1st Time at Machine Applique

I took this tea towell class at the Ivy Thimble to learn how to do machine applique. A couple of the quilts I am starting to work on involve a lot of applique, and I'd never done any of it. So, I figured I should learn.
These tea towells are cute...but if any body ever wipes anything on this, they are gonna be in BIG trouble.

Most Recent Quilting Project

I just dropped this quilt off at The Ivy Thimble Long Arm quilting shop to have machine quilted. I took the Beginner Graduate class with Cindy at the Thimble and enjoyed making this quilt. It was pretty easy to put together because you just sewed the same thing over and over again...just different fabric in different places.

The most complicated part (after chosing the fabric...) was cutting the fabric--trapezoids and parallelograms.

Super complicated. It took me over three hours to get all of the fabric cut!

New Projects

Santa Clause (ie, my family...) was very generous to me this year for Christmas. I got kits to make two LARGE quilts. Both are quilts I saw made up and have absolutely LOVED and wanted to make. I will be a very busy the next year! I shouldn't need to buy anything but thread and incidentals!

One is called "ColorSplash" and it is made of Purple and Green Batik's (with a little peach-ey cream) and I saw it hanging at The Black Bear in Inlet, NY (near Old Forge) and ooh-ed and aah-ed over it for a year...then my mom told me that she had bought the kit for the exact quilt that was hanging on the walls, and was going to give it to me for Christmas...so I bought the fabric for the borders and the binding. I will wait until it is finished to spend the money on the 8 yards needed for the backing fabric! It is so beautiful....the one at The Black Bear is so much prettier than this picture!

The other quilt is just like something that my Great Grandmother Thornton would have made...the 1930's style fabrics and the dresden plate in the center--it is so reminiscent of the old, family quilts! I love it! I wanted to take the class at The Ivy Thimble, but it was only offered during a daytime class...and I couldn't take it because of work...darn having to make a living! So, they had one kit left, and my mom bought it for me for Christmas. I am very excited to make it!!! I love the colors and the fun fabrics.

I also got two other small quilting projects, one is a small, circular Christmas table-topper and the other is a neat wall hanging with sheep...I will post pictures as I get things completed....Wish me luck! Plus, my adorable niece, got me a gift certificate! How lucky am I! :-) She even wrote my name on it, and signed her name. So sweet!

Cheesecake Supreme

I have loved cheesecake since I was a pretty young kid. My dad taught me to make it and I have taken that recipe and tweaked it to make it my own over the last couple of years. Every year I make cheesecake for Christmas dessert. I typically serve it with a fresh raspberry drizzle and fresh raspberries as a delicious garnish! This year I tried making a sauce from frozen blueberries to serve with the cheesecake. It was delicious! Try it sometime! I forgot to take a picture of the finished product when plated on a nice platter and a picture of a piece with the blueberry drizzle...which is sad, because it looked fabulous...(almost as good as it tasted)!

Martha's Cheesecake Supreme!                                   

Crust:

     1 cup flour

     1/4 cup granulated sugar

     1 Tablespoon freshly grated orange or lime zest

     1/2 cup cold, unsalted butter

     1 slightly beaten egg yolk

     1/4 tsp. vanilla

     ***Combine first three ingredients. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add egg yolk and vanilla. Blend thoroughly. Pat 1/3 of dough onto bottom of 9" spring form pan, sides removed. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes. Cool completely. Attach sides, pat remaining dough up the sides of pan, about 1 3/4 " up the sides.

     ***Turn oven Temperature up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a baking dish filled with water in oven. Leave the pan of water in the oven until baking is complete. This will prevent the cheesecake from cracking and will promote even baking.

Filling:

     5 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese (Philadelphia preferred...)

     1/4 teaspoon vanilla

     2 Tablespoons freshly grated orange or lime zest

     1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

     3 Tablespoons flour

     1/4 teaspoon salt

     1 cup (4 or 5 large) eggs

     2 egg yolks

     1/4 heavy whipping cream

     ***Let cream cheese stand until it reaches room temperature. Beat in stand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and zest. Mix next three ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually add to cream cheese. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating after each just to blend. Gently stir in heavy cream.

     ***Turn into crust-lined pan. Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes; reduce heat to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking for 55 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Best served cold, with fresh berries and/or a berry sauce.

Tic-Tac-Toe Boards

On Friday night I finished making Christmas Gifts....and that is only if you consider it was still Friday until I went to bed. If Saturday begins at midnight, however, I didn't finish them until about 3:30am on Christmas Day. What is important, however, is that they were finished and SIMPLY adorable for Christmas and Scouty and Abe loved them!

I bought a kit at my favorite quilt shop, The Ivy Thimble,
during their annual porch sale. They only cost two dollars,

and the kit included everything you needed for the project

except for the fabric of your choice. When I was getting

ready to go out and get the fabric, I opened up the patern

and really tried to figure out what I needed...upon closer
examination, I discovered that the pattern was making it a
much more complicated project than was needed. I adjusted
the pattern, and went shopping. Patricia's Fabric House in

East Rochester was having a sale--25% off of everything, so

I went there for the fabric this time. It was my first time straying

from "The Thimble"...and I am still feeling a bit guilty about it.

Oh well...I will work through it. :-)

I had loads of fun picking out the fabric with Abe and Scout in mind and they turned out wonderfully! Abe's is a bit more complicated. Because of the bright colors, I didn't want to introduce a fourth fabric. The bold  blue has many bright colors, and the orange seemed like a perfect contrast to the main fabric. The white is where the tic-tac-toe pieces play. What made the board more complicated, was that I needed to incorporate the orange into the playing board, and not just use it as the inner border. So, I had to be careful with  measurments, etc. in order to get those little orange squares to  line up. Scout's was just one fabric on all the sashing of the board, and so it was less complicated, but equally beautiful. I chose contrasting colors for painting the wooden pieces. I also made coordinating draw string bags to hold the game pieces they were super cute. :-) Scout's fabric jump off the shelf at me! The different shades of pink, the butterflies, etc. I knew she would love it! Scout even played a round or two with Grandma (my Mom) on her pretty board. She just loved it.

The original pattern had you cutting out 64-2" squares, so you had four tiny little white squares to make up one white square. That seemed like an awful lot of (unnecessary) cutting and stitching to me...especially for a kids game! In the end, I cut 3.5" squares for the the white pieces and the sashing was cut into strips that corresponded. After piecing the top together, the finsihed size was closer to 20"x20" than the patterns noted 17"x17". I pressed the gridded inerfacing that was included in the kit, and decided I didn't like the batting that was included. Thankfully I had enough of the "warm and natural" batting to make two 20"x20" square innerds to my two tic-tac-toe boards.

If anybody wants my specific measurments for the boards, etc. then just e-mail me and I will get them to you!

Christmas Cards

At work some of the residents at the nursing home have been really into making some homemade Christmas Cards this year. I have taken in a bunch of my stamping supplies and we've played in paper and rubber for a few days...I wish we had more time to do it...but at this time of year, there are so many things going on, it is difficult to find the time to do more cards with them. Last week I took the time to work at home on some of my own Christmas Cards. I've been really into embossing with Gold Glory (Stampin Up!) embossing powder with dark hunter green and deep burgundy papers. I hope you enjoy...these are just a couple I've made.

The Quilting Bug...

My mother has picked up quilting again the last couple of years and since I moved back to NY last year, I had been wanting to do the same. I took a beginner quilting class this past summer and made two of the beginner quilts at the same time. 

The quilt shop I go to the most is The Ivy Thimble in Victor, NY. It is the best area quilt shop! Not only do they have amazing fabric and samples, but the staff is so knowledgeable and helpful! They have wonderful sales and everytime I go there, I feel like I am a friend, not just a customer. 

After taking the Beginners class from Cindy, I signed up with my mom to take a Saturday morning class with Barb. We made a quilt called "Diamonds For Judith". I liked that quilt so much, that I bought Christmas fabric to make a second quilt out of the same pattern. 

                                                       

I had the first one quilted on the long-arm machine 

there at the store, and the Christmas one is there now being quilted.

I also took a Paper Piecing class from Pam where I learned so much! I love the technique, and the wall hanging I made is just beautiful, if I do say so myself! I am excited to make another one with the same pattern in different fabrics! I think it would be really pretty in patriotic colors for Scout for her birthday--since she is a Flag Day baby.

I haven't taken a class lately, but I am hoping to take on over 6 months that begins in January and focuses on applique. I bought a new sewing machine and it is amazing. 

I've also made a few aprons and table runners. I have fabric to make two other quilts and as soon as all of the Christmas gift projects are completed, I will start working on one of those! 

If you've ever admired a pieced quilt and thought it would be neat to make, but didn't think you could, trust me! You can do it. Just go to a good quilt shop and take a class. It is amazing how simple it is once you are taught by a good teacher! Once you can make a simple sampler like the beginner quilt, you can do practically anything. 

Happy quilting!

Raspberry Chocolate Pavlova

I tried this recipe this past summer. It is from the June 2010 "Food Network Magazine". I had never tried one of Nigella Lawson's recipes before, but since trying this one, I've found several of hers that I want to try. It is SUPER easy, and looks so fancy when all is said and done. I made it when Strawberries were at their peak, so I put strawberries on top the first couple of times I made it. Then I have made it with a combination of fresh Blueberries and Raspberries. It is good every time!

Do be sure to spend the money on some good chocolate and cocoa. And if you don't have superfine sugar on hand, don't buy it! Just process a cup plus two teaspoons of regular granulated sugar in a food processor to equal 1 cup of superfine sugar.  See the recipe (and picture...) below.

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova
Active: 35 minutes | Total" 1 hour 35 minutes (plus cooling time) | Serves 8-10 adults
--Nigella Lawson, Food Network Magazine, June 2010

FOR THE MERINGUE
6 Large egg whites
2 Cups superfine sugar
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 Teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
2 Ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

FOR THE TOPPING
2 Cups heavy cream
4 Cups fresh raspberries
1-2 ounces dark chocolate, curled/grated

1. Prepare the Pan: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Draw a 9" diameter circle onthe paper with a pencil, tracing a round cake tin that size. (Hint--Flip the paper over, so your meringue doesn't touch the pencil marks--you'll still be able to see the circle.)

2. Make the Meringue: Beat the egg whites with a mixer until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar, one spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

3. Add the Chocolate: Sprinkle the cocoa , vinegar, and then the chopped chocolate over the egg whites. Gently fold everything with a rubber spatula until the cocoa is thouroughly mixed in.

4. Shape the Meringue: Secure the parchment to the baking sheet with a dab of meringue to each corner. Mound the meringue onto the parchment within the circle, smoothing the sides and top with a spatula.

5. Bake the Meringue: Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 300 degrees and cook for one to one and a quarter hours. When it's ready, it should look crisp and dry on top, but when you prod the center you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers.

6. Let it Cool: Turn off the oven and open the door slightly; let the chocolate meringue disk cool completely in the oven. When you're ready to serve, invert onto a big flat-bottomed plate and peel off the parchment.

7. Decorate the Pavlova: Whisk the cream till thick but still soft

and pour it on top of the meringue, then scatter the raspberries on 

top. Coarsly grate/curl the chocolate haphazardly over the top so
that you get curls of chocolate rather than rubble, as you don't want
the raspberries' luscious color and form to be obscured. You want
the pavlova to look like a frosted cake.

It has been a busy weekend...

I am at home in New York visiting my family for a few days. I came up earlier than expected because I needed to get some dental work done. Becaue of the unexpected early visit, my family has been gone for the weekend. They all left to go up to the cottage on Friday and won't get back until early this evening. At first I was pretty down about my dog and I having to be at my parents house all alone--especially seeing as half of the house is torn up due to some pretty major renovations.

                      

Thankfully, my friend Jennifer was in town, and it gave us the chance to visit, shop, and stamp! We went to the fabric/craft store on Saturday, out to lunch, and then came home to my parents place to stamp. We both made a couple of cute cards Saturday afternoon, but Jennifer was kind enough to leave her supplies with me (as my mothers supply is inaccessible due to the renovations) so I could play in the rubber and paper and ink some more while I was home alone. I already posted the birthday card I made for my mom, but I also made some more cards, and thought I would post those pictures here.






Last evening some family friends (Jenn's parents) invited me over for dinner and games, so I offered to take dessert. I ended up making a dessert pizza. It was yummy!

Mom's Birthday Card

(front of card)

I used the Stampin' Up! stamp set "Doodle This" to make a birthday card for my mom. I used a Close to my Heart set for the verse. Paper and ink is all Stampin' Up!. My friend Jennifer came over and we stamped and played for a while. She made a cute card too. I hope my mom likes it!

(inside of card)

(back of card)

I am going to keep creating tonight and stamp some more cards. More pictures to come.

--M.

The Cake Has Been Made...and devoured...

This took a whole lotta butta...about 4 lbs...

Let me begin by saying that: I HAVE SO MUCH RESPECT FOR DUFF AND HIS GANG ON "ACE OF CAKES"!!!

Cake making/decorating is not easy. While I had a good time, and learned quite a few things that would make it easier the next time I make a tiered/layered cake, it is a heck of a lot of work!

So...I used the buttercream frosting for the filling and used a different recipe (from Ina Garten) for the exterior frosting. I added butter-rum flavoring in place of half of the vanilla that is called for in the recipe, and chopped some candied pecans and mixed that all together to make the filling. I used food coloring to turn the frosting a pretty lilac color because purple is Kristin's favorite color. I piped the decoration in white and it turned out really well!

I had some frustrating moments. I think that a cake leveler is definitely worth the money. It is so difficult to get everything perfectly even. When you're just making a layered cake, with no tiers, it's not as big of a deal, however with a tiered cake, everything really needs to be level to prevent sloping and sliding.

I had a lot fun, and everyone loved the cake. They seemed impressed, as well as satisfied. The recipes were all great. THANK YOU FOOD NETWORK and Martha Stewart. :-)

Now I need to come up with another baking/cooking project. Any ideas?

:-)

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe...

Vanilla Butterceam Frosting
(Makes about 4 ccups. More than enough to frost and decorate one nine inch layer cake.)

4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch salt
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, each stick cut into quarters

1. Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer; place bowl over pan of simmering water. Whisking gently but contantly, heat mixture until it is thin and foamy and registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer.

2. Beat egg mixture on meduim-high speed with whisk attachment until light, airy, and cooled to room temperature, about five minutes. Reduce speed to medium and add butter, one piece at a time. (After adding half of the butter, buttercream may look curdled; it will smooth out with additional butter.) Once all butter is added, increase speed to high and beat 1 minute until light, fluffy, and thouroughly combined. (Can be refrigerated up to five days.)

The begining...

Okay. So. Now I have a blog. I'm not exactly sure what to say in a blog. I am doubting other people will read it, but even if this just serves as a journaling experience for me, I guess that is okay.

My two biggest loves, outside of family, friends,--and of course my puppy-dog, Molly--are cooking, and crafting. I'm addicted to cooking shows and scrapbooking, and rubberstamping, and Michael's and AC Moore...and every other craft/scrapbook store I can find, and...and...and...

My next big project is making a birthday cake for my friend Kristin. She turns 22 in a couple of days, and I've got a great recipe to make a tiered birthday cake for her. A few weeks ago Martha Stewart's square 10", 8", and 6" cake pan set was on the clearance shelf at Macy's. I couldn't resist. So, I've  been spending loads of time on foodnetwork.com looking at various cake recipes, and planning my method of attack. I had decided on a Barefoot Contessa recipe for a delicious chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream frosting only to learn that Kristin detests chocolate cake. Hmm...so I've found another recipe that I will be trying out tomorrow. It's a Martha Stewart recipe...standard yellow cake.

Last night I went to see "Julie and Julia" for the second time. I have to admit that the movie has been a large part of my motivation for finally starting a blog. Unfortunately I can't come up with some super creative goal to complete (in a year) involving either crafting or cooking, but I figure that starting a blog is an okay thing to do, even without boning a duck.


Recipes I'll be trying this week:


Martha Stewart’s Yellow Cake


Ingredients


Makes one 10-inch cake


· 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature


· 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting


· 1 tablespoon baking powder


· 1 teaspoon baking soda


· 1/2 teaspoon salt


· 2 cups sugar


· 4 large eggs


· 1 1/4 cups buttermilk


· 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


Directions


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter one 10-inch tube pan. Dust the bottom and sides of pan with flour, and tap out any excess. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.


2. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar, and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until well incorporated, occasionally scraping down the sides of bowl.


3. Mix together buttermilk and vanilla. Slowly add the sifted flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Do not overbeat.


4. Pour batter into prepared tube pan, and until cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan, and cool completely on wire rack. Cake can be stored in freezer, double wrapped with aluminum foil, for up to 1 month.

My favorite Buttercream Frosting recipe is amazing! I tried it for the first time in June with my six year-old nephew, Abe. He loved throwing in the pats of butter gradually and watching them being "beaten into submission" by the trusty Kitchen Aid. I got the recipe from "The Best Recipe". It is the cookbook published by the editors of America's Test Kitchen. I wonder if Chris Kimball has ever made it? Hmm... It's a fabulous cookbook...and if you've never checked it out, you definitely should. It is a little more accessible than "The Joy of Cooking" and covers the basics...and then some. PLUS...the "Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe is To. Die. For.

I digress.

At any rate...the frosting is a heavenly thing to eat. It piped well for decorating, and I'm glad to be using a recipe I'm familiar with.

I will take pictures and post them once it's made!

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As far as this weeks crafts...

My mother turnd 62 yesterday (sorry for the disclosure, Mom...), and I have yet to make a birthday card for her. For some, this may seem abominable: I agree. It should have been there for her to open on her birthday. In my defense, however, Mom went up to their cottage in the Adirondacs for the week, and spent the day by herself (I don't think black bears count as legitimate company...) and couldn't get mail out in the middle of nowhere. I did call her on her birthday, but restrained myself from singing to her over the phone.   SO...I think I am going to use a new stamp set to make her birthday card this evening. That way I can mail it tomorrow.

I've also been asked to help plan some crafts for an enrichment activity for Christmas Crafts for the ladies at church. I've got them both planned, but need to make the hooked sheep ornaments so I can write out directions. I'll have to take pictures...

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Okay. So. That was my first blog. Easy enough.

Stay tuned...