Nutty Apricot Cookies and a Red, White and MOO cow!

NUTTY APRICOT OATMEAL COOKIES -  Claudia's recipe
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup chopped raw walnuts
In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, and then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking
soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Stir in walnuts and dried apricots.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie
sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yield: 24
Adapted this recipe from regular oatmeal raisin cookies found online. We're lucky to get the best nuts and dried fruit from my fiancé.s family, which
sells at local farmers markets in the Bay Area. The apricot addition makes a delicious tangy twist to a traditional favorite recipe. It can also be
substituted with dried mixed fruit, dried pears, or dried nectarines.

-- Isn't this the cutest cow photo ever?

Watering cans create lively creativity for Garden Story Quilts!

I am always "thinking" about things that could be creatively pieced for my workshops and in my story quilts. I want to do a quilt of flowers in a garden with watering cans. So my block swap group has taken this on as their challenge this month and we are using gold yellows for a background and yellow golds. Then we are using bright and pretty colors for our watering cans and we are hoochy piecing them. Soon we will all have 15 watering can blocks to create a wone of  a kind quilt from. I want to make myself in a garden of color and flowers and watering cans...so fun and isn't it great to see the infinite number of cans one can do? I have seen some of them and they are awesome! I will be handing out this pattern in some of my classes coming up. It will be fun to see how creative many of you will be with this fun idea! Creativity is infinite and that is why quilting is so much fun and story quilts even more so!

 

I would paint these below if they were mine...so fun!

 

 I used to have some of these little watering can when I was little...wish I still did.

Hey! Easter is Here and Aren't WE Blessed!

 

I love this photo...it must be in Texas...beautiful 

The quilt above seems like a good one for Easter-it is by the Danish artist Bodi Gardner

Coloring eggs is creative but writing on eggs seems like a really great idea- maybe with Bible verses and family names and blessings!

Just got the nicest note and this little bunny above is made by Sarah FIELKE  who is from Great Britain...they always do cool stuff there and I do love this=Thank you Folk Lady for letting me know this! !

Wouldn't this be a cute wallhanging or quilt?

Easter Bonnet cake...now that is beautiful and delicious!

When Bunnies share....on Easter of coarse!

I always hope this....I always feel better and happier when I feel God there in my life.

Isn't this the cutest elephant ever?

CUTE bunnies and a happy happy chick!

I took a class to make these eggs once....phew what alot of work...but beautiful!

It makes me feel happy especially at Easter time that God has a divine plan for me and the people I love and all people whether they know it or not....

I wanted to share this. When you think of God imagine His hand and Divine design in everything. Look at the perfection in this head of cabbage. As I told my Granddaughter today, there are miricles everyday right in front of us and we are too busy to see the beauty and majesty right in front of our eyes. It is a good thing to take time to really see what is right in front of us to enjoy!

I wish you all a beautiful Easter and a Happy Passover. Count your many blessings for the things that some people would give anything for and you might be taking forgranted. Life is beautiful and meant to be enjoyed and appreciated and to share your blessings with others who need some of what you are blessed to have.
Thank you for visiting my Blog!

Easter Blessings AND Flower Power, Spring and Fun Quilt Ideas

Here is the Baby Chick from the book Out of the Box with Easy Blocks!

 

Vickie Monton took the little Chick from the Out of the Box with Easy Blocks book and made this cute Chick! Imagine what a darling baby quilt this would be in soft pretty colors....makes a good Easter quilt too...;0)

BIRDS from the Flower Power book and exchange...so fun!

 This bird was made in one of my workshops and she used curved piecing....

FLOWER POWER starts wotjhoochy piecing and lets it grow into a large flower garden of fun and color and whimsy....the skies the limit...we will be doing alot of these at John C.Campbell in May and the West Virginia Cedar Creek Retreat and my own retreat in Idaho June 2nd-7th.

 

The Flower Power quilt above is by Kathy Sandling-isn't she wonderful with color?

Lots of flowers all in one wonderful quilt!

Girls from Flower Power Workshops

Aren't these fun?

White makes a cool background too and added buttons and rick rack once it is done is awesome....

The quilt below is for Laurie Latta's Granddaughter-lovely flowers in a happy quilt...the alphabet instructions are in Out of the Box with Easy Blocks

Laurie Latta made the darling quilt below...all from Flower Power

Flower siwth prints and plaids are awesome...I did not write down whose flowers this is but I love it!

Joan from West Virginia...darling quilt! Shes coming back which makes me so happy!

This might be by Kathy Collins...I am not sure but great heart shapes for fun! These could be in a row as bleeding hearts too-or heart flowers

This is what spring is about- color and happiness...and my fabrics

I saw this wonderful rainbow in Arizona and wanted to share it...like God had His finger making this that moment...so cool

And I have posted this photo in past Easter years but had to show it again. I went to Salzburg Germany and they had this egg shop with thousands of hollowed out decorated eggs...it was incredible. I bought too and they were shells by the time I got home....sigh

 

And for fun I thought I would end this with Carol Simpson's happy work. She did this darling cat quilt and used the cats from the Out of the Box with Easy Blocks CATS...so fun and so funky.... 

These are darling quilts she made for each daughter and she used the Princess Idea for each and put her own spin on it...isn't she wonderful? Taking an idea and making it your own is what I love to see!

SORRY MN quilters I won't be visitng you this year in June...I think you are too traditional for me I am sorry to say. I do love it there and think I fit in when I come to visit.

I love this time of year and the wonderful colors that God provides us. Count your many blessing and be a blessing to someone else. This is the true secret of happiness.