Second Sneak Peek--Dream On

Here's one last peek at the Dream On quilt before it becomes a quilt top. I finally got all the blocks finished and trimmed. I actually started sewing them together this afternoon. First, I laid them out on the floor to get the design I wanted. I only made one change by rearranging three blocks to get a better flow.







I took the first part of the long-arm quilting class on Wednesday. I'll go next week for the second part which will be actually quilting my own quilt. Remember that bright pink, orange and black one I posted about a little while back? I know I won't remember everything I learned, but I hope next week will help. I plan to take more notes then. After that session I can go in on Fridays and quilt charity quilts for free. Otherwise, I'll rent the machine when I want to work on my own quilts. I like the idea of practicing on the ones for charity. My first attempt on Wednesday went relatively well for my first time. So, quilting for charity will still look ok. I do not like the idea of giving second best.

Spring Aprons for sale

After seeing this post I went on a fabric hunt at all the Joann Fabric stores I was even remotely closed to. I finally found it at the one farthest away. Then later I discovered it at the one nearest, oh well. I knew this fabric line would make cute aprons for the dolls. These are both for sale in the shop.

A little more spring

Brownies

I did a search for almond flour brownies and found this recipe.

Here's my version:

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1 tsp mint flavoring
2 tbs arrowroot powder
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and 8-inch round pan; set aside. Combine the butter and cocoa. Add honey, eggs and vanilla; beat until smooth. Combine flour, arrowroot, baking powder and salt. Add to wet ingredients, mix well. Spread in pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.





Because I didn't use sugar and I halved the honey they were pretty strong tasting. I used mint flavor because I love mint brownies. Dh said they were too minty, but I like them that way. I think if I do this again I'll add a little liquid stevia to it to add some more sweetness without adding any more honey. I'm really not supposed to have the honey but I've been trying to venture out beyond my candida diet to see what happens. So far, I don't have an answer to that. Overall, I'd say the brownies were a success, but need a little tweaking.

Coats for sale

The sun came out today! It's supposed to go back behind the rain clouds tomorrow, so today was the day to finish these coats, take pictures and list them.





They're both in the shop.

Still busy

I seems like I ought to have something to blog about. I've been busy enough not to get much sewing done. Although I'm working on the Dream On project little by little. My to-do stacks are shrinking and my completed block stock is getting taller. No more pictures yet, however.

I've also got a couple more doll coats cut out and started. I've found some more cute fabrics to use. Surprise, surprise!

Once it quits being so cloudy and rainy I'll try to get some pictures to post.

My time will start to free up some next week. Amy's starting a babysitting job. She'll be gone for three afternoons. I am excited for her, but I'm also realizing that she's growing up. Which makes me a bit sad. The first afternoon she's gone I'll be taking a long-arm quilting class. That should help me through that day.

Crocus

Last fall my wonderful hubby found some bags of crocus on clearance. He brought them home and planted them "just about freezing his hands off," he says. He thinks there about a hundred of them.

Then one day several weeks ago Amy came in from outside telling me to come look.





This was a total surprise for me! They both kept it a secret all winter long!

Katya's fundraiser

Amy & I took a little trip to Z'ville on Friday to help with Katya's fundraiser. There were close to 80 items donated for a silent auction; there was a spaghetti dinner; there was music.





I think the donations were close to $3000. There's still time to donate. Katya's blog link is in the sidebar. Just click to go there. A couple donation buttons are on that blog.

The family has a travel date now. They leave around the 14th of May and have their appointment on May 17 in Katya's country. Prayer is also appreciated.

Been busy!

Last week was a flurry of activity to get ready to go to the homeschool convention in Cincinnati. Amy & I left on Thursday morning and made it to the hotel only to go around the block a couple times waiting for the unloading area to open up. Finally, I just got in line on the street, just barely out of the intersection. Fortunately, we did have time to get checked in and get to our first session in plenty of time. We spent the rest of Thursday afternoon and evening hearing speakers in addition to checking out vendor hall.

Friday and Saturday were more of the same.

Here we are waiting for the Tim Hawkins' show to start. Not the greatest picture since we didn't take the real camera. Amy's iphone does ok, however.


On Saturday night we saw the Dugger Family. They sang a song as a family, then the kids performed with their instruments, mostly violins and lastly Jim Bob & Michelle gave an overview of their lives, a testimony to God's faithfulness and provision in their lives.


The seating was first come-first served, so we chose to sit on the side looking at the stage from that angle. We had a pretty good view of the back of the screen. And the Duggers came out of the door that was right next to our seats. Not a huge deal, but fun nonetheless.

Sunday we drove to Indiana to visit my sister and her family. We spent the afternoon with them and got to see everyone. We met the newest member, Andi, my nephew's wife.

Here's my niece.


Sunday evening after church we played Spades and had a great time. It was very nice to see everyone!

Monday we were scheduled to go home, however Amy & the weather changed those plans. Amy woke up very hot and had difficulty breathing. It was bad enough that we even talked about going to the hospital, but her breathing returned to normal after prayer and a little time. She still wasn't well enough to travel and spent the day in bed sleeping off and on. I spent the day watching the weather news which was not good. If Amy had not been sick we would have driven ALL DAY LONG in the storm. The line of strong storms was along the exact route we would have taken. It lasted the whole day.

While at the convention Amy bought the Dugger's book 20 and Counting. I started looking at it Saturday night. Since she was sick I was able to finish it on Monday. So we spent an extra day in the hotel room with Amy recovering and me relaxing. It could have been worse. (Although Amy might disagree.)

Tuesday we started for home. Amy felt almost normal, just a little tired. We managed to go to the IKEA store in Cincinnati, the Fabric Shack and an outlet mall that didn't have what I wanted.

We spent Wednesday getting school done and settling back in. Oh and my dryer broke again! However, I was mostly done with the laundry before it quit. DH and I took a couple wet loads to the laundromat after supper.

Today I got some much needed sewing done, got school done and ran errands. Tomorrow we're off again to Z'ville to participate in a Saturday fundraiser for Katya. I will certainly be glad for Sunday's day of worship & rest to get here. :)