First Gluten Free Recipe - A Success Story

I love baking, but seem to find little time for it lately. Luckily I had an excuse to bake - a visit from a quilty friend! This particular friend has a gluten sensitivity so I was challenged to come up with a gluten free recipe (hey, that rhymes!). Since I like quick breads, I decided to make banana bread.

I found the recipe for The Best Ever Super Moist Gluten Free Banana Bread (boy, that's a mouthful) at www.gimmedelicious.com. It was definitely moist! It was also quick dense and heavy and made a very large loaf. The recipe called for chocolate chips, but as I'm foregoing chocolate for a few more weeks, I omitted these. 

This is the first time I've made a gluten free recipe and I found the texture different than what I was used to - not bad, just different. It also took much longer to cook than the recipe suggested. The banana bread was very tasty and my friend gave it a thumbs up.

If you're a whiz at gluten free baking, share your favourite recipe with me in the comments below. I'd love to have more recipes in my repertoire for upcoming visits. 

Oh, and we did find time to do some talk about quilting and my new Handi Quilter Infinity 26. More about what I've been creating on it in an upcoming post.

Creatively,

Alex in the Long Arm Studio

Now that I have a new long arm machine I also have more accessories that need to be stored in my quilt studio, or should I say long arm studio, situated in the quilt studio annex - commonly called the basement.

Surprisingly I haven't gone hog wild and bought every long arm accessory on the market. I did get a ruler base and one ruler: Handi Quilter's VersaTool. I bought extra bobbins and needles and the channel locks too. To save my fingers I bought some Leader Grips and love working with these - so much quicker and pain free! I think I have enough tools for now, but I do need to store them somewhere convenient so I can access them when long arming. Where could I find a storage unit for them? Ikea, of course!

Photo courtesy of handiquilter.com

I already have one Alex in which I store my threads, now I could get the wider, lower one to fit under my Handi Quilter Infinity. A quick jaunt to Ikea - really, I didn't look at anything else and went straight to the aisle to get it - and home I came with a new long arm accessory storage unit.

Photo courtesy of ikea.com

Thanks to hubby, it was quickly assembled and now I have all I need to long arm, including my pantographs, easily accessible under my Infinity.

Gotta love Ikea for their practical pieces and great price point.

Have you Ikea'd your studio yet? Leave a comment below letting me know what Ikea pieces you have in your studio.

Creatively,

Telecast Thursday - Bohin Double Needle Threader Review

Do you have problems threading small eyed needles?

I like to use size 10 sharps when hand stitching on my binding and struggle to get the thread through the small eye on this size needle.

I've been using the Clover Double Needle Threader and it works okay, but I find that the metal part that you use to thread the needle becomes distorted over time and eventually breaks, so I have to buy a new one.

I also need to have my reading glasses on to use this product - so I can get the thread into the metal part - but I've found a wonderful alternative that I'm loving: the Bohin Double Needle Threader.

This product threads my needles easily and best of all I don't need my reading glasses to use it!

Watch the video below or on my Youtube channel to see how easy it is to use the Bohin Double Needle Threader.

If you're having trouble threading your small eyed needles, give the Bohin Double Needle Threader a try - you'll find it a snap!

Creatively,

P.S. I'm an Amazon affiliate and will receive a small compensation if you purchase an item using the links in this blogpost. This helps me continue to provide you with videos and tutorials. Thanks!

Telecast Thursday - Upcycled Pencil Holder Project

Welcome to another episode of Telecast Thursday. If you're looking for a quick gift this year, you might want to consider creating this pencil or utensil holder for yourself - or to brighten up your own studio. I have several of these in my quilt studio; I use one to hold pigma pens and other fabric marking pens and another to hold regular pens and pencils. 

This is a simple project, great to do with kids, and uses just a few supplies that you probably already have around the house. You can watch the video below or on my Youtube channel.

Consider creating a trio of these quick gifts in various sizes (use 3 different can sizes) for a super quick and easy gift for one of your crafty friends. The best part is decorating it after you've glued the fabric on - use your imagination and go wild!

Subscribe to my Youtube channel to receive automatic notifications when new videos are posted each week.  If you like what you see, please like and share my videos with your quilty friends.

Creatively,

Banff celebration 2015

It's been a busy fall with school starting (back to work for me), working on blogposts and Youtube videos and personal life. We recently celebrated our wedding anniversary - 31 years! - with a trip to Banff. We are fortunate to live so close to the Rocky Mountains with Banff an hour away by car. 

Even though it was late in October, we had not too cool temperatures and sunny skies. We did some shopping, lots of walking and some eating too (they do have more than one candy shop!).

I managed to fit in a visit to the Sugarpine Quilt Store in Canmore too. It was on the way back to Calgary, after all :)

Here are a few photos from the week-end.

Downtown Banff

I love browsing in the Indian Trading Post

Some of the varmints in the Indian Trading Post

View across the Bow River

We walked from the Banff townsite to Bow Falls, just below the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

The back of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

The Bow River - I love this photo!

And no anniversary week-end would be complete without a spectacular dessert - and this one was no exception!

Yum!

And yes, I did eat it all - on my own :)