A Saturday Night Visitor

Clara spent the night last night as her parents had a Christmas party to attend.  She is always so happy!  Here she is modeling the jacket I made her for Christmas.

We were lucky enough to spend some time with all of our grandchildren except for Grayson, yesterday.

What a great day!

Just a Couple Things

We spent a great weekend in Des Moines at a motel last weekend.  Bud's three sisters and their families were mostly all there along with all of our family.  We stayed at a motel with a water park and the kids had a great time swimming, sliding, and playing in the water.

Unfortunately I was so busy visiting and playing with grandkids, that I didn't dig out my camera very often.

Of course we had plenty to eat and yummy pizza, the boys (big & small) enjoyed a ride or two in the NASCAR simulator in the arcade, and everyone caught up.  Tasha and Kelly did a great job planning.  We hope this is the first of many annual get togethers for the family.

If you read my blog regularly you will remember that I had quite a busy December.  That caused me to give Clara a Christmas gift of fabric when it really was intended to be a jacket.  Since my sewing has been kind of hit and miss lately I had not had a chance to make it, until last night.  It was fun to pick out "girly" buttons and fabric.

The fabric is a faux suede with faux sheepskin inside--soft and cuddly.

Now, I just need to get a picture with Clara in it!

I used this pattern that I bought at the Quilt Show in Des Moines back in October.  It has several sizes, so I'm sure I'll be using it again and again in different ways.

French Toast Casserole

I always like to have some easy make ahead recipes for breakfast for when we have family overnight. I really don't like messing with frying eggs, pancakes, etc. and I find it much easier to make a breakfast casserole ahead of time.  That being said, who doesn't love a a good gooey pecan roll?  Well, this casserole is the best of both worlds!

French Toast Casserole

1 loaf bread (french, italian, white or wheat--your preference)

8 large eggs

2 cups half and half

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

dash salt

Praline topping (recipe follows)

Maple Syrup

Slice bread into 20 slices--1 in. each.  Arrange slices into a generously buttered 9 x 13 flat glass baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices.  In a large bowl, combine: eggs, half & half, milk, cugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg & salt.  Beat or whisk until blended but not bubbly.  Pour over bread slices, making sure all slices are covered evenly with the mixture.  Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices.  Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day preheat oven to 350.

Praline Topping:  1/2 pound butter (2 sticks) softened, 1 cup packed light brown sugar, 1 cup chopped peans, 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg.

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend-well, spread evenly over bread Bake for 40 minutes until puffed & lightly brown.

Serve with Maple syrup.

YUMMO!!

Check out Mommy's Kitchen for more great recipes.

Stack N Whack Quilt

What is Stack N Whack you ask?  Well, you cut out squares of fabrics and stack them up, then cut out each piece, then take a piece of different fabrics to sew together.  So, each square ends up with different fabrics in different shapes.  I'm really not explaining it very well, but it was fairly easy to do, and I enjoyed it! I wanted something besides meandering and straight line quilting on this one, so I had it done for me.   I finally got it back from the quilter and sewed the binding on.

  I love the quilting.

The back looks great too.  She used brick red thread on the brick colored areas and brown on the rest.

It's certainly not "perfect".  Some seams that don't line up, a pucker here and there, etc.  But, for a beginner I'm pretty proud of it.  The colors look great in the family room where it hangs.

Now, on to something else!!

Outside My Window/On My Lap

I have this outside my window today.

Granted it's only about 3-4 inches which isn't much for Iowa.  But, it is enough to have a late start.  Seems the roads are slick! 

That means I can do a little of this  before school this morning.

Sewing on binding is not my favorite thing to do.  I don't mind whip stitching, but I don't like blind stitching anymore.  It's too hard on my eyes!  I can't wait to get this quilt done to share.  

Maybe tomorrow.

Snowman Wallhanging

Since Bud and Payton spent their day deer hunting, I was able to spend the day sewing.  Well, half of the day anyway, since I had to put out my snowman stuff  which leads to moving things around, which leads to cleaning, ....well, you get the point!  Anyway, I sewed most of the afternoon and got two snowman wallhangings done.    This one is mine and is hanging on the wall!

I used fabric from my stash and a borrowed pattern called Jack Frost.  

I meandered the entire thing except for the snowman.

I made another one with some of the same fabric and some different fabric.  It still needs binding 

But I do think the snowman needs a mouth.  What do you think???

Hot Crab Dip

I haven't posted a recipe for a while, so I thought I'd share this yummy snack recipe.  

Hot Crab Dip

1/2 lb. crab meat (I use imitation most of the time)           1 1/4 t. worcestershire sauce

8 oz. cream cheese                                                                        1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 c. sour cream                                                                              pinch of garlic salt

2 T. mayonnaise                                                                                  1 T. lemon juice

                2 T. grated cheddar cheese  

Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, garlic and mustard until smooth.  Add enough milk until creamy for dipping.  Stir in 2 T. cheese and add crab meat.  Pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.  Serves 10-12.

YUM!!

                   I've linked to The Grocery Cart Challenge.  Check out some of the other great recipes!!

One Last Christmas Post!!

Yes, I know Christmas is over, but I've been behind since Thanksgiving and I'm still trying to catch up!!  I did manage to make a new table topper for the Christmas season that I had forgotten to share.

The snowballs and the two outer bands are Figgy Pudding by Basic Grey for Moda.

I just love the packages and the holly!

Since I am still learning to machine quilt and to use my machine, I used three different kinds of stitches.

In the middle I meandered, on the red border I used a preset scallop, and on the green border I used a preset loop.

The quilting actually shows better on the back.

Also, I got a great Christmas gift from my mom--a 16 place setting of Christmas dishes!

I used them for Christmas dinner.

They would really pop if I had a darker table cloth which I have already purchased for next year, along with red chargers.  I already had the glasses and they match really well.

I also used them when I hosted a brunch for a few friends.

I love the dishes!  Thanks Mom!

We enjoyed New Year's Eve at Trina and Tanner's.  They hosted an open house for friends, family, and neighbors, then family stayed on to celebrate the new year.  We walked in the door just before midnight. I really haven't seen midnight on New Year's Eve for a few years!  New Year's Day we enjoyed a relaxing late lunch with friends.  I hope you enjoyed your New Year's weekend.