Masala baby

 (There is a giveaway at the bottom of this post for those who are interested!) 

Hi everyone! Odd to hear from me on a Monday, I know, but my friend Preeti has a new pattern that I tested for her, and it's my pleasure to share it with you today. The pattern is called Masala Box, and it makes a very fast and easy quilt that turns out to be striking no matter what colors you make it in. I made the baby size, because I knew it would be a donation quilt, and had a good time creating it. Take a look:

 

I told you it was striking! It's kind of modern and kind of traditional, with no difficult piecing. I like to think it looks vaguely Caribbean in my colors, with some bright colors of the ocean, sky and sun. This bright little baby quilt measures about 40 by 40. For this size, you need less than a yard of the background and some colorful scraps, so it's a very economical quilt to make as well. You could easily dig every bit out of your scraps if you had some bigger pieces.

 

I backed this fun little quilt with a bright green polka dot, then quilted it with bright green thread using my walking foot. It's bound by machine with a bright turquoise solid. I goofed around and half watched a movie while I made this, and it still only took me an afternoon, with quilting the next afternoon. Not bad for a whole little quilt.

I made my quilt with individual squares, which cleaned out a lot of them, but the pattern is strip pieced, so it's much easier than the one I made. As I said above, the quilt looks great in almost any colors, and I bet it would look terrific with a really wild background print and solid squares, or in all neutrals. The centers could also be used for embroidery or thread painting, or you could have people write messages there, for a wedding, graduation, or quinceanera quilt. (Why can't I get a tilde so that's spelled correctly? Anyone know how to insert those letters on Blogger?)

You can purchase the pattern in Preeti's Etsy shop and start making your quilt right away, but here's your chance to win a pattern, with no effort other than leaving me a comment! Leave a comment below, and just for fun, let me know what color combo you think would look good in this pattern. What colors would you make it in, or for what occasion? I will use the random number generator thingy to choose a random winner the morning of  Saturday, October 16th. 

 

The giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to Connie, and thanks to all!

Hope you all have a good week, with lots of sewing time and some other kinds of relaxation. I'll be teaching all week, and finishing the border on another quilt. Come back Friday for another exciting episode!

Tree traditions

Hi everyone, and welcome to my stop on the Holiday Tales and Traditions blog hop! Bernie at Needle and Foot organized this hop to spread a little holiday cheer. I know this holiday is different from all the others, and at least some of us are having a bit of a time this season. It's been a hard year, so let's pull up a chair, grab a cup of whatever you like, and share some happy stories of our holiday traditions. At the end of my post today, there is a small giveaway just to spread a little more cheer, and also a fun holiday recipe that we have enjoyed for years and years. (And it can be made gluten-free, too!) Read on and enjoy, then share your own story in the comments! Off we go. . .

 

My holiday traditions story will be quite familiar to people in the Upper Midwest, where Christmas-- and sometimes Thanksgiving or even Halloween-- are usually marked by lots of snow and cold. We always had a "real" Christmas tree, and as soon as our kids were old enough to walk a bit in the woods, we started going to cut-your-own lots, where you can cut down your own tree. We did this until our kids left home, and we have some of the best memories from those times.

My very first Christmas ornament, bought for my first "adult" tree almost 40 years ago.

We usually had a great time getting a tree, walking through the whole lot to get the best one. Then of course the kids each had to take a few swipes with the saw, which really did not make any progress in cutting down the tree, but it felt good to them. One year we picked a tree that came with pinecones already attached, and I saved them and still have them.

Non-digital photo that survived from the 1990s.

My favorite year was the year that it was 5 degrees below zero and very snowy. You would think that we would have just forgone the tradition that year, but nope-- traditions do not die that easily! And we were pretty hardy folks, you know, so we bundled up the kids and went out and found a tree. It was probably the longest time we spent in a tree lot, and it was hard walking through the snow, but it turned out to be one of the best times ever. And no frostbite, either! We all still talk about the "freezing year." 

Christmas trees meant for eating!

Of course, after all that activity, we needed hot chocolate and cookies! While the tree thawed out (and dripped) in the garage, we had as many cookies and as much hot chocolate as we could hold. It ruined everyone's lunch, but who cares? They got plenty of vegetables at dinner, I promise. Then, of course, we got to decorate and enjoy our prize tree, which somehow always ended up being way too tall for our room. They look much smaller outside!

Ah, memories! I might be tearing up a bit. I know the picture of those cookies up there is making your mouth water, so now I have two small gifts for you. First, at the bottom of this post is our family Christmas cookie recipe, which makes a *lot* of cut out sugar cookies. Also, I am offering a small giveaway so that you can create something fun in the new year. I have this to share with you:

 

This is a small package of Christmas-tree-colored Aurifil threads in different weights and types. There is some floss, and a spool of regular 50 weight, and some 12 weight thread, too, I think. I didn't want to open the package, so I'm not super-sure, but I know that someone who enjoys experimenting with these things will have a great time with these threads. To enter the giveaway, just share a happy holiday memory in the comments! If you don't celebrate Christmas, that's okay, too! I'm happy to hear any of your happy family stories. I will choose a winner using a random number generator on Sunday evening, December 20. 

This giveaway is now closed! Thanks for sharing your stories!

Be sure to visit everyone else on this hop for some more holiday stories, too:

Sew Preeti Quilts

Quilting Jetgirl

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

From My Carolina Home

MMM! Quilts

Pieceful Thoughts

Devoted Quilter

Me and My Quilts

Kathleen McMusing

Sarah Goer Quilts

Needle and Foot

 

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 And, as promised, here is the cookie recipe:

Note: This recipe makes a LOT of cookies-- between 10 and 12 dozen. Hey, I come from a big family! The dough can be divided and frozen, and it will keep a good six months in the freezer if well wrapped. I have made cookies at Easter from dough that I froze at Christmas, so don't be afraid to make the whole batch and have cookies for months.

2 cups butter, softened

2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs

5 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine.

 

In a very large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, beating for at least one minute until well combined and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the milk and vanilla and scrape the bowl to be sure everything is well combined.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, making sure all of the flour is incorporated after each addition. Dough will graually become stiffer and the last of the flour mixture may need to be added with your hands. When well combined, smooth the dough and shape into a rough loaf shape. Wrap tightly and refrigerate overnight (at least 12 hours). Dough can also be divided and frozen at this point.

To bake, preheat oven to 350. Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thickness a small portion at a time on a lightly floured surface. Dough will be stiff but will soften as you work with it. Cut with cookie cutters in any shape you desire. Place cookies about an inch apart on greased cookie sheets. (Cookies do not spread a lot.) Bake until lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks, frost or decorate, and enjoy!

To make these cookies gluten-free: I am gluten-free and I have successfully made these cookies using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. I find it helps to let the dough sit on the counter for about an hour before refrigerating it when using this flour blend. Then refrigerate and bake as described above. Yum!

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I hope this was a cheerful post for you, and I'm really looking forward to reading your stories. I have some tea and some cookies, so I'm ready! Share your stories below, and pass on some Christmas cheer!

Letting an old project go

(This is a giveaway post!)

Hi everyone! How was your week?  It has been a busy, busy time around here! There are big changes coming at the AQ household, none of which I'm prepared to share with the interwebs just yet, but all of which mean that there is a great deal to do and not enough hours to do it.

With all of the busy-ness around here this week, along with some of our obligations associated with Easter, I have barely sewn a single stitch. And I missed something important, too-- two weeks ago this blog turned five years old! Really, five years. Who knew? Apparently not me, because I just noticed it yesterday.  Later this year I'll have to do something to celebrate, don't you think?

For today, though, remember a few weeks ago I said that I always miss the quilty adoption event that Cynthia hosts twice a year at Quilting is more fun than Housework? Well, I decided not to wait any more and go ahead and give away the project I've been wanting to give away for at least three adoption cycles now.  (You know I'd miss the next one, too, don't you?) Here is the project:

The giveaway includes everything you see here: the book (in like-new condition), the already made 4-patches, the remaining 2-1/2 inch strips (some of which have been cut to make 4-patches), and about 1-1/3 yards of coordinating fabric that I think was supposed to be for an additional border and binding.  I can't remember exactly, but it's fabric from the same line.  That's a big giveaway!

I started to make the cover quilt from this book a couple of years ago, but never went beyond making some of the 4-patches. The quilt is really cute, but I just have no enthusiasm for making it any more.  The fabric here is a line called Victorian Modern by Andover Fabrics and has a 2012 date on the selvage. It's beyond time for this fabric to be used.  The strips do not have pinked edges and I think they were cut by the quilt shop, not by the manufacturer.

The book contains 18 patterns for different precuts, and the quilts finish in a variety of different sizes. I'm not sure that you can read all the pattern titles, but they represent a number of different styles, and the instructions are well written.

This project is getting zero love sitting in my closet, and I'm ready to let it go.  This entire project could be yours!  I really want it to go to someone who will make something with it and not just add it to the stash.  You don't have to make this project, but make something, and send me a picture when you do.  That's all!

I have no other pictures of the project, but here is a happy magnolia blossom!

So, if you would like to have this project and make something from it, and you agree to send me a picture when you do, just leave a comment on this post! I will send you this entire project at no cost (via parcel post because wow! postage has gotten really expensive).  I'm sorry to say that I can only send this in the US because shipping is remarkably expensive. I really am sorry.  Since Sunday is Easter Sunday and I doubt I'll be looking at the Internet at all, I will choose a winner using the random number generator Monday around lunchtime (between noon and 1pm on the East coast).  Please, please be sure that I can contact you!  If I can't get in touch with you, you can't win!

 This giveaway is now closed!  Thanks everyone!

I feel like this post is rambling, but you get the idea!  A blessed Easter to everyone who celebrates, and chag Pesach samech to everyone celebrating Passover this week, too.  And a happy spring weekend to all!

Autumn Jewels

Hi everyone, and welcome to my turn on the Autumn Abundance blog hop!  The temps have fallen dramatically (really! It was 40 degrees last night!) and it's time to think about cuddling up on the sofa, drinking hot chocolate, and buttoning up because winter is coming.  This celebration of the season was organized by Bernie at Needle and Foot and is sponsored by Paintbrush Studio.  We each received some lovely fabrics from Paintbrush, and here is what I managed to do with mine:

An autumn-themed Jewel Box quilt!  Aren't those fabrics really great and rich-looking?  I'm really thrilled with how this turned out.  The fabrics are from the Into the Woods line, and the solids are also Painter's Palette Solids from Paintbrush.  (There are free patterns all over if you follow those links, so check it out and see what you can find!)

This picture is the closest to the true colors of the fabrics. 

I was seriously worried about this background color, which is the solid in Curry.  Jewel Box quilts are traditionally made with either a black background or a white one to showcase the fabrics, so I wasn't sure how the curry color would turn out.  I think it turned out great for a fall quilt!  It's such a nice warm color and complements the others so nicely.
 

Making this quilt is really easy.  My quilt turned out at about 60 by 68, a nice cuddle size, and used 42 8-inch blocks.   Each of the blocks used 2 4-patches and 2 (gigantic!) half-square triangles.  Use 2-1/2 inch strips to make the 4-patches, which should measure 4-1/2 inches before they're sewn into the block.  If you want to make a quilt the same size as mine, with 42 blocks, you'll need 84 4-patches.  (Strip piece them and they won't take long!) I made the hsts using the Magic 8 method and cut 10-inch squares of each fabric.  You'll also need 84 of these.  Arrange the 4-patches and hsts like this:

Then it's just a matter of turning the blocks in various directions and laying them out to make the pattern in the quilt.  I tried to be as random as possible without having the same colors meet.  Somewhat more difficult than it sounds! Join the blocks into rows, and the rows into a finished quilt center.  For my borders, I cut the curry color at 1-1/2 inches to finish at 1 inch, and the larger leaf border at 5 inches.  Layer, quilt, and bind!

The giveaways are now closed!  Thanks to all who entered, and congratulations to Lori and Mary, who won the fabric sets.


And now for the giveaways!  I am giving away two sets of fabric:

First, there is this set of fabrics that didn't make the cut for the quilt.  They are lovely, though!  I received a fat quarter bundle and just didn't use all of them.  There are fat quarters of the yellow solid and a patterned yellow, neither of which showed up well with the curry, and also fat quarters of the leaf print and a nice brown, both of which have some pretty metallic accents.

For the second fabric set, I followed Bernie's lead and cut these into charm squares, plus added some leftover 2-1/2 inch squares.  I didn't count them, but there are plenty!  These would make up into something nice for Thanksgiving, if you're inclined to do that!

To win either of these fabric bundles, leave a comment on this post with a suggestion for something you like about fall.  I will draw for these on Halloween, Monday, October 31.  This giveaway is open to all, but if you are overseas (outside the US and Canada) I will ask you to pay for the shipping.  These don't weigh much!

Be sure to visit everyone else in the blog hop!  Not only are there some really lovely projects, but there are more giveaways to be had, including at least one brand new stack of fat quarters.  Here is the schedule:

October 24th – Bernie at Needle and Foot
October 25th – Janine at Quilts From the Little House
October 26th – Mari at Academic Quilter  (that's me!)
October 27th – Tish at Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland
October 28th – Sandra at MMM! Quilts




Hope you're enjoying the fall!  Sharing at Let's Bee Social, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Finish it Up Friday, and Finished or Not Friday.  See you there!  And thanks so much to Bernie and the other hoppers, and to Paintbrush for their generous support of this project.

So much to celebrate!

Hi everyone, and thanks for stopping by today!  It's a great day here, and we have much to celebrate.  First, our daughter's wedding was amazing.  It snowed, it rained, it snowed some more and no one cared because it was such a great day.  There may or may not be a picture at the end of the post--you'll have to look and see! Thanks so much to everyone who sent good wishes.  They are much appreciated!

The second thing we're celebrating is my blogiversary!  Last Friday was actually the anniversary of this blog, but I was a little busy with other things.

[All quilts in this post are from this year! Some of them I forgot about!]

I can't believe it's been two years!  This has been a challenging year, and it shows in the quilts.  We moved 900 miles, sold our house, started a new job, and settled in to a new area.

I really miss having my sewing room so I can leave all the mess out, but I think I've made the best of it.  I'm still sewing!

There have been some lovely things this year, and I continue to learn new things.  Just wait until you see what's coming up!

I am grateful to all of you who have visited, left comments, quilted along with the BOMs, sent pictures of your quilts, and generally been extra encouraging through the tough times.  You've been amazing, and I appreciate you so much!

One of my goals for the next year is to try even more new things and to do more of my own quilting.  I'm already planning a sewing room where I can leave at least 2 machines up all the time.  Three would be even better!

One really good thing about moving was that I got to meet some blogging friends:

Believe it or not, I'm already planning a couple of meet ups with others as well.  So looking forward to it!

I feel optimistic about the future and I look forward to sharing it with you!




The giveaway is now closed!  Congratulations to Elaine M!

As a small thank you for everything that you've given me this year, I'm offering a small giveaway:

These are 6 Kona fat quarters and a half yard of Kona white, along with some fun cotton thread.  To enter, just leave a comment on this post.  You can live anywhere, and you don't have to be a follower or anything.  I'll pick on Sunday night, using the random number generator.

Thanks so much again, and now here's the picture everyone has been waiting for:

Their photographer was Photography by Brea in Maryland.

Aren't they sweet?  It was a beautiful, happy day.

Have a wonderful weekend, and here's to another fun year covered in thread.

Sharing at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and Finish it up Friday. 

Orphan adoption project

Hi folks!  Yesterday I was happily catching up on some blog reading and came across several people who are giving away works in progress.  Turns out that Cindy at Quilting is More Fun than Housework had the best idea ever--an orphan adoption event.  She offered one of her own orphaned WIPs for adoption by someone who would finish it and offered a linkup for anyone else who wanted to do the same.  Do I need to tell you what a genius idea this is?  Just genius!

So, I am offering an old work-in-not-much-progress of my own for adoption by someone who will finish it and love it.  You can have it absolutely FREE, no postage or anything, with one little catch--you agree to give a similarly-sized quilt (any quilt, not necessarily this one) to a charity that will give it a good home.  I would prefer that it go to adults as there are tons of charities for baby quilts.  Homeless shelters, women's shelters, nursing homes, and Quilts of Valor are all good choices.  Give away one quilt and enjoy this one forever without guilt!

So, this quilt is called Wine Country and was an impulse purchase years ago (at least 4, maybe more) at the quilt shop. Here is the pattern:

It comes with this fabric, and includes substitution directions--red is substituted for pink, etc.:

The red piece there is 2 yards.  The browns are quarter yards and the greens are probably half-yards, though I didn't measure them.  This should be enough for the top, including the pieced border. No backing, sorry.  I didn't make the quilt so I didn't get a backing!

The quilt sample made up from this was darling, which is why I bought it to begin with.  (You've never done that, right?)  Here is all the progress I made on it:

Yep, all I did was cut the 6-1/2 inch squares for the snowballs. Sadness!  Don't know why I didn't work on it again--I guess it just didn't hold my attention.  It's not really my color, though the fabric is quite nice.  I really want this to go to someone who will make it up, so please keep that in mind when you enter.  And I'd love a picture when it's finished!

This could be yours to finish and snuggle up in! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me one fun fact about yourself or where you live.  For example, I live in Waukesha, Wisconsin, which is the birth place of Les Paul, a musician who invented the solid body electric guitar.  We have a parkway, a museum, and a middle school named for him and our city symbol is a guitar in his honor.

I will send this anywhere in the US or Canada free of charge, but will ask to share the shipping cost to anyone anywhere else in the world.  We'll split it in half, with me paying half and you paying half.  Overseas postage is horrendous, so I think that's fair.

I'll be away at a conference for much of this week, so I will draw a winner using the magic random number widget thingy when I get back on Sunday, June 14.  You have until about 3 pm Sunday to leave a comment.

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Congratulations to Rose, who has adopted this orphan project! Thanks everyone for entering!
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I feel so much better just knowing this is in the envelope waiting to go to a good home! Whew--all the guilt over not finishing is out of here! If you're interested in more adoption opportunities, jump on over to Cindy's (HERE) and take a look at the other links. And many thanks to Cindy for the fantastic idea!

Not sharing this anywhere but Cindy's linkup, but feel free to tell all your friends!

 Happy sewing, everyone!

It's a celebration!

Hi all {waving wildly}! Today is a very happy day here at The Academic Quilter. Yesterday was my 112th post and my one-year blogging anniversary! Plus, spring is popping up all over. Flowers are on the way! On top of that, we had Opening Day for the Milwaukee Brewers. Looking forward to going to the stadium soon. Add in some leftover Easter chocolate and we can really call this a party!

Mary's Linens

So much has happened in the last year, almost all of it good. I have learned so much and done a lot of things I never thought I would. Most importantly, I have made some good friends, and wouldn't you know--they all like talking about fabric, thread, color, and quilting!

Vin du Jour

Happy things from this year:

** The incredible creative people I've met and learned from.

** My sewing in general has become more organized and more focused. Planning for blog posts tends to focus the brain on what needs to be finished!

** Discovering new blogs from all over the world through link-ups and seeing projects from many different perspectives.

** The comments I've gotten, most of them very positive and encouraging. Thanks everyone!

** New pattern designs I would never have heard of without blogs.

** Same with fabric! Plus, I've found out about many great new places to shop for this fabulous fabric.

**Trying new things, like crumb blocks and walking-foot quilting.

**Inspiration and motivation from the quilting community every day.

**The quilts! (All photos in this post are quilts from the past year.)

Afternoon on the Porch

And some challenges:

** Photos. This has been the biggest challenge for me in writing this blog. A new camera might help (mine is from 2004), but in reality I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to photos.  Happy to take any advice!

**Spam commenters. Go away!

** The whole 'no-reply' thing and other computer issues. I thought I was pretty computer savvy, but some things have truly stumped me.

** Hmmm, I can't really think of anything else that's negative!

Fiesta Pinwheels

So, let me say thank you to everyone for stopping by to read this little blog, leaving comments, and making me feel like cutting up fabric, playing with color, sewing every day, and having strange threads on all my clothes is totally normal and even something to be encouraged. I can't even tell you what that's meant to me. You've made my day!

As a more tangible thank you, how about a fun giveaway?  I have these to give away to TWO lucky winners:

Sorry, this giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to Barb and Viridian!

Aren't these gorgeous? This is two different sets of 6 fat quarters of Paradiso by Kate Spain for Moda, so TWO winners! (Let's keep the sets just as shown, one on top and one on the bottom.)  I am willing to send these pretty much anywhere in the world. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post (and only this post) with your best blog tip or photo tip.  If you don't have a tip, how about a suggestion for something to do in the next year of this blog? No need to be a follower or anything--everyone is welcome to enter.  I will use the random number gadget thingy (that's its technical name) to draw TWO names on Sunday, April 12, around noonish Central time. Remember to leave an email if you are no-reply so I can notify you.

Again, thanks to everyone for this past year. I've been both humbled and gratified since I first pressed that "publish" button a year ago, and I certainly plan on continuing for a while. (And we'll remain a 'non-profit,' too! No ads!)

Happy sewing everyone!

Linking with Let's Bee Social and WIP Wednesday.

Triangle finish

Hi all! Hope you are having a great day. Fall has arrived with a bang here. Temperatures are plunging, and we're expecting some heavy rain. The local weather guy has even said the F-word: frost. In September! Perhaps that will kill all the ragweed, though, and we can venture outdoors again without fear.

Before I forget, you should hop on over and see Julie's Around the World Blog Hop post right HERE. She has some great projects in progress. Another favorite blogger, Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, also has a similar post, so go check her post out too. (When you're done with this one, of course!)

Sewing-wise, things are moving right along. I got another section finished for the Ocean Waves quilt, but it looks pretty much exactly the same as the other sections, so no new pictures. Same for the Burgoyne Surrounded quilt--some progress, but nothing that photographs well.  There are 81 9-patches to make for that one. Talk about a boring picture. So let's talk about another quilt instead, one that's also already in progress.

Remember this quilt center?

If you recall, I had some serious problems figuring out where to go with this one after I got the center finished. I tried one thing and it was awful, so I took that border off and reassessed. I figured out what would look good and make a good quilt. I even bought fabric to make more triangles. But I just could not make myself do it. And I really tried.

I started this to use up leftover HSTs, and I did that. But what I didn't want to do was invest more time making a bajillion more HSTs to make a bigger quilt just to make a bigger quilt. So here's what I came up with instead:

Yes, I made another baby quilt, which will be donated along with the others. The biggest question was whether I could live with giving it away, and I decided that a child would get far more enjoyment out of it as is than I would making something else. This is about 46 inches square, which will make a nice blankie for a child.

So that's that! Out of the pile, ready for quilting, and off my list! Wins all around!

Last Friday, I noted that I had just passed my 50th post. I'm grateful for everyone who has joined me this far, so I decided to have a small giveaway to celebrate. If you're up for it, I am too, so here are the details:

I have this fat eighth pack of Moda Grunge fabrics to give away:

There are 8 fat eighths here, making about a yard of fabric. I'll even throw in a fat quarter of Kona white to go along with it. For some reason, I have a LOT of Kona white laying around.  I really need to find a project to use it in. I'll work on that.  Meanwhile. . .

Off and on I've been daydreaming a little about making a row quilt from traditional blocks. I've even done a tiny bit of drafting:

So, to win the Moda Grunge fat eighths, just leave me a comment letting me know which blocks I should definitely have in my row quilt. I'm having a tough time deciding! I'll use the random number generator to choose on Thursday night after dinner, so about 7 pm Central time. Open to everybody!

Thanks so much to everyone for helping me make it this far. I appreciate it! Have a good week!

Linking to Linky Tuesday, WIP Wednesday, and Let's Bee Social, as always!