June 2012 – Thimbleanna

The Children are Hot

46 Comments / June 28, 2012 June 22, 2013 / Quilting

Hot enough for ya? I know you ladies down under are jealous of our Hotter than Hades temps here in the midwest USA. 105F (40.5C) is probably just a cake walk for you guys, but dang — it’s Hot! In our ~25 years of living here, I don’t remember a temp this high. Close, but not 105. I feel a case of the vapors coming on!

Blogging must go on though, so, I’ve braved the heat and taken a few pics of the Children. The quilt top is finally put together. I stayed in the shade — thus the mottled light and the green grass.

The big stars are 8″ blocks and the little stars measure about 3″ wide. I debated whether to put a border on the quilt — you don’t see a lot of borders being used with more modern quilts these days. But, my first love in this fabric collection is that little hopscotch print and I really wanted bigger pieces of it — thus, the border.

This quilt top is baby quilt size — roughly 49″ x 58″. Don’t be getting any ideas about babies around here though, the only baby around to enjoy this quilt is BabyDoll.

She’s wearing her muslin slip to beat the heat. (She’s also wearing her muslin slip ’cause I can’t remember where her clothes are — Bad Mommy!)

I’ve decided not to quilt this top now. The quilting will depend upon the intended recipient, and for now, that is unknown. So, Children at Play will be the inaugural quilt top in the baby quilt top stash. I’m sorry, it had to happen. I love this fabric so much and I just had to play.

(BabyDoll is comparing the size of her hand to the little star — in case you were wondering. ;-) )
Ok, off to fan myself and get BabyDoll out of the heat!
XOXO,
Anna

I Scream, You Scream…

25 Comments / June 24, 2012 June 22, 2013 / Recipes

Wait! Before we talk about Ice Cream — I’ve been terribly remiss in my Aurifil Block of the Month duties. Miss June is none other that Pam Kitty Morning! I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to mention your adorable block PKM — in my defense, I’ve been a little distracted with daughter duties this month. BUT — I LOVE the June block — How cute is this???

I think PKM might be putting this cute basket on a little hand towel — and now I have a hand towel on my to-do list. I love all the vintage-y goodness about this cute little basket of flowers. Very Fun!

Now, back to ice cream. Is is hot where you are? It’s been pretty steamy (and DRY — send RAIN!) here in the middle parts of the US. Perfect for some ice cream pie. This is an old family favorite that we put into our family cookbook a few years ago.

MyDadLovesMeBestSister used to request this pie in lieu of birthday cake every year. I love it for the nut crust which is awesome. And the sauce. I know lots of people don’t like raisins, and they can easily be left out of this recipe. I LOVE raisins though, so they stay in for me. This piece of ice cream pie is looking all melty, but it’s still good. You have to eat it pretty quickly in this heat if you don’t want a big yummy puddle.

Ice Cream Pie

1 egg white
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 pt. coffee ice cream (I hate coffee anything, so I substitute Maple Pecan Ice Cream)
1 pt. vanilla ice cream
Raisin Sauce

Beat egg white until frothy. Add salt, then sugar gradually, beating until egg white is stiff. Fold in vanilla and pecans. Spread meringue in greased 9-inch pie pan, building up sides to form a shell. Bake at 325 degrees, 12-15 minutes. Cool.
Spread slightly sofened coffee ice cream in shell, then vanilla ice cream. Freeze. Remove from freezer 20 minutes before serving time. Serve with warm raisin sauce.

Raisin Sauce

3 tablespoons butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
Heat butter in saucepan until bubbly, then add sugar and cream, stirring until well blended. Add raisins, vanilla and salt and slowly bring sauce to a boil. Cook about 5 minutes. Cool. Spoon sauce over each pie serving.

Enjoy! It’s a fun, decadent treat for a hot summer day!
XOXO,
Anna

Wascally Wabbit

31 Comments / June 19, 2012 June 22, 2013 / Around the House, Sewing

How’s your week coming along? Lots of running around here. I did drag out a more recent UFO and managed a little piecing time over the weekend.

It’s my Children at Play quilt top – I’m making good progress and hopefully there will be a finished top pretty soon. In the meantime, I played with the scraps too.

And contemplated what to do with all of these leftover triangles. Still undecided – any ideas?

Hey! Want to see my little garden? We finally have a little sunny space in our yard – created when the retaining wall was put in last fall. I love a little garden. I don’t have much hope for the beets and carrots – I really just planted them because they look so pretty.

Good thing I’m not really counting on them ’cause someone else has other ideas. See that teeny leaf on the left down there?

Those are the remains of a beet. Ramn Dabbit!!! I tried putting used cat litter around the edge of the garden. It worked for awhile, but Peee-Eeeew! It was smelly. Now we have a little wire fence. Hopefully it will work.

Off to dream of Wabbits in cages!
XOXO,
Anna

A Summer Top

33 Comments / June 14, 2012 June 22, 2013 / Sewing

Gosh, I know I say it all the time, but I can’t believe how quickly the days pass. How is your summer treating you so far? It’s hot and dry here — we could use some rain! The good part about no rain is that the grass doesn’t grow as fast which means less mowing for me.

Less mowing = More sewing! ;-D

I finally finished a top for me that I started last summer. That’s a bad habit — I start something and then it gets put aside if the week gets too busy. But — when I pick it up again it feels like a quick project!

I used an Anna Maria voile from a year or two ago. The print on the fabric is so busy that it’s hard to see the shirt style. It’s New Look 6781.

The pattern suggested rows of trim on the bodice but I thought that would be too much for this busy fabric. So, I played around with my machine and stitched along the zigzag lines of the print. You can’t really see the extra stitching unless you’re about to kiss me, but I like it anyway. “I” know it’s there and that’s what counts, right?

I love the fit and the softness of the fabric. It’s a really comfortable shirt and I know I’ll get lots of use out of it for a few years.

I’m home today while some painters do their thing in our family room. It’s such a luxury to be home and have some cleaning time in the middle of the week and I’m having a great time! Must get back at it!

XOXO,
Anna

Spring 2012 Quilt Market: The Fabric

33 Comments / June 8, 2012 June 22, 2013 / Quilt Market Report

Well kids. Another week whizzed by. I’m glad it’s over too — my travel is done for awhile so I can look forward to a little sewing and maybe clean up this pigsty a little.

So, finally, my last market report (I hear all of you screaming yipee out there!) — the fabric you’ll be seeing in quilt shops a few months from now. Before the fabric, here’s a quick pic for Meredithe and all the Billings girls out there. Just to prove their gorgeous quilt was at market.

My last two posts have shown a lot of the fabric that I really liked (like Sarah Jane, PKM, and those Riley Blake Chevrons) that I didn’t see at sample spree. I didn’t manage to snag Vanessa‘s new color line either, but here’s a pretty close up of her new fabrics.

And look! I was snooping around the United Notions booth and she has an Aurifil line of thread to match.

I thought this new Dr. Suess fabric in baby colors was cute.

Here are my sample spree snags. At the Lecein booth I grabbed this line called Quilter’s First Collection. I don’t like all the fabrics, but I love the collection of basics in the group to the right. (No one does basics like Lecein.)

From Moda, the plan was to get Marmalade by Bonnie and Camille and Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater and I managed to get them both without being trampled by the crowd.

When you buy something from Moda, they give you a bag. I LOVE this year’s bag.

It even inspired me to get the line of fabric that contains the bag print. It’s called Odds and Ends by Cosmo Cricket. I wouldn’t have noticed it without the bag (and the table cloths on the tables) but I’m sure glad I did — there are some very cute prints in this collection.

And that’s it! Too much fabric, as usual, and I have no clue what I’ll do with it. It’s sure fun to fondle though!

Have a great weekend. Mine is going to contain some sewing, how ’bout yours?
XOXO,
Anna

Month: June 2012

Ice Cream Pie

Raisin Sauce