**Posts contain affiliate links and I will be compensated at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Citronella Candlelit Picnic in the Sticks - A Country Romance

Welcome to the 
Creatin' in the Sticks 
Perfect Picnic .


Made in Kansas Ad Astra Ale and Lost Trail Root Beer.
The quilt was made in Kansas, too.  :)


We loaded up the quilt, food, and portable croquet set in the
 4 wheeler
and  headed over to the creek for a little fun.
 Just hubby and I.
 We even left the dogs behind.


We found our spot by the creek in a large grove of trees.
Let the picnic begin!



3 yards of laminated cotton fabric from Riley Blake designs arrived and I used it for the back of the quilt.
Red with white dots paired with denim.
Now THAT is country Love.
It is sooooo me.
No worries about laying this quilt on wet ground
and
the heavy duty denim can handle any other picnic mishaps...

Our picnic quilt carries everything from plates and napkins to bottle opener and hand wipes and folds up nicely for travel.


This is how the quilt unfolds revealing the plates, napkins, and flatware.


It's perfect for tabletop or remove the gear and lay on the ground.


I made a large square mat to place in the middle for drinks or dips.  The laminate makes it easy to wipe off.

Now, let's eat.

The Menu
Roast Beef Salad on (light) Rye Bread
Cucumber Salsa with chips
Mixed berry pound cake (sugar free)
and
Cold Beverages!

I'm afraid my picnic basket is on an around the world in 30 days tour, so food and beverages arrived in galvanized buckets and hand made bowls.


Cucumber Salsa
(aka 3,2,1)
3 Cucumbers chopped fine
2 10 oz cans of Rotel tomatoes (I use one mild and one regular)
1 pouch dry ranch dressing mix

Mix and chill for a few hours.
Serve with tortilla chips


The bowls were made from fabric strips and clothes line. I viewed the instructions on Quilting Arts TV.   I just lined the big bowl with a clean shower cap and filled it with chips.  The smaller ones were perfect to hold bowls of dip and fruit.



Mixed Berry Pound Cake
This makes 2 loaves

1 Box Yellow Cake Mix (I used Pillsbury Sugar Free)
Ingredients to mix the cake (mine called for water, oil, and 3 eggs)
1 small box instant pudding mix(I used sugar free cheesecake flavor) yummy.
1 cup chopped strawberries
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven as directed on cake mix box.  Mix cake mix as directed and add the dry pudding mix.  Fold in the strawberries and blueberries.  Prepare 2 loaf pans by lining the bottom with waxed paper and spraying the pans with cooking spray.  Pour the mixture into the pans.  Bake as directed on the cake mix box.
Cool 10 minutes after baking and take out of pans.  Let cool completely before slicing.
 If you can. (wink)



We ate half of one loaf while we laid around on the blanket just talking and listening to coyotes.
Maybe the coyotes smelled our food.
Soon the turkeys started gobbling and the mosquitoes started eating us alive.
Citronella candles can only do so much.


Here is the quilt with no picnic equipment.  I love that it looks like a patchwork quilt (well it is)  but functions to store all the essentials for a picnic.


This picture shows the quilt with the insert in the middle.  This is the denim side with the laminate side down.
That is the biggest coaster I have ever made.


After laying around for a couple of hours listening to coyotes and turkeys and just catching up with one another, we decided to skip croquet. But hubby went and put our initials on a tree.
Romance is alive and well here in the sticks.

Why haven't we done this before?

Thank you Madame Samm for a wonderful excuse to have a romantic candlelit picnic in the sticks.



Here are the rest of my fellow picnickers of the day:

Wednesday June 4

Thanks to Mary of I Piece 2-Mary our lovely cheerleader

Mary has the full schedule for the hop HERE.

Thank you to our sponsors: 

Sew We Quilt
Riley Blake Designs 
Peterboro Baskets



54 comments:

Amy said...

What a super clever idea! Love the star pockets. I will have to try out your salsa recipe. Thanks for inviting us to your picnic out in the sticks. ;)

Scrapatches said...

Your fold up picnic blanket with its star pockets for plates and utensils is so creative! I love it. Denin and Riley Blake laminate ... a great combination for a picnic quilt. Thanks for sharing your picnic and the recipes. May you and hubby enjoy many picnics with your new picnic quilt ... :) Pat

Judy B said...

Love how you made your picnic quilt! Thank you for sharing your yummy recipes.

Anita said...

What a smart picnic quilt! You made such a practical item to bring with you to the picnic. Being together with your loved one is the perfect way to spend time outdoors.

Nancy said...

Your Quilt is adorable and I Love all the Pockets too! Thanks for the recipes Carla, your pound cake sounds delish!!Thanks for inviting us along on your Candlelit Perfect Picnic in the Sticks!

Huggs, Nancy

Glinda ♥ said...

You pair of cuties, you! What a great picnic - the quilt is so clever and your cake looks very yummeeeeeeee :)

Charlene McCain said...

Love your picnic quilt with a pocket for everything you need. What a great idea! I'm adding your recipes to my recipe stash. They look yummy!

charlotte said...

You are sew creative! Love the quilt with pockets to carry everything. Looks like a fun time was had.

Shari said...

Loving your picnic quilt...super post and love the pics! A romantic getaway for two...most deserved!

Debby said...

Wow! That's all so awesome. Wonderful picnic quilt and the food looked so yummy. Clever to put a shower cap as basket liner - can I use that idea? Thanks for sharing all those pics!

Sparky said...

Helllllllo....I am hoping I am not disturbing this lovely picnic.....I will be quiet as I gush over your lovely features of your picnic quilt...simply over the top , sooo darn practical too and lovely... I can see many adventures in your future...you love birds you...xx

Elizabeth Coughlin said...

What a clever, beautiful quilt! And that pound cake looks delicious lol.

Thearica said...

You have made a very clever picnic quilt! Why can't I think of things like this? Kudos to you!

Jeanie said...

What a great picnic quilt! I love the little pocket sections to hold all of the goodies...very clever. Thanks for sharing your recipes too.... they look yummy!

Late Night Quilter said...

What a picture perfect picnic! I love it. You really captured a special moment in this post. Thanks for sharing it with all of us!

Dorian said...

looks like a great picnic. I love your quilt!! Wonderful idea.

StitchinByTheLake said...

You always make the cutest things! I love the quilt and all the organization you're able to achieve with it - I'm so scatter brained that this would be perfect for me. :) And I can't wait to try that salsa! Hubby can't eat cucumbers so I'll get the whole thing! blessings, marlene

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

What a wonderful picnic quilt and it looks like you had a wonderful time!

Carol Swift said...

What a romantic guy your hubby is! That is just so sweet! The fold up blanket with all the pockets and huge "coaster" is a great idea...cute pockets for silverware. I love the denim on the back, too! You are so creative! My picnic basket took an around the world tour, too. Maybe they went on a picnic together. :O)

krislovesfabric said...

Looks like a fun day :) Great details on your quilt!!

Mokki said...

What a lovely, romantic day. Your picnic quilt is great, such a good idea to put all those pockets in.

Kay said...

This is a great idea for a quilt. I love the way you have put it together, so practical. x

Linda said...

What a perfect picnic for sure! Your picnic quilt is ingenious and beautiful! It looks like you had a great time!

Agnes B. Bullock said...

This is fabulous- what an ingenious idea for a quilt!

hope you do a tutorials omeday

This is the best quilt for this blog hop!

Susie said...

HI Carla love the quilt and your special picnic place and the recipes. Thanks for sharing. Susie x

Needled Mom said...

What a nice way to "catch up" with each other. The Pound Cake sounds delicious.

Corrie said...

Carla, Thanks for the recipes! Looks delicious. What a fun picnic keeper! A fabulous day for a picnic minus mosquitos.

Suze said...

Carla, I adore putting your initials in a tree. They will be there for a long, long time - just like your love. The quilt is amazing. I love stars and the versatility of the quilt is amazing. I love that you can put lots of the supplies tucked away in the quilt. You are clever and creative! The laminate is perfect, too. Thanks for participating and being a great inspiration for trying laminate, creating a great quilt, and for inspiring us to get away for a great picnic.

Tanya Quilts in CO said...

Thanks for including your recipes!

Mary said...

What a great picnic! Love your picnic quilt. Thank you so much for being part of this great hop.

Linda C said...

How creative that your picnic quilts not only "folds, but holds" the plates and such. It also looks pretty darned cute to boot.

Looks like you and hubby had a grand time till the bugs got to be too much anyway!

Calicojoan said...

Oh my gosh, if that isn't just the greatest way to carry along your picnic supplies! I love it! The mean looks delicious the setting is gorgeous. Heck romance had to follow! ;-)

Susan E said...

Brilliant design!

Amanda Murphy said...

Really creative way to use the laminate and other fabrics! Beautiful job!

Mara said...

Really cute and a great idea! Love It!

Brandy said...

Aww, you guys are too cute! I will have to remember a candle next time because I'm sure the mosquitos will be there, we were lucky on our outing. Your quilt is super clever, especially for laying on a table and just having everything right there. Thank you for the recipes, I wrote on your other post about your Virtual Bridal Shower for your daughter and I would love to share some recipes too!
~Brandy

gpc said...

What a clever picnic quilt, I love it! The salsa sounds delicious and it looks like a perfect picnic to me. Love the idea of romance, too. :)

Deonn said...

Oh my goodness, Carla! Wow, such an impressive picnic quilt/carrier! So clever to make patchwork pockets that hold everything - I love it!! And it sounds like the perfect country symphony with the coyotes, turkeys and skeeters, haha! How fun. I'd probably skip the croquet, too. Your picnic sounds delicioius, and thanks for sharing the recipes!

Kathleen said...

You sure put a lot of thought and work into this quilt! I also like your homemade bowls and your clever way of keeping the chip bowl clean with a shower cap! Great idea!

Cindy said...

Another clever idea for a picnic quilt. You are brilliant! Looks like you had a lovely time.

Doris Rice, The Quilting Queen said...

Love the dual purpose picnic quilt. I had an idea similar but I couldn't make it come together; too many graduation festivities and it was stressing me out too much. I'm happy with what I did tho. Come back Monday and see. Thanks for sharing. Maybe I'll make another one and make my idea come to life.

Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures said...

Such a creative kwilt for your picnic. Thanks for sharing.

Marcy said...

Unique! What a fascinating quilt. It so functional and pretty too.

Marcy said...

And thanks for the recipes.

Patty said...

very creative! you did a wonderful job. Looks like a great picnic.

Sarah or Semmy said...

Your Picnic quilt is wonderful! What a grand idea for holding the items you will need. A+ for your efforts.

patchworkbreeze said...

What a great picnic quilt. And thank you for the recipes. Sounds like you had a wonderful picnic until those pesky skeeters came around.

Janarama said...

Your picnic quilt is beautiful and so very creative with the pockets. How sweet of your husband to carve yours and his initials in the tree.

Jane's Quilting said...

How clever you are with your quilt. I love your idea and it looks so pretry too. Thank you for your recipes. I needed a desert for tomorrow night, so am making the pound cakes. Will make the salsa later this weekend. Ours like you had a great picnic. (pinsnneedles@outlook.com)

Vickie said...

ATV, country road, creek, galvanized bucket of beer, red and denim star quilt, you covered it all ! And Yes, I'm over 21.... Your quilt is so clever Carla pockets for utensils....clever too, and the bowl would be fun to make. I love how your honey is looking at you, like he's your biggest fan and I'm betting he is ! Who took your picture ? The coyotes or sketters ? hehe

Lisa said...

Love your quilt such a neat idea

Quilter Kathy said...

Brilliant ideas!
Such a wonderful memory you made!

Michelle said...

Neat idea, really like your quilt.

LJ said...

What a wonderfully romantic picnic! The blanket that serves so many purposes and folds to carry is marvelous - fabulous. The bowls were lovely - love that idea.