New Blog Address

Hey, Mom,

I bought my domain name, so I moved everything over to my new blog.  Please update your Google Reader with my new url and join me over there.

New Home!

Folks, I'm taking an adventure.  Come with me!

Stimulated Economy

I did a bit of shopping.  But I have excuses.

Have you tried to find any of this lately?  Nope.  Not hardly available unless you want canvas or the new line Pure.

One thing I've learned is that you MUST buy yardage when you buy pre-cuts, and since I have a couple charm packs of Hushabye, I needed this to go with it.  

Okay, so this Dolce was only $5.99 a yard here, so I had to get six yards to keep my other Dolce fabrics company.  (Hurry, sale ends 5/17)

And remember this quilt?  Well, someone else requested one, so I'm on the hunt for this Marcus Brothers Metro Au Naturale fabric.  Can't find it anywhere!  If you see it somewhere, please let me know because I need to make this into a king...not sure yet how I'm going to turn 6 FQ into a king-size quilt.

I had to buy these because the FQ's here were 10 for $15.  Yes, I bought 30 (not all are shown in this pic).  For some reason Civil War reproductions are speaking to me.

And these are supposed to end up as a man quilt, but I'm not sure they are as manly as they need to be.  Which is a shame since I have 11 yards.  What do you think?  Do they work together?  These are also Civil War repros.

And I've been stalking this pattern ever since I saw the one Ryan made for QuiltDad.

Loving Kaffe Fassett, I ran into a BOM using his fabrics.  Like I could say no...  BTW, the picture does not show how vibrant the quilt really is.  It was so lovely I almost licked it in the store.  (TMI??)

No longer am I a vision of organized loveliness. 

Wonky WIP

Here's what I'm working on now, but I still have three more rows to stick up there.  Thinking about white sashing-- what do you think?  Once again, sorry for only taking pics at midnight.  I must find better lighting.

Friday Finish-Mary Engelbreit

Woo Hoo!  A Friday finish.  I am so glad to put this quilt behind me-- just in time for AmyLouWho's Sew & Tell, too.  This quilt was from a mystery class using layer cakes.  I love the backing-- just a fun plaid from who-knows-when.

Also, Erika gave me the privilege of quilting her first quilt. Go visit her blog-- she has immaculate taste.  She has a real eye for color, so there's always something inspiring to see. Here's a taste of her quilt.

It just makes me want to eat sweet tarts.  Simply delicious.

Have a good weekend.  I hope you guys get some sewing done.  As for me, I'll be spending the weekend with family in Houston.  Happy Mother's Day, Girls.  Mom, wish you were here.

Winner, Winner! Oh, and of course a Chicken Dinner!

You know, Cinco de Mayo is big around here.  Not only is it a holiday, but it's my son's 5th birthday.  It's also his teacher's birthday, and we love her!  In honor of this day, I'm sharing one of my weeknight recipes that's super easy.  It takes about 10 minutes to make, start to finish.  No kidding!  It's also great for summer because it's light.  You can eat this in 100 degree weather without feeling miserable.

Chicken Tacos with Salsa Verde Cream

2/3 c light sour cream
2 T green chiles, diced (from the can)
2 T cilantro (fresh)
1/4 t salt
a dash of something spicy, like pepper paste or cayenne or something
12 taco shells, warmed
4 c shredded chicken breast (cooked)
cheddar, grated
1/2 c shredded lettuce
2 tomatoes, chopped

• Stick the taco shells in the oven while you prepare the salsa verde cream.
• Combine the sour cream, chiles, cilantro, salt, and pepper paste (or whatever you're using for a hint of heat) in a small bowl.  
• Fill shells with equal amounts of chicken, lettuce, and tomatoes.  Top each with 2 T of sour cream mixture.

*Added note:  This is only a 10 minute recipe if you keep cooked chicken on hand or have some leftover rotisserie chicken. or grilled chicken. or frozen Tyson fajita chicken.  Oh, and you must have your oven preheated.
**One more thing-- this is a light recipe, not like many of my Mexican recipes!  Like I said, it's a weeknight recipe.
***And if you live in Houston or San Antonio area, go to HEB and buy the seasoned, cooked, shredded chicken in the meat section.  It's perfect for this or enchiladas or whatever.

And now for the winner of the giveaway--  #38 Susana!  Susana, I'll e-mail you and send your goodies before the week is over! I hope you enjoy them.  As for the rest of you, stay tuned for more quilting, more Mexican recipes, and possibly more Mexican vanilla.

Lilly Pulitzer at Wal-Mart?

Yes, I'm trying not to shop much since I need to buy a farm, but sometimes, I just can't help myself.  It's necessary.  Like, for instance, when you see Lilly Pulitzer sponsored animal crackers.  Really?  Lilly just doesn't seem like the type who would have items for sale at Wal-Mart, so I'm just giddy.  Now I don't have to drive 30 minutes to the mall to see her wares, or even turn on the computer.  Nope, I just have to open my pantry, which is something I'm doing way too often anyway.  (Speaking of diets, I'm 5 pounds down... from my ten pound weight gain... after my twenty pound weight loss.  Heck, I don't even know where I am any  more, but wherever I am, I'm in tight pants, hence the diet.).

I also picked up a stack at my LQS for a sample I'm making.  I'm going to teach a class, so I need fabrics from the shop to make my display.  More on that later.

 And I picked up some charm packs because I'm completely addicted to half square triangles, thanks to a certain someone. (Thanks, Rita!)  In fact, here's how my Nouveau project is going.  Yep, it's growing.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway.  You have until Tuesday at 8pm CST.  Good luck!