Celtic Block of the Month Quilt Pattern

Mountainjoy Quilts just released it's new Block of the Month quilt pattern. I have worked on it for quite a while and taught to several local students.

I have now released the first block pattern

IT ALL STARTS IN THE HEART on my web store over at http://www.mountainjoyquiltndye.etsy.com/.

I will be releasing a new one each month for the next twelve months. Just think, you could start that next holiday gift already. Each block is really quick and fairly easy. I include full instructions and templates. They will all be a 13" square with a celtic knot in stained glass style.

Have fun picking out your own color scheme, it is practically endless with today's fabric lines. You could also use a different color bias tape. You lose the stained glass effect, but one of my students did an amazing piece using copper metallic bias tape and fall colored fabrics. You also get to choose how many you feel like doing. Quilted in single blocks, they are cute table pieces. Three or four quilted together make a great wall piece. All twelve, when put together with sashing strips and borders, will give you a queen-sized quilt. It's the perfect time to start a new project. How else are we quilters to keep warm in the winter?

Food with Intention

Several years ago, I had just watched the film Like Water for Chocolate and was very intrigued by the idea that our intentions and feelings can be transferred to food as we make it. I decided to make my husband a wonderful feast. It would look great, taste wonderful, and convey my love for him. It was mid-summer and the garden was bountiful. All day long, I went from garden to kitchen creating with joy and love.
The two things that stand out best in my memory were the appetizers and the cheesecake. It was to be a plain New York style cheesecake with fresh peach compote on top. It took all day long to set. I finally opened the oven thinking it had to be done by now and was moved to tears by what I saw. A perfect heart had cracked in the center of the cheesecake. I couldn't have done that on purpose if I had tried. As the cake had decorated itself, we had the peach compote on the side.
Now the appetizers I made really knocked my socks off. I don't even like eggplant or tomatoes. I tried to like tomatoes every year for 21 years. They always let me down until I grew some for my husband. There is nothing tastier than a fresh home-grown tomato. This simple recipe was one of my best spur of the moment, fresh from garden ideas ever. I hope you enjoy!

Eggplant Medallions

1) Take any eggplant (I grew small fuschia ones that year) and slice 1/2 inch thick. Arrange in a dish and sprinkle with salt all over. Use a good deal, you will wash it off. This leaches bitterness from the eggplant.
2) Slice tomatoes 1/4 inch thick. Tomatoes should be same or smaller in radius as eggplant.
3) Slice thinly as much smoked gouda cheese as you want to use.
4) Rinse eggplant and arrange single layer on greased baking tray.
5) Top each eggplant round with slice tomato then gouda cheese.
6) Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
7) Broil until done. Keep an eye on them 5-10 minutes depending on broil range.
Serve warm and eat up the compliments.

Cakes in the Mail

A few years ago, I moved away from Colorado for a little while. I'm still not sure what we were thinking. Anyway, while we were gone, I decided to keep the tradition of making one of my dear friend's birthday cakes. I made the strongest chocolate cake I could and put it in the freezer. The next day, it got mailed overnight in the middle of summer. It still tasted wonderful. The gooey mass that arrived was greatly appreciated and stories of it's fame continue. It really usually is the thoughtfulness of a gift that touches people. Now that I live way up in the mountains again, I have learned to appreciate mail-order food.
Bake Me A Wish is the perfect place to find cakes. If you can't be with your loved ones for the holidays, you can still send them a gourmet cake. This New York bakery is a wonderful find. They carry Angela Logan's Mortgage Apple Cake and they also have programs to deliver cakes to soldiers. I only advertise for company's that I believe make a difference. This truly is such a company. When you order cakes from Bake Me a Wish, they come beautifully boxed and with full guarantees. No mistakes like in my story. They have a fabulous selection of classic flavors and make Viennese coffee cakes as well. Check out their link and send cakes to someone you love today.

The Holiday Hustle

Here I go again, the last weekend to get all the holiday stuff finished and in the mail. Last minute gift creating is what I am best at. I have everyone used to recieving an assortment of delicious chocolates. I usually make them myself but in a pinch, my friends at Chocolate.com always come to the rescue. Sometimes it is just more fun to look at all the different types of chocolates than to make them myself. Besides, they do a great job at wrapping!
Now, who can I get to finish all those quilts I'm supposed to be doing? Just kidding. The quilts are my joy. I'm quilting one now that my brother designed and my mother pieced it. I'd love to show a photo here, but that will have to wait until January. Also, I have to go finish it before Monday.
Until next time,
Happy quilting, cooking, and eating this holiday.

Chocolate and Quilters

I believe almost all quilters have a strong love for chocolate. I can not believe it is only me and my quilter friends that share this love. Maybe the traits are connected on the same gene, if you like pretty fabric you must love chocolate. I also know that we can be very picky when it comes to chocolate. The most divine forms of chocolate are truly appreciated and savored. At the same time, I'll gobble up just any old chocolate too.
I'm going to share with you now where to order some of that most divine-type chocolates. I just discovered them and they are fabulous. Any chocolate your heart desires can be found at Chocolate.com. I've posted a link on the side bar so you can get there faster. Remember, it is not a good idea to drool into the keyboard so use protection when visiting this site! This is one of the largest selections of fine chocolates I have ever seen. They carry finished products such as fudge and truffles, but they also carry baking chocolates. They have organic, vegan, and kosher chocolates. With a huge selection of holiday assortments and sales, you chould check them out in time to order for yourself and everyone else who has been good this year. Even if you are not a quilter, don't you need some chocolate right now?

How to Bake Bread and Quilt

It is days like today that I feel my cabin is actually inside a snow-globe. It is not snowing. The wind is whirling the light, glittery snow in such a crazy fashion that if you imagine being in a snow-globe, you can sense what it would be like. Snow-globes remind me of the holidays, which are upon us. This time of year is filled with tradition. Most of my traditions and memories are of the fabulous foods. My mother always had cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. I made some cinnamon bread the other morning. Isn't it wonderful how certain foods can conjure memories. The bread was great and it is so easy to make bread. I read in a quilting book that one should take a break and move around every hour to keep from stiffening up. Well, I discovered making bread and quilting are good partners. So, without further ado, here is what I do.

First, choose which quilting project you will be working on for the day. Piecing is good.
Then, it is time to start the bread. I will give you my plain white bread recipe but it is very versatile. You can use whatever flour combinations and sweeteners you wish.
Oh yeah, a word about my precise measuring technique. The palm of my hand is calibrated to Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements. Yours is too, but you might not know it yet.

Okay, Ready, Set, SPONGE:
1) In large bowl, mix 3 cups warm water (not too hot or yeast will die) with 3 Tablespoons sugar or honey and sprinkle on 1 1/2 Tablespoons dry yeast. Stir a bit then add 1-3 cups flour, enough to make something very wet but holding together. Scrape down sides and beat well for a minute or two. This is your sponge. Cover and let rest for about 50 minutes.
2) Go see how much piecing you can get down in 50 minutes. Stand and stretch.
3) Back to the bread. It should look like lunar scape by now. Add 2 Tablespoons oil and stir. Add 2 Tablespoons salt and stir. Start adding flour slowly and mixing in. This is where the muscles start to matter. Keep adding flour until you have a stiff dough. Turn onto floured board. Knead for 5 -7 minutes. Place in greased bowl and cover again.
4) Now you can get back to sewing again. You'd be surprised how much you can get done now that you are warmed up. After the bread has risen for an hour, you need to go check on it.
5) Grease 2 loaf pans. Press down the dough. Form 2 loaves. I usually leave one round and braid the other. Place in pans, cover, and let rise again.
6) You should know by now that you have another hour to sew again. What are you waiting for? Just wash the oil off your hands really well.
7) Get up after 1/2 hour and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8) When the bread has risen to twice it's size, put in oven to bake. Set timer for 45 minutes and check. The timer is important if you are still quilting!
9) Bread is done when all golden and looking yummy. Let cool for a few minutes before taking a break. I recommend eating hot bread with butter and admiring your quilt work from across the room.
If you want cinnamon bread, when it is time to form, roll out the dough, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up tight and make sure ends are tucked under. If there are leftovers, it makes great french toast.
It is really a lot of fun when you get into it and "race the bread". It has become one of my favorite traditions which I do at least once a week. Traditions bring us back to our childhoods, back to easy times when life was mostly about food and fun. Take your loved ones back in time with some great recipes in the book A Homemade Christmas. This is a great ebook I found with so many of the our favorite holiday recipes. You can find it on the sidebar link. It is quite well priced and comes with the bonus ebook All Time Favorite Christmas Cookies. My brothers and I each had our own favorites. Do you remember yours? Of course, why don't you make a batch this year. Happy Quilting and Cooking

Quilting with Community

This quilt was made by the community for the community. Over a dozen artists helped in this quilt project. It was my honor to be the quilter.

As a quilter, there are many ways to give to the community. I think quilters in general are very giving, loving, caring people. That is why so many wonderful foundations have been formed where quilts are collected and given to people who need them. There is something very special about receiving a quilt that was handmade. Quilts have value beyond compare because of the love that is in every stitch. Quilts can also be made by several hands. The making together bringing people together. Maybe you can find something in your community that could use your hands and heart.

I want to share my local project that is dear to my heart. It is a youth garden group. The kids range in age from very small to 18 years. The older kids plan, grow, and sell at the farmers market. This teaches them so much. They also learn how to prepare their produce and share that knowledge with others. They give to the local food share progam. I've just barely covered the surface of how great I think this program and the kids are. Every year, they hold a benefit dinner. I make a quilt to auction using the youth's artwork. I give them fabric and markers and tell them to show what the Cultiva Project means to them. It is amazing what they returned to me this year. I pieced the quilt using my husband's tie-dye fabrics and then quilted it heavily. It is a challenge to work with others artwork. You want to define and add to it but not distract from the original artwork. I was so pleased with how it came out. I wonder what next years will be.

I hope you are inspired now. Speaking of teaching children, I just came across a great book I thought I'd let know about. It is an ebook called Cookin Kids. If you want to have a great time spreading love in the kitchen, you should really check out this ebook. You can find it at the link in the sidebar. Enjoy the holidays with children you know. They do warm the soul. We can all do so much to make this a brighter, cozier world.

Until next time, happy quilting and cooking.