A while back when a friend was having a baby I came across the pattern called For Baby With Love from the Pattern Basket. I loved the look of this and knew I had to make it - they weren’t telling people the sex of the baby so this was a gamble as the quilt was more for a boy. Well they had a girl so I ended up making her a pinwheel quilt and had the top for this at home. I was sure I would find something to do with it sooner or later. Well it seems like it was meant to be, as recently a friend asked if I could do a baby quilt for her. A good friend of hers had recently adopted a baby and she wanted to give her something special. The little one was a boy and she loved the quilt top, so I got to work on finishing it.

 I was waiting for the backing fabric to come in (I had ordered it in as I wanted something specific and the local quilt shops were out), so I embroidered the little guy’s name on the “ribbon” of the quilt. I just freehand wrote his name on with some disapearing ink and then did the embroidery.

I had recently come across a tutorial for Orange peel quilting on Oh Fransson, and decided to give that a try on this quilt. I didn't want to quilt it to close to keep it really soft, so this was great. I love this quilt and am hoping that it is well loved in it's new home.

 

Cake Decorating - Advanced Gumpaste Flowers

I just finished my final class of the Wilton Advanced Gumpaste Flowers class. The flowers that I came home look fantastic and were worth all the wrapping of wire (although I wasn't so sure when I was wrapping wire after wire).

The bouquet (above) turned out nice, even though I pretty much just randomly put the flowers together.

The stargazer lily is gorgeous (my classmate made a tiger lily in orange which was fantastic and I am going to have to try one day!).


The real winner if the class for me though was the briar rose. I want to cover a cake in these!


Thank you to Erin of Erin's Go To Cakes - I had a fantastic time in the class (and all the ones before it)!

St. Patty's Day Green Vodka

I know St. Patricks day is all about the beer, however I have never been a beer drinker. I wanted to get in the spirit this year, so I decided to do my own thing - in green.

I decided to make a green drink that I could actually drink - green skittles vodka and sprite. It was simple to make and tasted just like candy! I followed the directions for making skittles Vodka from Mix That Drink (I actually have all the colors of original skittles, but green seemed the most appropriate for the the holiday).

Ingredients:
Green skittles (you will need 6 skittles for every ounce of vodka)
Vodka
Sprite/Seven up

Directions:
1. In a bottle mix together the skittles and the vodka. Shake to dissolve the candy and leave sit overnight.
2. Run the vodka through a coffee filter to remove any undissolved candy.
3. Mix with sprite/ 7-up over ice and enjoy!

Review:
This tasted just like Skittles and I enjoyed it. It won't be my everyday drink, but it is fun once in a while. I love how bright the color is from the skittles.

Playing with Dr. Seuss

I have been wanting to do something for the last year with some of the Dr. Seuss fabric, but could never find a reason to make anything with them. Finally I just gave up and bought a fat quarter pack to play with. I am sure that they will find good homes (actually I already have recipients in mind for a couple of the projects). In my playing on the Internet I had come across a Dr. Seuss quilt that was strips and liked the looks, so I tried my own version with the stripes, but included some of the panels as well. I like the way it turned out - it is so bright and happy.


I quilted this with wavy lines that are randomly “drawn” across the quilt. This gave so much flexibility and softness to it compared to my last few projects that were stippled and I like the effect.


Then I played with some of the scraps from that quilt and a little bit more of the fat quarters to make a Peek-a-Boo Bunting quilt. I had eagerly awaited the tutorial for this, and then stalled as I couldn't decide what fabrics to use that I had on hand. Once the Dr. Seuss came in it was easy to use my scraps for it - as I love the bright colours and having the characters to place under the bunting.



I love how this turned out! The bright colors are fantastic and make a big impact even with using so little of it. I had been looking for a project to try some hand quilting and this seemed small enough and it needed something between the lines, so I quilted just like the original with the triple wavy lines. I would have to say that it turned out pretty good for my first time with hand quilting!



I still have some more Dr. Seuss Fabric left after these two projects and can’t wait to see what other fun things I can make with them!

Birdie Stitches Update

Last year I started the Birdie Stitches BOM by LittleMissShabby. I have finally finished the top!


I designed my own blocks for November (to make it a little more Canadian - thanksgiving is in October here) and the June block.




I liked the original June block, but wasn't sure about it with the other blocks. After finishing the top I have decided to make the original June block and put it into the back of the quilt as a signature block. Now I just have to decide what I want to use as a backing for my quilt so I can finish it!

Blueberry "Mojito"

I was having drinks with friends this summer when I had a blueberry mojito. It was delicious, and I have found myself wanting one ever since. The only thing about it I could remember was that it was made with blueberry vodka, so when I saw blueberry infused vodka on Keep it simple, I knew I had to try it.

I followed the directions and left 2/3 cups of vodka sit in 2 cups of vodka overnight, then ran it through a coffee filter to come out with a nicely colored vodka (that albeit still pretty much tasted like vodka if drinking it straight).


In a glass crush some blueberries and mint leaves. Then add 1 ounce of the blueberry vodka and top with sprite. Enjoy.


I know this isn't a true Mojito, and really all it seems to have in common pretty much is the mint - but it is a tasty drink! You don't have to use sprite/7up, but I like the lemon lime flavor it adds.

Family Tree Quilt

December 2011 marked the 55th anniversary for my Grandparents. I was very excited for them, and wanted to do something special for them, so I decided to make them a quilt. I ended up making them a Family Tree quilt with all their kids (medallions), grand kids (leaves) and great grandchildren (leaves) at the time of their anniversary on it.

Sadly I was unable to finish it for their actual anniversary, but I did show them the top which was finished. They loved it.



Now I have it quilted (I love how the tree shows on the back with the quilting), bound and sent off. It arrived yesterday just in time for the snowstorm! I hope it is keeping them warm in all the snow.



I would like to thank my very talented friend Iza for drawing the tree for me - it was perfect.