Thankful This Week!

 

Mom wanted to get knee surgery.  Her doctor prescribed all these tests to make sure she was healthy for the surgery.  Will those tests showed that she should see a cardiologist.  The cardiologist prescribed another test this last Monday.  It showed she had three blocked arteries and one was 99%.  The next day she had quadruple bypass surgery.  Two days after that she was up walking.  Modern medicine is wonderful!  I can't even think what might of happened if this wasn't caught.  I am so glad for all the preventive tests that these two doctors performed.  My Mom is doing well and she should have so much more energy.

My Mom is sad though that she will miss Market in three weeks because she has gone to every market except one in the last 10 years.  My daughter Ashley, Mom and I have so much fun gabbing all the way to Houston and back.  Yes, we can talk for 12 hours straight. That is our drive from Lawrence to Houston.  I believe there will be many cell phone calls to Mom!

Twice A Year

 

Twice a year I get a postcard in the mail telling me it is time for the Pilot Antique Sale at the fairgrounds.  It gets taped on my mirror and I look at it everyday in anticipation.  I love this sale.  It is booth after booth of really unique antiques.  They also sell homemade pie and lunch.  Yum. I always find things to buy of course.  I am super busy right now getting ready for fall market in a month so this was a great break in the chaos. I have two new fabric collections coming out and I just now received one of the collections yesterday to start making my quilts.  Yikes!!!  The other fabric collection is due to come a week and a half before market.  I will need a small miracle and the help of friends and family to get those quilts done using that fabric.

Above and below are two new pincushions that I found for my pincushion collection.

 

I also found another little antique doll toilet for my shelf in my guest bathroom.  I hardly ever find these.  Score!!!

 

I fell in love with this....the old woman who lived in a shoe and she had five little children that went with her.

 

My new bride and groom salt and pepper shaker set for my bride and groom collection.  They are only 2" tall.

 

I love this little pitcher from Germany with the sweet silhouette on it.

 

I love yellow quilts so I had to get this one.  It is already folded over my railing.

 

I always have fun having show and tell with my family because they know that I have fun at this sale.

 

My sister sent me the recipe for Lemonade cake.  It was a big hit at my husband's clinic this week.  If you like Lemon and homemade you will love this!  It calls for 9" inch round pans and I will use 8" rounds next time.  I will also add a 1/2 cup more powdered sugar.  I thought it was delicious. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lemonade Layer Cake

Cake:
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
3 tablespoons thawed lemonade concentrate
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups fat-free buttermilk

Frosting:
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons thawed lemonade concentrate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until
well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.
Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray; sharply tap pans once on
counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.
To prepare frosting, place 2 tablespoons butter and the next 4 ingredients (2 tablespoons butter
through cream cheese) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, and beat at low speed just until blended (do not over beat). Chill 1 hour.
Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread
remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Bountiful Beauties Winner

Thanks for your posts!  The winner of the Bountiful Beauties give-a-way is RandiSue.  RandiSue please email us your mailing address so we can send your pattern info@amybradleydesigns.com

My Trip to Atlanta

I just got back late Wednesday night from a fun filled trip to Atlanta, Georgia.  I was asked by two wonderful guilds to come and visit.  The first day I traveled two hours from Atlanta to Franklin, North Carolina to the Smoky Mountain Guild for their evening meeting where I was the speaker. 

Cindy Williams is the president of the guild.  She wore her Quilt Diva long jacket that she made and of course I loved it!  One of the things that I also love is going out to dinner with quilters before or after my guild talk. They took me to a wonderful place.  I love getting to hear about their guilds and what they have been up to.

The next day I was the speaker for the Gwinnett Quilt Guild in Snellville, Ga.  They dressed up in polka dots and glasses in honor of my visit. Below is Ginny Manning the president of the Gwinnett guild.

Below is a photo of Becky, Susan, me and Debbie. These women are the program chairs past and present for the Gwinnett Guild.  I think this job is the hardest job in a quilt guild but the most
rewarding.  These three women ran me all over the place.  I would head out on a long road trip with them tomorrow!  After meeting them I felt like they were my long lost friends immediately.

Susan even brought her two Bountiful Beauties for show and tell for me to see.  The first is her Christmas version that she made for her Mom.  The second one she added two borders and won a ribbon prize.

After the Gwinnett Guild I went to see the Scarlet Thread Quilt Shop http://www.ascarletthread.com

in McDonough, Ga.  They are just 25 miles south of Atlanta. They were featured as a top 10 shop in the 2012 Spring/Summer Quilt Sampler magazine.  Over 10,000 square feet!!!  I wanted to meet one of my biggest cheerleaders...Sherrie.  She has made so many of my quilts.  Because of her .... there is a Amy Bradley corner in the shop.  Sherrie and her husband Dick drove me the hour long trip back to my hotel. I was thrilled to have even more time to visit. Yea!

This shop is amazing!  I love polka dots and they have the biggest selection ever!  Heck, they have a huge selection of everything!

Elise who checked me out at the register made this cute pin.  It is her own design. It is made up of a measuring tape and a button.

I fell in love with this sample that was made up in their store. The pattern cover is below.

I also loved this sample that was maded up in their store. The pattern cover is below the photo.

The next day I taught a six hour workshop with the lovely ladies below.  I love to teach workshops because I actually get to be around the people that buy my patterns. 

In honor of Susan and her two Bountiful Beauties quilts I am giving away a Bountiful Beauties pattern.  Just leave a comment on the last workshop that you participated in.  We will draw a winner this Monday.

Go K-State!

My brother-in law Kent. Taken from the photos of all the alumni chairs.

 

I am a Kansas State University graduate and so is my husband.  We have season football tickets.  Yesterday we had a fun day in Manhattan Kansas.  Not only because we got to see our team beat North Texas 35 to 21 but because we met up with my brother-in-law Kent before the game.  I may have to start calling him Chairman Kent because he is now the National Kansas State Alumni Association Chairman.  He came by this naturally.  He was Student Body President in 1986-1987.  He also was preceded by his mother Bev Bradley who held the national alumni position from 1979-1981.

My mother-in-law Bev Bradley

There is a lot of K-State Purple that runs through this family.  Below is a photo of my husband on the left and my brother-in-law Kent on the right.

 

 

I have been in the Kansas State Alumni Center before but yesterday we got the personal tour from Kent.  It is beautiful.  Lots of purple but very tastefully done.  Below is the board room where the alumni board of directors meet.

 

 

 

Above is the cool view which looks out on the old Memorial football stadium.  The band practices on this field.

 

Did you know the world is purple?

 

...and the oceans are full of purple fish...or at least the aquarium in the alumni center is.

 

They even have a powercat quilt made up of t-shirts from bowl games.

It was a great day.   I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Amy

Birthday Weekend

The winner of last week's give-a-way is Mary.  Please email us Mary, and we will send you your free pattern.  Thanks for all the comments!

I have just made up a new rule for our house.  Buy tickets for my son Adam and his wife Megan to come home for every one of my birthdays.  They live in Denver.  I think it is a brilliant idea!  They arrived on Friday morning and got to stay until Sunday evening.  It was a fast weekend but FUN!  When my husband John hears that I have made up a new house rule he usually says....what now!  He likes this new rule!

While they were here my daughter-in-law Megan and a friend drove down to Wichita for their friend Nicole's baby shower.  She is expecting twins.  Megan took some photos and then I took some photos of the baby favors that she brought back from the shower.  I want you to see everything because it might give you some ideas for putting on your next baby shower. It looked like a wonderful baby shower.

The cutest diaper cake that I have ever seen!

Since she is having twins there were two cakes!  One in pink and one in blue with matching booties on top!  The party favors were laid out in front of the cakes.  New clothes were hanging on the clothes line for the twins.

Below is a close-up of the cookie favors.  Two peas in a pod...I mean two twins in a pod.  Super cute!

Below is a close-up of the baby rattle favors.  They were made up of iced round cake balls on each end of a straw.  Very clever and of course in pink and blue!

Below is a emergency diaper kit that they handed out as favors.  They labeled the sizes of the kits too.

Here is the contents of one of these cool kits.  Someone did a lot of work making all these bags. 

They had the baby shower at a country club. When Megan walked into the baby shower there was a waiter with a tray of alcoholic drinks and a tray of nonalcoholic drinks to welcome the guests. Times have changed! My baby showers for my kids were in church basement or friends homes with punch and cookies. Remember all the obnoxious games they made you play too?  My daughter Ashley had a family baby shower.  I loved it.  It was the first baby shower that my husband had ever been too.  It's about time those men get to join in on the fun!

Above is my birthday cheesecake that my daughter Ashley made for my birthday.  I gave her this recipe about 6 months ago and said that this is what I want for my birthday....Peanut butter cheesecake.  She loves to make cheesecakes.  It was to die for!  She and her husband John had us all over for dinner.  They are phenomenal cooks.  My son-in-law John has a big green egg that he cooked the steaks on and they were mouth watering delicious!  Everything that he has ever cooked on it, I think is amazing.  I am still thinking about my birthday dinner....why do they only come around once a year!  My kids made my birthday!

Peanut Butter Buckeye Brownie Cheesecake

Prep: 45 minutes  Bake: 28 minutes  Chill: 4 hours 
One 19 1/2 ounce package brownie mix
3/4 cup hot fudge-flavored ice cream topping, warmed
Two 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
One 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
4 chocolate covered peanut butter cups, chopped
2 tablespoons chocolate flavored syrup

1.  Prepare brownie mix according to package directions, using the 9" x 13" pan option.  Cool in pan on a wire rack.  Cut into bars.  Press three-fourths of the brownies into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan to form a crust.  Spread with fudge topping; set aside.  Crumble remaining brownies; set aside.
2.  In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and peanut butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until just combined.  Add sweetened condensed milk; beat until just combined.  In a medium bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Add powdered sugar; beat until stiff peaks form.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the whipped cream mixture.  Fold remaining whipped cream into cream cheese mixture.
3.  Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over the hot fudge topping.  Sprinkle with one-half of the reserved brownie crumbles.  Spread remaining cream cheese mixture over the brownies.  Top with the reserved 1/2 cup whipping cream mixture.  Sprinkle remaining brownie crumbles and chopped peanut butter cups over the top.  Drizzle with chocolate syrup.  Cover and chill the dessert for 4 to 24 hours.  Makes 16 to 20 servings.

Labor Day Weekend

 

My husband John and I finally got over to the National World War One Museum in Kansas City this last weekend.  It was wonderful!  We tried to see it all but there is no way to take it all in, in a few hours.  We definitely want to go back and take our parents. It is so moving to see the short movies, the artifacts and read the statistics that went with this war.  You can also take the elevator & steps all the way up to the top of the tower and look out on a beautiful view of Kansas City.

I took photos of three quilts that I saw in display cases to share. This blanket was made by Mary Radler and John Kramer of Kansas City in 1917 or 1918. It is made up of service flags.  Families hung these service flags with blue stars in their windows to show that they had family members in the armed forces.

The above quilt was made by Louise Rauch Stahl in 1915 in Springfield, Missouri.  She pieced the quilt using tobacco souvenirs called flannels.  Coupons on tobacco were sent in to redeem the flannels.

The third quilt that I saw was probably made by a women's auxiliary in Harveyville, Kansas.  It is a remembrance quilt.  The men who served in the county are embroidered on the quilt.

After the museum we drove to Greenwood, Missouri for the first time and took in three great antique stores.  On the way there I made my husband stop so I could take the above photo.  I have seen toilets in yards turned into planters for flowers but I haven't seen sinks before.  They had matching flower planter sinks!

I saw this stool made up of wooden spools in one shop.  Don't you just love the crushed orange velvet cushion!!!

This is a lamp that I saw that added a quilt touch to it.

I loved this pink wooden doll furniture made in England.  My granddaughter Rowan would of loved it for her Barbies.  Too pricey at $149.00 for Barbies. It would outlast the pink plastic stuff though!

I took this photo above because I keep forgetting this neat easel trick with old forks.

My Grandma Ree always had a sprinkler on her ironing board.  I just loved this Chinese laundry sprinkler.  I left the $30.00 sprinkler on the shelf.  I need the fast action of my steam iron or my handy dandy spray bottle. 

We also took in the new Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones movie "Hope Springs".  We enjoyed it.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too.

Comment on one thing that you did on your Labor Day weekend (work or fun) for a chance to win a pattern of your choice.

Have a great week!  Amy