FWQAL Block No. 13 - Buckwheat

I did some more farming this week. It didn't take too long to whip up this block because already had all of the pieces cut out.

The fabric is from Anna Maria Horner, naturally, as I am using all of her prints and her solids for this quilt. 

 

 All 40-something pieces cut out!  Yeesshhhh that was a lot of cutting.

You'll notice that there is something so fantastic about the LouLouthi line. Look at the two different purple prints above. Well, look below. Both prints came from the same fabric piece. Anna's fabric lines really are so versatile! It just took a little fussy-cutting, and It's like I've got 2 different fabrics!

 

All of those tiny pieces became this block below. I was just beginning to think that my piecing was getting a bit better and more accurate, then, I worked on this block and that all went out the window. It was a wicked struggle for me. As seen below.... relatively sub par piecing! That's OK though, I tried reallllyyy hard. That counts for something, right?

These are all of the blocks I have completed so far. Check them out on my flickr page.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

HOLLER!

Happenings Around the House

I have been sooooooooooooo swamped at work lately. For those of you new to my blog, I am a CPA (certified public accountant) and as everyone on Earth (who has filed taxes) knows, busy season is upon us. MAN am I busy! 

You probably won't be hearing a lot from for the next two months or so, but I promise that I am constantly thinking about crafting, quilting, knitting, making, crocheting, blogging, shopping, etc.

Aside from working, I have tried to fill my Sundays with a mondo-sized latte, menu planning, and cooking for the upcoming week.  

I have also tried to make the house more home-y. I have been so slowwww to decorate. It is pretty overwhelming having an entire house to pretty-up. I have made a few small changes though...

 (Loving our new shower curtain!)

 (A new rug for our master bedroom)

 (Our most recent addition is our new bed!! I am SO excited about this bed. Our room felt more like a college dorm before we got this bed. I did buy the lamps before I got the bed, so now that we have the bed, I'm not sure that the lamps match. I absolutely love them, but I think that the linen look of them competes with the headboard too much. I also am definitely not a fan of our brown sheets anymore either, White/cream sheets are definitely a must!!!)

 (Thinking about some paint colors!)

(My mom actually gave us this gorgeous mahogany chest that was from her and my father's old bedroom. It matches our bedroom furniture almost perfectly. I am so incredibly in love with it.)

 (I have been creeping owls in an out of places around the house. lol. My husband has lovingly (or maybe not) dubbed me the "Creepy Owl Lady")

Thanks for checking in! I will try and post a few times a week, hopefully my posts won't only be about food and home decor. I am desperate to do something crafty soon. A girl can only work and eat so much!

HOLLER!

Some Farming

I am happy to report that I did some farming this week. By farming, of course, I am referring to working on the Farmer's Wife quilt as party of the Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-long that is being hosted by fellow blogger Angela @ Fussy Cut and one of her friends. I am so far behind it is almost overwhelming to think about, so I am not going to think about that anymore. I am just going to chug along at my own little slug pace over here. 

For those of you who are new to the blog, I am participating the the Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-long. You can check out my initial blog posts on the whole QAL here and here.

This weekend I worked on block no.12 - Broken Sugar Bowl!

 

As noted in my previous posts, I am working up these Farmer's Wife blocks exclusively in Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush, Loulouthi and solids. 

I swear, the most TEDIOUS part if this whole process is cutting out all of that fabric. Does anyone else find it almost unbearable??? I actually cut these out like months ago, when I had some free time, and then whipped up the block in less than an hour. If only the entire project came pre-cut, that would be a DREAM. But then again, it's not about the destination, it's about the journey bla bla bla.

I was proud of myself, because when making this block I did some string piecing for the first time. It was sooo easy and just totally made sense. Can we say that's one knocked off the bucket list? I am trying to learn as many useful and time-saving techniques as possible and this was definitely one of them!

Too see all of my completed projects, food, etc. check out my flicker account as well as the "Finished Projects" page here on my blog. 

Here is a shot of all the Farmer's Wife QAL blocks that I have finished so far! I like some of them better than others, but I think that's just how it goes. Anyone out there have a favorite???

HOLLER!

Pure Energy, yes please!

Hey There, 

Not much crafting (other than catching up on my knitting WIPS) going on here lately, because I am still in complete-my-wedding-album-mode. Almost done though, woohoo!

I have been eyeballing these little tasty bites all over Pinterest ...  

I decided that I would finally make a batch. All of the recipes seemed pretty easy and very similar, with the only the fruit and nut combos varying slightly. I followed the general proportions of a few recipes ... 1c chopped dried fruit to 1/2c chopped nuts. My combos were:

 From left to right, clockwise... 1/4c raw walnuts, 1/4c raw almonds, craisins infused with pomegranate, dried Bing cherries, dried black mission figs. 

I just LOVE FIGS. My sweet mother-in-law got me a 3 or 4 lb back of organic dried figs for my birthday. This was the PERFECT recipe to use them in.

You are supposed to toast the nuts. Let them cool. While that is happening, you are supposed to soak the craisins or raisins in hot water for about 15. Drain the water out. Throw everything, plus some spices (I used ginger, cinnamon, and cloves) in a food processor. You are also supposed to add a little water or triple sec so that the mixture comes together better. I added probably about 1 tablespoon of agave nectar because I just LOVE that stuff.

The one mistake I did make was not blending this mixture until it was a little finer. The more fine it is, the easier it is to shape into balls.

So then, after everything is mixed together, you shape it all into balls. I decided to roll mine into balls, then coat them with agave nectar and THEN roll the balls in some unsweetened coconut.

TA - DA!

The quantities I used made about 20 yummy energy bites. I think that I decided a serving size would be 5 bites, and that would make it about 225 calorie mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. 

Another item off of the bucket list, yesss!

Check out my flickr account for my finished projects/food/quilts/crafts! 

HOLLER!