Donuts and Doorways

First, a little WIP Wednesday.

I have 42 blocks for the Scrappy Stash QAL sewn and squared up to 9 1/2 inches.  I’ll be working on it more tonight and hopefully can get it done within a week for the linky party.

I saw on Debbie’s blog A Quilter’s Table that she would be posting about donuts yesterday, so we made some in the morning since my oldest was off from school and we were just hanging out.  When I went shopping last week, I picked up a tube of biscuits so I could make donuts like my mom did when I was a kid.

This method of donut making is fun for the kids, too.

There’s really nothing too it.  Just heat veggie oil on high.  Divide each biscuit in half so it’s not so thick, pinch out a hole, and brown on both sides (it only takes about 4 minutes).  Then cool on a few paper towels and let the kids cover them in cinnamon-sugar.

A few hours later, after we ran some errands and before going to the polls, we stopped at Dunkin Donuts and had donuts a second time and hot chocolate.  So yesterday was definitely a donut day! 

I have one last thing to share.  When I first started the Scrappy Stash QAL, my scraps were a hideous tangle of fabrics smooshed in a basket.  I gave it some thought, and since I don’t have any free shelf space in my sewing room, I decided to go with a hanging shoe holder to organize everything by color.

I would have preferred clear plastic, but Target didn’t have much selection and after sorting everything and hanging it in place, I am really pleased with the organized result.  It was a pretty inexpensive storage solution.  I think I read this idea in Sunday Morning Quilts, which has a pretty comprehensive section on scrap organization. 

Have a happy Wednesday!  We might have snow on the way this afternoon, which we are all really excited about.

Linking up to WIP Wednesday and Tuesday at the Table.

Potholders or something like that

Two Christmases ago my husband bought me a book I had checked out from the library multiple times, Pretty Little Potholders.  I’ve loved to leaf through the book just to look at the pretty photos, but I’d yet to make a potholder. 

I’m not sure if these classify as potholders since A) there are no hand pockets and B) there are no hangy loops.  But I did line them with Insul-Brite and another layer of batting, so I plan to use them on the dining room table when serving hot dishes, which I believe technically makes them “trivets.”

I got these awesomely modern farmer’s market prints on Etsy at Twigs and Twist.  I plan to make 3 more trivets with the other prints and then maybe a tablerunner or even dishtowels?  I’m not sure, but one thing I’m sure of is how much I love these prints!

I made log cabin blocks for the reverse side.  I had some problems with my layers shifting when I was quilting them, maybe because the batting layer was so thick, and everything was kind of wonky by the time I squared them up. 

But I like them nonetheless and they really spruce up my kitchen.  Did you see Pink Chalk’s newsletter this week?  Kathy featured SOTAK Handmade’s Scrappy Apples and if you look in my photos, you will see that I am the proud owner of one of them!!!  A few weeks ago I was really sick and Svetlana sent me the sweetest package with goodies for me and my daughters.  The apple was one of the treats and I was so thrilled when I saw it!  Wait till I show you what she sent my girls!

I’ve finished the quilt top of my “Come What May” Stash Bee quilt and I have learned a ton from participating in the bee for the past few months.  I hope to get some good photos of the quilt top in the next day or two.  So say tuned for awesome-y modern triangles and dark gray!

A “Cheeky” Request

I follow the blog Mummas Time To Create.  Its blogstress, Kat, made a “cheeky” request last week for happy, summery, log cabin blocks.  Specifically, she asked for Russian nesting dolls, birds, butterflies, teapots and no Civil War, overly pastel, or too much brown and dark color log cabin blocks measuring 15 inches or over.  Here’s what I came up with :
And a close up of the bird block:
The other block didn’t turn out so nicely since I didn’t start with a square in the middle.  Lesson learned.  It was fun to pick out scraps and see reminders of projects from the past.
So, these are off to Australia on Tuesday, along with this stash of fabrics:

And these goodies I made for her two daughters:

Hope the package gets there soon!  I wonder how long it will take to make it to Australia?