BATIKS AND BEYOND

The above quilt is from a book titled Batiks and Beyond.

This is the project that I'm working on.

The quilt is going to be king size.

It takes 64 blocks.  Thirty-two are already done.

My goal is to get it all pieced during the month of February.

I have not decided yet whether I will quilt it

or have someone quilt it for me.  

When I get to that point, I'll decide then.

These are the fabrics that I have chosen for this quilt.

I can't wait to see how it will look once it's all pieced!

WINTER'S DAY QUILT

On Super Bowl Sunday, I participated on making a quilt that

would be cut and pieced all in one day.

Kris, from Quiltbug, designed the quilt.

I have participated in the past to events like

these that she has held every New Year's Day.

Her directions were easy to follow.

It took me two days to finish my quilt

because I was battling a fever and just not feeling well.

She still has the directions on her website for free until February 16th.

After that, it will be a paid pattern.

Here's the link to the pattern:

Quiltbug

MUSINGS FROM THE KITTY

Good morning everyone!  My name is Brumhilda and I live

with my "parents", Jorge and Irene.

I'm taking advantage that my mom is not on the computer

and I want to share a little bit about me.

Now you may ask why is my name Brumhilda.

My name originally was Cleo.  My original owner gave me that name.

I had a sister whose name was Peek a Boo.  She only had one eye.

The sad part of my life is that my first mom had to give me and my sister up.

She could no longer take care of us anymore.

The good thing is that she took us to a pet rescue center

so that a new family could adopt me and my sister.

My second mom, Irene, came to Pet Smart in Muncie

looking for a new cat.  There were lots of cats and kittens there.

I could tell that she loves animals just by the way she was talking to them.

I really wanted her to pick me but she kept going back to the kittens.

They were really playing up the "cute" card.

She finally came to my cage and I just started purring.

Boy did she like that.  I knew that was the only way I could win her over.

She read the card that had all the information about me.

She asked the nice lady if she could hold me.

Once I was in her arms, I just hugged her and purred my heart away.

I WON HER OVER!!!!!!

As my new mom was filling out the necessary papers to take me home,

she shared with the lady  her sad story.

You see, my mom and dad had previously two cats.  

The first one was called Emma.  She was a gift from her best friend.

She lived with them for three years and loved her family very much.

The sad part was that the day before her oldest son left for

Afghanistan, she disappeared.  Their son saw her that night

with a mouse in her mouth.  I think she brought that

gift for him to take with him.  They suspect some bad animal killed her.

My poor parents were so sad for several days.

First, their son leaves to serve his country and their kitty disappears!

Her best friend gave her another kitten.

From what I have heard, she was also a good cat.

Her name was Ellie.  Just like Emma, she disappeared

on my mom's birthday.  My poor mom.  :(

My parents decided that it hurt too much to have another cat.

But I guess I was meant to be because she picked me!

I had found a new family!

Life with my new family has been wonderful. 

There is a dog named Dotty here that we get along.

She really likes to play.  I wasn't sure at first, but now we do play together.

My parents did have one scare with me.

Some bad animal attacked me.

Thankfully, I was able to escape and come home.

My mom took me to the doctor and they fixed me all up.

My parents decided that I was no longer going to be outside.

So they took me back to the doctor and he took all of my front claws out.

I guess my parents didn't like the fact that I was scratching up

their furniture - sofa, chairs, rugs.

Here I am helping my mom with her devotions.

This is my favorite pose.  I just plop myself on the ground

and purr and my parents just rub my tummy.

I usually try to get comfortable on my dad's lap,

but this time I was not able to.  I usually succeed

even when he has his laptop.

All that work in trying to get on my dad's lap got me tired.

Catching my 40 winks.

What can I say, but don't you think I'm cute?

I'm hoping my mom doesn't get upset that I used her laptop.

Maybe I will be able to use her laptop and just

share with you my thoughts.

BAKED NACHO CASSEROLE

Today is Super Bowl Sunday and there will be many people

watching and cheering for either the Ravens or 49'ers.

My husband is not much of a sports fan.

On the other hand, I am a sports fan.

Even though the Indianapolis Colts did not make it,

I still am going to watch the game.

Super Bowl is not only about football, but it's also about food.

The recipe that I'm going to share is one that I found online.

Make it and enjoy it as you watch the game today.

INGREDIENTS

• PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup chopped red onion
• 1 pound lean ground beef (93% lean)
• 1 can (15 oz each) Ranch Style® Black Beans, drained, rinsed
• 1 can (10 oz each) Ro*Tel® Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, drained
• 1 cup light mayonnaise
• 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 ounces baked tortilla chips, crushed, divided (4 oz = about 4 cups)
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 3 cups shredded lettuce
• 1/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
• Chopped cilantro, optional

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 8x8-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
2. Spray large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add pepper and onion, cook and stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove vegetables from skillet; set aside. Add beef to skillet, cook until meat is brown and crumbly and no pink remains. Add vegetables, black beans, drained tomatoes, mayonnaise, corn and chili powder to skillet; stir until combined.
3. Place half of meat mixture in prepared dish; top with half of the tortilla chips. Place remaining meat mixture over chips. Cover with foil; bake 25 minutes. Remove foil; top with the remaining tortilla chips and cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve with lettuce, sour cream and ripe olives. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

BUILD YOUR BEST LOG CABIN

I bet many of you thought from the title that 

you may be thinking of a home like Abe Lincoln's.

Well that's not what I'm talking about.

A Log Cabin is a quilt block that I have not made yet. 

That is on my bucket list.  

Believe me, I have enough fabric to make one.

Fons and Porter has a great FREE Build Your Best Log Cabin e-book with easy to follow instructions on how to make three very different styles of the Log Cabin block.  All of the  log cabin variations in this book can be made to be traditional or very modern, simply on the fabric color and style that is chosen.

Also included in the e-book are instructions on how to add piping to the binding and Liz shows a great way to have "lump less" binding when joining the last seam of the binding on your quilt.

If you want your own copy of this great FREE e-book, simply go the Fons and Porter's website and sign up.

Have a happy day!

FINDING BEAUTY IN THE WAY THINGS ARE

 There is beauty all around us.  I know that sometimes

I don't remember that in the busyness of life.

Nature provides that beauty if we just take time to see it.

 

 There is beauty in everything.  

Make the time to stop and see the beauty around you.

BROWNIE BISCOTTI

Today I had the baking "bug" attack me.

So I decided to make something that I've never made before. 

Thanks to Allrecipes.com for the recipe.

So here's the recipe.

1/3 cup butter softened

2/3 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chps

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 egg yolk, beaten

1 tablespoon water

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease the baking sheet or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.  Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.  Combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder; stir into the creamed mixture until well blended.  Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts.

Divide dough into two equal parts.  Shape into 9x2x1 inch loaves.  Place onto baking sheet 4 inches apart.  Brush with mixture of water and yolk.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm.  Cool on baking sheet for 30 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, slice the loaves diagonally into 1 inch slices.  Return the slices to the baking sheet, placing them on their sides.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes on each side, or until dry.  Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

The biscotti turned out better than I had expected.

It tastes delicious!  Now I need to hide

these from Jorge or they won't last very long!