Easter Menu and a Coloring Book for Children

Here's a link to a FREE Easter Coloring Book you can add to a child's Easter Basket.

Sundays, I usually have a meal I can warm over from Saturday, in order to concentrate more on the Sabbath Day and less on the food.  So, in keeping with that, I'll do all the prep the day before Easter, so that serving the dinner will be about all that is needed.  Here's our menu for the day:

Ham

Twice-Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream, Chives and Bacon

Green Beans Almondine

Asparagus with Lemon and Garlic

Lime Jello with Veggies
Braided Sesame Bread

Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Pecan Cream Cheese Icing

I'll post these on my new RECIPES page.

I'll probably put the ham in to warm before we leave for church.  Usually, we are gone three and a half hours, because of the distance we drive to attend services.

Here's a cute little Easter gift you can make for a child out of an old wooden thread spool (if you can find one - I save them when I can find them)

Here are some quick Easter gifts from +"A Spoonful of Sugar" blog (I love this site). Go there for a great set of tutorials.  (The Easter Tutorials are down the page a little on the right.)

Face Washer Bunnies - a basketful would be nice.  So cute!

Five Easter Gift Ideas

Mini Easter Baskets

Lovely Gathered Baskets

Gorgeous Pillowcases

How about a Tissue Cover?

Have you ever SEEN the EASTER BUNNY?

How would you feel about meeting this lovely Miss Bunny?

 Or this pair of dancing bunnies?

 Or this one?

This fellow is begging a kiss from his friend.

How about a basket of bunnies?

EASTER CARDS

These old cards are so nice.

We all need an angel or two....

....from time to time.

Happy Easter, Friends!

Stormy Weather

Spring skies over central Washington, yesterday, were spectacular.  These are sky views from a Lincoln county road between Ritzville and Odessa.  The weather was intermittently sunny and snowy.  No kidding.  What can I say?  It's March.

Looking to the west in the late afternoon beside an old homestead farm.

Looking to the east.

Another sky view to the west.....

....and east, again.  From this road, we turned north, a few miles later.....right into another snow storm.  It took about 10 minutes to drive through it and out the other side.  Hey!  If you don't like the weather around here, either wait a few minutes or drive a few miles and you'll have something different.....not necessarily better....but, definitely, different.

Windowing Fusible Applique'

This is not a NEW IDEA (Windowing Fusible Applique')...it's a few years old.....but I thought I would trot it out because of a question I got from one of my fellow stitchers.

One of the girls wanted to make some quick door hanging decorations for patients in our local nursing home.
 I decided that the two-sided-fusible-web-windowing-technique would be just the thing.  So here goes.....

I picked out a section of the fabric, Spring Fling, that would allow me to collect 7 flowers and 3 dragonflies.

 I ironed the 2-sided fusible web to the back of the fabric.

Then, rough cut the parts I wanted in my door hanging.

Like this.....

Then, I cut carefully around on the outside edge.

I laid them out on the background, which was 12 1/2' x 18 1/2", and designed a vase to go with them, using plain copy paper.

I made the vase, by folding the paper, first, then drawing the shape and cutting it out while it was folded so it would be symmetrical.

I tried some different fabrics with the flowers for the vase and decided on this tonal batik piece I had in my stash.

I folded the fusible web and rough cut the shape about 3/8 inch away from the line traced from my pattern.  I cut out the "arm holes" on the actual lined edge.

Then, to "WINDOW" the shape, I cut out the center about 1/4" inside the traced line.

I laid it on the wrong side of the batik and fused it with a hot dry iron - about 5-8 seconds.

Then, I cut it out on the traced line of the outside edge of the shape.

Looks about the right size.  I cut out the "arm holes".....

....and removed the paper backing from all the shapes I had made so far....

....and laid them out on the background.

I drew shapes of stems and leaves on the paper side of the fusible and fused it to the wrong side of the green fabric.

All the elements......

were ready.

I began to lay them out on the background for the last time.

Everything's on there except the dragonflies.  I went ahead and ironed everything in place....then, added the dragon flies......and fused them, too.

All done!  Wasn't that fun?  It took about an hour and thirty minutes.  All I have left to do is to cut the backing, sew it to the piece, right sides together, leaving a turn-out space at the bottom; turn it inside out, press, and blind stitch the turn-out space shut.

TA-DA!!!!! The BEAT THE WINTER BLUES DRAWING for Prairie Cottage Corner PRIZES!!!!!!

Are you ready for the DRAWING for the Spring Blog Hop Prizes from Prairie Cottage Corner?  I've had so many wonderful comments and new followers and new subscribers, I've decided to draw EIGHT (8) NAMES instead of three from the commentators and followers lists.  DRUM ROLL.....

And the Winners are......

Barbara Woods

Karrie S.

Marion (in Germany)

Lyn

Gail Olney

Marjorie

Stasa Lynn

BJ Bevins

Congratulations!!!!!

Click HERE to view the patterns you may choose from.  Then EMAIL your choice to me and I will send the pattern to you in pdf format.

Spring Blog Hopping - Join the Fun

Spring is Sprung.

The grass is Riz.

I wonder where the Flowers is?

 TO WIN YOUR CHOICE OF ANY OF THE  PRAIRIE COTTAGE CORNER PATTERNS AVAILABLE NOW AT "PATTERN PEDDLERS" 

(or in the post below this one), JUST:

(1) FOLLOW ME,  AND 

(2) LEAVE ME A COMMENT TELLING ME WHICH ONE YOU LIKE THE BEST (If you're already a FOLLOWER, just say so in your comment - I'll be drawing THREE NAMES from the comments).

International participants welcome - your pattern will be sent by email in pdf format.

Join the Blog Hop Party by clicking here to see the list of participating quilty blogs.

Shhhhhh....and, by the way, YOU CAN HAVE A FREE PATTERN NOW if you  (1)subscribe to the email feed in the right hand side bar and (2) tell me in a comment that you've done so, then (3) email me at prairiestitcher at centurytel dot net to get the pattern.

NEW - For autumn - Coming soon - "Harvest Mice Wall Hanging Pattern"

On Our Way to Market 2013....well, part of us

"Harvest Ghost" and all of the following patterns will be available through PATTERN PEDDLERS at 2013 Spring Market in Portland, Oregon.  We hope retailers and others will enjoy our new offerings!

  

 Bird of Paradise Wall Hanging Pattern

Christmas Sunbonnet Sue Wall Hanging Pattern

Deutschesfest Potholder or Small Wall Hanging Pattern

Prairie Sweethearts Quilt Pattern

Autumn Wreath Wall Decor Pattern

Heart Etui Needle Case Pattern

8 Great Sunbonnet Sue Potholders Pattern

Harvest Kitty Wall Hanging Pattern

Harvest Mice Wall Hanging Pattern

Flowerbasket Sunbonnet Sue Quilt Pattern

 

I can't wait to show you the new patterns for Christmas 2013 and Spring 2014!