Easter is Hippity Hoppity on it's Way!

What do you do before you go on a long trip?  

You make some cute bunny towels of course!

I needed one for a gift.  

I thought I would try making the bunnies as chocolate bunnies, for Easter.

Pattern is on Flamingo Toes blog.  Click HERE if you need to make one too.

I made a few changes.  

Hey it was late when I decided to make these.  

I used minky for the tails on these two, not pom poms. 

I also used rick rack instead of pom poms and running stitches.  

I love this one so much!

I am in a group that posts our goals for each month.  

I told the ladies I would provide a prize for the person that finishes their list.

  If a tie, the person that finishes the most things on their list.  

This sweet towel is for my friend that had the most finishes. 

For the month of March, she will be the person providing the prize.

I figured this way everyone has a chance to give and also to receive.

I hope the other recipient likes the chocolate bunny towel as much as my friend liked hers!

Leaving MI just in time.  BIG snowfall going on here today!

~XOP~

Easter Weekend

I hope that if you celebrate Easter you had a great day!  

We were having a small celebration with 2 of my three children. 

 Every year I make a dessert and every year my husband doesn't like what I make.  

So this year I decided to make a pineapple upside down cake.  

I was nervous about making one as I had never done it but the directions seemed easy.

  I wish all those folks on IG that said their mom or grandma used to make them would have shared their recipe, but I found mine on the internet.  

This is what it looked like in the cast iron pan before I turned it out onto a plate.

This is what it looked like after I turned it onto the plate.  

It was really pretty. 

 I know now why my husband likes it so much. 

 This cake was more the consistency of angel food cake.  

Are they all like that?  

I prefer a more dense cake, he likes light and fluffy. 

 If anyone has a favorite recipe for this I would love to try yours!  

Here was our spread minus the cheesy potatoes, which were in the crock pot on the counter.  

Main meal was ham, cheezy potatoes, Caeser salad and rolls, supplemented by spinach artichoke dip, cheese and salami, deviled eggs, assorted relishes, veggies and dip and some chips.

I managed some sewing time and got another Splendid sampler block completed.

I also got my March bee blocks completed.  

These might be fun to make in Tula fabrics.  

We were to use navy and low volume.  I chose some navy Tula and of course my Pearl Bracelets.  

I have to pop these in the mail tomorrow.

My cat, Hallie, who never gets on my sewing table thought it would be fun to join me.

She is kind of like a ball with legs.

I'm glad she is liking to spend more time near me lately.

They are not getting any younger!

I hope everyone out there enjoyed their weekend!

~XOP~

Pie Making Day

Not *actual* pie silly!  

Brenda Ratliff, owner of Pink Castle Fabrics is coming out with her first fabric line and it is called Pie Making Day!  

The fabric is from RJR and will be available to everyone in July. 

 Ask your favorite quilt shops to carry it!! 

 It is gorgeous! 

 The rich jewel tones of this line do NOT disappoint.

I got my hands on a F8th bundle to make something for Brenda's booth for spring quilt market. 

  I guess if I can't go at least something I make will be there right?  

Here is a peek at this amazing line.

I'm pretty sure the raspberry and the teal are my favorites but 

I actually really love this entire color palate!!

I have a small quilt in progress and here you can see as I was building the blocks for part of the quilt.  Since I am using white as the background for these blocks 

I decided to use gray as the other "neutral". 

 I also have to say that the Optical White RJR solid (also designed by Brenda) is my all time, hands down, favorite white!

This is the layout of the yellow basket.

And the green basket

I only had enough time to get them all cut out and 2 of them sewn.  Here is the orange one.

And the teal one.  I can't wait to add the handles!  

You will be surprised about what I do for that! 

 I have a few more things to do that I have not cut out yet that will complete the top. 

 I will share those when I actually have time to cut and sew them, hopefully this week sometime!

I am embroidering the center of the quilt using a free pattern I found online. 

 I am using the Aurifloss that matches the teal for the embroidery. 

 I had not worked with this previously and I have to say it stitches like a dream!

  I also totally LOVE the color of this floss. 

 It is so vibrant!  

Here is a progress shot.  

I am almost finished with this part of the project, just a few flowers and it will be done.

I hope you have enjoyed this sneak peek into my little project.  

I will have to see if I can post the finished project before market or not. 

 Would anyone be interested in a tutorial or QAL of this project?  

You can substitute any center embroidery that you like and 

we can talk about that if there is interest in this project.

I hope all my Christian friends had a nice Easter.  

We had my eldest daughter and her SO over as well as my youngest son. 

 Just missed the middle daughter.  

It was a nice, low key, no stress kind of a day. I leave you with a pic of my family. 

 Daughter, son and SO in that order. 

Happy sewing!

~XOP~

Easter!!!

Easter weekend was a lot of fun and a lot of work!  All my kids were home and my dad and sister came too.  I did a LOT of cooking!  but it was so nice to have the family together.  Here is my DD1, Shelby with my dad.  He sure looks great for an 81 year old guy, huh?  She loves him and he adores her too.

She was so happy to be home and to be with her family again.  She quit her job in IN to move back and will be living with my dad and my sister while she returns to school at Grand Valley State University in the summer.  She will be looking for an apt with her old roommate but for a short time she will be living with them.  You can see that my sister is thrilled!  She loves Shelby so much and could not be happier that she will be at their house for however long it ends up being!  (My sister has CP and lives at home with my dad).
Here is DD2, Kelsey with my sister.
Now all the cats thought it was just wonderful that I brought in fresh greenery for them to eat!  How thoughtful am I??  Here is Mosen guarding the flowers from the "others".
I was hard at work on TUQ this weekend and finished the top!!!  Aiden was "helping" as cats are wont to do.  As I was putting the last border on DD2 came by and asked if it was TUQ that I was working on and could she see it?  Well, she LOVED it and wants to keep it, ugh!!!  I guess it will have to be hers now.  Darn it, I almost had my raffle quilt done and gone before one of my girls claimed it.  Maybe next time!
Can you believe it?  Nineteen years old and still wants to dye Easter Eggs???  I made 18 of them and we dyed them all.  DD1 and DS went to a movie and when they got home they wanted to know if we saved any for them?  We had not, who knew?  DD2 said a funny thing while we were dying the eggs.  She wanted to make a green and white one for her BF she said, but we didn't have any white dye!  Really, Kelsey??  Then she said, "oh, never mind", and we laughed!
I bought these, apparently for the cats, but I thought they were beautiful on the table.
Autumn thought so too!
Finally I got a photo with me and my dad in it.  I don't have a lot of these because I HATE having my picture taken, but I thought it was good to get one with him.
I hope you all had a great Easter!