Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I have been on hiatus since my spinal fusion surgery two months ago.  I have tried to sew some things however, my ability to bend is so very limited that it is more frustrating and painful than relaxing and rewarding. I did have the energy to make a coffee cake today. Having energy these days is a rare thing so I have to take advantage when I can. My husband will be thrilled, it's one of his favorites and since he has been taking such good care of me, it feels good to do something nice for him.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Here is the recipe:

Sour Cream Coffee Cake 1 cup butter 2 cups white sugar 2 eggs 1 cup sour cream 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/8 teaspoon salt Filling 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons melted butter 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350°. Grease a tube pan. In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup butter and white sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla.  Mix in 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt.  Spread half the batter in the prepared pan. Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl mix 1/3 cup flour, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and cinnamon.  Sprinkle cake batter with half the filling.  Spread second half of batter over the filling, and top with remaining filling. Bake 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Mini Log Cabin Blocks

I joined the SewCanShe.com 'It's a New Year Sewalong' and this year's block is the mini log cabin. I made mine from some leftover Sweetwater Noteworthy fabric I had laying around.  These blocks use 1-inch strips so it is easy to find pieces of scraps to use to make the blocks.  Once I made a bunch in a variety of colors I decided to make it into a mini-quilt for my granddaughter's baby doll.  She is one an a half and seems to be in this nurturing phase where all she wants to do is wrap the baby doll in something warm. So now she will have her own little quilt to wrap her doll in.

Jelly Roll Jam Quilt

I followed the tutorial from the Fat Quarter Shop to make a quilt called Jelly Roll Jam.  It was very easy and quick to make.  All you need is half of a jelly roll to complete.  It's a pretty small quilt which is partly why it's so quick to make.  I used a jelly roll from Sweetwater that I've had sitting on my shelf for a very long time.

The tutorial for this quilt can be found here. I really like the busy look and colors I get from this easy to make pattern and I look forward to making many more. With the right fabric, this would make a perfect baby quilt that can be completed easily in a day.

Happiness is...

a full moon early in the morning

Postage Stamp Quilt

Postage Stamp Quilt

I decided to do some scrap busting over the holiday week. It seems that once Christmas Day has come to pass everything seems to come to a dead stop. Going from the hustle-bustle days of preparing for Christmas to having absolutely nothing to do is a very tough transition. So I thought I would take advantage of the post-Christmas, pre-New Years Eve time and do some cleaning in my sewing room.  It didn't take long to realize that I had lots and lots of scraps left over from the many quilts I made throughout the year. My scrap basket was overflowing with so many memorable and pretty fabrics that I thought I should try and so something with them.

While watching college football bowl games with my husband, I started to search for new quilt ideas when I came upon the postage stamp quilt by Red Pepper Quilts.  You can find her tutorial here. I quickly took my overflowing scrap basket and dumped it onto my sewing table and started ironing the pieces that were larger than the 2 x 7-inch strips necessary to make the quilt.  During two days of college bowl games - this is my measurement of time, I was certain my husband wouldn't miss my presence as long as he wasn't hungry. And sure enough, I had the peace and quiet to just cut and piece without any interruption. 

Once I had the top completed, I thought it would be difficult to decide on a backing and as I started to go through my stash, a large piece of pretty flowery fabric caught my eye.  It seemed to have most of the colors in the quilt somewhere in the tiny flower designs. Luckily I had enough to do the entire back. I quilted it with some straight line quilting and added chambray fabric for the binding which gives it an interesting contrast.  

I really like how this quilt turned out and I am so excited that I didn't have to buy a single thing to make it.  I even had two spools of variegated thread that went very well with the colors in the quilt.  So this is truly a scrap project and I love all 1,296 squares of it. 

Raspberry Jam

Today I made some raspberry jam.  Over the course of the spring and summer I pick raspberries from my back yard. I have a little raspberry patch on the south side of my house and they are plentiful. Usually I get a harvest 2- 3 times per season. When they are ready, I pick the ripe ones daily, wash them and put them in a Ziploc bag in the freezer.  By the end of the season I end up with so many raspberries in the freezer, they get in the way.

Since today is the day of the deep freeze (it was -17 degrees here in Oak Creek), I am not going anywhere and it feels like a good day to heat up the kitchen. So I thawed the raspberries and made some jam. Here is the recipe I used, however I had to increase the ingredients by two hand a half times due to the large amount of berries I had. I ended up canning 20 jars of jam.

Raspberry Jam 

2 quarts raspberries, washed and drained 1/3 cup water 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel 1 package pectin 6 cups sugar

Combine raspberries, water, lemon juice, lemon peel, and pectin in a large pan. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, stirring frequently.  Add sugar, return to a boil. Boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let set 5 minutes. Spoon off any foam that may be on top.  Ladle into sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.  Raspberry Jam

Our Christmas Tree

Today we took our Christmas tree down.  I always have trouble doing that. It's so pretty and festive and I find it hard to let go.  I also have a little guilt regarding cutting down this beautiful living thing so I want to keep it in use for as long as possible.

For me, it's a little early; I usually take the tree down after the second week in January.  I just want to enjoy it for as long as possible but this year is different because I am having major surgery at the end of the month. So I need to get as much done as early as possible to prepare for the impending inactivity.

Today was a good day to take it down, the weather is going to head into a deep freeze and it's best to get it out the door before that - plus it will stand in the garden where the birds can use it for shelter when the frigid temps hit. So here is the last photo I took before letting it go.

Happiness is...

View from the Sewing Room Window

...watching it snow from the sewing room window knowing I have no place to go and nothing to do but sew.