Cookie of the Month

Happy Tax Day — for those of you in the U.S.  Aren’t we happy that‘s over for this year?  The less said about that, the better!  ;-D

Moving right along, it’s the 15th of the month and therefore,  it’s time for the monthly Aunts’ Quilt Report.  How are you Auntlets doing?  I haven’t seen many updates this month — I hope you’re just too busy to post.  I will say though that Karen R is killing us!  She even finished and posted early this month — WooHoo Karen — Congratulations!!!  I barely scraped by this month, but I got my blocks done.  Here’s the applique block:

I had a hard time with the applique block this month. It’s definitely not my favorite, and I think my fabric choices made it even less of a favorite. Maybe the parts that really annoy me will get fixed, and maybe not. Anyway, here are the two pieced blocks:

And my little sneaky animal piece? I chose a deer this month and I think he’s cute.

Here’s what the blocks look like all together. They’re too big for my little design wall now, so I had to lay them out on the floor. I’m sure they won’t stay in this order, and there are a few little pieces that need to be fixed, but you get the idea.

And let’s not forget the Cookie of the Month — a girl needs sustenance for all this applique work. I had some leftover lemons from the Debutante Lemon Cake, so I decided to consult my cookie board on Pinterest.  I ended up choosing Chewy Glazed Lemon Cookies and boy, were they ever good!  A great choice while doing hand work and stitching.  If you like lemon, you should definitely try these cookies!

Ok Auntlets, don’t give up yet! According to our schedule, we’re halfway done with this quilt (can you believe it???) — it’s all downhill from here! For month 7, we’re scheduled to do 4 inset triangles. Easy Peasy, right?

Ok — get going!!!
XOXO,
Anna

Gosh, I can’t remember the last time I posted just two days after my last post. It’s time for the monthly Aunts’ Quilt update though, so it must be done! Here’s my applique block for this month:

The first pieced block:

And the second pieced block:

I’m still having a lot of fun with these blocks — I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of them. For my little buddy on the applique block this month, I chose a teeny bee.

But he’s not my favorite part of this block. I Love the pink flower. It reminds me of the Flower Power graphics of my childhood! It was great fun choosing the fabrics for this little flower.

And for the Cookie of the Month, I decided to make Hello Dollys.  You probably have a favorite recipe for these cookies — I have one too.  Somewhere between making the grocery list and making the cookies, I lost the recipe.  Good ol’ google to the rescue!  These cookies are known by several different names — Hello Dollys, Magic Cookies, Seven Layer Bars, and probably others.  There are lots of versions of this recipe and I’m pretty sure I chose one that’s not exactly the same as my original.  I sort of went with the one that was more decadent than the others — more of most of the ingredients — ooooops!  Anyway, I used this version, except that I used walnuts instead of pecans.  Also, the recipe says to cut the pan of cookies into 12 bars, but they’re so rich that I cut them smaller.

Next month I’ll try to choose a little more sensible cookie.  Or one that’s a little less messy — this one probably shouldn’t be eaten while actually sewing, which sort of misses the point.  We need these monthly cookies for sustenance while stitching!

Oh, and heads up Auntlets!  Is Anne the only one that noticed the missing center on block 4?  If you look closely at the cover of the pattern, there are circles in the middle of block 4, but they aren’t on the the actual pattern used to make the block.  I totally missed it — good catch Anne!  I’ll definitely be adding some circles to my block

Ok ladies — have fun with your blocks next month.  This is our last month for big blocks — WooHoo!!!

XOXO,
Anna

Well Auntlets, we’re on month 4 already, can you believe it? We’re more than half way on the big blocks — we’ll have this quilt done before we know it!  I know I’m ahead of our reporting date on the 15th of the month, but I thought I’d report in a little early for Valentine’s Day.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!

So … my blocks for this month.  The applique block:

And then the two pieced blocks (Oops, it looks like I did a little funky cropping on these pics — the blocks really are ok though):

And here’s a closeup of my little animal of the month.  Finally, a sheepie!

Now for the Cookie of the Month.   Of course, it HAS to be a Valentine cookie.  We have a family sugar cookie recipe, but I saw this one on Pinterest the other day, so I thought I’d try it.

This cookie is big (I made mine even bigger than they called for in the recipe) and soft and yummy with a cream cheese frosting.  I really liked this cookie, but TheManoftheHouse said he prefers a more traditional sugar cookie.  He isn’t a cream cheese fan.

Okey Doke. That’s it. I hope you Auntlets are having fun and working hard on your blocks (and sorry — since I have limited computer access on my little getaway, I can’t link up to everyone who is caught up this month ;-( ). Have a VERY Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

XOXO,
Anna

Yipee!!! It’s time for the Month 3 Aunts’ Quilt Report! Technically, yesterday was the official day, and technically, I DID finish my blocks just in the nick of time (finishing up around midnight), but it was just too late to take pictures and report in. Then today, there was work and dinner with MeMum and BigDaddy, so there you have it. I’m a day late but not a dollar short — I’m all caught up for this month!

Here are the two pieced blocks for this month:

And the applique block:

Ohmygosh! I’m having SO much fun with this project. I LOVE choosing the fabrics. I love second guessing and wondering what the heck was I thinking. In this case, I’m wondering about those red flower centers — not sure they will all stay. I thought it would be fun to give the flowers a little pizzazz. Then, I decided I really don’t like them. But now, they’re growing on me. We’ll see.

And, last month, I had so much fun with the little puppy, that I thought I’d play around with maybe tucking a wee little animal into each block. This month it’s a bunny. Sorry, the bunnies aren’t very clear, but I hope you get the idea.

And the cookie of the month?  Well, it’s freezing cold January (sorry, to you Auntlets down under) and I wanted a good, hearty cookie to keep me warm.  This months’ cookies are Karen’s Awesome White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies.

I’ve been making these cookies since 2008 when I first found them on Karen’s blog and they’re a big favorite. If you like the main ingredients, give them a try — I think you’ll love them! (As you can see, the Kitchen Pig was VERY interested the day I was baking them!)

For you little Auntlets, I hope you’re having a good time with this quilt. Once again, kudos to Karen R, our star pupil, for being the first one done this month.  Some of you have been working very hard to catch up — Yay!!! Keep going and by next month, you’ll be all caught up.  Some of you are struggling a bit.  Clear your calendar — it’s worth it!  If you haven’t started yet, don’t be afraid — it really is a lot of fun!

Ok, be good kids, and have a great weekend!
XOXO,
Anna