"Labyrinth Walk" Quilt

I purchased the "Labyrinth Walk" quilt pattern a few years ago, hoping to have the time to make it someday.  Well, that time finally came in 2018 when a friend asked me to make one for him to give his granddaughter for Christmas.  I was thrilled to have this chance! 

I am fascinated by optical illusion quilts, and now that I've made this one, I'm scouring the internet for more to make!  I have seen so many versions of this quilt, and each and every one is unique, due to color choice.  It's actually a simple quilt to make, so anyone wanting to make this quilt, don't feel intimidated.  There are NO Y SEAMS and it's unbelievably easy to make this effect... it's all in fabric/color choice, and how it's long-armed when finished.  I have my friend, Dorie H. to thank for her beautiful long-arming work on this quilt.

"Washing Day"

Over the years I've made a number of random quilt blocks.  Mainly because it's my way of trying out a new technique, or just because it's a pattern I like, so I make them and throw them in a pile.  I have made so many random quilt blocks, with no idea what to do with them, when I finally came up with the idea to make a quilt that looks like a clothesline with "quilts" hanging out to dry, and here's what I ended up with!   I even added some kitties at the bottom from some vintage fabric I found at a thrift store.
The blue floral borders on the top of the quilt, and the green patch of fabric on the scrappy back are both true vintage fabrics found at a rummage sale.  I love incorporating vintage fabrics in some of my quilts.
I started this project in 2015 or 2016, and completed it in 2018.

Added Note 6/18/2021:
I'm linking my Washing Day post up to blog post "Show Me Something Outdoors" over at Sarah Goer Quilts.  Give her blog a look and follow for great inspiration!

"Lover's Square Dance"

2018 was the year for finishing a few UFO's, and this here is one of them.  This quilt was an Agatha & Sherlock's 2015 Valentines Mystery Quilt Project through Homespun Hearth.  I used fabrics from my stash, not knowing how it would turn out., and in the end, I loved it!

I ended up donating this quilt to the 2018 Quilts For A Cure quilt auction.

"Cheep Talk"

A few years ago I found an adorable pattern for a mini wall quilt called "Cheep Talk."  The pattern is a Stitchin' Sisters design, and you can find it for sale on the Sew Thankful website.  (There are probably other shops that also sell the pattern if you check around).

Since I outsource all my long-arm quilting, even on small quilts as this, I give credit to my Long-Armers on the quilt labels of each quilt I make.  As you can see in the photo of the label I attached to the back of this one.

Speaking of the quilt label, I created it with PicMonkey Pro and printed it on fabric using my Spoonflower account.

This particular mini quilt now hangs in my new sewing room, as it matched the colors in my room perfectly!  Teal/Aqua and White with a splash of Red!

"Lost In Paradise"

This quilt was part of a Homespun Hearth QAL: Agatha & Sherlocks Worldwide Quilt Day Mystery 2015 that I participated in but never finished until the summer of 2018.  I have a bad habit of joining  QAL's and never finishing...I have a UFO pile of them!  However, I'm so glad to finally have this one off the UFO pile!

  The top is made using bold colors and a border of planet / outer space fabrics.  The back is just scrappy, using some leftover fabric from the top, as well as plain black fabric and some vintage Space Odyssey 2000 fabric that I found at a local thrift store.

I designed my quilt label with PicMonkey Pro, and had it printed on fabric via my spoonflower.com account. 

One less unfinished quilt on the pile for 2018!

 

Canyon Twilight BOM

I'm one of those people who love to participate in Block of the Month and Mystery Quilt programs quite frequently.  But my biggest problem however, is that I tend to get involved in too many at a time, then fall behind in all of them, most of the time resulting in never get a single one completed.

However, the Canyon Twilight BOM, which was  previously offered online through Stitchin' Heaven, Texas' Premier Quilt Shop, is a paper-pieced quilt that I have a strong desire to see finished!  I have long-awaited the chance at making a paper-pieced quilt, but never had the confidence to try one until this year.

We are on our 3rd block/month (September) in the program at this time, so I'm not behind yet!  HAHA!

Here are my first two completed blocks so far...

 

                    Block 1                                                         Block 2                                    

Can't wait to start my third block!

Mini Heart Pillows!

With Valentine’s Day soon approaching, I’m making s few themed gifts for a couple of craft swaps that I’m participating in.  And one of my favorite things to make are these heart pillows from a pattern called Box ‘O Chocolates on the Sew4Home site.  This particular pillow is smaller than the original size so it’s easier for shipping to my swap partner.  I made it smaller by printing the template smaller.  So fun to make and give as gifts!

Brownie Poops

I can’t help sharing...I found a silicone poop emoji bake pan at Joann Fabrics on clearance, so I bought it. And I made these... I used a store-bought brownie mix and milk chocolate frosting.  The eyes are edible candies that I also purchased at Joann’s.  They turned out so doggone cute!

Mexican Chicken Noodle Soup with Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream

I was having a craving for chicken noodle soup today, so went to the fridge to take out the celery and carrots, when I saw the cilantro.  I thought to myself, "There's gotta be a way to incorporate cilantro into chicken noodle soup!"  I went online to look for a possible recipe.  I saw one that sounded good, but I didn't have the right ingredients on hand, plus it was a rice based soup, and I didn't want rice.  So I created this...

Mexican Chicken Noodle Soup
with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream
By: Gina Koston – 3/2/2017

INGREDIENTS:

·         6 cups of water (plus 1 soup can of water)

·         1 can Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup

·         2 boxes Mrs. Grass Chicken Noodle Soup

·         2 cloves minced garlic

·         1 pint salsa

·         1 teaspoon dried oregano

·         1 or 2 cans canned chicken

·         1 can (15oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 can (15oz) Sweet Corn with Peppers or Southwest Style

·         1 cup frozen green beans

·         1 carrot, peeled and sliced

·         1 small onion, diced

·         1 celery stalk, sliced

·         3-1/2 ounces soup noodles

·         4 ounces diced green chilies

·         Fresh Cilantro, chopped

·         1 scallion, sliced, including the green stalk

·         2 teaspoons lime juice

·         16 ounce container sour cream

DIRECTIONS:

Combine canned soup, water, seasoning packets from boxed soups, minced garlic, frozen green beans, carrots, celery and onions in a soup pan: bring to a low boil.

Add salsa, oregano, chopped cilantro (as much or as little as you prefer for taste), canned chicken, black beans, corn, soup noodles and the noodles from the boxed soups, plus ½ of the can of diced green chilies.  Stir together then lower heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Serve hot with a dollop of Cilantro-Lime Sour Cream (see recipe below), and some tortilla chips.

May also top with shredded cheese if desired.

CILANTRO-LIME SOUR CREAM:  Combine the remaining diced green chilies, chopped fresh cilantro (as much or as little as you want), sliced scallion, 2 teaspoons of lime juice and sour cream in a small bowl.

🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲🍲

This recipe is great because you can change it up a few different ways if you want.  Fresh chicken can be used instead of canned.  Chicken broth or stock can be used in place of the canned and boxed soups.  Additional seasonings of choice could be added, depending on personal taste preferences. Etc., etc.  Have fun with it!  But most of all, ENJOY!

Heirloom Photo Memory Quilts

2016 was the year for photo memory quilt making for me...wowzer!  I had an order for 8 photo memory quilts to be done on time for Christmas.  Normally this wouldn't be such a big deal, but we moved last year, so I wasn't able to start working on them until October.  Needless to say, with the help of Dorie, an friend of mine who does long-arm quilting, we were able to get them all done, just in time for Christmas, with 3 days to spare!

And here they are...

I'm Still Here!

For anyone who actually does read my blogs, (chuckle), I haven't fallen off the face of the earth!

 It's actually been an amazingly busy year for me and my family... which included buying a house and moving, a number of long weekend trips with family and friends to my parents' lake house, and having serious internet/wi-fi issues making it hard to get online using my laptop.  

Now that we are finally moved, and summer has come to an end, things are slowly calming down and I will have some catch-up posts in the near future.

Thank you to anyone who takes an interest in what I have to blog about from time to time!  :)

And BTW...

Photo Memory Quilt Block

It's been awhile since I've had time to write a post...even a small one!  I have been on mandatory overtime at work since November, and I've literally had no time whatsoever in my life to sew for the past couple of months.  It's been quite disheartening, to say the least!
This past weekend I finally had some time to spend in my sewing room.  One of the projects I've just started working on is a photo memory quilt featuring photos from my boyfriend's family's life on the farm from the late 1960's.  We found a poster in the attic from when his parents auctioned off the farm, and I've had that put on fabric through Spoonflower.com.  We also found an aerial photo of the farm from before it was sold.  And his eldest sister scanned in some photos and emailed them to me, since she was the only one with a camera taking pictures way back then.  So anyways...  My hopes for this quilt are to have it completed by July so I can display it at our first ever quilt show during the Rosholt Thresheree.  I want the quilt to represent a piece of Rosholt, Wisconsin history, featuring my boyfriend's family.

Here's the very first quilt block, featuring a photo of one of my boyfriend's older sisters...

... this block is paper pieced, and the reason for the orange color-tone is because the poster is actually orange, so I am sticking with the color theme.

I can't wait to see how this quilt turns out...I have it imagined in my mind, but things don't always turn out the way we think they will.  Only time will tell!