Gauge?

Usually I just throw caution to the wind when I start a new knitting project and don't bother with checking the gauge, but because I am using a different yarn than the pattern calls for I thought I better take the time to knit a swatch or two.  Hopefully the extra time it takes to check the gauge will pay off in the end.  Question for you knitters...do you check your gauge before starting a project?

Oatmeal Coconut Pecan Cookies

Every once in awhile I get in a creative baking mood and actually come up with a recipe worth keeping and sharing.  This is one of those recipes.  Perfect for the coconut lovers in the family!

Oatmeal Coconut Pecan Cookies

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup shortening

1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 salt

3/4 cup flour

1 cup quick cooking oats

3/4 cup toasted coconut flakes

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Extra sugar for rolling

Directions:

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.

Cream butter, shortening, sugar and brown sugar together. Add in egg and coconut extract; mix well.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together; add to creamed mixture. Stir in oats, coconut, and pecans.

Shape cookie dough into 1 inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place 2 inches apart on a large baking sheet. Place on the middle rack in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cookies set on baking sheet for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Silent Sunday

Tops For Vets!

All of the kits that I made up over the winter are quickly becoming tops.  I purposely chose easy patterns with large pieces for these quilts that will go to Lap Robes For Veterans.  Their motto is "So Many Veterans...Sew Little Time" and it is so true!  Veterans greatly outnumber quilters, but that doesn't mean that we aren't going to try and show our appreciation for their service by giving each and every one a quilt!

And The Winners Are...

And the winner of the Learn to Quilt with Scraps class is...

#12 Sherry said...

I love scrap quilts. I love using any of the "old standards", like Shoo Fly, Bow Tie, Dresden Plate, etc. but with a lot of different fabrics.

Thank you for this giveaway.

And the winner of the Learn to Make Pineapple Quilts class is...

#33 Linda Atkins said...

I would love to know how to use all my scraps. I have oodles of triangles, squares and rectangles that are a stash all their own. I use them to design my own quilts. My grandchildren are each getting one for Christmas and now I am working on a wedding gift, a play on lights and darks. They have been labors of love and so much fun seeing them evolve.

Thanks to everyone who visited Hanging On by a Needle and Thread and took the time to comment.  I truly enjoyed reading each and every one of your comments!  If you didn't win and had your heart set on taking one of these online classes you can enroll anytime at www.anniescatalog.com/

Last Chance!

Today is your last chance to enter in the giveaway from Annie's for either the Learn to Quilt with Scraps or Learn to make Pineapple Quilts with Gyleen Fitzgerald.  Enter by leaving a comment on the original giveaway post below and make sure to leave your email address, so that I can contact you if you win.  So far, almost half of the entries have been no-reply and did not leave an email address, so chances of winning are good if you leave a way for me to contact you!

Silent Sunday

*Make sure you check Monday's post and enter to win one of Gyleen Fitzgerald's online classes!

Kits!

This winter I spent a good deal of time cutting a huge box of patriotic fabric scraps into usable sizes and putting together quilt kits.  It was a time consuming process, but now that it's done, it's easy to grab a kit and sew a top together with very little thought.  Do you put together kits to have on hand for when you need a quick project to work on?

*Make sure you check Monday's post and enter to win one of Gyleen Fitzgerald's online classes!

Finished!

Here's quilt one from the Learn to Quilt with Scraps class all quilted and bound!  I love everything about this quilt!  It was quick and easy to put together and the pattern was easily adapted to fit the size requirements for Lap Robes For Veterans.  This quilt will soon go to a veteran traveling on an upcoming Honor Flight.

*Make sure you check Monday's post and enter to win one of Gyleen Fitzgerald's online classes!

Giveaway!

The nice folks at Annie's have given me not one, but TWO online classes to giveaway!  That's right, one person will win the Learn to Quilt with Scraps class and another will win the Learn to Make Pineapple Quilts class!

The Learn to Quilt with Scraps class is the class that I have been working through the last couple of weeks.  The class comes with three scrap quilt patterns along with tips for cutting and containing your scraps and valuable information on how to put colors together in your scrap quilts.

Preview the Learn to Quilt with Scraps class by clicking HERE.

I was fortunate to see Gyleen demonstrate her method for making the pineapple block in person a couple of years ago.  There really is no easier way to make this block!  This class also includes patterns for three quilts!

Preview the Learn to Make Pineapple Quilts by clicking HERE.

Here's how to enter...

Simply leave a comment here under this post!  I would love to know what your favorite scrap quilt pattern is! (one entry)

For one extra entry, help spread the word!  Share about this giveaway on your blog, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. and come back here and leave a comment telling me that you shared. (optional extra entry)

The giveaway will close Monday, April 18th at 8:00 p.m. EST.  The winner will be drawn by Random Number Generator and announced on Tuesday, April 19th.  

*NOTE* The winner will be notified by email, so make sure that I will be able to contact you through Blogger or leave your e-mail address with your comment.

Silent Sunday

Finished Top!

If there is one thing that annoys me about a quilting class, it's leaving the class with the same quilt as all of the others who took the class.  That definitely isn't going to happen with this pattern! By using units that fit together in multiple ways, the maker is also the designer.  No two quilts are going to be the same (unless you want them the same and plan accordingly).  I absolutely loved playing with the different units and putting them together!  I'm anxious to move on to the next part of the class (That's right, this pattern was just the first in this online class.  There are a total of three quilt patterns Learn to Quilt with Scraps.) but rather than add this quilt top to the UFO pile, I think I'll put it on the frame and get it quilted before moving on with the next pattern.  That doesn't mean that the fun is going to end though.  Come back Monday for a special surprise!

Blocks Become Units

With just a few more seams and the addition of the soloist fabric my blocks have become units. This is where the fun really begins!  The actual name of this pattern is Hopscotch Table Runner.  Table runner?  You say my photo doesn't look like a table runner?  That's because Gyleen has included directions for how to configure these units into any size quilt you desire.  I have a few more units to make to reach the desired size and then I'll decide on the final layout before sewing all of the units together.

Blocks!

My patriotic scraps have quickly become blocks!  This pattern is perfect for a beginner or anyone who likes to have an easy project to work on at the end of the day.  If you have been following my blog for very long, these blocks may look slightly familiar.  The same block pattern was used in Gyleen's 2014 Facebook Summer Camp (see my finished quilt HERE) but these blocks are going to go together in a totally different way!  Stay tuned...

Silent Sunday

No Fooling!

The nice thing about having scraps managed and cut into usable sizes is that it doesn't take much time at all to get them ready to sew into blocks!

There is also a pretty good sale going on over at Colourful Stitches right now!  One of the items on sale is this very same class that I'm working on right now in DVD form, along with a number of other of Gyleen's patterns and tools.  Find them all at colourfulstitches.com.