Beautiful Butterflies

Tried the stained glass cookies again.  This time with a butterfly theme.  I'm thinking spring...

Stained Glass Cookies

Here is another idea I stole from http://www.marthastewart.com/  These 'stained glass' cookies are created by crushing Jolly Rancher candies and melting them into whatever shape you choose.  You grind the candy in a food processor until it becomes a very fine powder and then fill the empty space of the cookie 3/4 of the way full with powder.  You will see that I used both red and green for my cookies.

I also used Martha's Royal Icing recipe to decorate the cookies.  Royal Icing = 1 cup water, 1/2 cup meringue powder, 2lb powdered sugar.  Before adding the powdered sugar, it is important to mix the meringue powder and water until soft peaks form (otherwise your icing won't harden correctly).

As for packaging the cookies, I bought a variety of different boxes at Michael's craft store.  I stuffed each box with crinkled paper and then sealed the box with a sticker. 

I'm excited to try this idea with spring themes...like flowers, butterflies and Easter eggs.  Stay tuned! 

Hand Quilting

We attached the quilt to the frame last night.  Now the hand quilting begins.  There are a total of 88 squares so if I quilt 3 squares a day I should be able to finish in roughly a month.  We'll see how that goes...

The London fabric is my favorite because it includes all the famous city icons.  There is a double decker bus, a black cab, London Bridge, Buckingham Palace, and Big Ben.  I'm also excited about the variegated thread I found to quilt with...its several shades of pink and should look great on the back side of the quilt, which is a pale pink fabric.  The name of the thread color was "Vintage Rose" so I couldn't pass it up!

Knit, QUILT, Sew

I decided to start a quilt this weekend.  I cut the squares on Friday afternoon while the kids were taking a nap.  Since I recently finished knitting a dishcloth, I figured I'd go for the trifecta of knitting, quilting, and sewing (a matching valance?) to keep me occupied during these long days of winter.

I used Cath Kidston fabric that I purchased last year and grouped these colors together because they best match the room.  It took me a while to lay out all the squares and get the pattern just how I wanted it, but once that was done it was easy to piece the quilt together on my machine.  Then I tested the length on the bed.  (I bought the bed on Craigslist last week and painted the headboard to match the dressers already in the room.)

The next step is getting the quilt front, batting and backing attached to my maternal grandmother's wooden frame so that I can hand quilt it.

Knitted Dishcloth

This knitted dishcloth is a great project for beginning knitters.  The pattern comes from my paternal grandmother and is very easy to follow.  Experienced knitters should be able to finish in 3-4 hours.

PATTERN

Cast on 4 stitches.  Knit 2 rows.

Next row, knit 2, yarnover, and knit to end of row.  Continue this step until you reach 43 stitches on needle.

Going down, knit 1, knit 2 together, yarnover, knit 2 together and knit to end of row.  Continue until 4 left.

Cast off by knitting 2 and taking 1 over the stitch before.  Pull yarn through last stitch and sew into body.

Matching Outfits

Winter is the perfect season for sewing projects.  A few years ago, I made a pair of matching outfits for my daughter and I.  The pattern for the dress is New Look #6468 and the pattern for the romper is Simplicity #5115.

The straps of the dress are attached with buttons, making them easy to adjust, and the ribbon is woven through a series of button holes.

Both patterns were easy to work with so I duplicated them in another fabric.  The second time around, I added a tie for my husband and a bib for my daughter (pictured below).  The coordinating outfits worked great for our family photo that year and a family party.

Gingersnaps

My maternal grandmother passed away on Christmas Eve.  She was an incredible baker and always had a feast prepared when you came to visit her.  For the funeral luncheon, I framed her recipe for gingersnap cookies and made several batches for the dessert table.  The recipe was written out in her hand-writing, which made it very special.  These are incredibly delicious cookies that turn out perfect every time.

GINGERSNAPS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup Crisco
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

Sift all dry ingredients.  Cream shortening and sugar.  Add eggs and molasses.  Stir in flour mixture.  Shape into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.  Let cool on sheet for 5 minutes before removing.  Yield 4-5 dozen.