellar to see Kathy's latest project and be sure to give her a warm welcome to blogland while you're there.

Doughnut Muffins

These muffins were so good that they honestly disappeared before I could take a photo!  I think I will double the recipe the next time I make them!

Doughnut Muffins

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup flour

Topping

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 6 muffin cups or line cups with paper muffin liners. In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and nutmeg.  Stir in the milk, then mix in the baking powder and flour until just combined.  Fill the prepared muffin cups about half full. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. While muffins are baking, combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Remove muffins from oven and muffin pan. Immediately, dip the tops of the muffins into the melted butter, then into the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Repeat with each muffin, until all muffin tops are covered. Serve warm.

Silent Sunday

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.

Vintage Jelly Roll

I decided to make my Jelly Roll quilt a little different from the others by using 2 1/2" strips cut from my vintage sheet collection.  I love how the different floral prints blend together and give it a watercolor effect!  The pattern doesn't call for borders, but I thought that the top needed a little splash of color so I added a narrow pink border and then finished it off with a wider floral border.  Now to get it put on the frame and do a little quilting...

How Fast?

This past weekend a few of my quilty friends and I decided to find out just how fast we could piece a 48" x 64" quilt top by holding a Jelly Roll Race.  If you aren't familiar with the Jelly Roll Race Quilt Pattern visit Heirloom Creations for a full explanation, pattern and video.  In a little over an hour we all had competed quilt tops in a wide variety of colors.  If you're looking for a fast and fun quilt this is a great pattern and it's even more fun to make if you're racing against a group of your friends!    

Silent Sunday

Frazzled

Frazzled 
1. To wear away along the edges; fray. 
2. To exhaust physically or emotionally.

The role of caregiver can be very rewarding, but with it comes a lot of stress and frustration that can leave one feeling quite frazzled!  In honor of National Family Caregivers Month my Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt for November is dedicated to all of the men and woman caring for a family member with Alzheimer's disease. 

For a free 12-page brochure that discusses ways to reduce the stress associated with caregiving for a person with Alzheimer's visit www.ahaf.org

Quilts And Airplanes

One wouldn't normally think of quilts and airplanes as being paired together, but the display that I recently saw at the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, New York was really something to behold!  The museum always has a wonderful assortment of early aircraft and a variety of local historical items on display, but combine that with dozens of beautiful quilts all made by local quilters and the museum comes to life!  The exhibit will be on display through Sunday, November 6 and it is well worth seeing if you happen to be in the area.