Busy Bee

I have been very productive with the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along this week. I want to use up my scraps and get a lot done before something sidetracks me or I run out of steam. I am really good at not finishing projects for me.

 Here is my progress. Blocks 1 through 24. I skipped #18 "a Century of Progress" because it looks difficult and I would rather breeze along and maybe come back to it.

I wonder how many of you can name the fabrics? A few are newer, but most are last year or older. Some are REALLY old. See that one with the gray and white triangles? "Broken Dishes" is the block name. That dark gray fabric was bought about 21 years ago! Some of it was in my first quilt!

 I've been following along with the flickr group. Have you? There are some very inspirational quilters in the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt-A-Long group! Some are doing each block in one color, some in only red and white, some in 1930s fabrics. It is very interesting to see what others decided to go with.

Don't be frustrated by all the little pieces! If you make sure you are cutting your triangles on the grain, and not on the bias, it is easier. And if you cut carefully, the angles on the ends of the templates line everything up perfectly. If you want to print and cut out the templates as you go, this link will allow you to print by block number. That is helpful, right? I have my templates in a large vinyl envelope I found at Office Depot. I printed them all out at once and now I just sort through the numbers til I find what I need. Whatever works!

I have been lugging a bin of scraps, fat quarters and yardage to work and home every day to keep going. If I weighed the bin, I think it would be close to 20 pounds. Making a dent in some of my scrap stash and putting my treasured older fabrics to good use feels good!

On another note, we have had tons of rain lately. We needed it! It is so wet and humid, mushrooms are sprouting up all over. Our usual summer weather is afternoon showers, then hot and humid after the sun comes back out. That means the mushrooms don't survive or even sprout most years.

This weekend is supposed to be drier (and hotter) but it should be perfect for another 2 days in the pool!

I hope you are staying cool and enjoying the summer! July is almost over and school starts up again here in about a week. The school supplies have been out at the stores for a month now. That always bummed me out when I was in school. Here you are enjoying summer and you go shopping and there it is, right in your face. Aghhh! School! Not yet!

Late to the Party: The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Along

You've seen it all over quilty blogland, right? The latest craze, the online quilting bee, and a little lesson in farm life and being happy with what you've got too. I found blog posts about this from the beginning of the year, including this FINISHED one from February!

It is a challenge, this quilt along. There are no instructions for making the blocks. I guess it is assumed that if you buy the book, you've made quilt blocks before and can figure it out. There are lots of helpful tips on the flickr group's discussion page. There is even a pdf link so you can download all the templates, condensed to 15 pages!

My thoughts on making this: I have so many other things I need to be doing, I must be crazy to start it! But then I thought about how impossible it is to have any kind of quilting bee these days other than a quilt along online, and I've never made a sampler quilt or worked with templates, so why not? I have tons of scraps and stash. I don't need to buy anything but the book! And if Kim Brackett can squeeze this into her busy schedule, I will too!

So I have jumped in. I'm behind but catching up. At first I was really stuck as to what fabric colors I wanted to use. Christmas fabrics? Red, white and black? Thimbleberries? Brights? I even considered using all batiks. I think making this in all batiks would be fantastic. However, I have chosen the brighter Spring time color scheme and  am using a lot of leftovers from lines like "Farmers Market" (Sandi Henderson), "Hunky Dory" "Spirit" "Just Wing It!" and "Swanky" to name a few.

I think that if these farmer's wives, who wrote so consistently about the beauty all around them; the joy of things blooming and growing; how healthy and alive and at peace they felt every day with nature, if they could have had bright colorful prints like these, they would have used them. A lot.

I am making the blocks in numerical order. 1 thru 111 (or whatever number I stop at.) Not sure I want a queen size quilt or just a twin. Sorry for the blurry pic.

I've made 2 more since this one, I am trying to knock out 2 a day to catch up with the crowd!

Are you in?

Keyholes, A Christmas in July quilt

Hello! Wow, July is half over already! I am doing some Christmas in July sewing. Not intentionally, but in working my way through some neglected half done projects (and feeling SO rewarded for finishing them!) I pulled out the 2nd jelly roll of Glace by Three Sisters for Moda, and made the second set of blocks for my Christmas bed quilt.

I started this last year, from the Anka's Treasures book "On a Roll Again." The blocks are 18 1/2 inches! Super easy to make too. I've been stitching these together while I watch episodes of Bones. I doubled the pattern amounts and I need a wide border for it to fit my bed, but isn't it lovely???

It all started with one of those Moda Bake Shop projects. "Off the Grid," which I made from a sale purchase of some Glace honeybun and charm packs. Once I saw what Glace looked like in person, I was in love. (I finished the lap size "Off the Grid" top, but it is in the Waiting to be Quilted stack. When I get the nerve and the time, I will quilt it myself.)

Did you get a chance to own any of it? It is so botanical. The little birds and berries and acorns remind me of Audubon Society drawings, or like those of early explorers who took botanists along to draw new species of plants and animals. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway this line is Christmas-y in its coloring, but not too cutesy. It is classy and feminine. Not too much holiday, just enough. Obviously I love it and will never be tired of putting this out on my California king bed each year!

Are you doing Christmas in July sewing? Knocking out some UFOs? How is it going in your part of the world?

Just a reminder: when you decide to make a pattern, whether from a book or individual pattern purchased, check online to see if there are any corrections. Keyholes ended up requiring more strips than come in one jelly roll (additional fabric cut) to make all the blocks.

Not Your Average Fourth of July

No barbeque, no picnics, no fireworks. My daughter had to work a double shift at the restaurant; the jelly fish have already invaded our beaches (usually not here til late July); and with fireworks at home being banned this year due to drought, we knew the Downtown Sertoma Fireworks display would be crazy busy, so we opted for a day at the pool for our Fourth of July celebrating. We wore Tyler out by 2:30 and he took an almost 4 hour nap, then we went back to the pool. Then WE were worn out. It was so totally worth it. What a great day we had with my mom at her community pool. Thanks, Mom!

I found time to finish my Island Chain quilt top! I took Kim Brackett's class in May this year. It was great to meet her in person and spend the day with my aunt, who was visiting from Pacific Grove, CA. The back of this quilt will be Carrot Orange solid from Connecting Threads fabrics with the leftover jelly roll pieces scrapped in horizontally. Sort of like this one from American Patchwork and Quilting. I like using up the leftovers from a jelly roll. Don't you? My daughter bought me this "Oh My!" jelly roll for Mother's Day this year, and I think this is the shortest amount of time it has taken me to open and use one! I know I could use the leftovers for a scrappy binding, but this quilt is pretty busy looking already. I am going to tame it with the solid orange for binding.

Also (nearly) finished top from this weekend: "American Sweetheart" from McCall's June 2006 magazine! I started it at least 4 years ago and boxed it up when it was nearly done! I need to find the perfect outer border fabric for this and it can be quilted and delivered to the new owner! I must have boxed it when the 4th of July came and went, then I forgot about it. After piecing the last few blocks and spending a day putting the rows together, it is off my UFO list!

I hope you and yours had a wonderful 3 day weekend!

More Recipes

Can you believe it is almost July? The weekend of the Fourth should be a 3 day weekend for most of us, and I bet you are thinking about picnics and potlucks, etc.

Here is a quick and easy Summer pasta salad. I blogged about this earlier,  but it bears repeating. Tortellini Salad with Fresh Veggies. Want to make some?

I bought 2 16oz packages of Butoni Cheese Tortellinis and cooked them with about 1 1/2 cups of broccoli tops. 7 to 9 minutes in salted or olive oiled water, per package directions.

Combine 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, 1/2 a large red pepper and 1/2 a green pepper (both finely chopped),one 6 oz can of medium pitted black olives, drained, and 1 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese. Toss these with most of a 12 oz bottle of Lite Caesar dressing and the cooked pasta/broccoli. This is so tasty, you'll have trouble waiting for it to chill. That's okay, though. It takes great warm too!

This can be jazzed up with cooked chicken cubes, grilled shrimp, canned tuna, hard salami chunks, turkey, grape tomatoes or whatever floats your boat! It makes enough for 10 people.

Next up is a constant family favorite: Salsa Pollo Con Frijoles. Translation: Chicken with Salsa and Beans. Tired of tacos and burritos, but you still want Mexican food for dinner? Looking for something that looks impressive and complicated, but isn't? This could be your family's next favorite too. (this is one of the few things I make an exception for, since I am not supposed to have tomatoes in my diet.)

Recipe: 
Oven preheated to 350 degrees. 13 x 9 pan.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to 1/2" thick. (do the best you can. I used a ziploc bag and meat mallet)
1 1/2 tsp cumin, divided  . 1/2 tsp salt (optional) . 1/2 c pinto beans (drained and rinsed) . 3/4c salsa + 2 TBSP  .  1/2 c chopped scallions  .  3/4 c shredded Jack cheese .  1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro, stems removed. Strong wooden toothpicks.

Mash the pinto beans with a fork. Add 2 TBSP salsa, scallions, salt and 1/2 tsp cumin and mix well.

Sprinkle remaining cumin, and some salt if desired, on each side of chicken breasts. Place a large spoonful  of bean mixture in the center of each flattened chicken breast and roll the breast up, securing it with a toothpick. Spread about 1/4 cup salsa in bottom of the pan and place chicken seam side down. Pour remaining salsa over the chicken and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 more minutes. Serve with fresh cilantro on top and your favorite sides, like salad and refried beans or Spanish rice.

Sorry that I don't have a fancy "print the recipe" button!

I hope to hear back from you if you try this!

Miscellany

I have too many irons in the fire lately and not a lot of free time.

• Island Chain is almost in rows, but not a completed top yet.
• Split Decision has become just that. Do I like it, or should I bisect the blocks and make it more "Bento Box" looking?
• Of course I started another quilt project! I have so many other things to do, why not? I have had a stack of Al Fresco fabrics for about 2 years, so I started working on a new, modern (uncomplicated) design.
• I am making a kimono style robe for my dad for Father's Day. It has only been waiting 8 YEARS. No kidding. The Fabric Traditions selvage says 2003! 
• Knowing that the 4th of July is around the corner again, I have silently shamed myself for letting it sneak up on me again without completing a nearly complete UFO, America's Sweetheart, that I started a few years ago.
• Hokey Pokey is back from the long arm quilter's so I can add binding that gigantic quilt to my list of things to do.

Since I can't show any newly completed work, I will show a few things that never made it to the blog. Kim Brackett of Magnolia Bay Quilts asked what we do with those trimmed off triangles, and here is what I did with some of mine. She calls them folded corner triangles.  These finished at 2" and it hangs in my dining room. I wanted to make a schoolhouse block for fun, and thought framing it with leftover half square triangles would help me empty the flower container I keep them in. I even quilted it myself! Try not to faint about that.

This is a scrap quilt I made for my MIL last year for her birthday. Simple pattern. There are antique looking buttons sewed in the center of each pinwheel. It is a very generous size, more of a small twin than a lap quilt.

That's it for now. I hope you are enjoying the end of Spring. Summer is almost upon us!

PS. Tomorrow, June 17th, is the 7 year anniversary of my move to Pensacola! My daughter and I made the drive from So Cal in 2 1/2 days - just in time for Hurricane Ivan. Let's hope there are no hurricanes this year to mark this anniversary.

An Unexpected Treat

Being from Southern California, I am still constantly surprised by the outright friendliness and sharing of the people in the South. Sorry So Cal people, but you are going to have suck it up and admit you are not a warm and friendly group. I know. I lived among you for most of my life. Its part of why I left. Deal with it.

Anyway...this past weekend was Memorial Weekend, and we were delighted to have my cousin (4 days younger than I) and his girlfriend, Shannon, visit us all the way from Houston. It has been many moons since my cousin and I spent any time together, and family is so scattered and out of touch, it was wonderful to reconnect. Here we are with my grandmother (his aunt) sandwiched between us. Yeah, the family tree branches are uneven.

Sunday we took our boat  out to the local river, the Blackwater, and camped out on a stretch of beach with many other boaters for a beautiful, sunny and not too hot afternoon of doing nothing but getting sun and listening to other people's radios and talk. It was nice. Having a small boat doesn't allow us to come fully prepared food-wise. Others there had the full set up, from bbq and coolers to crock pots and generators. One group next to us had been up cooking since 4 am and when we pulled up, the very nice man hurried over and welcomed us by asking "have y'all had Nassau grits? Are ya hungry? Come on and git a plate."

I have to admit I have only tried grits once, and finding them tasteless, even with salsa and cheese, I never gave them another thought. Well, my cousin, bless his 6'4" frame, went over there to check it out and came back with what looked and smelled like gumbo. And I love gumbo. Knowing we had only brought chips and apples and drinks, I thought I'd be stupid not to take up this hospitality and free food offer once I saw what Nassau grits were. And I was so glad I did! I gave the cook my email address and she said she'd send me the recipe. I can't wait. In the meantime, I found a few online recipes that seem close enough to try on my own for now.

Here we've been living in Pensacola for 7 years and never knew this Nassau grits recipe was a local tradition for DECADES! I will be setting a date with my husband to go back to the Fish House to try their  Grits a Ya Ya, which are similar in appearance, and from what I've read online, in taste too.