It's a Mystery......

I've been a busy bee all week, doing all kinds of quilting and book work and errands with my mom so I have a few things saved up for next week's blogs.......However, last night was the Mystery Quilt and it was a full house so I wanted to get it posted as soon as possible....

The day started out crazy as usual!  First a trip to Costco to shop for dinner - then I had to go shopping (for all the stuff Costco doesn't have!  Ugh!)  Back to the store and my day really begins......

Firs, Jean stopped by to show off these gorgeous placemats she made for her sister and to get fabric to make many, many more for Christmas gifts for her daughters.....aren't they gorgeous!  The pattern is from a Quilt In A Day book, the name of which I have forgotten but will find out so we can order it in....

Before the Mystery Class started we were treated to some great Show & Share.  Claire and Lucy brought their finished quilts from the last Mystery.

Claire, if you remember, did the Monster Quilt and it came out fantastic....

She also wanted me to point out that there is a Scottish monster in his plaid kilt no less!

Lucy did two quilts with the fabric she had - for twin bunk beds - she added extra borders and one row to make the quilts a little bigger......hers, were an animal theme and they came out fabulous!

Before we got started with the clues we were busy admiring Heather's new machine - It's a Janome Horizon - Memory Craft 7700 and it is really state of the art.  It even has landing lights (lights above the LARGE opening).  It is really a gorgeous machine - Heather use it well (and I think she's going to name her!)!  Yes I am crazy but I figure with the amount of time I spend with my sewing machines, and I do talk to them quite often, they should have their own identities.......so in my very humble opinion they should have names!

As Barb will attest, I have a habit of leaving things pretty much to the last minute, like meal planning!  Although I know my customers have their favourites I like to change it up a bit when I can and last night was one of those nights.....

I made Pineapple Soy Sauce Chicken with Stir Fried Vegetables and Vegetable Pork Egg Rolls.  Barb made the rice (I can cook but I can't do rice and pasta without burning them - duh!).  It's a simple recipe - just marinate the chicken in Soy Sauce for a few hours - put it in the baking dish and put slices of pineapple on top and pour the juice from the can over it - bake at 375 until done - moist and tender every time and tasty too!  The egg rolls came from Costco - I think the name is Minh - they are in a purple box in the freezer section and they were delicious.  The stir fry vegetables also came from Costco - International I believe and they come with a very nice sauce packet.

Dessert was "to die for" and was half devoured by the time I got the picture.......Rocky Road Bars!

Nancy says I'm never allowed to make them again because she ate 3 the other day!  I think they were a hit!  There is no easier recipe in the world!

I was walking around Metro the other night and they have these touch screen computers in the store now with recipes and stuff!  That's where I found the recipe.....

1 package of Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate Chips, Walnuts and Miniature Marshmallows.  Grease a 13" x 9" pan, spread the cookie dough on the bottom, top with Chocolate Chips, Walnuts and Marshmallows (leave a 1/2" perimeter around the side of the pan so things don't stick).  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, cool, cut and serve!  I mean seriously - how easy is that and they taste like HEAVEN!

Okay - enough of that, back to business!  So last night's mystery quilt was revealed rather early as the pattern is an extremely obvious one.....

Most of the girls got quite a bit done, as usual and Lucy shared her completed centre top.......the feature fabric is M & M's - so cute!

Annadelle also got most of hers done and has decided to make two kid's quilts rather than one lap size......her feature fabric is Mickey Mouse

Karen, of course, is working on 3 quilts - this one uses Lavender Fields fabric which is a beautiful fabric of a Tuscan farmyard.  The other girls wouldn't let me photograph them until they were done so we'll have to wait and see what they look like.....

Now I can get back to working on my quilt designs, Sweet Tea (yes I know, still not quite done! But very close!), and a few other projects I have on the go.......not to mention the book work!

Off to quilt today!  Hope you are all having a great "long" weekend.  By the way I will be preparing the next newsletter over the next couple of weeks so if there are any classes on your "Wish Lists" feel free to e-mail us or call the store.....We've come up with quite a few on our own but we really do like the customer input!  Just wondering if anyone is interested in a Doll Making Class for a change - I have an opportunity to get a "Feature" teacher from "down under" and if there's enough interest we can certainly go ahead......let me know!

Happy Quilting!

Jo-Ann