#TBT - Throwback Thursday - An Irish Blessing

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It's Throwback Thursday here at Quiltin' Jenny, and I hope you'll link up and share your own creative adventures from your pre-blogging days.

Today's quilt is an Irish Chain quilt that I made for my cousin's daughter, Clare, back in 2004.  Clare turned nine earlier this week, so I thought it would be fitting to show you her baby quilt.  The pictures are terrible - sorry!  

My cousin Dave's wife comes from a really Irish family.  Kim was even born on St. Patrick's Day!  I didn't have to think too hard to come up with a pattern for them. 

  
I can't remember for sure, but I think they chose not to find out that Clare was a girl until she was born.  I fell in love with this alphabet print, and couldn't find the right green.  I agonized over whether this purple was too girly, but in the end decided that a baby probably wouldn't care.  I got lucky!

This was some of my earliest FMQing, and I'm really proud of the Celtic knot design that I found for the middle.  I marked it and everything.  It's hard to see here because, again, I had to dig up old pictures and scan them in.  Which is kind of the point of #TBT, I guess.

I called this quilt An Irish Blessing and included one I found on the label.  It reads:

May God grant you many years to live,
for sure He must be knowing
The earth has angels far too few
and Heaven is overflowing.

 

...aaaannd I just realized there is a typo on the label.  Can you find it?  I can't believe no one noticed (or told me) so I could fix that.  

I try to put extra info on each label so that future generations can figure out where this quilt came from, and how so many Georgia quilts ended up in Poughkeepsie, New York. 

Happy birthday, Clare!  We love you!

Now I want to see your blast from the past.  Link up and let us all see!







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WiP Wednesday - Almost Done!

I'm linking up with WiP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

This week's WIP is thisclose to being finished.  Yes, just after I listed Batman's quilt on my Q4 FAL list, Mom called to say that she was done quilting in the ditch and wanted to get together to decide what other quilting we wanted.

I've been looking at pictures of the other Star Surround quilts for ideas, but I kind of think it is done.  I decided to go ahead and bind it and make the final decision then.

Today will be a quiet binding day, and hopefully by Friday a finish!



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FAL Q4 Goals - Finishing Strong!

It's time to list our 4th quarter goals for the Finish-A-Long.

After spending so much time trying to finish my Q1, Q2, and Q3 projects, I find myself starting over on my list now that none of those are lingering around anymore.

For ideas, I decided to look at the guild's UFO challenge for this year.  Every January we make a list of five projects we want to finish by the end of the year.  If we complete at least four of them, we get a special UFO bead.  I would show it to you but I've never gotten one. 

Do you see this?  Yes, four of those projects are finished!  I'm so excited.  The only one left is our guild challenge quilt, which is my Bonnie Hunter Spiderweb quilt.  Even though I have already earned the bead, I want the satisfaction of crossing all of these off my list.

So that's project #1.

Project #2 obviously has to be Batman's quilt, which remains nameless at this time.  We're taking suggestions.  As soon as Mom finishes quilting it, I will bind it so she can take it to California for the big arrival.  The label will have to wait until this baby shows up and gets named and all that.

For my last trick, I thought I'd try to finish a really old UFO.  I think I'll let you all vote on which one I should tackle.

Should it be:

1. My president's quilt.  This was a gift from the guild at the end of my presidency.  In 2006.
2. My four inch block swap.  This was a swap I participated in with a friend's bee group.  In 2002.
3. Both.  Both of these are completed tops that need only sandwiching and quilting. 

Ugh.  I already know what you're going to say.  Okay, okay...I'll do both!

What's on your list?



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Menu Plan Monday - If I'm Not Back By Next Week, Send Help!

It's Menu Plan Monday and it's going to be a heck of a week.  There are meetings three of the nights, plus a band concert, two cross country meets, two lacrosse games, and all of the usual practices.  Why?  Why are some weeks like magnets?

Luckily, with my handy dandy menu plan, everyone will at least get fed. 

On the fitness front, I managed to get on the elliptical once and do a Zombies, Run! 5K mission at the park during lacrosse practice once last week.  An improvement, even if a slight one.  I also worked up the courage to get on the scale after hiding from it a brief hiatus.  No surprises here, either, but maybe facing up to reality will help me remember my goals.

My user name on My Fitness Pal is QJ2013 if you want to be friends.

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

• Sunday - steak, baked potatoes, tossed salad  (I know, I know!)
• Monday - Korean ribs, brown rice, oven roasted green beans - we never got to eat these last week
• Tuesday - everyone in a different direction/YOYO
• Wednesday - quick dinner out after XC meet/before book club
• Thursday - chicken and veggie kabobs, quinoa
• Friday - Sweet and Fiery Pork, oven roasted asparagus, brown rice
• Saturday - leftover buffet after XC/lacrosse and before band concert

What's on your menu?



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Holiday Grand Plan - Week 6 - The Kids' Rooms

It's Week 6 of the Holiday Grand Plan, and time to deep clean the kids' rooms. This comes not a moment too soon, since my boy will be home at the end of the month and his room could use some freshening up.

I'm sure there are parents who, when their children leave for college, keep the room an immaculate shrine to their absent student.  Over here, however, I just closed the door.  Apparently The Bear has found his brother's room to be a perfect dumping ground for clothes, books, shoes, and sporting equipment that he is ready to give away, throw away, or just doesn't want to put away.

I can't have Deuce come home for his first visit from college and find that mess! 

As for the rest of our assignments, I didn't get any shopping done this week, but I overheard and wrote down on my spreadsheet a great idea for each kid and The Pit Boss.  I try to shop for them closer to the actual holiday in case they change their minds or I come up with something better, but that whole writing it down thing is essential.  Think you're going to remember your great idea by the time December rolls around?  That's crazy talk!

I'm off the hook for a freezer meal.  Last week I had trouble finding the beef short ribs for the Korean Ribs recipe.  That has happened before, so when I found them this time I bought double and froze a batch (everything but the jalapeno peppers). 

I'm starting to get in the spirit of autumn, so I think I'll bake up some pumpkin bread and muffins to stick in the freezer for those cool mornings ahead.  For some reason I have a lot of canned pumpkin in my pantry, and that's a good way to use it up.

Here's the recipe I use:

• 3 eggs
•  1 lb. can solid pack pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
• 3/4 C vegetable oil
• 1/2 C water
• 2 1/2 C all purpose flour
• 2 1/4 C sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, beat together eggs, pumpkin, oil, and water.  In a separate bowl, sift together remaining ingredients.  Fold dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture.

Bake in two greased 9"x5"x3" loaf pans at 325 degrees for 1 hour.  Reduce heat to 275 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes or until bread tests done.

You can also bake the entire mixture in a greased 13" x 9" pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

How's your grand plan coming along?



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#TBT - Throwback Thursday - Mariner's Compass

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It's Throwback Thursday here at Quiltin' Jenny, and I hope you'll link up and share your own creative adventures from your pre-blogging days.

Today's project is not a finished quilt - it's a Mariner's Compass block I made in a class I took over at Tiny Stitches.  I want to say it was at least ten years ago.  This was my first introduction to paper piecing, and I didn't know enough to be nervous about it.  I will say that the instructions are so beautifully done and the teacher was so great (sorry!  I don't remember who it was.) that the block went together perfectly.

I can't find a link, but this is the pattern we bought and used for the class.

The funny thing is, I later tried paper piecing thinking it would be the same experience.  Let's just say...it isn't.  My big hangup about PP is that I am a bad judge of the angles and how big my next piece of fabric should be.  For a quilter, my spatial abilities suck lack something.

There was a time when I thought I would use this as the center for our bed quilt.  I used my favorite blue and white fabrics, and The Pit Boss and I have always had a little bit of a nautical theme running through our relationship.  He is my North Star, my constant.

I ended up doing something totally different for our bed, so this block has just been hanging around waiting to be made into something. I've decided to pack it up with some of those other blue and white fabrics for our WannaBees Round Robin.

We have decided that we would all like to have a quilt that all of the other WannaBees have worked on.  We want it to be a stress-free zone, so it's moving a little slowly.  We will swap when everyone is ready to swap.  We're meeting next week, though, and I don't want to be the one holding anyone up, so I thought I'd go ahead and get my package together.

So today you get a WiP and a #TBT all in one!  I hope that makes up for me missing some posts this past week.

Now I want to see your blast from the past.  Link up and let us all see!







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FAL Q3 Wrap Up - So That's How This Works!

I'm doing the happy dance because all three of my Q3 projects are DONE!  Not only are they done, but they've been done.  Like, ages ago. #NBD.

Never mind that they are also my Q1 and Q2 projects and it has taken me 8 months to cross them off the list.  

Here's what I finished:

The Family Ties quilt

The Christmas Table Topper

The Rainy Day Tote Bag

YAY!  How's your list coming along? 




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