Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts

Craftsy BLACK FRIDAY SALE!

From Friday through Sunday MONDAY*, Craftsy is hosting their Black Friday Sale! All Classes $19.99 or less! Now is a great time to get the classes you've been eyeing all year! Craftsy classes also make a great gift, so do some holiday shopping for the crafter in your life. If you have a free-motion quilter on your list I can highly recommend The Secrets of Free-Motion Quilting, the new class packed with modern, easy, free-motion quilting designs taught by Christina Cameli. By the way, you don't even have to pick the class for the gift certificate - the recipient gets to choose whichever one they want (but you can always suggest it!!)

*Craftsy extended their Black Friday Sale one more day! Through Monday, December 1st, All Classes $19.99 or less!

Another Great Craftsy Sale!

This week, Craftsy is hosting some amazing sales! First up, check out the deals on awesome fabric, kits, and supplies (like those scrumptious Aurifil thread sets in the cute storage containers!)

Here are the details:

On Wednesday and Thursday, Craftsy is having a Pre-Black Friday Sale! You can uncover the Pre-Black Friday Sale: Enjoy Big Savings on Yarn, Fabric & Kits ! 

You won’t want to miss these incredible deals! Come back Friday for another great link to savings... 

Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cake

When I was at the outlet/discount store I spied an interesting treat in the specialty food section. Right away I thought, oh - that sounds good!  The Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cake was about $30 so I wasn't too sure about spending  that much but then I saw a tiny, 4 oz. box and knew I had to try it!

When I got home I Googled the company since I'd never heard of it. I was excited to find their website full of more information and choices. I'm pretty sure it was the lure of the rum that tempted me most but then I read the reviews of the Golden Original variety, which was what I'd purchased, and was drooling by the time I was at the third review posting!

The 4-generations old recipe used to make the cakes includes imported walnuts, fine ingredients, and the cakes are hand glazed with 5-year old, oak barrel aged Tortuga rum. I couldn't wait to open the vacuum sealed package and taste it! The cake is definitely moist with a delicate flavour and slight rum aroma - but it only contains less than half of 1% alcohol so anyone can enjoy it. The only thing that held me back from eating the whole little cake was the calorie count. This tiny 4 oz. puppy has 390 calories and 16 grams of fat! It's probably a good idea to share.

In addition to the large 32 oz. cake, they also have a 6-pack of the 4 oz. cakes in a variety of flavours besides the Golden Original with Walnuts: Chocolate, Coconut, Key Lime, Banana, and Pineapple. I would love to try them all and am going to add them to my Christmas list (but I bet they will be gone by the time hubby gets around to shopping.). I love to try new and interesting food items and this Tortuga Rum Cake was a very unique thing to find in my small town!

Frozen Quilt: Appliqued Snowflakes

I have been working hard appliqueing the snowflakes for the Frozen quilts. I did indeed go with a straight stitch which has been challenging enough given all the twists and turns of the flakes. Luckily for me, no two snowflakes are the same, right?

Being a tidy applique-ist is not my strong point. I don't have the patience to pivot the needle precisely so I'm just going for it. I decided to use a really pretty iridescent embroidery thread from Marathon Threads Canada and it works perfectly with the glitter fabric of the snowflakes. I hope it is strong enough to withstand washing! It really looks great and adds so much to the sparkle of the flakes. I had to experiment with my stitch length and I found it worked better keeping the regular plate on the machine versus the single-hole conversion (which seemed to cause more thread breakage). You can see the difference between the unstitched snowflakes and the ones I've done.

I got fed up with the process and decided to move on to adding the borders to the panel. Unfortunately, there must've been a frostbite mishap and Elsa lost her fingertips! I didn't pay attention to where I was trimming the panel in order to get the required size for the quilt. I had to make sure I cut all the pink off the original panel but I forgot I could've added that into the seam allowance. At least the top of the mountain wasn't cut off and I don't think it will matter too much in the final product. Other than that, I think the quilts are going to look really pretty!

It's a bit of a pain switching the feet and settings on my machine to change tasks but I needed a break from all that fussy stitching. By completing one quilt first I can also see if I have enough left over fabric from the kit to add to the second quilt. I was actually able to get another 6 snowflakes cut from the leftover glitter fabric so that each quilt only has to have 8 plain blocks. I think the fabric was a good match in tone and the print looks like scratched ice keeping with the frosty theme! Time is probably going to run out before I can get them finished for Christmas so the girls might have to wait a little bit longer to cuddle under their Frozen quilts!

 

Mayan Chocolate Bundt Cake

I'm always excited when the new Milk Calendar comes out and the 2015 edition is a great one!  There are so many recipes I want to make - from dinner to dessert. Of course, the first one I had to try involved chocolate. I couldn't resist the photo of the gorgeous Mayan Chocolate Bundt Cake. Not only did it look scrumptious and tempting, but the recipe adds cinnamon, cayenne, and nutmeg to a cocoa-based chocolate cake to really make things interesting.

As usual, the Milk Calendar recipes are very easy to follow and don't require fussy ingredients. I had everything I needed right in the fridge and pantry so I ended up printing off the recipe and making it at 7:30 at night! We ate a slice while it was still slightly warm (pretty good!) but I must admit, the cake was even better the next day. It was more moist and flavourful with a very tender crumb. The glaze is almost like spreading hot fudge over the top and I bet it would be excellent with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. (Sadly(?) we ate the whole thing before I got to the store to buy the ice cream - but you can probably trust my instincts on that successful pairing!).

You can use the link above to get the written recipe and now those milk people are even providing videos to go along with the recipes! I guess that kind of puts me out of 'business' (since I have demo-ed many Milk Calendar recipes over the years!) but it sure is convenient to see the process if you need help. My mother gets the calendar in her paper but I actually just ordered my own copy on line, HERE. You can also just read and print the recipes you want from the website but they aren't as pretty and take up multiple pages with their weird format.

I want to make the Crispy Greek Chicken next and then maybe the Cauliflower, Leek and Bacon Gratin after that. Yum!

NEW Craftsy Classes!!!

I signed up for three NEW Craftsy classes. All are under the Sewing & Quilting tab but they've actually released a whole bunch of new courses from Miniature French Desserts to The Extended Harvest: Vegetables for Every Season to Crochet Mittens & Fingerless Gloves! You really can learn just about anything over there!

Of course, my passion goes straight to anything to do with quilting or sewing and I was so excited to see so many tantalizing classes available.  I had to pick Start Foundation Paper Piecing because not only is it the newest class from Elizabeth Dackson (who also teaches Start Free-Motion Quilting, with Elizabeth Dackson) but since I can now create and produce my own paper-piecing designs using EQ7, I really want to learn how to be comfortable piecing using this technique. Elizabeth paper-pieces almost exclusively and she is passionate about making blocks with intricate points and beautifully complicated-looking designs. She is an excellent instructor who clearly communicates the methods, design process, and tips during her lessons. Five different blocks are made in the class and you build upon skills learned as you make each one.

I also couldn't resist two more new classes that feature machines in I have in my sewing room that I still need inspiration to use: the embroidery machine and the serger I got last year.  The Machine Embroidery Inspired Quilt uses gorgeous embroidery (multi-format files provided free as part of the class) step-by-step to complete a beautiful 50-1/2" square quilt. This one will take me some time to get to actually making the class project but I definitely want to! I love combining embroidery with quilting and the class breaks the process down into very manageable steps, from choosing fabrics and threads to putting it all together and adding the quilting.

Finally, Angela Wolf is back with another great serger class, Sew With Your Serger: Quick & Easy Projects. I am determined to not let this machine intimidate me and to do more with it than just finish seams (although it did come in very handy to do just that on the flannel backing fabric for the Frozen quilts!). Angela walks you through quick and easy, 'couple hour' projects - like various scarves, pillows, and several pretty zippered bags. One of the pouches has piping as well and I am very interested in learning how to make those.

It's a busy time of year coming up but I still love to relax and watch my Craftsy classes. I may not start the creating right away but I still love learning from these great teachers and tucking away the info and inspiration for later. I might even try to make a couple of the super fast Simple Bias Scarves Angela whips up - there's a sale at my fabric store on Saturday so I might have to get some chiffon or charmeuse to experiment with.

You can use any of the links above to go check out ALL the new classes available...

LED Booklights

I saw this set of UltraBrite LED Booklights at Costco and for the $12.99 price tag it was worth buying for the 6 Duracell AAA batteries alone!  I thought one clip light would be great for reading in bed since I have a terrible, small lamp that is totally inadequate.  I hoped the second clip light might be perfect to add to my sewing machine.

Sure enough, the gentle clamp fits right on the open lid of my machine. The super flexible neck allows me to position the six LED lights right at the needle where I need them.  It's hard to tell from the photo but the difference in visibility is amazing.  There are two settings (on/off and a 'dimmer') and there's a magnet clip included so you can attach the light to anything metal as well. You can also use them as tiny, free-standing desk lamps. One light has a rubberized finish and the other has a metallic finish.

I will probably order the Sewing Machine LED Lighting Kit at some point but until then, these UltraBrite booklights will help. The price was great and I can easily use them on any of my machines. Reading in bed is so much easier too! I actually went back to Costco (I have to go to another city) to pick up two more packs but they were all gone. I really wanted to give everyone in the family one.

If you happen to have the LED strip lighting for your sewing machine, please let me know how you like it and if it's worth the money (I'd have to order from the States which adds a lot of shipping, duty, handling, and taxes!)

Unfrost My Heart Gwen Stefani Collection for OPI

Unfrost My Heart is one of 3 new limited edition Gwen Stefani-inspired gift sets from OPI this holiday season.  It arrived in perfect time for celebrating the season...and our work Christmas party!

Not only does it feature three full size polishes in my favourite cool-tone silver, chrome and black hues,
it just so happens that it co-ordinates PERFECTLY with the new party outfit I just bought a couple weeks ago (a silver metallic shimmery sweater and black top paired with a black and silver faux pearl necklace). The collection is just what I was looking for to complete my look for the Christmas party. I must be living right!

I started my manicure with Unfrost My Heart, the gorgeous silver metallic that goes on like a dream. I love the OPI ProWide Brush because 'three strokes and I'm done' - with super coverage and no streaks. I did two coats for a beautiful finish and then added So Elegant (the black and chrome glitter) to each ring finger for a bit of a fun accent.  You could actually top every nail with either So Elegant or I'll Tinsel You In (the black and white confetti) for another great look.

I also did my pedicure with Unfrost My Heart and my toes looked amazing peeking out of my open-toe party sandals.  I felt really pulled together having my whole special outfit accented with silver but I would totally wear this polish any time of year just because I love metallics so much.

Of course, my DD wanted to do her manicure with the collection right away. Her nails are such a pretty shape and length so I got her to send me a pic to share with you - she's a much better hand model than I am!  She immediately posted on Instagram and her roommate said she wants to use all of my daughter's polishes! I'm letting her take them until her next visit so she can share!

It's been a while since I did a fun manicure and there's nothing like a new OPI collection to get me excited about showing off my nails. Holiday party time is perfect for adding something sparkly and special to the mix...and since I just so happen to be going to Vegas for a few days, my polish trio is doing double duty this month!

The two other Gwen Stefani gift sets in the collection are Rollin' in Cashmere (another 3 full-size lacquers in warm-tone gold, white and black) and a super cute 4-Pack Mini Holiday Stars (in red and jewl-tone shades: red shimmer, true red, royal purple, and red violet). I am certainly adding this one to my Christmas wish-list for Santa!

Frozen Quilts For Two

My Frozen Quilt Kit arrived from Fons & Porter and it's really nice!  It came with the Elsa & Anna panel, border fabrics, sparkly fabric for the snow flakes, and assorted fat quarters for backgrounds for the flakes. I was happy to have the kit so that I could duplicate those fat quarters and make a second quilt for DD#2.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find the Moda Marbles line locally or even something similar so I ended up just getting two patterned fabrics that could work and some solid royal blue for the border.  The first thing I am doing is making the snowflakes. The glitter fabric is pretty but I'm not so sure the sparkle will last through many washings since I am already covered in silver glitter just from working with it!

The pattern instructions use an AccuQuilt Go! die for the snowflakes but at US$99 there is no way I would buy it even if I did have the machine or if it would work in my Big Shot.  Instead, I traced the shape of each of the three snowflakes onto fusible web using my wonderful new light box for a total of 22 (7, 7, and 8), fused it, and am now in the process of hand cutting out the snowflakes. Now I wish I spent the $99 on the die!  It is very delicate, tedious, slow, and crampy work!  I am not enjoying this part of the process! However, the glittery snowflakes are beautiful and I think they will look terrific!  I am not looking forward to appliqueing them onto the background squares since they have so many nooks and crannies so I think I will just do a straight stitch on them (versus a blanket stitch or zigzag) and save my sanity.

Originally, I thought I would simply replicate the quilt for the second one but now I can't find the glitter fabric and don't have enough scraps to make another 22 snowflakes. They are also such a pain to make and sew that I can't really see myself doing any more after these.  I considered making some smaller snowflakes (by shrinking the printout pattern) and using the smaller leftovers of glitter fabric but that would make the job even harder.  To be fair, my solution is to make all the blocks and then share them between the two quilts, alternating with plain blocks.  I don't think either girl would mind and since they haven't seen the original quilt/pattern, they shouldn't ever know the difference.  Hopefully the quilts don't look too weird with the extra fabric I bought as a substitute.  I will set them out when I'm finished appliqueing to make sure and then decide what to do.  I may even have something appropriate in my stash, I just didn't look yet.

All this has been accomplished on a short break from the DWR quilt.  I didn't move my tables or set up properly for the Frozen quilts yet, I'm just getting the ball rolling and working on cutting the snowflakes while I watch television.  They shouldn't really take long to piece since it's just the panel with borders - the snowflakes are the hardest part. Quilting should be fairly quick too since it's some outline quilting in the panel and some straight line quilting in the borders.  Easy peasy after the free-motion I've been doing!

Craftsy's Mystery Markdowns!!

Shop Craftsy's Mystery Markdowns now! Enjoy special savings on popular yarn, fabric and project kits. But act fast because this limited supply won't last! Offer expires at midnight on November 14th, 2014 at 11:59 PM MT. Shop Craftsy's Mystery Markdowns now for surprisingly big savings. Click to reveal yarn savings Click to reveal fabric savings Click to reveal sewing kit savings Click to reveal craft savings

I really want the Aurifil neutrals thread set and Red Letter Day quilt kit. I should buy them now and give them to hubby to surprise me with for Christmas, right? ;)