As promised...a peek into my secret garden

This is on the floor of the studio...doesn't quite do it justice.

Here it is hanging above our bed.  My husband had the brilliant idea of adding the white sashing to create the window pane effect.  I love it.  I love that from a distance it looks like stained glass panels...like you are peeking into a secret garden.  I loved that book, and movie...it's my happy place quilt.

And since I don't garden, it really is my secret garden.  The only place I can make things grow.

by hand?

 a little hand stitching...

 This is a sneak peak for you of my stained glass quilt.  I decided to try my hand at some hand embroidery.  I got this little beauty finished and decided it didn't need anything else. 

 This is the back.  You can see I machine quilted a window pane with some straight lines, and then in the bottom left is the bright pink flower.

The back doesn't look so bad...especially for a first try, with no idea about how to do this!  I know several people who enjoy quilting by hand.  It seems like an overwhelming task to me...but I thought I would give it a try.  A very small try.  I like my tiny little try.  It may happen again, but I don't think I'll be hand quilting a whole quilt any time soon.

You'll see the finished quilt next week.

Guess What!

That's right!  I'm  pregnant.  

And yes, I really did take 6 tests because I didn't really believe it....Surprise! It really is true.

If all goes well we'll be welcoming baby on January 10th, 2012. :)
God is sovereign,  and although we didn't think were were ready, He did.  We are thrilled, and prayerful that everything will fall into place according to His will.

Spicy Sausage Pasta

Ingredients;

1lb. hot sausage

1/2c. white wine

1pint heavy cream

1/4c. chopped onions

2 cloves garlic, minced or diced

angel hair pasta (and water to boil in)

Red Pepper flakes to taste

2Tbsp. olive oil

Small can of diced tomatoes

1/2c. shredded cheese-any blend will do.

 Saute your onions and garlic in a splash of olive oil on low heat.  Once translucent add red pepper flakes and white wine. Reduce down a bit.

 I don't have a picture of these so use your imagination.  Brown sausage in the mix above.    After sausage is browned and broken into bite size pieces, add some heavy cream and stir well until it cooks down just a smidge(it's a technical term).  Add drained diced tomatoes.

Boil your noodles separately. Drain noodles and combine into sauce.

 Finished in the pan...it's not really this orange. Add cheese and stir.

Sorry, it's blurry.  It was the best I could do.

Enjoy...and watch out; it's hot!  Good with a glass of milk.

Quilting with Purpose

 Another chemo quilt for someone in our church.  We went with a different pattern this time and it turned out pretty well.

 The front was full of bright cheerful colors.  The ladies signed and printed favorite verses or prayers on the top for the recipient.

This is the back

A close up of the quilting detail in the center of the cross.

This was a lap quilt size and she loved it.

I like doing this sort of thing.  It's special.

Special Project for a Special Lady

Around 20 ladies in our church helped put this project together.  It's a special lap quilt made for someone we know who was dealing with a cancer diagnosis.  It's the same pattern we used a year ago for someone else going through the same thing.  I had the privilege of quilting it.

 Everyone gets to write a special verse or prayer on it for her to read.  As we were putting it together someone mentioned that the recipient's favorite colors were used, and the person choosing the fabric had no idea.  In fact, I remember seeing similar fabrics in her home through the years. 

 A few who were not able to meet on the selected day came to my home to help me piece the back.  We mimicked the front design on a smaller scale using scraps left over from the front, and things in my stash.  It was neat seeing it come together.

Some of the quilting up close.  The sashing has vines, with roses in the corner.  The overall quilt has free motion, or stippling. 

This is hard to see, but I stitched the first verse of her favorite hymn into one of the horizontal sashes. It was very fitting.