Just Because Quilts

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange

Greetings!

It's time once again for the annual Christmas Virtual Cookie Swap hosted by the talented Carol of Just Let Me Quilt https://www.justletmequilt.com/ . Thank you, Carol, for inviting me to tag along on this fun and delicious blog!

Today is my day to share my holiday creations. For the Cookie Exchange, I decided to share my favorite cookies of all times. These cookies have everything I love -- sweetness, crunch, and easy to make.

DOUBLE DOODLE COOKIES

Step One

Mix together --

1/2 cups oats (I use 1-Minute)

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

a generous shake of cinnamon

Step Two

Mix together in another bowl --

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

2 large eggs

3/4 cups packed brown sugar

1 Tablespoon real Vanilla

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Step 3

Combine the oats and flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix together.

To mixture add:

3 cups milk chocolate chips

1 - 2 cups Rice Krispies

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

Dough can be chilled 2-4 hours before baking if desired.

Drop teaspoon-sized mounds on parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees F for 9-12 minutes.

Serve with ice cold milk.

YUMMY!!!

These cookies will be a hit at any Cookie Exchange, or can be a great gift for family and friends.

Have you been working on any Christmas projects? If I don't start my Christmas projects early (like in August), December is a nightmare.

This year, my granddaughters asked for puff quilts. Sounds easy enough, right? These have been the hardest quilts I have ever endeavored to make. What should have been easy-peasy, stuff-and-stitch quilts turned into a real struggle. These are not easy quilts to make on a regular sewing machine, but the end result is beautiful and oh so comfy. By the third one, I was finding what worked (lots of pinning) and completed the fourth one pretty quickly. The pink is a 5 1/2" square and the blue is 6 1/2" square. They are backed with minkee, which is very soft, cuddly, and forgiving.

I better get a good hug for these!

My problem now is, do I ship from California to Texas, or do I just drive the distance and deliver them in person? If I deliver in person, I can collect on my hugs.

I followed the tutorial on YouTube to make these quilts and, other than needing a larger work space, they do go together quite quickly You can follow along at The Sewing Channel under the heading "Let Me Blow Your Mind. New Easy Puff Quilt Technique" at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v+2sSNS9mdE7Q&t+674s

Well, that does it for me. Thank you again, Carol, for this fun hop. I love adding to my recipe collection. Santa's going to have a full belly this Christmas for sure! I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday!

I'm excited to see what everyone has going on this holiday season. I'm going to grab a cup of tea and a couple of cookies and do some blog hopping. You should do the same!

DECEMBER 1^st

DECEMBER 2^nd

DECEMBER 3^rd

Quilting Between The Rails

DECEMBER 4^TH

Happy Cottage Quilter

Days Filled With Joy

That Fabric Feeling

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Out-of-the-Dark Blog Hop

It's fast approaching Halloween and I am so excited to share with you my projects for the Out-of-the-Dark Blog Hop created and hosted by Joan of Moosetash Quilting. It's always so much fun to participate in this hop. I love seeing the creations of my fellow quilters and what delightfully fiendish projects they've created.

This year I started off with a banner. My only problem with this project was knowing when to stop. I made the banner out of colorful felt triangle pieces, approximately 9" x 12", and sewed on the face pieces, staggering the triangles up and down to fit next to each other nicely when placed together. All of them have button eyes to give them more color.

This was a quick and easy project to do, but who do I leave out? In the end, I made all of the Halloween icons we have come to love and expect at Halloween, and thought I could always delete a couple to make the banner shorter. I backed each triangle with another felt triangle, which I clipped to string the line, and separated each monsters with a trio of wooden balls between them.

Just some of the monsters in the line up are:

a batty bat

an old witch

Frankie

Wolfie

the mummy

a ghost

These hauntingly handsome fellows would also make a cute table runner.

Quite a parade of fiendish faces to greet this year's Trick-or-Treaters. I think I like the witch the best. Which character is your favorite?

And what is Halloween without a visit from some Ghastlies?

I really miss these guys. This has got to be one of the best Halloween fabrics ever made, but I understand they are not making this fiendish family fabric any longer. What a shame. They were my kind of people.

I use a bullet journal every day to keep me on track. The covers of my journals can get quite abused, so I make covers for them. In my stash I have some bits and pieces of leftover projects made from the Ghastlies line, so I quickly made myself a Halloween cover.

Agnes and friends thought it was a wonderful idea.

There are dozens of tutorials on YouTube that explain much better than I can how to make a book cover, so I won't bore you with the details of how I made this one, and let you choose from YouTube which one you like best.

I hope you've enjoyed my dark creations. Agnes and I are so happy you stopped by and hope you will come again soon. We'll leave a candle in the attic window.

Thank you, Joan, for hosting this fab-BOO-lous hop! You are truly the Queen of Halloween!

For more gruesome treats, visit the ghouls below to see what they have created. Happy Haunting!

Monday Oct 20

Tuesday Oct 21

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Wednesday Oct 22

Quilting Between the Rails (on Facebook)

Thursday Oct 23

Monday, October 20, 2025

Have Costume ... Will Travel

When you have to travel 1,500 miles for a costume party, it's a good idea to have a simple, easy-to-pack outfit that needs little to no explanation and few accessories.

My neighbors are traveling from California to Texas for a haunted birthday party for their baby grandson. After discussing and discarding several ideas that might be suitable, Mr. Potato Head popped up. Everyone knows Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head and costumes would be easy to create, pack, and wear. Perfect!

All you need to make these iconic characters are brown T shirts, felt scraps, and felt glue. (Regular glue is not recommended.) Head gear is optional, but my neighbors are adding a derby for Mr. and a big bow for Mrs. I'm sure they will be a hit!

Monday, December 4, 2023

Virtual Cookie Exchange

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It's Carol's Annual Virtual Cookie Exchange & Christmas Blog Hop!

Every year Carol of Just Let Me Quilt hosts her Virtual Cookie Exchange. I look forward to it every year because I get SO many delicious new recipes to try. It's also fun to see what everyone is working on for Christmas, or just share memories from Christmases past.

I'm excited to share with you one of my family's favorite cookies. These cookies are chock full of yummy goodness, including chocolate chips, coconut, crispy rice cereal, and nuts. These are very versatile cookies, so you can omit what you don't like and add your own favorites. I also like how easy they are to make from items I usually already have in my kitchen pantry.

Because they have puffed rice and a lot of other good stuff, I call them 'Puff & Stuff Cookies.'

Preheat oven to 375°

Bake crispy rice cereal in oven for 2-3 minutes, until toasted

Cream together:

1 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup white sugar

Beat in:

3 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2-1/2 cups flour

Stir in:

1 cup crispy rice cereal

1 cup coconut

1 cup chopped nuts

1 cup chocolate chips

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheet and bake at 375° for approximately 10 minutes. Cookies will be pale on top and golden on bottom.

This recipe makes a lot of cookies! A large cookie scoop will yield me just shy of 4 dozen. Using a smaller scoop, I can probably get around 60.

Whatever size you make them, be prepared for them to disappear fast. They are great for after-school snacks, and are lovely with a cup of coffee or tea. I bet Santa might like a couple with a glass of milk!

I like gifting baked goods to my neighbors for Christmas. This year I decided to package my treats in fabric boxes. I found a very simple pattern on YouTube by Stacey Lee Creation for a reversible fabric box.

If you don't use a directional print like I did for my Christmas sample, these little boxes are completely reversible.

The fabric boxes are made from 4 10" fabric squares and 2 10" squares of stiff interfacing or batting. They are very easy to make and go together quick as a wink. It was my first time trying this pattern and I completed 2 boxes in under an hour.

I hope you will give these cookies a try. They are really delicious! Thank you, Carol, for hosting this fun and delicious hop! It's my favorite!

Be sure to visit the other elves who are busy baking up a batch of goodies!

DECEMBER 5

Selina Quilts

Just Because Quilts (you are here)

Karrin’s Crazy World

Quilt Schmilt

Domestic Felicity

Happy Cottage Quilter

Nettie Sews and Lucky Quilts

Monday, November 13, 2023

Turkey Trot Blog Hop

Welcome to Day Two of the Turkey Trop Blog Hop hosted by the magnificent Joan of Moosestash Quilting. Thank you, Joan, for all you do to create and manage these fun hops. For this Sew It - Show It Challenge, Joan suggested we think turkeys, thankfulness or Thanksgiving fabric. There's a lot going on at my house right now, so I opted for a quick and easy project using turkey fabric.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and I need a few good aprons to get me through this holiday. To say I am a messy cook is an understatement!

The internet is full of apron tutorials, but when I found the "Tie One On Day" 3 Aprons in 5 minutes, I was intrigued. Well, it took me longer than 5 minutes to make this cute apron, but it was quick. Cindy at The Fabric Patch does a great job showing how she does it. You can see her tutorial at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbF_jXIGBvk

I have had this fabric in my stash for a long time, and thought this was the perfect project to show it off. The yellow plaid made a great liner.

The apron measures 25" x 36" with an adjustable strap and a 6"-wide pocket. It goes together quick as a wink. This is an adult-size apron, but CIndy at The Fabric Patch also shows how she makes a child's apron out of 2 fat quarters. These are so quick and easy you can stitch up a bunch in no time.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. When do you start preparing your Thanksgiving dinner? I usually start the weekend before Thanksgiving. There is always so much to do, and I LOVE IT! The clean up . . . not so much.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone! There is so much unrest going on in the world right now, but we always have something for which to be thankful. I know I have many blessings to thank God for.

Give yourselves a treat and visit these talented ladies and their inspiring projects:

Monday November 13

Tuesday November 14

Karrin’s Crazy World

Just Because Quilts

Elizabeth Coughlin Designs

Domestic Felicity

Nettie Sews and Lucky Quilts

Wednesday November 15

Thursday November 16

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Monster Mash Sew It - Show It Challenge Blog Hop

BOO!

Welcome to Day 3 of the Monster Mash Sew It - Show It Blog Hop hosted by Joan of Moosestash Quilting. Joan challenged us this month to create some monstrous fun for Halloween! This is my favorite time of year. There's just a hint of magic in the air. Friendly breezes are turning mischievous, colorful leaves are dancing to unheard music, the moon seems just a little fuller, and . . . did I just hear a cackle???

This year there are no monsters in my project. It's no secret I love crows. (Probably dates back to my youth when I watched Heckle & Jeckle cartoons.) And what is Halloween without a patch of silly pumpkins?

For my project I made a table runner of crows in the field. This started out as a quilt, but I made the blocks too big and the quilt was HUGE. So, to keep my sanity, I cropped it down to just 4 blocks and called it good.

I used the mirror applique technique to make my critters. I basically cut two pieces of fabric the same size, sew a scant 1/8" around the shape, then slice an opening in the back where I can turn it inside out. I then iron the pieces flat and sew them to the background. (The pumpkin grins are raw applique.) The eyes are black buttons sewn in place.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my project. So glad you stopped for a spell. Thank you, Joan, for hosting this fa-BOO-lous hop! For a ghoul time, be sure to visit the talented quilters listed below!

Monday October 23

Tuesday October 24

Scrapdash

Words & Stitches

Homespun Hannah's Blog

Domestic Felicity

Wednesday October 25