december 25th.

we've been ...
soaking up time with our kiddos
shopping
wrapping
baking
eating
and general ho ho ho'ing

christmas is our favorite.
so, from our house to yours, we wish y'all a very merry christmas.

love, the griffith family

fat quarter gang winner.

y'all are a pretty mixed bunch when it comes to picking between red or green.
i personally can't choose.
i'm indecisive like that.
;)

the winner of the christmasy art gallery fat quarters is alyce.
congrats!!!
please email me: rachel (at) psiquilt (dot) com

big thanks to y'all for playing along.

rachel

scruffily pillow covers.

(comments closed.)

it's december 11th, folks.
that means that today is MY day for the fat quarter gang.

i'm gonna show y'all how to make scruffily pillow covers.
they are SUPER simplistic and perfect for sprucing up your living room.

the tutorial is over on the art gallery fabrics blog.
so go check it out and tell me what y'all think.
(direct link here.)

as promised ...
a set of fat quarters (that matches the set i used for my project) is up for grabs.
so one of y'all lucky readers will win all 8 of the fat quarters pictured above.

to get in on the giveaway . . .
my rules: leave a comment telling me which color you like more: red or green.
art gallery's rules: subscribe to the art gallery fabrics blog AND follow art gallery fabrics on pinterest and facebook.
(winner will be drawn thurssday.)

hope y'all enjoy.

rachel

the one with the easiest baby quilt EVER.

sometimes, simple is better, right?!?!
as a momma of four, i love it when i can simplify things.
especially when my to do list is long and the holidays are upon us.

hubby had a friend at work that was expecting, so he asked me to make a baby quilt.
i had the perfect fabric in mind for months, but i just couldn't settle on a pattern.
one day i decided to just go with stripes.
i knew the fabrics were bold enough to support something simplistic, so i ran with it.

this quilt is SO easy, that y'all won't need a full tutorial, but here's how to make it ...

what y'all will need:
1/4 yard cuts of 10 different prints
1/3 yard binding
1 yard backing

the making part:
from each of the 10 prints, cut 1 strip, 4 1/2" x WOF
from the solid, cut 5 strips, 2 1/4" x WOF (binding)

piece all your printed strips together.
to avoid warping, stitch the strips in pairs then join the pairs together.

you will need to trim some of the width off of your quilt top to omit any visible selvedges.
note: depending on the fabrics, some selvedges are wider than others.

layer, baste & quilt. (i did straight line quilting using my walking foot.)
bind with solid strips.

and you're done.

like i said, it's simple and can easily be done during nap time.
ask me how i know this.
;)

oh and for those inquring minds ...
fabrics = little kukla by suzy ultman for robert kaufman

rachel

prep work.

today it's all about prep work.

prepping some bindings.
prepping some side dishes.
and prepping myself for a turkey coma.
;)

rachel

at last.

tonight is THE night.
i have a date with miss ashleigh. (my niece/bff)
and it's finally time to see part 2 of breaking dawn.

so here's how our night will look:
hours of standing around waiting to pick the perfect seat.
way crowded, way loud theatre.
over priced buttery popcorn with twizzlers.
and edward cullen.

i can't wait. :)

the TWO winners of the amy butler spots fat quarter bundles are ...
stacey and sonia.
ladies, email me: rachel (at) psiquilt (dot) com

rachel

dots and spots.

{comments closed.}

i'm not sure if this comes across on my blog or not, but i'm SUPER in love with dots.
anyone who knows me in real life can attest to this.

i give y'all exhibit a.
this is the bag that i made for quilt market.
it's dotty from head to toe. and it's delicious.
(pattern info HERE. fabric info HERE.)

there are approximately 432 more exhibits, but i'll stick with "a" for now.

i have many different dots in my repertoire.
BUT the one set of dots that i haven't gotten my hands on, are these ...

... amy butler spots. *swoon*

my friends over at fat quarter shop thought that torturing me by giving y'all some of these lovely dots would be fun!!!
TWO lucky ps i quilt readers will win a whole fat quarter bundle of amy butler spots.
disclaimer: i can't be responsible if you're mail is hijacked by my minions.

to enter:
go to fat quarter shop's dots and spots page.
find your favorite dotty print and then come back to tell me which one it is.
be specific.
winner will be drawn on thursday.

rachel

weeknight chicken pot pie.

i love me some chicken pot pie.
like realllllly love it.
but let's face it, chicken pot pie takes some effort.
and sometimes that's just too much effort to try to muster on a weeknight.

*enter weeknight chicken pot pie*
it's the perfect blend of a home cooked meal and the "i need to hurry up and feed these people" meal.
true story.

what y'all will need:
2-3 lbs. chicken breast, cooked and shredded
2 (12 oz) packages your favorite frozen mixed vegetables, thawed*
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup bisquick baking mix
1/2 cup milk
1 stick butter, melted

*as unamerican as it sounds, i don't like peas in my chicken pot pie.
my frozen veggies = broccoli, califlower & carrots made by birds eye.

arrange chicken in the bottom of an ungreased 9" x 13" pan; set aside.
mix veggies with soups and broth; pour over chicken.
combine biscuit mix, milk and butter; spread over veggie mixture.
bake at 375' for one hour.
let sit for 10 minutes.
serve.

i can't be held accountable if y'all become addicted to the biscuit topping.
yes, it's THAT yummy.
;)

hope y'all enjoy.

rachel

a halloween tale.

once upon a time there was a momma who thought she would be wicked cool and order amazing trick or treat-ish fabrics to make THE best trick or treat pillowcases on the planet.
so the momma purchased the aforementioned fabrics after halloween LAST year vowing to make THE best trick or treat pillowcases for THIS year.
the question is, did that happen?!?! of course it didn't.
BUT the momma has vowed to her children, and now you fine folks, that THE best trick or treat pillowcases WILL be ready for halloween NEXT year.
pinky swear.

a few things ...
#1} the green lantern would like for me to point out that he was NOT picking his nose. he was adjusting his mask.
#2} the witch is my mother in law. the lollipop girl with the jack-o-lantern bucket is my niece.
#3} thanks to hurricane sandy, we didn't trick or treat until this past weekend, so i promise that i'm not super duper lame for not posting this sooner.
and #4} we always used pillowcases for trick or treat growing up. did y'all?!?!

--rachel

spilling the beans!!! :D

rachel

to market, to market.

my bags are packed and i'm headed to houston.
boy, i love quilt market.
i can't wait to see everyone and everything.

i'll blog when & if i can. promise.
i do hope y'all will follow along with me via instagram the next few days. (@rachelgriffith)
i'm 99.99% positive that i'll be snapping pics and sharing them there.
-the pic above is via instagram-

anything particular y'all want to see?!?!

oh, and as promised ...
the winner of the halloweenish fat quarters is jess.
email me: rachel {at} psiquilt {dot} com

rachel

strippy table runner.

{comments closed.}

it's october 22nd, folks.
that means that today is MY day for the fat quarter gang.

i'm gonna show y'all how to make a strippy table runner.
it's SUPER simplistic and perfect for sprucing up any kitchen table.

the tutorial is over on the art gallery fabrics blog.
so go check it out and tell me what y'all think.
{direct link here.}


as promised ...
a set of fat quarters {that matches the set i used for my project} is up for grabs.
so one of y'all lucky readers will win all 8 of the fat quarters pictured above.
{note: the solids pictured are not part of the giveaway.}

to get in on the giveaway . . .
my rules: leave a comment telling me which of the 8 prints is your favorite.
art gallery's rules: subscribe to the art gallery fabrics blog AND follow art gallery fabrics on pinterest and facebook.
{winner will be drawn wednesday.}

hope y'all enjoy.

rachel

new york. <--in pictures.

i'm only like 8 months late showing these, but ... i've been a little busy.

-new york, new york.

-our lovely hotel room.

-me taking a breather before hitting times square.

-times square!!!

-the lorax.

-m&m wall.

-wicked!!!

-giant m&ms.

-taking the subway.

-supper with friends at lombardi's pizza in little italy.

-mmmm. lombardi's.

-me & my baby.

-rice to riches.

-our hotel.

-radio city music hall.

-magnolia bakery.

-mamma mia.

-ready for NYC. day 2.

-tkts.

-we have mamma mia tickets.

-coke.

-us.

-hubby making some evening plans.

-the lorax. again.

-serendipity 3!!!

-serendipity's famous frozen hot chocolate.

-mmmm.

-we're gonna see alan rickman today!!!

-ms brown.

-jerry o'connell and ME!!!

-alan rickman!!!

-omg!!! i just got jerry o'connell AND alan rickman's autograph!!! {yep, that's trip mcnealy AND professor snape!!!}

-ricky martin.

-THE sardi's.

-i love this man!!!

-bubba gump.

-disney.

-times square. again.

-new york public library.

-me & my honey.

-*sigh*

-i LOVE this city.

-hubby.

-our last night in times square.

general consensus: we had such a blast.
these pics only touch base on a little bit of our trip.
we're currently planning our next NYC trip.

ps. most of these pics were taken via our cell phones, so don't judge the picture quality too harshly, please. :)

rachel