A Black Hole over Logan?

I was very pleased with myself today, I got HALF of the fabric cut for my quilt (only a week late). And then I saw what everyone else in the "home arts" world is doing. Are everyone else's days longer? Am I somehow losing six or seven hours every day?

I have started trolling other craft-y blogs ( a couple fun ones are Dioramarama and Wee Wonderfuls), and today I came across Anna Maria Horner's. She's amazing. Check out these BEAUTIFUL jackets she made her daughters. *sigh*



So in lieu of a progress report, I have a new favorite recipe:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Throw the following into your crock pot:
Two or three large frozen chicken breasts
One can of tomato juice (about 12 oz)
One can of kidney beans (or rinsed black beans)
One can of corn
Chopped fresh cilantro
One small can of diced green chilis
3 cloves of minced garlic
Chili powder (couple of tsp)
Black pepper (@ tsp)
Cumin (@ tsp)
Fill to the top(ish) with chicken broth

Cook on High for three hours (or low for seven), remove the chicken and shred or cube.
Put the chicken back in and cook for another hour. Serve with a handful of shredded cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Yummy!!

Fabric Wednesday!

Today I purchased my fabric for my online quilting class. I had thought I wanted to do a black and white quilt, but the quilt we're making for class is tonal in nature, so I'd need to add gray. Then I thought perhaps a novelty quilt, one for Valentine's Day, maybe? Or cherries (I DESPERATELY want to find this)?

AHHH, but then I visited the quilt shop on the square in Nelsonville, Nelsonville Quilt Co. The ladies there were great and I got some FABULOUS fabric -- I was the first to buy it. I'm guessing retro mod isn't that popular in Nelsonville!

Here is the quilt we are making for class:



And here are my fabrics:



FABULOUS! The two funky prints are Henry Glass (the Spiral Collection). The "solids" (none are actually solid) are from RJR (the light gray and the black) , Moda (the charcoal gray and the orange), and Hoffman (the green).

I was afraid the quilt pattern is too country, but the ladies at Nelsonville Quilt Co. promise me with these fabrics my quilt will be far from country!

Quilting 101

I've enrolled in an online quilting class (http://www.quiltuniversity.com) called Starting from Scratch that starts this weekend. I came across some modern quilts online and became inspired! For the class each student builds a lap quilt, and while the pattern seems a bit country for my taste, I'm going to try to "modernize" it with all black and white fabrics.

I'm excited to get going so I can start projects using this fabric I just ordered:



This is an Alexander Henry print – my favorite - called "Here Comes Santa Claus." So cute!
Maybe I'll actually have something made by next Christmas!