It's been a long time...

It's been many moons since I have written a blog post.  Somehow the time has just gotten away from me.  I haven't been completely idle and hope to get back on track and post my finishes.  Here's one of my favorites...

I made this lovely quilt using the Bjorn Bear pattern from Elizabeth Hartman.  It was a gift for a new great-nephew named George.   There were a lot of fidgety little pieces in this quilt but it was not really very difficult.  Her pattern instructions are very detailed and if you follow them and keep your pieces organized and labeled, then it goes together very nicely.

I used Kona solids for almost all of the quilt and using a different print for each of the bear's ears. I quilted it with a pale grey thread in a diagonal diamond pattern.  The lines are about 2" apart.  I bound it in a yellow solid.  This quilt measures approx. 40" square.

Of course, I had to add her signature glasses on one of the bears.

The back contains some of the solids used on the bears and some random prints.  This is a quilt I would probably make again.

Joyful stitching,
jane

My Marmalade Challenge

I haven't been quilting very much lately so I thought I'd post something a little different...

My first attempt at making Marmalade. 
I follow a great blog called Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan.  There are a lot of great recipes for canning and preserving just about anything. The best part is that many of the recipes make small batches so you're not investing a lot of time and money (although marmalade does take a long time).
Marisa is doing a Mastery Challenge in 2017.  Each month is a different challenge.  January was Marmalade.

I made a Blood Orange marmalade -  It didn't set up as well as it should have and was a bit lighter in color than I was hoping.  Only one of my oranges was really dark color.
I should have read Marisa's helpful tips before I made it.  Next time I'll do it a little different.

It still tasty yummy.  It was really nice on my yogurt.  I will definitely try it again.  I have a bit of an obsession with Stonewall Kitchen's pink grapefruit marmalade so I think that may be next.  All in all, a good experience.

Joyful canning,
jane