Sewing & Quilt Expo, Kansas City, MO

Jena and I went to Kansas City to do some genealogy and while we were waiting for our plane home, we ran over to the sewing & quilt expo. It was so fun. There was lots of fabric from Vogue and France and wonderful clothing and textiles I wasn't allowed to take photos of. But I did get a few with permission of some wonderful venders. This little jacket and the quilt below were at a darling booth full of glorious fabrics from Material Mart. Their website is www.materialmart.com and they are in Midland, MI if you're in that neck of the woods.

Many of my girlfriends are becoming grandma's again and I thought this quilt was a darling idea. You can get the pattern at Material Mart and I think it's the cutest idea! And could be adapted for a girl or a boy very easily.

I don't know a dang thing about wool, but have always wanted to do something with it. Nedra has been doing beautiful things with wool for years and my new friend Gale also does the most beautiful things. I loved this booth! I bought a kit from Trish Harriman that makes her own patterns and there wasn't a thing there I didn't want. I bought a darling little kit to do something for Christmas and she hasn't even made the pattern yet. She was incredibly generous to let me photograph her booth. The website is www.attic-heirlooms.com and all the patterns are original to Trish Harriman. She is in Portland, ME and is super talented.

I don't recall what booth I saw this quilt in, but I thought it was so charming and could use up a lot of scraps. I'm so amazed at how many talented people there are in the world.

The booth that made me absolutely crazy was at Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods. You have no idea how wonderful their displays were. They only allowed me one photograph and asked me to specifically tell you not to move it or blow it up, etc. She has to be protective of her products, but she has the best displays I've ever seen. All the trims, buttons, laces, etc. are all color coded and it is straight up eye candy. It's owned by a Susan Gower's and you can find them at www.NiftyThrifyDryGoods.com and her trims are something to salivate over. Further, she has the most stunning jewelry made from scraps of old victorian velvet quilts with bits of crazy quilting on them. I wanted about 100 things there. I did get a red and pink trim that I plan to use on a Valentine quilt that I've been wanting to make the last couple of years. Now I think I'll be inspired to get started!

Just as we were ready to leave the Expo and head for the airport we came across these wonderful quilting strangers who began to talk to us about the bras that they purchase from Susan Crampton. Now I don't know about you, but I've never launched into a testimony with a stranger about my bra before, so I was interested in what these women had to say! They went on and on about these bras and how we had to try them on and how different we would look. You probably can't tell from my photo, but trust me, you would not need to use the word "support" when describing my bra needs! Susan Crampton walks right over and begins to talk to me about how it looks like the "life was sucked right out of me"!! Oh, it was hysterical! The funniest part was describing one of my daughters who is more endowed than the average and explaining how she plays college basketball and would love a bra that could 'hold things together' better. Susan begins to strap this sports bra on the outside of her clothing and is Very well endowed! This bra has about 17 hook and eyes and she straps it on and begins to jump up and down. This thing is like a bullet proof vest!! I couldn't believe it...all was steady and staying in its proper place. (You should have seen the man who had to run the booth across from us watching this entire event occur !)

Susan calls herself a "Bra Paramedic"...saying she 'rescues breasts from sagginess'. Then Jena and I walked around with stickers on our shirts that said, "I took the Perk & Lift Challenge". Oh, it was so funny. In all seriousness though, if you ever need a bra or need more support, Susan is a true professional. She took awesome care of us and her bras are everything those strangers cracked them up to be. Visit her at www.susanthebralady.com (Susan is on the right in the photo below.)

A Give Away!!

My new blogging buddy RaeAnn is having her first give away. She's off on a trip somewhere and we get to guess where! I don't know what the prize is, but I know RaeAnn and it's going to be a good one. She's gifted and talented and has great taste in fabric. I met her by accident in the parking lot of a quilt store once when I noticed she was wrestling with a couple of quilts and trying to get her car door shut and carry everything inside...so I offered to help. And we became instant friends. Go visit her blog and make a comment on where you think she is and you'll be entered in the drawing. http://cutiepinwheel.blogspot.com/

On another note entirely...I had a Nanette experience with my computer! It is 100% blown up. I have been on hold for hours and hours with Dell and am so unhappy with the entire process. I have a warranty and will still have to pay someone else to try and get into the hard drive and save my stuff before the entire thing has to be cleaned off. Anyway, I'm very grumpy about not having a computer and I have no idea how long it will take. I have a trip to take next week and can't believe I'm computerless! I am going to visit an Aunt who is 98 years old and hoped to get lots of genealogy put on my computer. Did I mention that I am very grumpy about this!!

Do you remember when I told you about the Boomerang? It's a brand new air filter that filters out viruses, flus, colds, etc. Not only in the air, but on surfaces. It's very exciting technology and is patent pending. I'm so excited to have mine. I wanted to provide this video link so you could see more about what I'm talking about.

I've spent the last 4 days re-certifying as a Holistic Health Coach and loved it. I have had a passion for nutrition my entire life and love to learn more.

Live Well...Judi

Carissa Finished Her First Quilt!

Carissa is 16 and started this quilt a couple of years ago and then NEVER touched it again. I would prod and encourage and etc. and there was no interest. Then one day about 6 months ago she suddenly expressed interest again and has sporatically worked on it again. And it's finally completed. She's quite proud of herself. I don't know when we'll start another one, but it's good to have one under her belt.

Curried Lentil Soup with Spinach

For quilt guild today I made a curried lentil soup I've made many times for my family. It seems when you are cooking for other people, things never taste as good as they do when you're just playing in your kitchen or cooking for your family. Anyway, here's what to do...

Gather ingredients...chop everything up.

Don't throw away the end of the celery. It's the healthiest part...it's been closest to the soil. Wash it up well and cut off the 'dirty' part at the bottom, but keep it connected. Throw that in the soup for flavor and then throw away before you serve the soup.

This is a photo of the kind of curry I use. I get this and the coconut milk at the oriental food store. The flavors are intense and work better than curry powder although you can substitute that if that's all you have.

Use a good quality coconut milk. The kind sold in the grocery stores are often watered down. This is the brand I use for homemade coconut ice cream too! YUM

Here's the soup. A family favorite.

Curried Lentil Soup with Spinach (Serves 8 - 10)

2 T. Olive Oil

2 c. Onion, chopped

1 c. Celery, chopped

1 c. Carrots, chopped

1 c. green or red pepper, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

2 T. curry powder (I use Mae Ploy Paste)

1 t. ground cumin

1/4 t. cayenne, optional

1 T. fresh minced ginger

1 lb. lentils (about 2 1/2 c. cleaned and picked over)

8 c. water, chicken stock or vegetable stock

1 can 15 oz. coconut milk, shake well (use Mae Ploy)

1 t. salt, optional (I don't use it)

1 bunch Spinach, chopped

1/2 c. chopped cilantro

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, red pepper, garlic, ginger and the spices and saute until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the water or stock along with the salt, lentils and coconut milk, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are cooked through about 10 minutes. (I threw the entire thing in a crock pot and came back a few hours later and finished it.) While the soup is simmering, wash and prep the spinach and chop the cilantro. After the lentils have finished cooking, stir the spinach and cilantro into the soup--it will look like a lot of spinach--don't worry it will wilt and cook down. Taste and adjust any seasoning and serve. Can sprinkle with cheese and a lime wedge. Also, to create a complete protein, I serve it with a little brown rice on the bottom of the bowl.

Fall Leaves up American Fork Canyon

We live about 2 minutes from the mouth of American Fork Canyon and it is one of the most beautiful places on earth. We are so blessed to live where we can enjoy such beauty. The above photo is Tibble Fork at daybreak. The other photos are of the drive up the canyon. My neighbor Chris took these photos for all to enjoy! Live Well, Judi

What's for Breakfast

When the children get up on Saturday morning, it's been a tradition for them to feel like they will get a 'special' breakfast...something I don't make on a regular basis. However, because I have raised them to eat healthy, it's always been a stretch for me to feed them something that doesn't meet my traditional standards. This recipe makes us all happy!! It comes from a bed and breakfast in Manti, Utah and is a fabulous recipe for light and airy waffles full of flavor from whole grains. And they are easy!!

Manti House Inn Waffles

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 T. butter, melted

1/4 t. salt

1 t. baking powder

1 cup whole wheat flour (I mix grains...rice, amaranth, quinoa, wheat, rye, etc.)

Stir together and cook on hot waffle iron. Serve with pure maple syrup or fresh fruit.

Live Well, Judi

Crisscross Quilt

This quilt is called "Crisscross" by American Jane Patterns, Sandy Klop, that I saw a couple of years ago in St. George at Lazy Daisy Cottage and LOVED it! I started putting it on a design wall and it seemed to take forever. Now that it's done, I have to say it was worth all the effort. This is a quilt that you cannot make without a design wall, because the block is not the center square that you think it is, but is half of 4 blocks. There's a close up below. When I talked to the girl that was waiting on me at Lazy Daisy, she said that she had made several mistakes on her blocks because she didn't use a design wall. I am happy to say that I was able to learn from her and didn't have to do the hours of picking out that she did.

This is the defined block. It's 1/2 of all 4 blocks and must match up with it's neighbor, so you have to be paying attention when you're making it.

I thought the border was really fun too. I used lots of 30's reproductions that I had from other quilts and it was a fun way to use up some of the stacks of fabric I have around here!

Girl Gang...Sunny Days

We are starting our new Girl Gang meeting for the year at Broadbent's and Janice has hung her first few blocks from the ceiling over the cutting table. The quilt is called "Sunny Days" and in typical Janice style it is wonderful! Janice has more talent in her pinky than I have in my entire body. She has an amazing gift for putting colors, patterns, textures, and visual interest together. You can't tell in the photo, but even the dog is a texture fabric, so you can pet him! I personally just stand next to her and hope something jumps off of her and lands on me!

Can you see how she fussy cuts the center of the flowers and adds even more interest?!! And check the bird out with the fussy cut wing.

I'm hoping to start on mine this week. It's the most tempting quilt I've seen in a long time. I'm lousy at applique, but am inspired by Janice and want to make this one for sure!