A Quiet Blog

...means a quiet life. I'm focusing on taking care of myself and getting ready to spend the holidays with my family.  We have many holiday traditions, but those on the top of my boys' list revolve around food.  One of the most labor intensive, but really special are the peppernuts (also called papenate or pfefferneusse). It wouldn't be Christmas without them. It's one of our family's Mennonite food traditions.

They've also become a giving tradition for my husband.  We give everyone he works with a little bag filled with Christmas cheer.

My husband works with a LOT of folks so baking peppernuts is a week long activity involving about 20 cups of flour and thousands of these little dime sized cookies.

Star anise gives peppernuts their unique flavor.

In addition to the cookie jar, my boys like to have their own peppernut stash, so these houses will be stuffed full and go under the tree for each of them.

I have managed to make a few gifts, though I didn't get to everything I wanted to make.  I finished these infinity scarves made from a couple of my precious liberty fabrics, a Kokka fabric and some coordinating shot cottons.

I'm hoping that after Christmas I'll be feeling more like myself again, and let me tell you when that happens, I'll be quilting with a vengeance!
Have a wonderful holiday!

Tangerine Tango

The Pantone color of the year for 2012 is Tangerine Tango. For those of us orange addicts, it's going to be a great year!

Tangerine Tango is vibrant, uplifting and universally flattering. What else does this girl need?

Cogs has a baby!

Baby cogs is finally bound and finished. I like to lay quilts on the corner of the bed. Doesn't matter their size. It's another way to get quilts out and seen.

Angela quilted it much like daddy cogs.  Simply fabulous!  Click on over to Ang's blog and see her new book.  We could all benefit from Angela's expertise and advice!

I hung daddy in the hallway gallery. It's fun to change quilts often. I hate to have quilts stored away!

Attended my first meeting of the Chicago MQG yesterday. All I can say is it's a great group of really talented folks. I'm so happy to be a part of it. I've missed my guild and I could tell right away that I was going to feel at home here. Can't wait for January!