I WON!

I had a nice surprise this morning. I was reading through my bloglist and saw that I had won a pair of earrings from Beti at Stringingfool.

 

 

Aren't they pretty?

 

This was Beti's first giveaway and I'm honored to have won it.

 

Beti has some wonderful photographs on her blog, click on Stringingfool above to visit her.

 

Til next time, Ronda

More little projects

Busy few days working in my studio and surfing the web for patterns. I don't know if I would enjoy living in the mountains if I didn't have my computer and IPad to keep in touch, do research and of course shop.

MM and I recently began playing cards at our community clubhouse on Friday nights. We play Hand and Foot in which you are dealt two stacks of cards, one is your hand and the other is your foot. You play one stack of cards at a time which means you need a place to keep your "foot". The card table is small so it's hard to leave it there, some people put it on the floor but that isn't ideal either. I noticed that many of the players had made a pouch to wear around your neck and put there cards in that so I came home and made one.

I took the back pocket off a pair of jeans, added a patch and voila, a card holder. I have made one for MM out of camouflage material but didn't take a picture of it.

 

I also finished a little Crazy quilted purse.

 

 



It turned out smaller than I wanted, but it will hold my cell phone, keys and debit card so I'll get some use out of it. I think it turned out cute for a first attempt.

I'm working on a couple of other purses made from jeans. I need to stay off Pinterest I find too many things I want to try.

Til next time, Ronda

Is Crazy Quilting back?

While I was blog hopping I ran across some blogs dealing with crazy quilting. Pinterest  also has a lot of crazy quilting images.

About 10 years ago I made some crazy patch heart pillows. I liked doing the embroidery on the seams and embellishing them. I gave a couple of them away but have these two left.

 

Ribbon, beads, hearts and cupid.

 

The next one is special because I made for my Grandmother. Her initials "HP" are on the burgundy patch, they are hard to see in the picture. I was blessed to get it back when she passed.

 

 

She loved butterflies, cats and flowers so I made sure they were on the pillow. 

 

 

Ribbon, beads and buttons. 

 

I found the pattern for the heart pillow and some instructions in Judith Baker Montano's "The Crazy Quilt Handbook"

 

 

Another great resource for embroidery stitches is Judith's book "Elegant Stitches". 

 

 

If you like playing with different types of fabric and embellishing you might want to try crazy quilting.

 



 

Quilt Basting

Rain storms have finally started arriving in California, we've had 3 storms in the last few days and another one is expected on Monday. Although this is good news we need a lot more. The morning news team gave a scary illustration, we've received about a coffee cup full when we need a 5 gallon bucket full. I'm praying the storms keep coming.

My BFF hurt her back a month ago, this has put a crimp in her quilting plans. R makes quilts for Project Linus and enjoys hand quilting her quilts. Since her back injury her DH has been monitoring her actions closely. Apparently basting her quilts on the floor is not allowed so here is what she came up with (in her words).

Step 1: sandwich backing, batting and quilt top on flat surface

Step 2: weigh down prepared quilt with a dog so the layers don't shift while basting

Step 3: find a willing helper to do the actual basting

Now that's what I call teamwork.

I'm going to enjoy the Olympics this weekend.

Stay safe and warm. Ronda


 

What I found while Blog hopping

I've been slowly making my way through the 500 plus blogs participating in this years Grow Your Blog hop. I enjoy visiting blogs from all over the world and seeing what other people are up to.

While I was hopping I discovered two blogs that feature photography challenges. One,  The Studio Sublime gives an assignment for each week of the month. The other Made with Love features a scavenger hunt each month. (click on the titles of the blogs to visit them). At the end of the month participants post their pictures for everyone to see.

What a fun and inexpensive idea. Almost everyone has a digital camera and with these Bloggers assignments it gives you a reason to take pictures. I'm going to try to complete February's assignment. I'll post my pics as I finish the challenges.

I missed last weeks assignment from The Studio Sublime: Get Outside but I decided I'd post a picture to get in the spirit.

I hope some of you will join in the fun.

Til' next time. Ronda

Comfort Food part two

Warning if you are on a diet leave the blog now.

In my last post I gave you the recipe for Chicken and Dumplings Casserole, here is the dessert recipe I promised you.

I had always wanted to try a Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie, so I went to my friend Google and started searching. I saw a few recipes out there but this one seemed to be the easiest---one bowl and mix by hand, I love it.

This website I found the recipe at is called: Cookies & Cups...chronicling my life in sugar, if you click on the title it will take you to the website and the recipe. (Thanks Google, this is NOT a website I needed to find)

You serve it warm, with vanilla ice cream, heaven. Be warned it is very rich so a small piece goes a long way.

Since it was only MM and me there was a lot left over. I let it cool, then cut it into small wedges, and put them in zip lock bags. MM and I like them  room temp but you could probably re warm them.

We need more rain but I don't know if my body can take any more comfort food. I can hear you telling me make a nice healthy soup. I can do that but I'll have to make bread to go with it. Sigh, why can't I love veggies?

Til next time, Ronda

 

Comfort Food

Welcome February! I thought January would never end.

I like to cook and bake when it's raining outside. It's a good thing I don't live in a rainy climate because I would weigh a whole lot more than I do now.

I saw a recipe for Chicken and Dumpling Casserole on Facebook the other day and had to try it. MM loves Chicken and Dumplings and is always complaining I don't make it enough. He loved this casserole. I will be making it again.

I made a skillet chocolate chip cookie for dessert, I'll post that recipe in another post.

Needless to say we ate enough calories that night to last us a month.




CHICKEN AND DUMPLING CASSEROLE

The secret of this is not to stir the layers. That's what makes your dumplings. When you dish it out, you have your dumplings on top.

Ingredients

2	chicken breasts, cooked and shredded ( I use a store bought rotisserie chicken)
2	cups chicken broth
½	stick of butter
2	cups Bisquick
2	cups whole milk
1	can cream of chicken soup (the herbed cream of chicken soup if you can find it)
3	teaspoons of chicken granules (I use Wylers)
½	teaspoon dried sage
1	teaspoon black pepper
½	teaspoon of salt or more to taste

 Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Layer 1 - In 9 x 13 casserole dish, melt 1/2 stick of butter. Spread shredded chicken over butter. Sprinkle black pepper and dried sage over this layer. Do not stir. Layer 2 - In small bowl, mix milk and Bisquick. Slowly pour all over chicken. Do not stir. Layer 3 - In medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups of chicken broth, chicken granules and soup. Once blended, slowly pour over the Bisquick layer. Do not Stir. Bake casserole for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown