Keyholes, A Christmas in July quilt

Hello! Wow, July is half over already! I am doing some Christmas in July sewing. Not intentionally, but in working my way through some neglected half done projects (and feeling SO rewarded for finishing them!) I pulled out the 2nd jelly roll of Glace by Three Sisters for Moda, and made the second set of blocks for my Christmas bed quilt.

I started this last year, from the Anka's Treasures book "On a Roll Again." The blocks are 18 1/2 inches! Super easy to make too. I've been stitching these together while I watch episodes of Bones. I doubled the pattern amounts and I need a wide border for it to fit my bed, but isn't it lovely???

It all started with one of those Moda Bake Shop projects. "Off the Grid," which I made from a sale purchase of some Glace honeybun and charm packs. Once I saw what Glace looked like in person, I was in love. (I finished the lap size "Off the Grid" top, but it is in the Waiting to be Quilted stack. When I get the nerve and the time, I will quilt it myself.)

Did you get a chance to own any of it? It is so botanical. The little birds and berries and acorns remind me of Audubon Society drawings, or like those of early explorers who took botanists along to draw new species of plants and animals. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway this line is Christmas-y in its coloring, but not too cutesy. It is classy and feminine. Not too much holiday, just enough. Obviously I love it and will never be tired of putting this out on my California king bed each year!

Are you doing Christmas in July sewing? Knocking out some UFOs? How is it going in your part of the world?

Just a reminder: when you decide to make a pattern, whether from a book or individual pattern purchased, check online to see if there are any corrections. Keyholes ended up requiring more strips than come in one jelly roll (additional fabric cut) to make all the blocks.

Not Your Average Fourth of July

No barbeque, no picnics, no fireworks. My daughter had to work a double shift at the restaurant; the jelly fish have already invaded our beaches (usually not here til late July); and with fireworks at home being banned this year due to drought, we knew the Downtown Sertoma Fireworks display would be crazy busy, so we opted for a day at the pool for our Fourth of July celebrating. We wore Tyler out by 2:30 and he took an almost 4 hour nap, then we went back to the pool. Then WE were worn out. It was so totally worth it. What a great day we had with my mom at her community pool. Thanks, Mom!

I found time to finish my Island Chain quilt top! I took Kim Brackett's class in May this year. It was great to meet her in person and spend the day with my aunt, who was visiting from Pacific Grove, CA. The back of this quilt will be Carrot Orange solid from Connecting Threads fabrics with the leftover jelly roll pieces scrapped in horizontally. Sort of like this one from American Patchwork and Quilting. I like using up the leftovers from a jelly roll. Don't you? My daughter bought me this "Oh My!" jelly roll for Mother's Day this year, and I think this is the shortest amount of time it has taken me to open and use one! I know I could use the leftovers for a scrappy binding, but this quilt is pretty busy looking already. I am going to tame it with the solid orange for binding.

Also (nearly) finished top from this weekend: "American Sweetheart" from McCall's June 2006 magazine! I started it at least 4 years ago and boxed it up when it was nearly done! I need to find the perfect outer border fabric for this and it can be quilted and delivered to the new owner! I must have boxed it when the 4th of July came and went, then I forgot about it. After piecing the last few blocks and spending a day putting the rows together, it is off my UFO list!

I hope you and yours had a wonderful 3 day weekend!

More Recipes

Can you believe it is almost July? The weekend of the Fourth should be a 3 day weekend for most of us, and I bet you are thinking about picnics and potlucks, etc.

Here is a quick and easy Summer pasta salad. I blogged about this earlier,  but it bears repeating. Tortellini Salad with Fresh Veggies. Want to make some?

I bought 2 16oz packages of Butoni Cheese Tortellinis and cooked them with about 1 1/2 cups of broccoli tops. 7 to 9 minutes in salted or olive oiled water, per package directions.

Combine 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, 1/2 a large red pepper and 1/2 a green pepper (both finely chopped),one 6 oz can of medium pitted black olives, drained, and 1 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese. Toss these with most of a 12 oz bottle of Lite Caesar dressing and the cooked pasta/broccoli. This is so tasty, you'll have trouble waiting for it to chill. That's okay, though. It takes great warm too!

This can be jazzed up with cooked chicken cubes, grilled shrimp, canned tuna, hard salami chunks, turkey, grape tomatoes or whatever floats your boat! It makes enough for 10 people.

Next up is a constant family favorite: Salsa Pollo Con Frijoles. Translation: Chicken with Salsa and Beans. Tired of tacos and burritos, but you still want Mexican food for dinner? Looking for something that looks impressive and complicated, but isn't? This could be your family's next favorite too. (this is one of the few things I make an exception for, since I am not supposed to have tomatoes in my diet.)

Recipe: 
Oven preheated to 350 degrees. 13 x 9 pan.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to 1/2" thick. (do the best you can. I used a ziploc bag and meat mallet)
1 1/2 tsp cumin, divided  . 1/2 tsp salt (optional) . 1/2 c pinto beans (drained and rinsed) . 3/4c salsa + 2 TBSP  .  1/2 c chopped scallions  .  3/4 c shredded Jack cheese .  1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro, stems removed. Strong wooden toothpicks.

Mash the pinto beans with a fork. Add 2 TBSP salsa, scallions, salt and 1/2 tsp cumin and mix well.

Sprinkle remaining cumin, and some salt if desired, on each side of chicken breasts. Place a large spoonful  of bean mixture in the center of each flattened chicken breast and roll the breast up, securing it with a toothpick. Spread about 1/4 cup salsa in bottom of the pan and place chicken seam side down. Pour remaining salsa over the chicken and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 more minutes. Serve with fresh cilantro on top and your favorite sides, like salad and refried beans or Spanish rice.

Sorry that I don't have a fancy "print the recipe" button!

I hope to hear back from you if you try this!

Miscellany

I have too many irons in the fire lately and not a lot of free time.

• Island Chain is almost in rows, but not a completed top yet.
• Split Decision has become just that. Do I like it, or should I bisect the blocks and make it more "Bento Box" looking?
• Of course I started another quilt project! I have so many other things to do, why not? I have had a stack of Al Fresco fabrics for about 2 years, so I started working on a new, modern (uncomplicated) design.
• I am making a kimono style robe for my dad for Father's Day. It has only been waiting 8 YEARS. No kidding. The Fabric Traditions selvage says 2003! 
• Knowing that the 4th of July is around the corner again, I have silently shamed myself for letting it sneak up on me again without completing a nearly complete UFO, America's Sweetheart, that I started a few years ago.
• Hokey Pokey is back from the long arm quilter's so I can add binding that gigantic quilt to my list of things to do.

Since I can't show any newly completed work, I will show a few things that never made it to the blog. Kim Brackett of Magnolia Bay Quilts asked what we do with those trimmed off triangles, and here is what I did with some of mine. She calls them folded corner triangles.  These finished at 2" and it hangs in my dining room. I wanted to make a schoolhouse block for fun, and thought framing it with leftover half square triangles would help me empty the flower container I keep them in. I even quilted it myself! Try not to faint about that.

This is a scrap quilt I made for my MIL last year for her birthday. Simple pattern. There are antique looking buttons sewed in the center of each pinwheel. It is a very generous size, more of a small twin than a lap quilt.

That's it for now. I hope you are enjoying the end of Spring. Summer is almost upon us!

PS. Tomorrow, June 17th, is the 7 year anniversary of my move to Pensacola! My daughter and I made the drive from So Cal in 2 1/2 days - just in time for Hurricane Ivan. Let's hope there are no hurricanes this year to mark this anniversary.

An Unexpected Treat

Being from Southern California, I am still constantly surprised by the outright friendliness and sharing of the people in the South. Sorry So Cal people, but you are going to have suck it up and admit you are not a warm and friendly group. I know. I lived among you for most of my life. Its part of why I left. Deal with it.

Anyway...this past weekend was Memorial Weekend, and we were delighted to have my cousin (4 days younger than I) and his girlfriend, Shannon, visit us all the way from Houston. It has been many moons since my cousin and I spent any time together, and family is so scattered and out of touch, it was wonderful to reconnect. Here we are with my grandmother (his aunt) sandwiched between us. Yeah, the family tree branches are uneven.

Sunday we took our boat  out to the local river, the Blackwater, and camped out on a stretch of beach with many other boaters for a beautiful, sunny and not too hot afternoon of doing nothing but getting sun and listening to other people's radios and talk. It was nice. Having a small boat doesn't allow us to come fully prepared food-wise. Others there had the full set up, from bbq and coolers to crock pots and generators. One group next to us had been up cooking since 4 am and when we pulled up, the very nice man hurried over and welcomed us by asking "have y'all had Nassau grits? Are ya hungry? Come on and git a plate."

I have to admit I have only tried grits once, and finding them tasteless, even with salsa and cheese, I never gave them another thought. Well, my cousin, bless his 6'4" frame, went over there to check it out and came back with what looked and smelled like gumbo. And I love gumbo. Knowing we had only brought chips and apples and drinks, I thought I'd be stupid not to take up this hospitality and free food offer once I saw what Nassau grits were. And I was so glad I did! I gave the cook my email address and she said she'd send me the recipe. I can't wait. In the meantime, I found a few online recipes that seem close enough to try on my own for now.

Here we've been living in Pensacola for 7 years and never knew this Nassau grits recipe was a local tradition for DECADES! I will be setting a date with my husband to go back to the Fish House to try their  Grits a Ya Ya, which are similar in appearance, and from what I've read online, in taste too.

Weekend Quilt Class after Mother's Day

I haven't taken a quilting class in years. This weekend I got a real treat! My aunt and I took Kim Brackett's class to make "Island Chain" from her new book Scrap Basket Sensations. (I got my copy from Connecting Threads last week. Fast shipping and 40% off the price too!)  If you have a stash of 2 1/2" strips (or a jelly roll or two) you will be so inspired by her two books.

Kim lives not far from here, and it was so great to meet her in person. She is so very nice! I am looking forward to future classes with her. There is always something new to learn - whether it is perspective, color arrangement, or piecing shortcuts. And what a fun way to spend a day!

This is my Island Chain. It is laid out on my design wall. I hope to sew all the blocks together this week. I used the jelly roll of "Oh My!" which my daughter gave me for Mother's Day this year. Isn't it colorful? Nice bright fall colors. The layout looks so complicated, but it is not difficult. The others in class used Bali Pops for theirs and what beautiful quilts they will be as well.

The other jelly roll I got for Mother's Day I turned into "Split Decision" a pattern I bought some time ago. This is another super easy one. Anyone who needs a baby quilt, grad quilt, or just wants to make something fast and easy will love it. Moda's "Just Wing It" is what I used. For a non-quilter, my girl sure has great taste!

Either of these can be cut and pieced in one day.

I hope sharing these encourages others to give quiltmaking a try. With one jelly roll, and one of these patterns, you will be proud of yourself and have a lovely quilt top for snuggling under or to give as a gift! If you can sew a straight line - you can do it!

There are only 2 days left for voting in the McCall's Design Star 2011 contest! I am so anxious to see how mine did. Voting numbers are not available til after this round closes, I guess. Since I have had a bit of luck lately winning prizes from Facebook and blogs, I have my fingers crossed to make it to the next round of McCall's contest! Go to mccallsquilting.com and look for the Design Star link if you haven't seen it yet. Voting ends May 25th at 1 AM.

It's What's for Dinner

Last week, Betty Crocker sent me this recipe. As I almost always do, I improvise a little and add things to make it mine, or more likely, to use up leftovers.

Here I added grilled chicken chunks, feta cheese and some rotini pasta and doubled what the original recipe called for.  It says it makes 10 servings, but those must be very tiny servings. If I make pasta salad, I make enough for about a week. How else can I ever use the giant Rubbermaid bucket?

To go with the caesar dressed salad, of course we are having Jack Daniel's EZ marinated London Broil. And fresh brewed iced tea. Doesn't that sound great?

Dinner should be ready in an hour, so hurry over! We'll watch Castle for dessert. Its the season finale. Mmmm....