Quilt Swap block 2

This block is called Antique Tile Block and is from  Quilters' Cache.

Quilt Swap block 1

This is the first block of 12 that I completed for the Craftster Lap Quilt 5 swap. It's for chinarockfish, our organizer. There were a few reasons I signed up for the swap.

I wanted to release control of a project. This was also my goal in doing the half square triangle quilt. I hold too tightly to control sometimes. I'm trying to get myself to release some of that in small ways here and there. Hopefully it will start to work on the big things, too.

I wanted to be challenged to complete more complicated blocks. Doing only one seems so much more manageable than doing 12 or more for a whole quilt.

I wanted to be inspired within the constraints of other's expectations. What would I do given the parameters of fabric type, quantity, and directions of others.

I wanted to work with fabrics I might not choose myself to learn to see with a different vision.

I knew the previous swaps resulted in beautiful, creative, well made blocks.

China's fabrics meet this last criteria for sure. Not ones I ever would choose for myself. Here they are individually, from Anna Marie Horner's Garden Party collection.

I used the far right fabric for the center, then built out from there.  I made a couple of sketches in colored pencil to try to figure out color placement, then labeled each piece with cutting instructions to make sure I had enough fabric.  I was nervous about combining such large scale, diverse patterns.  I shifted my focus from the patterns to the colors, refocused, trying to see what the designer and the person who had chosen these saw in them.  I think I was successful.  I love the finished block, and can't wait to see how it works with the other blocks created by other swappers. 

One down, eleven more to go.

Easiest dessert ever

Toasted slices of poundcake - homemade or Sara Lee, doesn't matter, this one is homemade
Mascarpone - dolloped on top of cake
Apricot jam - heated gently and spiked with Amaretto
Almonds - slivered or sliced, but definitely toasted

Add coffee and fork.  Thanks, Giada de Laurentis.

Felt Food

I started making felt food for my niece and nephew after my niece got a kitchen set for Christmas. To go along with her kitchen set, we bought some of the nice food sets at Target. They are well made, however, the selection is limited and they are a bit pricey. On Craftster.org, lots of people have been making felt food. They are on, I think, round five of a swap. Inspired by all the variety, I made some felt food items for the kids. They are pretty easy to make. It is taking some experimentation to figure out what type of sewing I prefer. I want the sturdiness of machine sewing, but it sometimes looks too thready, if you know what I mean. Anyways, here's what I've made so far:

Half square triangle quilt

I trimmed all the squares last Friday while chatting with a friend. Over the weekend, I put them together in pairs, then in 4's. Here they are laid out on the floor waiting for the rows to be put together. While it's a simple project, I needed something that I didn't really have to think about. It's also been a bit of a lesson in giving up control. I only paid attention enough to not have the same fabric next to itself. I did try to not have color concentrated in the final layout, but I only swapped a few sections, for example, when I had 7 reds in a vertical column. I really love the way it looks. Hopefully, I can get the top together this weekend. It will be a lap quilt size, unless I decide to add some large borders. I don't think I will.

Pop Tarts

Over on eGullet, they've been making pop tarts. One of the teams at work won breakfast last week, so we have to deliver on Monday. We laughed at their request for Eggs Benedict, but I think they will like these brown sugar, apricot, and nutella poptarts. These are unfrosted, but I also frosted some with a 10x sugar and milk glaze. They taste almost exactly like pop tarts, but are more tender and buttery. The brown sugar filling is excellent. I haven't tried one of the Nutella ones yet, as they are in the oven now.

Jack and the Beanstalk

I finished this quilt over a year ago, but forgot to take pictures before gifting it. I borrowed it back to snap a few pics. This was another collaboration and was started after the Princess and the Pea quilt for Sofia. LBK drew the pattern for me full size on bulletin board paper. I cut apart his drawing and used it as a template for the applique pieces. It is all hand appliqued and machine quilted with hand embroidery details on the house, the bean stalk, the giant's hands and Jack's face and belt.