Saturday, November 29, 2014

One Half of One Border, Very Pretty

It was with a sigh of relief that I moved on from the piecing part of the Bulls Eye quilt to the applique part. Although I don't have a picture of the first, pieced, border it is the same as the pieced border I have seen on so many of these antique quilts. I am not sure what the name is but it is a square set on point within two triangles offset to make a strip. Many of the antique versions use red and yellow (yellow squares within a red background) and since those colors are featured in my pieced rings, that's what I used as well.

In the outside border I broke from tradition to make it straight applique. Most of the pictures I have seen combine various sizes and designs of Mariner's Compass blocks with isolated small floral motifs or simply broad bands of fancy quilting designs. I thought I would honor Indiana further with the state bird and state flower because I much prefer applique to piecing and I didn't think a plain quilted border had the strength to blend with the strongly colored center.

This is about half of one border but you get the idea. Almost all of the colors and almost all of the fabrics are somewhere in the pieced ring. The last flower will wait until the borders are attached and the miters are made and there will be some black embroidery on the birds for the eyes and the feathers near the beak. It is very pleasing to me with its happy colors and pretty design.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Have a Good Thanksgiving

For only the second time in my 45 year marriage, I am not cooking the Thanksgiving feast. My chef son wanted to make dinner at his house. That's a real surprise since he never cooks for himself if he can help it, not even breakfast. My part is the baked goods--two pies (pumpkin and pecan), Kentucky butter cake, and sweet potato dinner rolls.

Even better is that I don't have to clean the kitchen afterwards. For some reason the kitchen always looks as though there was a food fight and even though my husband does the dishes, I am left polishing and polishing the counters. Why did I ever get shiny black granite?

I hope everyone has a warm and wonderful day with family and friends.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Romantic Or Macabre? (Not For the Faint of Heart)

When my mother died nearly thirty years ago, there were not as many crematoriums as there are now and there was a back log of "clients". She had always asked for cremation so that her ashes could be transported to Little Peconic Bay on Long Island. She might have lived in Texas but she was damned if she was going to be dead in Texas. She had extracted a promise from me 25 years before when I was very young and of course I agreed. It sounded romantic and fitting to fulfill my mother's last wish. There was a three week delay so I was back in California when my sisters made the arrangements. They told the person they dealt with that because her ashes were to be scattered there was no need for any sort of fancy container, they paid for the cremation and the shipping charges, and I waited in California.

Since the probable time frame was set I wasn't surprised when the mail carrier parked in front and walked up to the door. I was surprised by how heavy the box, labeled in red Human Remains, was and I bobbled it slightly while trying to also grasp the clipboard she held out. She yelled, "Oh, don't drop it!," to which I responded, "I won't. It's my mother." She said, "You knew she was coming?" And I said of course I did. Then she said that everyone at the post office had given her a hard time when she got to work, joking that she was going to have company on her route.

Once inside I got a serrated knife to cut the tape on the box. Now remember that my sisters had said that a fancy container wasn't necessary. Well there's fancy and then there's the paint can that my mother's ashes were in. Not a used paint encrusted one but still one of those empty cans you can get at the home store. I put the can on the mantel and went about my day. When my sons got home from school their eyes were drawn like magnets to the can and they yelled into the next room, "Can we see what it looks like?" Not having a good reason why they couldn't and knowing that my mother, the consummate scientist, would have no objections were she able to talk I said okay but that I wasn't quite ready to see them myself. So they took a beer can opener and pried open the lid. "Hey, Mom, it looks just like kitty litter!"

That was the start of my months long saga with my mother in a can. My husband and I couldn't take off right away and there certainly wasn't any rush. But there were many embarrassing and amusing moments between September and April when we finally flew to New York. Like the time one of the teachers at my sons' elementary school asked me where I had put my mother in front of my youngest son's new teacher. When I answered, "In the hall closet," the poor woman almost fainted. Remember that this was a dented paint can, not an attractive urn so keeping it on the mantel for months where almost anything could happen wasn't an option for me.

We finally made all the arrangements to leave our sons at home and fly east. My husband's brother lived in northern NJ at the time so we were going to stay with him for a couple of days, drive out to Long Island one of those days, then fly back to California. Assuming that everything that I had in mind was illegal, I tried to figure out the best way to accomplish this mission. Since I didn't want to have to explain to anyone why I was carrying a dented paint can around with me, I picked luggage that was big enough to hold the can and the few clothes I would need. Even in the days before 9/11 that might have caused problems. For the same reason I checked the bag but I tapped the top with a hammer before packing.

Well there were no problems on the trip. My brother in law picked us up and we drove to his house. I took my suitcase into the room we would sleep in to unpack. Everyone knows baggage handlers are tough on luggage but I really wasn't prepared for what greeted me when I unzipped the hard side bag. My mother was everywhere. She was in my shoes, my underwear, my pants. You get the picture. I will never know if I got all of her back in the can--I am pretty sure that some got washed in the laundry when I asked my sister in law if I could use her washer.

My mother's family used to own an estate out near Montauk on Little Peconic Bay but I hadn't been there since my grandfather died when I was nine. Once again I was pretty sure that my actions were illegal but I also thought they were pretty harmless. In New York, the shoreline is public so accessing the beach wasn't a big problem but finding it was a little tricky. Since I didn't drive at nine, road directions didn't make much sense and this was way before Google Maps. But getting out to Laurel was pretty simple. Once there I told my husband to find the local post office. I had always volunteered to pick up the mail back in the summers we spent and figured I could find my way back to the house even after all these years. Sure enough, before too long we were at the farm. Now this was always more of a summer residence than a year round one and I hoped this was still true. Getting to the beach was legal but I didn't want to answer any questions. It was April so too early for too many people and I walked down the public stairs and across the beach. With my husband standing right at the high water mark, I walked in to the surf and took out the beer can opener. With tears streaming down my face, I popped the can and started to strew the ashes into the surf. Before I could even say, "Goodbye, Mom," several swans swooped down and ate my mother.

This was a long time ago. I am even more jaded now than I was then but there was very little romantic in fulfilling my mother's last wish. For sure I broke many laws and it was only luck that kept me from ending up in jail. 

Friday, November 21, 2014

Delicious Scones

When I first moved to Utah 23 years ago, I was surprised to see scones on so many menus around town including the local KFC. Then I was doubly surprised to find out that these "scones" were not the buttery baked goods with which I was familiar but more like Navajo frybread--a yeast dough concoction deep fried in hot oil. Now they have their own unique charms but they aren't what I think of as scones. With that in mind, here is my favorite scone recipe but how authentic it is I have no clue.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Use a food processor to do all the mixing. Measure out 3 cups of all purpose unbleached flour, not self-rising and place in the bowl of the food processor. Add 1/3 cup white sugar,  two and a half teaspoons baking powder, half a teaspoon baking soda, and a dash of salt. Process briefly to mix, then add all at once 12 tablespoons butter cut into tablespoon size chunks and process until the mixture starts to clump, sort of like pie dough. Then add half a cup or more of raisins or other dried fruit in combination and a cup of buttermilk. Process until the mixture clumps (this doesn't take long at all). Dump out on to a floured board or counter and knead briefly to finalize the blending of ingredients and then pat out into a circle about ten inches in diameter. Cut into eight pie shaped wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake. At my altitude this takes about 17 minutes but start at 14 and check. You can glaze these with a cream confectioner's sugar mixture or serve unglazed with butter.

Another variation that we sometimes make uses fresh orange zest and juice. Simply add the zest of a fresh orange and the juice of that orange. Put the juice into the measuring cup and add buttermilk to make a cup of liquid. This will vary depending on the juiciness of the orange. Bake as usual. 

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Pie Crust Reminder

If you haven't tried this already, use iced vodka for the liquid in your pie crust instead of water. Water binds with gluten but alcohol doesn't. This makes the pie crust easier to work with and less likely to toughen up. You will be very surprised and pleased about how crisp and flaky your pie crust will be. I usually just put some ice cubes in a glass and measure a couple of tablespoons of vodka in then measure from there. Try it--you will like it.

Friday, November 14, 2014

First Part of Bulls Eye Quilt

After moaning and groaning through two pieced rounds of the Indiana Bulls Eye, I decided to make an applique border that included symbols of Indiana rather than simply continuing to make bulls eye rings. The peony is the state flower and the cardinal is the state bird so I will add these to an applique border adapted from a Jeana Kimball design, using the same colors as the rings. What comes next is squaring the circle but here is what I have so far, laid out on my kitchen floor (yes, it really is bright blue).

It already lies pretty flat but once it is blocked out with backing and batting it will be very flat. This circle is quite large so the finished quilt will be a decent size though probably not true bed size.

I can't recommend that anyone purchase the pattern I bought. There are so many errors and missing instructions that unless you already have an extensive background in sewing and foundation piecing the pattern won't do you any good. As an example, the instructions for the third plain ring, not shown here, end on page 5 with "then" and when you flip to page 6 there is no more text. The pattern for the first plain ring is missing entirely. Anyway, this isn't for the fainthearted at all and the pattern isn't much help. 

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Long Way Around

A common complaint of high school students about math is that they will never use that information in the future. I think about that many times when making quilts because there are often times when my high school math comes in handy. Right now I am working working on the circumference of a circle with a diameter of 20.5 inches and of a circle with a diameter of 23.5 inches. Practically speaking, making a quilt that grows by ever expanding circles is very different from one that grows by squares or rectangles or rows. I understand why these quilts are less common since the very nature of laying out the pieces is more difficult. 

So far I have the center, one white circle, one pieced circle, second white circle. Each addition makes the whole 2PiR numbers change, of course, and it gets longer and longer around. I don't sew circular seams with a machine unless I am making clothing so I guarantee you it is a long way around. I am about a third done with the next pieced ring using colors that were pretty common in about 1880-- bright yellows, pinks, greens, royal blues. When I finish this pieced ring and sew it to the existing assembly I will post a picture. Until then it is "round and round and round she goes...."  A circle with a radius of 18 inches at this point.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Bulls Eye Quilt (Updated with photo)

I don't have any pictures yet, probably tomorrow, but this quilt is going to take some time, even using foundation piecing. I purchased a pattern online, but then found that the patterns and instructions were missing important pieces so I am making adjustments to the pattern. Still, I have the center Mariner's Compass part finished and about half of the first pieced circle done. The antique quilts that I have seen are very brightly colored, featuring pinks and yellows and reds, so my quilt will have similar color directions but I don't think I will put the extra Mariner's Compass blocks in the border. At this point I am thinking of flowers since the center compass is so bright.

I worked for about six hours on the first ring and only got halfway around. That's machine sewing and it still took that long. Now I know why I prefer applique. It isn't that I don't like how pieced quilts look but I don't really like piecing very much.

 This will be the center--the bulls eye.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Steeler Nation

This was more of a practice exercise than anything else. I can't say I love it but neither do I hate it. My next door neighbor is a crazy Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Maybe this instead of cookies for Christmas.

Of course it only took two weeks from start to finish, even with mostly hand sewing and hand quilting, so I can't expect much. It does show that no one needs to dye fabric to get the appropriate color wash.

My next project will also be pieced but there will be an emphasis on nice quilting too. I am already working on an Indiana Bulls Eye quilt so very old-fashioned design but with mostly batik fabrics in bright colors. The antique original Bulls Eye quilts were very bright colors but usually solids. The two photos I have of two different antique Bulls Eye quilts are different in what happens after the pieced rings with one having quite a bit of applique and one having none. I haven't figured out what I want to do after the center circles but I think I lean toward plainer with fancy quilting.