Need An Easy Dinner Recipe?

With summer upon us, I do a lot more cooking in the crock pot. Here's a fabulous recipe for crock pot chile verde, shared by BMQG member, Jen. I'll also add the recipe to the BMQG Kitchen section of this blog. Check it out!

Easy Chile Verde in the Crockpot

Start with 1 pound of tomatillos (I always grab about 12; if you have a large crockpot and want to go big, add more!), 1 small onion, and some cloves of garlic (I like garlic, so I used 6 large ones today).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel everything, rinse and halve the tomatillos, and chop the onion into big chunks. Grab a casserole dish (I use a glass one) and cover the entire bottom with a thin layer of olive oil. Place all ingredients into the dish and roast for 30 minutes.



When that is ready, pour the roasted ingredients into your blender and blend away. Next, add a rinsed bunch of cilantro (I cut off just the very end of the stalks) and a 4 oz. can of diced chiles (I use mild; we have baby tongues here) and blend with the rest of the sauce.



Take some pork chops, amount dependent upon how many mouths you have to feed (I usually buy about 1 or 1.5 pounds for my family of 4), and place in greased crockpot. Add salt & pepper to them according to your liking. Take blender and pour sauce into the crockpot, covering the pork chops. Cover and cook about 8 hours on low. And that's it!



Be sure to discard the fat when you shred your finished meat. We like ours served in tortillas with some cheese and sour cream, burrito style. Yum!!

A Lot Going On In The Quilting World!

QuiltCon


Exciting news on the QuiltCon website! You can now see a list and description of the classes and lectures being offered! Registration doesn't open until August 30th, so you have a bit of time to look through the online catalog and get an idea of what you might be interested in. 


Have you considered submitting a quilt for the show? Entries for the juried show will open on August 1st, with a deadline of November 30th.


If you are working on blocks for the QuiltCon block challenge, the deadline to get them in is August 15th. There are currently four of us working on them, that I'm aware of. Wouldn't it be great if the majority of our group got involved? Grab some quilt books and look at the block designs for inspiration! Get those creative juices going! Rules and details can be found on the QuiltCon website. 


ROAD TO CALIFORNIA


Registration for classes opened on Sunday. This is a show that is about 2.5 hours from here, and it's well worth taking the road trip to see it! Vendors come from all over the country to participate in this show! The variety and quality of the classes available are fabulous, and the quilts on display are outstanding! They accept all types and styles of quilts, so give some thought to entering something you've made! The deadline for entry is October 1st. 


Kern County Fair


I think it would be great if the BMQG had a strong showing in our local fair this year! Let's show Kern County what we do! The number of categories is too long to list here, but you can find them in the online catalog. We fall under Needle Arts and Sewing, starting on page 39 of the catalog. There are lots of great prizes to be won, so let's go get 'em! The deadline for entry is August 17th.


The Board will be meeting this week to work on upcoming programs. We have some fun things in the works, so keep an eye on the blog for all of the latest updates and announcements!


Until next we meet,


Lynn
President

Saturday Sew-In Reminder

The BMQG monthly sew-in is tomorrow at Strawberry Patches from 10 - 4. Bring a project to work on (doesn't have to be quilting related), and a snack to share. We don't have access to a frig or microwave, but there are several places nearby to get something to eat or drink. 


See you there!
Lynn
President

Upcoming Meeting

It seems like it's been such a long time since we last met! C'mon, Saturday! I hope everyone is ready for the big reveal of the projects sewn from the Scrap Bag Swap Challenge! It's going to be fun to see what everyone came up with!


In addition to revealing our challenge projects, Pam is going to have a paper piecing pattern to share with everyone. Have you seen all of the gorgeous Bee Weave It Or Not blocks that she's been making? That is the pattern that she's going to share! Woohoo! I will be demonstrating the Twister tool and showing you how to get those cool blocks that tessellate to make a fun quilt top! Don't forget to check out our library crate. Liz brought in several books to add to our growing library collection. Thanks, Liz! Also bring your projects for Show 'n Tell. I think we all need a little inspiration to help us get over the summertime blues! 


Looking forward to seeing all of you,


Lynn

Swap Reminder

We have just about a week and a half to finish up our Scrap Bag Swap projects. Put those finishing touches on your project(s), and be ready for the big reveal! Our meeting is on Saturday, June 16th, at Strawberry Patches, from 2:00 - 4:00. Don't forget to bring your show 'n tell projects and the blocks you are working on for the QuiltCon Block Challenge! See you soon!


Lynn
President 

Sew-In Recap

Last Saturday, the BMQG met for our monthly sew-in at Bolts to Binding. I can't tell you how much I look forward to these fun days. Everyone is happy to be together, and it's always fun to see the different projects that everyone is working on! I forgot to put my memory card back in my camera, so there are no photos to post. Sorry 'bout that!


I want to thank Jeri, owner of Bolts to Binding, for doing so much to accommodate our group. She moved a scheduled piecing class to a small classroom, so that our group could use the large classroom! The kitchen at the shop has a frig and microwave that we are free to use, and tea bags are also provided for those of us who like our afternoon tea! Our local quilt shops are great about embracing our MQG group, and it's very much appreciated! 


If you are wanting to know more about the BMQG, visiting a sew-in would be the perfect way to relax and see what it's all about! Our next sew-in will be on Saturday, June 23rd, 10:00 - 4:00, at Strawberry Patches. 

May Meeting

Local super-quilter Patty Young taught us all about paper piecing at the BMQG's May meeting. She brought some of her own beautiful paper-pieced quilts:

and then demonstrated a paper-pieced block:

Patty also shared lots of good information on books, tools and techniques such as those used by Judy Niemeyer, Carol Doak, and Deb Karasik. We learned a ton! Thanks, Patty!

Several members showed recently completed or in-progress projects. Nicci, Sandy and Carol showed their gorgeous jelly-roll quilt tops:

Pam showed her mad skills in both Cricut applique and paper-piecing:

And Liz awed us with pastel sweetness and brilliant color:

BMQG President Lynn and Secretary Laura rounded out the show with their latest endeavors.

  

This Saturday, May 26, from 10 am to 4 pm we'll be stitching up a storm at our monthly sew-in. Come to Bolts to Binding, 900 Oak Street, to share in the fun! Bring your project(s) and snacks, drinks or sack lunch if you'd like.

Next monthly meeting is Saturday, June 16, 2 pm to 4 pm at Strawberry Patches, 6433 Ming Avenue. Hope to see you there!

Laura

BMQG Secretary