Dallas Quilt Show - part 1

The Quilt Show this past Friday/Saturday/Sunday was awesome (as usual) - very inspiring but hard on the legs and feet (I was working there Thurs-Sun)!  I'm very proud to have been part of the Mini-Quilt Auction for charity -  This year, the beneficiary of the auction was Family Outreach Dallas, Inc., an organization that teaches teen parents the skills and know-how to provide their children safe, secure, supportive and healthy home environments; working with young parents (from the birth of their child until the child reaches age three), helping them become familiar with the milestones in a child’s growth and development. This ensures that the youngsters will be ready to enter preschool and beyond. For more information about them, visit the Family Outreach Dallas website at

 http://www.familyoutreach-northtexas.org/dallas/index_fod.html.

I know the total raised was over $8,000, so - again - I'm very pleased that my two little quilts contributed to such a good cause - (the purple one went for $110 and the blue one for $55)!  Congratulations to everyone who participated by either making or purchasing a mini-quilt!

 in this next one, you can see my purple one (3rd from right, top)

and my blue one (2nd from right, bottom)

Small steps

It's amazing how quickly time goes by! Have been busy working on parts for the piece begun in JoAnn Musso's workshop (see 1/25 post); they are small, but time-consuming; but I'm enjoying the handwork...

 

And there are three babies all due about the same time: my niece is expecting, as well as one of my graduate students and one of my post-doc fellows...so there is an unknown, a boy and a girl coming...the first two baby quilts are finished (ones you've seen before) and now I'm working on the one for the girl...only five more squares to go...

I'm only about half-way through this quilt and the amount of scraps are overwhelming!  I decided it was time for more Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)...so I put down a piece of Peltex and put a lot of the scraps on top of the iron-on side:

Ironed it down (using my non-stick ironing sheet over it):



Placed a piece of netting over it, and now I'm sewing it down really well, as I have time...

Will post more pictures after I finish the quilt and after I cut up the ATCs and add embellishments...

And, if you are in the area, don't forget about the Dallas Quilt Show!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Dave and I celebrated on Saturday by going to dinner at Samar by Stephan Pyles -

It was a great deal - a flat rate for a set menu.  And our menu consisted of the following (not a menu to choose from, we got a serving of each of these things!):

Pimientos de Padrone

(Blistered green Spanish chiles with hickory smoked sea salt)

Croquetas del Calabaza

(Butternut squash and goat cheese croquettes with honey aioli)

Fricando de Bogavante

(Maine lobster, wild mushrooms, brandy and cream)

Cerdo Asado

(Seared sous vide pork tenderloin with butter braised leeks and pumpkin romesco)

[Above paired with Gladium Crianza wine - Tempranillo, La Mancha, Spain 2008]

Fatoush

(Chopped winter vegetable salad with toasted naan, tahini and Za'atar)

Hunkar Begendi

(Lamb loin ragout wtih Kasseri-eggplant puree)

Patatesli Tarak Kabugu

(Nantucket Bay scallops, heirloom fingerling potatoes and grape leaf vinaigrette)

[Above paired with Val de L'ours wine - Vin de Pays D'oc, France 2008]

Vadouvan Dal

(Vadouvan spiced lentils, braised kale and radish mouli)

Patra ni Macchi

(Sable fish wrapped in banana leaf with basmati rice, coconut and chilies)

Hari Ali Kebab

(Cilantro-mint marinated chicken with date and mango chutney)

[Above paired with Wallace Brook wine - Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley 2008]

Chocolate Samosa Heart for Two with Candied Rose Petal Sauce

Turkish Coffee Pot de Creme

Carrot Halwa

[Above paired with Kings Estate wine - Pinot Gris, Oregon 2007]

It was served in courses and was absolutely amazing.  Enjoying a chef-prepared meal is one of our favorite things to do and made for a perfect Valentine's celebration.

Happy Birthday, Mom

She would have been 95 today -

Happy Birthday, Mama.

Annual (Real) Snow Pictures

Dave got up this morning, looked out of the window and just laughed.  It was very obvious we are staying home from work today.  The January snowfall was nothing.  Therefore - I give you our real annual snow pictures:

Stay warm!