Congratulations...the winner is....

Congrats to BEV from Mapleton, UT.  She is the winner of the new book....

Which project will she make first?

you can....SEW the PERFECT GIFT

It's a wonderful surprise to find a manila envelope on right outside your door.  It's an even better surprise to open it up and find a book with a few of your projects inside.  It's been so long since I have worked on this, that I almost forgot about it.  Phew.  Now, I am wondering where my projects are....but that is another story.


HELLO...this book is adorable.  I had no idea what to expect from this book.  We authors are all a little different in our styles, project preferences, etc....so I was excited to see how it all came together.  It came together perfectly.  It is so fun.  It's very rare that I look through a book and want to make all the projects.  They are all so super cute.


So, who wants to win one??????  Just enter your name, and where you are from for a chance to win!  I'll draw the winner next week.


Okay, here are my projects.  When I was making them, I so wanted to share what I was up to.  That is what is hard...I can't prepublish my stuff...but I totally want to.  Okay, so here is the pillow I designed....I had almost forgotten it.   Hello friend, I can't wait to see you again.

And below...that is my take on the "three trees,"  I can't help but be a little funky.  I absolutely loved how these turned out.  I loved making them, I loved it all!  So fun.

Okay, below are some of my favorites from the book.  This is a super cute bag pattern, and guess what I just bought at Quilt Fest?  Tons of fabric.  

This apron below is perfect.  Not too big, not too small, and I LOVE seriously LOVE the use of laminated fabric.  Man, I love that stuff.

Here I am, in Provo, Utah at the Annual Quilt festival for the Utah Quilt guild.  I have gotten in trouble a few times today for my lack of awesome blogging.  Oops.  At least there is always room to improve, right?


Today I met some blog readers, and that was a treat.  Sometimes, I feel like no one is really out there in blog land, and it is fun to hear readers stories.  The woman I met today, is around my age (probably younger, I am getting to a ripe old age).  She became acquainted with quilting by reading my blog, which she found from my friend Summer...(thanks Summer for directing people my way).  Now, she has started quilting, and brought friends along for the ride, and I feel so excited.  Excited, because the whole point of me writing a quilting book was to help others to LOVE quilting.  It sends warm fuzzies all over my little heart to know I have made a difference in at least one persons life.


Now, I am preparing to return to my sweet family (thank you Facetime for letting me see them each night).   I can't wait to see my perfect little babies and the fabulous love of my life.  Yet, I am sad to leave my home state, the wonderful FALL weather, and the inspiration which surrounds me at Quilt Fest.  


There is always next year....

ADORABLE!

Isn't that the cutest little guy you  have ever seen.  Yep, I am a little partial to my sweetheart of a baby.  But, oh my goodness, he is heart melting.  Yummy.    Okay, moving on.

What are these itty bitty tiny quilts?  They are little wall hangings I made for our church.  We are doing a service project for sweet little babies in other countries.  These babies are having a hard time developing the ability to see because they have no contrasting colors..staring at white walls all day.  

Here comes the little quilts.  So, to do our part to help these little ones, we are making little quilts for them to gaze at.  

My goal for this project: 1) get it done in a couple of hours, 2) make the quilts using lots of contrasting colors.  So, I sorted through my scraps, I used only left over quilt blocks from samples I have made, or blocks left over from big projects.  Get it done in a couple of hours.....CHECK.  This really was a fun project to do, it took so little time, but I still got to sew (I am missing that with my little joy ...shown in the pictures above and below), and I know it is for a good cause.

If you are looking for a small project to tackle, maybe you need to get your feet wet in this new hobby, consider sewing a little something for someone in need.  It will fill your bucket! 

 I promise.

Master chef....

Our kids have been watching Master Chef this summer.  They are absolutely adorable...they keep saying I should go on the show, and cook my best meals.  I know better.  I am no "master chef,"  I cook to stay alive.  Of course, if I am going to cook it better taste good, but I can't say that cooking is a passion of mine.


However, this summer has seriously cramped my creative style.  I have had very little time to do anything that could be described as creative.  Unless you call cleaning and entertaining children a creative outlet.  So, when my kids challenged me to be like the Master Chef's and make them eggs benedict, I did it.   The kids loved it, and it was good for me to try my hand at something new, and actually succeed.  


Want to try, here is the recipe.

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 3 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 pinch ground white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 eggs
• 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
• 8 strips Canadian-style bacon
• 4 English muffins, split
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions

1. To Make Hollandaise: Fill the bottom of a double boiler part-way with water. Make sure that water does not touch the top pan. Bring water to a gentle simmer. In the top of the double boiler, whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, white pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon water.
2. Add the melted butter to egg yolk mixture 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time while whisking yolks constantly. If hollandaise begins to get too thick, add a teaspoon or two of hot water. Continue whisking until all butter is incorporated. Whisk in salt, then remove from heat. Place a lid on pan to keep sauce warm.
3. Preheat oven on broiler setting. To Poach Eggs: Fill a large saucepan with 3 inches of water. Bring water to a gentle simmer, then add vinegar. Carefully break eggs into simmering water, and allow to cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Yolks should still be soft in center. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon and set on a warm plate
4. While eggs are poaching, brown the bacon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and toast the English muffins on a baking sheet under the broiler.
5. Spread toasted muffins with softened butter, and top each one with a slice of bacon, followed by one poached egg. Place 2 muffins on each plate and drizzle with hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle with chopped chives and serve immediately.

For the love of....

JAM

It's that season.  School season, oh yea, and summer too.  Long ago in my Michigan days I would go to the Upick strawberry patch and spend the day picking berries with my babies on my back.  Then I would go home, wash the berries, then take the stems off the berries, then make the jam.

It was a long process.  But the results were so great, I had to do it.  It was one of my favorite jobs as a mother.  Providing homemade jam has always been a "need" in our family, and I love that our kids appreciate the difference between real jam and store bought jam.

But, things are different now.  First, I live in the desert.  Second, my time for making jam has seriously eroded.  Who knew having 4 kids could completely eat up all free time?

What's the solution?  In true Sarah fashion, I make jam the easiest way possible.

Step 1- buy the bags of berries from Costco (frozen berries)

this time it was 2 bags of strawberry and 1 bag of mixed berries..

why? because strawberries are cheaper, but the mixed berries are fabulous

Step 2- Defrost the berries by sticking them on an outside table for an hour.  This may take longer if you live anywhere reasonable.

Step 3- Blend up the berries.  We used a handmixer in one big bowl.  It took about 5 minutes.  Maybe.

Step 4- Using the freezer jam pectin from ball (shown in picture above), make jam by mixing packet with 1 1/2 cups sugar and 4 cups of fruit.   Stir for 3 minutes and you are done.

No cooking!  Nothing could be simpler or better!  

Saving time never tasted so delicious!

Everyone Needs a Potholder

While in my hometown, I like to do a little quiltin'.  This time, my sister Brooke (pictured below in the brown), asked me to do a little class for her ward.    Who knew there would be over 20 people in this class?  Not me, but what a great surprise.  

We spent 2 hours learning about cutting, piecing, pressing, and quilting. A potholder is the perfect little quilt to learn all the steps in making a quilt.  

And, to get it all done in 2 hours is pretty great.

I was sincerely shocked and awed, in how well these women did.  Some of them had never ever machine quilted before, and yet still did some amazing machine quilting.  WOW.  

I have no idea how many of them will become addicted to this past time we all love, but I have a small hope that someone was introduced to their "great love."  Non-romantically, of course!