Buttercream Summer (First Block in our New Mystery Block of the Month called Strawberry-Li-Cious)

Whew....it's done. I literally invested more than 250 hours into this one block. I promise....it won't take you gals that long. I just had so much to learn. And it was by trial and error the finished product is finally done!!

Here are some close ups. (I had a hard time getting a good photograph of this. The Guitar Man even brought in overhead lights and tried to help me. In other words...the photos don't do the block justice)

Now to share the 'Process' with you:

The Preliminary Sketch

 After the sketch was done, I started commissioning fabrics. I played around with lines from Fig Tree:

And if you remember my post that showed you my first sketch for this block...

Which started out like this:

And then became this:

But let me tell you what was wrong with all of this:
The basket wasn't symmetrical...I didn't like the strawberries, the flowers were crying out for help...I didn't like how the flowers ate into the handle...and I felt it needed to be bigger.
So back to the drawing board:
And after a few drafts I completely made over the block:

Added a flange around it....
and still realized my strawberries needed some work.
Another whole block?? Geez....Louise! Was I ever going to get this thing  right?
And finally...yesterday....I took the last stitch:

 To sign up  for this Mystery Block of the Month

click HERE

Come and join us on this 'Design Journey'

we are taking.

See the process on my blog...

and look forward to your 

package each month 

in the mail

with the latest block.

Hurry...Limited Amount

of Sign-ups 

Available! 
 

The BEST EVER Overnight WAFFLE Recipe...

If you are looking for a good Waffle Recipe...I have it for you girls.

This is the recipe I used while the kids were growing up...

Every Saturday night I would whip it up...

Set it on the counter overnight...

And then one by one, as they crawled out of bed

Sunday morning...

I made them each a hot waffle...

Topped with Strawberries and Whipped Cream...

Before heading off to church.

It worked out perfect...

And it will tickle your tummy....

It's so yummy!

The recipe comes from:

The Breakfast Cookbook

by Marion Cunningham

Raised Waffles

1/2 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

2 cups milk warmed

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

2 eggs

1/4 tsp baking soda

Use a rather large mixing bowl...the batter will rise to double its original volume. Put the water in the mixing bowl and sprinkile in the yeast. Let stand to dissolve for 5 minutes.

Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar and flour to the yeast mixture and beat until smooth and blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature.

Just before cooking the waffles, beat in the eggs, and the baking soda, stir until well mixed. The batter will be very thin. Pour about 1/2 to 3/4 cup batter into a very hot waffle iron. Bake the waffles until they are golden and crisp. (My hubby likes them crisp...I actually like them barely toasty and brown).

This batter will deep well for several days in the refrigerator.

Smash up some fresh strawberries, add a little bit of lemon juice and about a tsp of sugar.

Whip some cream...and

ENJOY!!      

A week away to play....

Last week when my son and son-in-law came up for the day...
I had no idea

we would be heading back to their home

with them in St George to stay 11 days.

I have never in my life stayed 11 days with anybody!

Dad drilled it in to us kids growing up...

"People are like 'fish'...after 3 days

they start stinking!"

And it has stuck!

So this is a milestone.

I was so afraid we were staying too long...

but each day my son, asked us if we could  stay

just one more day...

until it became 9...then 10...then 11.

He was swamped with work...

and seeing we didn't have any 'shows' planned...

the dear sweet hubby of mine...

went down to help.
He appreciated the work too.

This morning as I was changing our sheets and scrubbing 

the bathroom for my daughter-in-law...

it was her...who eased my mind...

 maybe we weren't being considered

like fish.

This is what she said to me...

"I really hope you don't feel like you have worn

out your welcome.

You actually have inspired me...

I have done more sewing in the last 8 days...

than I have in the whole last year.

(I was working on my embroidery Mystery BOM

every day without fail. Sitting on the couch...
Sitting outside while the kids swam...
sitting on the bench up in the pines where 
we all went one afternoon.)

I had no idea I was being 

inspirational...

I was just desperately trying

to get it done! People are chomping at the

bit to get their first block.)

You also inspired me to cook again. I've gotten in a rut

of just picking up something quick.

One of the nights, she was up every

hour and a half with the baby...

When I got up the next morning...

she looked so tired...

it took me back to my "Texas" days...

of raising 4 little ones...

feeling like I was going to be

tired...

the rest of my life!

SO.....

I asked myself....

"What can I do to help?"

I told her I was going to make dinner for everyone

that night to give her a break.

Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Salad,

Homemade Biscuits.

It was good....

if I must say so myself.

But...did she sit on the couch and wait to be served?

Oh no....not Melissa....

she was in the kitchen the whole time helping!

And assured me ...

"Really it has been good to have you here."

She said it with such sincerity...what's a gal

to do? 

It sure sounded better than the thought of....

stinky fish!!

My darling little grand daughter Emily
helped me wind my embroidery threads
onto cards.

She saw me working on my embroidery sketches...
and she wanted to sketch.
So I had her go and get her uncle Heston's
cartoon drawing off the fridge...
and set her to work.

I have to share a few other pictures from the week...

My newest grandson...baby Heston

Ashley teaching baby about her love of the piano.

My two littlest...grand boys.

M

My two grand girls...

The gang!

We really do love each other...

Today around 4 p.m. 
I was sitting at Barnes and Noble...

and once again the 'boys' found me.

"Oh good... I was just thinking about you guys...

and how wonderful it was going to be...

to have you watch all the kids tonight...

when I take the girls out to a movie!"

"Not me!"  My son said emphatically.

"Yes you, darling!" I said sweetly

But he wasn't having any of it.

"Now son...you have a gold mine in that

wife of yours!

I know she doesn't complain...

but she needs a break once in awhile too!

She will get burned out...

giving, giving all the time..."

"I know you guys are tired from painting all day,

but I'm sure Ken will help....'Won't you hon'?"

I turn to him and ask pleadingly with my eyes.

The champ he is ... he agrees.

One thing about my son....

he may not always agree with me...

but I must say...

he does 'THINK' about what I say...

and usually comes around.

I'm kind of feeling guilty as I write this right now...

That knot head kid of mine
did stay up late last night
after working all day...

to help me with my new pattern cover.

Thank goodness I didn't think of that when they

found me at Barnes and Noble!

(In all reality I am so proud of him...
I can hardly contain myself!)

Now Heston....my son-in-law agreed readily.

He had been painting all day too.
He's such a love!

So...I took them to see...

EAT PRAY LOVE

What a great flick for 'Girl's Night Out'

Ashley, my daughter said,

"I was close to tears through the whole thing.

It really makes you think."

Melissa said, 

"Oh I want to travel!!"

And they both were so happy.

To just have a little bit of time...

without little ones vying for their attention.

We all need time to ourselves.

We all need family.

We all need to take the time to 'spend' time

with our families!

Who knows...we might think we are a 

burden...

yet...

all the while...

we are spreading blessings...

unknowingly.

Eat   Pray   Love !!

'House' Quilts

I have become fascinated with house quilts over the last year...ever since making one by The Quilt Company. We offered this quilt as a Block of the Month and took 90 sign ups on it. I created it in a different set of colors than the original. I'm not sure if that was why it was so popular with us or not. But what a fun quilt it was to make!

Here it is in the process:

                   I enjoyed making this so much

because I didn't have to do the design work.

It was  great to just follow  'a pattern' for once!

                     The following are pictures of quilts

I have taken at Quilt Shows across the country:

 

SS

TSo that's all for tonight. I always like to give credit where credit is due...so if any of you out there reading this, sees some of your work, please email me and let me know so I can put your name with the work. I took these pictures way before I ever had a blog, and had no idea I was going to need the information. Please forgive!!

I'm still working on the post for my new Mystery Block of the Month that I am going to share with you....I still have to take some more pictures. So today I thought I would go through my camera and share some pictures of quilts that I've enjoyed seeing at shows over the last few years.

My husband wanted to buy this quilt for me from David Taylor...seeing I love goats so much. The price??? Only $13,000

So that's all for now. Until next time....Happy Quilting!!
John'aLee

Another finished Meet Me In Paris Quilt!

Melissa my sweet and darling daughter in law who I wouldn't trade for anything in the world  is taking her last stitch on her Meet Me In Paris Quilt. What a beaut it is! I am so proud of her.

For those of you who are interested, you can purchase this pattern on our website: http://www.thescrappyappleyard.com/welcome/    Although it looks like a hard quilt, it is actually very easy to make with the EZ Dresden ruler and the EZ Scallop ruler. I even encourage beginners to take it on. The first class I ever taught on it, there was a beginner there who had never even quilted before and she took it on and did a fabulous job.

If you want to read the story behind this quilt and how it came into being go to my "About Us" page on our website:  http://www.thescrappyappleyard.com/dynamic/?page=1

It's late....my son just finished helping me get the pattern cover together for my new Mystery Block of the Month.....Strawberry-Li-Cious. I'll post about it tomorrow. Can't wait for you all to see the finished project. I have more than 250 hours invested in just this first block! Seeing it was my first 'embroidery project' to design there was a lot of trial and error I had to get through.

Until tomorrow....
John'aLee

Inspiration.....Tattoos???? Have I lost it?

Never in a million years did I think I would consider tattoos as art. But when my three girls all came home with tattoos and I got over the shock and rage, I decided to try and understand why they were doing what they were doing. Imagine my shock when I realized it meant something to them. That it is a part of the younger generation's culture whether we want to accept it or not.

The picture above was posted to my daughter Ashley's My Space page and I literally thought she was up in the mountains with her back turned and that she had a t shirt on. NOT!! Her whole back is tattooed. That is how I found out about it. To say the least I was devastated.

I asked her to write out why she did it and here it is:

"We are desperate for guidance, we are looking for direction, open our ears." -Still Remains (This is what it says on her back.)

These come from the lyrics of a Christian Hardcore band that broke up about 2 years ago. This was a very influential statement for me at the time

I was feeling lost, and in need of guidance spiritually.  In tattoo form, it was also a way for me to incorporate my love for music,
and my love especially for the piano. This was one of the first hardcore bands I fell in love with, and they were the first

band I had heard that meshed hardcore with beautiful piano intros."

For all of you out there who have met and fallen in love with this little 'angel' of mine....I bet you never would have guessed her back was covered in this!

So to help me understand...tattooing....which before disgusted me...I started watching LA Ink and Miami Ink on TLC. I was not prepared to come close to understanding  it let alone learn about 'art'. I even learned things to help me in my own art. This was humbling for me. And although I still wouldn't consider a tattoo for myself...I am not quite so jaded.

True tattoo artists not only learn the art of tattooing but there is a lot of 'art' history lessons they need to know and religious icon history as well. They also need to have a gift to 'draw'. To watch some of these artists freehand tattoos on people is nothing short of amazing. It is like watching a painter in his element.

My littlest....Tory....the black haired beauty you all know from working in the shoppe with us and on the road, came home with 2 big stars on her chest. Now that was a hard one to take...because she can't cover it up. (She now regrets it)

But when she came home with "God's Will" tattooed on her wrist pointing outward I had to know the reasoning behind it. 

She said, "Mom it reminds me to do God's Will."   "Then why is it pointing outwards? " I asked.

She responded " Well, when I give the customers back their change, they can read it and know and be reminded to do God's Will too."

My child....always has a ready answer for everything.

So I am learning in my middle years to not judge right off the bat. But to sit back...take it all in...and try to keep an open mind. I never know where my inspiration will come from next. 

Until next time....Happy Quilting!

John'aLee 

Meet Me Under The Mistletoe

My 'angel' friend Marla sent me pictures of the new finished pattern....Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. I am tickled pink and feel fairy dusted with goodness! Didn't she do a fabulous job?

So here's the story behind it. I have been working on this pattern off and on for three years. People who have stopped by my studio begged me to finish it, and for some reason I was stuck.  At Quilt Walk, I pulled it out and asked Marla if she would be interested in finishing it up for me. I figured why not? She's pulled me out of so many other things....so I just knew she needed a new challenge!

And boy howdy did she come through. I love you Marla. ( I can't believe I didn't get a picture of her at Quilt Walk....knowing Marla...she wouldn't have let me anyway.)

When the hubby saw the picture this morning...his response was..."hon...I think God sent you Marla!" My response...."hon...you just figuring that out? I knew God sent me this angel years ago!"

So now I am on the hunt for some current fabric lines, so we can get this kitted up for any of you interested out there. The pattern will be ready soon too. I think we are going to remake it in a soft pink and green pastel line too. If you want to get on the list for either pattern or kit, give us a call at the shoppe: (435) 676-8677

You all have a beautiful day out there...and get some stitchin....done.