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I started this post during my visit with the Omaha Modern Quilt Guild. Progressed a bit on it a week later in Seattle waiting for my 3xs over delayed flight to teach with the Longmont Quilters Guild, sat in my studio on my mattress, lounged by a lagoon in Mexico and now am attempting to catch a little time here again in Denver with the Metro MQG to bookend its finish. I promise the mattress situation will make more sense by the end.

Regardless of the physical location, I’m happy to finally make it back to this virtual space. Getting here has been on my mind, but placed at the bottom of the list.

So let’s start with a quilt;). A few weeks ago in between rain drops I got Jefe to hold up the first of my two Wonky Snowballed Stars Quilts.

Here’s the top and back of my second quilt.

No students during Covid meant the whole studio became my own padded room of design walls. I cut into intended fabric stack and started messing with it on the design wall. I didn’t intend to make two quilts but inadvertently a color wouldn’t work so I’d place the misfit to the next wall. I’m usually stubbornly committed to the back ground fabric of my original idea, but the second quilt was open to whatever other neutral for a different feel, so I went with a mix of the grey from my stash.

The good news is through this process I now had two new samples for my Throwing Stars: Magic Numbers meet Improv workshop with the Denver Metro Modern Quilt Guild.

Once I figured out the colors, it needed something else to make it pop. It stalled on the design wall for months as I wandered around navigating our weird world and Jefe took over the studio as an office.

I don’t know what sparked it, but it occurred to me that switchin’ out the stellar’s centers with their neighbors’ and adding the improv triangles to snowball the middle of the stars might bring it together. It was the breath of fresh air it needed. I love the improvisational evolution of a quilt’s design and when you realize it’s perfect and ready to be sewn into a top.

Since I started posting quilts with this improv mix I’m seeing more and more of these snowballed centers mixed with the magic numbers concept on Instagram in creative ways. Good reminder that these techniques belong to all of us.

Vertical quilting lines in aqua thread offered the zero disturbance to the quilt’s design I was aiming for. Depending on the math, my lazy approach to quilting is a quarter of an inch from seams, and then utilizing the side of the Bernina walking foot from the needle, which equals a ½” against those first quilting lines to fill in. I always give it a one over measure for even distribution. In my opinion a quilt design like this doesn’t need anything special. No burying threads for me.

With all that Essex as background and the mostly flannel back it will wash up double cozy.

Let’s talk binding. I ran out of the black fabric I’d used for some of the stars, so hacked into something similar from stash to use.

Adding a little sparkle and definition to its edge.

It’s a good mix of yarn dyed fabrics in the black color ways, front and back. If I didn’t have a million other ideas I want to try then I’d make a king size. The colors would be perfect for our bedroom and the dark background impacted less by a 90# dog.

If you’re interesting in learning the improv triangle technique I’ve had a cancellation, so have one spot open for the Saturday May 21st workshop.

Sorry about the garden disaster, also low on the list.

Last post I shared some repurposed pillow tops transformed into box pouches (pattern here), and then I went on a cutting spree through stash picking some favorite fabrics.

These top two have already found homes.

I was especially in need of a curves with a walking foot sample for my upcoming Straight Line Quilting workshop. I loved how it turned out. Both of the horse prints have lived in my stash since my first days of sewing and I have people in mind for their gifting.

The Buddhas went to Jefe. He needed a smaller size to carry his cords and miscellaneous stuff.

It’s all matchy-matchy with his Devon zip pouch he carries his passport in.

Quite some time ago I made some big ass buckets from the book Zakka Handmades. Mine lacked the structure a good mix of stabilizer would have given them, so with a baby shower gift in need it was the perfect opportunity to dig them out of the basement, spend some time with the seam ripper and add some soft and stable inside. Little Raja’s mom is using them in the nursery and I’m sure their use will transition over time.

Since I think they’re fun to make, next round I’ll be playing with the stabilizer, quilting, adding some more topstitching to the handles and perfecting the piecing of the curved bottom. They’re cute as all get out, reversible and utilitarian.

It was nice little boost for me when my host from the Omaha MQG sent me a photo of my Psychedelic Baby Quilt from the exhibit at the National Quilt Museum. It looks so perfect next to that stop sign.

Speaking of centrality, since showing my In Line Star Quilt in my last post I’ve been playing with some big stars that have a very central layout. I made a couple myself and then had a few of my friends over to help me test drive this new improv strip piecing workshop. We all made stars, but the blocks can be altered to other designs.

I’ll be getting this up as a workshop soon.

I never use brown so this was a good challenge. I’ll be using this color combo again.

What we’ve really been working on is the house. We’ve made so much progress on the fireplace take down that I shared with you last post, and then before I left for my first Denver trip.

Nonfunctional, it made since to reclaim the space.

We were hoping the outer brick wall could stay, but decided it need to come down.

The room feels so expansive now, especially with the light coming in from windows on both sides.

In preparation for extending the wood floors we widened the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. We wanted to take it to the ceiling like the other entries but the ceiling is textured in the rest of the house and we want flat in the kitchen eventually.

Here’s a great little photo reminder of the progress that has been made. Eight years ago or so after scraping off four dark layers of wallpaper I found we had plywood walls in the kitchen.

Like there wasn’t enough wood to begin with.

Jefe was a good egg. I’ve always wanted a pink room and since the plywood walls would be coming down in the future he was agreeable to my wish. Enter Prairie Rose.

It feels right wider.

Then we packed up 9+ years of our crap into the garage and basement, moved the beds and all the plants into the studio, and had wood floors woven into the hearth area of the living room, added to the kitchen and refinished.

It was all very cozy.

Boss thought so too.

Getting the floors in and refinished feels like a huge step in the house remodel. There is now an actual walkway to the little attached room off the living room that doesn’t involve walking over a hearth and a flow into the kitchen.

The good news about the plywood walls I mentioned is little mess in taking them down. Next is electrical in the kitchen and insulation throughout the whole house.

We obviously have some painting and trim to catch up on.

What a difference a few years and some sweat can make.

A 51st birthday celebration came and went.

As did Saint Patty’s day. The boys were in Mexico City eating tacos and playing soccer, so Boss and I headed to the neighbors for bangers and mash and green cocktails with some soda bread in hand. This recipe with golden raisins has been my standby for as long as I’ve been baking. I probably should branch out, but why chance ruining a good thing?

A freezer with left over Easter ham and a package of puff pastry becomes a great breakfast treat when you add some cheese. All my cookbooks are packed until we paint, but these come from a recipe in one of the Back in The Day Bakery cookbooks and you should just buy them all. (affiliate link)

They also pair well with a salad.

Did someone say salad? Just like last year, I planted too much lettuce and greens, but have plenty to share with the neighbors that way. I was also given some asparagus ‘fingers’ that I’m hoping between the 72 degree day and the snow more than the few I’ve chopped into a salad will show.

When the chives come in I always make cauliflower au gratin which matches up with a nice salad and steak or salmon perfectly.

More salads. If you’re a fan of Thai food and have a bunch of fresh herbs this larb from Food and Wine is where it’s at. If you’re around a Trader Joes and they still have them on the shelf, then grab yourself a few cans of the fried jalapeños to toss on top with the peanuts for some spicy crunch.

Time for apricots again. Smitten Kitchen’s breakfast crisp is a seasonal treat and a good excuse to eat some delicious whole fat Greek yogurt along with it. Even if the apricots are a little bitter or under ripe, baked up they generally turn sweet with a great texture.

The said asparagus we have been eating in two other spring standbys. One is a raw salad with some toasted pine nuts and cheese. Check out Salad Days for it and be sure to eat the Napa salad too.

The other is Nom Nom Paleo’s asparagus eggs which is one of the best breakfast dishes I know and only takes about 6 minutes of your morning to make. You don’t really need a recipe to follow for it, but the book is worth it for some of the other recipes.

It’s halibut time again. This one’s an easy ceviche we use to eat when we’d go to Guerrero, Mexico in our past lives. Cut up some halibut (or other firm white fish like sea bass), white onion and jalapeño. Squeeze a bunch of lime all over it and let it sit until it goes opaque white. Regionally it’s served with Ritz crackers and some Buffalo Chipolte sauce. Yum. Make sure to crack a cold crisp beer or make yourself a Margi.

The monster is back. We cut the wisteria back multiple times in the growing season or it would literally lift the roof. I do love it.

Everything is blooming in defiance of the colder than usual weather here in Seattle. I’m all done for the season with my travel teaching and looking forward to spending some time home, especially in the yard in between teaching at the studio.

Of course no post is complete without the puppers. Boss is Boss.

And we took care of the pugs for a couple weeks. Fiona is still the sweetest girl ever.

Franco is just silly, always reminding you he’s hungry by bringing you his bowl.

And we spent some time with Hazel who was quick to put Boss in his place.

I’ve got the quilting done and the binding on the second quilt. Due to the Swedish finish on the floors we’ve had all the windows open to air out the house and it’s nice to have an excuse to cuddle up.

Hope your spring has sprung. Unless I’m on vacation I won’t be writing posts from a hotel lounge, but it is kind of fun. Make sure to be kind to those people taking care of you in your travels, they’re working their tails off.

Cheers, Katie

I have two finished quilts to show you, but no bright days to photograph them, so I’ll offer you up this quilt as a tidbit of luminosity instead. After the students cleared last Saturday, I did my usual clean up and moved the table out of the way to baste one of my snowballed stars quilt.

I went with a mostly flannel back.

It occurred to me as I was snuggled under a quilt the other night that always pick ones with flannel backs. I had moved away from using flannel in an effort to use up some of my stash, and to make traveling with 100 pounds of quilts for workshops and lectures a tad lighter, but they just don’t have the feel I like to cozy up with.

In an effort to stretch the flannel I do have I’ll stick with adding some panels that either reflect the design on the front, or use the leftovers from it. It’s a great way to play with some improv design. As usual I started with one idea, ditched it and ended up with something completely different.

I’m waiting on my thread, and then I’ll likely set up shop for quilting at the dining room table like last time.

I had a request for a retreat at the studio for three people, the first since Covid. Attendees picked two projects that gave me some teaching time and the capability to complete some gifts as well. I’m actually keeping one zip pouch for myself this time.

This pattern is one of my favorites for teaching zippers and of course gifting.

It’s probably not appropriate to give a gift and ask that the wrapping stay, so these gift bags will just be used here at home with family;) I had a bunch of leftover scraps from my Christmas star quilt that found a home using In Color Order’s drawstring bag pattern. If I get some time I’d love to add some other sizes made with just a single print or two to balance out the scrappy.

We also joined forces and made a few things for an auction/ fundraiser for a group educating about gun violence. Michelle Pattern’s grocery bag pattern and Krista of Spotted Stones zip pouch are easy to make with all the novelty fabrics I had to have.

We got away for a few days, this time in Baja to Todos Santos. It was a little more touristy than I expected, but easy to be outside to eat and play.

We splurged on a really nice home walking distance from the beach.

We ate everything we could.

Of course my family had to find a tv live streaming the Liverpool game, so we made our way into town one morning for huevos rancheros and the best/ first ever breakfast margis.

Considering the days here in Seattle couldn’t be any darker, it was a good little meditation reminder that the sun is always up there shining, even when it’s covered by clouds and you can’t see it. In the meantime we put up our indoor lights which makes the house feel so cozy in the early morning and night.

I love the lights IKEA has put out over the years and have to admit this years holiday selection was a little uninspiring. I’m so glad I bought them when I did.

I went a little crazy with the TJs wool ball garlands this year and I haven’t quite finished combining them with the lights in the front window.

Since I’m the cat lady of plants we don’t have room for a tree, but I do like holiday decor that can mostly be left for the winter.

All the Christmas quilts are out, though admittedly some never got tucked away. I put a Crazy Piecing workshop on the calendar for the 20th after getting out my Arkansas Cross Roads quilt using the technique.

I bought some more flannel in the reindeer print to make its way into some king size pillows.

I also got around to a new cover for my ironing station (tutorial here). Here’s a sneak peek of my new quilt on the wall which I thought kind of matched the print.

Apparently I collect pie pans, and it’s true, pie is my favorite dessert.

So it’s kind of mandatory that pies get made for the holidays. We missed it last year due to COVID, but my pie crust making girlfriends and I got together for our annual Make Ford Proud Assembly Line Pie Crust Production Day. We each walked away with enough crusts to freeze and make our holiday pies. Imagine what we could have done if I’d remembered to bring butter;)

Ironically, I went home and made a blackberry tart since I couldn’t be bothered to get a pan out.

We’ve I’ve gotten back into the groove of cooking around here, especially soups since I’ve got something continually brewing in the slow cooker to enrich store bought stock. Unless you’re the two other members of my immediate family you’ll love the NYTs butternut squash soup. I don’t bother with the browned butter, but the swirl of creme fraiche is mandatory.

“Food eats first” is our family joke when we take photos of our food before we eat it. That really didn’t happen this round, I just ate it, especially the turkey and zucchini burgers from Yotam’s fab book Jerusalem, which I’m making again tonight. So good.

There’s some blooming stuff around. My Christmas cactus was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, as was this happy plant until Boss came trotting by me with its single flower in his mouth. Maybe another time we’ll see what it was suppose to look like in full bloom.

Look at him…it wasn’t me.

Not sure if I’ll make it back here before the holiday, so I wish you all a peaceful season.

Looking forward to time in the studio with new and returning peeps.

xoxo, Katie

Awe Autumn… even though I really like an excuse to wear a good pair of boots, it always takes me awhile to wrap my mind around the idea of you. This year the gardens usual attention was directed towards Boss. No longer watering tomatoes is good news as that leaves more time for sewing, and something we’ve all hopefully become really good at, being homebodies.

Being a homebody aligns particularly well with laying under quilts.

Marin Hanson, Curator of International Collections at the International Quilt Museum, wrote me to say that they will be including my quilt, “Psychedelic Baby,” in their current exhibition, “Modern Meets Modern” (September 24, 2021 – March 12, 2022). 

Marin added, “The exhibition will be looking at Modern Quilt Movement quilts in comparison with quilts made between 1870-1940 — an era we labeled the “Modern Age” in our book, “American Quilts in the Modern Age.” Quilts from that time period were affected by significant technological, economic, and social change, similar to the way in which 21st-century quiltmaking has been shaped by major shifts (in technology, communications, social awareness, etc.). Your quilt will be in a group we’re calling “Centrality,” and will be paired with these four antique quilts. — I love the way that there are distinct differences between your quilt and the antique quilts but that there are harmonies as well, in both coloring and a central focus.”

Here are the quilts that are hangin’ with mine as part of the Centrality section. So fun!

This flower one I want to steal. It’s so whimsical and friendly.

There’s a great virtual gallery here so you can view the whole exhibit. I’d love to explore the museum and will be teaching in Omaha come May, so
I might have to make the miles somehow to Lincoln.

I kept thinking I’d etch out some time in the studio between students to quilt a top, but after a dozen times of assembling my space and taking it down I set up shop in the dining room. I finished the quilting today and hope to get some binding on for some hand sewing. I’m so please with the finish, it went way better than I expected.

It was the perfect location for quilting a few lines here and there, looking at Halloween decor and the dust quilting and life produce.

My next post should probably be of all my quilt tops that are waiting patiently here in a pile.

I’ve also whipped up some zip pouches for holiday gifts and class samples. You could come make some yourselves in a weekend workshop, but this is also a technique we can get the hang of in Open Studios.

I made some more skivvy bags for travel as gifts. One for the clean and one for the dirty;)

I also added a few more designs to the samples for the studio’s November straight line quilting workshop.

Boss says, ” I don’t always use pillows, but when I do… I like them with invisible zippers.”

So I mass produced some last week after my workshop of teaching others how to install them. I’ve added another workshop to the calendar, but you can tackle it yourself with my tutorial as well.

I’m not going all out on my Halloween this year since I feel we have so many house projects in the works, but I’ve loved this Alexander Henry witch fabric forever and had to have it for its bright colors.

We’re still glamping in our non-existent kitchen, but I decided it needed a little Halloween decor so I went through some boxes. There’s only so much you can do when you remove 4 layers of wallpaper and you have plywood walls.

Outside the tomatoes are done, the poppies harvested, and the sunflowers seeding. I’ll start whittling away at the remaining beds for some clean up as I have time.

I gathered up all the “sickly” looking plants late summer and had a big repotting session. I’m researching some grow lights so that I can nurture some of my outdoor plants in the basement. It always feels too cluttery when I bring them all in, especially when you add the holiday stuff to the mix.

I’ve pretty much put on my give up suit when it comes to cooking, but I’ve got a few to recipes to share and most are on-line.

I have a few standby salads for each season. Every summer I look forward to the tomatoes ripening so I can make my version of Martha’s grilled tomato vinaigrette. If you’ve been to my house or studio then you know my signature salad is any lettuce/green with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and Kalamatas, plus a crumble of feta or goat cheese. The dressing however is always the variation. If there’s a leftover side or some other protein around I might throw that in.

The Messy Baker cookbook has a whole section on the different folding techniques of phyllo that I referred to for making the little spanakopita triangles above, but my family has some Greek roots through marriage and though I believe they were stuffed with spiced lamb I remember watching these little numbers be rolled as a child. Heather Christo’s Generous Table is where I pulled the recipe to fill them. If you’re not familiar with her, she’s a Seattle local that currently creates gluten free recipes. I always think of her pre-dairy free days when I make her au gratin potatoes at the holidays.

Same said salad, but I wanted to try Cookie and Kate’s baked crispy falafel. Don’t skimp out and not make the tahini dip especially if you have kids. I’d recommend making the falafel smaller though. I’ve told you before that I hoard Trader Joe’s frozen garlic naan, which makes the best croutons and was an essential here.

We had a rainy crappy weather week, which is only appropriate when you live in the PNW and it’s October. It totally puts you in the mood for soup. Gimme Some Oven has a few variations of chicken and wild rice soup that I adapt to what’s around. She pretty good at adding dairy or gluten free options too.

Watch yourself, there’s another teenage driver on the road. In celebration I made King Arthur’s yellow cake car shaped and later demolished them with the fudge frosting.

Um yeah. Every fall when the trees in the alleys are packed with plums you go a picking. Boss and I took a leisurely walk a few weeks ago and collected a few varieties.

I follow the New York Times Plum Torte recipe which is the most simple of cake recipes, but sub out a 1/3 of the flour with fine cornmeal and top with whip cream. Make it, you won’t be disappointed.

I dug around in the frig last Sunday for what could be used, and then through cookbooks to see if I could pair the ingredients for some baking. Janie Q’s Lemon Cake from Back in the Day Bakery was the winner-winner in all the ways, and I’d never say no to one of the savory hand pie recipes in this book either.

We took care of Fiona while my family left for vacation. She’s a cuddly delight to have around and a great sleeper at any time of the day. We call it Pug disease. Something Boss for sure doesn’t possess.

When they returned they picked up a new member for our family named Franco. We have yet to meet him, but I can’t wait to kiss his fury face. I’m sure you’ll see more.

Boss turned one in September. I look at his face now and try to soak in as much puppy as I can.

I don’t know much about his Rottweiler side, but he’s definitely got the field lab character. Always on the go, smart, causing trouble 1/3 of the time and inquisitive. Fifteen minute power nap and he’s ready for whatever you can throw at him next. I bloody love him.

You can’t be a homebody all the time… Jefe and I hit Santa Cruz for a wedding and re-explored Carmel and some other coast areas for the long weekend. It was refreshing to take in some beaches and not much of a challenge to find spectacular food and outside dining, but I can’t wait for a more relaxed travel again.

You can be a homebody in your home town too. We made a trip up in the Space Needle for the first time since just before they closed to do the remodel. It’s unbelievable how much Seattle’s grown in the 18 years I’ve been here. It’s such a beautiful place to live.

I hope life is currently giving you watermelons and cucumbers,

Cuz when you juice them you can make a delicious margarita. Happy fall peeps;)

xoxo, Katie

Well we’re not exactly hitting a button, but a few weeks ago my little pod was fully vaccinated. We’re excited to be resetting and embracing whatever that means for each of us. For the studio that means swimming the slow lane towards reopening.

I’ve been working through students with credits, and my list of anyone that’s called or emailed. If I’ve missed you, I’m sorry and could you please contact me so we can get sewing! Privates are available if you prefer.

I’ve got Open Studios for kids and adults, the Foundations of Paper Piecing workshop, one spot left in Free Motion Quilting, and since I’m sharing a new quilt top sample today using Magic Numbers I added a workshop.

Now to save this from becoming a food and gardening blog I did some sewing.

Turns out teens virtual learning are not only helpful at unloading the dishwasher midday, but also for holding quilts when the weather is cooperating;)

I love this quilt on so many levels, but after not being so wowed by it for months it occurred to me to swapped out the stars’ centers. It was then that it took on some life.

After teaching my Magic Numbers workshop at Quiltcon there were so many design ideas I shared with students that I want to see as quilts, Snowballed Stars quilt was one of them and there are more in the works.

Snowballing the centers with improv triangles added the movement such a static traditional block design needed.

It’s hard to resist adding in some sort of texture with some ‘slight’ print here and there, and the background is a smorgasbord of dark Essex yard dyed linen.

Since it’s become a habit to be indecisive about nearly everything in my life, I couldn’t decide on a color way and made two. We”ll call this one Morning Star.

I don’t know why I’m more partial to the dark color way, nor why it’s so difficult to keep quilts small, but I do know as someone that travels with 100#s of them that it makes the most sense to make baby and lap quilts.

Since I’ve been craving an empty design wall to get a hatching idea up for my Strip Tease workshop, getting the two quilt tops above done was a total accomplishment. The ovals are cut and I’ve been playing with background colors from stash.

When I’ve offered Strip Tease as a two day workshop with groups, I’m always so impressed by the creativity of students, and imagine endless samples that spark ingenuity with shapes we don’t gravitate to as much in quilting. Ovals are where it’s at.

As you may have noticed, I’m not a linear start to finish quilter. I like to have quilts in ALL the stages of unfinished, so if the mood strikes me to sit on the couch and bind there’s one available.

Progress on binding for my Merry Gifts quilt happened. Quilted by my friend Sandie, I’m looking forward to throwing this one in the wash for Christmas in July perhaps? Oh wait… that’s almost here.

My studio has been Jefe’s office for a weird 16 months and once his computer world left I moved the table and mopped the floor. Boss thought I did it for him;)

So I moved a dog, made a margarita, and let my over basting disorder (OBD) take over. Some sort of progress can now happily happen on every quilting level.

My first Quiltcon entry that resides in the National Quilt Museum’s collection was featured as a favorite modern quilt by Mary Kerr in the latest American Quilt Study Group Quiltside Chats. Her words about it were extremely flattering and a good reminder that I love the process that happens on the design wall. There are a few episodes available if you want to check it out. I cracked up when I first saw the screen shot they used for the newsletter as it looks like she’s flipping us the bird;)

Though the garden and studio are calling to me more and Boss Dog always, my year plus glamping kitchen is still delivering. I’m going to start with dessert since it is way more delicious than talking about contractors.

(links are affiliate if you care to dive in.)

I think I love berries more than quilts. My family affectionately calls this berry pie with berry glue. This pie with some whip cream are best pals. It somewhat manifested itself from King Arthur’s baking book. If I was to have one baking book it might very well be this one. Boss loves it so much he shredded my copy into a million pieces and I had ti reorder, but this time in hardcover.

Since application of the fudge frosting made for a butterfly crime scene I’m showing you prior pics. The frosting suggested to pair with this cake is old fashionably delicious, but severely obscured the shapes of the cakelets. Well noted that there was not one complaint.

Pudding from the Loveless Cafe. Just as hot dogs and ham are THE vehicle for mustard, puddings need ripe bananas in my world. Give me chocolate, vanilla or butterscotch, but most importantly give me something to do with the leftover egg whites.

Enter what I call macaroons with nutty chocolate pants;) Cookie Love’s Mindy Segal and Kate Leahy rocked the recipe from it’s traditional roots by combining unsweetened shredded and flaked coconut with some cream of coconut as the sugar kick. Bonus is you should have enough cream left over for a round of Pina Coladas. I dipped them in chocolate followed with toasted almonds for that Almond Joy taste and it was so close, but better.

Theo Chocolate’s factory is in our old Seattle neighborhood Fremont. I would often run by and smell the deliciousness they were making. After sharing this memory with a friend he gifted me their cookbook and to thank him I baked the Dark Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake. It actually got an amazingly rich chocolate glaze but didn’t last long enough for photos.

• 

Banana Cream Pie holds a similar status to triangle quilt blocks and boots in my world, I rarely meet one I don’t like. I’ve messed around using different recipes, but I’m feeling pretty solid that I’ve found my go to in Martha Stewart’s baking book.

I’ve always been a pie person, but all these fun bundt pan and cakelet shapes have me a bit obsessed. I’ve baked this Rootbeer Chocolate Cake from Baked New Frontiers in Baking on 3 occasions now and my MIL mentions it on every visit. I think it might become my signature cake. I’ve started dusting the pan with cocoa powder since flour left behind some residue, but if covered with frosting no matter. Everything from this book is amazing and I’ve referenced it in past posts with other recipes.

When we eat it we use a quote by writer and food critic H.L. Mencken, “How does it taste? It tastes like more.”

We do eat real food. I try to get to new recipes every week, but we have some standbys.

Sweet potato, poblano and black bean enchiladas by Cookie and Kate’s Love Real Food. If I know someone is interested in vegetarian fare some variation of these enchiladas rotate in.

Sometimes those fav recipes combine. The corn and feta salad topping here is one of many recipes from Kate’s blog that we make. I love it on a variety of tacos, but it combined especially well with the achiote chicken from The Essential Mexican Instant Pot Cookbook. Which also happens to have the best taco topping salad recipe.

If I were to have one cookbook it would be Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything. It’s another I often gift. The Pad Thai and other Asian noodle dishes are where I’ve explored the most with lip smacking success, but somehow the chicken thighs with tomatoes and olives rides the edge between fresh and comfort food. I love added some feta on top and a baguette to soak up all the sauce. Generally the next night we’ll toss the leftover sauce with some pasta, so it’s a two for oner.

Back to vegetarian fare, this udon (or soba) with shiitakes and bok choy has been in my recipe arsenal since my Flagstaff days and the cookbook traveled with me. Sometimes I’ll add some pork or whatever veg we have around, but mostly I stick to the veg style since it’s so simple and good with what ever you have around.

We’re not only trying to eat more vegetarian, but vegan as well. A yakisoba and a hot pot type thing have been on my radar as an easy meal option, plus they’d provide another use for the miso I buy for miso-y grilled potatoes. When I picked up Vegan Japaneasy I noticed that it had recipes for both. I made the dashi broth, a first for me and the hot pot was super flavorful. It was easy and the leftover seaweed from the broth was then made into a salad to top some rice.

When Roan was a toddler we joked that we lived in a gated community. It was just easier to gate off the trouble than tell him no all the time and with Boss we’ve reentered that realm, especially with the yard.

The window box is safe and the one on the back shed is planted. It seems everything here is flowering earlier than it ever has.

The spring was good to us prior to the triple digit temps.

We added another planter box since our neighbor gifted us several tomato plants. It boxes in the corner of the lot well.

I was inspired recently by a NW Native American man who spoke on a talk show about his slow reentry into ‘normal’ life and how his social life was looking different now because he was, “tuning into the frequency of me.”

Whatever that means for you I hope you embrace it and remember we’re all still in this together.

Be well. xoxo Katie

It’s been over a year since the studio closed due to the pandemic. At the time I was distressed, and rather uncertain whether I wanted to move classes online. I went with my gut and came to a decision that online was not my jam. We got a puppy instead;) With no rent to pay we thankfully had the benefit of that choice, many weren’t so fortunate.

I wasn’t sure if I’d made a big mistake, but in hindsight taking a break from the studio was revitalizing. I think if I hadn’t hit pause I’d be burnt out by now. I see it all around me, and feel grateful I was able to spend the year focusing on my family and sharing my studio space with them. I didn’t really add any new creative interests, but I was able to deepen my love and knowledge of gardening, cooking, baking, and yoga. I’ve come back to the studio from my break inspired.

We all need to remind ourselves that regardless of all the feelings of the past year, the ups and downs of fear, uncertainty, doubt, joy, hope, love and gratitude that we showed up daily. Maybe not at our best, but we did.

In the words of my kind yogi friend Marcia, “I guess this is really what a life of practice is: meeting yourself right where you are at, and just as you are.” I’m so thankful I listened to my intuition and could do just that.

I celebrated a little seasonal transition, claimed Valentine’s Day officially over and changed out some cushions.

I love this color way and seeing its return.

It’s also nice to see a little sunshine in the locations of the house not usually as bright.

Turns out I remember how to sew;) After staring at a sample for my Magic Numbers workshop started months ago, I made some adjustments and it all came together to my liking.

Well, almost. I connected the rows into pairs and will try to get at least one of the pairs connected each day this week.

Part of this progress is that Boss has finally been able to chill for brief moments in the studio, opening up the sewing part of my life again.

He’s been the best distraction, 7-months old, silly, mischievous and playful when not napping. The most strong willed dog I’ve ever had.

It’s been a while since I’ve been here so of course I’ve done a lot of cooking and baking in between. This whole post could easily be food photos. Links are affiliate if you find yourself drawn to something.

With no family around this year we forgot about Easter and in a weird twist had planned to celebrate Saint Patty’s day. As a child my mom often made corn beef and cabbage (I just learned that’s not an Irish dish) when my Pappi would come over. My favorite part was the cabbage with a healthy dose of white vinegar. This was the first year I pressure cooked it and that method will become the norm.

In my 20s, living in Flagstaff I discovered Saveur Magazine. With my cultural anthropology background I loved how the articles covered food from the perspective of the people and their culture. It just made trying something new more engaging and sometimes personal. This magazine and living in Arizona blossomed my appreciation for food’s ability to care less about borders. Yes, the U.S. has been termed a melting pot, but we’re also a tossed salad.

The first of many from this mag was a recipe for Irish Soda bread. More than good with golden raisins and toasted the next morning with a smear of butter. I’ve had it written down for years and finally bought the New Classics to have it in print. Be sure to try the hot and sour soup if you get a copy.

I make a lot of broth and freeze in jars with straight sides. Mostly from all the cut vegetable bits and peels, cheese rinds or bones around. I get a craving for pho at least once a month and generally do a recipe combo from Nom Nom paleo’s and Nguyen’s Pho book in the pressure cooker, but we occasionally will just heat some for breakfast and whisk in an egg and some spinach.

I always improv making fried rice and was never really impressed with my efforts. The cookbook Quick and Easy Chinese changed that. It isn’t generally a book I’d buy because upon first glance it just looks well…too generic. It’s part of a series (Korean, This, Vietnamese) that I now own the whole collection of because:

A). I apparently like to collect

B) The ingredient lists are things you have in your frig or pantry

C) It had recipes for both hot and sour soup, Kung Pau chicken and something called almost-instant noodles which pretty much is a deal breaker for me

Add some frozen potstickers and it’s a meal. When school was full on and soccer practices abundant this became my thermos ready meal to hand hungry kids in carpool. I like to use Tj’s pancetta instead of ham.

Our sunny weather came on pretty strong, but before that I was still making a lot of easy comfort food. I’ve shared this recipe before as my favorite Shepards pie and the first recipe thought of when the potatoes need to be used. I discovered it’s also printed in this cute little book called Sunday Suppers which I’ve now gifted several times.

PCC is our local co-op. I worked there for awhile when Jefe went back to school. I was always pleased when Tiger Mountain chili was in the soup bar and bought their book, Cooking from Scratch specifically to make it. I’ll take my cup with a sprinkle of cheddar and some oyster crackers or tortilla chips please.

I’ve fallen off the band wagon a bit with making something really hearty and nourishing for breakfast, but if we have some leftover lentils from Madison’s Vegetable Soups book I throw an egg on it in the morning. I love to toss in a Parmesan rind while it simmers.

While thrifting I found a couple of whoopie pie pans that I obviously needed. I’m kind of a sucker for kitchen things like this and it fit in my little convection oven which was a bonus. They also stack way better than my bundt pan collection;)

After wading through my cookbook collection and learning way more information than I needed to know about the origins of whoopie pies and how to make them I settled on this excellent recipe from Deliciously Vintage. I cut the amount of cream cheese filling, but I like the idea of mini cakes and these would travel well to the lake for a picnic.

Baked: New Frontiers in Baking is moving up the list of good baking books. I’ll have a rootbeer chocolate cake to share soon, but these banana espresso chocolate chip muffins were my vehicle for the brown bananas this round.

Speaking of bundt pans not stacking, I also have a collection of cakelet pans with the same issue. Smitten Kitchen Everyday has my go-to blueberry muffin recipe, mostly because of its use of frozen berries. I noticed that she also had a marbled bundt cake recipe and thought that might make a cute spotted bunny. One kind of looked like it was smiling;), The cake was moist and tasty, but the molds where too small and the shape easily broke. No one complained, but I’ll use a full size pan next round.

On my second round I went with a yellow cake from King Arthur. Though they looked like a murder scene after I frosted them with a chocolate fudge several people commented on how they tasted like a cake their grandmother use to make. Some said the same of the root beer cake I mentioned above. I think that not too sweet, dense and moist pulls us from the airy boxed cake mix type. Regardless, I love them sharing a memory.

As mentioned, I’m not one to celebrate Easter beyond a good excuse for family, ham, scallop potatoes and apparently a slight bunny collection issue, but I couldn’t resist these little $1 egg cups at Target and replanting some of my succulents for a few little neighborhood friends and one bunny loving friend.

I’m hopeful we’ll all be able to be together soon in the studio around the beginning of June and am thankful people are planning and looking to this brighter future.

If you live in Colorado, Texas, Alaska, Nebraska or California I’ve got teaching on the calendar and to those of you that have reached out, I’ll keep you posted here about the studio’s status once I catch up on those students that had reserved open studios prepandemic. I’ve been informed my contact form isn’t always working so I’ve provided my email there.

Thank goodness spring’s here and we’re able to spend more time outside with friends, including Boss’s girlfriend Fiona:)

Cheers peeps. xoxo, Katie

Closing in on a year of this bazaar journey I’ve found myself reflecting a lot about keeping a positive mindset and a little more emotional than I expected. It’s hard to believe a whole year has passed, but some of the seasonal chores that distracted me in the beginning and counted as small wins, the cobwebs and dirty windows, the weeding have come back full circle reminding that indeed it is true.

Sew Katie Did is currently the correct tense for me and I’m giving myself a free pass. I fell in the snow injuring my thumb. Turns out thumbs are important for sewing, but I did move things around on the design walls and finally am loving two quilts that have been up for two long.

Mentally it was good timing that The International Quilt Museum posted on the first day of Quiltcon Together a photo of my Psychedelic Baby quilt that is now part of their collection. A good reminder that even though I chose to not teach online this year in order to focus on my family, I’ve done good things. It’s a win;)

I loved that quilt so much I recreated it with some changes. This quilt was the seed that led to my favorite strip piecing workshop “Strip Tease.”

Looking back my optimism of the duration of the pandemic was a little off. My thought was for every day of it I’d make a house block. You can see how far I got with that.

Fussy cutting all those doorways was a great distraction and use of prints. I see a baby quilt in the future.

Winter distracted us briefly here in Seattle, but there are signs of spring. It was great to have the routine mixed up for a few days. Since the snow landed mostly over a weekend we were actually able to really enjoy it. It was pretty fun to see Boss’s love for it as he’d ‘snorkel’ around.

COVID has changed some things for me in a positive manner. I’d love to say that making more time for my love of cooking and baking is likely here to stay at its present rate. It has been my biggest distraction besides the Boss.

Regardless of working with a solo induction burner and a small convection oven I’ve had more time to enjoy the process because there simply was no rush. And on another note/win our kitchen plans are all drawn up and finalized!

I put affiliate links to all the books if you’d like to make something yourself.

The snow inspired me to break out my snowflake pans. The Vanilla Bean Book I’ve mentioned before is a keeper for the banana bread and brownies alone, but the almond picnic bread here was delish. I skipped out on the almond topper because of the pan and went with a browned butter ‘glaze’. The author has a cookie cookbook out now and if I wasn’t functioning with an oven that can only hold about 5 cookies total I’d be adding it to my collection.

The exception for cookies is shortbread in a pan or sometime soon a rosette. Martha Stewart’s recipe from her cookie book is one of those that the ingredients are always here.

I think I mentioned Flourless in my last post. In my opinion pudding and a ripe banana are a match made in heaven, so lately when we’re on the edge of committing to Nutella banana bread or not I’ve been going with the butterscotch pudding. I love that it doesn’t require egg yolks since I’m not a practical planner when it comes to the producing something with the whites.

It’s also time to try to clear last spring’s fruit from the freezer before it shows up again. This rhubarb snacking cake didn’t last long nor will the empty spot in the freezer. I’m new to Alana Chernila and her book The Homemade Kitchen, but have several recipes bookmarked after this impressive start.

My neighbor Henrietta Rollin’s eggs went into making these bacon and egg breakfast tarts from Chicken and Egg. This is one of those recipes that looks fancy but is super easy to pull off with frozen puff and whatever you have in the frig. We’re trying it next with pancetta and those left over sun dried tomatoes I’ve been trying to find a home for.

Mad Hungry has my favorite guac recipe. We probably make it once a week. I’ve found that cutting a round of Trader Joe’s waxed paper works well in place of plastic wrap for keeping it from browning, but it generally doesn’t last that long.

Nom Nom’s asparagus and eggs require a skillet and a broiler and about 6 minutes of my time, so when I start to see skinny asparagus in the market we whip this up with whatever leftovers we might have. I love the lettuce wraps too.

My family declared Martha Stewart’s mac and cheese from her America Food cookbook the best they’ve ever had. The crispy bread topping is key.

It’s nearly impossible to get a good photo of a stir fry, but if you were to add one paleo cookbook to your collection I can’t recommend Paleo Takeout more. I’ve gone on a good run with all the stir fries. I’ve never met a Kung Pao I didn’t like, but this book’s recipe is as close as it gets to my favorite from an Ann Arbor restaurant. I usually stick with regular tamari, cornstarch and serve over rice since we don’t have to go paleo.

My oxalis are some of the happiest houseplants, perhaps it is a March celebration. Happy Saint Patty’s.

Boss had a dermoid removed from his eye. He looks all cute here but it only took him a day to fully weaponize the plastic cone by cracking out a huge piece of it.

Our furniture, trim and knees thanked us when we replaced it with a softer one. Nothing like a clumsy, huge, vision impaired puppy. I’m so glad he’s healed and the cone is gone.

I forgot the mess that dogs create and finally pulled my older magic numbers quilt out so the newer quilts wouldn’t get ruined with the constant clawed stretching and muddy paws.

It took a few paint samples as always, but I found my new bedroom paint color, Benjamin Moore’s Aussie Surf.

I wanted something cozy and it was hard to beat the Pure Periwinkle we painted 9 years ago, but we (I) was ready for something new.

I’m loving it with the Daredevil of the hall and Jalapeno in the bath.

That’s kind of it peeps, nothing frilly here.

I’m embracing being outside in the garden again, it’s a welcome distraction. Walking in some sunshine with Boss and perhaps some soda bread is in my future. I hope you’re all hanging in there too;)

xoxo, Katie

‘Balentines Day’ has been absorbed into our family vernacular. Backstory is Roan couldn’t pronounce the letter ‘V’ when he was fresh to talking.

And its day is just around the corner. I’m not huge on the holiday, but this year celebrating anything seems appropriate.

And I am a big fan of the heart shape.

This shape is classic and I would guess never lost its appeal in some circles, but I believe my heart fascination is linked to my late 70s-80s childhood when it seemed to be everywhere. I had mugs, I had stickers, I had sparkly t-shirts. Its geometric shape merges in such a happy way with quilting and I love its adaptability with improv to create an irregular wonky shaped heart.

A storm last month knocked out our power in the middle of the night so we weren’t aware the basement’s sub pump wasn’t functioning. This facilitated the Christmas clean up that I’d stashed down there, but not put away. Since I was there I decided the Balentines decor should come up. It’s not our first rodeo with water in the basement so everything was up or in totes.

The mix and match of the pillows is getting a bit ridiculous, but using them as samples for workshops is always a good excuse to make more.

The half square triangle pillows merged with Christmas and are hanging on for Balentines.

Some of the Christmas stuck around too since their theme seems to jive.

So many pillows. We cracked up that we were a bit like that insurance commercial about old people being schooled before we all snuggled in on the couch and realized how comfy we were. Old people know stuff. It also made us realize that we can’t wait to kick off our shoes at someone else’s home and catch up sitting on THEIR couch.

Besides distracting myself with changing out pillows, I’ve been debating a new paint color for the bedroom. Pure Periwinkle has stood the test of time and two homes before we went neutral with Heavy Goose. I decided to go a new direction with a very green blue called Amazon Surf. I liked both colors with the red of the tansu chest and their tranquil feel, but if now isn’t a time for change then when?

The heart quilt is on the bed and some new ones with variation are in progress.

Besides the string quilt at the top of the post that I have a tutorial here, I created two other quilts with the heart shape that I use for class samples. I love my crushed hearts because, a) it’s purple and b) it’s got the best background of a mix of said purples.

Splintered Hearts is the other. It’s gotta be one of my favorite improv technique workshops to teach and even if you aren’t up for hearts the block lends itself to all sorts of design opportunities.

And of course there’s been cooking and baking. We’ve been having a Marvel movie marathon here, so I’ve been somewhat watching with a mix of my usual nose in a stack of cookbooks. Here’s just a few of the books I pulled from this week. (all are affiliate links;)

I found myself with ready to expire half and half, whipping cream and ripe bananas, plus a craving for pudding. I made my usual chocolate from Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe and tried a new to me butterscotch that was amazing from Flourless. Both poured over slice bananas. Delicious.

Looking through The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America’s Favorite Desserts I realized we had everything for rice crispy treats. I place rice crispy treats on the same bar with s’mores, everyone needs at least one a year. I had a little decorating error that ended with cutting it all into little bars and giving away to the neighbors kids. Not sure why I was thinking anyone needs one large rice crispy anyway?

The first day of the honey bundt cake with honey frosting from The Vanilla Bean Baking Book: Recipes for Irresistible Everyday Favorites and Reinvented Classics didn’t wow me, but the texture and flavor intriguingly bloomed after a couple days. Recommended by a student, I haven’t made a single thing from this cookbook that hasn’t impressed me.

I love plain pound cake with a cuppa coffee or tea. I’ve talked about Casella’s A World of Baking book before. It’s not a glitzy book, but it’s my go to for classics. I still want to try the tomato soup cake.

It’s bad, but I’ve started not just making heart shaped things, but collecting them. This is a problem when you’re a thrifter;) It started last year with the IKEA heart lamps from Ebay.

The heart bowl was a thrift find. Actually, pretty much everything on this shelf was thrifted. If you’re a Lord of the Rings follower you’ll know what I’m talking about when the words, “My Precious” were uttered from my lips upon seeing that bowl on the store”s shelf. Same with the pink Catherholm.

I blame Crate and Barrel for making this cute heart trivet that I had to have. Anything to distract from looking at the state of my kitchen. We’re getting close with our design though.

AND I blame IKEA for tempting me with these cute little jars to fill with candy for all my GALentines. They were just too cute to pass up.

Boss is my BIG valentine this year, all 50 pounds of him.

Happy Balentines and cheers Peeps, xoxo Katie

and P.S.

Hey there;)

In my attempt to stay upbeat, I’m celebrating the small successes/wins in accomplishing literally anything.

Here’s why, I read that the word “anxiety” was trending on Twitter and it made me realize people in my small world were using the word more themselves in text and conversation. We were all feeling fatigued and unproductive. These are normal feelings when your world’s turned up-side-down, but I wondered if it was time to step away from the news a bit, and focus on small projects to mentally cope and gain some feeling of control in all this crazy.

Falling under the category of “if I only have time, I would do this” was to organize/or delete 7200+ photos into albums. I started it one morning rather impromptu, and it held my focus here and there through out the day. It was a small win, but filtering through the photos of our house reminded me that it’s so easy to forget all the big wins already made on its progress.

So this blog post isn’t the usual patchwork that you all signed up for and since design inspiration is something that circles through most of my obsessions I thought I’d share some of the house developments to celebrate the small and big wins.

We knew this house was “The One” when its listing popped up late on a Friday night. We were the first in Saturday morning and to place an offer. After 9 months of looking we knew it was a star player. We saw past the carpet and bars on the windows to see the house was well loved and had good bones.

Bye bye to sparkle paint and flowered carpet. Off with the 80s prom dress curtains and the Renoir Parisian cafe border wall paper. Yes, that actually exists existed.

We knew once we took up the carpet that there wasn’t any wood flooring at the front of the living room. We’re guessing this was once the porch and the old couple had absorbed it to make the living room larger. There was zero insulation down there as well.

There were different stains through out so having them match really gave the house more cohesion.

The previous owner, “Old Man Joe” as we call him had a wood shop in the basement. In my opinion, this is a horrible idea, but a testament to how much his wife loved him, for sawdust magically appears there, no matter how much I’ve vacuumed.

He made wood EVERYTHING for the house including the fireplace mantel. See those tiles? I’m sure there’s a story behind those and we still have a matching bathroom sink that has to go. A signature design for sure.

Since the brick was sanded in spots we decided to just paint it all. I’d like to restretch the wood print in the second photo to fit the opening, but that might be a small project that never sees a win.

The fireplace isn’t up to code and maybe on the list to come down next summer. The brickwork inside and out needs help, and we don’t exhaust an oil furnace through the chimney anymore. Once it’s gone and the new hearth set back we’ll gain space, light, and a better walkway flow to the adjacent little room. I’ve got all sorts of free-standing fireplace dreams on my pinboard.

The dining room windows I have to admit grew on me, especially once the bars were gone.

The mustard tint was dated, they were single paned, but the morning light through them was cheery and they opened. Plus there was a ledge for plants.

It was hard to decide, but we went with a lined obscured glass on all the east side windows in the living and little room. Our neighbors on that side are so close that the privacy is welcome. Someday we’ll finish patching the drywall surround.

The grid front window isn’t missed.

I love the front windows. We’re a total fishbowl from the street, so though I enjoy waving to people I know and don’t know from my couch we’re messing with the idea of panels and plants for privacy instead of a solid fence.

Here’s a little more realistic photo of what it all looks like in the morning and after I’ve moved the cookbooks out. At some point we want a front door with windows and be gone security gate.

There’s that pass through next to the fireplace to what was likely in the past a third bedroom. We call it the little room, Claudia’s or Chris’s room. There’s a small couch with storage that can be made into a bed.

Again with the wood, carpet and bars.

When we took the closet doors off to do the floors we discovered that the backs were modge podged with old posters and magazines, including the World’s Fair when it was in Seattle. There was an unconvincing conversation about them being art pieces in the living room, but I thought they should be hung and displayed where they belonged. Looks like I can count that under ‘win.’

My small win for the weekend was getting my cookbook collection into its new and expanded home. I think this storage will be temporary, but I’m excited to organize them in one place. The artwork and some houseplant rearranging will likely be the next win.

When we received the keys to the house we hosted a ‘post it party’ which basically meant we provided a keg, post it notes and sharpies and requested people post their ideas for what we should do to areas of the house. If you’d like to see the post about that it’s here. I highly recommend doing this if you find yourself with a fixer, it was really fun and we wouldn’t have thought of some of the perspectives.

Like these for above the mantel.

And for the walls.

We’re likely to welcome you to our 10 year remodel still in progress 40 years from now, but we’ve enjoyed the process and creative outlet, especially as a focus now. We’re so grateful.

I guess I’m mentally preparing myself and my family for the long hail in this current state and I want our home to be a visually/functional/happy place to help make that easier., especially with remote learning happening here soon.

Whether it’s sewing, cooking, gardening… I hope you’re all finding an outlet and focus for energy that’s beneficial to your mental health.

Keep it up. xo Katie

p.s. I made you lemon sour cream pie;)