Steph's Group- June

We gathered together this week with Steph's Quilt Group, minus Steph, who happened to be vacationing at Newport Beach.
(Another smart lady who knows the right time to escape the Arizona heat)
These are the nicest ladies, who always make me feel so welcome, even though I'm the newbie to the group.
This month we met at their local church building, where there was plenty of room to spread out.

Darling Amanda put together this fun and easy quilt where she let the fabric do the talking.

I was thinking this would be a great way to use up scraps.

Amanda also made this BIG Log Cabin Block quilt, where the fabrics, not the block capture your eye.

Fun machine quilting.

Peg was off to the races, and made a Jelly Roll Race Quilt.

So patriotic with Red, White and Blue.

Peg brought a recent baby quilt finish.

Wonky block in soft flannels.

I am learning from these ladies how easy it can be to make simple baby quilts.
Candice whipped this one up really fast.

She used a fun panel for the center.

And spruced it up using Jumbo ric rac around the edges.

And Candice made us the most delicious lunch! Because we met at the church, I probably would have just set things out on the table. But Candice knows how to do things right, and decorated for the upcoming 4th of July holiday.
I wanted to share with you her Sweet Pork salad recipe because it was so yummy.
I loved it so much, this is what I am making for my family for Sunday dinner.
A great summer recipe that can be made in the crock pot instead of heating up the kitchen:

SWEET PORK RECIPE

Marinade(The original recipe call for marinading the pork roast and then cooking it in the crock pot in a coke/water mixture. I don't think you need to do any of that. I did, but I didn't taste anything special about the pork when I shredded it. I think you could just start with 2 lbs. of a pork tenderloin cooked in crockpot - shredded) (if you want)

Put 2 lbs of pork tenderloin in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about 1 and 1/2 cans of coke, 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours of overnight. Drain marinade and put pork in crock pot with 1/2 can coke, 1/4 cup water, and garlic salt. Cook on hight for 4 hours or until it shreds easily.

Sweet Sauce

1/2 can of coke

1 can dice green chiles

1 10 oz can of El Paso red enchilada sauce

3/4 cup brown sugar

Place ingredients in a blender. If it looks too thick add more coke little by little. Put in crock pot with 2 lbs shredded pork, Cook on low for 2 hours. Then serve!!

TOMATILLO RANCH DRESSING

1 buttermilk ranch packet (make following directions on packet w/ buttermilk and mayo)
2 tomatillos
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 clove of garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalepeno (with seeds so it's spicy)
Blend all together & refrigerate.

Serve pork with lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo, tortilla strips, parmesan cheese & a tortilla if you want.

Pin It

h2o Party!

What do you do when it's 113 degrees outside and you have 15 energetic little boys to keep entertained for several hours?
Have an h20 Party!

Happy Birthday to our grandson Isaak who just turned 7.
Our daughter and Son-In-Law hosted a really fun party, that was relatively easy to put together and low $$.
I wanted to share their ideas with you in case you are looking for summer party plans that would work well for birthdays or family reunions.
They were fortunate to be able to reserve the splash pad at a nearby park, but this would also work well with sprinklers on the lawn.

First, Amy went to the dollar store and found these h20 blasters at $1 each.
The blasters also served as the party favor for each child to take home.

Buckets were placed around the perimeter of the splash pad.
Within minutes the boys were pulling the nozzles back on the h20 blasters, and filling the tubes with ammunition.

And then it was every man (or boy) for himself.

Ready...set....aim.

Two hours of continual running and screaming.

Amy cut the tops off several plastic milk cartons that could be used for additional water bombardment.

A tent was set up with refreshments, where the boys could run over and grab a snack or drink for fortification.

And then it was back to business.
Such cute little boys.
I was fascinated to watch them organize into rows, shouting "Come Men!" and "Charge" like a Civil War reenactment.
These are 6 and 7 year olds!

At times the h2o blasters were used in sword fights.

Little Miss Fashion Statement felt a little overwhelmed with all loud boy energy going on.
Beach balls were provided for those who preferred to hang out on the sidelines.

Amy had another smart idea.
When it came time for presents, she had Isaak climb up and sit on top of the table.

Where he could open his packages more easily amidst the crush of curiosity.

So sweet to see Isaak hug his little brother Noah as he thanked him for his gift.

And happy mom and dad who didn't seem too exhausted at the end of the party when parents arrived to pick up their children. Pin It

Operation Wood Hollow

It's a well documented fact that quilts bring comfort.
When I received an e-mail from Julie Anderson (Having Fun Quilting) with a request for help, I felt prompted to do my part.
I have not met or communicated with Julie before today, but her e-mail and story captured my heart.
Julie lives in the small town of Fairview, Utah, population around 1,200.
Today the entire town was evacuated because of the Wood Hollow fire raging nearby.
As of yesterday, 29 homes have burned to the ground.

Julie asked that I pass this information on to you:

I have decided one way I can help the 29 families who have lost their homes is by giving them a quilt! Unfortunately, I can’t do this on my own. That’s why I’m coming to you for help. On my blog (http://havingfunquilting.blogspot.com) I am asking if people would be willing to donate fabric, extra quilt blocks, finished quilt tops, or completed quilts, and join me in this cause to help these families who have been affected by this tragedy. I am calling this “Operation Wood Hollow” because that’s the name of the fire.

I find Julie's efforts commendable, especially when she has been evacuated from her home, too.
We all have fabrics, quilt blocks, or quilt tops we can share.
For donations you can contact Julie through her blog Having Fun Quilting.

I will be sending "3-6-9" in patriotic colors to show my support for the families of Fairview.
My prayers continue with Julie, the families of Fairview, and the firefighters who are working so hard to contain this blaze. Pin It

June Show and Tell

The group that met for our June Nimble Thimbles guild meeting was quite small this month.
With the temps hovering between 108-113 degrees this week, I think the smart people headed out of town.
Consequently, we only had a few bring Show and Tell.

Martha showed us her latest finish, with each block completed by paper piecing.

I see a lot of half square triangles.

Fan Quilt made with a Dresden Plate variation.
Have you noticed all the Dresden Plate quilts that have been featured on quilt blogs lately?

Can you help me remember the name of the block used in this quilt?
Usually the blocks are the same color, creating an 8-pointed star in the middle.
*Thanks everyone: HUNTERS STAR!

I love how the designer made hers scrappy instead.
A great way to use up "what you have". Pin It

Erika's Block

Erika of Pink Suede Shoe is the host for our June block with The Bee's Knees Quilting Bee.
She sent each of us some lovely fabric scraps in turquoise, deep peacock blue, pinks and yellowy golds.

Our instructions were to make a 12"-14" "improv" block with only horizontal and vertical seams.
In other words, just grab a few strips of fabric, start sewing away, and see what you come up with.

For a person (like me) who usually follows a pattern, this was a new experience.
It was fun!
And I'm looking forward to seeing how Erica's quilt turns out once she receives all 11 blocks back from our group.

I do receive "sew much inspiration" from the Bees Knees ladies! Pin It

Triangles on a Roll/ Part 3

I hope you have enjoyed viewing the many quilt ideas Sylvia Hirsch shared that can be made with half square triangles.
It has been hard for me to pick a favorite.
My next "to-do" quilt just jumped to the top of the list because I came home so inspired in wanting to incorporate my Triangles on a Roll.

Cosmic Stars

Sorry, my picture turned out a little blurry, but I wanted to show you anyway because this is a fabulous technique.

Sylvia shared with us how to make Cosmic Stars using their set of 4 Octagon templates.
A 'cosmic' design that incorporates the Twisting Star block which is featured in the "It's Playtime" book. This block is fabricated by using Triangles on a Roll half square paper in a unique manner, which saves eight steps in the construction of the block over conventional construction methods.
Maggi's Mum


Sylvia even made little fabric bowls with half square triangles.

The cowboy border used a new technique for sewing the papers on a Triangle on a Roll.



I didn't get the pattern names on several of these quilts, and couldn't find them on the Triangles on a Roll web site, either.
They might be in one of their books.

Looking for a quilt for the Golfer in your life?


Wonderful border. Pin It