quilts – Mandy Cooks and Quilts

Happy New Year!!!

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.

Fall breakfast and new finishes.

Greetings yall! I never intended for this blog to be quarterly but it appears it’s running in that direction. Hopefully, life will slow down soon so I can devote some more time to writing about what I love.

So the past 3 months have been crazy to say the least. The good news is the contractors completed the work on my house to repair where the tree had crashed into it. But during that time, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid arthritis. I have been feeling off for years. Joint pain that seemed to run in cycles along with inflammation of my digestive system. I am relieved to finally have a diagnosis and a treatment plan to move forward.

The company I have been working for the fall is our busy season, and on top of all the normal life chaos, I have been working 50-plus hours a week. This leaves little time to blog and get on top of my ever-growing quilt project list. But, hopefully, things will slow down, and I can return to my loves.

I have had some finishes, though. Here they are:

I made this Poinsettia Churndash wreath quilt top. Once it is quilted next year, it will adorn my bed in December. It was a pattern in a Fall issue of Quilters World Magazine 2 years ago. I fell in love with the pattern was have had the materials to make it for a year. I finally got to it.

I did make a baby quilt. I have a cousin who is expecting a baby boy, and I whipped this out in time for her baby shower. It has Minky on the back to make it extra soft.

I also completed the Summer sew along with Caliope quilts using Art East Patterns. The goats were really fun to make but also very intricate with small pieces. They are very adorable, and I can’t wait to quilt them in the new year. I also made a quilt from Vanessa Goertzen’s Charm School Book. It’s called the Modern Basic. I also used her Smoke and Rust line. It is currently on its way back from the quilters. As you can see, one of my project managers has already claimed it.

Banana muffins at last!

I finally remembered to snap a photo of my banana muffins before the kids devoured them all. This is a staple in my home. We constantly have overipe bananas and this is a quick and easy breakfast.

Here is the recipe:

Banana Muffins

2/3cup milk
1/4cup vegetable oil
1/2cup mashed very ripe banana (1 medium)
1egg
2cups all-purpose flour
2/3cup sugar
2 1/2teaspoons baking powder

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl until just combined.

Place batter in greased muffin tin or use cupcake liners in your muffin tin.

Bake at 400 degrees in oven for 15-20 minutes.

I often sub brown sugar for the white sugar for a deeper flavor.

Add nuts, blueberries, or chocolate chips for even more goodness.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe and my latest finishes. My next post which hopefully will come out later this week will have some quick and easy home made gifts and my favorite fall breakfast.

Adios…until next time.

What a Summer!

Greetings yall!! Its been almost 3 months since my last post. A lot has been going down at my casa that blogging didn’t fit my hectic schedule. But I am back baby! As promised, we will be showing some new finishes and some delicious muffins, and how to process strawberries for freezing and jam.

To begin, if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you know its been crazy at my house. My husband moved to Maryland before Memorial Day for work. The kids and I are staying here because it just made sense to keep them in a stable, familiar environment. So my home workload has picked up since my sidekick is not here to help me out sometimes. However, the kids are stepping up and helping with age-appropriate tasks.

Right before the 4th of July weekend, part of an old giant tree fell on my house, rupturing a gas line in my attic and causing a lot of damage to my roof, master bedroom, and bathroom. Thankfully no one was hurt. We have been battling with the contractors to get the roof fixed and the inside repaired. The roof was finally repaired this past week. So hopefully, they will begin on the inside soon. I am missing my Tempurpedic mattress. My guest bed mattress hurts my hips.

Work at my job has picked up, so I have had to work mandatory overtime a lot over the last few weeks.

Needless to say, my quilting time has been limited to a few minutes during the week and a few hours on the weekends. I have completed a few projects and keep up with my sew-alongs. I am only behind on my A Quilting Life BOM, but I should be able to catch up on that soon.

Here are some May Finishes. I completed the Sweet Dreams Sew A Long And some patriotic dining room decor along with my Toes in the Sand BOM. I hand-quilted the panel and added a frame to make it look like a picture. I made a pinwheel on point table runner using a Charm Pack called Praire Days by Moda.

Here are my July projects. I participated in Boo Crew by Fat Quater shop. I reversed the color of the Cauldron and Cat colors in the kit because I have never seen an orange Cauldron, and I wanted to pay homage to my evil devil kitty, Mr. Smee, who is an orange tabby you have seen in my pics. I made my sister a birthday quilt. She picked out the layer cake I used called Horsing Around by Bentertex. The pattern is Night Sky by Missouri Star Quilt Company. I love the secondary pattern made by the chevrons. I love the pantograph quilting I chose with horseshoes and stars. The quilter chose the purple thread which I think is perfect.

I am also participating in the Quilted Summer Sew Along by Caliope Quilts. Last year the patterns where baby Elizabeth Hartman and I did the Koala Quilt. I am doing Kidding Around (Goats in Pajamas) this year by ArtEast Quilting. The blocks are very intricate but adorable.

I have two more gift quilts I plan on starting and a Christmas Quilt for me. I also have a Halloween panel and table placemats I plan to get together soon.

Now onto some good eats.

May in my part of Georgia is strawberry season. For the past few years the kids and I go to a local u-pick farm and load up of these delicious gems. I freeze some and make jam. I also make delicious strawberry desserts like this strawberry rhubarb crumble.

Here is a simple recipe for preserving your strawberries for the entire year. I love to pull out a bag from my freezer in the dead of winter and top a big ole slice of angel food cake.

Frozen Strawberries:

As many pints of strawberries you have

Sugar

Slice strawberries into a large bowl. Add the desired amount of sugar. I usually do 1 cup of sugar to 3-4 heaping cups of berries. Stir and let sit for 30-60 minutes until sugar is dissolved. Place in Ziploc freezer bags and freeze. Use within a year. I love how the sugar makes the strawberries have their own sauce.

I love rhubarb and was stoked the local strawberry farm had some this year. So I made this recipe with some of my berries and fresh rhubarb.

https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/strawberry-rhubarb-crisp

And to celebrate the strawberry season, I also made this strawberry quilt. I call it Strawberry Patch.

I had planned on writing about my delicious banana muffins but can’t find my pictures of them now. But fear not, I have 4 bananas overripening on my counter for a delicious back-to-school breakfast recipe to come later this week. Have a great week yall!

A quilted coat, new finishes, and more.

Hi yall! It’s been a while since I posted. I have had some big things happening. I started a new position in the company I work for that aligns with my education in criminal justice. It is full time which has cut into my quilting time a little more than I would like. But it is a good job that piques my interest, and it gives me more money to fund my hobby (more money for fabric!).

Here is what I have been working on the past few weeks:

Toes in the Sand Block of the Month: February

I have finished my blocks for February and I love the Flamingos.

A Quilting Life Block of the Month: February

I also completed more of Pat Sloan’s Sweet DreamsSew-along blocks.

My last sew-along is A Quilting Life’s Block of the Month. I think this will be my summer picnic quilt when it is done.

I am loving the Happy Days Fabrics. These florals are soooo pretty!

Lastly, I have been working on my Free Spirit Coat Story Quilted Coat. I will have a blog post dedicated to the process of making it, information about the contest, and my inspiration for it as well as soon as it is finished which should be in two weeks if all goes as planned. Here is a preview picture of my cut pieces prior to quilting.

I have also been baking up some interesting things. I messed up on my Misfit produce order and ordered two 2 lb bags of blood oranges instead of what I thought was going to be 4 oranges. So I had to figure out how to use some up. I found a recipe in Cook’s Country Magazine for an orange upside-down cake. It was easy and so delicious. I highly recommend you check it out.

I have had 3 quilts come back from the quilters this past few weeks and I am working on the binding and getting them photographed. I will include them in my next post. One is this Koala quilt that everyone seems to love. They love it so much that they steal it from me and refuse to give it back, Here is my orange tabby laying his claim to it.

I get to snuggle it on occasion. My daughter wants to put it on her bed. I want to sleep under it a few nights first.

The other two that came back are my chicken quilt and my husband’s starstruck quilt. Photos will be coming soon as they are bound.

Well, that is all I have today. Stay tuned for a special post all about the quilted coat and a photography session of my new finishes. I will also be doing a post about getting kids involved in quilting and easy patterns.