AMISH QUILT

Back in the Summer of 2011, my husband and I

made a trip out to the East coast on our motorcycle.

We really had a lot of fun and adventure on that trip.

We made it a point to not go on the highway

but to take secondary roads to see the beautiful scenery.

While we were riding through the state of Pennsylvania,

we passed through many Amish towns.

Of course we stopped at several quilt shops along the way.

At one of the shops that we stopped,

I bought a set of fat quarters in different shades

of purple and one black.

I loved the hues of the purple.

I had no idea what I wanted to make

but I knew I had to have it.

Well, it took several years before I finally decided to make a quilt.

I decided to make a small paper pieced quilt.

The block measures 5" finished.

I like the way the quilt turned out.

Now to decide how I'm going to quilt it.

 

This is the block that I drew up to make the blocks.

 I cut the fabric to the size that I needed to make each individual block.

 When I paper piece, I make sure that my fabric is a little larger

than the area that is on the paper.  It gives me more room.

I also use a light to reflect my fabric on the paper

to make sure that I'm sewing everything correctly.

Once I had the fabric aligned, I turned over the paper

very carefully so that I don't move the fabric.

I sew on the line.  I made sure that I set the length

on my sewing machine to 1.8.

I would iron each strip after I sewed them on.

This is what the block will look like

before it is trimmed to the size.

 I took my ruler and rotary cutter and trimmed the block.

I made sure that I would cut my block adding

a 1/4" seam allowance.

My rule is measure twice and cut once.

 Once all of the blocks are cut,

the design possibilities are many,

SHADYSIDE PARK

 In the town that I live there is a nice park.

Back when my sons were younger, my husband and I would

bring them here to walk, run, and play.

We made a lot of good memories.

This past Sunday my husband and I decided

to go back to the park and take our dog for a walk.

It was a beautiful and sunny day and it seemed

that a lot of other people had the same idea as we.

Dotty had a wonderful walk and so did we.

She loved it when people would pet her.

She's a very gentle dog and the kids loved on her.

As Jorge and I walked, we started

remembering all the times that we 

took the boys to the park.

We became very nostalgic and 

I know that I wanted to go back to that time

when my boys were young again.

 Dotty all excited going for a car ride.

She had no idea what an adventure she was going to have

 My Mr. Wonderful and Dotty.

 The geese and ducks were "talking" with each other

just having a wonderful day.

 These two guys were having a wonderful time on their kayaks.

 Dotty's leg was hurting her so we stopped to rest.

We had wonderful afternoon at the park.

Jorge and I plan to do more walks in the park and

we will be sure of taking Dotty with us.

BIKER QUILT

As many of you know, my husband and I have our own

motorcycles and we love riding them.

We also are members of the Christian Motorcyclists Association.

There are chapters all over the United States that are part of CMA.

Once a year, CMA has a fund raising event called Run for the Son.

It has always been the first Saturday in May.

The money raised is used for the ministry.  Here is the breakdown.

40% stays with CMA

20% goes to Open Doors

20% goes to Jesus Film Project

20% goes to Missionary Ventures

There is always a friendly competition between the states

as to who will raise the most money.

Each chapter  does different activities to raise the money.

I made a biker quilt that looks like a skull that 

will be auctioned off at the end of the month.

The quilt is a full size quilt.

Here are the directions on how to make this quilt.

SUPPLIES:

• 344 - 3 1/2 inch squares of assorted fabric
• 2 yards of black fabric
• 1 yard of fabric for border
• 2/3 yard for binding

DIRECTIONS:

From the black fabric, cut strips in these sizes:

• 14 - 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"
• 2 - 3 1/2" x 6 1/2"
• 13 - 3 1/2" x 9 1/2"
• 4 - 3 1/2" x 12 1/2"
• 10 - 3 1/2" x 15 1/2"
• 8 - 3 1/2" x 18 1/2
• 6 - 3 1/2" x 21 1/2"

This is the diagram of the quilt.

There are 27 rows by 21 columns

I worked row by row 

Once it is all pieced, the quilt will measure 63 1/2" x 147 1/2".

Add the borders and the finished size will be 69 1/2"x 153 1/2"

If you're not sure how to correctly add borders,

please go to the link below.

BORDERS

My fabric all cut up and ready to be pieced.

The lower part of the quilt 

The middle section of the quilt.

You can see the eyes in the center

of each of the black fabric area.

The lower part of the quilt and the 

middle part of the quilt all put together.

All of the sections put together.

I'm going to quilt flames on the black section 

of the quilt with orange thread and on the

skull, I'm going to use clear thread on the skull.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES

Jorge and I have lived in our home for almost 20 years.

Our sons grew up in this home.

Many kids have come and gone.

We homeschooled  all the way through in this home.

Our mailman loved coming to our home because

he never knew what he would find in our front yard.

I still remember vividly my boys and the neighbors' kids

re-enacting the Civil War using my bed sheets!

They re-eancted the American Revolution in the front yard,

World War II, the Trojan War, and more.

Chris always had his own unique way of studying.

Many meals have been prepared in this home.

Feeding two hungry boys and their friends was always on the agenda.

When David went through his five hand surgeries,

his friends came over a day or two before the surgery to play Halo.

I prepared a lot of food for those young men.

Neither Jorge nor I minded it at all.

We have no idea how many people we've had over for a meal.

Having wonderful neighbors has been such a blessing.

They've been there for us and we have been there for them.

They're not only neighbors and friends but they're family.

We love them dearly and spending time with them is always a blessing.

So it is bittersweet for Jorge and me as we start a new chapter in our lives.

As we get our house ready to put on the market,

I'm ever so grateful for the wonderful neighborhood that

we have lived for almost 20 years.

If this house could talk, I can only imagine the things it would share.

We've experience joy and happiness in this home.

Jorge and I look forward to making new memories in our new home.

DINNER TIME

When my boys were young, we would always have dinner around the table.

But as they moved out and moved on with their lives, our dinner time changed.

Jorge would come home from work tired.

He would go and sit in his very comfortable lazy boy and relax.

I didn't have the heart to tell him dinner was ready

and to come up to the dining room and eat.

Deep in my heart, I knew this was not a good idea.

Jorge and I would have our dinner but the tv would be on.

Even though we would talk,

it wasn't the same thing as when we talked around the table.

I resolved to make a change.  I missed eating around the table

and talking about the day's activities.

When dinner is ready, Jorge and I sit and eat around the table.

It has been really nice doing that.

I really enjoy setting a nice table

and make dinner with my wonderful husband very special.

I intend on doing this as much as I can.

WOMEN'S CROCHET PEAKED HAT

I belong to an online group of crocheters that

accepted a challenge for the month of January.

I decided that I wanted to make the hat for myself.

Seldom do I get to keep something for myself.

This time I was determined to do it.

The directions were easy to follow and

so was having it on YouTube.

Several ladies have made many of these hats.

I'm happy with just making the one for myself.

Here are the links to the pattern.

PATTERN

YouTube Video Tutorial

COCONUT CLOUD COOKIES

Several years ago, my next door neighbor made cookies for my sons.

They both loved the cookies very much.

She even made them for my oldest when he

was in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I asked my neighbor for her recipe because

the cookies are so delicious.

This year I will be trying something new for my blog.

Every Monday I will share a different cookie recipe

that my family loves.

Here's the recipe.

ENJOY

INGREDIENTS

2 2/3 cups flaked coconut, divided

1 package yellow cake mix

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

1 almond extract

DIRECTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.  Reserve 1 1/3 cup coconut in a bowl and set aside.

3.  Combine the cake mix, egg, oil, water and almond extract

4.  Beat at low speed until well mixed.

5.  Stir in the remaining 1 1/3 cup coconut

6.  Drop by rounded teaspoons into the reserved coconut and roll the cookie.

7.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet

8.  Bake at 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.

9.  Cool in pan for 1 minute and then transfer to cooling racks.