Been busy, two tops complete and working on another quilt tomorrow!

It's so exciting, I've had time the last two days to finish some quilts I've started....I decided to finish the two tweets!  They are so adorable.  One is a kit from Connecting threads I bought...oh...about 3 years or so ago.  You know how time gets away from you sometimes.  The other one is one I made up myself.  I found these cute tweetie birds on a site that sell machine embroidery patterns and designed this quilt around those cute little peepers!  I used foundation border factory to make the flying geese border.  I sure wish I had more of the fabric I used for this one.  I'd love to have the back match one of the fabrics I used, but that fabric will be no where to be found because I purchased it probably 10 years ago.  It was a huge charm pack, I think there were 90 charms and I think it was Moda, some sort of mock homespun.  Oh well I'm sure I'll find a suitable fabric for the back.  With the Connecting Threads top I did purchase backing fabric...wow I get smarter as I get older! :)
Anyway I did share these before when they were barely started but I'll share them again.  Not sure if I'll quilt them or have them done on a long arm.  Can't wait to have them completed and ready to tuck into my grand baby to be's hope chest!

The Free Motion Quilting Project

I found this blog a couple years ago.  I was looking for instruction on how to free motion quilt.  I had tried so many times to do my own quilting that was not "quilting in the ditch" because that is so boring!  My machine no mater what I did would not do a good job.  The front of the quilt always looked okay but the back always looked like a bunch of chicken scratch!  I could not get the tension right no mater what I did.  Then I found this blog and it told me to leave the feed dogs up and to change the stitch length to zero!  Everyone I talked to tried to talk me out of this and said I just need to figure out my tension on my machine.  Well I tried it anyway and what do you think happened?????  I was free motion quilting and the back side looked as good as the front!  I was so over the top excited, I told people about it and some still insisted what I was doing was not correct.  You know what...I don't care.  I am free motion quilting like a champ!
So I wanted to share this blog with you all so that if you are having the same issue I did you will now be able to free motion quilt like a champ too.
Here is where to get started http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/p/start-here.html
Here is a video on how to set up your machine etc....

Here is the page where you will find 365 free motion quilting designs to practice with:

http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/p/365-designs.html Here is a video on one of the 365 free motion quilting design tutorials...these are all free these are all awesome!:

How to hide quilting threads inside your quilt:

Enjoy!

So many flies it's brutal!

Sitting out on the porch and watching the birds and squirrels and ducks, well that's just how we hang!  The unfortunate thing is the flies like to dive bomb us while we are trying to just relax and watch the world go by while sipping coffee or sweet tea.  The flies are so bad that when I open the door to go into or out of the house they zoom past me and into the house so they can bother me more.  They have even laid eggs in my coffee machine...OH THAT WAS SO GROSS!  thank God I clean the insides daily.  Anyway so a while back someone told me to hang a ziplock baggy full of water from a hook out on the porch.  I thought, how stupid does that sound and how could that possible even do a darn thing?  I mean really, I'm going to look like a total idiot with bags of water hanging from hooks on my porch.  People will think I'm trying to ward off aliens or something crazy like that....
Well about a month ago the flies were so brutal I though what the heck I'll give it a try, if it doesn't work I'll just take the bag down and no one would be the wiser of my foolish plans.  Guess what....this stupid trick works, I mean really really works.  I haven't seen a single fly since I hung that bag.  We've had many discussions on how this thing could possible work but have not come up with the answer.  I'd sure like to know the scientific answer to this!
So if you have flies on your porch and can't enjoy the day because of them...hang a ziplock baggy full of water up and your problem will be solved.

Here are some neat pictures of woodpeckers:

and some flowers:

I finally made the Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake

Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/mocha-chocolate-icebox-cake-recipe/index.html

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cold heavy cream
12 ounces Italian mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup coffee liqueur, such as Kahlua
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Pernigotti
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 (8-ounce) packages chocolate chip cookies, such as Tate's Bake Shop  (Get the no chip kind)
http://www.eggshellskitchencompany.com/products/tates-bake-shop-chipless-wonder-cookies?gclid=CL6j0_ql3LgCFSlo7AodVSMAnwfor  HEB carries them for $4.50
Shaved semisweet chocolate, for garnish
DIRECTIONS
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, mascarpone, sugar, coffee liqueur, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and vanilla. Mix on low speed to combine and then slowly raise the speed, until it forms firm peaks.
To assemble the cake, arrange chocolate chip cookies flat in an 8-inch springform pan, covering the bottom as much as possible. (I break some cookies to fill in the spaces.) Spread a fifth of the mocha whipped cream evenly over the cookies. Place another layer of cookies on top, lying flat and touching, followed by another fifth of the cream. Continue layering cookies and cream until there are 5 layers of each, ending with a layer of cream. Smooth the top, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
Run a small sharp knife around the outside of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the top with the chocolate, cut in wedges, and serve cold.
The verdict...Hubby say's...this was the best desert he ever has eaten...wow that's something for him I tell you! We did both agree though that next time, when I make the cookies (I used the ghirardelli milk chocolate cookie recipe) I will leave the chocolate chips out. Since it is a refrigerated cake, the chips get really hard and to us it just ruined the consistency of the cake. Oh it was so good though, it's kind of like a very creamy tiramisu cheese cake. This one is supper easy and quick to make, you do have to refrigerate over night which means you have to plan for it. I have seen gourmet chipless cookies at HEB (http://www.eggshellskitchencompany.com/products/tates-bake-shop-chipless-wonder-cookies?gclid=CL6j0_ql3LgCFSlo7AodVSMAnwfor 4.50) so that would make this even faster to make. This is definitely a must try cake.

Is it wasting time or is it fun?

I don't know about you but I seem to collect software that lets me be creative.  I also enjoy making my own software!  I do have a few programs that I sell.  Anyway, I have software to assist in:  Stained Glass, Cross Stitch, Quilting, Paper piecing, machine embroidery designing, and the list goes on and on and on....
I seem to spend more time designing than actually creating....so am I wasting my time?  Should I make a pack with myself to create everything I design, one design at a time?  I bet you understand.  I have made things I've designed and I have designed things I hope to make, so maybe it's okay and maybe it's just part of the process.
I'm going to show off the Ruler Bag again (It's one of the boutique workshops we did) so I can show you that I did use one of my many programs to create something and then actually used it to enhance something.
I digitized the 2014 Quilt Show logo using Embird.  I love that program, paid a fraction of the price that the quilt stores charge for their over priced digitizing software.  I purchased it a few years back and the day I loaded it on my machine I digitized a design for a tea towel.  To me, well that's an accomplishment considering all the nightmares I heard about that "over priced" program!  If you want to digitize designs, I suggest looking at Embird, is is awesome and easy (most important)!
Anyway here is the bag I made and placed my newly digitized quilt show logo on! I also got a little fancy and made prairie points using a technique from a book I purchased a while back.  "Lined Prairie Points"