Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Baby Afghan


I made this for a good friend of mine that I've known all my life. (From before grade school anyway!) She had her first baby - a little boy- this past Spring. I decided to learn how to make granny squares and see what I could do with them. The finished blanket ended up a little larger than this, but I'm happy with my first ever attempt! It turned out so warm and fuzzy, I may have to make one for myself in the future. :-)

Time flies...

One post since last year!?!? Yikes! It's not because I haven't been here though... I've been reading all the wonderful blogs almost daily and LOVING the inspiration. I just haven't posted on my own... will have to do something about that!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

*MIA*

I feel like I've been long MIA from this blog, and looking back at my last post, it's TRUE!! Interestingly enough, it coincides with my first semester in the Nursing program. ERG! It's been a busy one. I finished my last of four final exams yesterday, and so now I'm looking forward to working on some projects... FINALLY!!

I've been so inspired by the hexagon quilts and hand stitching lately. Going to have to try it out! I'll also post pictures of a crochet blanket I made for a friend. Catch ya later!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Cheery Christmas Table Toppers

They're done! These pictures might all look the same to you, but there are actually 3 different toppers that I completed. (I can tell by the different bindings - smile). I LOVE these, and I'm so happy that the tutorial I used was so SIMPLE. I'll definitely be making dresden plates again... maybe next time in a quilt. HA! Not like I need another iron in the fire...

Mom's:

Pretty snowflake material for the background...

Grandma A's: I used a different white background for these... can't decide which I like better!
And the hand quilting shown on the back... (Grandma N's - different binding)
Red and Green are such cheery colors!
Love the candy-cane centers...

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Garlic Chicken Kiev (light)

I am always on the look out for new "light" recipes that still taste good and are healthy. This one fits all requirements. Yum! The only thing I changed, was instead of make little "bricks" of herb/butter, I just spread the butter mixture over the flattened chicken before rolling it up. Also, I used plain yogurt instead of milk to dip the chicken in before coating it in cereal crumbs. Worked well and we loved it!

Ingredients:

3 T reduced calorie spread, softened
1 T chopped fresh chives or parsley
1/8 tsp garlic powder
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lbs)
2 cups cornflakes, crushed
2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp paprika (left this out and added a little lemon pepper seasoning instead)
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk or fat-free milk (OR plain yogurt)

Directions:

1) Mix spread, chives and garlic powder; shape into 3x2 inch rectangle. Cover and freeze about 30 minutes or until firm.
2) Heat over to 425 F. Spray square pan, 9x9x2 inches, with cooking spray. Flatten each chicken breast to 1/4 inche thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper.
3) Cut chives mixture crosswise into 6 pieces. Place 1 piece on center of each chicken breast half. Fold long sides of chicken over chives mixture; fold up ends and secure with toothpick.
4) Mix cereal, parsley, and paprika. Dip chicken into buttermilk, then coat lightly and evenly with cereal mixture. Place chicken, seam sides down, in pan.
5) Bake uncovered about 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

Courtesy of Betty Crocker!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

A Saturday Sew Nice

What to do on a snowy Saturday when you have the day off and no homework or chores calling...? SEW! I haven't had a free "whole" day to do this in a long time, so it was such a treat!

Our first real snow of the season!
A must have ~ toe socks! They're just as warm and toasty as slippers.

My sewing station (aka the kitchen table), equipped with cell phone, ipod with audio books, and diet coke. All the necessities, hehe!

I pulled out a bunch of christmas scraps I'd gotten from Grandma, and also that fun candy cane print I found at JoAnn's...

The previous week I had been "surfing" youtube and I found the tutorials by the Missouri Star Quilt Co. They are FANTASTIC! Ever since then I'd been itching to try making a Dresden Plate -something I can honestly say I wouldn't have tried a year ago when I was just starting out. They make it look so simple!

I made the blades with the red and green scraps, and used the candy cane material for the centers. The background is some leftover white on white prints I had. So cute!
Now all that's left is to try my hand at aplique. I don't think it will be too hard as I've sewn a couple bindings and done embroidery before. The hard part will be the quilting. I'm still so nervous about "ruining" projects by trying to machine quilt on them. I may just have to buck up and give it a try with these though... They are going to be so cute as table centerpieces or wallhangings. Can't wait to see them finished!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Food for thought

"The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don't define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winner can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them."

This was a quote on the myfitnesspal website that I'm using to help me stay motivated in my weight loss. Thought I would share it. It's not about will power, it's about having a clear idea of what you want to accomplish and truly, honestly believing that you can do it.