Best Ever Sugar Cookies

If you love a soft and sweet sugar cookie, I have the perfect recipe. This recipe came from my grandma, and I don't know where she got it. All I know is that I don't bake, but every year around the holidays I end up making these cookies. They are too good, my second batch in as many weeks is chilling in the fridge right now! Here's the recipe for your eating pleasure:

1 1/2 Cups of butter
3 Cups of sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
6 Cups of flour
1 Cup of sour cream
3 eggs

Combine all of this and mix well. A kitchenaid type mixer is a must, as this dough is super thick and sticky. Once mixed, chill well in the refridgerator. If your dough isn't cold enough, it will be impossible to roll and cut the cookies.

Once dough is chilled, roll and cut into desired shapes. A pastry sheet is best, and it will take a lot of flour to prevent the dough from sticking! PAM sprayed on the cookie cutter also helps.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes. (I have larger cookie cutters that take a little more than 10 minutes to cook completely.)

Let the cookies cool, and then frost them with this frosting:

4 oz. cream cheese
3 Cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. milk
1/4 Cup of butter

Happy Eating!

It's Not Too Late to Make Your Table Merry!

For a festive holiday table, all you need is a couple yards of fabric and a super fast tablerunner! Here is one of the fastest and easiest ideas for holiday table decor, so easy you still have time to finish it before the holiday!



The fabric featured is from Sandy Gervais's Moda line, Merry and Bright. All you need to do is cut a square piece of the extra wide fabric, hem or serge it, and your tablecloth is done! Next, use the Merry and Bright panel to quilt up a tablerunner with all the appeal of applique and none of the work! Hem/serge up some coordinating fabric napkins, layer the pieces on your table, and you're done! A simple centerpiece finishes the ensemble. Mine usually holds round ornaments, but this year they're mysteriously MIA and I'm not about to go crawling around under the house in single digit weather to find them!

Yee Haw!

The Cowboys and Indians fabric arrived today! This is such a great fabric line, as it has both boys and girls in the focal fabric, yet could easily be an adult quilt by leaving out that one fabric. It's done in 1950's style and is just fantastic!

Tomorrow's project will be fixing up the display my mom and I have been planning to go along with it. We've already collected a saddle, and my mom has plans to build a fence for the fabric. Pictures to follow as soon as possible!

Hopefully my super helper comes home from Hawaii soon (you know who you are) to whip me up some sample quilts! Remember Boot Scootin' and Stampede? These quilts were attracting all sorts of attention at Quilt Market, so I can't wait to have my own versions!

Apron Trends

Aprons grew hugely in popularity this year, and with their popularity the number of great apron patterns grew too! January is going to be apron month at Moda University, so to get you ready here are some of the aprons on display in the store. You'll find all these patterns under the Bags and Wearables pattern category.

Those Crazy Kids

No, this is not a post about my family. It's to announce to arrival of the newest Buggy Barn book, "Those Crazy Kids!" I ordered this book at Fall Market, and it just arrived today, hot off the press! The quilt on the cover was featured in The Buggy Barn booth, and it was so darn cute it stopped my mom and I in our tracks. I know at least 2 little boys who will be thrilled with this quilt! The fabrics are from a line by The Buggy Barn, "Ron's World," which is due any day now.
The rest of the book isn't so bad either. Flowers, purses, kites, and sail boats are some of the great things you'll find featured in the 7 quilts. Even a coordinating crib sheet and bumper pad featuring the trucks!
You can find this book in the "New Additions" catagory of the online catalog.

Holiday Gift Ideas

Despite the unusually mild temperatures we have had here in North Idaho, it really is just a few weeks until Christmas! Time is ticking away quickly for gift shopping, so I thought I'd share a few ideas.

For your quilting and sewing friends, there are tons of ideas! A small basket filled with notions like thread, needles, a special tool, or even a few fat quarters is always a big hit. For many quilters, purchasing new tools or notions is hard when we're hoarding our money for fabric. If you have a special quilting friend, buying them a tool they wouldn't otherwise purchase for themselves is a great gift. Ideas include the Sidewinder, the Calantha Rotary Cutter, the Clover Mini-Iron, and the Electric Scissors.

Another idea for your quilting friends is to buy a kit. If you shop with them, you've probably got a good idea what styles and patterns they like. There are kits for every taste, and every budget. View them all here!

If all else fails, gift certificate never disappoints. I have them available in increments of $5. Call and I can even mail them with a card for you!

Random Happenings and Updates

Wow, have I been lazy at updating this blog lately! I've been on a mission to get caught up on long arm quilting, and the blog has slid as a result. Saturday I actually quilted 3 quilt tops! That never happens unless everything works out perfectly, which is maybe once a year. However, I have to be careful not to get too lulled into thinking I'm getting ahead enough to take a few days off, or I'll be right back where I started!
Another reason I've been frantically quilting is that I've recently come to the crazy, psychotic, hair-brained idea that I should go back to LCSC and finish my degree. Yes, I've been a big, fat, quitter for 2 years, and it's high time I finished up. I 9 classes away from being a Business/Accounting know-it-all. When I mentioned my newest crazy idea to my mom, she promptly replied that I couldn't do it unless I was all caught up before school starts. That means by Jan. 12 those 40+ quilts had better be gone!
My mom and sister have been great at picking up my slack in the samples department. My sister whipped up a great new apron for me over the weekend, and I have several new ornament kits and patterns that I need to add to the website. Pictures soon, I hope!
I also need to finish organizing my "12 Days of Christmas" at the store. Dec. 1-12, something new will be on special each day. Watch here for details as I figure them out. Nothing like waiting 'til the last minute!