Three Kitchen Fairies

Quilt Around the World

Happy Saturday!! I'm just browsing around flickr, looking at all your lovely quilts and quilt blocks, looking at all the wonderful quilting bees and block swaps that are going on at the moment.

I made this mosaic with some of the blocks I already made for Summer Sadie's Quilt Around the World . The group is already half way through!! Thanks to the encouragement and organization from her lovely host, the quilts in this group are looking amazing. I receive a package of blocks almost every week to work with it for a few days. I'm having so much fun planning what to make for each participant and looking at all the wonderful creations other participants have done. The down side of this quilting bee is that it will be done sooner or later...I was thinking that maybe I can participate in another quilting bee. But they're in such high demand that it seem impossible to be in time for signing up. Who knows when I'll catch a train like this again. I already check the list of "up coming" (or already gone) quilting bees, and the sign ups are already closed. So dear Summer Sadie: I'm hopeful that some day you want this group re-united to go for a second round

PS. If you have any information on up coming quilting bees, let me know, ok?? Who knows maybe someday I come up with my own quilting bee.

Starbucks style rainbow cookies

First of all, I want to thank all of you my blog friends and readers for your amazing response to my Wagon Wheel Tutorial. I was so happy to see that my post was added to a bunch of tutorial listings and to some other quilting blogs. I was also feature on Whip Up, and I got my button for my side bad. Thank you!! After taking so much inspiration from your blogs and you  flickr photostreams I felt eager to contribute somehow to this quilty/crafty cyber world.

On another subject, today I'm posting about this intent to make rainbow cookies Starbucks style. Why make them instead of buying them from starbucks? Well, one of the fairies is allergic to eggs. If there is something frustrating for an allergic person is to know that they are not allowed in anyway to try something that looks so yummy. Imagine that frustration on a child... This is our third batch and the taste and texture are getting closer and closer with each intent. They aren't as chewy and soft as the originals but they aren't too hard either. These cookies are perfect for dunking. Here is the recipe in case you have an allergic person in your family as well, or just in case you want to give them a try:

1 cup of soy butter, room temperature

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1 cup of packed brown sugar

3 cups of unbleached flour

2 teaspoons of baking soda

4 teaspoons of vanilla extract

I cup of M&M's

a tiny bit of water or soy milk

Pre-heat your oven at 350F degrees. In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the vanilla, the baking soda, and then the flour little by little. If the mix is too dry add a bit of water or soy milk. Then add the M&M's and fold the dough. To form the cookies, roll small dough balls and put the in cookie sheet. Personally, I prefer to use some parchment paper on top of the cookie sheet. Then flatten your cookie dough a bit with the help of a fork. Put them in the oven and bake for 10 minute.

This is a recipe that's still in the making. I'm open to any suggestions about how to make these cookies softer. So far, I think next time I can try some apple sauce and maybe a bit of cinnamon, and let's see. These fairies of mine are really faithful that will make the recipe right pretty soon. They  really want to share this kind of cookie with their sister. So keep your fingers crossed...

Wagon Wheel Tutorial

After making about forty something of these circles, some of you asked me how are they made. Well, the technique that I use is a mix of techniques, tricks, and templates that I found along the way. I  refined some of the steps to make them my own way. I tried really hard to follow some tutorials I found; but to tell you the truth, I needed to find a way to make it simple in order to make so many of them. Here is how I make my wagon wheels.

First you need your download these templates, print them, and cut them out in card stock. If you are planning to make more than nine circles I suggest you cut a few more. They do wear out after so much tracing and ironing.

Each wheel has twelve spokes. Choose your fabrics in three groups of four: dark colors, mediums and light. This will give your wheel a nice color balance.

Trace your twelve spokes and cut them along the lines.

Organize the spokes into two half circles of six spokes each.

 

Now you're ready to start sewing your spokes. Leaving a quarter of and inch seam allowance, sew six spokes to make a half circle.

You should end up with two half circles like this. Don't forget to press all your seam allowances in the same direction. Don't let any folds "eat" away part of your half circle when pressing. You'll need all the fabric in your spokes to make a perfect circle.

This is the step that will make your circles perfect. Place the middle line of your square ruler in the middle seam of your half circle, align the as perfect as can be. Then cut any remaining fabric (if any) outside of your ruler. It may be a thin wedge of fabric or a bit more. Do the same with your other half circle.

Put your two half circles right sides together, place the pins and sew them together to make a whole wheel. Remember to leave a quarter inch seam allowance.

Press your seams all in the same direction.

And there you have your wagon wheel.

Now take a 13 by 13 inch square of fabric to make your block. Fold it in fourths so that you get two crossing lines in the middle of it. Press it and then put it aside.

Put your finished wagon wheel facing down on your ironing board and center your card stock template. You can make it by eye since there is no more that a quarter of an inch left out side the big circle template. As even as possible spray a bit of light starch at the edge of your wheel.Then press the edges over the template with your warm iron. The edge of your wheel will feel a bit hard and it will stick to the card stock. That's why you only need a bit of starch, you don't want to rip your template.

Un-stick the template from your wheel, and there it is: a prefect circular edge for an easy applique

Unfold your 13in by 13in fabric. Align the crossing lines in your square of fabric and the crossing lines in your wheel and pin the wheel to your square like so, and put it aside.

Now take your small circle template and trace it onto a piece of fabric for the center of your wheel. Cut it leaving a quarter of an inch allowance.

Spray some light starch on the edge of your circle and press the edges over your template like you did with your wheel.

Un-stick your template, fold your fabric circle in half and press...

fold it again like a cheeky beak.

 Then opened and center your small circle by aligning the crossing lines in the middle with the rest of the crossing lines in your block

You can either hand stitch or machine sew with an applique stitch. I personally prefer to hand  stitch....

and there you have it.

It wasn't too hard, was it??

Let me know if I need to explain better any of the steps.

Enjoy!!

PS: I want to thank my dear Jose, for helping me with the PDF file for this tutorial.

Edit: Here's the husband typing... If you have trouble printing (the images are too light) try to download the "dark" version at "www.threekitchenfaires.com/WagonWheelTutorialDark.pdf". Both versions printed OK on my machine, hopefully this will solve your issue...

All in good time

I have a stash of fabric that is not as big as other quilters'/crafters'. My stash has pretty little cuts that I found and bought just in case, and some leftovers. There is this other part of my stash that is made out of treasures. Yards and yard of fabrics I've been keeping for a special occasion, or that I haven't cut through just because some of those fabrics are too precious to be used. In that special pile of wonderful fabrics I have this:

"The Quilt-maker's Gift" fabric by Gail De Marcken for Benartex.  Have you ever heard about this book?? It's one of the fairies' favorite books. The illustrations are incredible beautiful and the story is such a lesson of generosity, compassion, and quilty-happiness. The fat quarters on top of it are the fabrics I'm choosing to mix with the Benartex fabric to make a throw size quilt for us. 

I've been holding up to this fabric for a couple of years. Then this summer while working at this block for the ATQB, and after our visit to the Sleeping Bear Dunes I felt inspired. I decided it was time to make something pretty out of it. The block I'm using this time is the bear paw. I'm kind of having a obsession with bears and bear stories. In both stories the bears are such loyal, loving, and grateful characters. The mother bear in the sleeping bear legend is full of hope waiting for her bears to finally get to the lake shore...All these elements makes a perfect quilt for covering my girls in those cold Michigan winter afternoons ahead of us. For the backing of the quilt I have a nice flannel printed with the I spy illustration that comes inside the jacket of the book.

So that's me and my special fabrics, I just have to wait to for the perfect project even if it takes years. 

On that note...guess what, I got these fabrics

 

Yummy Mendocino fabric...Did you know mermaids are fairies too? We read that they were the angels that fell in the water when some other bad, bad angels where expelled out of heaven.

I guess I'll cut through these in a couple more of years. In the meantime I'll spread them around me and look at them with fascination and them I'll fold them again to put them away...

Up North.

Last week we went on a vacation. Here in Michigan people go "up north" during summer, and when they say "up north" the tour usually includes the Sleeping Bear Dunes, any sandy beach at the edge of Michigan Lake, Mackinac Island, among other places. This "up north" pilgrimage is so popular around her that we can actually find our local people in the same hotels or towns. As we headed "north," one of my best friend just came back; and another friend was driving up there too, as well as  my husband's boss.  Although the weather was kind of cold we still got to enjoy a lot. We took advantage of the warmest day of the week (72F degrees) to claim the Bear Dunes, and to enjoy a day at the beach with the girls. Isabel (my four year old) was warning us not to dig so deep so we don't wake up the mama bear, she would eat us, you know?? 

 

One of the marinas at the edge of the lake....

We spent the rest of the days visiting little picturesque little towns and independent shops and galleries. By independent I mean that there isn't much of the regular chain restaurants and stores.

 We truly got a taste of pure Michigan goodness. Among my favorites The Grand Traverse Pie Company:

they have the best peach cobbler ever...

We drove a lot during these days and while at that I kept knitting my granny squares.  The funny thing is that I have no idea what they'll finally be good for.

I put the first twenty five together and I love how it looks. If it turns out to be a pillow cover and would put it in one of the fairies beds. Still, Ofelia insists in covering her legs with it while watching TV, so who knows, I'll keep knitting until I run out of yarn and let's see.