Mandy Cooks and Quilts

Cold weather sewing. What I am working on for the next few weeks and the year.

This weekend was a cold one the initial forecast was snow and ice, but we were fortunate to get just a lot of cold rain. This meant lots of time to work on sewing projects and cooking yummy things.

I made 16 chicken blocks for a spring chicken quilt while thinking of the upcoming season. It’s a pattern from Cluck Cluck Sew. The fabric is Spring Chicken from Sweetwater by Moda. I have been wanting to do this quilt since I got the fabric last year, and I put it on my must-do list for the year. I grew up on a farm with cows, horses, chickens, ducks, rabbits, goats, and pigs. Now I live in a subdivided neighborhood, and I miss my barnyard creatures. The HOA here has a strict no chicken policy so these will be the only chickens I have for a while.

Here are the first nine of my chickens. I had to stop because I was making too many mistakes and having to rip out too many seams.

I also made a table topper for my kitchen table out of farmhouse-themed fabric. I made it as practice for a block of the month I am starting next weekend. It is Jaybird’s Quilts Gazebo pattern. It uses her Hex and More ruler. I have only ever used a standard quilting ruler so I wanted to “train” my brain on how to position the fabric. I also had to train my brain to piece triangle blocks where I have ever made squares and rectangles. It was a lot like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. I love puzzles.

Here is a picture of the pre-sewn version. Luckily, my cutting table surfing cats stayed off of it until I was able to sew it together Saturday morning.

I am going to be participating in several sew-alongs, block of the months and a challenge this year. The first is Toes in the Sand Block of the Month by Jaybirds Quilts using Tula Pink Daydreamer Fabrics. It is being held through my local quilt shop and is definitely going to be a challenge for me. I have only ever done quilts with squarish blocks. This one is composed of intricate triangles made of smaller triangles and hexagons. Hence why I was practicing for it using the ruler. Here is a link to the pattern and what the quilt will look like here.

I am also participating in A Quilting Life’s 2022 Block of the Month. I am using her Happy Days Fabric. I am trying to decide if I want to make all the churn dashes one color or two colors.

The January Block for A Quilting Life’s 2022 Block of the Month.

I am also participating in Pat Sloan’s Sweet Dreams Sew Along. It runs from January through May. It is one block per week. I am using Kitty Corn by Urban Chiks for Moda. I love the retro/ cartoony Halloween look. This will be my first Halloween quilt.

Here are Block one and two of Sweet Dreams Sew Along. I messed up a bit on block two but I’m going to keep it as a “creative blemish.”

I have also decided to complete the Free Spirit Coat challenge with my local quilt shop. I’m excited to try something other than a quilt.

Well, I hope all of yall are staying warm. Stay tuned for more exciting updates.

First Finished Projects of the New Year!!

Hi all!!! Happy New year! It is a year of fresh starts and in this case fresh finishes.

This is the ninja baby quilt I made for a great-nephew due in March.

I finished a baby quilt I started after Christmas. It is made with a Fisher-Price charm pack and a rainbow solid charm pack. The pattern is Ninja from a great book called Just One Charm Pack Quilts by Cheryl Brickey. I modified it a bit. I left off the piano key borders on the top and bottom. It was super easy to piece. I quilted it on my machine by writing the word Love and a heart shape across it several times using a multicolor variegated thread. I used some scrap jelly roll strips for a scrappy binding. It is very colorful and cheery. Just perfect for a little baby boy.

I also finished my husbands’ quilt and sent it off to the quilters. I’ll post pictures of it once it is finished.

Now on to cooking. I am trying to incorporate more healthy foods into our diet including fish and more veggies. I love the two cookbooks by Cassy Joy Garcia called Cook Once Eat All Week and Cook Once DInner Fix. They are good for people with limited time but want to eat healthy, delicious foods.

I made a tasty salmon dish from the newest book Cook One Dinner Fix. It was a baked salmon and potatoes. Everyone ate it. Even my fish-hating daughter.

Welcome!!

Hi there and welcome to my blog. I have been thinking about making a blog about my cooking and quilting adventures for some time now and finally pulled the trigger on Christmas Day 2021. I am excited to discuss my quilts and my homemade meals.

A little about me:

I am a mother of two wonderful children. I am a wife to a wonderful husband. He is a soldier in the US Army and we have lived in lots of states. We are currently based in my home state of Georgia. I am a pet mom of one dog, three cats, and two mini rex rabbits. You will see pics of my cats, aka project managers on my feed from time to time. They have claimed all my projects as theirs. Table runners are their favorites.

This is Pumpkin and she has already claimed this panel for herself.

I started quilting about two years ago. I was in between jobs and wanted to find a hobby to fill the time and give me purpose. My grandmother was a quilter. She would sit in the evenings in front of the television with a quilt in a loom, and she would hand quilt. I used to sit with her and she even let me make a few stitches every now and then. I have several of her quilts that she gifted me. I have always wanted to quilt but with two small children I never had the time. Now my kids are older and I have a little more free time. My daughter is learning to sew. She got a sewing machine for Christmas and has been making stuffed animals.

I completed my first quilt totally by hand. I didn’t own a sewing machine at the time and didn’t want to invest in one until I was certain I would enjoy quilting as a hobby. Here is a picture of my first quilt. It was a pattern by Missouri Star Quilt Company called Pins and Paws. I hand pieced and them hand quilted it. It took me about 5 months working several hours a day. It has not held up well as my hand sewing was not great for my first try, but I still get it out and snuggle under it from time to time.

This is Pins and Paws. My first ever quilt.

After that first quilt, I caught the quilting bug. My husband bought me a sewing machine for Christmas. I started buying more fabric and supplies and I have made over 30 projects in two years consisting of table runners, quilts, wall hangings, and pillowcases. I have a list of about 30 more I want to complete and two shelves full of fabric.

I could talk all day about quilting, but my first love is cooking. I started watching Food Network at night in college and since then I have enjoyed cooking all kinds of meals. I have a garage full of cookbooks. I like to take recipes and make them my own. I have gotten so accomplished that I don’t really like to go to restaurants anymore. I can make things better and cheaper at home.

So, that is a little about me and the direction of my blog. I will discuss my makes, the techniques and trends I am seeing in quilting. I will discuss my cooking. New recipes will be posted.

Thanks for stopping by!