March 2014-Potato Salad, Whole Wheat Knot Rolls,Orange Strawberry Salad

We met a week early this month because of Spring break but still had a good turnout. Thanks goes to Lenette for hosting this month at the last minute. There was even a door prize which went to Julia, Emily's mom, who was joining us this month for the first time.

The group accuquilt is now with Emily. Jeanie has requested to have it next. We decided that whoever has the accuquilt should always bring it with them to the next meeting and Sherry should know where it is at all times.

The Pizza Box exchange is in full swing now. Everyone brought back their first exchange and picked up another box for next month.

Below are the show and tells, the tissue cover demo and 3-D Bow Tie demo and lunch pics with recipes. Enjoy!!

Diane finished her sister's embroidered pillow. She used batting on the top and bottom with stuffing in between. The pillow below is also her sister's. It is a cross stitched project from 1971.

Diane also made this flannel baby quilt. Lenette said that if you clip the corners-all 4- at an angle before pre-washing, the flannel edges will not fray.

Nancy made this "Vintage Baby Quilt" using 2 charm packs.

This is a tea party tablecloth for granddaughters, made by Nancy using a vintage sheet on the back.

These are drawstring bags that Nancy made. She made them after finding a free tutorial online from In Color Order.

Nancy made this quilt called "Paradigm Shift". The pattern can be found at McCall's Quilting here.

Cindy made this version of the Paradigm Shift pattern.

Cindy made this chevron quilt for her senior daughter with matching pillows below.

These are some sheets that will match Cindy's chevron quilt.

Darla made this lap quilt to give to a nursing home.

This is a quilt block made by Darla's great grandmother. Everyone gave input as to how she should frame this. The conclusion was to have it framed behind glass professionally and to keep it away from the glass using spacers.

These butterfly blocks were from Darla's grandmother. There are 22 blocks altogether. Lucky Darla!

Rachel quilted this. She showed the top last month and long-armed it this month. She used minky fabric on the back.

Rachel also made this St. Patrick's table topper.

This is a bag Rachel made to hold her scissors, rotary cutters, etc. There are 3 zippered compartments. The pattern is called Sew Together Bag Pattern.

Jeanie made these quilts for her great grandchildren. She used one charm pack plus 2 extra squares and 3/4 yd. neutral fabric. She finished two tops.

Here are the two quilts of valor quilts just about ready to give away.

 

These are the labels to attach to the quilts of valor.

Lenette made this small tumbler using pastel colors to use as an Easter table topper. She loved the easiness of the pattern.

Lenette also made this quilt called Spin Cycle.

DEMO

Cindy gave a demo about making a 3-D Bow Tie block

And this is a demo of the tissue cover. Lenette provided all of us with a little kit to make a tissue holder at home. Thank you Lenette, and for hosting this month!

LUNCH

Fruit water

Orange Strawberry Salad

from cjaneinthekitchen

1 package spring mix greens

1 pint strawberries, sliced

1 large orange, cut into small pieces

3 green onions, sliced

1 cup Sliced Almonds

4 TBS butter

4 TBS sugar

To make candied almonds:

Mix almonds, butter and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat until the the butter and sugar turn to a toffee color, stir constantly.

Orange Dressing

½ tsp grated orange peel, or orange zest
1/3 cup fresh orange juice ( 1 to 2 oranges )
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon “Good Seasons Dry Italian” dressing mix. It is about ½ a package

           Put all ingredients in a container and shake- serve.

Creamy Potato Salad

7 baby reds or golds potatoes

8 hard-cooked eggs
1 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. sour cream

1 1/2 tsp. horseradish mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. celery seeds
2 celery ribs, sliced
3 green onions sliced or red onions
Garnish:celery leaves
    Cook potatoes in boiling water to cover 25 to 30 min. or until tender; drain and cool. Peel and slice.
    Chop egg whites. Press yolks through a wire sieve.
    Combine mayonnaise and next 5 ingredients; add potato, egg whites, sliced celery and green onions. Sprinkle salad with egg yolks. Garnish, if desired. Yield: 8 servings

The Chocolate Glazed cupcakes recipe can be found at Our Best Bites here. And the sugar cookies recipe is from Annie's Eats. Go to the site for the complete recipe, but below is a list of the ingredients.

Ingredients: 

For the cookies:
4½ cups all-purpose flour
4½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
1½ cups (3 sticks) butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
3 large eggs
5 tsp. vanilla extract

For the frosting:
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
7-8 tbsp. milk (plus more, as needed)
Food coloring (optional)
Sprinkles (optional)

Feb. Mtg-Marinated Tomato Salad/Chicken Salad

Thank you Darla for hosting our meeting last month! For March we will be meeting at Lenette's. Make sure to make a note that our meeting will be on March 19th.

Tracey was able to get all of us boxes from Pizza Hut for our next Pizza Box Exchange, so that was really helpful. We had show and tell, then also each of us who are participating in the next exchange showed our pizza box block, then we exchanged boxes.

Here's our show and tell:

The pizza boxes...

Darla made this lap quilt using strips and then quilting it using her serpentine stitch on her home machine.

Another lap quilt made by Darla.

Corrie used this cute cowboy material to make a quilt. The pattern is called "Speedy Monkey" and is on Corrie's blog Quilttaffy.

Corrie also made this cute bag for her SD cards for her camera.

Diane made this crochet hot pad using an easy pattern. Here's a tutorial for the pattern.

Rachel made this Santa doll.

Rachel also made this sewing caddy to fit over the arm of a chair. She made them as gifts. The pin cushion is weighted so it stays in place.

Rachel made this strip and square quilt, fun way to use long strips of fabric.

Rachel made this quilt for a girl she works with.

Rachel saw this design on Pinterest but there wasn't a pattern, so she figured it out and made this quilt.

With the leftover blocks Rachel made this wall hanging.

Cindy made an Easter quilt.

Caren made this heart quilt and hand quilted it.

Last month we all made stars for our Quilts of Valor donation. Sherry sewed them together and brought the top to show us. It turned out beautiful.

Emily made this quilt for a friend.

Darla show us a quick way to make these cute bags by using cookie cutters as the design to cut out and gluing plastic on the inside of the bag.

The women who are participating in the Pizza Box Exchange are:Diane, Rachel, Maurene, Lenette, Nancy C, Jeri, Cindy, Jeanie, Caren, Sherry, Emily and Kathi. If anyone else wants to take part, it's easy to just bring your square at any time and jump in. You can stay with the exchange as short or long as you'd like. If you cannot make a meeting, just make sure to give your current box to someone who is coming so they can make the exchange for you.

Lunch

Quick Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad

1 pint red grape tomatoes

1 pint yellow grape tomatoes

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 c. olive oil

3 T. balsamic vinegar

3 T. minced fresh parsley

1 heaping T. harred pesto

1/4 tsp. sugar

1 clove garlic, pressed

salt and pepper

1 head iceburg lettuce, cut into chunks

Halve the tomatoes. Add them to a large zipper bag with the sliced red onion. Add the olive oil, balsamic, parsley, pesto, sugar, garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sela the bag, getting all the air out. Place into the fridge until ready for dinner.

Place the iceberg lettuce in a large bowl and pour on the tomatoes. Toss and serve.

Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwiches

2 c. shredded cooked chicken breast
1 c. seedless red grapes, halved
1/2 c. chopped cashews
1 celery rib, chopped
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 green onion, chopped
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/3 c. buttermilk
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. dill weed
1 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 croissants, split
In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, whisk mayonnaise, buttermilk, lemon juice and seasonings. pour over chicken mixture; mix well. spoon the chicken salad onto croissant bottoms. Replace the tops.

fruit mixture to make parfaits.