Stash Increase

One of our local quilting stores had a fat quarter sale on Saturday so I headed over there for a little fun.  I was at the store last week and and a good idea of some of the fabrics I wanted to purchase.  I didn’t reach my fq limit, but I did get close.  Look at the great pieces I found:


No pictures of the fat quarters in action, although I did work with them on Saturday afternoon.  I have 2 new quilt tops cut out and will work on putting them together this week.  Below is a sneak peek at one of my favorite in-progress quilts.  I love the lilac fabric!


Happy Sewing!

Getting Ready for a Wedding

One of my favorite sisters is getting married in a few weeks and my other favorite sister and I are making the cakes.  Crystal has chosen a cake buffet with a few different flavors of cake.  The centerpiece of the table will be a cake like this one – it represents the love of nature that Crystal and Bill share.  They spend lots of time at parks and Crystal loves photographing wildflowers, so this natural cake is a perfect touch for them.  Bill also took Crystal to a state park to propose!
It’s been a while since I’ve made a sculpted cake, so I need to practice.  This one is pretty easy to sculpt, but covering it in fondant is not as easy.  Luckily I have a few more weeks to practice.
Crystal drew inspiration for this cake from this photo, which can be found on the Cupcake Envy web site.

Below is a photo journey of my afternoon.
  Cakes are baked, cooled, and have amaretto simple sugar on them.
Cakes are stacked and trimmed so the sides are flush.
I think a basket of flowers would make a nice cake also.
The half-finished cake with chocolate fondant on it.  Next time I will put even less buttercream under the fondant.  It looks a bit puffy here.
  The finished cake.  I made the grass and flowers out of fondant as well.  Crystal and Bill’s initials are inside the heart and since the top seemed so empty, I drew in the tree rings also.

The Basics Charity Challenge

I donate to various community organizations on a regular basis.  My favorite place to donate material items is the Home of the Innocents.  I got connected with this organization shortly after I moved here - 6+ years ago already!  I volunteered for a short time, but with a major change in my work, I couldn’t guarantee being able to be there on a set schedule, which was necessary for my volunteer position so I stopped volunteering.   I never stopped donating, though.
I donate everything from clothes, to personal needs, to art supplies, and I feel good knowing that what I donate is used by the children at the center.  Look here for a list of their current needs.
Today’s post isn’t about the Home of the Innocents, though.  It’s about a post I saw while blog surfing on my sick day.  Yes, the teacher finally took a sick day.  I’m actually on day two of being out of school, having been sick all weekend.   What better way to recuperate than to read blogs and help other people???
Cara over at CaraQuilts, has a great post HERE about her pull to donate to a local shelter.  I can’t write it better than her, so please read her post.

As I read her post, I thought about how often I donate to HOTI, and how often I don’t donate to other locations.  There is a shelter very near my school that serves many families, including some of my own students.  I volunteered at the shelter on a community-wide volunteering day a few years ago, but I had never donated anything there.  CHANGE THAT!  This is an organization that helps my own students and their families.  How can I not help them?  I promptly sent a donation through their web site and will have a donation of wish-list items for them as soon as I get over this bug that’s hanging on.
I’m offering you the same challenge.  Drive past a local shelter.  Check their web site.  Give them a call.  Find out what they need.  Donate something.  Help those around us. You can do it, and I bet you’ll have fun doing it.
Happy Giving,

Happy Friday!

My blog shows up in a friend's blog list and it still says "test posting," with has been deleted since I was practicing posting a new widget.  I can't have it that way, so here is a Friday post for you.

I won't have time to finish my current draft posts before the holiday break, but I do have some photos from the most wonderful wedding in the world for your enjoyment.

Scotch Cookies

I have been patiently waiting for our photographer to let us know our wedding pictures are ready so I can add them to the blog, but we haven’t heard a thing from her!  Her contract says it could take up to 90 days since this is the busy season, and we’ve just barely past 30 days, so it could be a long wait. 
Today’s photo and recipe are the Scotch cookies from our wedding.  These were a must-have as they are a family favorite on my mom’s side of the family.  It’s a tradition (or should I say a requirement) to make them the same way every time.  My mom did deviate in one way this time—she made them in hearts instead of circles.  Even the fork-poke holes in the top of the cookie must be made the same way when making our cookies.  When you bake, though, do whatever design you want!

Scotch Cookies

½ pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ pound light brown sugar
¾ pound flour (most of)
Cream butter with brown sugar. Add ½ pound flour; blend well. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a firm dough.
Roll out ¼ inch thick; cut one test cookie and bake 7-10 minutes at 350º until very light brown. Compare to cookie cutter; if bigger, add more flour. If same size, proceed with remaining dough.

Related articles by Zemanta

• A Taste of Scotland: A Recipe for Scottish Shortbread (trifter.com)
• Scotland, as seen on a shortbread tin (independent.co.uk)

 

Wedding Fun

Josh and I have been married for almost a month and we are still celebrating.  We have one more gathering this weekend where we will celebrate with Wisconsin friends and family.  After that, I will begin to post stories and recipes from the wedding.
Between the wedding, reception, family gatherings, and honeymoon, we have eaten well and enjoyed spending extra time with special people for a whole month! 

The Beginning of Another Adventure

June 17 is a special day for us.  Two years ago today, our friend Rebecca asked the fateful question "Can I give him your email address?"  Two days from today, Josh and I will get married.
We took a break from house renovating and wedding preparations to go on a date tonight.  We left the families at home and went out for an evening alone.  Josh had planned to take me to Buck’s for my birthday.  That night, instead, we went to Amici with my family since my mom was in town.  Tonight we finally made it to Buck’s.

I love you, Josh.