No animals were hurt......

in the making of this dinner.  

Over the years I have struggled with my weight.... I have been larger most of my adult life, had my gall bladder removed and lately blood pressure issues (though I have gotten this a little bit under control by changing my diet... now if I would just enjoy exercising). 

When I had been smaller, I was eating a veggie diet.  Actually I have always loved veggies over meat.... oh a good steak once in awhile .....  but my body would pay a huge price for it.  

While, I would never try to tell anyone that they should stop eating meat - it is a no-brainer for me.  My body just does not digest meat well....  it goes into shock and then... well, enough said about that. 

But a girl can only eat so many salads, steamed veggies and fruit smoothies!  Right?  Right.

So in my quest to find alternatives to meat, my youngest came this really fun youtube channel - The Sweetest Vegan.  (She also has a great blog)  She is fun to watch and eats like I do - animated with dance moves!  Not that I want to go vegan.... I still want to eat fish once in awhile so I cannot even call myself a vegetarian.... maybe a partial vegetarian... but certainly not a full-blown one.  

I have not watched all of her video recipes yet.... but one did look really good.  So I made it today.....  Dirty Rice  Let me just tell you...... it was delicious! (I did not make mine totally vegan because I have to add a little butter or margarine to my rice.) I had found Mel's Kitchen before Christmas last year when I was looking for brown rice recipes.........and I feel this technique is the best way to get perfect brown rice. 

This was a great dish. Even if you do not want to go vegan or vegetarian - this is a really tasty side-dish.... crunchy, smokey and a little bit of spice....  

mmmmmmm.......  and all the animals are safe. 

An update!!!  No one in my house liked this dish very much but I LOVED it.  So...... I sauteed some mushrooms (because I am the only one who likes them) with onions and garlic in olive oil..... added it to the dirty rice...... 

Oh heaven!    

Ahhhhh.... Flowers and Stars

These Urban Cowgirl blocks are just too adorable!  Moda has the best free patterns and Barb at my favorite quilt shop offered a class.  So..... of course I had to take it.  

See the cute one in the top left corner?  

Here is a little closer peek..... 

Eight little petals and one little circle.  

One star and one flower can all be cut from just one fat-quarter!  Isn't that just fantastic!  Great little stash buster.... of course since I am soooo new to quilting and piecing.... I really do not have a great big stash to bust.  That meant I got to add some more to this stash.... 

In fact I took the brown ones out..... to make room for some new ones.....  

The pieced part of the star block works up so fast and easy..... four flying geese, four end squares and one nice big square for the middle.  Easy Peasy.  

I hope to have a tutorial for the flowers, especially if you all want one!  

This pattern uses 30 blocks, but I think I want to only make 16-20.  The plan is to hang this one in the dining room, so I do not need a larger, bed-size quilt....  Even at 16-20 blocks, there is a lot of work..... but won't it be worth it?  I definitely think so.   

Loving little stars and flowers.     

Come in and play......

Waiting patiently.....

Making stars.....

Love the green..... 

Wish my camera was better - or actually the lighting was better (I can only sew in the evenings right now) because the background fabric is this gorgeous eggplant batik..... 

Block of the Month number 3.....  all done.  

The star blocks are for the Urban Cowgirl Quilt pattern by Moda - its a freebie - you should go and check it out....  

Well, back to cutting and sewing....  

Miss Susie is waiting.  

My last date with the mailman.... for now

It has been one of those weeks....  Not much motivation - especially at the day job.  

But - all was not lost...... 

Look what Karen at The Recipe Bunny sent my way..... 

Are those fabrics just way too awesome?  And see the three at the bottom?  She put those in as a bonus.  Thanks Karen!  

I went to my favorite quilt shop yesterday and picked up some more fabric for the Urban Cowgirl quilt.... I decided on eggplant.... I know, I know... I thought brown would be my choice, but wait until you see the eggplant batik instead.  It is still in the dryer - (the pattern calls for 4 1/2 yards of background fabric!!!) so ironing will be fun.  I need to cut the fabric this weekend so I will be ready.  Plus I need to do Block of the Month #3....  so I have a bit to do this weekend.  

I decided to work only a half day today - you know, thought I would get some sewing done.... but no - decided to do spring cleaning in the sewing/craft room instead... do not ask me why?  

Here is my BOM #2  

Will need to rip this one apart because it has major issues.... but I really like the block.  I actually wanted to just buy the kit for this month and have a complete do over... but my instructor said she felt I could fix it.... I think she wants me to learn something from this and I am certain I will!  

While I was at my favorite quilt shop I picked up my mystery.....  The one with the triangle trouble.... I still am not very happy with it - but what the heck....  

Still needs borders.... but even though I am not in love with this quilt top - I gained a lot of knowledge from it - not only in triangles, but how to write and photograph a tutorial... and I met a ton of new friends... 

Well, off to my new clean, cleared out sewing room to get some much needed ironing, cutting and sewing done....  

Ahhh.... I think I need just one more date though.  

A slap your forehead moment.....

In our Prayer Shawl group, my friend makes Baptism Blankets for the the babies and toddlers that are baptized at our church.  She adapted the prayer shawl pattern to make a baby blanket.  She uses a filigree technique to crochet open hearts in each of the four corners.  Bright white baby yarn for the body of the blanket and edging is a pastel variegated yarn....  Yes, they are BEAUTIFUL!  

Oh, and did I mention that she is my mentor for all things crochet!  She has taught me everything I know and let me tell you - she has sooooo much patience.  She even went so far as to re-write patterns for me so I could understand them.  She is a true friend - a saint actually....  We attend and work many retreats together.... and we always stay up late talking, crocheting and talking...  I just love her.....  

Okay, where was I....    

Until recently, we had plain white paper bags - you know the kind that look like a gift bag - for the blankets.  We ran out and I could not find them and I looked everywhere!  Honestly, I think this was a blessing in design... (did you like the little play on words?)  You see, I had been mulling over the idea of adding a card... our prayer shawls have this meaningful card which explains the the prayer shawls, the prayers, the blessings, etc....  So not having a white bag and not being able to find them, pushed me to come up with another way to present the blankets.....  

Ribbon and tags....  

So once the idea was in place - needed to come up with a design that would go well with baptisms and the blankets.  I incorporated the backing paper technique I used here but instead of song lyrics, I used a bible verse - 1 Corinthians 12:13 - and created the background paper.  

Picked out some colorful papers and my handy dandy pre-cut tags.  

So many times in the past when I needed to add paper to the pre-cut tags - I would proceed to draw around them on the paper, cut them out and tape or glue them to the tags.  This took F O R E V E R!!!!! 

Then there was a moment of clarity.... You know, when it sounds like angels are singing "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh" in your head.  

(I seriously hope I am not the only one who hears sound effects.)

I began to realize there was a simple way to do this and I mean super simple.  Put the paper right side down, tape the pre-cuts to the back side.  Then just cut them out.  Do it again to put the paper on the other side of the tag........

Yes, I actually slapped my forehead!  

I have many choices for stamps, but decided on the heart.... I actually LOVE LOVE this stamp.  

A little cutting and matting and the tags are done - easy peasy....  

A little ribbon and there you have it......  

A BEAUTIFUL baptism blanket with a nice little tag.  

I am going to put some ice on my forehead now....  

Yes..... I am loving my mailman... in a friendly way

Exciting mail again today!  

Had to take two pictures because her Etsy card is so creative and incredibly 

ADORABLE!  

This beautiful fabric came all the way from Japan!  Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts Modern Quilting also participated in the Blog Hop in March and I was SOOOO lucky to win her giveaway also.  Her blog is beautiful, as are her quilts!  

The projects are starting to pile up.... when will I find any time??????  I think I need to quit my day job.... then I can sew and quilt all day long!  What do you think?  

Do you think my best buddy the mailman would agree?  

Seriously... the mailman and I are just friends.....

Remember the awesome Blog Hop with Giveaway that Michele at Quilter's Gallery hosted last month?  For me it was quite the experience..... 

It was my FIRST giveaway ever...  

My FIRST tutorial.....ever.....

I won prizes!  Oh my goodness.... how cool is that???  I was soooo shocked.  I was just happy to be a part of the Blog Hop and be able to meet new friends....so the prizes were just icing on the cake!  

I won the best pattern from Kathie at Prairie Cottage Corner - I picked Christmas Sue.... I cannot wait to put her together for Christmas 2013.  Prairie Cottage Corner is the place to go for so many different patterns for all the different holidays and themes you could ever think of.....  I had a hard time deciding which one I wanted!  

Look at these two gorgeous charm packs....  

Fall colors are my favorite and I was so lucky to get this great package in the mail on Easter Saturday from Sharon at Dancing Thru Threads.... the Easter Bunny came a day early!  And a Tumbler Template.... you know me and templates.....  I will get to continue to keep the fires burning for template love!  

And look at these adorable crochet markers!  

I did not win these through a giveaway - my awesome step mom shared some of her bounty with me.... aren't they adorable!  Love the colors!  Time for a crochet project....  


Yes, the mailman and I are just friends..... but definitely on our way to becoming best friends.