THE BIG REVEAL

Good Morning Everyone,

Here she is.....finally done.

My goal was to get the quilt done by Monday night, which is preview night at the shop. I did it! Now it's time to finish up the pattern on this cold, windy, rainy day in California.

Make sure your speakers are on and enjoy the Butterfly Waltz. Click on the little arrow button to advance each page.

Create your own photo album

I hope all of you have a wonderful day.

As always,

Lynn

Let the Quilting Begin

Good morning everyone,

I hope all of you had a great Easter. We did!

I've been dragging my feet when it came to quilting the Party in the Garden quilt. This is the first time I've actually been hesitant about machine quilting. I guess I was afraid that I would not do a good job......so I keep putting it off. I didn't know where to begin or what to quilt.

I filled in at the shop on Thursday, and Lani, a customer, and excellent machine quilter stopped by. She saw my un-quilted quilt and offered me so many good suggestions. She was so kind to go back home and brought back two quilts she'd just quilted to give me some ideas. She also brought me templates and wool batting!

I emailed a note off to Crissie, (here's Crissie's blog http://wwwcj-loves2quilt.blogspot.com/ ) one of my blogging friends and a machine quilter, and here's what she said about machine quilting.

"I tell my friends I always lay their quilts in my guest bedroom and we TALK! Now, can you even start to believe that one? But it's true! Most of the time we work together and I know what to do and it comes out just like it wanted me to do! Other times I've had shy quilts and they stand off and won't talk, so ....... I give up trying to encourage them, I just go go go for it!"

So here is the beginning of my conversation with my quilt.

My thanks go out to Crissie and Lani for giving me inspiration and just the encouragement I needed to start machine quilting this quilt.

I'll be working the next couple of days at the shop, so progress will be slow, but steady and I'm going to have this done by the end of the week. I feel like this quilt is just "talking up a storm" to me now and I can't wait to get back to our conversation!

As always,

Lynn

Happy Easter Everyone

Good Morning,

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter.

We celebrated our Easter yesterday with all of my favorite little bunnies. All of the girls brought a dish to share and we had a wonderful buffet brunch followed by "Minute To Win It" games. There were times we laughed until we cried!

Here's a recipe for the best bread pudding I've ever tasted! I should have taken a picture, but we dove right into it as soon as it came out of the oven. (Remember, calories don't count on Holidays!)

Peach-Amaretto Bread Pudding

1 (16-ounce) loaf French or Italian bread, torn into pieces. I used a Dutch Crunch loaf of bread.
1 quart half-and-half
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons almond extract
3 medium-size fresh peaches, peeled and thinly slices
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup fresh raspberries

Combine torn bread and half-and-half in a large bowl. In another bowl combine eggs, sugar, and almond extract; stir well. Add egg mixture to bread mixture, stirring gently. Carefully fold in peaches and almonds. Pour into a lightly greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish, cover and let stand in the refrigerator overnight. Bake, uncovered at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until set and lightly browned. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Serve with Amaretto Sauce. Yield: 12 servings.

Amaretto Sauce
(Make this in the morning while the bread pudding is baking)

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup amaretto

Combine butter and sugar in a small saucepan; cook, stirring constantly, until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Gradually stir about one-fourth of hot mixture into egg; add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat, and stir in amaretto. Pour over the bread pudding, sprinkle with fresh raspberries and enjoy!

Recipe is from the Quilters Guild of Indianapolis Cookbook

This is easy to make the night before making for an enjoyable, stress-free breakfast.

It sounds like it is going to be a stormy day in California. Hope it is pleasant where you live.

As always,
Lynn