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.
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.
Peach Gazpacho
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.
Mandy Cooks and Quilts 