Done Is Better Than Perfect

For all my guild sisters who are spending this holiday weekend frantically trying to finish their quilt exhibit entries remember...done is better than perfect!



*The song, Done Is Better Than Perfect, used in this video is performed by Cathy Miller, The Singing Quilter. Our guild was fortunate enough to have her perform for us last year...she puts on a very entertaining show!

**The quilts in the video are presented by members of the North Hastings Quilt Club to promote their upcoming "Festival of Quilts" show taking place on September 20th and 21st in Bancroft, Ontario Canada.

I Am Sewing...Really I Am!

I know I haven't had many project related posts this week, but I have been busy sewing...honest! The only "problem" about this project is that it's a secret, so I can't post too much about it. I just didn't want you all to think that I had abandoned my sewing room!

Happy Ironing!

Meryl Streep said "You can't get spoiled if you do your own ironing." I wonder if she has tried Mary Ellen's Best Press yet? Because this wonderful clear spray starch has certainly spoiled me when it come to ironing! Best Press comes in an environmentally friendly trigger spray bottle that and won't clog like ordinary cans of spray starch do, but the best part about this product is that it doesn't leave a white flaky residue on your fabric and it helps get out stubborn wrinkles...even those center creases from the bolt that seem to be permanently embedded into your fabric. Best press comes in several scents, Lavender Fields, Citrus Grove, Caribbean Beach, Cherry Blossoms or sent-free and costs around $8.00 a bottle, a bit more than regular spray starch, but worth every penny in my book!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies remind me of school. It seems like they were always available in the cafeteria and my mom often had peanut butter cookies waiting for us when we got home from school. Yesterday I thought I would carry on the "tradition" and welcome the grandgirls home from their first day of school than with a plate of peanut butter cookies and a glass of milk.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/4 cup four

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

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1/4 cup sugar for rolling

Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside. Cream shortening, peanut butter, and sugars; beat in vanilla and egg. Stir in flour mixture, blending well. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls and roll in sugar; place baking sheets. Flatten each cookie with the tines of a fork in a criss-cross pattern. Bake cookies at 350° for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Back To School

School starts today and all of a sudden I find myself less two grandgirls. "Miss One" is going into 2nd grade and "Miss Two" is starting Kindergarten. That leaves "Miss Three" (who is fast approaching the "terrible twos") and me to entertain each other two days a week. Something tells me that I shouldn't plan on getting much stitching done on those days!

Kaye's Courtyard

Here's another Dear Jane block, I-2 Kaye's Courtyard. I rotary cut this one and it went together easily in just a few minutes.

One Of My Favorite Quilts

I am fortunate to have several quilts that belonged to my maternal grandparents. The quilt shown in the photo is one of my favorites. Not because it is a beautiful example of a quilt, because it isn't. I'm not even sure it is technically a quilt! It is crib sized and simply squares of what I believe were probably upholstery samples pieced together with a solid red cotton backing. It does not have any batting and it isn't quilted or tied, so that probably eliminates it from the quilt category. It does however, have a very unique "binding" treatment that I would someday like to replicate on a quilt of my own. From what I can tell, the maker used a ruffle and then stitched (by hand) the top edge down to the bottom edge every inch all the way around the quilt creating a scalloped edging. The fancy edging isn't what makes this quilt my favorite though...it's the happy memories of the times spent at my grandparents farm that it holds that gives it such value.

Addicted To Fabric Baskets!

After making a fabric basket to give as a gift last week I decided that I needed one for myself. I found some cute Halloween fabrics and put this little basket together last night. Won't it be adorable filled with candy corn and other Halloween candies? The only problem is now I'm addicted to making these little baskets! I think I need one for every season and holiday. Can you picture a Christmas themed basket filled with goodies or an Easter basket to hold colored eggs? Those are just the obvious ideas...the possibilities are endless!

Granny Weaver

There hasn't been a whole lot of activity in my sewing room this week. I've been busy with my grandgirls...school clothes shopping, watching the little one while the older ones go to their school orientations and I even got to watch a soccer practice! It has been a fun week helping with all of the back to school preparations, but I have been missing my sewing machine, so last night I put together a quick Dear Jane block, J-6 Granny Weaver. I just love the blocks with the teeny nine patches! I rotary cut and strip pieced this block and it went together quickly and easily.