Neighborhood Craft Night

This past Friday night was our craft night for a group of ladies in our neighborhood.  We started getting together about two years ago, and we rotate from house to house.  Sometimes it’s once a month, and sometimes a little more time goes by between gatherings.  Everyone brings a project to work on, and we eat, and chat, and relax.  We are all varied in our interests and abilities - and a lot of time there’s more chatting and eating than crafting.  We all have kids, so there are always some little ones and big ones popping in to see if they can raid our snacks.  It’s very casual, but lots of fun.  This time I brought along my ticker tape wall quilt, and finished putting the binding on.

 

I’m pleased with how it turned out, and it fits perfectly in the wall space between the dining room and living room doorways.

I had a little time on Friday to do some blog reading, and I was excited to see Lori Holt's new look!  I love her blog, and sometimes I keep it open while I am at work just to listen to her music.    She is unbelievably talented, and I gain so much inspiration from all of her posts.  I think I am going to have to make some of the cup cozies she gave the tutorial for earlier this month.  I just bought one of those insulated cups and it would be perfect with a quilted cozy!  If you haven’t ever checked out Lori’s blog, Bee In My Bonnet, go now!  You will love it, I promise.

I hope your weekend has been relaxing and warm.  Morning Glory Lane is still buried in snow, so I am thankful for a cozy home and the company of my family.

Wishing you peace and warmth for the week ahead,

-Elizabeth

Anyone for ice cream?

I cut out another Ice Cream Dress by Oliver + s this afternoon.  Again, this one is for my niece.  I’m using a Chinese lantern print for the main body paired with a yellow for the upper bodice and lower band.  We’ve got another snow storm starting here this evening, so maybe I’ll get to do some sewing tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also wanted to share two vintage Dr. Dolittle books I found at the thrift store.  The condition isn’t perfect, but I love the illustrations.  

Even the inside covers are attractive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are both color, and black and white, illustrations throughout each of the books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was hard to get a good photo of this one, but the expression on the woman’s face is too funny as she is “nudging” the men over the edge. 

Here at Morning Glory Lane it is a good night to curl up with a book, vintage or otherwise.  Wishing you an evening of warmth and peace,

-Elizabeth

Having fun with the ticker tapes

I can’t believe how addicting they are!  I admit that I have slipped a bit in my blog reading, so I had missed the new ORB Quilt-Along #9.  I stumbled upon it late last week, and I spent waaaay too long looking at all the wonderful inspiration posted on Dee's blog.  But even though I was impressed, it still didn’t jump start me enough to pull out my scraps and start playing.  However, when my 10 year old son needed a little creative time-out, a lightbulb went off.  I quickly cut him a square, handed him a glue stick, a bag of scraps, and said “go for it!”  This is what he came up with…

It sat like this for a day or so on the dining room table.  Then I started quilting it.  This is where the addiction really settled in.  (We had decided it would be a pillow top, so I layered it with batting and an old piece of flannel.)  I washed it, and it looked like this…

And then it quickly became this…

I had had so much fun, I decided to try my hand with the glue stick, and put together this…

 

which I am going to bind and hang on my wall.

 

 

 

 

 

And then I figured hubby and I needed some new pillows for our bed, so I started on two of these…

 

  I think a table runner is up next, and then maybe some doll quilts, and then a beach quilt, and then how about some pot holders, and then…yah, I think I’m addicted! 

-Elizabeth

And the snow, snow, snow comes down, down, down!

I think it’s a good day for some quick-to-fix, no-knead cinnamon rolls!  I like to use this recipe for those times when I am craving home-made yeast rolls, but don’t have the time to invest in a half-day process.  This recipe is a refrigerator dough recipe, but you can use it right away, too. You don’t have to knead the dough (it’s actually too wet to knead anyway), and it skips one of the risings.

So-Simple Cinnamon Rolls

2 cups warm water

2 packages yeast

1/4 teaspoon sugar

6 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup powdered milk

1/2 cup shortening

2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

Dissolve yeast in warm water, sprinkle sugar on top, and set aside.  Grease two 9x13 inch pans.  In large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients and cut in shortening.  Push this mixture to the side of the bowl, and pour in the yeast/sugar mixture in the empty spot.  Add the 2 eggs to the liquid part and mix gently with a fork or small whisk.  Gradually incorporate the flour mixture into the liquid with a fork or wooden spoon.  At this point, you can either refrigerate the dough or proceed with the recipe.

Filling

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Divide dough in half, roll or pat out into two rectangles about 3/8 inch thick.   Combine sugar and cinnamon for filling, brush melted butter on both rectangles, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Roll up, starting on long edge.  Slice into approximately 1 inch slices.  A serrated knife helps with this.  Place in prepared pans – 4 rows of 3 across.  Cover and let rise until doubled.  Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes.  Frost with icing if desired.

Icing

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

3-5 Tablespoons milk

Mix until desired consistency.

 Enjoy!

-Elizabeth