Mamie Irene Crisp met a handsome young Coast Guardsman in 1942, just as the U.S. entered the war. In 1945, they were married.
For 55 years, Jack and Irene traveled the country in their motorhome, stopping at fishing holes all along the way. They wowed friends and family with their jitterbug skills. They adored their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. And then, in 2000, Irene was lost to Alzheimer’s Disease.
Alzheimer’s Awareness Month is a tender time for Jenny. You see, Irene was her beloved mother-in-law. This year, Jenny has created a beautiful new quilt in Irene’s memory.
Missing You is a quick and easy layer cake pattern that combines the appliqué flowers of our Forget Me Not quilt and the 36-patch blocks of Goodnight Irene. It’s a sweet tribute to all those who have been touched by this terrible disease.
The holidays are coming and it’s time to show off your new found sewing skills at all your family gatherings! If you’re anything like us, your Christmas list is filled with handmade holiday projects that you may or may not have started (don’t panic just yet, there’s still plenty of time). Instead of trying to squeeze in a quilt for each and every person close to you, consider a small yet functional project like the Casserole Caddy that will not only be a beautiful handmade gift, but a handy accessory that will be used for years to come!
This quilt as you go project comes together before you know it using no more than just a little scrap yardage and some products which you most likely already have in your sewing room. Need it before the holidays? No worries! Pick up The Casserole Caddy Quilt as you Go Kit by June Tailor Company to make this project easy to finish in a hurry, too!
Not your style? We’ve got you covered there as well! Flex your creativity and create this gorgeous kitchen accessory with some circle magic! Get the full pattern and instructions to stitch up a Circle Magic Casserole Cozy that’s just as darling and creative as the original Casserole Caddy! This is a great project to practice your circular quilting (we promise it’s not that difficult)! Be sure to check out Courtenay’s full tutorial on the Casserole Caddy below for even more guided instruction to help make your holidays handmade!
When you make the Serendipity Infinity quilt, you’ll end up with scraps.
You can use those scraps to make a pretty table runner. But guess what? You’ll still have scraps. Make another table runner, and still, more scraps. Keep sewing!
When all is said and done, you’ll have a beautiful quilt + up to NINE table runners to use as gifts! Is it a Christmas miracle? Nope! It’s Serendipity Infinity!
Every year for Halloween, we have big, themed parties. We love any reason to get together, but Halloween is one of our favorites! As many of you know, and for those of you who didn’t know, Jenny started her sewing journey as a costume sewist for the theater. She’s always been a whiz at whipping up costumes! Besides being passionate about dressing up, she loves a reason to decorate the house and always goes all out during the holidays!
Leading up to Halloween, we pick a family theme (last year was Harry Potter and this year is Disney) and then often search Pinterest to find wacky and spooky food inspiration to bring to our party. We keep it easy, but fun!
Besides bowls of candy, here are a few Doan family Halloween snacks that have shown up in recent years.
Past Halloween snack spreads:
Wafer cookie “Band-Aids”, marshmallow and caramel “Cotton Swabs”, finger shaped breadsticks, and more.
Fruit “pizza”, layered dip, chocolate cake, Feet Loaf, cookies, and more!
“Feet” Loaf:
Meatloaf, with a sinister twist.
One year, Sarah was inspired to shape some meatloaf into . . . you guessed it, a foot. To make this, take your family favorite meatloaf recipe and get to cooking! All you need to do is shape up your meatloaf into a foot shape, add an onion ankle bone and some onion toe nails, and you’ve got yourself a spooky but tasty treat!
Mummy and Monster Cookies:
Oreo Monsters and Nutter Butter Mummies. Yum!
For these easy treats, just take some white melting chocolate, melt it, and for the Nutter Butter Mummies, drape and drizzle it over the cookies. For the Oreo Monsters, add some green food coloring and dip the cookies into it! Add some eyeball sprinkles before the chocolate sets and you’re good to go!
Happy Halloween! Do you have any family Halloween traditions? What are some of your favorite Halloween candies or treats?
The year my friend Margaret hosted her first Thanksgiving dinner, everything seemed to go wrong.
The cat left paw prints on the freshly-baked pie, the oven stopped working mid-turkey, and the little cousins ruined a white couch with a box of sidewalk chalk. (But the mashed potatoes were excellent, and so was the company!)
Thanksgiving dinner is no small feat, but Jenny’s new Thanksgiving quilt is easy as pumpkin pie—minus the paw prints!
This pretty harvest quilt combines applique Dresden turkey blocks with a variation of the Irish Chain called Irish Change. It’s simple, quick, and “sew” fun to make! Click HERE to watch the tutorial!
