Serendipity

Look what came in my email yesterday? Our very own Judy has this beautiful book out. And then in the mail, came my AQS flyer with the same advertisement for her new book. How lucky we are that Judy is in our webring, and that she shares so freely with us!

I am finally letting myself start to be excited about my upcoming trip to Nashville, TN on August 21. My buddy, Carolyn and I plan on attending the AQS show there. If anybody is going to be there, let me know, and maybe we could meet up? We are returning home late Friday night, so it's a short trip.

What I am most excited about though, is not quilting (for a change). I've been researching our family genealogy for quite a few years now, and this is the area where two and maybe three branches of the family converge. There are quite a few locations where they lived and died within 100 miles of Nashville, so I thought I would do a little genealogy traveling, too.

It turns out that I have "kin" buried in two different family cemeteries in Dickson County, TN, just west of Nashville. THEN, I have 4 others buried in Civil War National Cemeteries south of Nashville, near Franklin and Murfreesboro. This morning, I reviewed the Civil War Day by Day Almanac, and looked at some of the battle maps to get my bearings. This should really be a great trip, and put some perspective on my heritage as well as one of the bloodiest battles near the end of the Civil War. One of my most favorite books of the year is set in this area. If you haven't read it yet, you should read Widow of the South by Robert Hicks. I plan on visiting Carnton Plantation, which is the Widow of the South's home, since some of the ancestors are buried there, too.

Most of yesterday, I spent working on a driving map of the area, along with cemeteries and places to go. Here's my genealogy route, if you are interested.

Have you ever wondered how many degrees of separation there are in our quilting community? Check Bonnie's blog entry on July 28 and see what she was posting about that day. Then come back and read on here.



Look at what came in the mail for me today. Yep! I was the winning bidder on the quilt that Bonnie was talking about then! What a hoot since I was already watching that entry well before she blogged about it! The quilt is ever so soft, made from scraps of 1930's feedsacks, fabrics from the 40's and even a small piece of flannel made it in. The white is all flour sack material. There's only a couple of small spots on the back, and the quilting stitches are nice and tight. I am going to hang this one in my upstairs hall where you can see it when you come in the front door. It really makes me smile!

And of course, Mr. Clyde has laid claim to his part of the quilt, too!


Ahh, serendipitous events!

I've been working on the binding for the little Sunbonnet Sue Story, along with some help. It's finally finished, even though Bonnie didn't like me moving it around for the edge work. It finished at 56" X 66". Now, I am working on binding for Everything But the Kitchen Sink. I posted a picture of it July 5th - you can see it in the archives if you've forgotten what it looks like. It's a big one, so the binding should keep Bonnie and I busy for a while.

Here's a closeup of the blocks. These are painted blocks of the Sunbonnet Babies story, and in each of them, they are doing different activities. I've had the blocks for quite a few years now, and used Sharyn Craig's Successful Sets book to use the idea of how to set them.

Now, this can be put away for a future grandchild or great-grandchild. It's nice to work on something with absolutely no one in mind!

I've put the circles away after sewing a few of the foursome blocks together, and cutting more squares for the future. That way, I don't have to worry about finding some fabric again for them:) BUT, rest assured, they've been packed in a project box waiting for their turn again!

So guess, what's out of the box now? But what was I thinking when I put it away? I am short some of the setting squares, and the red fabric is nowhere to be found. Looks like I need some more red! I'll need to use a black print inner border, then a second border of red, and then it depends on what comes out of my black and white stash box for the final borders.

Whole lotta quiltin' goin' on!

That's not quite how Jerry Lee Lewis sang it, but it's the truth here in Sillywell, today!

The binding is all done, label attached, letters are written, care instructions packaged and the official photos are done for Baskets of Hope. Yea! This quilt will be auctioned at a High Tea in October, with the proceeds going to Cancer Action in Kansas City.

I made the label a bit different this time. I cropped a section of the quilt, worked with some text in Photoshop and then printed it on the cotton poplin sheet from Crafter's Images (formerly Muttonhead). I like this fabric - it's already pretreated, and the ink from my HP inkjet are stable through the wash. With my JoAnn's coupons, I can get it at half price, too! I think I like using the quilt photo on the label, and it's probably something I'll continue to do. (Names are left off to protect the innocent!)


"The Story of Sunbonnet Sue" came home from the quilter yesterday. It really turned out nice, with feathered circles between the blocks, and two sizes of feathers in each of the borders around. Once the binding is handsewn back, there will be a final picture of it, too. This is what it looked like before lunch.....


This is what it looked like after lunch. Lazy cats! They didn't sew the binding on until after their nap:)


I also finally got the border chosen for the replacement of the braid/no braid quilt, now officially known as Bound to the Prairie. It just happens to be the name of the line of fabric chosen for the connecting blocks, and when I saw that name on the selvedge the other night, it seemed to stick. I hated to go back to the store and buy MORE fabric, doncha know? Seems my math was just about right, too! This is all that is left of it!


The quilt is large enough to fit our bed, as requested by Hubby. I don't often make a pillow roll. I make it generally no smaller than 86" X 95", then turn it sideways on the bed. BOUND TO THE PRAIRIE is 102" X 92"! The backing was prepared today, and it is packed and ready to go to the IA quilter on Monday! (You see a lighter beige quilt under the edges in this picture.)




And last to report about is yesterday's circle class. All I can say, is that a great time was had by all - all three of us. We meet again to finish up the top in two weeks. Their homework was to sew 20 small circles, and make large 4 patch units for next time. Here's Beth and Vicky with their first circles. Class started at 10 AM, and these circles were made by 11AM. Way to go, ladies!

Oh, if it just was this simple

I saw this today in a small town (south of where I live) grocery store parking lot.


You MUST click on the photographs to see the other phrases in all their glory!


I'm not sure, but I think the official Handicap Tag is laying in the dash, but it could just be another note about being handicapped, right? Or maybe the rear view mirror would fall off if a plastic hang tag was there?

I waited a while to see who the grumpy old man might be, but I never saw him, and I needed to get my starch and be on my way. So, beware of the "no fake" grumpy old handicapped man" that might be out there!

More posting later in the week about the successful circle class I held today.

New (additional) blog, flimsies, and more zucchini!

I've had a bit of time to think recently.

I had a bit of a scare with a sudden and extreme elevation of blood pressure, so I've been quiet, and resting until some medication kicks in. With that thinking, I've decided that I need another blog page just to keep my quilt pictures, my art, and my creative writing in one place. So, with that in mind, I've added an additional blog: Granny's Hands. You can use the link on the right side of this page to switch back and forth easily, I think.

I've been pondering creative writing for a while. I will probably use Grannys Hands mostly for that, but I will also from time to time, save other finished art with little or no dialog there. Well, at least I think I will not add dialog. That might be difficult for this Chatty Cathy! So check out Grannys Hands from time to time and see what my "other brain" has been doing!

In the meantime, I'm getting all my stuff ready to teach a circle class tomorrow. It's for the first time, so I hope I have everything I need. I hope everyone has a good time. And, I hope everyone gets a circle quilt done by the end of the second class! Im going to be working on Cherry Limeade as part of the demonstrations.


I've also decided to try a couple of other local quilters (new to me). I've got to get the flannel backing ready on the Dogz flimsie (red and black. Then the blue and white friendship exchange block flimsie is all set to go. Both of them are small, so it will be a nice test to see how their stitches are, and how well we communicate with each other.

Local machine quilters prices are so high, even for overall pantographs, that I often hiccup and just leave them as completed flimsies without finishing them. And no, I don't want to learn how to machine quilt. I WILL do small wall hangings, and I do all my charity lap quilts, but I don't want to do anything bigger. I still have an Inspira quilt frame for sale, with no takers, so if it's not gone by the end of the year, I might have to donate it to a guild, or something creative like that. Oh! I get my Sunbonnet Sue Story back tomorrow, and I am anxious to see how it looks, too!


More zucchini came in from the garden last night. Here's the next best thing to zucchini bread (and healthier too). Last night's dinner was Ocean Perch, green beans from the garden, and zucchini cakes. Ummm yum! Recipe follows the picture.

ZUCCHINI PATTIES
5 TBSP Bisquick
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 eggs
2 TBSP butter
2 c shredded zucchini

Blend the bisquick, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper; add the eggs. Grate the zucchini (I like mine coarse) and add to the mixture. Spray a griddle or skillet with butter flavored cooking spray over medium heat. Pour batter into patties; cook about 3 minutes on each side until done to the desired degree of browness/crispness. Make about 5 good sized patties.

RAMBLINGS

ANNIVERSARY
There's been a few blogiversaries in our group over the last few weeks, and it got me curious to see how many posts I've made and how many years I've been blogging. I'm not sure I should have looked, because today is my two year anniversary of blogging with the Quilt Mavericks. I can't believe it! Where has the time gone?

This time two years ago, I was sharding a chair on August 10, and still figuring out how this blog thing worked. I as also showing some of my quilts to get acquainted with the group, too.

One year ago, today, I was working on my postcards for FiberArt for a Cause. And today is just another day in blogging, making bread, getting supplies ready to teach a circle quilt class this Saturday, and cleaning up a little. All I know, is that I am just excited about blogging today as I was two years ago. So-o-o-o Happy Blogiversary to me!

BAKING
Here's the first batch of zucchini bread/s out of the oven this morning that I thought I would share with you. Or should I say share a picture with you? Hubby would be very upset if these didn't make it to the freezer for this winter. Next batch is to eat and share with friends. It's too hot to bake now, so another round will be started tomorrow morning.
Here's Bonnie of Quiltville's best zucchini bread recipe that I've used for several years in a row. It's scrumptious!

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

DIRECTIONS
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, mix oil, eggs, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend in pineapple and zucchini. Stir flour mixture into zucchini mixture. Pour batter into two greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. Cool on wire racks.

TODAY'S QUILTING THOUGHTS
The other day, I was trying to decide what the flip-circles would become. Were they destined only for a "sample" quilt to be taught at a LQS? No, I don't think so. Were they going to be a lap quilt? No, not really, because it seems that there are only two lap quilts used around here, and adding yet another would be silly. And besides, I want to see these because I really really like them! So I asked Hubby, and he immediately said, "Can you make it big enough for our bed?"

So I got out the tablet, the calculator and my pencil. Note: see how neatly I work? LOL!

Here's the statistics:

1) Each circle block finishes at 6"
2) It takes four 6" blocks to make a set
3) Each set finishes at 11.5"
4) Each set is one color family
5) Color families to use are gold, red, pink, purple, green, brown and the focus fabric
6) It will take 64 sets to make this fit my bed
7) A total of two hundred fifty six 6" flip circles!!!
8) I'm 12.5% complete with this quilt plus a few sets

Sometimes the numbers don't tell you what you want to hear, ya know? Only 12.5%? How can it only be that small? Oh well, I'm going to cut the rest of the necessary gazillion squares for color, then sew the sets I have together. THEN, it will be put in a project box, and I'll work on flip circles here and there, there and here. At least there's a plan, and I know what it is. There are other projects waiting to be finished that are further along than this one. So, the math is done, and it has now been assigned it's priority number which is way down the list. Let's see if it will stay in the box!

Another Day in the Midwest

Today's activities included but were not limited to:

Green beans from the garden, finally picked, cleaned, and prepped for canning. Said canning was completed by 10:30 PM. All I did was one canner load, which means only 9 pints. But I did have enough left to make another big pot to eat, and to share with our neighbors next door.


Because my morning was interrupted with three grandchildren (and one of their friends), other plans were put aside in lieu of playing. I had to send a note to our dear Bonnie of Quiltville to get her (famous in Kansas) zucchini bread recipe anyway. I only wish the kitchen fairy would come and make this zucchini bread. I don't think it will bake very well in this condition, do you? I'll post Bonnie's recipe tomorrow if the bread gets baked.


And a day would'nt be complete without a tad bit of sewing, would it? I've got the binding sewn on the basket quilt that will be donated to our local Cancer Action auction. This will allow me to sit with hubby and sew it down - which will take no time at all.

The braids for the "not-to-be" border have been packaged up with leftover fabrics, and I've been thinking I shall make a strippy lap quilt with them when I finish other projects. This might be a nice "masculine" quilt to have on hand, so I will pursue that thought later.

The flip-circles (crop circles) will be taken off the wall tomorrow. I'll post the explanation why at the time, along with some statistics. My brain hurts today.



Bonnie and Clyde always huddle together when the kids are around. With a 2.5 year old little boy who thinks they can't hear him unless he shouts in their faces, who can blame them? They seem to think this chair is their safe haven. If you click on the picture, you'll see "their" cat quilt on the back, because they love to sprawl on the back of the chair. Without the quilt, the top looks like it has a black edge!

Quilt, Knits and Cats

No, this is not my quilt. I wish it were, though. It is one of two that my buddy Carolyn made. The only difference between them is the border. Aren't those plaid baskets just darling?

I took a knitting class a few months ago...like I need another fiber addiction, right? Anyway, we made a pillow. A very expensive pillow, I might add. Like I need another pillow, right? So I've been struggling to complete it since it is so boring, and it's hot since it's wool. But I really want to knit socks, so I HAVE to finish the pillow. I let Bonnie finish it for me. Since she really wants the knitting basket and I want the pillow finished, I thought this was a fair trade.


Voila!


But Clyde doesn't knit. Here he is cooling off laying in front of the fan. If you double click to enlarge the picture, I think you can see his fur is flying backwards. His tail is blown backwards, too. And I do believe he is smiling!

Hardy Hibiscus, corn, and circles

This is what my hardy hibiscus looks like. We love it so much, that when we were at the garden center (see previous post) that we brought 5 more home with us. As you might know, it gets really, really hot and humid here in the summer. AND it gets pretty darned cold here in the winter too, with ice and lots of moisture (usually). It's surprising, then that these plants are hardy to 40 below zero and thrive in the sun. We got the other ones planted in the other beds - two smaller bush versions, same dinner size plate blooms of white, and three other colors. They should make a nice display.

And before you ask another question - here's an answer. Yes, that is a bowling ball "gazing ball" that I made last year from shards of tile from my master bath make-over. This gives you an idea of the size of blooms on the hibiscus, doesn't it? I have several of this kind of shard-work throughout my garden. Needless to say, no one in my family bowls anymore:)
Several questions to be answered here that I couldn't reply to otherwise. My answers are not necessarily the RULES, but just how I do it.

ON PROCESSING FREEZER CORN

Get the corn clean, then cut it off the cob. I use a bundt pan and put the ear of corn (the end with the self-grown handle?) in the center hole, and cut the corn off the cob with a very sharp knife. We don't like creamed corn, so I don't scrape the cob, but if you want creamed corn, then scrape liberally.

Next step is to blanche the corn kernels over low/medium heat for 8-10 minutes (or until the water is milky looking). Blanching (according to the Ball Book of Preserving) is low/medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir the corn occasionally during this 8-10 minute step. I don't process more than 12-14 ears of corn at a time. I use about a cup of water in the pan, and get it hot before adding the corn. About a dozen ears make 3-4 pints of freezer corn.

A friend of mine adds some sugar and some saltto hers while it is blanching - I don't add anything at all.

Once out of the blanching pot drain it, then dump it onto a cookie sheet with deep sides. I have my deep sink covered with a layer of ice cubes, and then sit the cookie sheet directly on the ice. I try to have the cookie sheet nice and cold before I dump the corn on it. Then I stir the corn around, and up and down, and back and forth to cool it quickly (which stops it cooking). This is important, or the corn keeps cooking and it gets kind of soggy/nasty.

It takes about 10-15 minutes before it is cooled. Then I pack it into freezer bags, 1 pint at a time, press the air out of the bag and seal it. Straight into the freezer it goes.

The quicker you can get the back end of the stuff done, the better the corn is, and you will say you just cut it off the cob!

CIRCLES:

Here are a couple of references for those of you who asked about how to make these MACHINE PIECED circles. I don't think I can explain it on my blog better than how they are explained in these two references.

I learned how to do this in a class at Empty Spools in Asilomar this past spring, and as you can tell, I am thoroughly addicted to them. I am getting ready to teach a class at a LQS here in a couple of weeks, and then again in September. The method is pretty slick!

Dale Fleming's method is the the method I learned. Her book, Pieced Curves So Simple is more of a process/technique book rather than a pattern book. (Have you noticed that these are my favorite kind of books?) You can see the steps here on HGTV with Dale's process. You can see the Floral Fantasy quilt that I made from one of the patterns in the book for my upcoming class in a June post on my blog.

I really can't share the pattern for the flip circles, since it is copyrighted material from Dale, and I believe it is going to be in her new book. Sorry, but I just can't, and I think you understand.

Another site for a similar method is Kelly Gallagher-Abbott's Jigsaw looking quilt top at Jukebox Quilts. You must download the free pattern to see her technique. She uses spray starch instead of glue. I have now incorporated both methodologies in my circle making, and I think it's a nice marriage that works for me. MY RULE is to do what works for YOU.

Crop Circles and more

In the middle of the braid and border dilemma, I decided it would be a good time to go in search of the wonderful sweet corn that is grown in our area. After a short drive south, I found a delightful little stand at the edge of a cornfield, with it's money box glued to the top, and the corn already picked, waiting to be bagged by the customer. Totally self-serve. So I brought 4 dozen ears home.

First there's this:


Then there's this:


And then there's this (times three more times):

Nothing is better in the dead of winter than sweet corn that has been frozen in the dog days of summer. I have a friend who has provided me with her frozen corn for the last two years. This year, I tried making my own. Whadda mess! At the end of MY mess, she called and offered me 40 pints of hers that she had just made. Did I take her up on them? You betcha! So now, we have enough corn to ration out one pint per week for the rest of the year. Ha! Think that will last? Read on for more on crop circles....

I put away the Block Exchange and those delightful borders. What to do, what to do? Well, as you know - I am totally addicted to circles these days, so I brought the few out that I had, and quickly made some more. I sure felt better afterwards, too!


Another friend on the web recently reminded me of something I used to do. She takes a digital photo, changes it to black and white to check her color values. I thought it would be fun to see what these flip circles look like without all their colors.


They sure look like the crop circles in western Kansas that show so well in aerial views. Oh gosh, my brain just has another idea! How quickly can I shift gears and go play with that? Stay tuned for the results!

Mama said there'd be braids like this!

The last two days have found me torn between many activities - all of which I really wanted to do. But all in all, the braids were on my mind, and I haven't been able to sleep because I've been sewing right up until the last minute before I go to bed. Because there were some fabrics that were pretty distracting in the braids, I couldn't just sew the first row together. By discovering this, I was able to disperse the existing braids with the offending fabric, stop using it all together in the new ones, and continue making more and more braid.


The interruptions to the braid finale included, but were not limited to: completely cleaning out an 8 foot patio area, adding 15 bags of dirt, 3 bags of mulch, removing and relocation about 1,000 pounds of field rock from the last decorating attempt, planting flowers and ground cover, shopping for plant material, and the perfect base for a perfect fountain. The fountain was a gift (certificate) from a local garden center from my stitch group as a memory item for my mother. At first, we thought we would do a tree, but a long story later, the fountain won our hearts and the special place near our front door.



And, while we were at the garden center, we purchased a bit more plant material... ahem, a lot more! It actually was a pickup load full. And you have to understand that it is very, very hot and humid here, so planting and working outside right now is pretty hard!

This is just one of the plants: a Lady Baltimore hardy hibiscus. I already have one, but we brought home 2 white ones, this dark pink one that is just unfolding a 5" flower, and a pink stripey one. Some bushes and lilies also made it into the truck.


But I digress.

I finally got the first row of braid sewn together. Then I got the quilt down on the floor, and laid out the braid. This is what it looked like:


And I DON"T LIKE IT! No, I don't like it at all. It looks like it should be on a cowboy bunk. Bummer! I like the braid; I just don't like it with THIS quilt.

So what to do, what to do? Hmmm, let's try some of the other hunks of fabrics I happen to have on hand. This one is sort of dark, but maybe might work....and if I scallop the border?



Hubby likes this one, but I just don't know.

I think I need to put it all away and let it simmer a while.

As a matter of fact, I think I'll go and work on my Cherry Limeade.