{ Celebrating Father's Day with Cookies }

My husband is always complaining that I make cookies for everyone else but him. He "never gets any cookies". Of course that's not true. I always sneak a few from whatever batch I'm making so he can sample th

I had every intention of making him a special BBQ/Father's Day collection of cookies. I looked around at all the amazing cookie decorators for inspiration, ordered some new cookie cutters and got to work last week, baking and decorating.

There's still a few burps and farts going on with these cookies. I stuck my finger in a beer mug and tried unsuccessfully to fix it and I really need to work on my lettering. I think I need a stiffer royal icing so the letters don't blob together. I'll work on that for the  next batch which I'll be working on next week, Fourth of July & BBQ cookies to take to TN.

{ What happened to quilting and knitting? }
I'm still doing both. I've been working on two pairs of socks and a plus quilt for my niece's classroom. It's almost done and  I'll post some photos after I send it to her. I don't want to ruin the surprise.

{ Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my! }

Well, actually it was more like lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos and monkeys. Zoo animals were the theme for Ronin's 2nd birthday party held over Memorial Day weekend. Last week was very busy around our house ( guests in from out of state for my son's graduation) so I couldn't start baking/decorating until Tuesday night.

I used tutorials from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle for the giraffe and the leaves. She makes everything seem so easy but, let me tell you, those giraffe spots were hell.

The cookies were a hit, especially with Ronin. He helped himself to a lion. I wish I could have grabbed a photo but he's not still long enough.



I'm still practicing the cookie decorating thing and usually enjoy the process. No strict deadlines is really a plus. Now I'll have to check the calendar for the next holiday or special occasion.

{ Sock Therapy }

We've got some fixing up happening in our apartment, an upcoming college graduation with family coming in from out of state, and some scheduled furniture delivery that requires removal of the old furniture first. { Really heavy old furniture} I needed to start a new pair of socks right away to help me relax in the evening.

I decided on a new pattern, Charade, which is free on Ravelry and a yarn that I hadn't used before. It's from Hampton Artistic Yarns .  I purchased it at the Long Island Fleece & Fiber Fair last year and was waiting for the opportunity to use it. It's a super soft hand dyed, hand spun superwash merino blend. The colors are beautiful and it even has a little silver bling. It was really hard  sliding off that yarn band and winding it up.

I had a bit of a sizing  problem with the pattern and had to rip out several hours of knitting, but I made an adjustment and started again. I love this yarn! Luckily in two weeks the LI Fleece and Fiber Fair is returning to Hallockville Museum Farm and I can pick up another hank. { Buying it online is not as much fun as seeing it and petting it in person }

I've been doing some quilting too but I can't spoil the surprise. Post with photos to come soon.

{ Quilting and knitting don't add inches to my hips }

Besides working on two different knit socks, I've been doing some cookie baking. Two baby showers, Easter, and a communion are all requiring I spend more time with my Kitchen Aid than my Singer. The cookie baking/decorating is fun, and tasty, but I find I'm missing the relaxed state I'm in when I set up the sewing machine and pop a good dvd into the player. I really enjoy quilting, every aspect from the cutting to the binding. Guess I love the final product, a lot. The quilt gifts  are appreciated and loved when they go to their new homes. I have three on deck....one for me, one for my sister as a Christmas gift and the other for my niece's classroom. I really need to find more time to sew.

That said,  here's some of the cookies from last weekend. Inspiration from The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle and Lizy B .

{ Weekend Cookie Baking }

We have a new baby in the family. A sweet little boy. I spent some time making cookies this past weekend. This cookie decorating thing is still an ongoing experiment. Some aspects of the decorating process are coming easier to me than others. I definitely have to work on my writing skills.

PS: See the little green heart with yellow polkadots in the front? I dropped it and there's a dent. I didn't catch it before I took the photos. I did switch it with another heart. Just buried that one way underneath the others. {shhhhh}

{ Bluebirds and Daisies }

For last week's baby shower I offered to make some cookies that would be given out as part of the favor. I had purchased the cutest set of cookie cutters, momma and baby bird. I finagled a bit and merged the two cutters to make one cookie. Worked out great! So, 65 cookies pairs and 65 daisies later..........

 

You'll notice three different styles of daisy decorating. I was experimenting. I prefer the one with the piped outline. Next time that's the way I'll do them all.

And, I flavored some of these cookies with almond flavoring instead of vanilla flavoring. Yum-my! Besides smelling incredible as they baked, they tasted amazing. {Yes, I made a few extras for sampling purposes. I had to know if they tasted good...wink, wink} I used decorating tips from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle for the birds. She's so talented and new cookie decorators {me} can learn a lot from her.

{ Meadow Friends baby quilt is done }

By the time this is posted, the  baby shower will be underway and there will be no risk of blowing the surprise. I finished up a couple weeks back and just took photos yesterday while the weather was nice. It's my first "plus quilt" but it won't be my last. I know it's a simple pattern but it's perfect for a little boy or when a gender-neutral quilt is needed.

I found a great tutorial and printable at  For the Love of George . I cut into the fabrics on a crappy Saturday afternoon and was ready to start laying out the pieces not too long after. I love this fabric collection! The prints are so cute and I even have enough left for a second quilt! You can see the fabrics HERE.

It's been awhile since I basted and quilted something on my home machine. I've been sending the larger quilts out to be professionally quilted. I'm not confident enough to try anything other than straight line quilting on a small quilt. It all can together nicely. I'm hoping this quilt gets lots of use.