Little Hearts

It's a rare February that I don't play with hearts even the tiniest bit. Didn't do much this year, but I did make a couple of scrappy heart gift bags for the grandgirls. I used the Log Cabin Heart Block (a video tutorial) by Just Jude Designs. Piecing the smallest of the 3 sizes offered (6.5" square) made great use of scraps as well as being the perfect size for the subsequent small gift bags, which measured about 10" x 12". For the main portions of the bags, I used Kimberly Kight's "grid" for Ruby Star Society. 

And then I made a pair of pillowcases just for fun. The pattern by The Twiddletails is my go-to, finished beautifully with French seams. I just need to remember that when using directional fabric like I invariably do, the longest measurement needs to go the length of the fabric, not the width, so I need to purchase a little more fabric than at first glance. Luckily, this time I remembered. The main heart print was Hearts in Pink by Dana Willard for Figo Fabrics.

Anyway, the hearts were a fun diversion and a way to send just a little extra love to the grandgirls. Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentines

Earlier this week, there was a Valentine quilted postcard swap at our SMQG meeting. I began mine by making paper-pieced hearts, and then referred to the tutorial on Quilted Postcards by my guild-mate Louise/I'm Feelin' Crafty for finishing.

I used raw-edge applique to attach the hearts to the backgrounds, and thread sketching to add a little detail to each.

Here's just a glimpse of the variety of postcards swapped. Sweet, no?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tuesday at the Table

At the quilting retreat last weekend, we all took turns making meals. And what looks above like a humble bowl of soup is actually the best thing I cooked all weekend. It's Giada's Creamy Sweet Potato and Rosemary Soup and it is truly delish. Yeah, I could have garnished it up a bit, and agreed, we probably shouldn't have been serving on our cutting mat, but oh well. We all really enjoyed it, and I think what makes it special is the mascarpone cheese. Not cream to make it creamy, but good Italian mascarpone. That and the maple syrup. Whatever - the combo is a winner.

Besides soup, I have Valentine's Day on my mind. And I thought I'd share some appropriate randomness.  For one - here's a link back to my old favorite Valentine cookie recipes here on the blog - Linzer Hearts and Shortbread Hearts.

I came across these darlings on Pinterest - don't they look tasty?

Source: shutterbean.com via Debbie on Pinterest

And what I wouldn't do for one of these Red Velvet Brownies right now. oh my.

Source: howsweeteats.com via Debbie on Pinterest

Unrelated to the table, here's a little sewing project {or two} from last weekend that fits the theme.

I used this tutorial by Simple Things as seen on Sew, Mama, Sew last week, tweaking it just a bit to suit my use of charm squares, and {I might as well just come out and say it...} to make it a "shoulder bag" for grandgirl, rather than a wristlet. My friend at the retreat was so tickled with it, I made one for her little granddaughter too. Very fun.

So anything Valentine-y going on at your house, or general goodness from your kitchen? Feel free to share here!

Tuesday at the Table

Back in my days as a pastry chef, I led a very seasonal work-life. There were coconut cakes for Easter, marionberry pies for the Fourth of July and of course, pumpkin and pecan for Thanksgiving. There were overwhelming orders for fruitcakes and steamed cranberry puddings for Christmas. And for Valentine's Day, there were cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.

cookie cutters from my collection/Valentine's quilt by my daughter Rachel of Snippets of Sweetness

I was pleased to bring my Linzer Hearts recipe to the bakery, where it became a customer favorite.

And the essential Shortbread Hearts, which I occasionally dipped in chocolate, like Martha does. But more often, I piped them with French words of love, per the owner's request. . . je t'aime beaucoup. . . mon amour . . . je t'adore . . .

I remember wrapping up leftover tidbits of cookie dough to bring home and bake off for my family. I'd pack the cookie hearts in little cellophane bags, tied with a ribbon bow. And in they'd go into their sack lunches. A sweet holiday indeed!

Linzer Hearts
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 3/4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 cup cornstarch
2 cups shelled walnuts, finely grated
1/2 cup raspberry preserves

1. Cream butter and 1 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix well. Sift together the flour and cornstarch. Add to the butter mixture and blend well. Thoroughly mix in ground walnuts. Gather dough into a ball, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 4-6 hours.
2. Roll dough out t ¼ inch thickness. Using a small heart shaped cookie cutter (about 1 ½ inches long), cut out cookies and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Chill cookies for 45 minutes. If dough gets too soft while cutting out cookies, gather up and chill for a little longer until you can roll and cut out cookies.
3. Preheat oven to 325°F . Bake cookies 10-15 minutes until evenly lightly browned. Remove and cool on a rack. While still warm, spread half the cookies with raspberry jam, using about a ¼ teaspoon for each. Top each cookie with one of the remaining cookies.
4. Sift the remaining confectioner’s sugar into a bowl. Press top and bottom of the cookies into the bowl of sugar to coat. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Shortbread Hearts

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Cream butter and confectioners' sugar together until light.

2. Sift flour and salt together and add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla and blend thoroughly.

3. Gather dough into a ball, wrap in wax paper, and chill for 4 to 6 hours.

4. Roll out chilled dough to 5/8-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch-long heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Sprinkle tops with granulated sugar. Place cut-out cookies on ungreased cookie sheets and refrigerate for 45 minutes before baking.

5. Preheat over to 325°F.

6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until just starting to color lightly; cookies should not brown at all. Cool on a rack.

Makes 20 cookies.

Recipes from from The Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Russo and Sheila Lukins

For a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to use at Pink Chalk Fabrics, link any post (or flickr photo) containing a recipe, a Valentine-y quilt project, or your own "table-talk".  {details here}