Sampler Wall Quilt

Every quilt has a story and I'm going to tell you the story about this one.  I think I might have quilted a table runner, but this was my first quilt.  I wasn't very knowledgeable and didn't have any quilting fabric, only a few scraps from my table runner.  (My, how times have changed!!!)  
I went to the local quilt shop and picked up some fat quarters in my favorite colors ( at the time).  My friend Liz really wanted to do this quilt, so she and I and Nanette began the quilt together.  One would cut the fabric, one would sew and one would press.  We all just did what needed to be done, sewing enough blocks for three quilts.  
We had so much fun!  We would talk about our children, laugh, talk some more.  We had a potluck lunch every time we got together, taking turns at each house.  When all the blocks were sewn, we each picked out our favorites and laid them on the floor in the sequence we liked.  
At this point, we sewed our own blocks together to make the wall hanging.  The blues remind me of Nanette, the browns and red/browns remind me of Liz and the purple was my favorite color at the time.  Every time I look at this quilt (which hangs on my dining room wall), I am reminded of the good times we had and the friendship we share.

All three of us hand quilted our quilts.  I shadow quilted mine, l/4" away from the seam.  Since I was a novice quilter, I backed the wall hanging with muslin.  

I love the center block, log cabin style.  The heart flowers were my first attempt at applique.  I enjoyed everything about the process.

Yes, everytime I look at this quilt, I am reminded of Nanette and Liz :)

Grandmother's Quilt

This pattern is from American Patchwork and Quilting magazine, August 2004.  I fell in love with it.  I was going to make it with two other friends but we were working on other projects together.

It is called Peekaboo Redwork.

I call it my "Grandmother's Quilt", because when my grandchildren come over to our home, they can snuggle in it.

I think the embroidered pictures are so cute, they look just like coloring book illustrations.

Notice the cat at the bottom of the quilt?  That is where the name "Peekaboo" came from.  There is a bear, a dog and a little boy peeking out from different squares.

I bought the red prints on the Wasatch Front Quilt Shop Hop, in Utah.  It is way more fun to go shopping when you are looking for something specific.

The quilt is backed in soft chenille.

I didn't quilt this myself, I thought it would be too difficult with all of the embroidery.

Blessing Dress from Wedding Gown

My friend Kim has two really cute boys, ages 4 and 7.  She just had twins, a boy and a girl.  Kim wondered if I could make a blessing dress for Isla, her baby girl, out of her wedding gown. 

 Gasp!!!  Cut up your wedding dress? 

 Kim eplained that her wedding gown would just sit in the closet and it would probably be there forever.....This way it could be put to good use : ) and enjoyed ♥

 Here is Kim in her wedding dress, isn't she beautiful?

I knew I could do it.  There was machine embroidery around the neck, edging of the sleeve and around the hem.  The hem of the wedding gown was straight in the front, but there was a huge, enormous train.  The train started at the side seams and made a big circle.  The hem was curved.  

I wanted the embroidery from the wedding gown to be on the neck edge, back of the yoke, the  sleeve hem and skirt hem of the blessing dress, similar to the wedding gown.  It was difficult to get a big enough piece for the skirt because of the curve.  

A closeup of the embroidery.

I modelled the pleats on the blessing dress after the pleats on the wedding gown.  I had to add an extra seam in the front of the skirt because of the curvy hem on the wedding gown.

I cut the sleeve for the blessing dress out of the sleeve of the wedding gown.  I didn't gather the sleeve to make it puffy.  Instead, I sewed a big pleat in the cap of the sleeve, to match the pleat on the front of the dress.  

Here is cute little Isla in her blessing dress.
She is so pretty!

Notice the embroidery on the bottom of the skirt :)

What a fun project this was, I really enjoyed designing Isla's dress.

There is more than enough fabric left to sew Isla a baptism dress when she turns 8 years old.   Princess seams in the front would help get the embroidery along the hem of the dress in smaller pieces.  I think a band around the waist would be really pretty, to match the band on the wedding gown.  

Small Treat Totes and a Giveaway!!!

 Today, I'm sharing a tutorial with you and one viewer will be chosen to win one of my Small Treat Totes.  

Just two fat quarters will make four of these little treat totes.  I say little, because they measure 4" X 4".  
I decided to make 8 little treat totes, so I used four coordinating fat quarters.  (A fat quarter measures 18" X 22".  It is really a quarter of a yard, but doubled so it is called a fat quarter)

I made mine for Easter, but they aren't pastel.  I chose pink because I am giving them to some cute little girls for Easter.  Also, I didn't have any pastel shades on hand :)

You can fill these little totes with chocolate bunnies!

You can fill them with fluffy bunnies!

A fluffy bunny for each bag :)

Here is the link for the tutorial.  

These small treat totes are so fun and really easy to make.

You have four chances to win one of these bags.
Leave me a comment. 

 Sign up to become a follower.  Look to the right of this blog.
Leave me a comment telling me that you did!

 Go to my facebook page and LIKE the page.

  Leave  a comment  on my Dream Quilt Create facebook page!

The winner will be announced on Monday, April 9.  
Good luck!!!

Pork Souvlaki

These are the ingredients needed to make Pork Souvlaki.

Whisk together 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 large clove garlic, minced, l/2 tsp. dried oregano, l/2 teaspoon salt, and l/4 teaspoon pepper.

Trim and cut l.5 pounds pork tenderloin into 1 inch cubes.

In large bowl, marinate pork in whisked mixture for 10 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 6 hours.

Shred one cup of cucumber.

Mix cucumber with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, let stand for 10 minutes.

Squeeze out moisture.

Mix cucumber, 1/4 cup balkan-style plain yogurt, 2 clover garlic, minced, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (I added dried dill weed to taste), and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.  This is called Tzatziki.

Thread pork onto metal skewers, and brush with remaining marinade.  Place on greased grill over medium high heat.

Close lid and grill, turning halfway through, until juices run clear when pork is pierced and just a hint of pink remains inside, about 12 minutes.  

Remove from skewers.  Serve with 2 plum tomatoes, sliced (I used cherry tomatoes sliced in half because that is what I had on hand), sliced red onion, 1 cup shredded romaine lettuce and greek-style pocketless pitas.

This meal was quick and easy and even my husband enjoyed it!

Winner!

There is a winner for the cute "girlie" sewing kit!!!

 Nedra said

Nice tutorial Cynthia! What a fun little sewing kit. Thanks!

Thank you so much everyone for commenting and signing up to become followers!!!  It is uplifting to know that great people like you in "bloggy land" are reading what I write!
I did the drawing by random number generator but wasn't able to provide a visual.  I will learn how to do that later :)  Including everyone who LIKED my www.facebook.com/dreamquiltcreate page, left a comment on the facebook page, left a comment on the blog post and signed up to become followers on my BLOG, there were 39 entrants.  Nedra was number 15.

Pinwheel Baby Quilt

I made this quilt for my niece who had a baby girl.  I loved making this quilt, maybe because I love pinwheels :)

 The colors are vibrant, backed with the fresh white and the prairie points.

I used a charm pack of Snippets by American Jane.

I even did the quilting myself on my sewing machine :)

I backed it with soft chenille.

I also used this pattern to make a quilt for my grandaughter in a different color scheme.

I machine quilted this quilt also, the smaller baby size is manageable.  This is a Lila Tueller fabric.

The border has little pin dots which you don't notice in the large photo of the quilt.  I was able to quilt daisies all along the border.

I really like the green print on the back of the quilt.

The tutorial for this pattern can be found at Moda Bake Shop.

This quilt pattern was designed by Jodi at Pleasant Home.