Home to Roost

This quilt has come back home.

 It's "Mrs. Lebo's Kitchen II" and was made in 2009 from one of the first charm packs I ever purchased. Below are photos that show a little bit of the quilting close up.

When I was injured at work a couple of weeks ago, my assistant reminded me to go home and lie under my prayer quilt.  She says she still uses the one she received, even when she is stressed and immediately feels the prayers and love that went into it. She was surprised to learn I didn't have one.  However, in all the years I've been working on prayer quilts, I've had no need for one.

When I went to the cupboard to get a dedicated quilt, this one was still available.  Now I have to say that there have been several times over the past couple of years when I have needed to give a prayer quilt to someone, and this one was not there.  We do encourage our pastor and others giving quilts to take several and let the person choose since at a time when illness or injury changes a life, it seems important to give people a chance to choose.  In any case, when I needed a quilt, this one was available, so it has come home to "roost."  I should say that the injuries I received led the orthopedist to put me on some restrictions for work, but those restrictions  had to do with weight limits.  It was the school principal who refused to allow me to work.  Sadly, I feel that decision translates to "not combat ready," and I really don't think that should be a requirement for teaching.  In the nearly 40 years I've been teaching, I've had only three to five students who were as dangerous as one we're dealing with now, and in all those previous situations the administration took action to keep us safe.

A couple of weeks ago our church had another commissioning service for new quilts.  When we do this, they are placed on the communion railing at the front of the church....

 and this time there were so many that they were also hung on the sound booth at the back of the sanctuary.

During the blessing the people of the church lay hands on the quilts as we pray.  I used to see numerous quilts that I'd worked on.  Now that we've had new sewers join the ministry (we started with just four of us, one of whom had never made quilts and is now expert), there are a lot more quilts from more people.

Below is the altar cloth several of us worked on.  This quilted cloth will be used each time we have a quilt dedication service. I thought I had some closeups of the quilting, but didn't find them.

So, while I'm not allowed to work, I hope to be accomplishing a lot of quilting since quilting and praying provide respite from the excess stress.

Happy quilting, all.....

Tom-Tom's Star

 This one is for my baby brother's teenage son.  It was requested almost two and a half years ago.  I'm shocked at how long it takes me to get things done now that I'm in a horrible work assignment.  Anyway, this is one more finish.
Actually, this quilt got it's beginning when my baby brother was much younger---I think I drafted and hand pieced the star back in the mid 1980s.

 I included more Lincoln's Platform blocks not only because I've always liked them, but also because our family spent generations in Illinois, and Lincoln was one of my heroes as a child.

Yes, it includes plenty of feathers.  Our church held a blessing for our prayer quilts a week or so ago, so this quilt is ready to travel to the Houston area.

Happy quilting to all.......

Bit o'Green--Nathan's Quilt

 This is my nephew's son's quilt.  Nathan likes tractors almost as much as he likes trains.
I've made quite a few John Deere quilts for our prayer quilt ministry and really did not think I'd make another one. Then I found this border fabric shortly before Alco discontinued all their fabrics.

 The windmill blocks were quilted with a variety of patterns, as were all the other blocks, but I liked this little dragon fly the best.

 The yellow row got some leaves, that really don't show up all that well in the photo.  (Some day I'll have a better location to take quilt photos--someday.)

 Despite the fact that it's a tractor quilt, my favorite part is the hogs in the center of the Lincoln's Platform blocks.  The hog fabric is all gone except for several itsy-bitsy scraps--and Nathan will undoubtedly call them pigs or piggies.

Now I need to make a decision about a quilt for Nathan's sister that is bigger than the doll quilt that was my last 2011 finish. I have several quilt tops ready to be layered and quilted, but I'm not sure which best suits her.

One of my friends asked me if I'd quilt a small quilt for her.  She said, "You don't have to do anything fancy like feathers."  I had to admit that I would have a hard time doing a quilt without feathers.  Yes, even the guys get feathers.  Given the many generations of hunters in our family, it never occurred to me that they might not want feathers.

(I linked to Karen't Sew Crafty party.)

Robin's Song

 This began as two of these. The fabrics are Papillon by 3 Sisters for Moda Fabrics.

 The pattern is "A Ritzy Cracker Quilt" by Mary Lane Brown of The Tulip Patch. 

Yes, I know it's unusual for me to use another designer's pattern.  However, I love asymmetrical blocks sometimes--and I'm always looking for patterns that work well with free motion quilting. Mary's pattern will let both the fabric and the quilting shine!

Where Mary used white, I used a robin's egg blue that has much less gray than the blue in this fabric line, so it turned out perfect!

 I love the three butterfly specimen fabrics in this line--one beige on beige, one blue on blue, and one gray on beige.

 However, for the border I'm adding to this quilt, I chose this blue.  Its design is scattered enough to share some of the limelight with the quilting. I ordered the border fabric  and some of one of the gray prints for binding from Somewhere Sewing.

 Since two days ago my yard looked like this, I'm ready for spring.  I sewed this on my treadle, watching this tree, that was not filled with birds today since the snow is gone and they were busy looking for food.

My friend sent me this partial quilt top that she created from a charm pack. She decided she didn't like it--but I'll add a border and will have a great time quilting it.

The Robin's Song quilt is for a tiny little girl, but I'm not sure about the destination of the charm square quilt--although I do know that it will be full of prayers for whoever receives it.

We did have another prayer quilt dedication at church Sunday, but I didn't take a single picture--although my camera was lollygagging in my purse!

Said Goodbye--to My 1919 Singer 66

 I said goodbye to one of my sewing machines last week.  (Amazing, I know.)

 It is a Singer 66 Redhead (sometimes called "Redeye") from 1919.  Singer made literally millions of these machines each year for many, many years.

 It was an absolute mess when I bought it (for too much money). I always had the feeling that someone had intentionally messed up this machine--perhaps because the owner wanted to replace it with a newer electric model?

 I purchased it near the end of 2009 after months and months of searching for a treadle in working order or one I could get in working order.

 Once I got it cleaned up, it was very pretty.  However, it always had tension issues. Clearly someone had partially disassembled the tension and had not gotten it back together properly.

For several months it's been sitting beneath one of my other sewing machines because I removed it from it's treadle and put in a lovely old black Necchi BU.

Last weekend I stopped by Rocky Campos' shop at the Moriarty Flea Market because I was looking for another high shank darning foot for a Necchi BU.  We started talking, and I ended up coming home, getting the 66 as well as several other motors, foot controls, and lights that I had removed from various machines.  I was a bit sad to see it separated from the irons and cabinet which have been its home for nearly 100 years, but I'm not someone who collects old sewing machines just for the amusement of looking at them.  Rocky replaced the broken bottom plate on the foot control of my 1952 Singer Featherweight.  Before I left he said he was going to take the 66 home and put a motor on it.  So, this machine is off to new adventures so that it can be well and truly loved and used by some other sewist.  Still, it was with a touch of sadness that I said goodbye.  It felt a little like when I watch my daughter off to new adventures--excited for her to be trying new things and growing, but still knowing that some good things are behind us.

I'm sure there are many, many landfills across the nation that have consumed too many vintage machines--and I've seen way too many horrifying conversions of these machines into other novelties.  Whatever Rocky does with this machine, it will see more activity fulfilling the purpose for which it was created.  As long as it gets oil, use, and a little TLC, it will continue to sew for another hundred years, probably more!  I do so love vintage sewing machines!

Happy Birthday--and an Easy Recipe

 I came home to the scent of chocolate cake.  Sweet Teen said she was disappointed because she wanted it to be a surprise.  It was a surprise, just not timed the way she would have preferred. I suggested that it would be really, really hard to surprise someone when the house is filled with lovely chocolate cake smells.
The really fantastic thing about this cake, aside from it's great flavor and texture, is that it's a "scratch cake"--a devil's food cake from the Betty Crocker cookbook, made with no adjustments for our high altitude, and it came out beautifully perfect.  I'm thinking it must have something to do with the fact that it was baked in a DeMarle pan. The cake was gorgeous as it came from the pan, but Sweet Teen also made chocolate cream cheese icing, from scratch, of course.

She mentioned later that she had had no idea what "shortening" was--so she looked it up on the internet.

We should probably do more cooking together, but with my long intense days, I'm often not good company after work--just way toooooooo exhausted and need time to unwind from the assaults.

She also made one of our favorite blustery day--or cold day, or both kinds of days--winter casseroles.

Yep, we dug right in.  This is a very hearty casserole, great for a few meals in the cold of winter.

Sweet Teen's Sausage Potato Dinner

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Sprinkle a couple of ounces of grated sharp cheddar cheese in the bottom of a DeMarle pan (Sweet Teen used the Sunflower Mold) or a casserole pan.

With kitchen shears, cut a link of turkey kielbasa (or a similar sausage) into slices about 1/8 inch thick. Scatter a few slices around the bottom of the pan.

Add alternating layers of potato cubes (or frozen hash browns), a couple of ounces of grated sharp cheddar, and potatoes.  (We do use frozen potatoes because our time is so limited.) End with another sprinkle of grated sharp cheddar.

Add enough milk to 1 cup of sour cream to make it "liquidy enough to penetrate the layers.

From the looks of this one, Sweet Teen sprinkled a mixture of Herbs de Provence over the top.  (I usually stir them into the milk/sour cream mixture--but I'm not sure it makes much difference which way they are added.)

Bake for about 1 hour.

We often scatter frozen peas or frozen sliced carrots throughout this dish too.

Since this makes a good sized casserole and since it is so rich, we have a simple salad with it and usually get several lunches from the leftovers.

She made the cake in DeMarle's fluted square mold.  Cakes (and almost anything else) come out of these molds looking as if you worked some magic glazed finish on them--I think she frosted this one so she could write her message to me.

One of the nicest things was that since she cooked, I did the dishes, and since she used the DeMarle pans, it took somewhere between ten and thirty seconds to wash each pan.

A few years ago, I recognized that although most people think I cook because I love to cook, the real reason I cook is to nourish people I love.  The other day Sweet Teen and I both commented that although we enjoy the food [and enjoy it a lot more knowing cleaning up with DeMarle will be so fast], we both cook because we love someone we're cooking for.

A blessing: so far the family and friends who have reported in have reported that they escaped harm from the tornadoes that have besieged so many in Mid-America and the South.  Our prayers go out to those who've lost property or loved-ones, and we thank those who immediately pitched in to help with clean up.

 

Home Sights

Miss Harriet has been after me to post some pictures from my home.  Since it's been over a month since I posted and since I've not finished a quilt, her wish is granted.  Mind you, she's been asking for many months, and I just haven't managed it.  I decided to put a new quilt on my bed today--needed a change of quilt to inspire me to wait for spring.  Right now our winter is much milder than last year (about this time last year we had a low of -34 F).

 This quilt is "Dolly's Baskets." I dreamed about it for years before I started it in 2002 (with fabric I'd been collecting for 10 years).  I finished it in 2007--hard to believe it's been finished for five years!
It was inspired by a similar basket quilt of solid white and solid violet made by my paternal grandmother in the early 20th century.  When I saw this set on a Mennonite quilt from the same period, I wanted to use it because of all the lovely spaces for quilting--feathers, of course!

I do love the haven my home, and especially, my bedroom, provides.  (And, yes, I know my bedside table is cluttered. Sorry.)  That table was part of the red maple bedroom set in my room when I was a child.  I painted it white 20 years or so ago--and have never regretted it.

 The pillowcases are lonely singles I've collected over the last 15 or 20 years--maybe longer.

 I do love boxes.  I've loved and collected boxes since I was in primary school.

Of course, I have no trouble filling them up!
The bed and armoire as well as the dresser that's not pictured are from a furniture series that was for many years the most popular one in the U.S. I painted the bedroom furniture white about ten years ago--it was a menopausal thing, I think.  I just couldn't get enough light into my life.

I also purchased other furnishings from the same line. I gave away the TV/stereo armoire because it was just too big for my small house.  I have a farm table from the same line, although I now use it in my sewing studio. I have two chairs from the line too.  They've not been painted white, but I did recover their cushions with a very small lavender and white plaid a few weeks ago.

 

After I added sweet LED lights to the kitchen for the holidays, I decided to leave them up.  See that ugly florescent light fixture?  I really dislike it.  I don't know what era it's from, but I'm certain its era was long before the house was built.  Someday it will be replaced, but for now the other lights are bright enough to make our meals very pleasant.

Okay, those are a few sights from my home/haven.

I did finish quilting my great nephew's John Deere quilt, but I want to get the binding on before I show it--and I haven't even cut the binding yet. I'm suddenly behind on children's and baby's quilts--one of my nieces gave birth to a daughter this past Tuesday [they sent a picture to my phone, but since I have pins with heads bigger than the baby's photo, I'm not quite sure what she looks like]; one of my former kindergarten students will soon have a daughter; and one of the members of my youth choir from 20+ years ago is about to have a son, her third.

I do need to figure out a way to get more quilting time into this busy, tiring winter!

2011 Probably Final Finish

This will probably be the last finish of 2011 unless I happen to run across something else that needs only a little bit of work.

This is Ted E. Baer, Napping. This little quilt is just 24 inches square.

It's a single block that I made about 30 years ago to try out an idea for a red and brown quilted wall hanging that I later entered in the Smoky Mountain Guild show.

I ran across this block yesterday and decided it would be a great doll-quilt for my great niece.  My nephew assures me she plays with dolls only about 90% of the day.

 The border quilt is a Hoffman print from the early 90's that I used in another quilt. The rest of the fabrics are those that were available to us back in the 80's.

 I quilted snoring hearts before I worked on the block and the border.

 I free-motion quilt and seldom mark anything before I quilt.

 I like to maintain a certain character in the quilting designs, but I want them to have little variations rather than consistently repeating the same design.

 On this quilt, that meant there were variations on each border and in each corner.

This one is machine-bound, with the binding applied to the back, then turned to the front and sewn down with Fil-Tec Glide in a small zigzag that steps on and off the quilt binding. Years ago even doll quilts had hand stitched bindings, but those days seem to be far behind me. The patchwork block was hand pieced and hand appliqued and embroidered as a carry-along project, and is now quilted mostly with a Madeira embroidery thread, a thread that my other machines didn't like, but which works fine in the vintage Necchi I'm treadling.  The border was quilted in Fil-Tec Glide in a light lavender.

Now I want to get back to Audrey's little brother's John Deere quilt.  His preference for tractors runs second to trains, but I don't think I have any train fabric at all right now. I started piecing his quilt months ago.

I have a larger napping-sized quilt pieced for Audrey but I haven't decided if it really suits her, so for the time being she'll have a doll quilt. Since she's tiny, she may manage to nap under the doll quilt anyway.

I wish all my family and friends a very joyous and prosperous 2012.

Happy quiltmaking.....