Quilt Talk

Wednesday Wellness - Going to the Gym

2012-01-31T22:33:00.000-06:00

I've taken karate. I understand the function of a loud, strong "Ai-ya!" It promotes breathing from the diaphragm and adds power to your move. But what I hear at the gym is more akin to the picture above.

Rather than listen to the testosterone-fueled vocalizations of packs of young males, I've learned to wear ear buds. I do find it intriguing though, that older males don't make half as much noise - even when lifting just as much weight!

You'll see other funny things now and then. Such as a woman perched on the exercise bike, watching Oprah, barely pedaling, and eating Doritos one after another - a family-sized chip bag stuffed into the water bottle holder. She apparently doesn't get thirsty!

Its also good to have a sense of humor about our own diet/exercise idiosynchrasies! Heaven knows there are enough ways to get off track. But a good sense of humor makes it easier to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and get back on that horse.

The following story offers some entertaining tips for doing just that. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did. :)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203471004577140900388728374.html

1000 Words Art Quilt Show

2012-01-29T20:23:00.001-06:00

In honor of the play 1000 Words, the Madison (WI) quilt guild put together this collection of mini quilts - each depicting an image that would (presumably) take one thousand words to convey. Pictured here are the quilts that "spoke" to me, though there were more to be seen. I was able to get the title and credits in every picture, so if you click on it you can see for yourself who made it and what they called it.

I love the girl blowing a great big bubble gum bubble!

This one appealed to my immigrant roots. I am the third generation to be born in this country, but my great grandparents' journeys have been told to me over and over. This reminds me of my own family history.

I love the inner and outer borders!

Part of the story 1000 Words takes place during the Great Dust Bowl in Kansas.

What a powerful depiction.

Here's an original idea!

Very bright and colorful!

These words are near and dear to any quilter's heart.

Hey! THAT'S not a quilt!

We were at the Madison Overture Center for two reasons, to see a performance by the Blue Man Group and to check out the quilt display. The performers came out to the lobby and posed for pictures (for free, I might add) with assorted fans. I couldn't resist throwing this picture in for fun. :)

Horicon Marsh, Jan. 2012

2012-01-28T20:16:00.000-06:00

The quest to see a snowy owl continues, and so we visited Horicon Marsh, near Horicon, WI. Not only does the marsh serve as a national wildlife refuge, it's the largest marsh refuge in the country. It's well known for its astounding water fowl population during fall migration, but there is much, much more to the marsh. I hope to visit it in various seasons and report back later in the year.

Much to my surprise and delight,

displayed at the main visitor center we saw Flying Geese:

I was torn between doing some stitching today - and spending time outside enjoying this mild winter and the avian visitors Wisconsin will host for a few short months. So the quilt made me feel at home! There was also a fiber art display - this one depicting an underwater scene:

The main visitor center has classrooms and an auditorium.

In that area we saw this fascinating display:

I've seen deer in the wild, or stuffed and mounted on a wall, but never quite like this! The story of how they were found with horns locked is quite amazing.

Sadly, after several hours of hiking in 26 degree weather with a strong, cold wind, we saw precious little wild life. Even where there was open water, we saw a single chick-a-dee and nothing else. No water fowl, and certainly no snowy owls to hunt fish or small ducks.

Here is my only snowy owl siting to date:

He was spotted at the gift shop, and will look quite lovely on my Christmas tree next year. If I haven't spotted a snowy owl by then, he'll remind me to keep my eyes peeled for a siting next winter. :)

January FMQ Challenge Entry

2012-01-24T21:10:00.000-06:00

I've been practicing heart shaped leaves for a while. It was getting a bit dull, so I hopped on over to Sew Cal Gal's site to see what other FMQ quilters have been up to. Wow - lots of great ideas to be found there! The sample above, shows some lilac stitching against some lovely hydrangeas. Pretty, yes, but it's a little timid, isn't it?

Next, I tried different colored threads against some Kaffe Fassett scraps. Some of the contrasting colors didn't come out well at all. So I reverted to my usual (a.k.a. boring) similar colored thread and fabric. Historically, I've done this to hide my FMQ mistakes. Problem is, when you do something fantastic, that doesn't snow up either.

So I threw caution to the wind, and used some bright, bold colors against a pure white background. It's easy to do this on a quilt sandwich. I still get a little nervous about doing it on an actual quilt into which I put a lot of time, materials and tender loving care.

THAT's why I need to practice, practice, practice. I want to be able to use bold, colorful thread to create beautiful images to enhance my quilts. One year from now, I hope to look back at my FMQ and see how far I've come! :)

Wednesday Wellness - Food Cravings

2012-01-24T20:00:00.000-06:00

What's your number one craving?

Mine is Dove dark chocolate, followed closely by dark chocolate M&Ms.

I even bought chocolate swirled fabric and made a chocolate-themed table runner a couple Februaries ago...

Giving in to cravings has gotten me into trouble with the scale though. I actually feel my best when I stay away from sweets altogether, so I've been retraining my appetite - and that means conquering cravings!

Contrary to popular belief, we don't necessarily crave foods that contain nutrients we lack. Generally, we crave foods that contain very few nutrients and just plain taste good! We have to break the habit of reaching for a certain food at a certain time and place. For instance, when I'm just working at my desk, my mind wanders to food. But I could eat the very same breakfast, and have a morning full of meetings and suddenly discover its after lunch time and I'm just feeling hungry now. Take away my usual routine and cues, and the cravings disappear.

The following story gives a great overview of how we train ourselves to crave and eat certain foods, and how to go about retraining ourselves NOT to reach for our usual snack. Great advice as we reach the point where New Year's resolutions are beginning to look less and less attractive. :)

http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2012/01/how_to_fend_off_those_strong_f.html

2012-01-22T10:03:00.000-06:00

The quest to spot a Snowy Owl continues. Many of the Wisconsin sitings occured along the Lake Michigan shore. Seems an unlikely place for an owl, but we decided to take a jaunt along the lake shore just the same. No Snowies spotted yesterday, but I added 4 new birds to my life list:

Common Golden Eye,

Barrow's Golden Eye,

Red Breasted Merganser (a punk rock duck!),

and the coolest of all - the Hooded Merganser.

Mr. & Mrs. Hooded Merganser were fun to watch. They spend a fair amount of time diving for food, and they don't pop back up where they went under. They were unphazed by the icy water. It made me cold, just watching!

Unlike many other birds, we had the opportunity to look at all of these birds a good long time, thumb through the field guide, locate marks that differentiate one type of bird from other similar birds. What a luxury! Song birds so often take flight before you can do all that is needed to make a positive identification. This being Sweetie's first real birding expedition, it was an ideal way to learn how to make a proper identification.

We also spotted Greater and Lesser Canada Geese. I suspect there were other species mixed in, but we were losing daylight so it became hard to see markings. That will be a challenge for another day! :)

Birding, In Wisconsin, In the Winter

2012-01-20T21:20:00.001-06:00

You know, I LOVE birds. I love to hear them sing. I enjoy waking up to their pre-dawn chorus. But THIS morning I was serenaded from 4-4:30 AM by a Great Grey Owl - the biggest, loudest owl to grace our state. This is what I heard: Song #1

He was just outside by bedroom window - having a loud conversation with a neighbor owl. As I dozed and listened in my toasty warm bed, I thought "OMG - Its BELOW ZERO out there! Are they nuts???"

Thanks to this early wake up call, at the end of the day I am utterly exhausted. So guess what I'm going to do tomorrow? My Sweetie and I are going to go looking for Snowy Owls!

Over 100 of them have been spotted around Wisconsin - with many sightings along Lake Michigan. They're often seen on the ground, on hay mounds, fence posts and sign posts. One was even spotted on a busy street in Cudahay, a Milwaukee suburb where my mother grew up. Cudahay is also home to General Mitchell Field International Airport - so its not the quietest place.

The Snowy Owl's usual range is the Arctic tundra. Think Canada, Alaska, Eurasia. Only during an irruption are they seen outside this range. They will travel as far as Russia and the Gulf States of the US in the search for food. If arctic breeding conditions are good, come winter the younger birds are unable to compete with the bigger, stronger birds for food. So the young ones range far and wide. THIS is one of those winters. So keep your eyes peeled. They are active by day, are 24" tall and have a wingspan of 52". Females are larger than males, and more heavily barred. Only males are pure white.

So tomorrow, out we'll go - into the cold. I can hear what you're thinking, "OMG - Are they nuts???" I'd say that's a definite maybe! :)

For more info on Snowy Owls in Wisconsin, the US and Canada see:

For the Madison, WI area:
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/environment/as-snowy-owl-population-grows-in-state-bird-watchers-cautioned/article_b8751c1a-2818-11e1-b368-001871e3ce6c.html

For Milwaukee, WI area:
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/environment/a-rare-sight-more-than-snowy-owls-seen-across-wisconsin/article_378fab8e-1c8c-11e1-9d46-001871e3ce6c.html

For the US and Canada:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=204094329457575509162.0004b268568ba73710764

Let the FMQ Begin!

2012-01-17T20:24:00.000-06:00

Practice Sandwich 1 - I learned not to get too close to the borders because you'll lose your grip/control of the sandwich.

No. 2 - I'm much better at following a pre-drawn line than quilting freehand. Purple ink shows areas I missed.

No. 3 - Not too bad. Individual leaves are more symmetrical. Again, I traced a line drawn with dissappearing ink.

No. 4 - Tried working on a smaller scale, in a defined shape. Needs work!

No. 5 - I kinda like this one. May expand it to make a symmetrical square shape. Had fun varying the thread color.

Doodles - When you run out of quilt sandwiches, paper and pen can help commit the motion to memory. On the left I added curliques to help me move from one place to another. On the right I did it the way we're "supposed" to per the tutorial. :)

No Reply Bloggers

2012-01-16T18:53:00.000-06:00

Sew Cal Gal recently ran a helpful and informative post about No-Reply Bloggers.

I was once a No-Reply blogger - but had no idea. If you don't get responses to your comments, you may need to review your settings. Sew Cal Gal can tell you how:

http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/2011/12/wanted-quilters-that-never-win-in.html

Thanks a BUNCH Sew Cal Gal, for reminding us to check our settings now and then, and sharing how to fix them if needed!!!

Shamrocks are Done

2012-01-14T16:34:00.001-06:00

Finished my applique shamrocks this week.

Each shamrock square will be trimmed and pieced to make up the alternate blocks.

I took my shamrocks to a crafter's breakfast this morning. Often my sewing is a solitary affair. How nice to remove the stabilizer while visiting with friends. My shamrocks will have to wait a bit now.

I'm bringing my FMQ challenge to the front burner this weekend. This month's challenge is heart-shaped ivy leaves. I'm glad its a pattern I've done before. I don't do it often enough, so I get "rusty" between projects. Hopefully the challenge will motivate me to practice all year long. I hope to be more confident and relaxed with FMQ. Stay tuned for further details. :)

New Books

2012-01-12T20:01:00.000-06:00

Yesterday the weatherman was calling for snow, and LOTS of it, so I zipped out to pick up the books I'd ordered. If you can't tell by the book, and the dog quilt it's resting on...we kinda like dogs.

I've wanted to do a pet portrait of my dog for several years, but haven't been able to find a class for it. Dottie is half black lab and half beagle and has unusual markings that evoke compliments and inquiries from passersby. I want to capture those markings in a quilt.

The other book is not dog- or quilt-related. I heard about it on the radio, and thought I should get educated on Twitter and other media. I'm not a natural when it comes to technology, but this book is supposed to be helpful in getting one's message out - whatever that message may be.

I was prepared to hunker down with my books. I dared Mother Nature to do her worst. Hoping for a snow day, I snapped this picture before bed. When my trusty alarm clock went off at 5:30 AM, I opened my eyes, thought, "SNOW DAY!!!!", threw off the covers and rushed to the window....only to see the same green grass I saw the night before. Curses! Foiled again!

I wasn't entirely dissappointed though. It began to snow as I was getting ready for work. In fact, I was almost late because Dottie loves snow and didn't want to come inside. It snowed all day, and it's still coming down. This weekend I hope to hibernate with my books. Now that Old Man Winter woke up from his nap, I don't think the snow will be going anywhere for a loooong time now. :)

A Play, Antique Quilts & (New) Quilt Raffle

2012-01-11T21:57:00.000-06:00

A play featuring antique quilts is coming to Madison!

A Thousand Words will be at the Forward Theater from Jan. 19 - Feb. 4, 2012.

In conjunction with the play, traditional quilts will be on display

at the Wisconsin Historical Museum thru Jan. 14th.

AND, a beautiful (new) 1930s style quilt, called Granny's Stars

will be raffled off when the play completes its run.

The quilt is currently on display at the Stitcher's Crossing. So check it out!

For more information see:
http://www.forwardtheater.com/on-stage/a-thousand-words

http://historicalmuseum.wisconsinhistory.org/

http://stitcherscrossing.com/

Challenges for 2012

2012-01-09T22:13:00.002-06:00

I'm not big on New Year's resolutions, but the thought of a challenge intrigues me. Maybe its semantics, but the word challenge seems kinder, gentler, and willing to allow for a deviation (or two) along the way. Since we often have competing priorities for how we spend our time, that flexibility appeals to my practical side.

I've been wanting to improve my FMQ skills, and the chance to win a prize each month just for practicing seemed too good to pass up. Maybe you'll join me in Sew Cal Gal's challenge?

http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/2012/01/quilt-alongs-and-fmq-challenge.html

My current project involves 1" squares. Believe it or not, I'm really enjoying it. I've toyed with the idea of doing a postage stamp quilt, and wouldn't you know, there's a challenge for that too!

http://thecuriousquilter.wordpress.com/postage-stamp-2012-charm-swap

I've done a little research on postage stamp quilts, and there are several definitions. Some say EVERY square must be unique - which clearly ain't gonna happen by my hand. Squares can be as small as 1", but no bigger than 2.5" in size. Some quilts show layouts such as Trip Around the World or sections devoted to one color. I saw one at the WI Quilt Expo in 2010 that blew my mind. It was done like a mosaic, and was based on a counted cross stitch pattern, and showed two children walking, closely followed by a guardian angel. The angel's wings were about 8' high. It looked so real it gave me chills!

But I digress....It would probably help if I settled on one design...but there are so very many options. I hope to generate some designs in EQ6 - assuming it can handle 1" squares!

Its a new year, and there are new skills to be acquired. Feel free to join the fun! :)

A Virtual Open House

2012-01-08T23:19:00.000-06:00

I went to a quilting friend's Quilters' Open House. Having never attended one before, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. We had a nice lunch and visit, then paraded out what we've been working on lately. In addition to good company and good food, we got to see Sue's many Christmas decorations - she has 6 trees. The one above displays a collection of handmade beaded ornaments that Sue treasures.

We also got to see the many quilts sprinkled throughout Sue's home. There were two on the sofa, this flag quilt, and the Star quilt below.

The star quilt has a pieced back, with one star made by a childhood friend. That star includes the words to an old song, "Oh, Play mate, come out and play with me, and bring your dollies three, climb up my apple tree...." That is SO incredibly sweet!

Below is Sue's pink flamingo tree. You don't see too many of those around these parts!

Sue made the Hisbiscus Quilt below for a friend, Nancy. Nancy was thrilled with it.

Here's Sue's tree in the living room. Very festive!

I expressed an interest in making a nine patch/snow ball quilt, so Sue showed me the one she made. I've never seen a snowball done in black. Its very striking.

You can see the piano key border in this side view.

The quilting was done by another Quilt Chick named Terri. She does nice work!

Below is Sue's Raggedy Ann tree. Adorable, isn't it?

Some of Sue's trees have origami stars. The one below is in Green Bay Packer colors, on the Sports Tree, in the man cave.

Below is a scrap quilt Sue made in a pineapple pattern. Spectacular! Of the many quilts I saw at Sue's, THIS is my favorite.

Below is the Red, White and Blue tree.

Below is another scrap quilt Sue has made. I'm particularly fond of scrap quilts, so I'm intrigued. When other quilters learned she was working on scrap quilts, many many donate bags of scraps. I think she said she had over 20 grocery sacks in all!

Sue has a number of Christmas-y collections, but the snow village below is particularly interesting. These houses were made during World War II. They're made of paper mache, because other building materials were unavailable at the time.

I should have taken a picture of our smiling faces - but you'll have to take my word for it. A good time was had by all. Thanks Sue, for opening your home to us. :)

Time for an Upgrade

2012-01-06T19:57:00.000-06:00

Let it be known far and wide that upon this day, I - Christine of Quilt Talk - have progressed from a beginner to an intermediate quilter. At the behest of a fellow Quilt Chick, I have upgraded my profile self-description. I offer you here, photographic evidence of said achievement: one machine-appliqued shamrock.

There are 11 more to do, and you better believe I'm gonna save that four-leafed clover for the last, when I have honed my skill to a higher level. :)

Applique Shamrocks

2012-01-05T22:34:00.000-06:00

All 12 blocks are complete. So I moved on to the shamrocks.

I sketched a few until I got one I liked, then copied it onto freezer paper.

A few snips and a little glue stick and Ta Da!

A shamrock is born!

Eleven will look like this, but the twelfth will be a lucky four-leaf clover. :)

Double Irish Chain Taking Shape

2012-01-04T23:28:00.001-06:00

My Double Irish Chain is starting to look like something now. Only a few complex blocks left to assemble.

Now I'm thinking the "simple" blocks - they may not be so simple. I want to position a shamrock in the center of each. Shall I applique the shamrocks onto a larger piece of fabric first, then fussy cut the 3 1/2" center square? In the past I've done my applique on completed squares, but they were considerably larger. Next question: hand applique or machine? I'm better at doing it by hand, but want to improve my machine applique skills. If I do it by machine, shall I use a raw edge with zig-zag finish or turned edge with top stitch or outline stitch? Last idea - collaborate with a friend who has just discovered machine embroidery and see if she'd embroider some shamrocks for me?

There is much to consider as I finish my last 4 chain blocks. :)

Cuisinart Bread Maker with GF Cycle

2012-01-02T22:32:00.000-06:00

I've been eating gluten free for 14 months now. I've had mixed results making my own GF bread either from scratch or from GF mixes. So I asked Santa to bring me a bread machine with a GF cycle. My Sweetie researched it and chose the Panasonic, based on comments by other bloggers. And boy, were they right about this machine - it works like a dream. This morning I put the ingredients in the pan, shut the lid, selected the GF cycle and just walked away. 2 1/2 hours later I had freshly baked bread. The instructions said to gently shake the loaf out of the pan. And I thought, "Yeah, right!" But I was delighted when the loaf just slipped right out. I can see I'm going to get a LOT of use out of this machine. Thank you, Santa Claus! :)

New Project, New Year

2011-12-31T23:02:00.000-06:00

This morning I read a few blogs. Some reminisced about 2011, some inventoried highlights and accomplishments, one writer was eager for 2011 to just be OVER!

Like blocks on a design wall, or pieced rows awaiting further attention - we have an idea of what's ahead.

There will be twists and turns along the way. Today, in fact, I marvelled at how many times one can do something wrong, correct it, and find that it is wrong again - but in a surprisingly new and different way!

But we perservere.

I wish you health and harmony in 2012. May the new year present us with enough joys and accomplishments to feed our spirits, and enough challenges to keep us humble and grounded.

Happy New Year!

Double Irish Chain Blocks

2011-12-30T23:53:00.000-06:00

I think I'm on my way - what you see here is an entire evening's work. The first few blocks are always the hardest. I did some ripping because one dark green was incongruent with the rest, and distracted from the light/green contrast.

Here's the back. I think I have all the seams going the right direction. I found I need to use one needle setting for the more complex blocks, and a different setting for the simpler alternate blocks - which I'll do last.

Ironically, I made up one "simple" block, only to realize I should have used light green. Oh well, that's what I get for calling it simple. :)

2011-12-30T11:59:00.000-06:00

I've resolved my desire to work with 1" squares, in green, for St. Pat's and keeping the project to a manageable size. I've always wanted to do an Irish Chain. This layout is similar to a design I found at www.advanced-embroidery.com. However, I won't be using a machine embroidered pattern in the white space. Instead, probably go with applique shamrocks. I'll probably modify the border to have nine patches in the four corners. But I was too lazy to figure out how to do that on EQ6. I think I'd rather spend that time at the fabric store! :)

One Inch Squares & St. Patrick's Day

2011-12-29T16:53:00.000-06:00

I've been tossing fabric scraps in a cookie container, planning to do something with them when the containter got full. Since I just finished a big project, I didn't feel like launching right into another one - and the container WAS full. The opportunity to just dabble a bit seemed appealling.

I sorted the scraps by color, with the intention of making a whole lot of 3" nine patches. I had some odd amounts of thread to use up so I started with pinks and reds. I had quite a few scraps from a quilt I made using 1930's reproductions. I may make those nine patches and set them aside with the other 1930's fabric for future inspiration.

I finally took the time to determine what needle position will give me perfect 1" squares. I'm also trying to decide if I want to stick with nine patches, or go to 4 x 4s with the intention of making an eventual postage stamp quilt - some many years down the road....when my cookie container has been filled and emptied many times over.

The great thing about an open ended project is your mind can go in any direction. I was looking forward to working with the greens - when I remembered that I wanted to make a St. Patrick's Day wall hanging or table topper this year. As I'm dabbling with these scraps, I'm also keeping my eye open for a great St. Pattie's Day pattern. Feel free to share if you have a good one! :)

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun....

2011-12-28T13:45:00.000-06:00

...no, this isn't an ad for Doublemint gum, but one could chew some while sewing with a double needle.

Made a few last minute Christmas gifts - fleece scarves. After sewing two 10" strips of fleece together lengthwise, I turned them right side out and did some top stitching. Had always wanted to try using the double needle that came with my machine, and really liked the results.

Corners were a little tricky since you can't pivot in needle-down mode, as you would with a single needle. So I raised the needles, rotated the scarf, and then hand cranked the needles down toward the fabric, making sure they lined up with the previous stitching before piercing the fabric. Seemed to do the trick.

If making the scarf for an adult, I use 5/8 yard. You could probably get away with 1/2 yard if making the scarf for a child. At Hancock Fabrics, even remnants that were $12.99/yd originally, sell for 3 bucks. I bought some extra fleece to make scarves for next fall's craft fair. :)

Quodlibet Finish

2011-12-26T14:22:00.000-06:00

Here is the finished Quodlibet quilt. It went directly from the dryer to a very large gift bag and was whisked away for a Dec. 24th delivery. In my haste to complete it on time, I neglected to take another picture AFTER washing out the chalk lines, and forget to take one showing the red plaid fleece backing. I wish I could have been there when RJ opened it - but that would have required being in two places at once. :)

Merry Christmas One & All

2011-12-24T16:56:00.000-06:00

Remembering the reason for the season. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Quodlibet is Fully Quilted

2011-12-21T23:20:00.000-06:00

Sewed all evening. Here's Round One of the outer border.

Still lovin' my chalk pen. It has served me well for this entire project.

Here's the second and FINAL round of stitching. Hooray!

I turned a LOT of corners, but I'm happy with the result.

I'm channeling the industrious spirit of Santa's elves.

Tomorrow I hope to trim, bind and launder. :)

Cookies & Quilts

2011-12-16T23:04:00.000-06:00

Last weekend's quilting ambitions got derailed by cookie production. (For recipe see: http://quilt-talk.blogspot.com/2009/12/raspberry-meringue-kisses.html).

But I'm starting this weekend out right - got 7 out of 12 rows quilted in one evening. Completing this quilt in time for Santa to deliver it is looking more realistic now. Hooray!

After much thought and a few false starts, I'm doing straight line quilting. With a fleece back, this quilt just is too big and too heavy for anything more involved.

Will continue to practice my FMQ skills on smaller quilts or projects that can be quilted in sections. Gosh....that sounds a little like a New Year's resolution - doesn't it? :)

Quilting Quodlibet...Oh Baby!

2011-12-08T21:35:00.000-06:00

As I've been wrassling this large, heavy quilt into submission, it occured to me that SOME people think quilting is a passive activity because you are sitting down.

This quilt has bested me more than once, so I scooped it up and weighed it. Seven pounds - just like a full term baby! It took just as long to make. This has been an upper body workout, so the word "labor" or the biblical "travail" seem fitting - complete with the gnashing of teeth when I had to rip! At least I don't have to get up at night to change it and feed it.

I've finished the horizontal ditch stitching so I can now begin some diagonal lines, squiggles, stipples and FMQ leaves. This quilt offers many options! It will continue to get easier and more fun - as I remove more (accursed) safety pins. I hope to pick up speed soon, because this is to be a Christmas gift...and yes, that's THIS Christmas! :)

Santa Came Early...

2011-12-04T18:09:00.000-06:00

...and brought me a new toy!

It's a Hamilton Beach Deluxe Set and Forget Slow Cooker. If you need ideas for your holiday Wish List - I highly recommend it. Here it's cooking a beef roast, and monitoring the internal temperature. When the roast reaches the predetermined right temperature, the slow cooker changes to Keep Warm. You can also use it in the traditional way, turning it to High, Low or Keep Warm when you see fit. Or you can program it to perform at a chosen setting (or settings) for a number of hours and then turn itself down.

My old crock pot had a non-stick finish that was finished! So I really like my new stoneware crock. I often put on a roast in the morning before work - but always had call my son to tell him to turn it down. And sometimes I'd forget to call....so the programable feature is perfect. I also use my slow cooker for potlucks, and that's been a hassle. This one has a gasket on the lid, and the lid can be locked down for transport. And the handles on this unit are full sized so you can get a firm grip on it. Much safer! Other little niceties are the lid rest, cord wrap and spoon that attaches to the lid handle.

FYI - I'm not being paid to promote this product - just think its the best thing since sliced bread. :)

For more info, see:

http://www.hamiltonbeach.com/products/stay-or-go-slow-cookers-deluxe-set--forget-6-quart-slow-cooker-33862.html

Monona Grove Throw

2011-12-02T23:30:00.001-06:00

Here's this week's accomplishment. One night I cut the fleece. One night I blew up the logo, reversed it and cut it out of freezer paper. Another night I bought stabilizer. Last night I pressed the freezer paper onto the solid blue fabric. Tonight I did the applique, monogrammed the future owner's name in the corner and cut and tied the fringe. Didn't expect to finish the whole thing, but was pleasantly surprised.

I learned a couple things:

1. For a large blanket, cut fringe to 5" rather than the 3-4" that is usually recommended. I cut them to 4" and would have liked them to be a little longer.

2. Press on stabilizer is expensive and can become very difficult to remove. It's easy to lift off and even reposition at first - but the longer it remains in contact with the fabric, the harder it is to get off. I went slow and took my time, as I am new to machine applique. That was my mistake - all the while the stabilizer was slowly cementing itself to the fleece. It wasn't pretty. I'll definitely use freezer paper as a stabilizer next time I get the urge to do applique. :)

How to Quilt This?

2011-11-27T11:21:00.000-06:00

I'm in the long and laborious process of pin basting this monster. I've officially reached the "Whatever made me think this was a good idea???" phase. I reach this phase with virtually every large project...and eventually fall back in love with the end result.

But how to quilt this bugger? I do my quilting on a Janome Horizon, no long arm here. The bigger bed helps, but I'm limited by space and skill. I'm pretty good at stippling, and am leaning that direction. Will entertain any and all suggestions! :)

Its That Time Again....

2011-11-27T11:14:00.000-06:00

Tis time to decide how to decorate my tree. I'm not yet in the mood, as we need a little snow (heavy emphasis on the word little) to put me in the holiday spirit. The tree pictured above is from 2010. Below are my decorations in 2009.

Birds, snowflakes and icicles are featured every year, but I'm in the mood to do something new. And it has to be simple, as I have a bed quilt and throw to complete in time for Christmas. Lookin' for ideas...so please keep posting pictures of your own decorations - I get my best ideas from other quilters. :)

Quodlibet Returns

2011-11-27T00:01:00.000-06:00

The Quodlibet Quilt has come out of storage to be quilted in time for Christmas. The recipient doesn't know he's getting a quilt - so that makes it all the more fun. Since pin basting is a bit hard on the fingers and the back, I took a break and made this matching pillow case.

Phew! French seams are cool, but it took me a few tries to get them just right. The red zebra print is used in the quilt's inner border; it will also be used for the binding. When the next round of pin basting gets tiresome, I'll take a break make the binding.

I also have a "no sew throw" to make for Christmas, but I'm going to add school letters, so it won't be entirely "no sew" - more like "low sew." Once I applique the letters, I can take the throw with me to crafters' meetings or work on it over my lunch hour, if I find Dec. 25th is creeping up too quickly. :)

Grandma Clara's Chocolate Chip Cake - GF Edition

2011-11-20T16:58:00.000-06:00

About a year ago, I was preparing to celebrate my 50th birthday. Had put two chocolate chip cakes in the oven, and sat down to read my mail. It was then I learned I had celiac disease and could not eat wheat (or rye, barley or oats) for the rest of my ever-lovin' days.

Well, I had my last hurrah, and enjoyed my (gluten-containing) cake. Then got on the bandwagon and purged my home of all gluten-containing goodies and ingredients.

A few months ago, I got a hankerin' for my Grandma's cake though, and began experimenting with the recipe. I think I've got it nailed down, so here is the GF version of this family favorite:

Grandma Clara's Chocolate Chip Cake - GF

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped dates or raisins
1 cup water

1 stick butter, softened
1 T. vanilla
3 eggs
1 Betty Crocker yellow cake mix (15 oz)
3 TBSP baker's cocoa
1 cup semi-sweet choc. chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Powdered sugar

Combine water and dates, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees for dark tube pan, 350 degrees for light colored tube pan.
Spray with cooking spray.

Cream butter. Blend in eggs, vanilla, date mixture and cocoa.

Add cake mix. Blend for 30 seconds. Then beat with mixer for 2 minutes. Pour into tube pan. Shake pan gently to distribute batter evenly in pan.

Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over batter.

Bake approximately 50 minutes. Cool on rack.

When cool, use plastic knife to loosen sides of pan. Lift center of tube pan away from sides. Loosen bottom of cake with plastic knife. Using two large spatulas (pancake turners) lift cake up and away from tube pan center and place on cake plate.

Dust with powdered sugar.

Note: For almost all GF cakes and cookies, I recommend making them 24 hours before you will serve it. GF baked goods seem to need the additional time to "set" so they are not so crumbly to cut and serve. This is especially true of GF bars.

For the original recipe see: http://quilt-talk.blogspot.com/2010/11/birthday-cake.html

Just Took the Pledge...

2011-11-19T15:39:00.000-06:00

...for the 2012 Free Motion Quilting Challenge at: http://sewcalgal.blogspot.com/

I'm grateful to Sew Cal Gal for promoting this challenge as I very much need to improve my FMQ skills. I have had one class, and one class only. The shop that offers it does not offer beginner, intermediate and advanced FMQ classes - and so I still feel like a beginner.

Here is my chance to learn each month, and at my own pace. Sounds like the perfect solution! :)

Hen House Hot Pads

2011-11-17T20:51:00.001-06:00

One week ago I whipped up 15 hot pads, showing three varieties of roosters and two types of hens. Being a birder, I consulted a chicken-raising friend about the birds - wondering if they were accurate renditions of real birds, or simply the product of an artist's whim. My friend recognized two varieties - but wasn't sure about the others.

While selling my wares at a craft fair, I discovered quite a few people who had wonderful memories of having chickens in their childhood. The rock hens were familiar to a lot of people. One man picked out a hot pad with a rooster that he said looked just like his childhood pet. He related how that rooster would crow bright and early every morning! Happy as a kid in a candy store, he planned to send the hot pad to his sister for Christmas.

Following the craft fair, I took some hot pads to work to show some friends. Heck, if I didn't sell 6 more. Again, I learned of people who had had chickens in the past. One man noted a subtle difference in the posture of two roosters. He selected the bird that stood more erect - noting he looked "proud." This difference was lost on me until he pointed it out. Now there's a man who knows his birds!

The four pictured here are all I have left. I hope to find a home for them all. Who knows what other interesting tales I might discover in the process! :)

Craft Fair Report

2011-11-13T18:57:00.000-06:00

I survived my first craft fair! All went well, and despite low traffic, sales met my expectations. I learned a few things, which I'll factor in if/when I decide to do this again. Was asked to teach a class in January - that would also be something new. But it could be fun. Now I must turn my attentions to four projects in varying stages of completion - all with a due date of Dec. 25th! :)

Craft Fair Eve

2011-11-11T22:40:00.000-06:00

Got my spinning flag table toppers quilted. Don't know if you can see it, but I settled on a simple diagonal grid. Since my Horizon decided to act up, my options were pretty limited - but I'm happy with it. Anything too fussy would have detracted from the flags, I think.

It took a little persuasion, but I got my old machine to sew on the pockets on this tote. Had fun making a few yo-yos and couldn't resist buying the cherry buttons for this bag.

Got some holiday bags done today too. Still need to bind some placemats before I can call it a day! :)

Bethany Craft Fair 2011

2011-11-11T00:58:00.000-06:00

Did you ever notice that a hot pad is really a small quilt? I noticed because I had fabric to make 15 of them and have been quilting and binding like crazy for the craft fair day after tomorrow. My progress was hindered by my good sewing machine jamming up so bad I can't run it at all. I dug out my old Sears Kenmore, which needed tension adjustments. This resulted in ripping and requilting.

Despite these setbacks, eleven hot pads are complete, four to go.

Once those are done I'll make a few more holiday themed origami bags to go with the 20+ bags that are packed up to go. If you follow my blog, you may recall the Elvis bags and the pink ribbon bags. Also have an assortment made from fat quarters that I had in my stash.

I had fun embellishing this bag with leftover pieces from the Quodlibet quilt. I have another bag all ready to embellish with yo-yos and buttons shaped like cherries. Sadly, I can only do the embellishment on the non-functional machine. Will have to put that project on the back burner.

I have one more day to finish getting ready - which also includes typing up prices and getting the business card wizard to cooperate with me. Sure hope I can get it all done! :)

What Next?

2011-11-04T21:53:00.001-05:00

My church's 39th Annual Holiday Craft Show is 8 days away, and I am NOT ready. This is my first foray into selling my quilts/crafts and I'm simultaneously worried I'll sell out in the first hour or that nothing will sell at all. Yikes!

Tonight I whipped up two patriotic tables toppers (tops only). They are about 20" square. I have some red calico I can use for the backs - but I feel like the quilt tops might need a little something more. Better sleep on it. A complex border would detract from the geometric design created by the spinning flags. I've always been fond of this layout - but never got around to trying it.

I'm attending a Crafters' Breakfast tomorrow morning - and some of these ladies have participated in the Holiday Craft Fair for many of the previous 38 years. If these gals don't know what will sell, and how to price it, no one will. I hope to learn lots! :)

Reversible Food Fabric Placemats & Napkin Rings

2011-10-29T21:11:00.000-05:00

Ta da!!! The reversible food fabric placemats are nearly done. I still need to purchase 8 buttons and make one button hole on each napkin ring. Had considered ripping the darkest strips (the black berries and cherries on black background). I'm SOOO glad I slept on it. The next day I realized: What goes in the middle of a placemat?

A plate, of course. The strips in question will hardly be visible when the placemat is in use. Boy, I'm glad, cuz I hate ripping! :)

They're Back - 2!

2011-10-29T19:22:00.000-05:00

I THINK I spotted this winter visitor last week! The White Throated Sparrow has been a regular winter visitor for many years - but for some reason, I never spotted them last year. I'm wondering if they headed further South because we has such deep, deep snow. They tend to feed on the ground and stay very close to cover. I hope to get another look at this fellow this weekend to make a certain identification. I sure hope he sticks around this year!

The Juncos are also back for the winter. I love how they twitter and zip around below the feeder. Am seeing lots of Chick-a-dees, Red Breasted Nuthatches and Downy Woodpeckers - though I see them year round. I put out suet, which is always popular with this crowd.

I've tried to pay attention to exactly when the robins head south. So far, they are still here in Southern Wisconsin. Saw one today, in fact.

The Starlings, Grackles and American Crows are forming good sized flocks. Its hard to know if they are local birds preparing to migrate, or perhaps birds from Canada passing through on their way South. Speaking of Canada, today we saw many, many geese on even the tiniest bit of water.

Will be keeping my binoculars close at hand! :)

Frustration!

2011-10-29T18:56:00.000-05:00

I'm not exactly a whiz with computers, but can usually figure out how to do what I need to do. Unfortunately, since I changed my email address a few weeks ago, I'm not getting my bloggy friends' comments by email - which of course, makes it hard to respond.

Google Blogger says it won't post emails to yahoo.com. And it won't let me change my primary email address. It'll only list the new one as secondary.

I WAS getting a copy of all my bloggy friends' comments at my old email address, but have not received a single comment since changing providers and my address. I looked in my spam folder to see if the new system didn't categorize the messages correctly and they aren't there either.

Anybody know how to correct this? I'm stumped!

Thanks in advance! :)

Wednesday Wellness - Feel for Lumps, Save Your Bumps

2011-10-27T20:03:00.000-05:00

Have you been following this controversy?

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/breastcancer/story/2011-10-14/Ariz-cheerleaders-to-sell-save-your-bumps-T-shirts-nationwide/50774070/1

A team of high school cheerleaders made up these shirts to wear while collecting money for Susan G. Komen March for the Cure. But guess what? The principal banned the shirts from school. I gotta wonder if he knows how prevalent breast cancer is, and that it can be detected early by doing self-exams?

Undeterred, the girls have gone on to sell the shirts on a national scale. More power to you girls!!!

To Rip, or Not To Rip?

2011-10-27T19:47:00.000-05:00

Here's a quilt-as-you-go placemat I made the other day. I have enough fabric to make a set of four. The red and green plaid is the backing fabric. I'll be selling these at a Holiday Craft Fair - something I've never done before. Am struggling a bit with how to price my goods. But I have time to think about it. Meanwhile, the more immediate decision is to replace the blackberry strip or leave it as is? Only two of the mats will have this fabric - the other two will have cherries on a black background. The dark color looks incongruent - but then again, isn't that what "scrappy" is all about? So what say you? Rip or keep as is?

An "A Ha" Moment!

2011-10-25T22:55:00.000-05:00

Sometimes we look, but we just don't see. I've been making origami bags for more than a year. Only today did it occur to me that I could remove the work table and position the bag as pictured above. Doh! I had been stitcching the casing it in a very awkward manner, which resulted in getting my fingers poked by pins - a lot. If you never noticed, getting stabbed with pins takes a lot of fun out of sewing! :)

Audacious Autumn - Its a Finish!

2011-10-23T21:25:00.001-05:00

This quilt is finally complete. Hooray, hooray! I suspected that the red stitching might not show up well on the busy fabrics, and I was right. But here is a picture of the quilting before I washed off the chalk.

I drew a large, leafy branch across the quilt, then stippled around it. In the process of marking the quilt, my chalk pencil wore down to a nub. So I went to the fabric store to pick up a $0.99 chalk pencil. Wouldn't ya know, they didn't sell them. I could either buy a washable white pen or the Dritz Chalk Cartidge Set pictured above for $13.99. Irked, but really wanting chalk (and being too lazy to go elsewhere) I begrudgingly tossed the kit in my cart. But this story has a happy ending. The chalk cartidge is superior to any chalk pencil, pouncing powder or washable marker I've ever used. Yes, it does rub off easily...but if you draw something you don't like, you can just brush it off and mark it again. I can't (yet) stipple freehand with my machine, but I can draw stippling with chalk and stitch on the line all day long. Once I found the best way to mark the quilt, the quilting didn't take long at all. :)

The F Word Returns

2011-10-20T22:57:00.001-05:00

We've had a number of frost warnings, and managed to extend the growing season by several weeks by covering plants. But its gonna be 29 degrees tonight; all good things must come to an end. A coworker told me that if you leave your green tomatoes on a short portion of vine, and tie them up like herbs, the tomatoes will turn red. I don't know if it'll work, but it's worth a try.

Last night I harvested all my tomatoes and peppers. You saw the tomatoes. The peppers are now diced and frozen. The remaining plants were composted. Lookin' forward to results next spring.

A few days ago rabbits ate the base of my 8' green bean vines. The plants were withering before my eyes! Had to drop everything, tear down the vines and harvest every last bean as quickly as possible. The beans were promptly trimmed chopped, blanched, chilled and frozen. No quilting got done THAT night!

Tonight I dug up carrots. Here are the fruits of my labor. Short on fruit, long on labor! They ARE on the small side, but they grew in partial shade. If I plant them again next year, I'll have to relocate them. Got enough for several meals. Cleaning root vegetables is a lot of work though! But they are now scrubbed, peeled, trimmed, chopped, blanched, chilled and packaged. They are freezing as I type. Once again, no quilting got done tonight!

I brought my last three herb pots inside until I have time to deal with them. The chives and parsley were harvested a few weeks ago - but they grew back! I'd been procrastinating on the oregano because its difficult to work with. I think I'll dry it this time (froze it last time) and see if that works any better.

So my 2011 garden comes to an end. The only things I covered are the flowers and pumpkins around the front lamp post. I'm not ready quite for winter, but I AM embracing late fall. I find being in touch with the natural cycle of things is very calming. (And its a good antidote to the increasingly premature Christmas displays in all the stores!)

This pilgrim is grateful for a good harvest - and is VERY ready to do some quilting! :)

Gluten Free Banana Muffins & Potluck Etiquette

2011-10-20T22:01:00.000-05:00

These GF banana muffins were whipped up for a bake sale at work. Having dietary restrictions means that if you want to participate in food-related events, you can't just run to the grocery store and pick something up. But that's OK, cuz I DO enjoy the challenge of coming up with GF foods that others will taste and say "Boy, that's good!" As a dietitian, I figure the more people I educate, the easier it will be when they or someone close to them learns they have to modify their diet for one reason or another.

The muffins were made using Pamela's Baking and Pancake mix. The muffin recipe on the side of the package is really easy. I doubled the recipe to make one dozen. Then I used a topping from The Cake Doctor Bakes Gluten Free. The topping for the Cake Doctor's New-Fashioned Banana Muffins is:

1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. brown sugar, loosely packed
1/2 c. chopped banana chips

The topping appealed to me because I had made a GF apple/pear crisp (NOT a Cake Doctor recipe), and the struesel topping was a disaster. I figured the banana chips would be flavorful and provide a nice crunchy texture. And did they ever!

At the last potluck I attended, I was horrified that someone dropped brownie crumbs all over my clearly labeled plate of gluten free cut out, frosted cookies. With one careless action all my hard work went down the drain - the cookies were no longer GF. I wanted to sit down and cry! Instead, I removed the GF label and bit my tongue (hard). There was no undoing it - so why make a fuss?

So THIS time I got smart! I put each muffin in a ziplock sandwich bag, labeled Gluten Free Banana Nut. Not only did the few of us that are GF get to enjoy the muffins (sans cross contamination), but a number of people who do NOT have celiac disease tried them and liked them. Success! :)

Cadillac Composter

2011-10-18T22:31:00.000-05:00

Here's my brand-spankin' new composter. Ain't she a dream? I told my son I have compost fever. Tho he thinks I'm a little kooky, he DID build this for me. FYI - we spent about $100 on raw materials and got 3 bins measuring 3 x 3 x 3 feet. No commercially produced composter will give you that much space for 100 bucks.

Here it is in use. The front slats are removable, so you can add them as you fill a bin. I hope to have two bins full of the correct proportion of brown matter (leaves and brown cardboard from toilet paper and paper towel tubes) to green matter (garden and kitchen waste). In warm weather the decomposition process should take about 6 weeks, resulting dark, rich soil. I hope to have two bins filled in the proper manner before winter sets in. This is a great time of year because when you tear out your garden you get a whole bunch of green matter, and of course Mother Nature provides the brown matter in the form of fallen leaves.

The plan for this composter came from Crockett's Victory Garden, by James Underwood Crockett, published by Little, Brown & Co., Boston/Toronto, 1977. Crockett's approach to gardening was geared to maximum production in minimal space - allowing people to grow more of their own food in lean economic times. Very fitting today!

Though Mr. Crockett passed away in 1979, he recorded his wealth of garden knowledge in many books and in a television series that's available on video. I just googled "Crockett's Victory Garden" and found the book is available for anywhere from $5.00 to $292.00. WOW - I knew I liked this book for a reason!

For more information on composting see this (one hour) instructional video:

http://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/compost/howto.cfm

I found it most helpful. Hope you do too! :)

Wednesday Wellness - Breast Cancer Awareness 2011

2011-10-18T21:41:00.001-05:00

Hey - Did you know its Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

How could we possibly NOT know? Pink lights on the capital, pink grocery bags, pink football uniforms...pink, pink, pink! But maybe some of us need to be beat over the head - maybe it will prompt those of us who neglect to do monthly breast exams, and postpone our mammograms to be more proactive.

One in eight women will have breast cancer in her lifetime. And sure enough, last week I learned of another friend who is a breast cancer survivor - and she had her treatment about the same time her stepmom was having a double mastectomy and aggressive follow up care.

So I'm making another batch of origami bags in this year's pink ribbon fabric. The bag at left was made last year. I'll be making 8 bags. Some will go to a church craft fair, some will go to a fundraiser at work and some will be tucked away for family or friends impacted by breast cancer in the coming year. I hope I won't need as many this year as I did last year. To make that happen, we need to know the facts:

http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/pdf/BreastCancerFS_2010.pdf

I'd like to point out this is not just a women's issue. Men can also get breast cancer, and they are most certainly impacted when breast cancer strikes a wife, partner, mother, sister, daughter or friend. We really must spread the word to anyone who will listen.

I'll be tucking a copy of the CDC fact sheet in each of the bags. According to the CDC, I need to make some lifestyle changes. I hope you'll join me!

Retreat Goodies

2011-10-12T23:18:00.000-05:00

I won a block swap at the recent retreat. The top center block is my handiwork. I'll have to think about how I'll use these. I'm picturing a black and brown wall quilt with the top three blocks, and a fourth that I'll need to create.

In the gift swap, and received a set of coasters and some plum wine.

I also acquired this stash of plaid fabrics. I've been wanting to make the quilt pictured below. These fabrics, combined with some of my own will give me a good start.

I need to take a few weeks off of work so I can quilt!!! :)

Happy 102nd Birthday Grandma

2011-10-11T18:04:00.000-05:00

This weekend we celebrated my Grandma Clara's 102nd birthday! Here she is talking with my cousin, Rob. Apparently she had been quite perky and talkative the day before the party and I think she may have worn herself out. She was tired when the party began. But in true Grandma Clara form, she perked right up when it was time for cake and pie - and she didn't miss out on petting my sister's dog. Grandma LOVES babies and animals! She taught me all the basics of sewing, knitting, crocheting and hand embroidery. Some day, when she is no longer with us in this life, her love, lessons and legacy will be with me always - and will continue to shape the course of my life when someday I am a grandmother. :)

Quilt Chicks Retreat 2011

2011-10-09T23:02:00.001-05:00

I need to go on quilt retreats more often. Here's what I accomplished:

Quodlibet Quilt top is complete.

Made my first ever mini quilt block.

Got 8 origami bags stitched.

Still need to pick up the cording for the draw strings.

Any excuse to step foot in a fabric store..... :)

Wednesday Wellness - Sesame Street Tackles Child Hunger

2011-10-04T19:25:00.000-05:00

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/10/04/141020644/sesame-street-tackles-child-hunger-one-muppet-at-a-time?sc=fb&cc=fp

I tip my hat to Brad Paisley, Mrs. Paisley and Elmo for calling attention to this serious problem. There's an easy way to give this time of year. If your garden is overflowing, please share your bounty with a neighborhood food pantry or homeless shelter. In these tough economic times, there are good hardworking people that need a helping hand. No child should have to fill her stomach with water until it feels full.

Quilt Expo 2011 - Part 4 - A One of a Kind

2011-09-30T22:01:00.000-05:00

This quilt is in a class all by itself. It's not unusual for a grandma to make a quilt for her grand-baby, but this one has a twist. The woman who made it saved her daughter's baby clothes and rather than cutting them up, she hand appliqued them intact! The clothing is applied so that each item may be cut free and worn by her granddaughter. And as baby grows up, she can see the images of her own Mama as a little girl.

Kinda makes me all teary eyed, but in a good sort of way. :)

Quilt Expo 2011 - Part 3

2011-09-30T21:46:00.000-05:00

The next several quilts make use of white space or white on white to create an image. This tiger about takes your breath away!

This penguin quilt intrigues me. In high school art class we were to create an image using white on black, rather than the usual black on white. That must be a very left-brain task, cuz I never mastered it. The designer of this quilt certainly did!

This last quilt is comical.

Sure wouldn't want to be that worm in the lower left corner. :)

Quilt Expo 2011 - Part 2

2011-09-30T21:29:00.000-05:00

In honor of the University of Wisconsin vs. the University of Nebraska - I'm featuring quilts with a UW theme or quilts made in red, black and white only.

Isn't this feathered star stunning? Oh, to have the skill and patience to make all those triangles! Here's the back side, showing the quilting pattern.

There's been a lot of the fuss about the Cornhuskers coming to town for tomorrow's big game. In fact, the hotels are all booked, so some Madisonians are renting out their homes for the weekend.

Tomorrow my alma mater will face off against my former employer. Just out of college, I took a job at the U of N in Lincoln, NE. Lived there for about 18 months.

Lincoln and Madison are quite similar. They're about the same size, both are state capitols (though ours is much prettier and doesn't have a naughty nickname) and both are home to THE state University. What really confounded me on football day was that they also wore red and white, and said "Go Big Red!" Kinda felt like I was in an alternate dimension.

But UW alums know there can only be ONE Big Red.

Guess we'll have to teach them how to Bucky! :)

The (GF) Holiday Brochure is Here!

2011-09-30T20:48:00.000-05:00

I've had excellent results using Land O Lakes gluten free recipes. Their Butter Cookie recipe is downright habit-forming - so don't make them unless you have oodles of willpower or some friends and family to help you eat them up. Here are this year's newest additions.

http://www.landolakes.com/assets/pdfs/promotions/LandOLakes_2011_Holiday_Brochure_GF.pdf

I downloaded and printed the brochure without a hitch. Will definitely be making the Eggnog Snowflakes! :)

Audacious Autumn Top Complete

2011-09-27T19:48:00.000-05:00

Despite my original misgivings, this quilt is growing on me. I still regret the lack of brilliant golds and oranges I associate with autumn. I decided that if it's called "audacious" I had to do something to jazz it up. The binding in the kit was olive drab...neutral...far from audacious! So I went in search of an appropriate backing and more suitable binding.

Now THAT purple is truly audacious - don't you think? My next puzzle to solve is my desire to incorporate an image of scarlet Burning Bush leaves, or some beautiful Red Sumac, or the many many maple leaves that fall in my neighborhood. I had considered applique, but decided against it. Instead, I'm going to let Mother Nature provide my quilting templates...here are some I'm considering.

This cutting is about a foot in length and could be positioned over multiple blocks.

Smaller leaves could be depicted blowing on the wind, with lots of swoops and swirls. I'll have time to look for more "templates" since the quilt is not yet sandwiched. Am looking forward to working with fusible batting for the first time. Tried it in a class, and I think I may be hooked! :)

Ice Blue Dress Steps Out

2011-09-19T19:45:00.000-05:00

Here are Miss Kami and Mr. Roberto, en route to a wedding. Aren't they cute? She says she got lots of compliments on the dress. That, of course, was music to my ears! :)

Audacious Autumn Blocks Complete

2011-09-17T21:46:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty excited that Blocks 13 & 21 contain some long-awaited orange! If you look at the photo on the design wall, it contains much more orange than this kit does. I'll be rearranging some blocks for better color distribution. Still want to applique some autumn leaves, but I don't know how machine applique. Might have to find a good tutorial because maple leaves have points and oak leaves have tight curves. Could be tricky! Gonna have to think about this a little longer.... :)

Audacious Autumn - Revisited

2011-09-15T21:04:00.001-05:00

Half of the columns are complete. To be honest, I'm just not into these colors. The reds and purples are gorgeous, but I've never liked olive green, and I like brown in an autumn quilt even less. Brown comes when autumn is over and winter sets in. That's not audacious. Give me some rich golds and flaming orange any day - now that's audacious!

The kit came with brown binding fabric - but I'll probably go with crimson or purple. Anything to jazz this quilt up. Also thought about appliqued red sumac branches, but that would probably be too busy. I hope to have some sewing time this weekend. Meanwhile, I'm just waiting for inspiration to strike! :)

GF Serbian Chicken Recipe

2011-09-14T22:05:00.002-05:00

I overplanted tomatoes, so I promised to share some great tomato recipes. Here is one of my all-time favorites. The original recipe comes from the Circle of Serbian Sisters in Milwaukee, WI. Their cookbook was published in 1973. Bought it when I was 12. Growing up in Milwaukee, I rarely missed the Holiday Folk Fair. Some years I danced with the Girl Scouts. Other years I went with friends and family.

Here's some info if you're interested: http://media.jsonline.com/images/HFF+Logo.jpg

But back to the recipe - I've revised it to make it healthier and gluten free. You can make it in the slow cooker. Who doesn't love coming home to a nice hot meal?

Serbian Chicken

4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

4 cups diced fresh tomatoes or 1 (28-oz) can of diced or stewed tomatoes

1 green pepper chopped

1 onion chopped

1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

3/4 cup light sour cream

This can be made on the stove top or slow cooker. No need to brown the chicken either way.

Pour half the tomatoes into a large pot. Lay chicken breasts over tomatoes. Sprinkle onions and green peppers over chicken, then pour remaining tomatoes over all. Cook on low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours on stove top. Cook 3-4 hours on low crock pot setting. When chicken is done, remove meat to platter and keep warm.

In a medium sized bowl, combine sour cream with cornstarch. The next part is really important. If you just stir the sour cream mixture into all those tomatoes it will curdle and look very unappetizing (it will still taste good though).

Instead, add 2-3 tablespoons of tomato mixture into sour cream mixture. Stir until blended. Repeat with a few more tablespoons. Continue, until your sour cream mixture has doubled in volume. Should be about half sour cream and half tomatoes.

You can now safely blend the sour cream mixture into the tomato pot. (This is also the secret to making your own cream of tomato soup without curdling.)

No matter how I cook the chicken, I always thicken the sauce on the stove top. Once it thickens, pour over chicken and serve over rice. Hmmm, hmmm, good! :)

The F Word

2011-09-14T21:12:00.001-05:00

The F word has been bandied about quite a bit lately. No, not that F word - the other one that rhymes with "ball" or the other (even more terrible) F word that rhymes with "crossed." I was just coming to the realization that yes, Fall is just about here. Knowing how one thing leads to another...eventually we face the word that strikes fear and trepidation into the hearts of farmers and gardeners - frost.

This called for serious defensive measures. I worked WAY too hard on my garden all summer to let an early frost cheat me of my harvest.

Here DS2 is trying to persuade me not to take his picture.

Here he is closing it up from the inside.

I thought we had left a way for him to get out, then realized not!

Here is the final product. We may have frost tonight and tomorrow night. Let me tell you, those plants are gonna stay right where they are for two days. Since DS2 was stuck inside and the wind was blowing, I just left him in there in case the wind blew the tarps off in the night. NO, no, not really. Though it was tremendously tempting...He is safe and sound in the nice warm toasty house. He grumbled about helping, but I think he actually enjoyed it. :)

Wisconsin Public Television's Quilt Expo 2011

2011-09-13T21:46:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Expo!

I tried to capture all the quilts that "spoke" to me, though there were many more I would have photographed - had there not been people in the way. Its kind of a shame that they can't ALL win, isn't it?

The following quilts are nature themed. I wasn't able to photograph all the titles, so forgive me if I misnamed your quilt. Feel free to contact me and I'll gladly correct it. :)

I called this one Autumn Birch. This one has inspired me to change up the quilt I'm currently working on - to encorporate brighter, bolder autumn colors.

I didn't catch the name of this one. It is one of two depicting a child in a tree with wildlife - including some playful fairies. Its also one of several portraying the various antics of squirrels - something I greatly enjoy!

These flowers on a fence against a night sky is stunning. You can almost smell the flowers' scent on a soft night breeze. It looks as if a storm may be brewing.

Oh, how I love fushia plants and hummingbirds. Admiring this quilt in the middle of winter would certainly warm me up! I love the rich, verdant colors.

If I remember right, this quilt depicts the quilter's granddaughter. I like how the inner border doesn't detract from the picture - giving the feel of a frame, without the weightiness. And look at all the creatures in and around the tree - captivating!

Isn't this quilt incredible? The judges thought so. Phenomenal work!

I think this was called Let's All Spring Forward. Aren't these little fellas bright and cheery?

Had hoped to share more pics, but my computer is protesting - so I'll have to post more soon. :)

A Quilt for Jay

2011-09-13T20:41:00.000-05:00

My friend and former coworker Barb (now retired) has rediscovered quilting after many years. She completed a quilt for her daughter Julie, and it so happened that I ran into her at the fabric store as she was selecting fabrics for a quilt for her son.

Well, you never have to ask me twice to spend someone else's money! LOL We had fun choosing just the right colors, intensities, etc. I love it when you can find one fabric that comes in several shades - as we did with the tree fabrics. That was a month or two ago.

Barb completed the top and sent me this picture. Dang - we do nice work! Maybe Barb and I should collaborate on future projects! :)

Tomatoes in the Sun

2011-09-12T22:33:00.000-05:00

The weather man says we may have frost on Thursday. That would be several weeks earlier than normal. Sure hope he's wrong (he often is). Tonight I spotted these tomatoes basking in the late day sun. Don't they look enticing? No wonder Dottie likes to snitch them! :)

Iron Man Quilter

2011-09-11T21:34:00.001-05:00

Every now and then you see something amazing. I've seen this quilt twice, and I'm still amazed.

The Iron Man took place in Madison today. Participants swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles. That boggles my mind! My friend and coworker Alan Frank has completed the Iron Man a number of times - which inspired him to design this quilt.

He hand pieced it, had it quilted and eventually entered it in the Wisconsin Public Television quilt expo. He even designed the all-over quilt pattern depicting a runner, biker and swimmer. It seems to me that he approaches quilting with the same dedication it takes to train for the Iron Man...working over time to accomplish a long term goal. Kind of refreshing in our fast paced world. Below are Al's comments. I hope you can read it. Its sweet that he includes a comment about his wife.

Al got hooked on English paper piecing when his wife - having started a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt - complained that it was taking so long to complete. Al offered to help, and discovered that he greatly enjoyed it. The rest is history.

See the link below. Look at the Iron Man logo, then look back at the quilt. Again, I'm amazed. All that creativity in one quilt!

http://ironmanwisconsin.com/

The fact that the Iron Man fell on 9/11 this year did not go unnoticed. Below is the story of another Madison man who was working in the second Twin Tower on 9/11 ten years ago. He lived to tell the tale. He ran/swam/biked all those miles today. He is now married, with a family. A bit of good news on this sad day of remembrance is very welcome.

http://www.wkow.com/story/15428874/m

Audacious Autumn - Another UFO

2011-09-11T14:05:00.001-05:00

Started "Audacious Autumn" in a class. The pieces are pre-cut. All I have to do is sew them together. The class was about how to quilt in sections. In thinking about it, the kit was unnecessary (and expensive), because we practiced the actual technique on muslin quilt sandwich blocks. The technique seems like it would work best on a piece that is straight line quilted. Not so sure how it would look for something that is FMQ. In fact, I may not quilt this in sections at all. But at least I know how to do it for my full sized quilts. I also learned about two products that will save a lot of time and effort - fusible batting and batting tape. Gotta get those before I quilt anything else!

I've got a quilt retreat in October, so I can make up for lost time - summer projects took a BIG bite out of my sewing time. Judging from the blogs I follow, that's pretty common (at least for those of us in the Northern hemisphere).

I hope your summer was good! Happy quilting! :)

Quilt Expo 2011 Purchases

2011-09-10T22:27:00.000-05:00

After two full days at the expo, I managed to keep my purchases sort of under control. Also bought a t-shirt and a quilt kit used for a class. Will share those later. So much to see and do - what a great opportunity to reconnect with friends - the expo gave me my quilting mojo back! Life is good!

Took about 100 quilt photos. Am trying to categorize them so I can blog about them in smaller batches. I hope this will attone for my bloggy sins (not many quilting posts lately). The change of seasons, and recent changes in my personal life should allow for more quilting - about which to blog! Stay tuned for further details..... :)

Recycled Rubber Duckies, Quilts, Horse Shoes & More

2011-09-09T21:51:00.001-05:00

A funny thing happened on the way to the WPT Quilt Expo.

I saw this unusual car. It has at least one brother or cousin. In 2008, I entered a quilt in an Earth Day art contest. A car similar to this one took first place. However that one was covered this doo-dads from bumper to bumper! Whole sections of the care were covered in pennies. They also had Lion King and Flintstones characters, which I recognized from McDonald's Happy Meals.

This was my entry - Sun & Wind Quilt. The item had to be constructed using recycled materials, and had to have a "green" theme. The black background represents solar panels, the triangle blocks represent wind power, and the colors - red, orange and yellow represent the sun. I used dryer sheets (used) as my foundation, used fabric recycled from clothing and bedding, and few scraps from my stash. The batting is an old Thomas the Train blanket.  The backing is a bed sheet. (FYI - if your son works at McDonalds do not cut up his black pants - even if his brother ruined them with bleach. McDonald's will want those pants back when your son leaves their employment. Ooops!)

This quilt isn't complete. I need to finish quilting it. I stitched in the ditch, but had not yet learned FMQ. Since then I've been trying to master doing FMQ flames.  Without the flames, I don't think it has as much visual impact.

So WHAT does this have to do with the quilt expo? Well, I have contacted the organizers several years in a row, suggesting a category for recycled quilts.  It looks like next year there may be a category for my Sun & Wind quilt. So I must, must, must get going on quilting flames!

One interesting lecture I heard at the expo was by Cheryl Weiderspahn. What an entertaining speaker - and what ingenuity! She shows you how to make all sorts of things - many of them bags or totes - from everyday objects such as throw rugs, place mats, hot pads - even shower mats, wooden spoons and horse shoes (worn by a race horse, no less).

She autographed my book, and gave me this advice: If you're ever feeling down, sit down with a glass of wine and read page 51. It will give you a lift, and its a true story. I have not yet heeded this advice, but expect to do so very soon. :)

To-may-to, To-mah-to

2011-09-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

A terrible thing happened the other day. I heard you should trim the top of your tomato plants 30 days before a hard frost. This allows the plant to put all of its energy into producing fruit for the remainder of the growing season. I consulted Wisconsin Online Gardening (http://www.wisconline.com/almanac/gardening/index.html) for when to expect a hard frost. Yikes! October 4-10? There are only a few weeks left? The Ghost of Tomatoes Past conjured visions of frost bitten tomato plants! Oh, the horror!

OK, OK - I'm being dramatic. My tomatoes are just fine for the moment.

I ALSO read that if you remove the non-fruit bearing branches (during the normal growing season) the plant will produce more fruit. I had two plants that drooped every day, no matter how often I watered. So I pruned those two - thinking if they have less leaves, they'll transpire less water throughout the day, so perhaps they won't wilt. They seemed to benefit from it, so I pruned the remaining six plants. They look kinda spindly, but I AM getting plenty of tomatoes.

One added benefit (I'm allergic to bee and wasp stings) is that I can see and retrieve my tomatoes without putting my hand into dense foliage where a bee or wasp might be hiding. Now that the nights are getting cold, I'm wearing rose gardener's gloves. No stinging insect can penetrate elbow length suede.

Knowing I ought to trim my tomato tops, I snipped a few. But my heart just isn't in it. Trimming them implies the season is almost over. I have a tendency to resist the march of time. I have to be dragged kicking and screaming from one season to the next. However, if we keep having these 40 degree mornings I may reconsider..... :)

The Driftless Market

2011-09-07T21:23:00.000-05:00

Visited the Driftless Market (http://driftlessmarket.com/) in Platteville, WI.

I worked with one of the proprietors until she retired from her day job and went on to spend more time doing what she loves....running the Driftless Market with her partner.

They offer a little bit of everything - food, coffee, even local art.

I was particularly interested in their Gluten Free products. Unlike a grocery chain, the shop owners decide for themselves what products to stock, based on customer request and repeat purchases. It was so helpful to learn which products had the most repeat customers. I had decided ahead of time to only purchase products that I haven't seen in other stores - and I DID find some interesting goodies:

GF Angel Food Cake Mix - something I've never seen before, anywhere. And Garbanzo Bean & Fava Flour. Strangely enough, I looked at a recipe the night before that called for garbanzo bean flour - and I thought where am I gonna find that??

The last item I bought was Cocoa Cayenne Cupcake mix. Those babies will knock your socks off. You don't taste the cayenne until you've swallowed your last bite and the cool, creamy frosting is all gone. THEN you feel the burning in your mouth. You'll definitely be reaching for something cold to drink. One word of caution: DO NOT INHALE as you are pouring the dry mix into the mixing bowl or you'll get a snootful of cayenne pepper. (Yes, I AM speaking from experience.)

I expect to visit Platteville a number of times this school year, so we will return to the Driftless Market to see what other GF goodies I can find. :)

Labor Day Garden Report

2011-09-05T11:45:00.000-05:00

Here are my stop light peppers - yellow, green and red. They all start out green, and can be harvested before they change color. Its been fun to watch them change.

Last night we supped on our first batch of green beans. There are plenty more where these came from, judging from the looks of these vines.

All that from three little pots!

Here I used a "Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad" recipe from allrecipes.com. The dressing is vinegar and oil, with basil, oregano, parsley and a little bit of sugar. DEEEE-lish!

We pulled up a few carrots to see how they are coming along. Wrote a note on the calendar to check them again in two weeks. Fortunately they can stay in the ground right up until the end of the growing season.

DS2 and I finished the last of the landscaping.

Whew - it only took all summer! :)

The Hem from Hell

2011-09-04T21:58:00.000-05:00

I couldn't figure out why I was having so much trouble pinning the hem of this dress! I was looking down at my work, rather than up at Kami - who had placed her hands on her hips - thereby changing the hem by a good 1/2". I had to start over three times before I realized what was going on.

And here it is. We considered adding trim, but we were unable to find what we wanted in Platteville - so she'll accessorize on her own. She'll be wearing the dress to a wedding later this month. I DO hope to get a picture of her at that time. :)

This and That

2011-09-02T22:45:00.000-05:00

Since I was unable to get the blue dress hemmed last weekend, I contented myself by making this drawstring bag. I used Simplicity 8393 - but this bag is a hybrid of two different views. Tomorrow we head to Platteville to pin the hem and decide on any embellishments. I'm thinking in terms of flowers or pearls - something classy. However, I think Miss Kami is thinking of sequins. (Dear Lord, please don't let it be so!)

Funny how we each have our own mental vision of what a dress, quilt or other project will look like in the end. I'm hoping our collaboration will result in something even better than either envisioned independently. :)

The Things We Do For Love

2011-09-01T21:14:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, when I learned both my sons planned to return home, I was just a tiny bit disappointed about losing my sewing space. However, their plans changed every few days, so I held off on tearing things down. One day before the big move, I finally packed up my projects, took down my design wall, and cleaned from stem to stern. All was in order for the the boys' return. I would go back to using my grandmother's sewing cabinet as I had for many years past. It really looks kind of pitiful, doesn't it? Ah well, the things we do for love.

I called DS1 to tell him he and his brother would need to dismantle the remaining table in his room because it was too big for one person (aka me). That's when I learned that in the 11th hour, DS1 made other living arrangements - and would not be moving home after all. I sat down right down on the front porch and laughed til I cried.

My sewing room is now so neat and orderly, I'm not sure where to start reassembling it - or how.

When DS1 moved out I didn't do anything with his room for a few months. Wanted to be sure he was happy with his new living arrangements. Eventually I moved a little of this and a little of that into that room - but never had a plan as to how I'd set up my work space. The cleaning and organizing I did in preparation for my son's return has provided an opportunity to step back and think this through. Next week is the Wisconsin Public Television Quilt Show, and there will be speakers addressing how to manage your work space. Will have to report back on what I learn! :)

Look Ma, No Gluten!

2011-08-28T21:29:00.000-05:00

Some things I've missed since I began my GF diet last November: convenience foods. So many companies just don't provide enough information on their label for consumers to know if the product is "safe" for those of us with celiac disease.

I finally got around to emailing my favorite barbecue sauce company and learned not only is Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce gluten free, they are going to change their label to indicate such. YES! I can have my favorite barbecue sauce again!! Life is good!!

And then, quite by accident, I discovered that (at least some) Wishbone salad dressings are gluten free. We had a potluck at work and I'd forgotten to bring my own salad dressing. I checked out what some of the other people had brought. Was pleasantly surprised to find Wishbone is GF! I'm thrilled to pieces because I really haven't found an Italian salad dressing recipe I liked enough to make more than once.

Bottom line: These products are much more economical than the specialty GF products, and they taste great. AND I can spend a little less time in the kitchen - which means more time for quilting! :)

Fabric Flowers (Playing with Fire)

2011-08-27T22:17:00.000-05:00

The hem on this dress reminds me of the last time I let my sister cut my hair. She couldn't get it even, so she took a little off one side, and then the other, and so on - until my hair was 6" shorter than expected. Frustrated by the hem, I turned my attention to possible embellishments. Found this great tutorial for making fabric flowers:

http://www.simplyvintagegirl.com/blog/index.php/2010/05/29/tutorial-how-to-make-lovely-fabric-flowers/

Feeling cranky, I immediately seized this opportunity to play with fire! Heck, I needed to test my smoke alarms anyway. (Kids - don't do this without adult supervision.) Not to worry - the smoke alarms never made a peep. Here is the resulting flower:

It needs a few beads in the center. And I'll probably make a few more flowers for practice. But ya know what? I think I like it! :)

Whad'ya Get...

2011-08-26T20:56:00.001-05:00

...when you take lots of this, plus this...

...plus this...

...plus fresh garden herbs...

...and some TLC?

First you get this...then add tomato paste and just the right seasonings...

...and you get homemade spaghetti sauce. Num!

Life is....

2011-08-23T18:08:00.000-05:00

...what happens while you're doing other things! Here's today's tomato harvest:

And yesterday's landscaping efforts - which weathered a considerable storm last night and will weather another shortly. I'm amazed it's intact!

When the weather clears, I'll mulch inside the border and plant more grass outside. DS2 is restaining the deck. When we get it all done it should look pretty darned good.

Other fun stuff goin' on: getting auto insurance quotes, both kids moving back home, dress fittings, converting my sewing room back to a bedroom, coping with a 3-week long allergic reaction to an unknown trigger. Yeesh!

Through it all that little voice in the back of my head keeps whispering "Quilt. Quilt. Quilt." Soon it will shout "Quilt NOW!" and I shall be forced to obey! :)

Caught Red-Handed!

2011-08-18T19:56:00.000-05:00

HA! Look who's been stealing my biggest and best tomatoes! What a brat!

Better Late than Never

2011-08-18T19:41:00.000-05:00

Here I am with my 8" tall green beans. Sure am glad they finally decided to flower!

Below is my carrot patch - not much to look at now, but when I was weeding I uprooted a 2" carrot. Scrubbed it up and had a nice snack. Talk about farm to table freshness. What a difference it makes.

When I watered this AM, I had four big red tomatoes on the vine. Came home to discover the tomato bandit struck again. Ate half of my best tomato. GRRRR! At this rate, 20% of my Big Boy Tomato harvest is being munched by critters. I picked the others before he strikes again.

Understitching?

2011-08-17T21:48:00.000-05:00

Despite a 30-year hiatus from garment construction, the dress I'm working on looks good so far. But Step 14 was new to me! To "understitch," the instructions say,"Press facing away from garment; press seam toward facing. Facing side up, stitch close to seam through facing and seam allowance." Come again?

In this picture, the upper side of the strap has not yet been understitched. The lower side has been understitched and turned - to make a very soft, pretty edge. If any experienced dressmakers read this post, can you please suggest what sort of interfacing is used for dresses these days? I had fusible web on hand, but it created too much bulk. Once I figured the understitching thing out, I still had some trouble wrestling the interfacings into submission. Also, this pattern does not come with a sleeveless option. I had trouble fitting my homemade interfacing pattern to the arm hole. Seems like it was easier when I made the mock-up dress out of muslin. But this slippery, solid fabric is harder to work with and shows every little flaw. For instance, in this picture it looks like the right shoulder strap is askew, but when I examined it, I realized the dress will lay just right when there is a 3-D person wearing it, rather than a 2-D hanger.

Assuming the dress fits Miss Kami properly, I'll be making it one more time, in floor length, in Ivory Peach, as part of a Zelda costume that will look something like this:

I am to be in charge of the ivory and purple portion of the dress. Kami will be in charge of the rest. Will have to report later on how this project progresses! :)

Happiness Is....

2011-08-17T21:01:00.000-05:00

...getting your favorite sewing scissors back from being sharpened! :)

Naughty Tomato

2011-08-16T20:22:00.000-05:00

Each day I come home from work, eagerly awaiting the day's harvest. I've learned to pick my red tomatoes one day earlier - before the critters can snack on them. THIS particular tomato, has a back side that looks just like, well, um, a baby's back side!

Doesn't it??? DS2 was mowing the lawn when I held the tomato up for him to see. Though no words were spoken...he immediately burst out laughing. I guess we're easily amused! :)

A Dress and a Dinosaur (or Two)

2011-08-15T21:57:00.000-05:00

My Janome Horizon acted up last week, and went in to the shop. I consoled myself by visiting some fabric stores and researching a costume I am to make for a friend. Said friend also needs a dress to wear to a wedding in mid-September, and wanted it in ice blue. So guess what I found on sale? I'm making the upper right view, without the drape. Even the thread is named Ice Blue. I took this as a good omen.

After cutting out the dress, and having rather low expectations as to what my old (1970s) sewing machine might do to a few satiny scraps, I unearthed my Sears Kenmore. Ain't she a beauty?

I fully expected the old girl to make mincemeat out of the fabric. To my surprise, the fabric fed smoothly and the tension was about right! So I went ahead and did the stay-stitching, figuring it wouldn't show anyway.

As you can see, my Kenmore and I were in the groove...so I just kept going. As I stitched, I tried to remember the last time I put in a zipper. 1984! The last time I remember making a dress was before that. At this point I felt a kinship with my trusty, old Kenmore - she was there for me then, and now in my hour of need. Had to chuckle, because in some (considerably younger) people's eyes, I am a bit of a dinosaur myself!

Though my flash bulb makes the fabric look overly bright, it actually has a soft sheen. Very pretty. I need to take out the top stitching that I did against my better judgement. I'm removing that with a tweezers so as not to snag the fabric. Then I'll finish the second arm hole and tack down the interfacings. This weekend we hope to visit Kami, so I can take the dress in.

I actually made this dress once before in muslin - thank goodness - because I wanted to be sure it fit right before cutting the costume fabric. The results were dissappointing. I made cutting errors which affected the length of the dress, and even though Miss Kami weighs about 95 lbs and is very slim and trim, and the dress came up about 4" short at the waist. Go figure! Maybe the designers thought women still wear corsets? At any rate, in cutting out the blue dress, I added 1/2" to all 6 seams that are tapered at the waist, and added 3/8" to the center front fold. So now I'll need take the waist in accordingly. Then I'll need to hem it. Wondering if I could do all that in one trip....thinking it'll take two.

But that's OK - it provides a good excuse for one or more road trips to Platteville, WI, where I can visit Hidden Quilts and the Driftless Market.

This dress will also keep me away from my latest quilt project (Quodlibet) until after I have taken a class at the Wisconsin Public Television/Nancy Zieman Productions Quilt Expo - where I'll learn to quilt in sections. I'd been itching to put that quilt all together, rather than waiting. So the dress is a wonderful diversion. Lots of sewing/quilting fun in store in August and September. :)

Green Beans & Japanese Beetles

2011-08-13T17:44:00.000-05:00

It's official. My green beans are over the top - of the swing set, that is!

But look at these Japanese beetles! Yuck. First they ate the impatiens, then they hit the tomatoes and now they're on the green beans. I visited a green house to figure out what to do about them. Turns out they have a life cycle of only a month - which is about how long they've been around. One can put out some sort of disk to attract them away from your garden, but that only draws more to your yard. I was advised to ignore them for a few more days and then they'll be gone. I can handle that!

I also learned that I over-fertilized my green beans. They don't like any fertilizer that has nitrogen as the first ingredient. It should come second. Despite my overzealous use of Miracle Grow, today I spied several buds. So again, if I just let them be, I may still get a good harvest. That's my kind of problem solving! :)

Quodlibet in Thirds

2011-08-10T18:23:00.000-05:00

Its been a long time since I worked on a full sized quilt. Now I remember why! There's no where in this house where I can lay the entire thing out. It's a little distracting when two thirds are in one room and one third is in another. But I think I finally got it all figured out. Can you spot the second "RJ" in the picture above?

The last "RJ" is pretty easy to spot on the design wall, but will be less prominent when the black lattice is added. I swear I've ripped more on this quilt than I've sewn! Half way through I decided to cut back on the white blocks. This involved a lot of ripping - but I'll blame it on my undersized design wall. All's well that ends well. :)

Chris's Favorite GF Bread

2011-08-10T17:40:00.000-05:00

Although I use a box mix, I've modified the mixing and baking procedure to produce a lighter, larger, more flavorful loaf. Like traditional wheat bread, I allow the dough to rise twice. This gives it more time to develop the characteristic yeast flavor and a finer, more even texture. This bread makes an excellent peanut butter sandwich that can be eaten at room temperature - the ultimate palatability test for GF bread!

You'll need:

Heavy Duty Stand Mixer - hand held mixers will not do the job
Wire Whip Attachment - do not use a dough hook
2 Wilton 9 x 5" bread pans - do not use shiny or dark nonstick pans
Kitchen Timer
Time & Patience - From the time you begin mixing ingredients to the time the bread is sliced and put away is about 4 hours. So I bake two loaves at a time, every other week.

Ingredients:

2 boxes Gluten Free Pantry Favorite Sandwich Mix (includes yeast packet)
1/2 c. canola oil or melted butter
4 eggs (or 2 whole eggs and 4 egg whites)
3 1/2 cups water or skim milk

Procedure:

Slowly mix eggs in mixing bowl to break yolks. Gradually add oil and water. With beater still on low, sprinkle both yeast packets into liquid mixture. Then add both bags of bread mix, one at a time. Turn beater speed up to medium speed, and beat for 3 minutes.

Cover mixer bowl with a damp towel for about 35 minutes. While waiting, prepare your pans and foil tents. Spray pans lightly with any GF cooking spray. I use a canola spray. Set pans aside. Fold two piecees of aluminum foil, shiny side up, as pictured to cover loaves as they bake.

After first rising, beat on low speed for 60 seconds.

Scrape dough into pans. Use a wet spatula to spread dough evenly across each pan and smooth top of dough. You will need to moisten the spatula several times, and dough will look glossy on top.

Cover both pans with a damp towel and allow to rise for 35 minutes, or until dough reaches 1/2 inch below edge of pan (whichever comes first). Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

After second rising, place pans in center of preheated oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then cover each pan loosely with foil tent to prevent excess browning.

Bake an additional 45-50 minutes. Using a thermometer, make sure the center of the bread has reached 200 degrees or higher. If bread is not fully cooked, it is likely to fall as it cools. When bread reaches 200 degrees, place pans on cooling racks for 10-15 minutes.

Then turn bread out onto rack. Allow to cool at least one hour before slicing. Ideally, you would not slice the bread until completely cool. GF baked goods need time to "firm up" as they cool. Handling a warm loaf will damage the bread's structure.

Slice loaves. I divide my bread into 4 bags, each containing 1/2 loaf. Three go to into the freezer, and one goes into the refrigerator. When I get down to my last few pieces of refrigerated bread, I pull a frozen bag out and put that in the refrigerator. This way you only need to microwave the bread 15-20 seconds to take the chill off - rather than trying to work with frozen bread slices. I cut the heels into cubes for stuffing or croutons, and brush the crumbs into a small container I keep in the frig for sprinkling bread crumbs on top of baked fish.

While I love the flavor of this product, I have struggled with the fact that the baking instructions on the box result in a loaf that is raw in the middle. I also object to the statement on the box saying it's a cholesterol free food. Yes, it is - in the box! But if you make it according to the instructions - with 2 whole eggs per loaf, you've now had your weekly allotment of egg yolks. Yes, one can substitute egg whites - but the claim on the box is misleading. I have contacted the company, and received only the standard response (thank you for your interest...etc., etc., etc.).

Despite these misgivings, I keep coming back to this bread. It simply has the best flavor and moisture content. I hope you enjoy this bread as much as I do! :)

Quodlibet - Nine Rows

2011-08-07T21:14:00.001-05:00

Nine rows are complete, with three left on the design wall. I can't decide which is harder - trying to make blocks line up in rows (as usual) or trying to make sure they DON'T line up, as directed for this quilt. RJ's initials will appear in this quilt three times. Can you spot the first set?

Now can you see them? :)

I Can Almost Taste It!

2011-08-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

My first tomato is ripening...Never has a single tomato been so anticipated. I'm looking forward to slicing it and drizzling with vinegar & oil dressing. Maybe tomorrow!

All 8 pepper plants are bearing fruit. They are supposed to change color as they ripen, but I can no longer recall which will be red, green or yellow. Will just have to wait and see. :)

Quodlibet - Control Rows

2011-08-05T20:04:00.000-05:00

What here-to-for appeared to be a mishmash of incongruent blocks is actually beginning to look like a quilt. To be honest, I was a little worried. Some blocks didn't make the cut. It remains to be seen if I made the correct number and color blocks to fill out the quilt. I interpreted "light" and "dark" too literally, when in fact red should have been my "light." Though this picture makes it look as if the bottom row is narrower than the top, they measure up just fine. I think this is the best part of quilting - when it finally comes together and you can see results! :)

Quodlibet Blocks

2011-08-01T18:53:00.000-05:00

Hot weather gave me an excuse to do less gardening and more stitching. The great thing about the Quodlibet pattern is the freedom to switch it up and try new things. I never was very good at flying geese before, but feel pretty comfortable making them now. A few of the checker board squares were the result of mismeasuring, but I liked how they turned out and they'll fit quite nicely. The directions say "When assembling the quilt, blocks will be chopped off to make rows fit, a crooked seam here and there will add interest, this quilt is meant to have a more freeform look, so just have fun creating." And that is exactly what I have been doing! I'm working on zig zag blocks now.

FYI - A quodlibet is "a whimsical combination of familiar melodies or texts." The quilt is designed by Judy Hasheider, from Quilt with Judy. I emailed her with some questions(quiltwithjudy@tds.net) and she was very helpful. I'm partial to some of her other designs, which can be found at www.quiltwithjudy.com. :)

Garden Report, Then & Now

2011-08-01T18:39:00.000-05:00

What a difference between August 1 and June 2 (below)!

When you sit on the porch swing, it feels like your own private gazebo. The tomatoes grew well beyond the towers I set up, so 5 of the 8 plants are now tied up to the A-frame structure. The one on the right will most likely be taller than I am by the weekend. The herbs have outgrown the back stoop and now are in full sun. The lemon basil is fantastic. All my pepper and tomato plants are bearing fruit. This has surpassed my wildest dreams. After more than a decade of shade gardening, this is a refreshing change! I suspect I'll be sharing some tomato recipes very soon. :)

GF Lemon Meringue Pie

2011-07-28T22:39:00.001-05:00

Got a hankerin' for some good old fashioned lemon meringue pie. However, when you have to eat gluten free, you can't just pick up a pie at the grocery store or order it at a restaurant. I'd been thinking about it for some time...so I consulted my Gluten-Free Baking Classics (2nd edition) cook book by Annalise G. Roberts for a suitable crust recipe. This is the Tart Shell recipe, which tasted great and was easier to make than a traditional crust - no rolling. Just cut the butter into the flour mixture and press the mixture into your pie pan. Ms. Roberts suggests baking the shell one day and filling it the next to breaks up the work load, and avoid having the oven on for such a long time. Being a hot day, I heeded her advice.

Betty Crocker provided the recipes for the filling and meringue. The filling recipe called for lemon peel. Having had bad experiences with orange peel and lemon peel in the past, I bought some at Penzy's Spices so I wouldn't get a strong aftertaste. I considered omitting it...but usually don't change a recipe the first time I make it. So in it went.

Ya know what's funny about spreading meringue over pie filling? The filling is fluid, so it smooshes around under your spatula. Its much easier to spread meringue from the edge to the center, than the other way around. That's probably why they pipe the meringue on commercially prepared lemon meringue pies.

A couple hours after it came out of the oven, an unexpected visitor arrived - which gave me the perfect excuse to cut into my pie. It was still a tiny bit warm and extremely lemony. Incredibly flavorful - unlike any commercially prepared lemon meringue pie I've ever had.

The next day I had a few more visitors, and we polished off the pie. By then it had chilled overnight. I was a little dissappointed that the filling didn't firm up more. After trying it a second time, I realized I should have omitted the lemon peel. It left just the tiniest little aftertaste.

So if you're using a Betty Crocker (new and revised in 1981 - LOL) cook book to make a 9" lemon meringue pie filling, add 1 more TBSP cornstarch, one less TBSP melted butter and omit the lemon peel. Though making the shell, filling and meringue from scratch was quite a bit of work, it was truly worth the time and effort!

Later this summer I intend to try the chocolate eclair/cream puff shell recipe in the same GF cook book. More GF baking adventures to follow! :)

Flooding in Galena

2011-07-28T21:41:00.000-05:00

Oh no!!!! If you have plans to visit Galena, IL any time soon, please call ahead.

I visited and blogged about the Phat Quarter Quilt Shop (info@ourcompany.com) earlier this summer. Just learned it's been flooded with a foot and a half of water. The De Sota House has 8 feet of water. Consequently, the upcoming Galena Quilt Show has been postponed until August 20 & 21.

Thanks to Carol, Sue and Karen at Hidden Quilts (http://www.hiddenquilts.com/contact.html) in Platteville for passing the word along!

R & J Blocks

2011-07-27T20:59:00.001-05:00

I've been playing with ways to work up "R" and "J" blocks that I could slip into the Quodlibet Quilt, without being too obvious. Each of these blocks will be surrounded by a narrow black lattice, so I laid out the left side to complete the Rs. I want these blocks to be subtle - and with all that is going on in the Quodlibet Quilt - you would have to know to look for them. Then once you see them, you'll wonder how you could have missed them! But SHHHHH....don't tell RJ!

As I was piecing away, I realized I had just designed and executed my first homegrown paper piecing project. I've only done paper piecing once before - and that was with a quilting instructor there to help.

I'm not sure how many blocks to make. The pattern is for a 57 x 74" quilt, but I need to make it extra long cuz the recipient is about 6' 6". I own a bunch of quilting books, but none of them say how large a king size quilt should be. I've seen patterns for queen size quilts ranging from 90-102 inches long, so I'm a bit perplexed! Am open to suggestions....

Keep quilting! :)

Quilting Again

2011-07-24T22:12:00.000-05:00

Today I got to do some quilting for the first time in a looooong time. Hooray! Most of the remaining funky rails will be done in light fabrics. They're not difficult, but there sure are a lot of them - and they come in four different sizes.

The chevrons were a little tricky. The pattern called for piecing a whole lot of narrow strips...but when I saw this striped fabric, I knew I could save considerable time. It also provided a palette to round out the red, black, white and cream shades I had already selected. If I make this quilt again, I'd mix up the pieces so the left and right side of each chevron are not a mirror image of one another. Makes it more interesting.

This round of quilting may have to last me a while. The weather man says it should cool off soon - that means I'll need to work outside. Gotta make hay while the sun shines! :)