Wednesday

Garden Blessing Flower Barn Quilt


With snow melting on the mountain we are beginning to see the beginnings or spring with a little color peaking out here and there in our gardens so it is time to give our beautiful Garden Blessings Flower Barn Quilt it's right place on the white farm wall.  

We have added these floral barn quilts to The Shop this week along with patterns and DIY Garden Blessing Floral Barn Quilt Kits for our amazing DIY barn quilters.  Custom colors can be requested in both the painted barn quilts and the kits so you can have the blooms you love the most!

This week all of our barn quilt kits are 15% off with the code BQKits.  They come with the paints, brushes, framed barn quilt boards, gloves, sandpaper, and sealer you need to complete a gorgeous barn quilt for your home or barn this spring!  The sale ends on Sunday, February 28th so don't wait.  You will want this Garden Blessing Flower and a few others while they are on sale!

Many blessings for a great week!




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Tuesday

Old Mill Barn Quilt

With the turning of steel and wood cogs the Old Mill along the river would turn little grains into sacks of beautiful flour, long stalks into oats and anything cracked was much tastier after it's time at the mill.   Our newest barn quilt is and original design, inspired by the elements of the cogs and wheels that turned in unison.  


The Old Mill Barn Quilt is new in The Shop today.  There are four sizes of the framed barn quilt ready to come to your home.  Each of our barn quilts are hand painted with our exclusive Prairie Paints, on reclaimed wood and then framed in walnut stained wood.  Finally they are sealed so they will stay beautiful for years to come whether you hang them inside or out.


The Old Mill Barn Quilt pattern is also available on in our shop along with a Old Mill Barn Quilt Kit with everything you need to paint a 24" barn quilt of your own.  I love this pattern and can't wait to sew this one into a big beautiful quilt.  So, watch for that to come soon.  

This week we are having our Swoon Sale with 20% savings on every order and class registration.  Go to The Shop and use code Swoon at checkout.  The sale runs through Monday the 15th!  This is a perfect time to check out our virtual and in-person class schedules for this year and get your friends to sign up with you!  

We hope you love this Old Mill design as much as we do!  There is just something fabulous about simple lines and subdued colors.  The sample above was painted in our Prairie Paints Old Crow, Pigeon Cove, and Homestead White.

Many Blessings!








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Wednesday

Swoony Heart Barn Quilt

Our hearts are "swooning" over the newest barn quilt in the Tweetle Dee family, The Swoony Heart Barn Quilt!  We are in love with these Poppy Pink and Rooster Red points around this darling heart.   You can find this barn quilt painted and ready to hang In The Shop today!



Swoony Heart Barn Quilt

This Framed Over barn quilt comes in three sizes a 22", 33" and a big 44".  Hangers are included.  Each of our barn quilts are hand drawn and painted on reclaimed wood and then sealed for indoor or outdoor display.  As always, custom colors are available!



Swoony Heart Barn Quilt Pattern

We also have this pattern available In The Shop for purchase in full color with directions for making your own Swoony Heart Barn Quilt.  Patterns come as a PDF Download or a print copy.  In addition, we have full DIY Swoony Heart Barn Quilt Kits that include everything you need to paint your own barn quilt.  Frame, paints, tape, heat pen, brushes and sealer.  

So whatever your fancy, there is a Swoony Heart ready to come to you!  Use code Swoon this week for 20% off your orders.  


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Tuesday

Mrs. Stuart's Chocolate Cake

In the little town of Howard, New York there lived a lady named Mrs. Stuart.  Her darling little grey house was on the corner and across the street from the one church in town. She and my grandmother were friends and she passed the most delicious chocolate cake recipe to my grandmother, Mildred Lyke in the 1940's.  This recipe has been baked and loved by the Lyke family even since.  


It is served for birthdays and celebrations of all kinds.  This past Saturday was my Grandma Lyke's 106th birthday and though she has passed, we still celebrate her special day by doing the things that remind us of her.  So, after a long walk in the woods & a trip to the nursery to buy a Jade plant (one of her favorites), and bringing home a Cardinal, and having some laughs with our kids...I stayed up late to bake grandma's cake.  

You will love this chocolate cake!  It is so dense with chocolate and so light...so moist and rich.  It is easy to see why this cake has been baked for more than 80 years.  One bite and I was instantly transported to my childhood on the farm with my family.  Isn't it wonderful how one bite can do that?  

I have made this cake from scratch many times and will give you a little hint that my Aunt Sonnie told me....never use an electric mixer with this recipe.   The first time I made this cake, I followed her advice and the cake was over the top amazing.  The second & third time, I used my stand mixer because I didn't see the big deal about making it from scratch.   The times I used an electric mixer...it was bready and dry.  When I follow my Aunt's advice...it is perfect every time!  Just sayin, cause I know there will be someone who will try it and I testify that my Aunt's advice is true.  Amen!

Mrs. Stuart's Chocolate Cake

1/2 Cup Cocoa
1/2 Cup Soft Butter
2 Cups White Sugar
3 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Cup Cream
Dash of Vinegar
2 Cups Sifted Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
Pinch of Salt
1 Cup Boiling Water

Place the butter, sugar, vanilla and cocoa together in a large bowl.  Separate the yolks from the whites and add the yolks to the large bowl with the other ingredients.  Save the whites in a separate bowl for later.  Add a dash of vinegar to the heavy cream and let sit for a few minutes.  This will sour the milk.  Add the sour milk to the other ingredients and mix by hand.  (I love to use a Dutch Whisk for this, but a spoon will do.  Just be sure to mix gently.  Add the boiling water and mix again until smooth.  
Whip the egg white to fluffy peaks and fold in to the batter.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Never use an electric mixer!  Bake in an 9" x 13" glass greased pan for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.  

**This was a favorite in the Lyke fanily.  This old recipe was given to Mildred Lyke by Mrs. Stuart lived in the gray house on the corner, across from the church.**  

Favorite Recipes, Howard Bicentennial Cookbook



There isn't a frosting recipe with the cake, but I made my Cocoa Cream Cheese Frosting which is amazing with the decadent cake!

Cocoa Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 Cup Soft Butter
1 Package of Soft Cream Cheese
1/4 Cup Milk
2 Teas. Vanilla
1/4 cup Cocoa
 4 Cups Powdered Sugar

In your mixer beat until smooth the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and cocoa.  Add the powdered sugar and mix well.  With the mixer going, slowly add the milk until the frosting is smooth.  Add more milk or powdered sugar until you get the consistency you love.

I promise you this cake is worth the love and effort it takes to make it by hand.  I'm not sure why it works best by hand, unless it is the love.  Maybe this is why this cake has been made for so many special occasions in our family, or why one bite transports me back to my good childhood memories.  It was served when we were together, laughing and sharing our love.  

Many blessings...



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