I found that quote online and thought it was a hilarious way to start off this post!

Several weekends ago, I was a like a kid in a candy store at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach, CA. I found out about the event back in January and promptly marked it down in my datebook. Back then, it wouldn’t take place until months later, but I (and Mama) was jumping out of my skin and didn’t want to forget to go.

So, what happens at a quilt festival?

-    There’s usually a gallery of beautiful quilts that showcase the very best handiwork in the country. The ones I saw made me swoon.

-    There’s a fairly large vendor section that should make any craftster keel over. Bits and baubles for all the sewing projects in your head, fabric of every imaginable kind—even vintage ones!

-    There are usually classes as well, to teach you everything from cutting techniques to sewing perfect mitered corners and all that. I would’ve taken some, except I’m quite insecure about my sewing abilities. And I had nightmares about sewing my finger in public. (Don’t laugh, it’s possible, just ask my friend Via!)

Would you like to spy my stash from that crafty weekend?

FAB FABRIC
I found some with the prettiest prints from Japan (which made me think of Caryn) at a bargain bin—most were $1/half yard. I was like a maniac digging through the piles, shoving little old ladies out of the way (Well, not really, but close! They shoved first and they had CANES!) And the fat-quarter* set on the right made my heart flutter—I love those colors. I had the BIGGEST grin after I decided to get those, it was such a high. Cheaper than therapy, I tell you!

* In the quilting lexicon, “fat quarters” are ¼ of a yard, but cut into a square-ish shape that measures 18”x22”. This is a more usable shape for craftsters (especially quilters) than the standard long-ish 9”x44” piece. (Just in case you were wondering, because I would, ha!) Diagram below by Janet Wickell.

BANGIN’ BUTTONS
Ok, so these three tiny things cost more than all my fabric. Before you balk or freak, hear me out. I spent about half an hour at the Susan Clarke button stall. These babies were not the cheapest things because most were one-of-a-kind. In fact, the domed one with the clock image uses an actual print from a vintage postcard. I stared at those buttons and sighed, and stared and sighed some more. I told myself that if I were still thinking of them three stalls over, I would get them. Otherwise, I’d lose sleep and have reverse buyer’s remorse. (Is there such a thing? You know, when you regret not getting something you really wanted?) So, yeah, three stalls over, I had to go back. I think these would be great statement pieces on some purses!

You know what’s one thing you DON’T usually find at a quilt fest? People my age. Ok, so I may not the springiest of chickens, and I AM old enough to remember the heyday of Hall and Oates, Aquanet and Tretorns, but still, the crowd at the show was…how do I put this delicately…further in their years. I’ve been to other quilt shows before and this is always the case. My mom says it’s probably because these ladies have all the time in the world to dedicate to quilt-making.

I’d like to think that in this DIY age, quilting shouldn’t be such an, er, old craft! Many young craftsters out there take to clothes construction, sewing, jewelry, paper crafts and needlework (modern embroidery and knitting) but not a lot are working to keep quilting young and hip. Quilting IS a long-held tradition, but maybe, with modern fabric and designs, it can become a craft that’s loved by all.

Ah, this post was long! The weekend’s coming up, and I can’t wait to get started on a quilt of my own, hopefully something fun and hmm, less octogenarian . I hope your own weekends are happily busy!

Yes, guilty as charged. I stayed up past 1 am to finish reading Breaking Dawn. The Twilight book series is finally over. It was bittersweet, those final moments with the book, with me in bed in a ratty old nightgown (Ross, it’s the white one your Lola made) and a flickering book light. So today finds me prowling the net for a vampiric fix for my fangirling, and these were “exactly my brand of heroin.” All these are on zazzle.com, designed by crazies like me (I’m too chicken to design anything myself!) (Those Twilight cupcakes are from Cupcakes Take The Cake.)

Which one’s your favorite?

I have to say, that last book made me squeamish. All that talk about sipping blood through a straw and half-vampire babies eating themselves out of wombs has cured me of the need to eat anything that breathes. I’ve been eating nothing but Skyflakes crackers, vegetables and fruit for the past three days now. Does this mean I’ll lose weight? Haha. Maybe, MAYBE this means I should go make a vegetarian quiche or something. Or when my stomach can take it, a tart with fresh blood oranges would be OME-lovely.

Hello, all! It feels good to be back. How has everyone been?

I’m jumping back onto the curly blogging highway with these NUTELLA cupcakes. These have a delicious ribbon of hazelnut goodness swirled into heavenly cake batter. When you bite into them, you get all the gooey Nutella scrumptiousness stuck to your teeth! I can’t even begin to describe how much I fell in love with these.

When I made these, I didn’t think I would ever blog about them. That’s because I have a secret: I keep good recipes to myself. (Insert evil laugh.) Especially the REALLY good ones that I’ve spent time kitchen-testing. I’m bad like that, heehee.

But you know, I am thankful for many things today: for writing my first post after three long weeks, for friends who helped me handle the all the overflowing “batter in my mixing bowl” when I was gone, for the fact that I’m racing home after work to finish reading Breaking Dawn (Toni! If you’re reading this, all I can say is, GAWD!!!) and for the month of August (my birthday month!).

I am overflowing with gratitude and can’t help but share the recipe for these yummy things. I first came across these from She Bakes & She Cooks, because I have an unabashed love for Nutella and was trying to find a baked good that used it on the net. These yield WONDERFUL cupcakes: the batter bakes up to a delicate crumb that’s a perfect backdrop for the rich hazelnut cream.

Nutella Cupcakes

10 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
Nutella, approximately 1/3 cup (I used a mini cookie-dough scoop for each cupcake)

1) Preheat oven to 325F.

2) Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.

3) Cream together butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes.

4) Add in eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated.

5) Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains.

5) Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin liner with batter. They should be 3/4 full, if you’re not using a scoop.

6) Top each cake with 1 1/2 tsp Nutella. Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the nutella.

7) Bake for 20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

I hope you make these! They’re the perfect antidote to a blah afternoon–both to cook, and to eat!

I hope to make my way to everyone else’s neck of the world wide woods. Welcome back to me!