January and then Heading towards Valentines... I LOVE HEARTS!!

Happy New Year! Can you believe it? What happened to 2017? I have never had a year go by so very fast! I stayed home for half the year to rest and to sew and to create. It flew by! I start back on the road teaching the end of February. Can't wait!

My word for the year is "BEGIN." Something holds people back from beginning a quilt they would really like to do and it gets put off. I am hoping you begin what you need to this year! I am beginning many ideas and will finish them before the year is out! 

     I have only two openings to my retreat here in June. It filled fast this year. If you have not visited Washington State or Idaho this is a fun chance as we have two field trips and one of them is to Farm Chicks that is an art and collectible show. Lots of cool stuff for sale and great ideas. We will be visiting at least two maybe there great shops and we will be earing at the Coeur d'Alene Hotel which is on the water and delicious and beautiful too. The big thing is you come and can start a story quilt about you or someone you love or a place you lived or visited and you will learn Mary Lou's Easy piecing borders. We have girls from every part of our country coming. Get a friend and sign up for our last two spots!

Marylouweidman.com

The hearts above are from a class I taught and show the variety you can have with hearts for fun! There is nothing cuter than a heart quilt! Lovely white backgrounds and reds and pinks make for a darling quilt. I had one I sold and wish I had taken a photo first! What child would not love their name in the middle of a group of happy hearts? Even I would so I guess you can be young at heart too!

 Isn't this cat and hearts quilt the cutest? And with a word like smile it is a great reminder that life is happy and smiling makes everyone happy!These patterns are in my "Hoochy Two-chy book available on my website at Marylouquiltdesigns.com

 I think this clay creation about is awesome and would inspire anyone don't you? I saw it and had to share with with you!

 One of my pieced flower power quilts that is creative and fun to play with! You could space these out more and probably do two quilts with all of these blocks but I wanted to show different ideas that were in the Hoochy Two-chy book.

 I have just started putting quilts of mine and old blocks and pieces that I have collected. I am going to sell my house one of these days and I need to clear out my collections. There will be all kinds of stuff comeing on there and we are just getting started taking photots etc. Right now there is a quilt from my first book of a Mother and her kids and it has a story around the outside of an alien visiting that you can see in the window. It is for sale and it is really a cute quilt.
Keep checking back for other things and the cute fabrics we are offering. They are hard to find as I buy Alexander Henry fabrics which fly out of shops and most people never get the chance to see them! 
       I am going to work at making this year productive and I am going to give to the homeless as I have for years and hopefully I a going to volunteer to help those that are trying to make better lives for themselves and their kids. I want to make my life happy and those of my kids and friends and remember those less fortunate.
     I am thankful to be a quilter, a teacher and to have made the best friends anyone could. What a wonderful and happy hobby. 
What are you doing this year to make a difference in your life and the life of others?  NOTE- I will pick five comments out of a hat and send you a nice surprise if you add your comment here!!
Share your smile with others this month!

I know many people LOVED this recipe so I am sharing it again here! ENJOY!
Mary Lou's Overnight French Toast Strata with Berries -Delish!
Serves lots of people   - I use a larger than 12" x 15" inch baking dish (grease with butter
one large loaf or two smaller loaves of sour dough bread. I use larger loaves and just keep filling the pan until it is pretty full up. Cut up into nice bite sized pieces. drop in pan.
      In a separate bowl, add a dozen large eggs and whip them up with
1 and 1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup whip cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
make sure it is all mixed together well.
Now pour this over your bread. I always check to make sure it is really all wet and covered since this is what holds it together and makes it delish. It depends on the bread. So if it looks like it need s a little more, I miss a little egg with some more milk and add it to the part that needs more.
By the way, I cook like I sew. Out of the Box (but it's delish!)
    NOW, add these things in another clean bowl
1/2 cup flour
1 stick of BUTTER (not margarine)
1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
 1/4 teaspoon of allspice
Couple dashes of salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans and a 1/3 cup of whole pecans or so.
I used to mix this together with a fork but I found if I used my fingers it works much better and when you go to mix in the nuts it works well and evenly distributes them.
    Now take that and lay in in pieces all over the top of your bread.
Toss it in the refrig overnight covered with foil.
    The next day heat up the oven to 350 and stick it in for an hour.
Take it out when done and use a fork to make the topping spread evenly.  Now before you serve it take blueberries, strawberries and raspberries and serve along side with a bowl of whipping cream, maple syrup and blueberry syrup.
Everyone fixes it the way they want and there is NO leftovers. The berries are so good on there!
Not that much effort and worth every bit!
  

My new chicken lady quilt I will be taking on the road to show you!