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Saturday, January 20, 2024

White Rabbit Blog Hop Starts Monday


 Carol is kicking off the new year of blog hopping, with a fun theme. 

"White Rabbit" starts on Monday and you won't want to miss a single post. I will see you all on Thursday!

On a completely unrelated note...we had an unexpected visitor over the holidays.

He came in from the cold to take a nice long soak in the tub.


He even decorated a bit and brought some of the cold inside with him.


He brought along a couple of snow friends, as well.


Needless to say, these 2 were delighted when they found ole Frosty in the tub. and their little snowmen faces hanging.

It was a Merry Christmas for all...until the next day, when they found that Frosty had gone home. Yes, he went back to the North Pole with Santa til next year. A few tears were shed, as someone didn't want him to go home. She missed him!

I have to say, I do love the craft groups on Facebook. They really have some fun ideas!
I hope your holidays were Merry.

 til next time...

 Keep on Stitchin'


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Monday, January 1, 2024

Bona Lisa's Sweater Emporium 2024 BOM


It's January 1 and I am excited to share the first blocks of  our new Cackling Stitches BOM for 2024.


This is "Bona Lisa", our cover girl extraordinaire!
 Remember it is free only for the month of January.


"Bona's "In Vest"
from Carla at Creatin' in the Sticks. Check out her blog for pattern information


" Repulsive Ruffled Sweater"
from Carol at Just Let Me Quilt. Check out her blog for pattern information.

You have 2 great sweaters this month. Make them as a block or fuse them to a piece of felt and make them into a paper doll sweater. 


Make the entire quilt, or just a wall hanging, or both... the choice is yours! Either way, you will be able to collect many different "Sweaters" throughout the BOM for your sweet skeleton and maybe even design a sweater or two of your own. 
Check out Just Let Me Quilt's version HERE and Creatin' in the Sticks HERE

How does our Bona Lisa's Sweater Emporium BOM work?  It runs from January 1st through August 31st.  All block releases happen on the first day of each month. They can be conveniently found on our Cackling Stitches Facebook page HERE.
 They will be pinned under the "Featured" tab to make them easy to locate.

We even gave you the fabric requirements early to help you conjure/gather your fabrics.
You can find them HERE.

It's not a mystery BOM. We show you each of our finished quilts!
On the first day of each month, we release a block pattern (sometimes it's more than one)
 that is free for the entire calendar month. After that, those blocks go into our individual 
ETSY shops where you can purchase them for $2 each. 
New and free block(s) then appear for the new month...and so on, and so on.

Beginning January 1st, the ENTIRE pattern is available in each of our ETSY shops for $15.
We've had so many people ask us if they can buy the whole thing at once, so we decided to go for it.
If you can't wait for each block release or you don't have a Facebook page, this is for you!

We hope you appreciate the time we put into creating this BOM and understand that we keep
 the costs to a minimum for you. We ask that you respect our copyrights and do not share the 
pattern with others. You're welcome to direct your friends to our Cackling Stitches Group 
Facebook or any of our ETSY shops so they can get their own patterns starting January 1st.

Moosestash Quilting Blog HERE.
Moosestash Quilting Etsy Store HERE.

Just Let Me Quilt Blog HERE.
Just Let Me Quilt Etsy Store HERE.

Creatin' in the Sticks Blog HERE.
Creatin' in the Sticks Etsy Store HERE.


From all of us at Cackling Stitches Group, we wish you a Happy New Year!

 til next time...
Keep on Stitchin'

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Wednesday, December 6, 2023

It's my Day: Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange Blog Hop

 Welcome to my day on the Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange Blog Hop and I want to start, by thanking my hop co-hostess Carol, for being the best anyone could ever ask for. She is pivotal, in keeping us all going, on this crazy fun "hopping" ride! Thanks for another great blog hop year Carol!


This plate of virtual cookies, is thanks to McKenna Ryan's "Gingerbread Lane" pattern. It's an oldie but a goodie and has been in my pile of must do's since 2007. Scary, just how big/old that pile is, isn't it?


It's part of an 8 block pattern, I fell in love with so many years ago.
There are a zillion pieces to it, which is probably why it stayed in that to-do pile for so long, but what a fun project, once I got going on it.


I have a big tub of batik scraps that I can't bear to throw away. 


Some are really pretty tiny.

                 
     
But they were perfect for the details on this project.


It was a cumbersome job, but I worked it through, one block at a time and bagged up the tiny pieces as I cut them.


While it doesn't show up well in the photo, the champagne bottle wrap, is 3-D. That was an interesting technique to play with.


What I didn't realize until I was well into it, was that this pattern set wasn't met to be put together as a quilt. (I really need to learn to read better) LOL!! That explains why I only found 1 photo online, of it done as a quilt. 
I had to regroup and add to some of the blocks and cut down others.
It was quite the learning experience, all the way around but this sweet treat will remain calorie free forever!

Now as for the real deal cookies...well, I've put a lot of time and energy into loosing weight, and while it's a struggle right now, I am not making cookies this year. It's just too darn tempting and my will power is failing me right now. LOL!!

But I do have a couple of recipes to share with you. This spring when my youngest got married, I made cheesecakes for the rehearsal dinner and they were a hit.


I have an old cheesecake recipe that I've used for years. It's so old, I have no idea where it came from but a friend named it "Cheesecake Ala Joan" and that name has stuck.
You can download that recipe 
Next was an Amaretto Cheesecake an adaptation from my recipe. 
The Amaretto Sauce recipe can be found 
You will want to make extra, it's great on everything!
Last but not least...
German Chocolate Cheesecake (my new favorite)
This photo was borrowed from the recipe itself and yes, it tastes as wonderful as it looks!
You can find the recipe

Even though they are not cookies, they promise to bring much jolly to your holidays.

Pleas visit my fellow bloggers today

DECEMBER 7

MooseStashQuilting (you're here)

Ms P Designs USA

Quilt Doodle Designs

Quilted Snail

Sew Many Yarns

Just Sew Quilter

The Life of Grammy


You can find the complete schedule for the hop

HERE


Wishing you all, a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Oh, and I wanted to make a shout out to "Domestic Felicity" who made the sweetest hat for the "Turkey Trot" hop last month. You inspired me more than you know...


While this one loves her new hat, brother is not impressed. It comes off quicker than it goes on.
LOL!!


In fact these were so much fun to stitch, they got Christmas hats as well.
Yep, little man is not in love with being mugged by his sister or the hat, it seems!

 til next time...

 Keep on Stitchin'


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Saturday, December 2, 2023

Blog Hoppin' News!


Monday Carol kicks off her annual "Virtual Christmas Cookie" Exchange blog hop.
It's such a fun hop. I look forward to it every year. This year we have 28 bloggers sharing their Christmas decoration, traditions, favorite cookie recipes and projects with us.
It promises to even put the "Grinch" into the holiday spirit!


In January Carol is hosting the "White Rabbit" hop.

Challenge: On the first day of each month, there is a tradition for people to say "white rabbit" first  thing in the morning. The phrase is supposed to bring good luck for the rest of the month. Even President Roosevelt did this! Make something with white fabrics, rabbits, or white rabbits. What is a tradition you follow?



If you want to join in, drop Carol a line, with your  name, your blog name and  your blog address.
But you don't have to have a blog to join in. New this year we are extending the hops to Facebook and Instagram users are well. Just send us the name and  link to where you would like your project viewed.


With this being such a busy time of the year, I decided to announce the February hop "It Moose Be Love", early. 
Challenge: February is the month of "Love". Show us what it is, you love. Moose are optional of course! LOL!!

If you want to join in, drop me a line with your name, your blog name and blog address, Facebook or Instagram link. 



Looking forward to another year of hoppin good fun and making new friends!

 til next time...

 Keep on Stitchin'


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Monday, November 27, 2023

Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange Blog Hop Coming Soon

It's that magical time of the year, when Carol hosts her "Virtual Christmas Cookie Exchange" Blog Hop. Oh that calorie free one, where we can share and dream about those sweet treats, or try someone else favorite recipe this year!

The time where we share our Christmas traditions, show off our decorating or our trees. Share a story or just about anything that makes your holiday heart happy!

The fun starts next Monday and this year we have a great lineup of bloggers!

DECEMBER 4

Just Let Me Quilt

Inflorescence

Songbird Designs

Words & Stitches

DesertSky Quilting

Quilting Gail

Days Filled With Joy

For The Love Of Geese

 

DECEMBER 5

Selina Quilts

Just Because Quilts

Karrin’s Crazy World

Quilt Schmilt

Domestic Felicity

Happy Cottage Quilter

Nettie Sews and Lucky Quilts

 

DECEMBER 6

Hill Valley Quilter

Beaquilter

Crazy'boutquilts

Bumbleberry Stitches

That Fabric Feeling

Homespun Hannah's Blog

 

DECEMBER 7

MooseStashQuilting

Ms P Designs USA

Quilt Doodle Designs

Quilted Snail

Sew Many Yarns

Just Sew Quilter

The Life of Grammy


So make sure you grab your stretchy pants and join us for the fun!

Of course it is virtual, so stretchy pants are optional.

 til next time...

 Keep on Stitchin'


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