Some Favorites

Once in awhile I like to do some posts on other areas of my life that are very special to me.  They are sort of my other passions. 

Strawberries are in season and they are the yummiest!  Josh loves them.  Ayden LOVES them.  I adore them from time to time.  Specifically,once a day at least.  We have a local farm down the road from us about 5 miles and they have a U-Pick kinda thing every year.  I went and got my first batch a month ago.  Let's just say they weren't the greatest I have had from them.  I have resorted to Walmart.  Yes I know not as fresh,but what can a strawberry lovin' girl do?!  Gotta get that fix from somewhere.  We buy strawberries at least every 2 weeks maybe less.  2 qts of them.  We eat them several ways 'round here too.  Sometimes in smoothies, sometimes with cream cheese,some on waffles or pancakes and some in yogurt.  (I am feeling a Green Eggs and Ham moment coming on)

Recently,a friend of mine let me know that she had been to one of our local grocery stores and purchased rhubarb.  Now this girl, ME has not had rhubarb in YRS and YRS.  I missed it in the worst way.  So as soon as the hubby got home I was off!  Little costly at $4 a lb,but TOTALLY worth every penny in my eyes.

In comes this recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars.  I cut down the sugar by half and the butter by at least a 1/3.  Try it if you like fruit bars and you will not regret it!

I froze some too in apple juice using this reference.  Don't you love the name rhubarb?   It could make a really good quilt name hey??  I digress.

This next food that I am going to submit you to is not a favorite of the boys in my house.  I,on the other hand will eat it just about every day.  They are good for you too ya know?!

Avocado in sandwiches, in smoothies(yes siree!), in salads and on top of Mexican food.  Yum,yum,yum!!!  I eat half of a whole one a day.

I put the other half in an empty container like this one.  It must be a white one.  You can add a piece of onion too,but I usually don't.  This will keep your avocado fresh for the next day or the next.  You will have a slight brown discoloration,but I will skim that off the top with a knife.  Avocados are a staple in my diet!

Now this next favorite of mine is a given if you read my blog,but I have some more to show off so here we are!

Some purple lilies from Ayden's garden in our back yard.

Today I decided I was going to cut some hydrangeas from my bush out front.  The hubby wanted me to leave them alone.  I won! lol  They are sooo pretty that I had to bring some of their prettiness indoors. 

I watched this video for some guidance.  Listen for this lady's great accent!

While on the subject of our back yard.....

Meet our mama killdeer that has taken up residence in our yard and will probably be there for 24-48 days until her babies come out of their temporary home.  I discovered her by accident when Ayden and I were playing tag one day.  I almost walked right into her!  Then I got an earful!  I read that they will actually sound out K-I-L-L-D-E-E-R in their squawks.  To protect their babies,they will fake a "broken: wing too which I have seen a few times to date.

I have been told that the babies are really cute and comical!  We are anticipating some upcoming good times:)  No I cannot tell you how I got this pic *whistling and putting my head down in an attempt to hide*    

Besides snapping pics of eggs, I ordered some more flannel for the other top that hopefully will come by Wed.

For the quilting,I finished those inner squares and then did straight lines with the walking foot in both directions in the sashing.  This is one soft quilt!!  Maybe I will use this idea in a future quilt and use it as backing.

Pluses:

~makes it SO soft
~at the starting position , no need to pull the threads up to the top as they will be covered by the other quilt top in the end--get me?
~the soft flannel makes it a smooth,easy ride while quilting
~if you match the thread to the flannel,it's all good!!  no boo boos showing;)
~ also,no matching the two quilt tops so all those blocks are in the same position on both sides which is the real reason why I did this in the first place

Today, I printed off the templates for the Lucky Stars June BOM,picked out my fabrics to include a Kona solid and new pink print.  All of the templates have been cut out while watching and LOL during this movie .  Melissa McCarthy is a RIOT!!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed learning more about me:)

Sara

Nicely Done

What a perfect day.  The sun is shining brightly, there is a slight breeze and it is that time of the year to go pick some strawberries with the family.  Hubby is with us and all is well.  This morning the guys (Ayden and daddy) hit some golf balls at the driving range while mommy watched her two guys enjoy one another.  Yes it is a fantastic day indeed!

My rose bushes are in full bloom and looking their very best.

Wildflowers have taken a liking to their new home on my front porch. Filled with several surprises in the form of many different flower species ready to emerge their pretty selves:)

One of my blogging buddies, Tammie sent me this bag that words cannot put into a proper sentence to describe its perfection.  I simply adore this bag.  It has been a home for my hand quilting supplies lately.  It will get many years of usage for this girl!  Thank you with all my heart Tammie.  (I did a guest blog post on her blog a couple of months ago and I would do it again in a flash!)

Inside the bag was this cutie bird, some chocolate and jelly beans too:)  Ayden snatched most of it,but I hid the jelly beans---he,he,he...

Hand quilting my bed quilt......................ah....................such a nice process. 

Finca Perle Light Sea Green...the color is so light and wonderful!  Of course you all know how much I adore finca anyway!!

It is a slow process, nonetheless,  loving every second of it!

Since this is the case, I have decided to try to knock out a baby sized quilt for my Etsy shop as well.  

Lovely by Sandy Gervais

Meadowsweet by Sandi Henderson (a square)

Fabric Traditions by Denyse Schmidt(couple prints)

Lace Elements in yellow by Art Gallery (border left and right sides)

Yellows,soft pinkish/reds, blues and greens reveals some spring for me!

It's A Hoot Owls by MoMo

 Brown Pin dots by Joann Fabrics

The owl print mimicked all the colors from the quilt top and so it was the winner.  I took the owl print and centered it with the pin dots around it as a frame.  Lookin' good;)

I pieced a lot of scrap batting.  Just waiting to get some sewing mojo and time to go get her pinned up and quilted.  Easy does it:)

I participated in the Colorful Charm Square Swap on Flickr recently so I should be receiving some pretty purple and green fabrics soon!

Kona Berry

 Rise 'N Shine by Glenna Hailey

These are the two prints I had in my stash for the swap.

Another blogging pal of mine and I decided we needed to do a swap many months ago.  Sidenote:don't you love blog friends---they are always sweet and kind and everything else positive..maybe cuz they don't know you in person?!  lol..just yanking ya'lls chain!!  Blogging friends are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

This friend of mine, Jessica blogs over at Quilty Habit and she is pretty cool ya know that!!  We agreed to do some fabric swappin'.   We each choose the other one's favorite designer(s) that was emailed to one another beforehand.  Then go buy some fabric for that lucky friend!  Maybe sneak somethin',somethin' extra in there too;)  How fun has it been?  Tons and tons!!  You should do it..............often:)  

I would love to show off what I got Jess,but she would probably be over here real quick tryin' to figure it out.  Not that she is nosy,but I know she reads my blog regularly cuz she is pretty cool----like I said already.  Really want to..................BUT I can't.

Time to go work some more on that quilt and hang out with my guys!