Feathers

This past week I've spent my down time casually cutting up this pile of pretty fabric.

I had originally planned on this being a scrap only quilt, but most of my scraps were just too small for the cuts required. So I dipped into my stash.

Fin helped! He's much faster than me.

So this has been my view most of the week. (baby sock will not be included in the quilt...)

These 10 stacks are the fruits of my labour. They are so pretty all lined up. I've been testing them next to the slate grey that will be filling in all the spaces between. I can't wait to start sewing! Colin has taken Fin to the museum today...so maayyybe!

These little mushrooms have to be my favourite fabric. Ever. It's just so cute! It's Mushrooms in aqua from the Little Red Riding Hood Line by Riley Blake. I bought it a while back, so most places i've checked recently are sold out. You can still find pretty much the entire here at Hawthorne Threads. They have an amazing selection of fabrics and the site is one of the easiest to navigate (compared to other online fabric stores)! I'm pretty sure i'll be buying more!

I'm usually not a fan of purple, but these shades have called out to me and are making me swoon!

 

Hopefully I'll have a few blocks to show you next week.


Before I go, here's a quick update on R2D2!

Since most of my spare time this week was spent on the feathers not too much got done (sorry Colin), but I did manage to finish all the applique pieces! I was even able to start the embroidery. I can already see how much that will make everything pop. Eeek!

Until next time!

Eryn

Scrap Happy

Today, I realized something.

I am becoming over-run with fabric scraps! Pretty, pretty scraps. It's kind of exciting actually.

January marked my first full year of quilting! I'm sure any quilter who's been in the game for more than a year will think me crazy for being excited about scraps.

But with the 5 quilts, and other projects i've completed this year (plus the 4 quilts in progress), I have a pretty decent selection of colourful scrappy goodness.

And this awesome quilt pattern is the lucky winner for how those scraps will be put to cozy good use. Feathers by Alisson Glass can be found here, or here, as well as her new fabric line, Sun Print here, that I have been so tempting to snatch up (especially the feathers). I love how the bright colours contrast with the grey, so my version will probably be similar in that way. This quilt pattern requires paper piecing, which i've never done before. I am looking forward to learning this new skill! It's supposed to be great for accuracy.

I also have this fairly new stack of solids that i'm itching to use. Maybe I'll slip some in those feathers :)




Eryn

Traill's Chevron Forest

Last week was a busy one, but I did manage to squeeze in some sewing and baking here and there. Here are some snippits of what I was up to last week!

The chevron forest quilt that I showed you in this post for my friends baby is finally finished! Some late night stitching allowed me to get the binding all finished!

The yellow chevron is so cute for the binding! I decided to quilt with a nice yellow thread 1/4" from seams to bring out the chevron. Keeping the quilting nice and lose like this, in addition to the super soft minky back makes for one floppy baby quilt!

Look at that cutie down there! The quilt finished at 35" x 55". Big enough he can enjoy it for years to come.

As a little treat I made some Oatmeal Raisin cookies. De-Lish!

I started whipping up some cute wash cloths for baby or general use...

I'll be selling them in sets of 3 or 4 in my Etsy shop that i'm in the process of setting up. As soon as it's ready i'll make sure to link it up here so you can get some!

They are backed with a nice fuzzy Chenille cotton that make them nice a thick. Great for cleaning the wee-ones, personal use, dishes, you name it!

And last but not least, R2D2...

The applique stage is almost done thanks to late night-the baby's asleep-tv watching stitching! Next step will be adding embroidery to make everything pop. So excited to see this little guy come together!


Until next time (which hopefully won't be so long),

Eryn

Un-Cheesy Kale Chips

These Kale chips are one of my favorite snacks that really pack a health punch!

What kind of punch are we talking about? Well to start, Kale is packed with Vitamins K, A, and C, Iron, Calcium (per calorie, it has more calcium than milk), powerful antioxidants, fiber and sulfur (making it a great detox food too).

Then add Nutritional Yeast loaded with B12, Folic Acid, Fiber, protein, raw Cashews packed with copper, magnesium, the heart healthy fat Oleic Acid and antioxidants, and Red Bell Peppers full of Vitamins C, A, B6 and Lycopene. Now there's a health punch for you!

This tasty snack is perfect to replace that pesky last night crunchy chip craving! Not only will you get loaded with nutrients, but they are dehydrated (or baked) not fried. I love taking these on road trips too!

Want to make them for your kids lunches, but need to follow a No-Nuts school policy? Raw sunflower seeds make an excellent substitute for the cashews!

Try and use Organic Kale and Red Peppers since these veggies tend to have very high pesticide residues when grown conventionally.

Un-Cheesy Kale Chips

2 bunches kale, washed and dried
1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 4 hours
1 large red bell pepper
1 lemon, juiced
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
sea salt & black pepper to taste

*Tear kale leaves into bit sized pieces. Put in a large bowl and set aside. (Leave tough stems out)
*In a food processor, puree cashews with lemon juice to a hummus-like consistency. Add all remaining ingredients (except kale) and pulse until smooth.
*Pour cashew mixture over kale pieces, and use your hands to massage the mixture into each kale leaf.
*Place the kale pieces one by one on your dehydrator trays. They can be fairly close together. Dehydrate for about 8 hours, rotating trays every 2 hours for even drying.
*Alternate cooking method:  Place kale on a baking sheet and bake at 150°F for about 1 hour (check every 20 minutes to ensure they don"t burn).
*Store in an air-tight container and enjoy!



Happy snacking!

Eryn