Merry Christmas

Pat

Christmas Baking

Today I made a batch of Pretzel Turtles.  These are my Grandson’s favorite.  I love the salty sweet taste.

As you can see these are very easy to make

 

Pretzel Turtles

1 pkg. small pretzels – I use the Snyder’s square ones

1 bag of Rolos Candy

Half Pecans

Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil and cover with pretzels.

Top each Pretzel with an unwrapped Rolo – flat side down

Bake at 250 degrees for 4 minutes.  Candy will not melt.

Remove from oven and top each piece with a half pecan pushing down gently.  Cool Slightly and then refrigerate for about 10 minutes or until set.

 

I also made Clove Cookies – they are not too sweet and a very good with a cup of  hot tea.  I got this recipe when I stayed at the Case Sedona Bed and Breakfast in Sedona, Arizona

Clove Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cloves

Melt butter in a small pan over medium heat.  Remove from heat and stir in sugar until well combined; then stir in vanilla.  Add egg and beat until mixture is smooth.  In a small bowl, stir together flour and cloves; gradually add to butter mixture blending thoroughly.

Drop dough by level teaspoonfuls onto well-greased baking sheets, spacing cookies 2-1/2 to 3 inches apart.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until edge are golden brown and puffy tops start to crinkle and collapse.  Immediately transfer cookies to racks and let cool.  Store airtight.

Makes about 4 dozen.

 

Several years ago a friend gave me a recipe for microwave peanut brittle and it turned out perfect.  Last year we installed a new mixcrowave that is a lot more  powerful than the old one.  So I did not make any peanut brittle.  My youngest strongly protested!  So this year I decided to give it a try.  The first batch burnt.  The second batch was more like a hard caramel – edible but slightly sticky.  So the third time was a charm and I made two batches.

Tomorrow or later today I will make the Pecan Sandies, Santa’s Whiskers – Southern Living 1985 Annual Recipes Page 323, and Cranberry Nut Bread.

Do you have favorites that you make only for Christmas?

Tomorrow will be the last trip to the grocery store!

Until later.

Pat

Almost There

I am almost ready for Christmas.  The tree is up, the house is decorated, the shopping is done, the packages are wrapped and the cards are in the mail.  Whew! I made myself tired just thinking about it.  Over the next couple of days I will do some baking and candy making.

Here are a few pictures of my decorated home -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yikes! This room needs a tea dye bath.  It is really not this light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the den -

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now if we could just get a sprinkle of snow Christmas Eve I would be thrilled! 

Until next time.

Pat

Snow in Texas and other musings

Tuesday morning they predicted snow for parts of North Texas.  Now I don’t want you followers from Wisconsin, Minnosota and other northern parts of this country to fall off you seat laughing.  But here is a picture of my Grandchildren heading off to school in the snow.  Look hard you can see it!

 

And it is offical the Christmas season has arrived “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” is on TV.

 

This picture reminds me so much of when my sons were little.  Getting them ready for bed early so they could watch the specials on TV.

Last night Mr. Q  and I attended the final tour of “Riverdance”.  We planned to make a nice evening out of it and start with a nice dinner.  But even though we left early due to traffic problems we had a quick sandwich at the Barnes and Noble Cafe across from Bass Hall!  But it still was a nice evening and the performance was great.  A couple of years ago we attended “Lord of the Dance” and I think I preferred it the best of the two.

Catalogs!  Do any of you get tired of receiving junk mail?  I have requested to be taken off of mail lists, but I am still getting tons of catalogs.  I guess it is a sign of the economic times.  Most of them are from companies that I have never done business with.  My desk is really getting me down.  I clean it up and the next day it is stacked high again.  So I sit day after day tearing labels and those darned embedded order forms, with my name and address on them, out to shred. 

I guess I better quit running on and get something done.  I have a round robin quilt to finish along with other projects.

Until next time.

Pat

A Quick Note

Nothing much new going on around here. I just wanted to tell you about a giveaway here.

I have been having fun looking at the issue of "Quiltmakers 100 Blocks from today's top designers" I was lucky enough to win a copy. Be sure you look for it on the newsstand. Barbara Brackman issued a challenge of sorts yesterday on her blog.

Until next time.

Pat

My Latest Finishes

These are two of my latest finishes. They were both designed by Jo Morton. The first one is Holiday Inn and the second one is Warm Wishes. I plan to hang the Warm Wishes over the hearth at Christmas time.

It looks like DH was standing on a hill!

Until later.

Pat

Trick or Treat

Two of the cutest little trick or treaters that came to my door.

Kung Fu Panda and the Princess

What I Have Been Doing

Aside from staying out of trouble I have taken a short break from quilting and have been doing some needlework. Here are a few of my recent finishes.

These will be finished into a tree ornaments. I have a Mr. Santa to go along with Mrs. Santa.

This will be finished in either a pillow or a cube.

And lastly this will be a pillow. Can you guess what it is???

Recently we had one of our favorite fall dinners. Stuffed Spaghetti Squash. I am including the recipe. The recipe came from the Beef It’s What for Dinner people.

Sirloin Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

1 lb. Beef top sirloin steak. ½ to ¾ inch thick

4-5 lb. Spaghetti squash

1 small onion, chopped

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp. Oregano leaves

1 tsp. Thyme leaves

½ tsp. Crushed red pepper

½ tsp. Garlic powder

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

¼ cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated

Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds and microwave cut side down in ½” water for 15 min. While the squash cooks, chop onion, green pepper and tomato. Combine seasonings. Press into both sides of streak. Cook steak in large skillet with oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Turn steak, moving to one side; sauté vegetables during last 5 min. Cut steak into ½ inch cubes and mix with vegetables and pan juices. Pull a fork from edges through squash until it resembles spaghetti. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top each squash half with part of the steak, vegetables and pan juices. Sprinkle with parmesan. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.

Note: Be sure you pick a squash that is bright lemon yellow.

Until later.

Pat

Fall is Here – I think

In Texas you can never tell when fall is REALLY here.  Oh, how I miss Michigan in October.

Yesterday I did a little fall decorating.  I am about a month late for me.  Here are a few pictures.

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I have a new finished a new quilt.  Sorry the pictures aren’t better, but I just don’t have space to hang it or lay it out flat.

This quilt is based on the Harriet Tubman block by Kaye England.   I attended a weekend Civil War Mystery Quilt retreat.

My friend Betsy Chutchian has a new book out from Kansas City Star.  It is based on Betsy’s great great grandmother’s 1857 journals and it is a wonderful book.  I have had a the privilege of seeing some on Betsy’s quilt in person and they are beautiful.

I have two new things in my sewing room – a new sewing chair that I love  and a thread tray for my most used threads.

  That’s it for today.

Pat

Back Home

I arrived home from my quilting retreat.  It was great fun, as usual, and I am already looking forward to the next one.  I did accomplish quiet a bit, but not what I planned to get done. This post in long and filled with pictures so grab a cup of tea and enjoy.

Here  are a few  pictures of the ladies busy working on their projects or taking a break.

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Sarah is busy working on the last few blocks of her “Dear Jane” quilt, which she finished piecing at this retreat.  Congratulations Sarah aka SIS!

 

Shirley finished the last of her beautiful hand pieced “ Seven Sisters” block.  This block was inspired by an antique quilt Shirley saw and her husband drafted it out for her.  The quilt will have four blocks and most likely an applique border.

We all got a good laugh over this it is oyster crackers from some snack mix that looked like a miniature Grandmothers Flower Garden. 

Show and Tell

We did not have as much show and tell this time.  Everyone was working on the own “Robin Border Quilts.  I have to apologize for the photos we were crowded in a small area.

 

Sarah with her Pat Sloan quilt and her Thimbleberries quilt pictured below.

 

SIS is also a knitter here she is modeling her very cute shrug.  It was knit in one piece.  She is a very busy gal being a elementary teacher and still finding time for her hobbies.

 

Mary has a very cute “Sunbonnet Sue” quilt to show

ML has a beautiful appliqued quilt done in neutrals.

Gloria finished her block for the Baltimore style quilt we have all contributed blocks to.  We have not decided yet exactly what will be done with the quilt when it is finished.  Most likely we will donate it to a charity for fund raising.  This is the first time Gloria used the  back basting method of applique and did a beautiful job.

Now for the “Robin Border quilts” 

Gloria’s challenge was curved or circles.

Shirley’s challenge was half square triangles.

Cherie also had curves or circles.

ML was another curves or circles.

Barbara was a late starter and this is her center.

Penny’s challenge was dimensional and she “wowed” us with her unique way of accomplishing it.

Ladies you all did great work on your challenge.  I can’t wait to see what you do next.

The quilts looked like so much fun that I decided to join in.  This is my center.  My next two rounds will be, Circles or curves – pieced or appliqued, and squares or rectangles.

After all of the ooh’s and ahh’s we had to acknowledge our much loved leader.  Sarah aka SIN is a Dear Jane Goddess and our mascot for the retreat group is the frog.  Gloria found the perfect gift for SIN and we were all surprised.  And as you can see SIN thought it was great too!

 

Debbie was unable to attend the retreat this time, but did stop by on Sunday.  This is her “Robin Border”

She also had a quilt to show

It is hard to see all of the embroidery, but it is Dick and Jane and Debbie did a beautiful job and added a lot of detail to the blocks.  Great job Debbie.

She also gifted all of us with these darling sewing kits that she designed.

She also gifted us with two darling frog keychain fobs that her husband made.

Thank you Debbie!

Now that reality has set in I need to get off this computer and do the laundry and grocery shop.

Until later.

Pat