Don't Call Me Betsy Lucky Stars BOM

So I think I did ok for my first attempt at paper piecing a quilt block.  This is the practice block that was sent out at the end of December for the Lucky Stars BOM club by Betsy.  There was a lot of matching up to do in the center and I only had to rip it apart once to make it work.  I did have to make an extra unit with the aqua and dark brown because one of mine was backwards. 

 

The block above is the January block.  It went together faster because it only has 4 main pieces instead of 8.  I was not careful when cutting and cut too much so I had to make one of the 4 over.  The dark purple in the upper left hand corner does not come to a good point because it folded weird.  It is really bugging me, so I might rip it apart and make that fourth over.  I have to look at it again because it might get covered up by the 1/4 inch seam allowance when I sew it to the next block.  I have time to ponder that before I decide what to do. 

All in all I am quite pleased with how the 2 blocks turned out.  I really wasn't sure if I could do it.  I don't want to say it didn't take some skill, but I really think it was more about patience.  I worked on these about 4 hours today and already had about an hour into the top block.  That seems like way too long, but maybe I will get better and quicker with each block I do.  Thank you to Don't Call Me Betsy for giving me the kick in the pants I needed to try paper piecing.  It was only $10 to sign up (I think it is $15 now), and well worth it to stretch beyond my comfort zone.

UPDATE - I just realized one section has the 2 purple sections BACKWARDS!  UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Candy Tree

 

Check out this cool little tree.  I went to a fundraiser for a family friend and won this at the Chinese auction.  My kids really wanted to keep it and I am a serious chocoholic, but we did part ways with it. 
We decided to give it to my husband's grandmother for Christmas.  It was a huge hit at our gathering.  I am not a total el cheapo.  I did not give it to her in place of another gift, we gave it to her on top of the other gifts we already had for her.  I just wanted her to have it because she really likes candy.  Also, I knew how much I loved it.  What makes a better gift than something you actually love yourself? 

Souper Supper

 

It was soup for dinner today!  Broccoli cheese soup above and potato soup below.  Only one of my boys likes broccoli cheese soup, so I only made a small batch.  Originally I was going to make grilled cheese sandwiches but we opted for chicken quesadillas to go along with it. 

This will give us lots of leftovers for lunches this week.  We are working on the eat from your pantry challenge.  We will be working on this challenge all month!

Pinterest Recipe for Dinner

As per my menu plan for the week, we had beef with broccoli in the crockpot.  The verdict from my family is a definite 2 thumbs up.  Collectively, that is 8 thumbs because there's 4 of us.  With 2 teenage boys, I altered the recipe to make more. 
Here's what I did:
Ingredients
3+ pounds boneless beef chuck roast, sliced into thin strips
1 cup beef broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cooled sauce from the crock pot after being cooked
3 heads of fresh broccoli florets
Hot cooked rice
I am linking to the original blog, not the pin.  Yum, yum, yum BS Recipes.

Swedish Dala Horse and Flag Quilt

 So I wanted to make my mother something special for Christmas as she already has everything she needs.  She is extremely proud of her Swedish heritage, so this is what I came up with for her.  She has a yellow and blue "nice" living room.  I saw the Dala Horse fabric on Ebay and immediately knew the yellow/blue color way would be perfect for her.  I ordered 2 yards at $25/yd (gasp) over Thanksgiving break.  I fully intended to cut it up for quilt blocks for the front until I opened the package.  The repitition in the print made it very difficult to find a way to cut it without cutting through many of the dala horses.  I just couldn't bear to touch it with my rotary cutter after what I paid for it. 
I went to bed that night hoping for clarity and it came to me.  It seems that is when I do my best thinking.  The living room is blue and yellow, the fabric is blue and yellow  .................  the Swedish flag is blue and yellow and now I know what I am going to do.  I new I had to vary the prints and shades in the flags so the pattern stood out.  If I only used only one blue and one yellow it wouldn't look like flags.  It would show up as big blue rectangles with yellow borders.
I love how it turned out.  I know the real Swedish flag is medium blue and medium yellow, but I love the variety in color and pattern.  The Dala Horse fabric intended for blocks on the front made an awesome backing.  My mom cried when she opened it.  I have definitely spent more money on presents for her, but never gave her something so touching and from the heart.

I forgot to take measurements before I gave it to her, but each flag s 10x15 and I believe the yellow border was 5 in (maybe only 4 in) before the seam allowance.  I guess that makes it a hair under 55 x 70.  (It really isn't crooked, my son is just holding it that way!

Please comment and let me know what you think!

Jelly Roll Race Quilt

 

 This is my first Jelly Roll Race quilt.  I am quite pleased with how it turned out!

 

 

 

 

The jelly rolls (2 small) were from Michael's.  The binding and backing were just some solids from my stash.  Loving it.
I watched this video from the Missouri Star Quilt Company to learn how to make one.  If you are unfamiliar with their videos go to youtube and check them out.  You won't be sorry you did!

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Block of the Month with Don't Call Me Betsy

Ok - so I am really afraid to try this, but I finally just joined a few minutes ago. I have no clue how to paper piece, but I really want to learn. I love Betsy's blog and I need the support of a person to do this. I taught myself to sew watching youtube videos. I do ok, but I have a long way to go.

Wish me LUCK!