Virtual Tea Party

I'm having tea today with my blogging friends as a part of Kathy's Virtual Tea Party. I've brewed a pot of English Breakfast tea and made a batch of pecan sandies. These cookies are wonderful with any kind of tea and even though it isn't good manners to do so...they are really good for dunkin'!

Pecan Sandies

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream vegetable shortening and sugars together until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg to sugar mixture and beat until smooth. Add flour, cream of tarter, baking soda and salt to sugar mixture, stirring until completely mixed. Dough will be stiff. Stir in chopped pecans. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten balls to 1/4 inch thickness. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until slightly golden. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Tea Party Invitation

In case you haven't heard yet, Kathy from Creative Urges has made an invitation for quilting bloggers to join her for a virtual tea party tomorrow in honor of her 1 year of blogging anniversary. What fun! Be sure to stop by her blog for a cup of tea and wish her a happy anniversary for a chance to win a special little gift!

The Star Spangled Banner

Every once in awhile I will come across a treasure while browsing through the local antique and second hand shops and I think this stitchery of the Star Spangled Banner that I found last week is a real treasure! It's hard to tell its age, but the embroidery is amazing and it's in wonderful shape. At some point it was made into a pillow cover, but I think I may make it into a wall hanging...maybe a star border made with civil war reproduction fabrics? It's not like I needed another project, but I just couldn't pass this one by!

Taggie Balls

Remember the taggie blankie that I made before Christmas for Miss Three? Well, my friend, Nancy (blogless), took that idea one step farther! Look at these great taggie balls that she made for my two new grandbabies. She used this baby ball pattern from Craftideas.info and just added three ribbon tags in each seam. She said that she enlarged the pattern by 25% to make the ball a bit larger and she also suggests basting the tags in place before sewing the ball together, but other than that the pattern remains the same. What a fun way to use up scraps of novelty fabrics and bits of ribbon!

Whirl Into Winter Quilt Blog Giveaway Win!

I entered several giveaways during the Whirl into Winter Quilt Blog Giveaway and of course I was hoping that I would win something, but I really enjoyed visiting all of the participating blogs more than anything. As it turns out, not only did I find some really cool quilt blogs, but I won something too! Joyce at Quilt Friends Forever drew my name for this "Born in the USA" quilt pattern. It's hard to see in the photo, but the red and white blocks are mini log cabin blocks...what a neat pattern! Thanks again, Joyce!

No-Sew Fleece Blankets

Even my sister (who is not a quilter...yet) had to get in on the National Day of Service fun. She made these two fabulously soft No-Sew Fleece Blankets to donate to Project Linus. I love the fleece that she used...what little girl wouldn't love wrapping up with Disney Princesses or Hannah Montana?

Another Finish!

Here is the second Project Linus quilt that I finished for Jovaliquilts National Day of Service quilt for charity project. Thanks to Cheri for coming up with such a great idea and motivating me to finish up these quilts. Not only will our local Project Linus chapter be receiving two more quilts, but I can also mark two UFO's off of my list!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

One Down!

I managed to finish one of the Project Linus quilts that I committed to have done for the National Day of Service on Monday, January 19th. It's nothing special...just a pretty novelty fabric with a border added, but I think a sick child would really enjoy the bright colors, animals and numbers. I have one more Project Linus quilt ready to be quilted and finished and if this wonderful quilting weather continues through the weekend it shouldn't be a problem because I won't be leaving the house!