Stitchy Exes Quilt

This is a pattern I've seen many variations on.  I have a few of these pinned, but I really wanted to use a jelly roll to make it easy on myself so I think mine is a little different from the existing ones out there.

The fabric is Moda Sew Stitchy.

 

 

 

After assembling rows of three and cutting them up, it was a little tricky arranging them into blocks I liked - and then I was dealing with bias edges so squaring them up was another challenge.  Then I really decided I wanted sashing so it wasn't so scrappy looking.  And then I went with some floating triangles at the top, on a whim.

 

 

 

 

 

Over all I'm very happy with it and I love how it just sort of evolved as a work in progress, without any real plan from the beginning.

 

 

I'll post more pictures after it's finished ... I just couldn't wait!

Cutting Edge Hello Kitty Quilt

My oldest youngling was overdue for a custom quilt.  I pinned several simple geometric examples and had my daughter choose from them.  This was the winner.

I found the pattern in a magazine.  It's Cutting Edge by Fresh Lemons Quilts.  I just love paper piecing and was thrilled with the triangle layout.

I agonized over color selection here.  I really wanted the red column to fade down to orange, and then the red orange to fade down to yellow orange; the yellow orange down to yellow green, etc.  I love how it turned out. 

I ordered this gorgeous bundle from Etsy and stuck a few HK prints in there from my stash.  Then I decided it was just not enough Hello Kitty in there so I purchased this adorable gingham print for the back.

Coming straight off the Mario quilt, I was ready to go back to straight lines and the quilting went SO fast compared to Mario!  I think I finished it in an hour or so.  Then I used a print from my stash (Walmart I think) for the binding. 

She loves it :)  It's probably my favorite quilt of mine so far.

From Tantrums to Roses

I am officially a quilter, and my youngest "toddler" is almost not anymore, so I have opted for a name change and a rebranding of sorts (including an etsy shop).

Desert Rose is a china pattern that was popular in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and my grandmother had a large collection which I inherited.  You can see it in "Gangster Squad," every antique store in the south, and in several of my food-related posts.

Recently my aunt sent me a quilt my grandmother started - the blocks are individually hand-quilted and it is going to be a true labor of love to finish it, an amazing heirloom I won't want to let go of.

So on my fifth or sixth day of brainstorming new blog names, during dinner, it hit me :)  So here it is, Desert Rose Quilts; heirlooms to last forever and create memories.

Mario Quilt!

This awesome dude was designed by Angela at Cut to Pieces.  I just tripled the size of her Mario pattern and left out his friends!

This is the first time I've tried Free-motion quilting on my little machine that could, and it almost worked.  I have some serious looping issues on the back but the front looks awesome.  I gave him some little hills to jump on, some clouds, and a vine to climb. 

Picking out the perfect shades of Kona cotton was super fun, and I had a blast putting this guy together.

Gluten-Free Crock Pot Lettuce Wraps

I've been planning a blog revival since we moved into a bigger house and I've been able to start quilting again.  This recipe gave me just the jolt I needed.

Hubs has been gluten free for a few months now and I wanted to try lettuce wraps.  I threw some things together and worked on a recipe to share :)

4 to 6 chicken breasts

2 tablespoons chunky peanut butter

quarter cup La Choy brand or other gluten-free soy sauce

quarter cup brown sugar

two tablespoons honey

one tablespoon dried ginger

one teaspoon red pepper flake

two tablesppons rice vinegar

two tablespoons dried basil
cooked white rice and a head of lettuce, for serving, not to be added to crock.
dump it all in, set it and forget it :)
Delish.