Sailboat Orphan Block Taggie Blanket

In between projects, I was searching for other UFO’s that needed attention. In the deep depths of my scrap bin, I found a Ziploc bag with orphan blocks inside. Most of the them were leftovers from baby quilts I’ve made over the years and I wasn’t sure what these could be used for.

 

 

I continued to sift through the same bin and found leftover minky fabric. Again, this was purchased to make blankets for baby gifts, but I just don’t have babies in my life right now. 

 

 

As I laid these pieces out, I started brainstorming and remembered something my sister said. She had #2 last year and instead of making a quilt this time, I made a couple of fabric books and a taggy blanket. The baby is IN LOVE with the taggy blanket in particular and carries it everywhere. Warmed my heart, and made me realize I could use these scraps and blocks to make taggy blankets.

 

 

I still had a little leftover fabric from the twin baby blankets I just finished, and it matched great with this orphan block. I found some leftover raindrop fabric in my yellow scrappy pile so I pulled that out and bordered the sailboat block.

 

 

I decided to try my skill at mitered corners since the lines in the second border fabric create a nice frame around the sailboat block. I’m really happy with how nicely it came out. The block lays flat and even.

 

 

I had a light blue minky fabric that worked perfectly with this project. It’s so soft!! After attaching the ribbons, I simply sewed the front and back together and then did a quarter-inch stitch around as a “binding”. I tried hard to use ribbons of all colors that matched so it was more of a unisex blankie. Now I’m ready in case someone has a surprise. Yeah!

Traditional Beef Stroganoff

I absolutely love stroganoff, in all its wonderful forms! Sliced beef, ground beef, chicken, casserole, you name it! I don’t even mind using canned soup for the sauce, and just thought that’s how it was supposed to be.

 

And one day, in this wonderful covid lockdown time, I was searching pinterest for “things”. I didn’t really know what, but I figured it was a good time to try some new meals since we had the time and needed to eat anyway.

 

I had a bunch of sirloin steak and was searching possibilities beyond just a steak. I stumbled upon this intriguing stroganoff recipe. It was described as traditional Russian stroganoff and sounded like the kind of challenge I needed.

 

In making this recipe, I discovered there is an amazing and flavorful world beyond a can of soup! And it’s not even difficult to make! What?!? This was like the day I discovered how easy biscuits were to make from scratch, or French bread. The family was head over heels for it, and I knew this was a recipe that would become a permanent part of the menu rotation.

 

The one thing I discovered in my experimenting is that it is critical you use sirloin. It’s totally worth the little extra expense! It cooks so much better than a stew meat, with a more even browning and a softer texture. You will not be disappointed that you used the sirloin, I promise.

 

Noodles with this dish are totally up to you. I like a thicker, heartier noodle, but it also pairs well with an egg noodle. Do some experimenting yourself, and enjoy an amazing classic!

 

 The one thing I discovered in my experimenting is that it is critical you use sirloin. It’s totally worth the little extra expense! It cooks so much better than a stew meat, with a more even browning and a softer texture. You will not be disappointed that you used the sirloin, I promise.

Noodles with this dish are totally up to you. I like a thicker, heartier noodle, but it also pairs well with an egg noodle. Do some experimenting yourself, and enjoy an amazing classic!

 

Traditional Beef Stroganoff

 

2 Tbs butter, divided

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 lb sirloin steak, sliced thin against the grain

2 Tbs flour

1 c beef broth

1/2 c dry white wine

½ tsp ground mustard

2 c noodles, cooked

½ c sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

In a sauté pan, melt 1 Tbs butter and brown the onions for a couple minutes. Add the rest of the butter, and when melted add the mushrooms. Allow them to soften for a couple minutes. Place the sliced beef in a bowl and coat it with the flour. Push the onions and mushrooms to the side of the pan and add the meat. Let it sear for a minute before stirring to brown. Don’t worry if little bits get stuck on the pan, the broth will help that.

 

Once the beef is browned, but not cooked all the way through, add the broth and ground mustard. Stir to pull up any of the bits that stuck to the pan and then add the wine. Let the broth and wine simmer for about 10-15 minutes to allow it to reduce and build the flavor. Finally add the sour cream to the pan and stir to mix and blend together. Make sure all of the sour cream is incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with noodles and other sides you might like. 

 

This recipe was modified from the recipe found here.

Scrappy Hearts Quilt

Since I began quilting, I have coveted the skill of scrappy quilts. The scattered pick of colors that are organized in a seemingly random manner that creates a mural of harmonious flow. They are amazing! Unfortunately, you have to be able to let go of control and see big picture instead of the individual blocks. This is super tough! Way tougher than it sounds.

 

 

In my attempt to clean out my stash and challenge my quilting skills, I decided it was time to make a Valentine’s quilt that I am proud of. I made one back in 2011 when my daughter was born but it brings back bad memories of machine issues and block size struggles. It’s time to try again.

 

I scoured through my stash and found all my pinks. I laid them out and broke them up into darks, mediums, and lights. I began cutting, but didn’t want to have more than two blocks of each color. It worked pretty well! I had a lot of blocks but still wanted a few more to make the quilt top a bit bigger. I carefully planned out what I needed: two more lights, two more mediums, and only one dark.

 

It worked out great! I finished my blocks and had a complete top. After sewing all the blocks on point and filling in the white triangles along the side, it felt like it needed just a touch more. One of the fabrics I had used to make some hearts seemed like a nice frame for the top. I added that, and made sure to have enough for the binding.

 

 

I actually selected a fabric in my stash that I had the most of to make the backing.  I love this butterfly fabric, and even made some face masks out of it for my daughter. After making the backing, I still had a little bit more left (yeah!). It can still make another appearance in a future quilt.

 

For the quilting, I made double layer hearts in each block and a basic meander on the border. This is another point of control release. I am always nervous about the quilting quality as I’m working on it, but when I’m all finished and have it trimmed and ready for binding, I feel so much better about it. I am so happy with how it turned out.

 

 

I finished with the binding and my tag for 2021 and it was all finished… the day AFTER Valentine’s Day.

 

 

 

Oh well, I almost made it. It will be ready for next year to adorn my wall and bring much-needed color into the house in January and February. It’s also a great lap size quilt for the couch so it might just end up there.  We’ll see. 

Twin Baby Scrappy Quilts

I have been on a mission this year to work through scraps and clean some things out. I found it to be back-breaking work; literally and figuratively. As I sifted through the bags of stuff, I discovered I had A LOT of scraps from baby quilts I’ve made over the years.

 

 

Now, the truth is, I am past that part of my life that baby quilts will be made. And quite frankly, there are so many amazing fabrics that come out each year that I’d probably want to get something new anyway. But what to do with all these scraps…

 

 

I decided to try a scrappy quilt experiment with it all.  I cut them into 2 ½ inch squares and divided them into “darks” and “lights”. These color divisions were relative because they are all pretty light being baby fabrics and all.

 

 

After pairing them up, and then pairing again, I eventually ended up with 16-patch quilt blocks. I was surprised how many I ended up with and felt like that many blocks were going to make too big a baby quilt. So, why not make two?

 

 

I used white sashing between the blocks and a simple white border all around. For the backing, I found a Winnie-the-pooh fabric in my stash and it seemed perfect for the colors and theme of these two quilts. 

 

 

 

A basic meander all over was a good fit for these guys, and then I found a yellow fabric with bubbles on it and it worked perfect for the binding. 

 

 

It felt strange doing two quilts exactly the same, but it was a lot of fun practicing how to make scrappy blocks. I haven’t had much experience with scraps so this ended up being a perfect project! And a perfect stash buster! Woohoo!

 

 

Now, I still have no plans for them. I have contemplated re-establishing my Etsy shop, but I’m not sure if I’m ready for that. I am also thinking about donating them to a local non-profit or hospital or something. For now, I will keep them safe with the others.