Harry Potter and the Order of the Quilters

Yes its a Fabric Post!

It finally had arrived, the Quilt Patch Quilt Retreat!! This is something I look forward to all year long and now I cant believe I have to wait a whole year for the next one. I have had people (who are non-quilters) ask me “ what do you do at a quilt retreat?” I'm pretty sure I gave some sort of weird look and replied “I quilt”…”All weekend long?”, and with a huge smile on my face I say “Yes ALL WEEKEND LONG!” It’s really a quilters dream. At home you have all of the everyday distractions, like kids, housework, pets, husbands, ect. Here you have none of that! Well except the constant snacking and roaming around you do when you are fed up with that stupid seam or those 200 little 2’’ squares you have to cut out. (that Irish Luck seemed like a good idea at the time right Chris?) Those are the interruptions that are fun, because they include talking about quilting with likeminded people and there is always a glass of wine in hand.

Honestly this is clean for me.

The retreat is located at Wood Acers here in Moose Jaw, so I have the added bonus of being able to go home and make my own food to take back to the retreat. I could also choose to I could sleep at home, but I like the fact of sleeping there. Being able to go to bed and get up whenever I wanted was really handy. The thing that was a little time consuming was having to go home each morning and make the meals. But I think if I was more organized and enlisted the help from my amazing husband it would go a lot smoother.

This is only half of the sewing area we had.
Loved having those windows!

Thursday night kicked off at 4:00 with setting up of our stations, followed by supper and show and tell. For supper that night I brought 8 spring rolls, yes eight!! And as I am sitting down to eat the lady sitting across from me asks what I brought, I replied “Fresh Rolls! I live off these things!” She then takes a look at my rather large container and says “Oh so that’s your weekend supply?”.......”Nope, this is my supper” .... “You’re going to eat ALL of those tonight?”... “Yup, I can eat a lot of them!”

I think the women there were amazed by how much food I actually brought and ate while I was there.

My light in my sewing machine burnt out  :(

Jeanne (sitting) and Jo (with her face covered) from the Quilt Patch 

Jo's quilt from 7 years ago that she just finished!

One of the hardest things about going to a retreat is trying to decide what to work on while you are there. There I was looking into my bag of UFO’s (Unfinished Objects), which is quite full, and didn’t see anything that really wanted to be finished. So to me the logical decision is to.... MAKE SOMETHING NEW! Yes to me this is logical, I have all of this fabric just waiting to be made into something beautiful. So what if my UFO’s sit for just a little bit longer. Next was trying to decide what to make........ then it hit me. HARRY POTTER QUILT! I am pretty sure I yelled this to my husband. DONT YOU THINK THAT WOULD BE AWESOME! I think he just shrugged and said “Ya, sure.” My mind was made up, I was going to do this... except for the pattern.
 
I started to sketch a couple ideas and ended up with something that was fairly simple, to my I guess. I then hit the internet in search of some images I could use for appliqué (I really love appliqué, you can do so much with it) and found some awesome minimalistic prints that were perfect. I did end up drawing a couple of the images, the castle, the wand, the book shelf and the letters flying into the chimney.  Other than that they are not my images so I will not take credit for their awesome work. 

I was so excited to start this quilt. It was going to be a bit of a challenge but I was so determined to finish as much as possible before the weekend was over. So much that on Saturday night at around 11:30pm I ran home to print off more appliqué letters, seeing as the ones I originally had were too big to fit onto the border. I ended up staying up until 3:30am ironing on letters and cutting them out, I am proud to say I was the last one standing :)

I had such a great time, it was really hard to leave on Sunday. In some ways I wish I could do this once a month, think of the projects I could get done!! On the other hand, my wallet and my back thank me that its not! 

Thanks for Reading!

xoxo - N

Starting to applique around the shapes

Laying out the blocks trying to figure out what looks good





 

Sashing done!



The first letter Harry recieved from Hogwarts going down the chimney.

I learned this weekend how to print on fabric using your ink jet printer! So easy.



Cutting out all the letters that I ironed on at 3am.



Almost done! Just have to applique around each letter.
That shouldn't take too long.....



Halloween Puking Pumpkin Dip

TIS THE SEASON TO BE HAUNTED!! 

This past Friday we got to host our annual Halloween party, which is one of my favorite parties to plan. I love all the decorating, the costumes and the food.

For a costume I decided to dress up a Katy Perry this year, the candy themed one. NOT the ET one. She is a little too scary for my liking in that video. So I went to You Tube and searched for the video California Gurls and put it on repeat! I probably watched this video 10 times, just to get a her outfit seared into my brain. If I was going to make this costume, it was going to look great. Next was to the closet to see what I had that was Katy Perry-i, and I had.... a white tube top! Perfect, that's all I need! Well except for rhinestones, felt, dog chew toys (the cupcakes!), stickers, pipe cleaners, a headband, satin fabric (skirt) and a pair of tights. I am truly happy I had that white top, because its fricken hard to find one in October!

So I started to sew and hot glue gun the crap out of that top; which lead to burning myself with said glue gun and then sew some more to make the skirt. 8 awesome hours later...TA DA! I'm Katy Perry!

For the food I decided to do the typical munchies, chips, popcorn and something new: The famous Puking Pumpkin. I have always thought he was kind of cute and gross at the same time, which I think is perfect for a Halloween Party.

Ingredients

5 large Avocados
3 large tomatoes
1/2 cup of Cilantro
1 lime, juiced
1/2 large Onion
1 Garlic Clove, minced
Salt to taste

Dice it all up, throw it in a bowl and mix it unit it gets a smooth consistency. I like to leave some chunks of avocado in the mix to add more texture! Enjoy!



Me and my sisters, Chelsea is a Dinosaur and
 Ashley is a Banana!



Yes I Glued each one of those rhinestones on!





Thanks for reading!

xoxo - N

Super Soft Banana Brownies, Vegan and Gluten Free

Something that I really love about my jobs is that I have Mondays off. I can get SO much done on Mondays, like cleaning the house, laundry and even quilting! Maybe its because my husband isn't home...

So in celebration of having a day off I was in the mood to bake something, but I wasn't quite sure what. I started to think what I was in the mood for, sweet? savory? sour? And what I came up with probably has something to do with Halloween: I thought CHOCOLATE. Not that I haven't been sneaking my vegan chocolate bars in every couple days (or maybe hours, I don't know if there will be any for the kids) but I was thinking something more substantial. How about Brownies, I thought to myself? Those sound awesome (I'm really smart)!! They will be the perfect snack for the quilting retreat I have this weekend! In which I will finally be posting something about fabric, sorry guys Food has just taken over my life lately I havent got in enough time in my sewing room. 

Gluten Free Brownie! 

I have made a lot of brownies in the past, but just recently I started doing the black bean brownies. This is where you take a can of black beans, blend them up, add them to a premix brownie package and bake them. SUPER SIMPLE, vegan, and really good. However, they can become dry, which is my pet peeve of brownies. So I got to thinking what would make them moist?

Regular Brownie!

Bananas!! The perfect solution to any baking dilemma. They add moisture and a great flavor to any baking and I just happen to have 8 bunches of bananas in my house right now. Next I thought about adding coconut milk, its dairy free and will add a rich smooth texture to the bananas. 

Now that I had my idea I just needed my box of brownies. Superstore has a great Organic Brownie mix that only has 5 ingredients and they are dairy and egg free. This is the mix I use for my black bean brownie mix. But then I thought, what about doing a gluten free mix too? You can never have too many brownies. So I bought both!!

Ingredients 

Regular Brownie! Looks so good!

1 Brownie Mix
2 Medium Bananas
1/4 cup of Coconut Milk 
1/4 cup of Chocolate Chips, vegan

Pre Heat oven to temperature listed on the box. Blend the bananas and the coconut milk together in a blender until smooth. Gradually add banana mixture to the dry brownie mix and chocolate chips, until you get the consistency of a brownie batter. If you are using large bananas you might end up not using all of your wet mixture, and thats okay. Basically you just want to add enough to get it wet and thick. You don't want it to get too soupy or else they wont set.
Place in the oven for the allotted time on the box. Let cool. ENJOY!

I did this for both boxes, the Organic Regular and the Gluten Free one and the Gluten free one turned out a little stickier, but for me thats not a bad thing. 
I loved the results of them, I don't think I will go back to making the black bean ones. 

Stella finds it hard to look at Mom

This was going to be the end of my post, however my husband informed me this afternoon that our little girl Stella broke into our kitchen and ate ALL of the Gluten Free ones. Luckily I had tried one late night so I can tell you that they turned out great. I guess I wont be taking those to the Quilt Retreat!

So I just had to post some pictures of her! And as Ron Burgundy would say: 
I am not even mad: that's amazing! 

She looks so sad

She feels really bad, and she promises never to do it again.

Sweet Potato & Quinoa Chili, Vegan and Gluten Free

Go To Recipe #2

As much as I love the summer months here in Saskatchewan, I do really love Fall. The smell of brisk cold air outside, the crunch of leaves and the comforting feeling of eating a hot meal to warm you up. For me nothing says comfort food more than chili and with today being the first snow fall of the season I thought it was time to share my awesome chili recipe. 

I am constantly bragging that my chili is the best. In fact, it is so good that my older sister who is a raw vegan ate 3 large bowls!! She picked around the beans, but absolutely devoured the rest. Good thing I wasn't looking forward to left overs... :) 

When I first started to cut out meat from my diet, hamburger was one of the first things to go, along with all poultry. So when making chili I just used beans and veggies but it just wasn't as satisfying. I missed the hearty feeling that chili had, and with just beans and veggies it felt like a thick soup. Then I discovered Quinoa and found a new main star for my chili. Quinoa gives the meaty texture, its gluten free and seeing as there is 22 grams of protein to 1 cup, this is something that will definitely fill you and your family up.

This recipe is super simple to throw together and if you don't have a couple of ingredients, substitute them out for other things you have in your fridge. The only thing I suggest you try and keep in there are the Sweet Potatoes which add a great chunky texture and of course the Quinoa.

Vegan Chili

1 tbsp of coconut oil

1 onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 medium sweet potato, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
5 large mushrooms, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 large can of black beans
1 large can of kidney beans
1 can of beans in tomato sauce
1 can of tomato paste
1 large can of diced tomatoes
2 cups of vegetable stock 
1 cup of uncooked, strained quinoa

1 tbsp of chili powder

1 tbsp of cumin

1 tbsp of coriander

Cilantro for garnish

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium low heat. Add onions, garlic, celery and sweet potatoes and sauté for about 10 minutes.  Add the tomato paste, tomatoes, chili powder, corriander and cumin and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring until spices are fully blended in. Add the mushrooms, red pepper, zucchini, beans, stock, and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes, then add the uncooked strained quinoa. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes, stirring frequently, or until quinoa and potatoes are cooked and the chili has thickened. Top with avocado and chopped cilantro.

Thanks for reading!!

xoxo -N

Chocolate, Banana and Peanut Butter Vegan Cheesecake

For my birthday I was trying to decide what to do about the cake. Seeing as I am vegan and my sisters and dad are gluten free, the options of a cake are quite restricted…or so I thought! When I was on Amy’s site looking at her chocolate orange tarts, my friend Jesie drew my attention to a Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cheesecake. I am pretty sure I did a double take. What, its vegan?! Are you sure? Let me check the ingredients… well looky here, Amy has done it again! When you click on the link below that takes you to her website, you will see what an amazing cake she has created. It looks like a ‘regular’ cake, something that anyone would love to eat.

http://fragrantvanillacake.blogspot.ca/2012/05/vegan-peanut-butter-chocolate-banana.html

After seeing this amazing cake I thought. I love peanut butter! And Chocolate! And Bananas! So naturally my brain went - - - this is the perfect birthday cake. Anyone who doesn’t like the combination of nuts, chocolate and banana must be crazy, and simply wouldn’t get cake. Also luckily none of my friends have nut allergies.

I am not one to follow instructions well, in cooking and in sewing. When I see ingredients and sewing instructions my first thought is ‘how can I change this to suit me and my likings?” In looking at the list of ingredients I noticed that she used Agave, which is something that I don’t like to use in baking. Instead I chose to use dates. I like the idea of dates for the fact that they aren’t processed and they aren’t as sweet.

To substitute the dates for agave, blend equal parts water to dates until a smooth consistency, like syrup. Then you can use it as a one to one replacement, ¼ cup date puree for ¼ cup agave syrup ect…

I also didn’t have any coconut meat for the cream topping. Instead I used ¼ cup of coconut milk and ¼ cup cashews and blended them together. I am pretty sure the coconut meat would have thickened up the cream more, but the cashew mixture worked just great!

The last thing I did differently is a chocolate topping. I had left over coconut milk and wanted to use it up, and what would make this cake even better? More chocolate! Chocolate always makes things better.

I heated up ½ cup of coconut milk on the stove and when it came to a boil, I poured it over ¾ cup of vegan chocolate chips. Stir them together until smooth and spread it over the top of the cake. I had made sure the cake was in the fridge over night and was set. If I had poured the chocolate over the cake before it was chilled, it would have melted the cake. Place the cake back in the fridge for an hour to chill the chocolate, and thats it, my take on Amy's Vegan Cheesecake. The different flavors were really rich and creamy without being to overwhelming and everyone loved it! My cake did not turn out as pretty as Amy’s but it sure did taste great!

Thanks for reading!

Xoxo - N

Parisian Brunch feat. Vegan French Toast and Berries

This weekend was very eventful for me because it was my birthday!! I have always loved my birthday weekend, and when I say weekend I really mean weekend. I feel that your birthday shouldn't just be one day, I feel that you should try and stretch it out as much as you can. Especially when food is involved!!

When deciding what do to this weekend, my mom decided to have brunch on Sunday. I thought that it was perfect, I love breakfast food and I have wanted to try out a new French toast recipe. And of course I wanted to do a vegan recipe, so I replaced the eggs and milk for bananas and coconut milk.

Now my brunch wasn't a surprise brunch, but I was not expecting such an amazing spread of food and such am awesome theme! The only thing I was I told is to wear something black that is simple yet dressy. So when I walked into my mother’s condo I was so surprised that there was a theme at all. There were pink and black balloons, with an Eiffel tower and hat boxes decorating my mom’s kitchen. It was a Parisian Brunch! Then I was told that the men had to wear fake mustaches and the women had to wear red lipstick.

So we cracked open the bubbly, made mimosas and started on preparing brunch. There was a tower of berries, coconut milk whipped cream, vegan and regular French toast, scrambled eggs, and maple glazed ham. We were also doing gluten free French toast and regular French toast, boy there was a lot of food.

Vegan French Toast

2 ripe bananas

½ cup of coconut milk

1 tsp of cinnamon

1 tsp of vanilla (optional)

Heat up your non stick skillet on medium/high heat. Put all of the ingredients in the blender and puree until smooth. Dip your bread in the mixture, gluten free or regular bread (gluten free went over the  best in our house, even with people who are not celiac).  Brown on both sides, and serve with whipped cream and berries!

Kitty wanted to join the brunch after we all left the table,
And I don't blame her, it was good!

 All of these amazing pictures were taken by my sister Ashley from Ashley Clark Photography. 

Thanks for Reading!!

xoxo -N