Sewing Baskets for Quilty Fun

I'm having a blast with the Quilty Fun sew along!

This week we're making Sewing Basket blocks.

These were sew easy to put together...

I think I spent less than an hour making mine.

I kind of named my blocks to myself, based on the fabrics...

this one is Bake Sale.

Then there's my Flower Sugar basket.

And finally the Vintage Modern one.

I used my Angler 2 tool to make this project so easy.

It saves a lot of marking

and adds more accuracy to my stitching.

Once I was done sewing the baskets,

I had a little stack of triangular trimmings

that just seemed a bit too big to throw away.

I decided to draw a line about 1/4" away from

the trimmed edge, at a 45 degree angle.

I stitched all of the little pairs together...

then pressed them open and trimmed them

to exactly 1 1/4" squares.

{I wonder what I'm going to do with these?}

I think I'll try to make more of those teeny little

half-square triangles, whenever I'm trimming

more blocks for the Quilty Fun projects,

and see what I can make from them later.

While I was photographing my blocks,

I discovered WHAT FUN it is to use Instagram!!!

I'm always a little bit late to the party,

but if you'd like to follow me,

my Instagram name is eamylove.

Hope to see you there!

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Mug Hugs - Across the Pond

For the December edition

of the Across the Pond Sew Along,

Amanda The Patchsmith has come up

with a trendy new accessory...

the MUG HUG!

{No, it's not a typo...that's what she calls them. She's so clever!}

Photo by The Patchsmith

That's just ONE of the mug hugs Amanda

has made...a little fox,
using this free pattern by Crafty Staci,

with a brand-new Patchsmith mug rug pattern to match.

{This pattern also includes a super sweet bonus coaster!}

Photo by The Patchsmith

Susie has joined in over at Susie's Sunroom,

showing some darling mug hugs of her own.
The Patchsmith made The Fox, and Susie made The Hound!

Photo from Susie's Sunroom blog

I'm a bit behind schedule in making up any

new mug hugs, but I made this one a while ago,

using a paper sleeve as my template.

This type of mug hug works best on a disposable cup,
as it is tapered in shape.

I used a pretty button as a fastener.
These mug rugs are a great way to use up
one-of-a-kind favorite buttons!

Even though my red mug is straight-sided,
the Christmas mug hug looks pretty cute,
in my humble opinion!

It's time to get out those Christmas mug rugs
and give those hot chocolate mugs a nice hug!

If you'd like to join in the fun this month,
here are some more fun patterns, tutorials
and inspirational photos...
they should get you started!

I think the first time I ever saw a mug hug was in
an issue of Mollie Makes magazine.
Some were knitted and others were crocheted,
so there was something for everyone.

{Instructions are included here.}

Photo from Mollie Makes Magazine

Look at this adorable snowman
mug hug,
with instructions on the Red Heart Yarn blog!

Photo by Red Heart Yarn

At Embroidery Library Projects blog,
you can find full instructions
for making an embroidered coffee cozy.
Plain or fancy, these are really pretty!

{Susie made TWO of these...sort of...stop over to see!}

Photo from Emboidery Library Projects blog

Over at SewMuch2Luv,
you will find instructions for making this
{lovely} mug hug, with...RIC RAC!

{Now, why didn't I think of that?!?!?!?!}

Photo from SewMuch2Luv blog

That ought to get everybody started!
If you make some mug hugs,
please share photos in the Flickr group!

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Have A Holly Jolly Tree Skirt!

It's the end of November,

and I no longer feel even the least bit funny about

stitching up something Christmas-y every month!

This month I finished a bigger project...

the Holly Jolly Tree Skirt!

I used the awesome pattern by A Bright Corner on Etsy.

Here's Andy's pattern cover,

featuring a Christmas tree and everything.

{My tree is NOT up yet.}

For my version,

I used fabrics from Kate Spain's In From The Cold collection.

I chose 6 prints for the front of the tree skirt.

{Little Ginger photo-bombed me, under the table.}

At the end of the day,

I had my tree skirt top all pieced together.

Here it is, spray-basted and ready for quilting.

After another day,

I had the tree skirt all quilted,

and the binding was even finished.

On the back, and for the binding,

I used a red and white snowflake print

from the same fabric line.

{I'm so glad I have some yardage left over to make something for myself.}

I really love that cookie print,

reminding me of family cookies from Christmases past.

And these cocoa cups look like the ones my great-grandma

used in her restaurant...in my mind's eye, anyway.

{OK...her cups were solid white with green stripes,

but they were the same shape as these cups.}

The little label on the back will remind Val that I made this,

just for her.

It was easier than I expected to attach the binding

to all of the angles of the giant hexagon.

I chose to make ties from the binding fabric,

but you could use ribbon, too, as the pattern suggested.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

Stop by soon for a wrap-up of my

Christmas projects from 2013.

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Apple Dapple Cake for Across The Pond Sew Along

Remember that I picked APPLES

for this month's Across The Pond Sew Along?

{Okay, I didn't actually pick any apples, but you know what I mean...}

When I chose APPLES,

I planned to share one of my favorite

apple recipes with you,

and now...I give you Apple Dapple Cake.

My grandma gave me this recipe many years ago,

but I never tried it until about 10 years ago.

Now it's one of my favorite cakes in the whole world.

{Sometimes Grandma knew me better than I knew myself.}

I LOVE that I've still got my recipe card, 

handwritten by Grandma herself.

I miss her every day!

Are you ready for some Apple Dapple Cake pictures?

{I can't resist including my Quilty Fun apple blocks!}

Here's all the stuff you need for the cake part.

{There's also a yummy topping that I'll show you how to make.}

I like using my vintage Pyrex bowls

for making old-fashioned goodness in my kitchen.

Look how many apple slices

I got, just from those 4 MacIntosh apples!

Here's the recipe,

so you can try it yourself.

It's very easy to make

and my husband pronounced it DELICIOUS!

Apple Dapple Cake

Cake Ingredients:

4 cups thinly sliced apples

1 cup cooking oil

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

3 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

Optional:  1 cup chopped nuts

Peel and slice the apples and set them aside.

In a large mixer bowl, combine oil, eggs and sugar.

Add baking soda, cinnamon, flour, salt and vanilla,

and beat until completely blended.  Batter will be thick.

Fold in the sliced apples, mixing into the batter.

Pour the cake batter into a greased 9 x 13" cake pan.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes at 350 degrees,

until edges are golden brown and a toothpick tests clean.

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup milk or cream

1/4 cup butter

For topping, combine ingredients in a small saucepan

and melt them together over low-medium heat.

Bring to a boil while stirring,

and allow to boil for 4 minutes.

Pour topping over warm cake.

Lastly, put the cake pan, with topping, on the upper shelf in the oven,

and broil to let the topping bubble, just for about 1 minute,

or until it turns golden.

Remove from oven and let cool at least partially,

before serving.

Tastes great warm or at room temperature,

with or without creamy vanilla ice cream!

Enjoy your apples this month,

and show us what you've made in the Flickr group.

By the way...
did you notice my mug rug, serving up the apple cake?
It's actually a little bit bigger than a mug rug...
more like a placemat, or a mini quilt.

This little quilt is available for sale here in my eamylove shop on Etsy.
Even the back shows off the elaborate quilting.

{I love the pear green backing, Dandelion Girl by Fig Tree Quilts.}

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