Good Morning and welcome to DK Quilt Guild Gift Quilt-A-Thon and stay at home sewing and quilting retreat weekend. It is time for sewers and quilters to get busy making Holliday gifts using fabric on hand that we have been hoarding. I have spent time hunting for patterns that will be a delight to make, give or treat ourselves with. Please join us as we get started with out projects. If there is a project that you are working on, we would love to hear about it or post a picture. So go make yourself a cup of coffee or tea and come back and join in because I am your host for the day.
Traditionally quilt guilds have retreats where members get together to sew and take classes. Usually it is at a local hotel or resort and the members stay over night to enjoy a short vacation from home with friends who share the same interest. Since we are an internet guild we are scattered all over, the makes it impossible to have a retreat or meet up. So we well be sewing all week end at home and commenting here about all things quilty and hand made gifts. I also invite everyone to post their favorite Cookie Recipe for our cookie exchange. Don't be shy and keep checking back because I have videos, free patterns and gift ideas planned for the whole week end.
The first project that is being featured is a no sew quilted Christmas ornament. This is a beautiful ornament that you don't have to be able to sew to make. It is one of the nicest ornament that you can make for your own tree. Also it makes up quick and is ideal for gift or ornament exchange. I found the material list and picture instructions at this web page.
http://quilting.about.com/...
Here is a video that shows how easy it is to make. If you have a thimble I would use it to push the pin with. I would also dip my pin in some white glue for extra insurance that it stays together. Thank you Dancing in the rain for your video.
Now we are going to stop at our first blog hop stop while we are hunting for Christmas ideas. We are stopping by at Sew4Home for a free pattern and class. The class is on a 8 pocket jewelry travel bag. This is so elegant and can be made from your fat quarter stash. The pattern is printable or can be down loaded for future use.
http://www.sew4home.com/...
I would like to thank LTTDeb for her video on making this jewelry pouch
Heirloom Raisin Puff Cookies. Please copy and enjoy this recipe.
An overlooked heirloom cookie recipe, that is very good, is raisin puff cookies. I have been making these since childhood for the fall and winter holidays. My family loves these and they are not expensive to make. I like to make mine with butter but they were originally made with lard or shortening. Margarine will make them spread too much while baking and you want them to be a soft cookie. The closes commercial cookie to this recipe is Archway Soft Raisin cookies.
You start out by cooking your raisins in water until all the liquid is absorbed. You let them cool and chill them. I like to do this the night before. The raisins need to be cold when mixed into the dough and since the raisins are soft you have to mix them by hand. The mixer will mash them into the dough. Also the dough needs to be chilled for a hour so you can work with it and returning it to the refrigerator as the trays of cookies bake. They get their name because they puff up during baking and then settle down when cooled. This recipe makes 6 dozen cookies. They make great gifts and at my house they just disappear.
Raisin Puff Cookies
1 cup dark raisins
½ cup golden raisins
1 cup water
1 cup shortening or butter ( no margarine)
1 ½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking Soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts
Cook raisins in 1 cup of water until all the water is absorbed. Chill until cold. Sift flour, baking soda and salt together and set aside. Cream sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla with electric mixer. Slowly add sifted flour to creamed mixture until smooth and blended. Hand stir in cold raisins and walnuts. Chill for at least and hour.
Roll dough into balls the size of walnuts. If the dough gets too sticky and soft return to refrigerator. ( I like to do all the ball rolling before I get ready to bake. I just put the balls in another bowl in the refrigerator until all the dough is rolled into balls.) Return bowl to refrigerator while baking. This recipe makes 6 dozen cookies.
Pre heat oven 350 degrees F. and prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with vegetable spray.
Place chilled balls 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 min. until done. They will puff up while baking but will settle down as they cool. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool.
Please join in with your favorite recipe and quilting project and quilt internet site you would like to share.
I will be sharing more later today
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DKQ Quilt-A-Thon and Christmas Weekend Retreat Part 2