Christmas Garland

On Friday night we sat down after dinner and got busy making a Christmas light garland from felt. I orginally saw the idea on Cakies Blog . I made mine quite different. Emme picked what colors we used. Grandma, Lil and I cut them out. Then we thought about gluing them but the only glue I had was white school glue. I know from past experience that this does not work well with felt. So we decided to sew them

Lil took on this job and I was so excited. You would think that since she is my daughter that she could sew like a wiz and that she sews all the time. Most of the time she is occupied with other things or she will wait to ask until I am really busy. She has tried a few things in the past but she gets frustrated with herself if she makes any mistakes. She is really good in the kitchen though and I fell in time she will do more sewing. Anyway back to the lights. We kind of raced. I was in charge of pinning and she was in charge of sewing. We got them done in record time.We strung them on red double fold bias tape. We hung them in our kitchen and bathroom. Our whole house is starting to take on a cheery glow.

I just won a great book!

I have been reading blogs all over the web and have happened on a few that have had a wealth of good ideas and my personal favorite tutorials. I have made my Christmas to-do list from many of these great blogs. One that I enjoy gleanning ideas from is Prudent Baby. They have some great craft ideas posted weekly. Check it out. I just won a book from this blog and I can't wit to receive it and get to baking some great cookies.

I have completed my second block for the $5.00 quilt project at my local quilt shop Sew Much Fun. I really like the fabrics we are using. Batiks have such a fresh look to me. I have been using Thangles on this project to make it a little easier for me. The only draw back is that I use a little more fabric then they give us in our kit. I had to buy an oops packet at the shop which has 1/2 yard of background along with a 10 inch square of all the fabrics we will be using. So as of today my $5.00 quilt has cost me $30.00. That is not too bad. We will see as I go along if the total increases.

Great Giveaway

Bagels - Homemade

Today I was wanting to make some homemade bread so I jumped on the web for some inspiration. I stumbled upon a great website that was helpful and gave me a lot of inspiration. Knead to be Loaved is a great site. She has a lot of different types of breads. I liked the fact that these are not breads you see all the time but some things that are not so frequently offered on cooking websites. I read through her instructions for making bagels and thought I could do that. So I called to my oldest Daughter so we could tackle this project together.

Here is 4 of our bagel dough balls. Each ball was for one bagel. This is during the second rising. It told me to cover them with plastic wrap but I did not spray it so it stuck a little. Once they had risen I poked a hole in the center so I could drop them in the hot water.

These turned out to swell up so much that I could only fit two in the pot at once. Next time I will divide my dough into smaller portions before I start so I can have more bagels.

My daughter held her hand up to the dough so you could have an idea of how big they were when they came out of the boiling water.

This is our finished product. They tasted very good and the texture is a lot better than the store bought ones. I hope in the future I can make them look a little prettier. I am going to punch the holes in the center before I let them rise the last time under the saran wrap so that way all they don't deflate while I am putting the hole in them like this time.

I hope after reading about my experience you will check out her site and try one of her great recipes. I think we should all try to continue learning on a regular basis.

Red and Aqua swap

I finished my blocks last night for the red and Aqua swap being done on Jane's blog. It was a lot of fun. I can;t wait to see the blocks I get back. I hope I like everyone else's blocks as much as I like mine. I am thinking that I will make a quilt for a special girl I know. These colors are not really me but they are very pretty together none the less. I will post a pic of the blocks I get back when they arrive.

Tonight is quilt guild so I am really excited to go and get inspired.

What I have been up to.

I have finally took a picture of my bag I made for from the moda bake shop. I am happy with how it turned out. I used Roger's old uniform bottoms. I also used an old belt for the handles. The only new material is the lining and band fabric. It is just the right size for my little one to carry a few toys around with her.

I am also working on a Block of the Month from my local quilt shop Sew Much Fun. They call it $5.00 quilt. You buy the first block for $5.00. Each month they have a special meeting at the shop. If you bring your block completed to the meeting you get your next block free. If you don;t have it done you have to pay $5.00 for your next kit. So you could make all 12 blocks for only $5.00. pretty smart huh! The are smart with this club because while you are at the meeting they show you all the new products in the store and also have a whole list of specials that are just for club members that morning. So your top in the long run will cost you quite a lot. But hay what the heck it is a lot of fun!!

This is the iPod case I made for Lil. I didn't really have a pattern. I just looked at a lot of others people had made online and went to my machine and doodled around. I am pretty happy with the results. I used scraps from other projects. I will most likely make another one sometime. The front of the case has a pocket for money or an ID card. The back yellow pocket with elastic on top is made to hold the ear buds. This is all for now maybe I will have some more to post in a few days.

Great Giveaway

Head on over to PS I Quilt to sign up for a great giveaway. This is another great quilter that has been featured in the Moda Bake Shop.

Favorite Blogs

I am very new to the blogging world. I spend so much time looking at all the great bogs and being filled with ideas that I forget to update mine. I wanted to share with you one of my favorite blogs that I enjoy gettting great quilting ideas from. The link below is for the most recent post. http://www.modabakeshop.com/2009/07/charmed-gift-bag.html
Today they posted a great gift bag made by a fabulous quilter named Kimberly Walus. She also has a very fun blog that I just came across this week. I have added ot to my list of blogs to follow so I can glean from her wealth of ideas. If you have the time you should check her blog out also. She is having a giveaway right now for a cute gift bag.
http://bittybitsandpieces.blogspot.com/
Our family has been making gift bags to use at Christmas for the last few years. We use very little wrapping paper. This was Roger's idea a few years ago becaus ehe thought it was a waste all the paper and tape we used at holidays to just be thrown away. I think this bag would be great for replacing the gift bags we use to give gifts to others. These would be easy to make a few in holiday fabrics to have on hand. I think it makes the gift extra special. I hope to make one in a few days and post a pic along with pics of our gift bags we use each year.

Lasagna Soup

Tonight I was tired after a day of cleaning. I wanted to make something at home but I was not interested in spending a lot of time in the kitchen. This recipe is another one of those staple recipes I keep the ingredients for in my pantry. I received this recipe from a good friend of mine back in Kansas. This recipe takes a few minutes to throw together.

Lasagna Soup

1 Lasagna dinner kit 

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 pkg of hamburger meat

2 cups of frozen corn 

5 cups of  hot water 

1/3 cup of grateed parmessan cheese

1 cup of zucchini (optional)

Brown hamburger with onion and garlic or however you brown hamburger. I do this in the bottom of my soup pot and then I add the other ingredients that way I don't dirty multiple dishes. When the burger is brown I add the water, tomatoes, corn and the seasoning packet from the dinner kit. I let this simmer on the stove for 30 minutes. 5 minutes before serving I add the noodles from the kit, zucchini and the cheese. When the noodles are done enjoy this with your whole family. 

Smoky Corn Chowder

Today was a cool day. I opened my windows to air out the house and enjoy the cooler weather. It made me think of one of my favorite cool weather soups. I keep the items to make this soup in my home at all times.

1 can of cream corn
(I use the cream corn can and refill it with the following ingredients)
1 can of frozen hashbrown potatoes
1 can of frozen corn
1 can of milk
3/4 of a cup of diced ham
1 cap full of liquid smoke

Heat this to a slow boil on the stove.
5 minutes before serving add 1 1/2 cups of shededed cheese to soup. Stir until melted and serve this great soup for lunch to your hungry bunch. This recipe serves 3-4 people. I usually double it and save the leftovers. I have even froze them for a rainy day.

Taco Soup

This is a favorite recipe of mine that I like to make for dinner. There is usually enough for leftovers the next day which is always a good thing. I hope you enjoy this one.

Nikki’s Taco Soup

1 can Rotel
1 can diced tomatoes
1 onion

Puree all ingredients and then add:

1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can creamed corn
2 cups frozen corn or 1 can
1 envelope ranch dressing
1 envelope taco seasoning

Combine all ingredients in crockpot. Cook on low for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded cheese and sour cream. Optional: Serve over Fritos or Tostitos for a yummy crunch.

This is a quilt I finished this last weekemd. It is a traditional double Irish chain quilt. I tried a new quilting pattern. I like to freemotion quilt with no set pattern. I basically like to doodle. You can not see the fabric real well but it had slight swirls to it. I liked the look so I repeated it in my quilting. I liked the effect so much I wanted to keep it for myself. It was hard to let it go. The lady in this picture was the reciepnt of this beautiful creation. It was a gift from her daughter for her 50th wedding anniversary. It was a joy to help my friend by making this gift for her mother. You can see more of my quilts at my website. www.nikkittyquilts.com

Here I go!!

I have always wanted to have a blog and share ideas and news with friends and family. I hope to be able to keep you updated on the crazy adventures of our little military family and also share with you some recipes, patterns and ideas.