Happy Birthday, America!

I love the 4th of July.  It's my favorite holiday of the year.  Aside from the obvious, it has great personal meaning to me.  Freedom.  

I love the 4th of July!  Let freedom ring! Happy Birthday, America.  

To help celebrate my favorite holiday, we received an "Eagle" die for the Go! cutter.  Just in time for that 4th of July project!  

"Eagle" die by AccuQuilt 

We also received two other specialty dies:  "Funky Flowers" and "Queen of Hearts".  

"Funky Flowers" and "Queen of Hearts" dies by AccuQuilt 

I have a fondness for Double Wedding ring quilts. We recently saw one at a flea market that was older than I am.  I talked myself out of buying it and now regret that decision......

If you've been thinking about making a Double Wedding ring quilt, we now have the Creative Grids templates to make that project a little easier.    

We finally received Creative Grids "Scrap Crazy 6" templates.  The books came in a couple of weeks ago (before the templates) but now, we have the whole family!   

Scrap Crazy 6" templates by Creative Grids 

You asked for it, you got it, Toyota!  O.k, it's not a new car but it does have curves!  

It's the "Curvy Log Cabin" template by Creative Grids. We also received two new patterns to use with it!  

Curvy Log Cabin template by Creative Grids 

"Sparklers" pattern using Creative Grids 6" templates 

"Hopscotch" pattern using the Curvy Log cabin template 

"Carousel" pattern using the Curvy Log Cabin template 

I love the colors in this pattern: "Twister Illusions" by Quilt Moments.  Love the colors, love the pattern, love Twister!  

Twister Illusions pattern by Quilt Moments 

I also love all things patriotic: mugs, shoes, clothes, fabric....anything!  I squealed like a little girl when I opened this box...left by the big brown truck!  

We now have five bolts of "Stars and Stripes II" by Northcott.  Just in time for that 4th of July project.   

Stars and Stripes II by Northcott:  flags, stars on medium blue and multi stars

Stars and Stripes II:  blue stars on white and stars on dark blue.  

I also love it when little ones bring in the stuff they've made. 

Miss Olivia brought in these place mats she made for

"Show and Tell".  She did a great job!  

Keep up the good work, Olivia!  We love them!  

P-Dub does the Impossible

I volunteered to make an “Impossible Pie” for a luncheon.  No biggie.  I love to bake.  I can’t boil water but I love to 

B-A-K-E.  Anything cooked in the oven IS my comfort zone.  Sweetness can have those burners on the top of the stove all to himself…the oven is all mine!  No problem. 

My Mom would make ‘Impossible Pies” to take to church dinners or funeral suppers.  I love these pies.  I was looking forward to making one. 

I have to admit, I started this project a little full of myself.  The directions said “it’s impossible to make a mistake.  Stir all ingredients together and put in a 10” pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes and let cool in the refrigerator”.  I can do that.  No problem. 

People will be counting on me to bring this pie.  Lunch is tomorrow…..I’m in charge of the dessert.  No problem. 

One of the ingredients is ½ stick of butter, melted.  That means I have to use the top portion of the stove…..where the burners are…to melt the butter. …Sweetness’ area of expertise of said appliance, not my area of expertise of said appliance.  No problem.  

Sweetness was busy getting higher educated when I started this project so, I told myself…”I can melt butter”.  I was single for a very long time before we got married and I never missed a meal.  I’m not sure what I ate all those years but I assure you, I never went hungry.

How should I accomplish cutting this stick of butter in half?  Lengthwise?  In the middle? Should I Google this to see how the experts do it? Nah.  I’ll take my chances and do it my way.  No problem. 

As I was cutting the butter in half, I heard something on the other side of the kitchen.  Turning to see what was causing the noise, with my knife still in the butter........as I was turning around......half of the stick of butter flicked onto the floor courtesy of my knife.  

Butter flicking.  It should be an Olympic event.  How far can you flick half a stick of butter with an ordinary kitchen knife?    

The kids were on standby just waiting for me to drop something.....they got to the butter before I did.....just in time to lick it a couple of times before I could retrieve said half stick of butter and put it in the trash.  Phooey on using the stove, I’ll melt the blasted butter in the microwave.  No problem.  

After melting the blasted butter the next thing was to “mix all ingredients together and pour in a 10” pie plate”.  Sweetness left our (one and only) pie plate on the counter before leaving for school.  Bless his heart.  What would I do without this man?  

The OCD kicked in and for some unknown reason I decided to measure the pie plate.  It’s 11” across, from one edge to another, flutes included.  I need a 10” pie plate, not 11”.  Will it make a difference? I hope not, this is the only pie plate we have.  Holy cow.  This could be a problem.  

Out of sheer curiosity, I measured the inside dimension of the plate.  It’s 9 ½” which means I’m ½” short of what the recipe calls for.  Hopefully, in the baking world, it won’t be that big of a deal.  I hoped this wouldn't be a problem.  

The next obstacle was this white stuff called ‘flaked coconut’.  I need 8 ounces.  The bag Sweetness bought is 14 ounces.  I know 8 ounces is a cup so, in my infinite wisdom, I decided to use my ½ cup measure and dip it into the bag of coconut twice (in case you’re wondering:  I’d already used the 1 cup measure for the sugar and I didn’t have another one and wasn't smart enough to just wash it and re-use it).  

I was feeling pretty good about this "Impossible Pie" as I dumped the coconut into the bowl......until I realized the measuring cup wasn't full....of coconut. 

Apparently coconut is sticky and likes to form into balls of itself when dipped into with a measuring utensil.  Oh great. How do I know how much extra coconut to add to make up for this deficiency? This big hole of emptiness where coconut should be?   This is a problem. 

After setting 2 timers (just in case), being on the phone with my brother and Sweetness getting back from school, the timers went off and I pulled out the most gorgeous thing I've baked in a long time.  

The coconut floated to the top and was a light golden brown, the self rising flour made a thin crust on the bottom and the whole house smelled like coconut.  No problem!  

Food fabrics, new books, patterns, "Petals", Oliso irons and Secret Sister stuff

I like to think I'm an organized person.  In reality, I could use some improvement!  I saw some nifty plastic containers by Creative Grids and had to have them!  

One is long and skinny (perfect for strips), the other is 6"x 6" square (great for charm pack pieces).  We now have both sizes....maybe these will help me get organized!  

plastic containers by Creative Grids

 Everyone knows we're over the moon about the "Strip Tube Ruler" by Daniela Stout.  We have the S.T.R., a bunch of patterns for it and almost all of the S.T.R. books. 

Now, Miss Daniela just released another book called "Sweet Tooth" to use with pre-cuts AND three of the patterns use the S.T.R.!  YIPPEE!!!   I can't wait to make something from her new book! 

If you're a fan of the "Scrap Crazy Templates", you'll love the new "Scrap Crazy 6" book by Karen Montgomery.   

This book is for the second set of templates (which should arrive this week).  I'm not sure why the book came in before the templates but that's what happened!  

When the templates get here, we'll have a book to use with them! 

Scrap Crazy 6 and Sweet Tooth books received this week.  

I love the Twister Tool.  You don't have to be a brain surgeon to use it and the end result is wonderful! 

Designers come up with different patterns using it and our newest pattern is no different.  

It's called "Twister Jack" by Need'l Love.  It uses one of the Twister Tools by Primitive Gatherings.....just in time for an early Halloween project??? 

Twister Jack pattern by Need'l Love 

Melba brought in a really nifty book last Saturday: "The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns" by designer Jinny Beyer.  Because I have poor impulse control, I had to have this book!  

It has over 4,000 quilt blocks complete with color pictures, diagrams, full names and history for each block. Wow! I wonder how long it took to do all that research?  

This is a very heavy book.  Feel free to use it as a weapon if the Quilting Police show up!  We now have a copy of it in the shop!  

Santa Claus left the most wonderful iron for yours truly last Christmas (great job, Santa Claus!).    

After using it, I knew we had to have these wonderful irons in the shop.  We sold out of the yellow models at Cassville's quilt show and this model has been so popular, it's been back ordered for months.  

When the big brown truck came this week, inside one of the boxes was the big mac daddy iron....the yellow one.....Oliso's answer to never setting your iron upright again.  

Great job, Santa Claus.  Great job, UPS driver.  Great job, Oliso.  Well done! 

the big mac daddy Oliso iron!  

I love old soap labels.  I'm not sure why.  I don't try to understand it or figure it out.  It's part of who I am and I've come to accept it (without counseling or a 12 step program).    

I almost blew a gasket when I saw this print...of old soap labels....on fabric....that can be used for anything that pops into my brain...or your brain...or your friend's brain....or your quilting buddies's brain...or..... 

Anyway, I LOVE this print.  Old soap labels.  I don't have a pattern or book or template or Go! die or anything else to use with it.  It's just a bolt of old soap labels....I had to have it...it's here...thank goodness.  

Feel free to stop by and pet it when you're here the next time.  We'll let you!  Really.  I promise. 

a bolt of old soap labels.....YUMMY!  

I must have been hungry when I ordered these "food" prints...that arrived this week......just in time to make Dad a snappy apron for Father's Day.  

These are from the "Munchies" line by Timeless Treasures.  Is your stomach growling?  Mine must have been!  

breakfast sandwiches, fried chicken and grilled cheese sandwiches

onion rings, sodas and hamburgers, Oh my!   

 We also received new Moda precuts this week....."25th and Pine" by Basic Grey:  layer cakes, charm packs, jelly rolls and mini charms.  

25th and Pine by Basic Grey for Moda 

 Some of the stuff Vicki and I ordered at market a couple of weeks ago is starting to come in.  

These are "Petals" by Quilting Treasures.  The fat quarter bundles and jelly rolls are here. Yummy!    

"Petals" by Quilting Treasures:  jelly rolls and fat quarter bundles 

Donna D. stopped by yesterday to get her Secret Sister gift:  a cute figurine.  

Thank You, Donna's S/S.  She loved it!  

Lots and lots and lots of stuff!!

We've been super busy since the last blog post.  Sorry for the delay.  We've remodeled and re-vamped the shop, Sweetness built new shelves as well as new homes for all the Go! cutter dies and several surfaces got a new coat of paint!  Thank goodness the paint fumes were gone in time for the shop hop.  

After the "Hidden Treasures Shop Hop" last Friday and Saturday, Vicki and I attended quilt market on Sunday in Branson (sans my usual Sunday afternoon nap) but it was worth it!  We have lots of yummy fabrics we're looking forward to receiving in the months to come!  I can't wait!  

"Thank You" to everyone who participated in the shop hop last week.  Winners for the $50 gift certificates will be drawn this Thursday, June 12th at the owner's meeting.  Winners will be contacted by the end of business on Friday, the 13th.  

We've received a bunch of new stuff (11 new AccuQuilt dies, 108" backings, a new book and magazine, notions, a new pattern) and had lots of "Show and Tell" the last couple of weeks.  

Kick back and get comfy, we have lots of pictures!  

Gingher sharpening stones, thread snips and Dritz ergonomic seam rippers! 

"Flying Geese and More" by Joan Hamley

"Flying Geese--No Math Ruler" by Lazy Girl Designs (Joan Hamley) 

"Dancing Umbrellas" pattern by Edyta Sitar 

just released 2 1/2" half square triangles, "Simple Shapes" and "Dancing Umbrella" dies by AccuQuilt 

"Kite", "Ohio Star" and "Cupcake" dies released in May

"Rag Circle" and "School house" dies just released in May. 

"Snowball", "Awareness Ribbon" and  3" squares dies for AccuQuilt's Go! cutter 

4 7/8" triangles die, great for cutting those pesky Flying Geese triangles! 

new 30 degree Squedge by Phillips Fiber Arts.  

the latest issue of Fons and Porter's "Scrap Quilts" 

This is the opportunity quilt the Aurora Quilt Guild will be offering at their show in August 

Cynthia W. brought this quilt during the shop hop.  I can't remember who she made it for but, it's gorgeous! 

Sharon L. made this sewing box using Kansas Troubles fabrics and will be selling these in the shop. 

new 108" backings in light yellow, light pink, light blue and light green.  

Leota brought in this quilt she made using a "Potluck" jelly roll.  

Leota used the leftovers she had to make this block for the center back of her quilt. 

Debbie strikes again!  She brought in not one but two Midi bags she made.  

Cathy made this quilt as a fundraiser for her grandson's band trip to Washington D.C.  

the back of Cathy's quilt she made as a fundraiser for her grandson's band

five bolts of "Sofia" by Timeless Treasures 

Vicki brought this quilt she made as a wedding present for her nephew.  

closeup of the quilt Vicki made for her nephew's wedding present 

the 1930's border print Vicki used on her nephew's wedding quilt 

the back of Vicki's quilt, quilted by Penny B. in Illinois 

Vicki and Miss Gracie stopped by this morning.  We love four legged kids...and their owners!  

Linda P. wanted to show us the "I love Lucy" quilt she made for her granddaughter.  

Remember the 'fish" quilt Jamie made as a baby quilt?  She stopped by today to show us what it looked like with borders!  How cute is this? 

close up of Jamie's "Fish" quilt she made for a family friend's infant daughter 

Jamie put the little girl's name as the center block of the back. 

Shawn stopped by today to finish a U.F.O.  She started this shawl 10 years ago for a friend and finished it today!  Great job, Shawn!  

"Clapotis" shawl Shawn made for a friend's Christmas present....10 years ago!  

close up of the shawl Shawn finished today!  YIPPEE!!!  

this turkey walked out of the woods this afternoon.  It's the first wild turkey I've EVER seen on this property.