Perkins Dry Goods

Welcome to Day 5 of the Mistletoe Make & Bake Blog Hop!

Holiday Traditions

For years my mom and dad hosted a Christmas Eve Open House.  They lived in California during those years and all four of us girls were back east, just my brother and his wife lived nearby.  The menu was always the same each year:  Brisket, Cheesy Potatoes, Raspberry Jello Salad and Chocolate Cake Bars – my dad’s favorites.

We lost my dad on Christmas Eve in 2005.  And what came from that was a renewed priority to be together as a family during the holidays, and to make sure that my mom never spent Christmas alone.  We now have a wonderful “new” tradition that celebrates my dad’s memory and his most favorite meal.  My mom now spends Christmas in the Denver area or Minneapolis with one of us.  When she is in Minneapolis, we gather at my sister’s house and have the Christmas Eve meal that was the tradition at my parents open house. When she is in Colorado, the same thing happens with my youngest sisters. All of my siblings are masters at preparing these dishes. And they are our favorites too!

My recipe for you today is the one for the Open House Chocolate Cake Bars.  Click here for a printable version.

Today’s featured bloggers are…..

Roseann Kermes from Rosebud’s Cottage

and Brenda Riddle from Little Acorns.

Be sure to check out their blogs today to see what’s cooking and comment so you are included in the prize drawings!

Welcome to Day 4 of the Mistletoe Make & Bake Blog Hop!

Scroll to the bottom of the post to see the winners of yesterday’s drawing!

Today we are talking about a favorite go-to holiday book.  Mine is a cook book of sorts.  It’s actually a recipe album that my mom gave me about 10 years ago.  I’ve filled it with family favorites, recipes from my friends and things that I want to try.  Everyone in the house knows were to look for it.

My recipe for the day is Shortbread.  I have always loved shortbread.  It’s such a simple butter cookie and one that is easy to make.

Today’s featured bloggers are…..

Lissa Alexander from ModaLissa

and Julie Stewart from Quilts4Julie.

Be sure to check out their blogs today to see what’s cooking and comment so you are included in the prize drawings!

Day 3 Winners

Wow, what an overwhelming response we have had to this blog hop. Thank you so much for participating!

The winners for Day 3 (my day) are:

Linda T:
A family tradition of ours is to always give my Dad a tin of mixed nuts (he’s diabetic and doesn’t get all the sweets that the rest of us do). Some years he gets 4 or 5 tins. Enjoy your giveaway!

Joan:
As our family has grown up, married and started their own families, our Christmas celebration is on Christmas Eve so they can spend Christmas Day with their in-laws. It is my favorite tradition. We have Swedish meatballs for dinner, open gifts and play games. The last couple of years the Grandchildren started to arrive so there are less games played but plenty of entertainment.

Lina:
We still leave out chocolate chip cookies and milk for Santa, and my youngest child is 26!

Patty:
A no bake cookie option is usually a timesaver. Thank you. I like the topper a lot. It seems like it would be possible to actually finish this one. Listening to my dad read the Christmas story before we opened presents is my favorite Christmas memory.

Joyce S.:
Thanks for sharing your pattern and cookie recipe. I’m excited to try both. And my favorite holiday tradition is decorating the Christmas tree.

Sharon S.:
I think my favorite holiday tradition is going to look at all the beautiful Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. Love the cute little table topper!

If you missed commenting on one of the blogs during the week, you still have time to go back and comment.  To be included in the grand prize drawing, you must have a comment on each blog each day.

Here we go for Day 3 of the Mistletoe Make & Bake blog hop!

Leave a comment about one of your holiday traditions and you will be entered in a drawing for one of my new patterns.  Six lucky winners!

Holiday Party Icebreakers…

My husband and I go to very few Holiday Parties anymore, but every once in awhile one comes up that we need to attend.  Most of the time these are work functions….he dreads them and I kind of look forward to reconnecting with some of the people he works with.  That being said, I don’t always know what to say to get things going!

These are a few of the things I try to remember….Notice something about the person and compliment them.  Talk about something that you did recently like a trip you took that was interesting.  Keep things light and neutral.

My recipe for today is another family favorite.  Years ago when my kids were little I would get together with  a group of friends  each year to do holiday baking.  We’ve all gone different directions now, but this is one of the recipes we always made.  It’s a no-bake recipe that freezes really well.  Click here for a printable version.

And as a thank you for stopping by, here is a quick topper that you can make as a holiday gift!

Click here for instructions.

Be sure to stop by Patrick and Kelly Ann’s blogs to see what they have cooking today too….and don’t forget to comment on all three of our blogs to be entered in a grand prize give away!

Welcome to Day 2 of the Mistletoe Make & Bake Blog Hop.  I should tell you a little bit more about how this works.

For the next 5 days, we will be bringing you 12 bakers, each with a special project that will be perfect for gift giving this season. We will also be posting our favorite cookie recipes each day for you to download so that by the end of the hop you will have lots of new recipes just in time for your holiday cookie exchanges!

Be sure to comment on each blog, each day so that you will be entered in our grand prize drawing (which is a wonderful assortment of patterns, notions and fabric!) and in our individual drawings that will be on each blog.

Today’s featured bloggers are…..

Monique Dillard from Open Gate Quilts

and Heidi Kaisand from Hen & Chicks Quilt Studio.

Be sure to check out their blogs today to see what’s cooking and comment so you are included in the prize drawings!

My cookie recipe today is another family favorite.  These cookies are soft and wonderful when frosted with cream cheese frosting or just a drizzle of powdered sugar frosting.  Click here for a printable version of the recipe.

Give yourself Permission to Enjoy the Holidays!

Sometimes the Holidays can get the best of a person, especially those years that extra stuff happens – like an illness or the birth of a baby or even having family come for a visit.  A very long time ago I started  giving myself permission to let things go.  To make two kinds of cookies, not 10; to decorate a little bit not a lot.   I guess what I’m saying is that I enjoy the season more now because I focus on what makes it special for me and my family.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow.  It’s my day to share a project!

Patrick Lose and Kelly Ann are also doing projects tomorrow.

Welcome to Day 1 of the Mistletoe Make & Bake Blog Hop.

Today’s featured blogger  is…..

Sherri Falls from This and That

Be sure to check out her blog today to see what’s cooking!  Be sure to comment on each blog each day so you are included in the grand prize drawing!

Comment here and you will be included in MY prize drawing for one of several new patterns.

My recipe for you today is a family favorite – Jenny’s Sugar Cookies!
Jenny is an dear family friend.  Her husband and my dad worked together at “The Phone Company” and as a child I was often in her kitchen enjoying her cookie baking talents!

Did you know that in the 19th century, sugar cookies were favorites for the holidays and were often lavishly decorated. Oftentimes, the name of a family member or friend was written in the icing.

Click here for a printer friendly version of the recipe card.

The EGGS were missing from the recipe if you printed it before 11:15 CST on November 15.

Thanks to everyone who commented, I loved reading them all.  The winners are listed below and have been contacted for their mailing addresses.

If you like blog hops, stick around….next week the Mistletoe Make and Bake blog hop starts and will be a fun filled week with prizes and lots of holiday chatter and recipes!

100 Blocks Magazine winner -

laura:
Love the block. I like the blocks that appear to have movement like this one. Excellent color choice. Thank you for the opportunity.

Pattern winners are:

Gwen:
What a wonderful star block, it is a definite to do. I just love the block and the color selection.

Becky:
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful block with us!!! Love it:) Thanks too for the extra information to make the Star Dance topper! Looking forward to “losing myself” in 100 blocks Vol. 2. Again, thank you!

Julie in WA:
I love the block. It is refreshing to see a block made in more traditional fabrics! The block and the fabrics you used look like they were meant to be together, in an historical kind of way…

Greetings blog tour visitors – thanks for stopping by!  Quiltmaker has outdone themselves with this issue of 100 Blocks Vol. 2! If you would like to purchase a copy, they are available from Quiltmaker’s website, your local quilt shop after Nov. 16 or from my website soon.

It’s give-away time!  Leave a comment and you will be entered in a drawing for a copy of 100 Blocks Vol. 2 or one of my new patterns released at market.

I jumped at the chance to submit another block and was thrilled that it made the cut!  I hope you enjoy it.

When I started to think about what to design, I had a pile of my favorite fabrics – a collection of Jo Morton’s lines from Andover – on the table and went to work with them.  First I chose a medium and a dark blue print, a dark brown and of course a background that these yummy fabrics would pop against.

I thought you might like a project idea, especially with the Holidays approaching.

Star Dance Topper 26″ x 26″

Click here for printer friendly version.

In addition to the yardage for the Star Dance block on page 65 in Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Vol. 2 magazine, you will need the yardage listed below.  Note: before you cut your strips into rectangles, measure your block for accuracy and cut the rectangles to that size.

Dark Brown:  5/8 yard
Tan 1/8 yard
Dark Blue 1/4 yard
Binding 3/8 yard
Backing 7/8 yard

Border #1 - Dark Brown

1. Cut 2 – 2″ strips on the width of the fabric.
2. Cut 2 – 2″ x 12-1/2″ and 2 – 2″ x 15-1/2″ rectangles.
3. Sew the short rectangles to opposite sides of the block, press away from the block.
4. Sew the long rectangles to the remaining sides of the block, press away from the block.

Border #2 - Tan

1. Cut 2 – 1/5″ strips on the width of the fabric.
2. Cut 2 – 1.5″ x 15-1/2″ and 2 – 2″ x 17-1/2″ rectangles.
3. Sew the short rectangles to opposite sides of the block, press away from the block.
4. Sew the long rectangles to the remaining sides of the block, press away from the block.

Border #3 and Cornerstones - Dark Blue

1. Cut 1 – 4″ strip; cut 4- 3-1/2″ squares, cut strip down to 2 -2″ wide strips and cut 2 – 2″ x 20-1/2″ rectangles.
2. Cut 1 – 2″ strip; cut 2 – 2″ x 17-1/2″ rectangles.
3. Sew the short rectangles to opposite sides of the block, press away from the block.
4. Sew the long rectangles to the remaining sides of the block, press away from the block.

Outer Border – Dark Brown

1. Cut 2 – 3-1/2″ strips on the width of the fabric.
2. Cut strips into 4 – 20-1/2″ rectangles.
3. Sew 2 rectangles to opposite sides of the quilt top, press away from the top.
4. Sew 3-1/2″ Dark Blue cornerstones to opposite ends of the remaining two Dark brown rectangles. Press away from the cornerstones.
5. Sew these final borders to the remaining sides of the quilt top.  Press away from the quilt.

Instructions are for personal use only.  Thanks for respecting our copyright.

Mark your calendars!  The Mistletoe Make & Bake block hop starts Monday.

A Baker’s Dozen of designer projects and dozens of cookie recipes!

Today starts the week long Blog Tour to celebrate the newest volume of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks by 100 top Designers!

Visit the Quiltmaker Blog for the list of designers featured today….and be sure to comment on those blogs.  There are lots of prizes and free magazines to be given away!

Be sure to stop back here on Thursday – which is my day!

I will be hosting my own drawing at the end of the week for a 100 Blocks magazine and an assortment of new patterns!

A Holiday Blog Hop with a Baker’s Dozen of Designer Projects and Dozens of Yummy Cookie Recipes!

Here’s the line up….

November 15
Sherri Falls - This & That

November 16
Heidi Kaisand – Hen and Chicks
Monique Dillard – Open Gate Quilts

November 17
Celine Perkins – Perkins Dry Goods
Patrick Lose – The Latest News from Patrick Lose
Kelly Ann Richardson – Kelly Ann’s Quilting

November 18
Lissa Alexander – Moda Lissa
Julie Stewart – Quilts 4 Julie

November 19
Roseann Kermes – Rosebud’s Cottage
Brenda Riddle – Little Acorns

November 20
Vickie Eapen – Spun Sugar Quilts
Melisa Morrison – Sweet Home Quilt Co.

November 21
On the seventh day, we’ll rest. And eat cookies!

Mark your calendar, bookmark these blogs and help us spread the word!  There will be daily prizes and a Grand Prize drawing.