Is it Dessert yet?

It  is day 6th of the

Welcome to my new guests. I am supposed to tell you a little bit about myself but I can’t do that without first telling you about the company I work for, Moda fabrics. Moda fabrics is a family owned company that sells only to independent retailers, or what is called “mom and pops.” You will never find our products in places like Walmart, Joann’s etc. The owner’s passion of supporting the independents carries through to what we do on a day to day basis. When I first went to him with the Moda bake shop concept, he said, “Sure, let’s give it a try.” now 2 years later we are celebrating Fresh Fabric Treats.  (pretty creative- that I did not have to talk about myself!)

Jan 2009 the first post was by Angela Yosten featuring a travel mug. Now 2 years later we are traveling (digitally) to some of the Moda bake shop chefs homes. Today’s post I share with
Rachel Griffith. She was one of the first chefs to share her talent and enthuasium so I am honored to share the day with her.

Welcome,Welcome, Welcome.

In true bake shop form my recipe is for something non edible,

cupcake tea towels and apron.

Most likely if you were coming to my home, we would all gather around the sewing machine and create some yummy projects while the men whipped up something on the grill. My parents taught all us kids to be comfortable in the kitchen or with a set of power tools, so there are no stereotypical roles in my household either. My son is cooking wings as I type this post.
SUPPLIES:
Toweling, charm squares, soft and stable fuse, buttons, and trims.
Moda’s toweling is available on a roll, hemmed along the sides. For each towel, cut toweling 28″. Apron- 1 1/4 yd. (26 for apron, 19″ for ties and pocket)

Choosing what to use is just like choosing what to add to cupcakes. There are so many choices.
TOWELS:

Trace the template pieces on the fusible interfacing. Iron them to the wrong side of the fabrics. Cut the shapes out. Please them on tea towel and iron in place. Click here for cupcake templates.
Hem top and bottom of toweling 1″. Press edge .5″, fold up again, press and stitch to create the 1″ hem.
Additional options:
(many of you know I am a middle child. I don’t know if I can’t make up my mind or I like to make
everyone happy. Here are additional options to create your own cupcake.)


 BUTTONS:
Use a red button for the cherry on top.
 -OR-
Make covered buttons using the I-top button making tool.
(my favorite crafty tool as of late. If you did not get one for Christmas, ask for one for valentines. It is so much fun.)

If you do not have a button that is the color you are looking for, combine a fabric yo yo and a button to make a covered button that can be sewn through the button holes. (thank you Susan Fuquay for this idea)

TRIMS:

There are so many fun trims available in quilt and
specially stores that I had to add a few of them to
my tea towels. Ric rac, pom poms, crocheted trim,
and ribbons add that hand made touch. On my tea
towels I used the French general ribbons as a loop
to hang the towels. (see below) Determine how big of loop you want and add it as you hem to top section of your towel.

 To add an edging to the bottom you your towel, sew it right sides facing to the top of the towel. turn the edging down as  you hem the bottom of the towel. This works on the crochet trim and ric rac. Some of the trims can be sewn directly to the top of the towel.

APRON:
The toweling can also be used to make a cute half apron. Determine how wide you want the apron to be. Add apron ties as listed below. Trims  can also be added to the hem on the aprons. I  added ric rac as I sewed the pocket onto the apron.
Determine how wide you want your apron to be (approx 26″ is  a nice size) Ties were cut approx 4 1/2″ wide by 19″ long)

 You will need to buy double this amount. The additional yardage will be used to make apron ties. Cut the stripe from the toweling for apron ties. Hem and add to the sides of the toweling. Using the additional fabric, cut pocket square. Add a cupcke to the pcoket placing it along the top of the pocket. Add a ribbon loop when sewing the pocket in place. Sew a button on the apron and use the ribbon loop as a button closure.

Now that I have a cute apron to wear I had to put it to use in the kitchen.
CHOCOLATE CHIP CUPCAKES
1 box yellow cake mix, 1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup sour cream, 3 eggs
1 cup oil,  1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans, 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup mini choc chips
Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Combine all above ingredients. Mix together approx 2 minutes. Fill cupcake holders 3/4 full. Bake approx 10 minutes. Cool and frost. I made mini cupcakes because these are sinfully rich and delicious.
If making as a cake, grease 9 x 13 pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1 8 oz. Cream cheese, 1/2 cup margarine
1 tsp. Vanilla, 4 cups powered sugar
Soften cream cheese and margarine. Blend until creamy. Add vanilla and powered sugar. Use food coloring paste (not liquid) to add color to frosting. Decorate as desired.

Enjoy!!
Tomorrow visit Julie Herman and Sweet Water, then ….
The last stop on the progressive dinner is Jenny Garland and Angela Yosten. These are the two talented ladies that keep the Moda bake shop’s pantry full of projects for you to enjoy.

I am sure you have read about the giveaway on each of the other chefs posts. By now you should know that by memory. My favorite precuts IS ALL of them (another middle child trait) but I will choose jelly rolls. I like combining a print jelly roll and a Bella solid jelly roll for a bigger project and a different combination.
So you know the drill, leave a comment on my blog to win precuts of my choice and a Fresh Fabric Treats book. In the past moda bake shop has featured stores, projects and even recipes. If there is anything you want more of on the bake shop, please leave it as a comment. Follow me on twitter or stay tuned to my blog for insider Moda information as well as random ramblings from a middle child.
Leave a comment on all posts to be entered in the grand prize drawing.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure you have an e-mail address, so we can contact you if you are the lucky winner.

1,086 comments

  1. Catherine Z. says:

    Greetings from Northern Saskatchewan CANADA!

    This progressive dinner has been so much fun! Thanks so much for organizing it. I love Moda Bakeshop. The tutorials are fantastic!

    I love all precuts too!

    Thanks again!
    Catherine Zerr

  2. Maria says:

    Adorable apron tutorial, thank you! =D

    This dinner is great fun and I'm so excited to each day get to visit a new amazing blogger. The book looks fantastic!

    Congratulations on the great success and thank you for your fantastic brain that gave us Moda Bakeshop! <3

  3. Staci says:

    Mmmmmm! Yummy recipes! Thanks for having us over for desert!
    I'd love to see patterns for sewing machine covers, Kindle/Nook covers and more tote bags, and of course, QUILTS & RUNNERS.

  4. Darling apron! The cupcakes look delicious too, but after drinking all that sweet tea over at Rachel's, I'm pretty full right now! I think I'll just sit back and imagine all the other wonderful projects in that new book!

    MGM

  5. pam says:

    Very cute apron. Thanks so much!
    Will be trying the cupcakes when husby gets back from his trip. I don't need all those here just for me.
    pam

    pam roever at yahoo dot com

  6. Cathy says:

    One of the first 'tools' I discovered as a new quilter and Moda enthusiast was the Moda Bake Shop, and Rachel's Scruffily Quilt recipe! Congrats on the book, and thanks for the inspiration that you provide to so many of us!

  7. Marie says:

    Oh my goodness, I am gaining weight at this progressive dinner. Such great food and the ideas are fantastic. I want to try them all. I love the tutorial, thank you for sharing.

    Hugs – Marie

  8. Abbybeth says:

    yum! Cupcakes! (I always seem to eat more of them than actual cake though … they're so small and travel so easily from the counter to your mouth…)

    I love seeing quilt tutorials – particularly quilts big enough to use on the couch or bed.

  9. Kwilt Noob says:

    I always look forward to new posts from the bakeshop. Keep 'em coming!
    This cupcake is adorable! I'm going to have to give it a try. Thanks so much for the chance to win such great stuff. Can't wait for the book to come out!

  10. Stephanie says:

    Thank-you for such a nice time! Cupcakes and tea towels are adorable! Love Love moda and especially all the precuts. I am in depression mode because I just moved to New Jersey from Texas and left my favorite place that ONLY CARRIED MODA! Can you believe that just fabric stores(not good either) are not really here or are far away! I know I am spoiled by having 15 minutes to drive and see in person all the gorgeous moda lines(joanns is even an hour drive)I don"t live in the middle of nowhere so thank heaven for internet ordering or off to the train ride(30 min) to NYC! Thanks so much for all you do! Hats off to MODA!

  11. Congratulations on two years of the Bakeshop and the new book! As I have devoted more and more time to quilting in the past year, the Bakeshop allowed me to discover Moda, precuts, and so many great projects. Thanks!!!!

  12. slfranks4 says:

    This is the first time I have found my way t your blog and I love what I've seen so far. Congratulations on the book – I can't wait to get my hands on a copy! I will proudly admit that the Moda Bakeshop is what inspired me to attempt my very first quilt – the stacked coins one. I have been in love ever since, not just with quilting but with Moda. I recommend it to everyone, gift it to others, and continually find fresh inspiration in the fabrics and the blog. 😀

  13. free indeed says:

    I think the apron is darling, and if I had a figure that could possibly even fit in a teatowel, it would be on my todo list! 🙂 Thanks for dessert! We did progressive dinners with our teen youth group years ago…it was a blast!

  14. tpott says:

    I think the apron is the prefect gift for Valentine's Day for my sister. Yes we give gifts to our immediate family.(our maiden name was Valentine) Thank you for participating, ideas, new friends to meet, recipes, projects… I am soooo envious of you. You work for MODA. If I went to where they make or stock the fabric, I don't think my eyes or mind could take in all that eye candy.OOOOOHHHHH!!!!! The over load… What a DREAM that would be 😉

  15. Kristen says:

    So YOU'RE the genius behind the Moda Bake Shop! Yeah, everyone on this dinner tour is a published author now but that's something to really lay claim to! How does one get a dream job of working for Moda, anyway??

    I would love to see more bake shop recipes for Candy Bars … so far I've found only one, even though I came across one for charms that could actually be used for candy bars also.

    My email address is linked in my Google profile but it is tenquilts at gmail dot com.

  16. Deb says:

    The apron is really cute, and those cupcakes, my goodness they sound/look delicious, I must make some! Everything that Moda does is wonderful and I'm a modaholic, only buying fabric from Moda, and it's wonderful that you only support the Mom/Pop shops. LOVE the pre-cuts, they make it easy to make a quilt or any other project.

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