Quilt and Tour

First off I've had a request to get those cookies off my blog....yes Sharon they were as yummy as they look and all of them disappeared in about 2 1/2 days. Well here it it my square in a square quilt. I didn't use the blue I had from my stash, I think this one is a really good choice. I'm so happy with how this quilt turned out. The pattern is from BH&G American Patchwork and Quilting April 2008 issue.
In my neigbour the home owners open their doors for one day at the end of May for people like me to to go looking and tromping through their heritage houses. The heritage preservation society organizes this event with about a dozen homes open for touring each year. I tell ya these homes are gorgeous and people go to a lot of work to bring back the original beauty of the houses. Some had been stuccoed over the years, all kinds of weird things done like orange shag rugs and the owners have painstakingly restored them. These homes are 100 years or older and to have the opportunity to see how beautiful they are is incredible. There are volunteers at each house keeping the foot traffic moving through. We take our shoes off and carry them while walking through the houses, this was the first year I've been home to take the tour. I had a great time with my daughter and her girlfriend looking through each home. The tour also includes a quick tea and lunch and then we were out walking again. We started at 10am and didn't get through all the homes until 4pm. By the time I got home all I could think about was.... man do I ever need to clean my house....LOL
I was looking at all the pictures I took and there wasn't a single picture of the outside of any of the houses. All my pictures were of stain glass windows, antique light fixtures, fireplaces and gardens. I took these type of picture to give me ideas for my home. So I will leave you with a picture of my house, as you can see the garden needs some trimming.....a lot...LOL

Yum....Cookies

I was in the mood for baking yesterday. ....hmmm chocolate chip cookies would be good. These are definitely decadent and chewy, I used dark chocolate chips and Skor toffee bits.

My next PDG's stitchery block is completed and the top for my square in a square. I'll be taking a picture of these and posting next time. Enjoy the chewy toffee cookies.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
3/4 C. Golden Crisco
1 1/4 C. lightly packed brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C. All-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 C. choc. Chips
1 C. Shor toffee bits

Cream Crisco and brown sugar in large bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy (2min) Add egg, milk, vanilla beating until just blended. In a separate bowl mix together flour, salt and baking soda. Combine and then add choc. chips and toffee.

Drop dough by spoonfuls on ungreased baking sheet (3" apart)
Bake 375 F 8-10 mins. In my oven I baked them for 7 min.
Cookies will still appear moist when baked. Let cool 2 min, then remove to cooling rack.

Jo's Little Women Club

I was at my Jo's Little Women club meeting yesterday and WOW look how creative and productive this group of ladies are. I think they all did a fantastic job with their little quilts. I really look forward to this group each month and it's so exciting to see what each person has done.

Pick Up Sticks

I'm ready for my next weeks Tuesday group of Jo's Little Women club....woohoo....my little quilt is done.

I'm so excited for the girls at quilt market this weekend. I can't wait to hear about their adventures and most of all see the fabulous pictures of all the new things. Come on girls lets see all your goodies....LOL

Have a good weekend, I hope you have a little time for quilting.

Framed 16 Patch

I got around to putting my 16 patch quilt in a frame this week. I found the frame at a used furniture store. I first hand quilted this to a piece of osnaburg fabric and then tea dyed the whole thing. The osnaburg has a speckling of cotton seed already in it for a even more antique look. I added a few buttons and I don't know if you can see the word I added, maybe clicking the picture will help. This little quilt was fun to make...you might see more of these from me.

Store Sample

I help out at my local quilt shop a couple times a month but don't make too many samples anymore mainly because I have so many of my own projects I want to do. Since I was spending the whole day on Friday at the shop I started this sweet little quilt using a charm pack by Moda (A Little Romance by April Cornell). The pattern is by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co, called Four Corners. The entire top is only 33"x33", so I was able to finish it this morning. The scalloped quilt you see in the picture is not part of the quilt.