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3/31/13

Work In Progress

Star Blocks

Star Blocks Trimmings

Pile of Star Blocks

Happy (belated) Easter! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Today the weather was a bit gloomy around here. The forecast predicted rain all day and while it ended up not raining much we decided to spend the day indoors; thus, lots  of sewing time. I worked on my Star Quit I had started at the beginning of the year. I have been working on this quilt on and off for three months and I feel it is about time I finish it :) I had a few more  blocks to complete. So I went ahead and pieced the last blocks then trimmed and trimmed. Now all of my 56 beautiful blocks are trimmed and ready to be made into a quilt top. Can't wait to finish this one!

Have a lovely week!
Martha.

3/26/13

Hello Bloglovin


Star Quilt - Work in Progress

I was so shocked when I heard the news that Google Reader was shutting down. I'm not tech-savvy, so at first I was completely freaked out... How am I going to catch up on my favorite blogs? What is happening to my blog? (I know that question crossed my mind too!). After a bit of research and very helpful readings from bloggy friends I found out there is nothing to be alarmed about (Catherine @ Knotted Cotton wrote a great post about it).  So I decided to head over to Bloglovin. I really like it. Now I can stop worrying :) and move on to more important things such as quilting.
I hope you are having a lovely week.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Martha.

3/16/13

A Picture ... A Moment

Feather

A single feather left behind makes a brief stop before being carried away by the wind. So peaceful and fragile. 

Martha

3/13/13

Double Lemon Cookies

Double Lemon Cookies

Our lemon trees continue to provide us an endless supply of lemons. So lately it has been all about cooking with lemons. On Sunday I made lemon cookies with a lemon glaze. They are sooo good! Seriously, we can't stop eating them. My husband even called them his favorite cookies (and he is a bit of a tough critic). I used Meyer lemons, one of my favorite varieties. Meyer lemons are not as tart as other lemons and are very fragrant, which makes them a perfect addition to any recipe. However, you can use regular lemons if that is what you have available.

Double Lemon Cookies
Adapted from here. inspired by this.
Makes 12-14 cookies

Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick) softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup sour cream

Lemon Glaze
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.

Double Lemon Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and continue beating. Add vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest and continue beating until well combined. Lower the mixer's speed mixer to low and add half of the flour mixture followed by the sour cream and finish with the rest of the flour.
3. Using an ice cream scoop spoon the batter on to baking sheets and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let them cool completely on a wire rack.
4. In a small bowl combine the confectioner's sugar, lemon juice zest and lemon juice  and stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.

DSCN3224

Enjoy!

Martha.

3/10/13

Sunday At Home

Succulents

Peach Blossoms

Oregano

DSCN3163

Bird Watching - Mourning Dove

Bird Watching


Today we enjoyed the most amazing weather around here. Most of the day we spent it in the garden preparing the planting beds for the vegetable garden and soaking in the sun. Everywhere we look there are sings that spring has arrived. Plants are turning greener, the peach tree started blooming and very soon other plants will follow. It is just a happy time. The garden feels so full of life with the sounds of birds chirping, bees buzzing and the the sight of new growth.
I hope you had a lovely weekend as well.

xx
Martha

3/3/13

Organizing My Fabric Scraps

Fabric Covered Cans

Quilt as you go - Fabric covered can

Fabric Covered Cans

This weekend I worked on organizing my fabric scraps. I hadn't bothered before because I didn't have that many. I used to put them in a large glass canister. But lately the canister was overflowing, so I decided to start dividing them by color. Last week I brought home from work a few empty large coffee cans and covered them with fabric. On the middle of the panel I used fabric scraps to represent the color fabrics I'm going to store inside and used the Quilt As You Go technique to attach the fabric pieces. 
You can find my tutorial here for the basic instructions on covering cans with fabric, if you would like to make some. I really love the way they turned out and my fabric scraps are neatly organized. I still want to make a few more for other colors... I just need the people in my office to drink coffee faster :)
Have a wonderful week!

Martha

3/1/13

February 2013: A Recap Intagram Style


February 2013

At the beginning of the year I had the resolution of taking more pictures and maybe doing the so popular photo diary Project 365. Well January went by and nothing happened... January is the worst month when it  comes to keeping  New Year's resolutions (at least in my case). But I thought any month is as good as any to start a  project. And I did it! Here is a recap of February from my Instagram
February was a fun month: I bought some great fabrics to add to my collection, worked on my WIP and Spring started to show sings that it is going to arrive soon. I enjoyed having the most beautiful flowers around the house. How was February for you?

Martha.