Keeping in Touch

TEA LIGHT HOLDERS

On a recent trip to Michaels I found these great tea light holders.
I am not sure why but they were calling to me..
and
I had to have them!
What will I do with them?
Probably not with the tea lights...
Maybe some flowers would look nice !
I have to admit that I am having a really hard time finding any kind of decorative items this year.
Everything is BRIGHTand BOLD...
and
everyone knows that I am not .
Forgive me to everyone that likes the bright and bold, but it is just not me.
I am a primitive and muted color kind of girl !
I like old looking items and antiques, muted and heritage colors and I like (artificial) flowers that look REAL!
Everything on store shelves now look FAKE...yuk! 
This is also creating a problem for me in the fabric industy....
Much of what I am seeing is also bright, bold, and cutesy....no,no,no!
Please fabric designers ....come to the darker side!

HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!
Peg

Bed Runner

Bed Runner

Inspiration........it comes in many forms. Sometimes from magazines or pinterest

but

this time it came from one of my customers.

She brought a bench runner that she had made to our club meeting for show and tell

and

everyone loved it.......including me!

So, this weekend I found myself thinking of all the Civil War fabrics scraps that I have

and how I really liked that runner...so why not make one.

Here is the finished top ..why do the lights stand out so much in the pic?

If you do not want to make a large quilt , this is a great idea to make a bed runner quilt.

It can be placed at the foot of your bed , you can drape it over the back of your sofa

or

roll it up and place into a basket for a cozy country look. ( one of my favorite things to do)

Now onto the next project!

Happy Stitching,

Peg



Strawberry Refrigerator Cake

Strawberry Refrigerator Cake

Last week for our club gathering I made this yummy cake and everyone wanted the recipe..

It was easy to make and oh so delicious!

The recipe is from Duncan Hines and can be found on their website: duncanhines.com

Below is the recipe for the cake and frosting....I used a different frosting recipe

STRAWBERRY CAKE

1 pkg Duncan Hines Strawberry Supreme Cake Mix

1 10oz pkg of sweetened frozen strawberries ( thawed and pureed)

Prepare and bake cake according to pkg directions in a 9" x 13" pan

Cool cake and poke holes 1 inch apart in top of cake using handle from wooden spoon.

Pour thawed and pureed strawberries evenly over top of cake allowing mixture to soak into holes

* I refrigerated cake for a while before frosting

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 oz Cream Cheese ( softened)

8 oz Cool Whip

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and sugars till fluffy....fold in cool whip and frost cake.  Refrigerate about 4 hours

HOPE YOU ENJOY!



New Quilt for our Bed

QUILT TOP

Our bed needs a new quilt. so I decided to make something fast.

The blocks are large 25" finished  with 3 across and 3 down and sashing between blocks.

The quilt now measures 82" x 82" without border......................

My problem is whether to put a border on or not???

I do like a litte bit of a drop on the sides of the quilt , but might not need it.

We are going to paint the bedroom a darker color , so I thought that I would keep the background of the quilt on the lighter side. This will probably be a summer quilt.

QUILT with a border...

What do you think???   Border or no border..........umm?

Here is what is on the bed now....

I made this quilt from the Oak Leaves and Reel collection  and have always loved it.

But ....it has a flannel back and is to heavy for warmer weather.

Our Winter Quilt....Oak Leaves and Reel

I must make a decision on the borders soon, so I can finish the quilt! (Sigh)

Happy Stitching,

Peg

Bad Kitty

"Innocent" little Kitty....(not)

Mia loves my pincushion pins and my earrings...

so I should know better than to tempt her by leaving them in her sight.

Friday night ( like every night) I remove my earrings and place them on my dresser..

forgetting about the earring thief that we have amongst us!

Saturday morning comes and only 1 earring is residing on the dresser...

OH NO!!

These are one of my favorites and now I have to search the house.

Only 1 earring in sight............

No luck finding the other one....it is probably under the dresser, the bed or ?

Saturday night comes and I tell Al ( the hubby) that I am missing an earring and if he sees something that looks like this to let me know.

As I am telling him , the kitties are sittin  on the computer desk beside him because they know that there are treats in a bag behind the computer and eventually he will give in.

I look at Mia and Molly and ask " Who did It"?........Mia looks away and Molly looks at me as if to say

MOM....Mia did it....she never listens....why did you bring her home anyway!

SUNDAY MORNING

Earring appears in slipper......

This is what I woke up to....My earring in my slipper!!

I WILL SAY NO MORE.............

Hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday.

Peg

Soups On!!!

" SIMPLY POTATO SOUP"

SUNDAYS...........

A DAY OF REST........(Ha)!

Today I did some dusting, Laundry, went to the grocery store......cleaned up tree limbs and took down the outside wreaths and garlands....swept the porch....made a potato soup and worked on the next BOM that will start soon.......so much for a day of rest!!!

Here is another soup recipe that I make often....Simple, but delicious!

SIMPLY POTATO SOUP

6 to 8 russet potatoes

1/2  chopped onion

Half pkg of Bacon

1 stick of butter or margarine

Milk

Peel and dice your potatoes . Put in soup pot with onion and enough water to cover potatoes.

Simmer until potatoes are tender. Drain some of the water from potatoes, leaving just a little of the liquid.

While potatoes are cooking, cut your bacon into pieces and saute in a fry pan until crisp.

Drain bacon onto a paper towel to remove most of grease and set aside.

Into cooked potatoes put the stick of butter, salt and pepper and enough milk to cover potatoes.

Bring to a simmer and if needed thicken with a mixture of flour and water . Add the bacon and serve with your favorite crusty bread or rolls.

I use russet potatoes because they seem to give the soup a creamy texture and I love the flavor of russets.

ENJOY!

Peg

National Soup Month

" Hearty Chicken Vegetable Soup"

Did you know that January is

" National Soup Month"

Yep...thats right.....

So I will be celebrating this month with some of my favorite soup recipes.

First, let me say that I am a simple...no nonsense kind of cook

and

I do not like ingredients that I normally do not use.

This soup is also delicious made with leftover Turkey.

Hearty Chicken Vegetable Soup

Leftover Roasting Chicken

2 stalks celery ( chopped)

1/2 c Onion ( chopped) or to taste

1 small summer squash ( chopped)

1 small zuchini ( chopped)

Baby carrots ( whole or cut in half)

1 box chicken stock or broth

2 chicken boullions

Salt and pepper to taste

In stock pot cover chicken with water, boullion and simmer until chicken falls off bone.

Strain broth and pull chicken from the bones cutting into smaller pieces.

Return chicken to pot and add chicken stock, onions , celery and carrots. Simmer until almost tender , then add the squash and simmer til done. Salt and pepper to taste.

Hope you Enjoy!

Blessings,

Peg