Double Lemon Cookies

Our lemon trees continue to provide us an endless supply of lemons. So lately it has been all about cooking with lemons. On Sunday I made lemon cookies with a lemon glaze. They are sooo good! Seriously, we can't stop eating them. My husband even called them his favorite cookies (and he is a bit of a tough critic). I used Meyer lemons, one of my favorite varieties. Meyer lemons are not as tart as other lemons and are very fragrant, which makes them a perfect addition to any recipe. However, you can use regular lemons if that is what you have available.

Double Lemon Cookies
Adapted from here. inspired by this.
Makes 12-14 cookies

Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick) softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup sour cream

Lemon Glaze
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and continue beating. Add vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon zest and continue beating until well combined. Lower the mixer's speed mixer to low and add half of the flour mixture followed by the sour cream and finish with the rest of the flour.
3. Using an ice cream scoop spoon the batter on to baking sheets and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Let them cool completely on a wire rack.
4. In a small bowl combine the confectioner's sugar, lemon juice zest and lemon juice  and stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies.

Enjoy!

Martha.

Organizing My Fabric Scraps

This weekend I worked on organizing my fabric scraps. I hadn't bothered before because I didn't have that many. I used to put them in a large glass canister. But lately the canister was overflowing, so I decided to start dividing them by color. Last week I brought home from work a few empty large coffee cans and covered them with fabric. On the middle of the panel I used fabric scraps to represent the color fabrics I'm going to store inside and used the Quilt As You Go technique to attach the fabric pieces. 

You can find my tutorial here for the basic instructions on covering cans with fabric, if you would like to make some. I really love the way they turned out and my fabric scraps are neatly organized. I still want to make a few more for other colors... I just need the people in my office to drink coffee faster :)

Have a wonderful week!

Martha

February 2013: A Recap Intagram Style

At the beginning of the year I had the resolution of taking more pictures and maybe doing the so popular photo diary Project 365. Well January went by and nothing happened... January is the worst month when it  comes to keeping  New Year's resolutions (at least in my case). But I thought any month is as good as any to start a  project. And I did it! Here is a recap of February from my Instagram. 

February was a fun month: I bought some great fabrics to add to my collection, worked on my WIP and Spring started to show sings that it is going to arrive soon. I enjoyed having the most beautiful flowers around the house. How was February for you?

Martha. 

Sunday Sewing: Hand Quilting

You might remember this... back in December I tested a paper piecing pattern for Diane @ From Blank Pages. And the block had been hanging on my inspiration board, unfinished all this time; mainly because I couldn't decide on how to quilt it. I knew I wanted to make it into a mini quilt to decorate my sewing room (I love looking at it every time I come into the room), but I had my doubts about the quilting. I wanted something soft that wouldn't overpower the design. Thus, hand quilting was my final choice. To contrast the straight lines and at the same time complement the geometric design of the block I hand quilted circles all over. I really like the texture the hand quilting gives to this quilt. Hand quilting takes a bit more time than machine quilting, but is totally worth it. I'm looking forward to creating another project using this technique. 

Have a wonderful week!

Martha.

Monday Link Up: Some Photography Tips

Welcome, for those of you new to my blog, my name is Martha and this is where I record my adventures in quilting, cooking and gardening. I'm so happy to be hosting the 

Let's Get Acquainted Monday Link Up

 this week. I was so delighted when

Beth

 asked me if I wanted to host it. I met Beth last summer during Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop that she organized, and I'm so glad I did. I'm a big fan of her blog. For those of you who haven't visited her  blog, please do so, every week she shares the beautiful sewing and quilting projects that she creates and she always uses the most beautiful fabrics, she has excellent taste. I'm so glad to have you here, please look around, I hope you stay a while.

Now on to this week's post: Photography is a subject that I'm very passionate about. And for us bloggers photos really help us convey the message we are trying impart whether it is sharing our latest creations or what we have been up to. I'm not an expert in any way, but I love learning about photography and trying new tricks that would help me improve my photos. Thus, I thought I'd share some tips that I have learned over the past year or so I have been blogging.

* Equipment:

You don't need to have expensive equipment to create beautiful photographs. Most of my photos are taken using with my trusty point and shoot Nikon I got as a gift from my husband two Christmases ago.   Nowadays digital cameras have advanced so much and you can get a great affordable camera that would deliver great results without breaking the bank. Don't get me wrong, having a fancy DSLR is great, I myself I'm thinking about upgrading one day, but I feel that I still have not completely outgrown my current camera.

If you own a smart phone, as most of us do, take advantage of it. There are great apps available that could help you edit and enhance your photography and you can get great shots using your phone. I took the pictures above using my iPhone.

*

Lighting:

Try taking your pictures in bright daylight, and avoid using your flash. Look around in your house and observe how the light comes in at different times of the day to identify the best spots where to take your pictures. For me for example, I get great lighting in the afternoon in my sewing room. I have a desk next to the window and that is one of my preferred spots to take pictures. I like placing a white board on the opposite direction from the where the light comes in to reflect the light and avoid shadows on the object I'm photographing.

*

Taking steady pictures is very important and sometimes just pressing the shutter button on your camera  can get the picture out of focus. Try using a tripod or set your camera on the table your are taking the pictures and use some books to raise your camera to get the height you need. Then, use the timer on your camera that way you won't need to press the shutter button.

* Experiment with the settings of your camera and take different shots at different angles to see which setting gives you the result you were looking for. Having multiple shots of the subject you are photographing gives you more possibilities when choosing the picture you want to include in your post.

*

 Use a neutral backdrop to enhance the object you are photographing rather than risking getting lost on a busy background. 

*

Lastly, take lots of pictures. I think amateur photography takes a lot of trial and error, and practice make us better. So don't be shy; get to know your camera and take it with you everywhere. Learn to see the world through the lens of your camera. You will be surprised how much your photos will improve by just taking more photos.

And now on to the Link up;

1. Link up a recent sewing/quilt post.
2. In your post or on your blog, please include either a text link or a button letting people know about this link up.
3. Visit at least the two bloggers who link up before you and everyone who visits you from this post. 
4. When the link tool asks for your name, write down your favorite cookie!

Link up closed 

Work in Progress: Star Quilt

After a few days of neglect I finally got back to my Star Quilt. As the number of blocks grows so is my  pile of scraps leftover from building the blocks. Each time I worked on the blocks I kept wondering what to make with the scraps. The pieces are in the small side but perfect half square triangles; and I simply couldn't bare the thought of them just going to waste, And today I finally had my "Aha! moment." I figured out what to make with the tiny triangles and came up with this sort of pinwheel block. The finished size is going to be 3.5", a pretty good size and since I'm going to end up having a good number of them I'm thinking about making them into a couple of pillows or maybe a bag. 

Have a lovely week.

Martha.

Happy Mail

I got some happy mail today! The pouch that my partner, Kim @ quiltinkimmie, made for me for the Pretty Little Pouch Swap arrived today. It is so pretty that I wanted to share it with you. I love that she used linen, my favorite fabric, and the bicycle fabric is just adorable. I just love everything about it. I'm going to carry my EPP projects in it and be very fashionable!

She also included some amazing goodies with the pouch: a beautiful assortment of charm squares, a birdhouse magnet (the birdie is adorable), a butterfly charm, a sheet of whimsical stickers for the quilting enthusiast and a pocket notebook. I'm a lucky girl!

Martha

A Picture... A Moment

These are orchids from my garden. Can you believe it? All year round my orchid plant goes unnoticed; standing quietly in a secluded section of the garden, but when winter arrives it definitely shows its presence delighting us with the most stunning blossoms. My husband cut some for me and this is what I have adorning my table right now. 

They are so breathtaking... don't you agree?

Martha.