A few years ago we did some DNA testing. I was from all over the globe! But the biggest surprise was a high percentage of Irish ancestry! So I’m wearin’ more “green” these days!
Enjoy a FREE tutorial for my “Irish Blessing” Quilt. Just some honest Irish instructions. NO BLARNEY!
If you make it please share a Pic. It’s stitched with “Celtic Chain” which has 2 different borders. I’ve shown both so you can get the idea.
Our guild had a challenge to do a 2 color quilt, or at least a block. I thought about my favorite color – RED. Then I determined to use blue and include all my hand-dyed indigo pieces. But when I looked through my stash for a solid piece, I didn’t have exactly the right color blue! Well, of course, it had to match my hand dyes and that may be a problem. As I was fooling around with swatches I hit upon the idea of using green for St. Patrick’s Day. It could be scrappy and “use up” some of my many odds and ends. 
I must admit, however, I bought a few more for the mix! The ones I already chose out of my stash are on the left. The new ones are on the right. For this sample I couldn’t make it scrappy like I want for the whole quilt – remember, it was a 2 color challenge. Now I even have a 2 color quilt board on Pinterest!
The first thing I did to start was make a bunch of half-square triangles. (Whoever thought of that name?) I tried making 2 from a small square to confirm my calculations were correct. Then I made the rest with my “8 in one blow” method. Either way I made them a little larger than I needed so I could trim them to size. 
Next I started cutting the various other pieces. I sewed the long strips together and combined them into the little checker boards and striped squares. When they were pressed I laid a few of each on the ironing board 
for you to see. Next came the actual sewing into strips according to the schema plan I made up for the PDF.
Now I have one block finished to show you!!! I love the way it turned out, don’t you? Of course, I plan to “quilt” it with my Celtic Chain pattern with 2 borders and 4 different blocks. Maybe I’ll go scrappy with the designs too, and mix them all in.
Before I forget, I’ve got a St. Patrick’s Day recipe for you. It’s my very favorite Rosemary Cheddar Soda bread. Wait ’til you taste it – fabulous!!!
This was fantastic. I made it exactly (I almost never do) except for baking it on a Pizza Stone.
Rosemary Cheddar Irish Soda Bread
A tasty Irish Soda Bread with sharp cheddar and fresh rosemary. This is a
perfect as a side to your corned beef dinner.
Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 25 minutes Author foodnessgracious
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped rosemary
- 2 cups grated sharp cheddar
- 1 cups buttermilk
- 1 whole large egg
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly flour a non stick baking tray or spray with a non stick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, pepper, rosemary and cheese.
- Add the egg to the buttermilk and beat until mixed.
- Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour and lightly mix through until it becomes sticky and a ball forms.
- Dump the dough out onto a flour dusted work surface and roughly knead the dough into an ball shape. It may be on the wet side so have some extra flour on hand for dusting.
- Place the dough onto your prepared baking tray. Take a sharp serrated knife and cut an X on top of the soda bread.
- Season the top with some more salt and pepper and bake in the oven for 25 minutes and the top is golden brown.
- Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing and serving with butter. If you can resist!!!
