Raspberry Shortbread Recipe

Yesterday I made Peach, Apple Pie and Blueberry Shortbread cookies and shared the picture of them on FaceBook!  I had many requests for the recipe and thought I would share it here on my blog also!

Enjoy!

Raspberry Shortbread

1 cup butter, softened to room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 small jar seedless raspberry jam (I've used my homemade jams too and it works excellent, I've done Peach, Strawberry, Blueberry, Apple and Blackberry - everyone liked them all!)

Glaze Ingredients

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 1/2 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Gradually add flour; beating at low speed until blended.  This dough will seem thick and crumbly.

Divide dough into 6 equal portions; roll each portion into a 12" x 1" inch long roll. (I can never get my logs this exact size!!!)  Place strips on lightly greased backing sheet. 

Make a 1/2 inch wide by 1/4 inch deep indentation down the center of the logs using the handle of a wooden spoon. Spoon jam evenly into indentations.  I like to place a couple scoops into a small bowl and stir the jam up a bit first, then spread it into the indentations!

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven; spoon more jam into indentations if needed. Bake 5 more minutes or until lightly golden browned.

Whisk together powdered sugar, water and extract; drizzle over warm shortbread. (this recipe for the drizzled icing makes quite a bit and I do not use it all.  I make 1/2 the glaze recipe and have plenty!)  Cut each strip diagonally into 1 inch slices while still warm.  Cool on pans.

Yields about 6 dozen.

This recipe is originally from Southern Living 1999 Annual Recipes!

Yummy Fabrics and We Need Your Help!

Look at the goodies I picked up last night at the quilt shop!

I had my Dear Jane club meeting yesterday evening and really enjoyed my time with the ladies!  It's so much fun getting together with others that have "like" interests!  We were given a demo on paper piecing - always a good thing to watch and learn all the tips and tricks with that!  I'm not a big fan of paper piecing, but I'm determined to continue to learn and use that technique in my own Dear Jane Quilt! We were also able to view the selected blocks and the samples for the upcoming month!  Yippee!

Now, back to the fabrics I purchased shown above - are these not gorgeous!  The first three fabrics from the left are from the Prairie Crossings fabric line by Julie Hendrickson for Windham.  The two fabrics on the right are from the Bridgeport fabric line by Jo Morton for Andover.  The quilt shop received complete collections of both these fabric lines - so if you are searching for these beauties, be sure and visit www.thequiltmerchant.com   I'm not sure if either of these fabric lines have been uploaded to their website or not - but they do have them - just give them a call - they ship!  The Prairie Crossings fabric line has some yummy cheddar's in it and I'm thinking I might be regretting not getting those last night too!

Now, I need your help today.  I've had two requests in the past few days for a little help and both of these items have me on a mad search to help these ladies.

See the pretty blue fabric with the tan dots and the white flowers above?  Does anyone recall what fabric line this is?  Who the designer is?  Or even the manufacturer? I posted this help request on FaceBook also and I'm pretty sure I agree with the fact that it is a Judy Rothermel fabric.  I'm digging in my stash today again to see if I can find any.  A fellow quilter is in need of more of this fabric - so any help at all would be appreciated!  Help!!!

Also.....

Do you recognize this pattern?  A fellow quilter is searching for this pattern.  If you click on the photo and enlarge it, this quilt appears to have Drunkards Patch blocks and also larger blocks with just a simple circle centered on them.  I've searched through a few of my resources so far but have come up empty handed.  

Any help on either of these issues is much appreciated!  And of course if we get the answers to any of these "searches" I'll post about it on my blog so we can all find more of that gorgeous blue fabric and this pretty quilt pattern!  Leave a comment or email me - works good both ways!

Thanks for the tips on EQ yesterday.  I received a few comments and several emails.  Looks like classes on Quilt University.com are a popular source and also - thanks to a local quilter friend - there is an EQ class coming up in my area with Barb Vlack!

Have a great day!!

Moving on and Electric Quilt!

Yesterday I was able to complete five Dear Jane blocks!  The lower triangle block is TR-3 Checkerboard. Then in the back from left to right is E-8 Mama's Maze, G-7 Indianapolis, B-1 Bachelor Buttons and B-9 Tinker Toy!

I'm working on another hand applique Dear Jane block and I'll probably finish that one up today and get another ready to hand piece tonight while I'm at my Dear Jane club!

For most of today though, I am going to be chained to my computer and sketch book.  I woke up this morning with the urge to sketch out a few new ideas, so it's looking to be a fun day.  I'm also going to work a bit in Electric Quilt and get a few new things drawn up.

Are any of you familiar with Electric Quilt?  If anyone out there knows of any good tutorials, please leave me a comment or email me.  I'm not that great with EQ and know the basics and that's about it.  I'd like to learn more and become more efficient with my time that I spend using this program instead of pulling my hair out!

  

Joining The Crowd

Well, after a friend suggested I order this book, I did!

And after reading my favorite blogs this morning - I can tell I'm in good company with this book!  I read two other blogs this morning alone that were talking about this book and for good reason!  This book is awesome - lots of eye candy and good reading!

Also, this is another book that just arrived and I'm in love!

This book was recommended to me by a Quilt Shop owner and friend.  Well worth the purchase, the projects and graphics are phenomenal!

Also after reading in some of my favorite quilting forums this morning, I found this new blog!

Scrappin' and Quiltin'

So click on over to her blog and welcome her to blog land!  It looks like a great blog to follow!

Yesterday evening I finished up two more Dear Jane blocks:

E-5 Rising Sun

F-8 Church Window

Have an awesome day - I hope you get many things accomplished!

Just a blahhhh day!

I'm working on some of my Dear Jane blocks today.  The day started and I was in some kind of funk, but I'm slowly working my way out of it.  I came down to my sewing room this morning and just could not for the life of me decide what to work on, so I started cleaning a bit.  One of my cutting counters was just piled high with "stuff" so I attacked that area with a vengeance.  Still couldn't decide what to do with my day, even though Quilt Market is looming in the back of my mind, so I started ironing scraps of fabric.

I've moved onto making this block next:

It's going together pretty easily so far.

I think part of the reason I'm in such a funk today is because I did not sleep much last night between a child coming down with a cold, another with "growing pains" in his leg and not sleeping well and because of this:

Someone hit my husband last night while he was driving to work on a major highway at top speed.  We were both pretty upset, but thankful no one was hurt and again thankful that both parties involved are insured.  The other driver was found to be at fault and the damages will be taken care of.  Still, its disappointing to no that we will be without my husbands work truck for awhile as it goes in for repairs - rental car here we come.  I guess it's disappointing too because we both work so hard for the things we've got and proud that both our vehicles are paid for and now one is damaged and the other driver involved just seemed to want to throw the blame around and not be responsible.  It always seems like when a vehicle goes in for cosmetic damages - they never come out the same.  Oh well, it can be fixed and life will move on! Thankfully, it's not totaled and everyone walked away.

I let the stress of the situation get the best of me last night and now I'm paying the price - no sleep, upset stomach, headache - the works!  I'm telling you, stress is a nasty thing and I need to learn to not let it happen. 

I think I feel a nap calling my name very soon today!

Yesterday, I was also able to finish piecing the baby quilt and now it needs to be quilted.  I'll just do some simple quilting on this one and get it wrapped up for the baby shower! I've got the backing fabric pieced and the batting is tumbling in the dryer for a bit, working those wrinkles out.  That's one thing I don't care for when I buy a packaged batting - but it's what I had on hand, so I'm using it!

Here's the baby quilt so far:

I hope you have a wonderful day today!

Pinterest

Are you on Pinterest?

If not - follow me and I'll show you some of the fun you are missing!!!

(be prepared to become addicted to "pinning" your favorite pictures!!!)

Just click the little button above!!!

Happy Friday!

I was hand piecing another Dear Jane block last night and realized I needed to get crackin' on a baby quilt!  My neighbors daughter is expecting her first baby due at the end of March!  This will be the first grandbaby for my neighbors.  I need to get this cute baby quilt finished and out of the way before I start getting really busy with other things - like the millions of cookies I need to start baking and freezing for the baby shower at the end of this month!!!

I think these fabrics will make a really cute baby quilt.  I'm thinking I'll do a simple nine patch setting - can't go wrong with nine patches!  The mommy to be is having a boy and has chosen a cute monkey theme - this little monkey fabric is so adorable!!!!

Have a great Friday everyone and a super fun weekend!  It's super bowl weekend - What are you doing?  We are getting together with the neighbors!

I leave you with this "funny" I found on Pinterest last night!

Sure wish my Dr. wrote prescriptions like this!

It's finished! Now I need a name!

Well - It's all finished and ready to be shipped to the long arm quilter tomorrow!  I need a name though!  Any suggestions?  I thought about calling it Pieceful Gatherings in honor of the quilt shop that asked me to design a project and teach for their retreat!!!

What fun this has been.  I'm ready to start another project I'm so pumped and excited right now!

Here's a close up:

This design will be ready and in pattern form for ordering later this month. Pieceful Gatherings Quilt Shop will sell the patterns and kits exclusively through May 2012.  After that, you will find the pattern on our website and in your local quilt shops (and probably kits too)!!!!

Have a great day everyone!!!!!

This is the way I roll.........

This is what I was knee deep in yesterday.  I thought I would show you how I'm going about deciding on fabrics for the outer border for this wool applique project that I'm working on for the retreat sponsored by Pieceful Gatherings Quilt Shop.

I have an image in my head of how I want the outer borders to look. It will be completely scrappy.  Very few rules, but the most important ones for me were: nothing to bright, ubberly scrappy, nothing light or white and the big one - I want quilt shops to be able to kit this design and pull bolts of fabric easily and without delay for the borders.  Anything goes in this border!

Some of you might recognize some of these fabrics that I've chosen so far!  Remember about a year and a half ago I hosted a charm square swap when I was "secretly" working on my book?  Well, I still have some of those fabrics and they will be going into this project!  One of my other fun rules I'm following on this project - all fabrics must come from my scrap stash and so far so good on this project! (Well, except for the large background fabric of course!!!)

Hmmmm, I think I need to add more cheddar fabric!

Hand Quilting Time Yesterday!!!

Yesterday evening after I finished stitching the center wool applique for the upcoming retreat I spoke about yesterday, I took a notion to hand quilt.

Lucky for me, I have three hand quilting projects in the works right now.  Two small quilts and one medium size quilt.  I chose to work on the one picture above.  This has been a project in the works for probably about 3 years now and will probably be displayed in my living room or bedroom when I complete it.  This quilt has traveled with me to different quilt shows in central Illinois, Columbus, Ohio, Houston, Texas and Knoxville, Tennessee.  So needless to say it's a well traveled quilt for not even being finished yet.

I was a little upset with myself when I pulled this project out if it's storage container.  Usually I'm really good about storing all the supplies I've used or am using with a project.  Well, this time I did not keep the matching threads with this project.  So I had to go scavenging around hunting up the thread colors I needed.  Luckily - I found each of the four colors!  Thank goodness!

An interesting question came up on my FaceBook page yesterday.  Someone commented and asked "How do you keep your stitches so perfect?"  The answer - I do not.  My stitches are not perfect.  I do not set out to hand quilt - or do anything for that matter - with the intention of absolute perfectionism.  I quilt for my own pleasure and satisfaction and for my business.  If what I do pleases me, I'm fine with that and never feel the need to please anyone else or to act like I'm perfect and "no it all" in any way.  I'm constantly learning and re-learning.  I will never know everything, nor do I desire too.  I like the models for my pattern designs of course to look as great as I possibly can get them, but to worry over teeny tiny little things, I just let it go.

For example....

The Dear Jane quilt.  Here are some of the blocks I've recently finished.  Each of the above blocks are not perfect and each has their own issues. Paper piecing and I do not like each other at all.  I will continue to learn the finer points of how to paper piece and not let it get the best of me.  I will be re-doing one of the blocks pictured above - because it is really bothering me.  After I finished the center purple and cream block, I've decided to tack that one up on the "do over" board.  I will re-do that block hand piecing everything first and then applique those center melons on last.  My spacing on that one for the center of the block was very off and it is not sitting well with me at all.  The other 3 - though they have minor imperfections - I'm ok with it. 

That's just how I roll......

Today, I'm piecing the outer borders for the wool applique project for the upcoming retreat project!!!