Matching Pillow Shams

One thing that I found when assembling the blocks of my oldest UFO was that my 1/4 inch seam allowance has become a lot more accurate over the last 6 years! Several of the blocks were so far off in size that there was no way I could work them into the quilt. I couldn't bring myself to throw irregular blocks away or put them back into the closet to remain a UFO, so I decided to use them to make a matching set of pillow shams!

Flower Power

It certainly has been a glorious spring here on the east coast! Above average temperatures and lots of sun mixed with just the right amount of rain has everything blooming in a riot of color. Unfortunately with all of the beauty comes massive amounts of pollen, which can make this time of year pretty miserable for those of us who suffer from seasonal allergies. I believe that I'll be admiring the beautiful blooms from my sewing room window this weekend...with a box of tissues close at hand!

Six Years In The Making

It has taken six years to put this quilt top together, but my oldest UFO is finally ready to be quilted!

Did you work on your UFO this week?

Glazed Pineapple Cookies

These soft cake like cookies were one of my grandma's specialties.

Glazed Pineapple Cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple (reserve 2 tablespoons of the juice for glaze)
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt

Pineapple Glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons pineapple juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together shortening and brown sugar. Add the egg, beat well, then stir in vanilla and pineapple with juice. (Reserve 2 tablespoons of the juice for glaze.) Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir into the creamed mixture. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove cookies to racks to cool.

To glaze cookies, mix 1 cup of confectioners sugar with the 2 tablespoons of reserved pineapple juice in a small bowl. Dip tops of cooled cookies into the glaze. Allow glaze to set up before storing in an airtight container.

Spring Break

My kids and grandkids all spent spring break together at the beach in North Carolina. Before they left, I made all of the grandkids hooded beach towels for their Easter gifts. I was able to whip of five of these towels in just a couple of hours using this great tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets. They really turned out cute and I'm sure they will get a lot of use at the beach and pool!

A Learning Experience

Things I learned while quilting this quilt:

I do not like solid backing fabrics! Can you say "boring"?

Peeky borders add a nice touch to a quilt, but they are not easy to quilt around! I stitched my hopping foot into the flange not once, not twice, but three times on this quilt!

Following a stencil line is not nearly as easy as some people make it look!

A contrasting thread color may not be the best choice when trying a new quilting design. Every stutter and hesitation is magnified with contrasting thread!

Practice, practice, practice!

This quilt will be donated to Project Linus and I know it will be loved...even with all of its imperfections!

No Longer A UFO!

What was once a UFO is now a finished quilt...right down to the last binding stitch! Yessirree, I can cross this one off the UFO list because it is 100% DONE!

Happy Easter!

Top It Off

The finished tops are really piling up around here! It's time to measure out some batting and backings, so I can do some quilting and finish some of these projects for good!