Levi's Quilt Is Finished!

On Saturday evening I sewed all of the rows together. Then I cut the seams. Cutting the seams was more effort than I expected. Who would have know that cutting the seams would be so arduous? And I learned that I bought spring loaded scissors that were just too big for this type of cutting (bummer!).

And Sunday night it was washed... and now it's all done! I'm pretty proud of myself. :)

Levi's Quilt

Today I made some good progress on baby Levi's quilt. All of the rows are complete and ready to be sown together. I'll pin them together, sew them, cut the seams, and then I'll throw it in the wash! I'm pretty jazzed about how close to finished it is! I'm glad to see my progress and see that it's really going to turn out cute. It will be my first completed quilt... and then I'll get back to Sarah's.

Embroidery

I'm so excited! This morning I visited a friend's mom, Mary, and she embroidered a couple quilt squares with names. I'm excited to present Kristin with a quilt that has baby Levi's name on it. And I can't wait to see my sister unwrap her quilt on her birthday and see her name on her quilt. They look GREAT!

I'm so happy to be giving these gifts that are personalized. How fun!

Slowly but Surely

Sarah's quilt - It's coming together slowly but surely.
I went to the store and found the fabric I needed. I added a few rows to the sides and to the top/bottom. I'm thinking it will be a really good size now. I have four of my eight rows done. I just need to do the other four rows, sew them all together, and then fray the edges before throwing it into the wash. I'm really happy with how it's looking!

Sarah's Quilt

I recently decided to make a rag quilt for my sister's birthday. It's been a lot of fun and I'm really excited to make a few of these. It's pretty simple, I learned how to do it through watching youtube videos! And with a little bit of kitty help, well, who wouldn't think it was easy!?

Sarah's quilt is based on her telling me that Tinkerbell is her favorite character and lime green is her favorite color. I felt like throwing in some pink and turquoise-ish blue to even out all the green and accentuate the little bit of pink and blue in Tink's color scheme.

Unfortunately, after I cut all the squares I realized that messing one of them up really threw off the pattern. So, I went back and bought more of the pink and "made it happen."

And then, after sewing one row, I realized that the blanket was going to be way too small. I'm a little bit bummed to report that I'm going to have to go back to the store again and buy more fabric to add to it. I'm HOPING I can find all the same fabrics and just add a couple squares on to each row. Please be there, please be there, please be there. :) The good news is that all of the flannel materials have been on sale - right now, only $1.99! Woo hoo!

It's a really fun project... and I'll definitely keep updating as I go! :)

Mango Chicken Curry

Lately, Aaron and I have been enjoying foods from around the world - especially curries. While looking for new recipes online, I came across Mango Chicken Curry on the Simply Recipes website. I was really excited to make it... so I did... and it took time... But when it was done, it was sooo good! I served it with Basmati rice. I will definitely be making it again. And the next time I make it I'm going to double the recipe and freeze some for later.

Here's the recipe. Let me know how it tastes if you try!

Mango Chicken Curry
Ingredients

* 3 Tbsp (or more) of vegetable oil
* 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
* 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
* 2 Tbsp yellow curry powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 2 mangos, peeled and diced
* 2 Tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar
* 1 1/4 cup water
* 1 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1/3 cup golden raisins
* 1/2 cup heavy cream (can substitute all or partially with coconut milk)
* Salt and pepper
* Cilantro for garnish

Method

1 Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and another tablespoon of oil, cook for a couple more minutes. Add the curry powder and cumin, cook for a few more minutes. The spices will absorb some of the oil, so if anything begins to stick too much to the bottom of the pan, add a little more oil to the pan. Add the ginger and garlic, cook for one minute more.

2 Add the vinegar, water, and a 1/2 of the chopped mango to the pan. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat. Scoop the sauce into a blender. Purée the sauce, pulsing until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan.

3 Add chicken pieces and raisins to the pan. Return to a low simmer. Cover the pan and let cook for 8-10 minutes. Chicken should be just cooked through. Use a knife to cut open the largest piece to check.

4 Add remaining mango pieces to the pan. Stir in the cream. Let cook at a very low temperature for another minute or two, uncovered. Do not let boil! Or the cream may curdle. Adjust seasonings. If a little too sweet, add a little more vinegar. If not sweet enough, you can add a dash of sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over rice. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 4.

Cute Stuff

You have to see this book that I bought a while back. Aranzi Cute Stuff by Aranzi Aronzo. It has a few easy patterns and some really adorable but simple shape-made characters that could be used for fabric and paper crafts.

I also bought "Plaid Simply Stencils," which are clear plastic sheets that can be used to make your own stencils. The combination of the book and the stencil paper have proven to be very useful. I trace the pattern on the plastic and make a reusable stencil and the project is only half the effort next time.