October Spotlight - Nedra!

Hi Everyone, this is Nedra Sorensen from Gilbert, Arizona!  I am an Original Member of the Bee’s Knees Quilting Bee that started wayyyy back when, in fact I submitted the name for our Bee. I love being part of this group and learn something new with every year.

I was raised in San Jose California, just south of San Francisco, but married a Utah boy where we raised our family.  We recently celebrated our 40^th Wedding Anniversary, have 5 children and 4 grandchildren.  We now call Arizona our home because our 2 oldest daughters and all of our grandchildren live here.  I love Arizona in the Winter. (enough said!)

I began quilting in 2000 and now work within the Industry doing a variety of things.  I help a Designer get ready for Quilt Market by piecing and binding many of her quilt tops with her latest fabric lines and patterns.  I also help a Vendor get ready for Shows, plus work her Booth at several National Shows throughout the year.  I love what I do!

I find most of my Inspiration through Instagram, and being part of several local quilt groups, including the Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild.  Quilty friends are the Best!  My favorite place in the World was being able to visit Israel and to feel the Culture and to walk the paths of our Savior Jesus Christ.  I’m passionate about Family History, and along with quilting work on it a little bit every day.  These are the people who contributed to everything I have and enjoy, and I feel a tremendous pull to remember and honor them.  My favorite movies are the Classics, when life was a little more simple and clean. I often quilt by Amazon, Netflix or Podcasts and go months without watching TV. Scanning the headlines on my News APPs is about all the shock my brain can handle.

When not quilting I spend most of my time with family, babysitting grandkids (smitten!) or volunteering with my Church. 

My latest craze has been cooking with an Instant Pot. I love good food, but would rather be quilting than cooking   I can hardly believe how fast and easy this appliance makes meal preparation!  I especially like that I can use frozen meat, or unsoaked beans, and have dinner ready in less than an hour, with one pot for clean up.  My kind of cooking!  Here is the first recipe I tried, and believe me, it’s that easy.

Instant Pot(R) Salsa Chicken

Recipe By:Tammy Lynn

"An Instant Pot(R) makes an easy weeknight meal even easier! Frozen chicken breasts are combined with taco seasoning and salsa for a tasty Mexican-themed meal. You can use the meat for tacos, burrito bowls, or as a topping for baked potatoes. So many possibilities! I used this the first night for chicken quesadillas. The second night I used it as a topping for baked potatoes with shredded cheese, pickled jalapenos, and sour cream."

Ingredients

·         1 pound frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 

·         1 (1 ounce) packet taco seasoning mix 

·         1/2 cup salsa 

·         1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth 

Directions

1.      Place chicken breasts in an electric pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot(R)). Sprinkle all sides 

       with taco seasoning. Pour salsa and chicken broth on top.

2.      Place lid on the pot and lock in place. Select the Poultry setting and set the timer for 15 

      minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally after the cooking time has ended, about 20 

      minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the chicken should read at 

      least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Shred the cooked chicken.

October Spotlight

Let’s get to know Sherri!

Sherri is married and the mother of 4 children. She lives in Logandale, Nevada with her husband. She attended Brigham Young University and received a Bachelor of Arts in English from UNLV in 1989; she currently teaches English part-time at a local community college campus. She tries to spend as much of her free time as possible sewing, quilting, and writing about her creative journey.

Inspired by a rich family heritage of generations of women who love and loved sewing and creating, Sherri also loves to sew and quilt. She has the most magical memories of homemade gifts from her Mom, Aunt, Grandmother, and great-grandmother and began to sew on her own with a sewing machine at age 10. While a patchwork pillow was her first project with a sewing machine, she began sewing many of her own clothes during high school; as a college student and young mom she sewed prom and wedding attire for others. In the early 1990’s, inspired and taught by her grandmother, she began her quilting journey.

Just a few short years ago she discovered quilt blogs and the amazing on-line community of quilting and inspiration. Through blogging about creating she has come to love designing and sharing this wonderful art. She has been publishing her designs in magazines and books since 2011; her first book, A Quilting Life: Creating a Handmade Home was published in March 2013 by C&T Publishing; her second book, Fresh Family Traditions: 18 Heirloom Quilts for a New Generation was released in the spring of 2014 and is also published by C&T. Recently she has been able to continue her quilting journey designing fabric for Moda with her daughter, Chelsi Stratton. Their first collection, “Bright Sun” ships at the end of October 2015, and their second collection, “Valley” will ship in April of 2016. She continues to blog about her quilting life at www.aquiltinglife.com

Isn’t her studio just to die for! I love having a sneak peek of sewing spaces and her’s is quite delicious.

I also visited her blog and if you haven’t visited yet you need to check out her 1930’s Farmer Wive blocks. They are all the rage right now and if you haven’t jumped on the band wagon it’s a must!

And some of her favorite cookbooks are from Our Best Bites! That's another website that you must check out for fun yummy fall recipes!

Here are some of my favorites:

Apple Pie Filling for Canning or Freezing  |  Caramel Pecan Pie  |  Homemade Soft Pretzels
Overnight Baked French Toast

Happy Sewing!

Shari