My new sewing machine for quilting!
This is my new sewing machine…it’s a Juki TL98…and I LOVE IT! It’s a straight stitch machine that sews fast and accurately. It has a knee lift lever, an automatic needle down unless you press the red button beside the foot pedal that cuts the thread and lifts the needle. I’m working on my Hawaiian Delight – paper pieced pineapple quilt blocks. The stripes are cut 1″ wide for a finished 1/2″ finished width on each round.
The extended table makes the work area nice and wide…perfect for paper piecing. This machine is making it a pleasure to piece. If anyone is in the market for a new machine for piecing their quilts I highly recommend this machine!
Mango Pineapple Grilled Chicken
Here is a dish that I created one day when I was ready to cook but realized I was out of my favorite barbeque sauce:
Mango Pineapple Grilled Chicken
Serves 4
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar of Mango Pineapple Salsa
4 slices Pepper Jack Cheese
One can of pineapple rings or fresh pineapple sliced
Rinse and pat dry the chicken breasts. Using a knife, carefully slice open the breast as you would a bun to make a sandwich. Fold one slice of Pepper Jack cheese in half and insert into the opening, Scoop a few tablespoons of the Mango Pineapple Salsa on top of the cheese. Close opening with a toothpick. Use a sauce brush to brush salsa on the outside of the breasts. Grill for 20 to 30 minutes, until juice runs clear. Five minutes before removing from the grill use toothpicks to top each with a pineapple ring. Serve with extra Mango Pineapple Salsa. I serve mine with extra tortilla chips and Bush’s Onion Baked Beans. It makes the perfect side dish!
New sewing machine on the way! Yeah!
New Juki TLQ Quilting Machine! This is a lock straight stitch machine for accurate piecing! I’m excited and hoping it will be here by next weekend when I get back to working on my quilts! This weekend I’m making some summer clothes. This is the dress I’m making using a black and white floral print:
I’ve made this dress with the higher front neckline and I love the dress. I pair it with a small open knit sweater. The view I’m making today has the rounded neck.
I also cut out another dress using another pattern and a couple of shirts. I’m suddenly in the mood for new clothes and can’t find what I want at the store and after looking at some of the price tags I found myself at the quilt shop looking at some of the most beautiful floral prints. So, last weekend I cut out the patterns and this weekend I’m sewing…hope everything turns out great and fits! I’ll post pictures as I finish them!
St. Patrick’s Day…Norman
A little celebration at O’Connell’s on St. Patrick’s Day.
What fun to spend time with family.
St. Patrick’s Day, Norman, Oklahoma, 2012
Time slips away……
Time seems to fly by around here lately. I can hardly believe it’s been over a month since my last post. I’ve been on spring break for the last two weeks. I took one week to spend in the Kansas City, Missouri area with family and I took this last week to quilt, run errands, etc. I have started a new quilt using a pattern that I purchased at my favorite quilt shop in Missouri, Quilter’s Depot in Lee’s Summitt. The pattern is called Hawaiian Delight by Edyta Starr. I’m making mine using a red center block with cream and black prints for the rest of the block. The store has a sample quilt hanging up by the door and I’ve admired the quilt the last few times I shopped there so I finally decided I must have one for myself. The pattern makes a 60″ x 60″ quilt with 64 blocks, I’m making my quilt double that size with 125 blocks. I completed three squares to test the pattern and now I’m making them in an assembly type order. All of round A and B together, then all of round C on every block, etc. It seems to be moving faster and I’m not shuffling through the baggies that hold my cut fabric as much. This quilt will take quite a bit of time as each strip is cut 1″ wide so I have a finished 1/2″ strip of fabric. But, if you could see the finished product you would know why I’ve decided to tackle this project! I did decided during the cutting and beginnnig sewing stages of this project that quilting is like beadwork or painting, you can NEVER have too many colors! I made a few more trips to different quilt shops to enhance my scraps for this quilt!
I found a site a while back called Pinterest. If you have never visited the site I am inviting you to take a peek! Here is my account: http://pinterest.com/vanessakayvan/ It’s a fun way to spend time looking for ideas for recipes, quilting, hobbies, homes and just about anything else. If you are a visual person…you will LOVE this site. I wasn’t sure exactly how to set up my posts but finally figured out one day (once I quit looking at pictures long enough to look around the site) that there is a PLUS (+) tab toward the top right and you just click on that to set up areas (boards). Then when you click on the red Pinterest word at the top it allows you to browse randomly or you can search different subjects. When you see a recipe, idea or picture you like you can put the cursor over the picture and some tabs will drop down to click “like” or “repin”. When you click the “repin” tab it allows you to edit the words and choose the “board” you would like to pin the picture/link. If you notice someone with similar interests you can “follow them” by clicking on their user name which will take you to their site and on the left side is a red “follow” button. This site is entirely free! What a deal! I must warn you though…it’s addictive!
Bucket List….
I received a premade Bucket List from someone the other day and I was supposed to ‘check’ or ‘uncheck’ the list and forward it to my friends but the list just didn’t cover what I thought would be on my bucket list so I thought I’d begin my own list….
Visit Ireland
Write something profound
Publish my own quilting patterns
Hike the Grand Canyon
Visit New England in the fall
Visit art museums in New Mexico
Attend the International Houston Quilt Festival
Attend a George Strait concert
Visit Hawaii with my sisters
Travel to Bainbridge Island just for fun
Kayak along the coast of California through the caves
Visit the Redwood Forest in California and travel down the coastal highway to San Diego
Finish my quilting WIP
Get out of debt…completely
Make a difference in the lives of others
Laugh every day and enjoy life
Take my grandchildren to the zoo (when my boys have children that is!)
Hop in my car and just head down the highway to parts unknown for a week of antique shopping and small town diners…..and the list goes on………
