I Like Thursday # 76 ~ Baking Spirits Bright

 

Winter is a time for cooking and baking. 

I love the warm scents of spices and baking and roasting goodness.

This was my Thanksgiving Apple Pie.

This was one of my best apple pies ever,

baked with a combination of Cortland and MacIntosh apples for a nearby orchard

and spiced just right.

I always add cinnamon, nutmeg and mace to my apple pies.

This year I found and added a teaspoon of this delicious blend of

Yuletide Cheer Spice from King Arthur Flour.

I looked for the product link and it is sold out for the season.

These are the ingredients. 

I think the cardamom, orange peel and coriander 

lifted my pie to another level.  Yum! 

I buy my vanilla extract and some specialty flour from King Arthur 

and added this in my cart when I had a coupon code. 

Another baking yum was these wonderful popovers

served with whipped cream cheese and jam. 

Mmmmmmm ... so good!

I made these with this kit on which I  splurged on this

Popover Set @ King Arthur

when it was on a deep pre-season sale. I mix my popover batter in a glass bowl

with a pouring spout so I did not use the big scoop,

but that will be very handy for making things like my  Black Moons ~ Recipe Here.

I like kitchen gadgets and did not have a popover pan.

All you really need is a muffin tin and basic ingredients.

This is a good  Popover Recipe @ Sugar Dish Me

I sometimes make them savory with grated cheese and herb seasoning like rasemary.

I received this lovely box of goodies this week from

My Girl @The Vinyl Forrest

so I have been "Baking Spirts Bright"

I have also been putting away warm season things and taking out winter needs. 

It has kept me very busy and I have not had much time to sew. 

My Favorite Freebie Finds of the Week are:

These free Patterns may be found by clicking the link below:

Free Christmas Block Stitch-Along @ Pine Needles 

There is a

 Christmas Blocks Stitch-Along Facebook Group Here

where you can see all the inspiring stitches in progress.

I would love to stitch along, but I am working on an old Christmas Cross Stitch project

when I have time to sit and stitch. 

My second Favorite Freebie Find is  this 

Winter Frost Coutdown to Christmas Facebook Group Here

All Information and Free PDF files may be found in the link below: 

Free Winter Frost Quilt-Along @ Moda Bake Shop

I am liking this Bear Creek Layout for this quilt-along.

I have the perfect fabric in my stash.

I am juts not sure I am going to have time to sew this one.

Sew Many Quilts ~ Sew Little Time

~ ~ ~ 

I am very much enjoying all the recipes and quilts in the 

Virtual Cookie Exchange Blog Hop

Time, also, to go enjoy today's goodies and also stop by my friends 

I Like Thursday Bloggers @ Not Afraid of Color

Have a Happy Thursday! 

Happiness is Homemade ~ Black Friday and Everyday

Happiness is always homemade with small everyday things and a big heart. 

Click Here to Shop The Vinyl Forrest 

This is my favorite one woman gift shop.

My daughter, Marissa Forrest, is the crafty one business woman force behind this shop.

This is still my favorite design of hersas she made it just for me.

Follow

The Vinyl Forrest Facebook Page

to receive alerts as to new products and sales and shows.

~ ~ ~  ~ ~ 

My other favorite place to shop today is my favorite online quilt shop 

with a local quilt shop feel:

The Fat Quarter Shop Black Friday Sale begins on Thursday, November 26 

and runs through Saturday at midnight CST. 

On Black Friday customers can save big with 20% OFF ALL ORDERS!

Plus orders $150 and over will receive a special grab bag 

valued at approximately $40 as a FREE gift! 

Quantities are limited, so act fast! Our Black Friday

 Sale ends Saturday, November 28 at Midnight CST!

Click Here to Shop the FQS Sale Now

Happy Black Friday Sewing and Shopping! 

I Like Thursday # 34 ~ Pumpkin Spice

Pumpkin Spice and Fabrics ... Nice! 

It is "Pumpkin Spice" Season.

Do you like Pumpkin Spice?

(I like some Pumpkin Spice) 

Fall fabrics are the best of the season. 

These are on my cutting table for a very special project.

The adorable "Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice"

motif on the left is actually on a large tea towel,

made especially for me by my crafty daughter, who is 

Marissa Forrest @ The Vinyl Forrest

This item image is heat transfer vinyl and it is washable.

This is what is on lots of custom t-shirts and such made today.

My hubby wears a t-shirt at least once a week that she made for him two years ago.

The only caution is that a hot iron should not be placed directly on the image.

My hubby does not press his t-shirts 

and I do not press my tea towels

so it is all good. 

Marissa also has a

 The Vinyl Forrest Facebook Page Here

where she lists new products and such.

Right now she is stocking up for a big craft show near her in Texas

and she is adding new items to her shop today.

I am looking forward to shopping her goodies when I visit her later this month.

The colorful pumpkin spice motif was a special custom order

she made for me

If there is something special you may like,

contact her about what you have in mind

My finished "Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice" project will be up on my blog next week. 

Pumpkins spicing up my fabrics is probably my favorite thing about Pumpkin Spice Season.

Pumpkin Pie is my favorite use of Pumpkin Spice

My Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Pumpkin Pie ~  Life in the Scrapatch

For One 9” Pie:

Ingredients:

2/3 cups brown sugar packed, light, dark or a combination of the two

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon mace

Dash  ground ginger (1/4 teaspoon, if you need to measure)

Dash ground cloves (1/4 teaspoon, if you need to measure)

1 and ½ can of solid pack pumpkin or 2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin, drained

3 eggs (I use extra large eggs, for smaller eggs increase number to 4)

2 teaspoons vanilla

½ cup milk

½ cup light cream or half in half 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F degrees  NOTE: Oven Temperature will be reduced to 300F degrees later

Line a glass or ceramic 9” baking dish with your favorite Pie Crust Recipe.

(I never use aluminum pie plates or prepared or  frozen crusts.)

Make Filling:

In large bowl. Mix together brown sugars and spices. Mix in pumpkin  and vanilla until well blended.

Beat eggs with a whisk or fork and add to pumpkin mixture and blend well. 

Add milk and cream and mix by hand on low until well blended.

Pour into one 9 inch pie shell.

Set carefully onto baking sheet and place sheet on lower rack in oven.

Bake at 425F degrees for 25 minutes.  This sets the crust. 

Reduce heat to 300F degrees and continue baking for an additional 40-50 minutes or until center is soft set and edges are just starting to crack.   Baking time will vary due to the amount of liquid in the pumpkin.  Remove from oven and set on wire rack to cool completely. The custard pie filling will continue to set as it cools.

Enjoy!  Serve with whipped cream if you like.

For two pies or a very deep dish pie:  double recipe and adjust baking times as needed.
I usually make two pies with three cans of pumpkin.

 I use only One Pie or real pumpkin.

I accept no substitutions.

Since I am from New England I can find this locally if I go to the right store.

I have seen it online 

One Pie on Amazon

and in other places.

It seems a bit pricey there to my frugal New England self.

Would I pay this price if I transplanted myself to another place?

Reluctantly, I might. 

It would taste like home.

I would only make ONE PIE though! 

Pumpkin pie is good however you make it.

I am always tinkering in the kitchen and make changes
sometimes to my traditional  recipes.

More Pumpkin Pie Recipes: 

In my internet wanderings this week I found an interesting

Great Pumpkin Pie Recipe from Sally's Baking Addictiom

She  uses less pumpkin and heavy cream and at times 

I have used heavy cream in the past so I like then looks of her recipe. 

She adds a tablespoon of cornstarch,
which I may be trying this year.

She also adds a 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper 
and references ... 

King Arthur Flour Pumpkin Pie Recipe

for this usual idea.
Black Pepper in my pumpkin pie spices ??? 
Hmmm ... 

I am still deciding on whether I should tamper with my favorite

perfect pumpkin pie spices in my recipe, though.

Would you try it?  

This has tuned into a long post.

I have other things going on ...

I am sewing these cute black pieces together for my ... 

Perfect 5 QAL Sampler Quilt started Here

So it is time to go sew.

Since it is Thursday  I am linking up today with the wonderful

I Like Thursday Bloggers @ Not Afraid of Color

where every week we pause to think about all the good things in life,

big and small. 

Have a Happy Thankful Thursday! 

I Love Fabric~ Sunday Stashing

The newest of the new!

Sunset Harbor from the Charleston Collection by Ami Sinibaldi @ Nana Company

I have been letting my fingers do the shopping on my computer recently.

I rarely purchase just released fabric but I could not resist these beauties

when I found them while I was shopping the sale
@
The Intrepid Thread

These colorful lovelies are from two of my favorite designers,

Carolyn Friedlander 

and

Kate Spain

There is nothing for a fabric lover that compares to
receiving a box from

The Intrepid Thread Shop

The fabric comes all tucked in white tissue and tied with a fabric bow
and always includes a small square or two of gift fabric.

Katniss loves this experience, too, and plays with the ribbon and chases the 

balled up tissue paper around the room.

Another recent acquisition was this ...

beautiful bundle of Alison Glass!

I shopped in Bernie's wonderful new

Needle & Foot Etsy Shop

This was another fun package to open and I will definitely 

be shopping here again. 

This cute Quilting Queen decal is a new addition, too!

I purchased it from my creative, crafty daughter in her

start-up etsy shop,

The Vinyl Forrest

Now it will be easy to locate my computer in the airport bins!

Maybe I should ask her for a custom "Fabric Love" design ... :-) 

For more of my fabric love ... old and new ...

 Read Here

for a post about my swappy scrappy 30's fabric love.

Linking up today with all the pretty fabrics 

@

Sunday Stash @ Molli Sparkles

Enjoy!

My Quilt Quasy Queen Corner

The mug says,  "I am a Quilting Queen!

This mug was designed and made for me by my very talented daughter 

 ... before she ever knew I was going to be in this hop.

My Girl knows me well.

Those tiny purple triangles on the sides of the crown,
the yellow cross and teeny purple square
in the middle of the nine patch were all applied individually.
Wow!  Check out how those points match.
I think I will stick with quilting and let her make the mugs ... :)

My daughter has never caught the quilt bug but she is very creative
in many other ways and recently started designing

on her Cameo Silhouette Studio

to make lovely shirts, mugs, and decorations for her home.

After friends started asking her to make decals for them she decided 

to venture into the Etsy world and has opened her own shop

@

The Vinyl Forrest

Last year I participated in this hop and was looking forward to joining

 all my quasy quilty friends again for the

Quilt Quasy Queens Blog Hop 2017

So this year I am showcasing a mug rug for my favorite new mug.

Many of my blog hopping friends are giving glimpses of their beautiful sewing studios,
so I invite you to share my quilty corner today.

A few years back I had a quilty room all to myself.
Since then, one of our adult children has been staying with us
and I happily moved back to my old sewing corner in our dining room.

Here is a "before and after" QQQ Blog Hop 2017 photo ...

This "Before" photo was taken well over a year ago.
You see how drab the corner is right over the light?

For the "After" photo read on!

This room is shadowed by the house glimpsed out the window and gets some bright morning sun but is mostly shadowed and needs lots of supplemental lighting for me to sew.

My corner is quite cozy and quilty.

With a small design board and a comfy chair for sitting and stitching.

Not quite enough room for all my lovely stash of fabrics though, so ...

I kept my large storage closet in my old sewing room for my fabric.

Isn't it grand?

The front drawer units are on wheels to pull them out
to access the stationary ones in the back.
I have rolls of batting tucked in the sides
and a deep shelf on the top, too.
I <3 my stash closet.

For my project.
I asked my daughter if she could put her mug design on fabric
so I could sew a
Quilty Queen Banner.

For this project she used a heat transfer vinyl process to put her
Quilting Queen design on a square of fabric for me.

The other fabrics I used for the mug rug for my beautiful new mug came out of the closet.

Here are my projects!

I also made a mug rug and a small coaster.

For my banner I designed a 9 Patch
star block that looked like the one on my block

For my free block tutorial for my
QQQ Star Block Click Here

This is my quilty corner today in the morning sun.

My hubby hung a peg board so I could move my thread cones.

My new Quilting Queen banner really brightens my corner!

I am in my comfy chair today and working on my first

30's POTC BOM Block

I am enjoying my morning mug of coffee and
I am using the new glue basting and flat back stitch method.
This is working well for me.

Flash Forward:

It has been a busy day here
It is almost midnight here and my post will be going up soon!

Katniss and I are still working on finishing the POTC block tonight.

Detail work at this hour is only made possible for me with the help of
 my Daylight Craft Lamps
that my sons and hubby bought for me as a gift a few years back from
Joann's

I love these lamps!

The floor lamp is heavy duty and on rollers so I can move it to where I need it.

I also have a desk model over my sewing machine
that I use day or night.

Another necessary tool for me is my
Clover Desk Needle Threader
that my hubby added a wooden base to for me.

Of course, I also need my quilty kitty helper to stay up with me and
keep me company while I stitch.

I hope you have enjoyed your look at a day in my scrapatch.

Giveaway Time!

Follow the Rafflecopter instructions to enter ...

Giveaway #1
@ Seams To Be Sew

Terial Magic Fabric Stabilizer

from Terial Arts

Please note that the recipient needs to pay the postage to 
Marian @ Seams To be Sew to receive this gift.
Please click on the link to Marian's Blog for all details

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giveaway # 2
@ Seams To be Sew

3 Fat Quarters from the

Northcott "On The Green" Fabric Collection FQs

Postage will be paid by Northcott, International included.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giveaway # 3
@  Seams To be Sew

Surf n Squirt Collection from Aurifil Thread

Postage will be paid by Aurifil, International Included. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Giveaway # 4
@ Life In The Scrapatch

"Quilting Queen" heat transfer vinyl 
on Kona Bleached White
9" square


a Rafflecopter giveaway 

for you to make your own "Quilting Queen" 
banner ... or pillow ... or other project.

from The Vinyl Forrest

(Postage will be paid by The Vinyl Forrest, International included.)

I kept my lovely new mug next to my computer as I typed this post.

Of course, Katniss was curious about the new mug n rug.

Katniss is in constant motion.

My favorite mug is now tucked back into corner where it may be a little more Katniss proof.

My mug rugs need be very washable.

Too often Katniss stirs and spills my coffee with her tail. 

I hope you enjoyed visiting me as much as I enjoyed showing off my quilty fun.

Thank you for visiting today!

Be sure to hop on over to all my quasy quilt friends today:

March 22

MooseStash Quilting

Life in the Scrapatch (you are here)

Seams To Be Sew

for more giveaways and special gifts and discounts!

Happy Sewing!

Thanks to  Marian @ Seams To Be Sew  for organizing this fun hop!