Under the Needle: August

 These monthly Under the Needle posts really help keep me on track. I still sew what I want to sew, but I don't feel so scatterbrained and I often start writing them at the beginning of the month, giving me something to aim for. Shall we begin with the mess in my sewing room? I really need to address this. Sigh.

I made all the blocks for my Americana 250 quilt last month, but I pieced it into a top, pressed it, made the backing and binding this month and the victory laps have been completed.

I cut everything out for this Saddle Ranch quilt this month. I made the binding, but have yet to sew the first stitch for the top

I got sidetracked by this Tres Leches project that I posted about HERE

The result of that rabbit hole is that this Country Christmas top was cut and pieced

As was Open Range

My Don't Fence Me In quilt top was pieced last month, but I pressed it well, and made the binding. It's getting a Minky backing.

My S'mores quilt is up in the binding que and I just started adding stitches to it in the evenings with Skeet's assistance.

I also added the binding to this Teriffically Tilda 2x4 quilt, making it a finish this month

And this Safari Stars baby quilt is now beginning it's adventures with a sweet little new arrival.

A busy month that had me moving lots of projects closer to a finish and that's always a good thing.

Tres Leches Quilt Project

I don't spend a lot of time watching television or scrolling through social media, but I do watch the girls at the Fabric Patch and a few weeks ago they mentioned this Tres Leches quilt pattern and they casually suggested folks whip one up and they'd do a show and tell on October 1st for fun. Sure. I can do that.

Simple pattern. Easy stitching. Plenty of choices in my fabric pantry. And yet, I struggled. I could not settle on what I wanted. I could have made 10 quilt tops in the time I spent choosing and discarding options. Silly.

I finally settled on a panel of squares but had to re-figure math so that the fabrics would line up with the squares and then my quilt ended up ridiculously long and I complicated everything by piecing borders on the side and I didn't like it at all. Then when I snapped a picture of it off the deck I thought, "Well, that's kinda cute." 😄

Then I felt like I ought to make another one to prove I could follow instructions. 😉 So back to square 1. I opened this bin of western fabric that I've had for probably 20-30 years...long before I made quilts.

And I pulled these 3 fabrics for plan B. The selvedge on the horse fabric says 1996 so it's well-seasoned.

And before I knew it, a quilt top was born...and I just so happen to need a little western quilt.

Lessons learned?

Keep it simple. (Work in progress) 

Don't overthink it. (Long road ahead) 

Follow instructions. (Eventually) 🙃

Enjoy the journey. (Absolutely!)

Safari Baby Quilt

 A friend of ours and his wife had their first baby a few months ago. He is an avid hunter and was our Safari Club chapter president for a few years. He's also the service manager at the Ford dealership and I laughed when we took our truck in last month for a recall issue and DH and he poured over maps of an area where DH drew a tag for an Orex in January before they even checked in the truck. 

Just that morning, I had thought about hunting down some safari fabric to make a baby quilt for J & T. I went to look at emails and there was one showcasing this new fabric line and it included a 25% off your entire store purchase.

It could not be more perfect and the timing was serendipidous

I usually have a hard time settling on a pattern, but this time it was clear. I chose the Scattered Stars pattern

I scaled the blocks down from the original pattern when I made my Love You S'more x2 quilt and I thought it would be perfect for this project. I think this pattern is a fun way to showcase the fabrics

I backed it with Minky because Minky backed quilt seem to be the ones that are always reached for first. This is the first quilt Jackie or Sandy didn't quilt. We have a very small quilt shop about 55 miles from us and I thought I'd give them a shot. The owner does the longarming and she did a very nice job. She quilted a pattern called Animal Crackers that has safari animals in the design.

It finishes at 45 x 55

I hope this little quilt will be loved and dragged on many adventures!

Whoopie Pies

 I've never made these, but have wanted to for years and I figured it would be a fun thing to make when our granddaughter was here one day. She likes to help with everything I do and that makes everything fun. 

DH walked in as we were putting them together and asked Little E what they were. 

She piped up excitedly, "Whoopie Pies, Pap! Here! Have one!". 

These turned out great and only got better after I refrigerated them overnight, but the official taste testers couldn't wait that long

Lots of sugar. Very sweet. But a fun treat that I'm adding to my favorite recipe binder. Here's the recipe I used: Whoopie Pies. You can find more details there. The only change I made was to use regular brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar. And I'd like to find a more traditional filling that doesn't begin with the marshmallow cream. 

Whoopie Pies

1 2/3 C flour (212 g)

2/3 C (57 g) dutch processed cocoa

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 stick (113 g) room temperature unsalted butter

1 C  (200 g) brown sugar 

1 large egg - room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 C (296 g) room temperature buttermilk

Filling:

297 g (a little less than a 13 oz container) marshmallow cream filling

15 Tbsp (212 g) unsalted, room temperature butter

1 C + 2 Tbsp (140 g) powdered sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

*Preheat oven to 375°. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

In 2nd bowl, beat butter and brown sugar for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat for another 3 minutes.

Add 1/2 the flour and 1/2 the buttermilk to batter. Mix until well combined. Add remaining flour and buttermilk, mixing well.

Use a cookie scoop to drop onto cookie sheet, 2" apart. Bake for 11 minutes or until pies spring back when lightly touched. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to cooling rack to cool completely.

For filling: 

Beat marshmallow creme and butter until combined. Mix in powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat for 3 minutes until very smooth and soft. Using cookie scoop, sandwich filling between 2 cookies. Refrigerate.