Sign Up For "Show Your Wings" Blog Hop In February

Today starts the sign-ups for the Show Your Wings Blog Hop in February.

You know you want to play along, but you're probably wondering what you'll have to make.

Since the blog hop isn't until the week of February 18-21, you'll have plenty of time to

 create something after the holidays are over (or during it if you're so inclined.)

You need to have something in your project that involves wings or that flies. 

That means it can have...

Flying geese (yes, that counts!)

Birds of any kind

Butterflies or dragonflies

Airplanes or helicopters

Fairies or dragons

I think you get the picture, don't you?

Just send me an email telling me you want to be a part of the hop.

I'll need your:

Name

Email Address

Blog Name

Blog URL

Blog hops are so fun and it's a great chance to make blogger friends!

Just A Couple Of Square Fabric Gift Baskets

I made a couple of fabric gift baskets to share on the Therm O Web blog that are

easy, quick, and so fun to fill. There are two sizes to choose from and it could even 

be adapted to make other sizes. They are seriously easy, easy, easy!

The smaller version would be great for a quick birthday gift.

This larger basket is holding bread and honey from a yummy bakery close by.

It's called Muddy Bees Bakery and they have an actual beehive inside...very cool!

The instructions can be found HERE (while you're there, look around at 

all the other amazing projects created by talented designers.

The Best Ooey Gooey Homemade Brownie Recipe

I was asked a couple days ago to make brownies for a funeral. No problem!

Package brownies are usually my favorite because I had never found a homemade

recipe I liked. Unfortunately, I failed to buy a box of brownie mix...whoops...

and there wasn't time to go to the store. Thank goodness for the internet!

Do you know there are A LOT of "Best Brownies" recipes?

I found several that sounded so-so, but some were way too much work.

Then I saw one that said, "Katherine Hepburn's Brownies."

I liked Katherine Hepburn and the recipe looked easy.

The problem I found was that several people claimed their recipe was

Katherine Hepburn's, but some of the ingredients were not the same.

Since I have no idea what the original recipe actually was, I used one of them that looked pretty 

easy and made it with a couple changes. You can Google "Katherine Hepburn's Brownies" 

to see some of the versions. They are all pretty close to the same so you can't go wrong.

They are ooey and gooey, and be prepared because they have lots of butter and sugar.

There also isn't very much flour in them.

I doubled the recipe and added frosting, and chocolate chips instead of nuts. 

Be prepared for a sugar high...they are rich, but delicious!

There's no pictures because all that was left were the brownies on the outside edges 

of the pan. The center ones went to the funeral...I hope they liked them.

I definitely did!

Riley Blake Designs The Pout Pout Fish Project Tour

This month Riley Blake Designs released the cutest fabric...The Pout Pout Fish!

The fabric designs are based on the books by Deborah Diesen about a fish with a sad looking face.

The fish on this quilt has a smile, but I'm sure he/she would love to play with Pout Pout Fish!

After all, he's so cute even with that frown on his face.

My Little Reading Quilt

Measures 37" x 37"

These are the fabrics I used on my project for this tour. 

“With a mouth like mine I am destined to be glum”~Pout Pout Fish

The quilt and books will make a special Christmas gift for the Monkey Baby.

I can't wait to read the books to him!

Snuggling will be happening with the plush fabric on the back.

Little critters will be listening in on the stories, too.

You can find the pattern for My Little Reading Quilt in Just Let Me Quilt's Etsy store HERE.

Check out all the other Pout Pout Fish projects:

December 3 - Made for Mermaids

December 5 - Just Let Me Quilt

December 7 - Cream Craft Goods

December 10 - Sunflower Seams

December 12 - Paisley Roots

December 17 - That’s Sew Kari

Look how cute the panel is!

Thanks for stopping by!

Four Square Pie With Apples, Pumpkin, Peaches, And Cherries

It was my sister's fault that I made a Four Square Pie with apples, pumpkin, peaches, and cherries.

She has this way about getting me excited about recipes like this. 

The recipe is all over on the internet, but my sister first saw it on Cooking With Chef Bryan.

His looks way better than mine and I made some changes, but it was still delicious and fun!

A layer of parchment paper underneath made removing slices easy.

I added some topping to the apple slices and since there was a bit left, I put it 

over part of the pumpkin. Seriously, I loved it on the pumpkin!

The topping I made:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup flour

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

I used a can of Pumpkin Pie Mix (not the pureed pumpkin) with two eggs, no milk.

It was really good!

An egg wash of one egg and one tablespoon of water mixed together and brushed over the pastry

made it look a nice golden color. *A HUGE TIP: I highly recommend putting something

 underneath the pan while it is baking to avoid a messy clean-up from the bubbling over fillings.

It took a little less than 45 minutes at 350 degrees to bake. Times may vary in other altitudes.

My pie crust was a package from the store and tasted a lot better than what I would have made.

This won't be the last time I make it and I'll be experimenting with different fillings next time.

While checking out the internet for Four Square Pies I saw one with pecan pie in a section...yum!

This recipe allows for all kinds of varieties for a crowd with a love of pies.

It's A Wild Life December Block Of The Month

We've only got one month and one block left until it's time for the next Block of the Month.
But for now, Amy has given us It's A Wild Life's December Block of the Month and it's a cutie!

I love this raccoon with his cookie and look at that sweet jeep.
My clouds are a little dreary looking which might cause that raccoon to get rained on!

Sew Incredibly Crazy has a giveaway each month, but you have to make the block

and link it on her blog. It's easy to do and the giveaways are always amazing!

I'm using Riley Blake Designs fabrics in all my blocks, including

Confetti, Kisses, and Crayola. I love all their fabrics!

My blocks from each month's design:

December - A Midnight Picnic - Sew Incredibly Crazy - Pattern info HERE.

November - Wishful Love - Just Let Me Quilt - Pattern info found HERE

October - I Moose Go Camping - Moosestash Quilting - Pattern info found HERE

September - He's So Foxy! - Just Let Me Quilt - Pattern info found HERE

August - Home At The Cabin - Sew Incredibly Crazy - Pattern info found HERE

July - Lunchtime - Creatin' in the Sticks - Pattern info found HERE

June - Owl - Life in the Scrapatch - Pattern info found HERE.

May - Bear Paw - Moosestash Quilting - Pattern info found HERE

April - Big and Little Tree - Just Let Me Quilt - Pattern info found HERE

March - Deer - Creatin' In The Sticks - Pattern info found HERE

February - Maple Leaf - Sew Incredibly Crazy - Pattern info found HERE

There's bonus blocks, too!

Just Hanging Around can be found HERE

Hot Dog Anticipation can be found HERE

Canoe Time! can be found HERE

There's a Facebook page for information and sharing, too.

Sew Incredibly Crazy Friends Facebook Page

It's The Last Day And My Day Of The Virtual Cookie Exchange

It always makes me a bit sad to see the Virtual Cookie Exchange come to an end.

The thought of waiting another year for a cookie party with you is so hard!

But we have today, so let's enjoy the virtual scent of fresh baked cookies, new ideas for traditions,
projects, and beautiful Christmas quilts. I love hanging out with you!

It's my day to share my own recipes, quilts and traditions along with some other

amazing blogger friends. I'm glad you're here for my party!
P.S. I think this is one of my longest posts ever...sorry. Just skip to the end when you get bored.

CHRISTMAS IS ABOUT FAMILY

I'm lucky I have a totally normal family!

TRADITIONS

When I was a child we spent Christmas Eve at my grandparent's house. 

We HAD to wait until my grandfather got off work before we could eat or open presents. 

Since he was the manager of a grocery store that stayed open as long as possible,

 that meant our waiting seemed like FOREVER, especially for a little kid like me. 

We were so tired and hungry by the time he got home!

I'm the one up front with two of my older sisters in dresses my mom sewed for us.

CHRISTMAS MORNING 

My mom started the tradition of Christmas morning breakfast and we've carried it on.

Some of them don't bother to get out of their pajamas.

CHRISTMAS EVE PARTIES

Every year we had a party that included two of my favorite friends and their families.
Lots of food, laughing, and memories.
We had so much fun!

We'd have a special visitor sometimes, too.

Our Christmas Eve parties are pretty much just my family now...with the Monkey Boys, of course.

ANNUAL GINGERBREAD HOUSE DECORATING

This is a much anticipated event with some serious competition involved.

Sometimes things happen accidently or on purpose...

The number of gingerbread houses has grown quite a bit over the years!

COOKIE BAKING

When my kids were little, Christmas baking was massive at our house. 

There were cookies for school parties, church parties, neighborhood gifts, our traditional 

Christmas Eve party, and "eat me now" cookies. Then the Monkey Boys came along

 and everything changed. My daughter took over the baking and now I sit back and enjoy

the delicious rewards of all the goodies she bakes. My family loves her baked cookies!

THIS YEAR'S COOKIE RECIPE

I had a cookie recipe I'd been wanting to try (I even bought all the ingredients) but I didn't
have the time to tweak it by removing some of the yucky stuff that was in it. Okay, so maybe it
didn't have yucky stuff in it, but it had things that I didn't want in there. My daughter came to the
 rescue and said she'd whip them up for me. Yay! She even took photos...yes, she's a keeper.
With a baby on her hip, a toddler holding on to her legs, and four other monkeys climbing
the walls, she tweaked the recipe and made cookies that were so delicious!
They were Monkey Boy approved, too.

Ganache Filled Cookies



Grinch Ganache Filled Cookies (just add a little green dye)

Grinch Inspired Christmas Quilt

This is my newest 2018 Christmas quilt...I love that Grinch guy!

Thanks for scrolling through my Christmas stuff!
Check out the amazing stories and recipes from some very special blogger friends:

November 27

Kwilty Pleasures

Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

Songbird Designs

Creative Latitude

Ms P Designs USA

Gray Barn Designs

Alycia Quilts

Happy Cottage Quilter

Sew Many Yarns

For The Love Of Geese

November 28

Creatin' in the Sticks

Vroomans Quilts

It’s A T-Sweet Day!

Domestic Felicity

That Fabric Feeling

Home Sewn By Us

Karrin’s Crazy World

Adventurous Applique and Quilting

Bumbleberry Stitches

Melva Loves Scraps

Beaquilter

TODAY - November 29

MooseStashQuilting

Pieceful Thoughts of My Quilting Life

Kathleen McMusing

DesertSky Quilting

Life in the Scrapatch

Ridge Top Quilt

Cynthia's Creating Ark

Bejeweled Quilts by Barb

Pumpkin Patch Patterns & Quilting

Operation Domestic Goddess

Just Let Me Quilt

Hold on...there's two giveaways!
Two lucky winners will be chosen.

Rules:

Leave one short and sweet comment to enter both giveaways.
The winners will be chosen using Random Number Generator.
ENDED ~ Ends 12/1/2018 at midnight MST.

The first giveaway is from Quilted Works (thanks Quilted Works!)
It's an amazing gadget for holding your sewing tools.

Oh Sew Organized Stash 'n Store
(accessories not included)
You can find it in their store HERE.

Congratulations to Daryl who won the Stash 'n Store!

The second giveaway is a $20 gift certificate from me for Quilt Taffy's online store.

Shopping at her store is so fun!

Congratulations to H Clare who won the gift certificate!

There's a Pinterest page for all the cookies and projects, too!

Cookies from the past Virtual Cookie Exchanges...

Thanks for stopping by!

I hope you've had fun seeing all the traditions, recipes, and Christmas quilts!