jaybirds quilts – Mandy Cooks and Quilts

Wow, I have been blogging for one year! Although it has been quarterly for the latter part of the year due to the craziness that is life.

Christmas was a blast, and I celebrated a milestone birthday in the same week. I made my nieces and nephews reading pillows over the past few months. They are 18 inch pillows with a pocket on the pillowcase and handles. They can hold books or electronics and make a comfy addition to traveling. Here is a photo:

I also made this cute Penquin pillow for my kids’ bus driver. I used a multicolor thread for quilting it. The pattern is by Elizabeth Hartman. I just love all her animal patterns.

I also made some other teacher gifts. I made these cute little mug rugs that look like coffee/cocoa cups. The block was a free pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop. I bagged them with a disposable coffee cup, some coffee and hot cocoa for a special treat.

As you can see Cinnimon the mini chonk cat approves.

I took two weeks off a Christmas from quilting to clean and organize my sewing supplies and just enjoy my family. I am ashamed to say that I was this years old when I discovered the Container Store online website. I found some very decorative storage bins to store my fabric without looking to messy. They also look great on my shelves as opposed to clear plastic containers. Here are a few shots of my sewing area aka my bedroom while it was clean. Since Christmas it has gotten only slightly messy. I plan to do a bi weekly tidy to put away fabric scraps and keep things organized.

I got a great Christmas gift. I actually bought it in October on sale and saved it for Christmas. It is a quilting frame that I can use with my own machine and kind of turn it into a long arm. It is called a Grace Cutie. I tried it out yesterday and it is awesome. I can use pantographs just like a pro long warmer. I just need to practice to get my speed and technique to make the designs cleaner on the quilts. I practiced on a quilt my daughter made for her dolls.

I finished my two block of the months just before the new year. Toes in the Sand came out beautiful and I cant wait to quilt it later this year.

The A Quilting lIfe block of the month also turned out well. I am not in love with the border fabric. I was looking for a navy floral for the border from the fabric line, but since the fabric is out of print now, I was only able to locate the red. To me it feels too loud but it will be a great picnic quilt.

New Years Dinner!! Hopping John from the Instant pot!

I cook Hopping John every year for new years. Its a Black eye pea “stew” that can be served over rice. I usually cook it on the stove in a cast iron dutch oven, but it takes hours and I really didn’t want to spend all day in the kitchen. Here is a quick recipe for it:

Instant Pot Hopping John

1 lb black eyed peas (if dried soaked for 6-8 hours in water then drained)

2 bell papers one green one another color chopped

1 medium onion chopped

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

Salt and pepper

1 quart of chicken broth4

1 smoked ham hock or a few slices of bacon

1 bay leaf

Saute up the onions, and peppers (us can use the saute function on the instant pot). Add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes. Add the peas, ham hock, bay leaf, salt, and chicken stock. If there is not enoiught stock to cover the peas add a few cups of water. Place lid on instant pot and seal valve and select the beans setting with low pressure for 60 minutes.

I hope you all had a magical holiday season. Next week I will show what I will be working on for long-term projects and some new finishes.

Hi all! Last weekend it snowed for the first time in the 4 years we have lived in this part of Georgia. It was under an inch but the kids took full advantage and made tiny snowmen. We are used to seeing more copious amounts from our time in New York. But, I am glad we still haven’t had to use the snow shovels for actual snow since we moved here. They are great for scooping leaves in the fall.

It was another cold weekend this weekend as well so I spent most of the weekend working on sewing projects and cooking up some delicious meals.

I worked on finishing my Chicken Quilt. The original pattern did not have a border. I decided to add one. My background is a very pale gray, and the binding is going to be light colors as well. I felt a border would really add definition to the quilt. I like how borders frame a design like a picture. What do you think?

I also completed my first month of the Toes in the Sand Block of the Month.

The first two blocks for Toes in the Sand.

I also completed week 4 of Pat Sloan’s Sweet Dreams sew along.

Block 4 was named chocolate chip cookies. This inspired me to help Danielle make some really large chocolate chip cookies with sea salt.

Cookie monster cookies!!! Nomm Nomm Nommmm!

And now it’s recipe time!!! I made my version of spanakopita. Spanokopita is a Greek pastry filled with spinach and cheese. It is divine. I love all greek food and swear there must be some Greek DNA in my body. Feta is my friend.

This recipe combines two of my favorite recipes for spanakopita Michael Symon’s recipe is filled with goat cheese and herbs. Ina Garten’s recipe is made like a strudel so it’s not making small triangles which can be tedious and time-consuming.

Here is the recipe:

Spanokopita

1/2 box frozen phyllo dough thawed.
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 box of frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry or 2 large bunched of fresh spinach
1 package 8 oz cream cheese
6 oz of feta crumbled
Garlic salt
1 large onion diced
1/2 cup pank bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a sheet tray covered in foil.
Cook onions and fresh spinach in olive oil until soft. Drain any excess moisture.
Place spinach/onions in a medium bowl and add softened cream cheese, feta and garlic salt to taste. Mix to combine.
Melt butter in microwave in 30 second increments and let cool slightly.
On a cutting board or piece of foil lay out 1 sheet of phyllo dough and brush with butter. Layer another on top and repeat the brushing with butter. Repeat until you have 10 layers of phyllo dough.
Place 1/2 of the mixture lengthwise down down the middle of the phyllo dough layer. Fold sides together and to make a long rectangle.
Place seam side down on prepared sheet tray and baste with butter.
Repeat with other 10 layers of phyllo dough and other half of the spinach/cheese mixture so that you have 2 rectangles.
Pierce the rectanges in a few places on top with a knife to vent.
Bake until golden brown about 30 minutes.
Slice and serve. This will serve 4 as main dish or 6-8 as a side dish or appetizer