Book Party

I swear promise to myself that I won't buy any more quilting or cook books, and then I promptly purchase more. I'm hopeless really. I've been cataloging my books by scanning bar codes with BooksApp, so I guess I'm a little geeky too. But more importantly, I'm tossing books I no longer want. My rule is four books out for any new book in. Yeah, I'm crazy. Unfortunately, this process makes me want to buy all the books on my Amazon wish list. Help?

My latest acquisition included Quilting Line and Color: Techniques and Designs for Abstract Quiltsby Yoshiko Jinzenji. I caught her lecture at QuiltCon and kept running into her in at the hotel and convention center. What a talented and gracious woman. She cooks too!

I also scored Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays: 30+ Seasonal Patchwork Projects to Piece, Stitch, and Loveif just for the clever paper piecing patterns by Sonja of Artisania. This book is really fun and filled with tons of adorable projects.

Inspector Gadget got lucky over the weekend when I made him Herbed Buttermilk Biscuits with Sausage Gravy. I didn't bother getting a photo of the gloppy sausage gravy, but he loved it. I've never been a fan of sausage gravy, but it's one of his favorite breakfast foods. He rides his bike 20 miles a day, so I guess he deserves a little treat every now and then. The biscuits were really good and the recipe isn't as caloric as some of the others I've seen. I used 2% milk in the gravy and skipped the cream.

Another one of the Inspector's favorites...Waldorf Salad. You'd think I was buttering him up for something, huh? Actually, I was making salmon with a mixed greens salad and he hates both. He'll eat salmon, but he will ask if we have any lettuce when I serve anything different than romaine hearts or iceberg. Funny guy. I made him Waldorf salad, so he wouldn't go to bed hungry. Ha. Don't tell him I replaced some of the low-fat mayo with Greek yogurt. I also threw in cashews, pomegranate Craisins and red peppers along with the normal green apple and celery.

Lizard in the house. Again. I don't know why they come inside, they just dry up and die. This guy is big. He'll scare the crap out of me all week because they usually pop out of hiding when you least expect it. There will be screaming or a gasp involved. Maybe I can get someone brave to pick him up and toss him outside. Or trap him in Tupperware and transport him outdoors. Not that I've done that or anything.

Maybe I'll just show him this picture. Someone thinks it's funny to leave these dehydrated lizards for me to find. No more sausage gravy for him.

Give a Little, Get a Lot

I've been a fan of the fabulous V at Bumble Beans for some time now. I had the opportunity to meet her in person at QuiltCon, where her amazing quilt won Best of Show. Besides being a world-class quilter, teacher, and inspiring kind of gal, she likes to give back to others. I don't think I've ever met a quilter that didn't like to give. Victoria is no exception.

Her Bumble Beans Basics has provided handmade quilts to those in need for a few years now. Seeing the recipients smile, cry, and wrap themselves in quilter love is a gift in itself. The latest endeavor is providing baby and twin size quilts for The Child & Family Institute. The program fosters healthy and strong relationships between babies and their caregivers. I can see how a cozy quilt made with love might just aid in that special bond.

Here's the little baby chick quilt I'm sending. Before and after washing. I love the crinkle goodness. I found this pattern in the book below. There are some really cute patterns in that book and I need to drag it out again and make something else.

I also had a little fun paper piecing this weekend. This Friendship Teacup was one of the free patterns from the QuiltCon mix tape and was designed by the talented Penny from Sew Take a Hike. Penny is another great inspiration in the quilting world. The top little mini will be a quilt for AAQI and I think I'll make a mug rug from the bottom one.

Hey Bones, get off the quilt! I'm trying to get a picture here. Animals and quilts...they go together like peanut butter and mayo. Really. Try it on toasted bread.

There ya go, Mr. Bones. That's your quilt. I even found some sun for you. Bones would be content to lay out in the front yard on his quilt and bark at everyone who dares to walk by. He'll be 13 (91 in dog years!) next month and still acts like a deranged killer around large dogs. That's mini dachshund attitude for you.

We're making pillowcases for Nemours Children's Hospital at our next guild Sew Day. I'm all cut out and ready to stitch. Ooh la la, French seams here I come.

My Mom is Trying to Kill Me

Dramatic, much? Since I was a small child, my mom has tried to make me graceful. If you know me, you know I am a total spaz. Not graceful in the least. I fall off sidewalks, walk like an idiot, and so forth. I will wreck you and take you down with me if you're nearby. Just ask my QuiltCon buddies. If someone in our group tripped it was called "pulling a Michele." Mom tried years and years of ballet. Here I am at five. Look at that graceful pointed toe. Then I tried gymnastics, diving, cheerleading, skateboarding, flag twirling, dance corps, motorcycles, etc. Nope, still a spaz.

So my dear, sweet mama drops off these beauties while I'm out of town. Sketchers Shape-ups. Do they make my feet look gigantic? Why yes, they do. Plus, I'm two inches taller in these babies. I called her when I returned and thanked her for the "gift." She said, "I bought them for myself, but I can't walk in them. I'm afraid I'm going to turn an ankle or break my hip." So you give them to your spastic child? Whatevs. I'm wearing them and I feel the burn. I also feel very tall. I may tackle top shelf projects today.

The Lucky Stars BOM for March was the Ninja Star. Here's the carnage process.

I had some difficulty with this block, so I'll be redoing it. Classic paper piecing errors, that I hope to rid myself of with lots of practice. Paper piecing is so fun to me. Probably because it's challenging.

Here are all five of my stars (two are the wrong size) basking in the sun. It's so pretty out today. I've been freezing the past couple of days, so the warm temperatures are a welcome change.

This is kind of funny. QuiltCon had a 1980s theme complete with a dance party. We found these rad cassette mix tapes in our SWAG bags. There was some discussion as to if anyone still owned a cassette player and I wondered if the music would remind me of my punk music days. Oh well, it was a freebie, so no biggie if we couldn't unearth a cassette player.

And I'd love to say I figured out it was a USB drive loaded with lots of patterns, but someone had to tell me. Mind blown. I already printed off a paper piecing pattern to try later today. Happy Friday.

Great Grandma's NRA Quilt

MARTIN, ELLA. NRA QUILT. 1933. From West Virginia Department of Archives and History, West Virginia 

How fun it was to see my great grandmother's NRA quilt, A Cover for the Nation in color on The Quilt Index. I've known about this quilt for a while, but was unable to attend the museum dedication in the 1980s. I have a photocopy of a Goldenseal article that published in 1988, but have never seen the quilt in person or in color.

This quilt resides in the West Virginia Cultural Center. In 1933, my great grandmother presented it to president Franklin D. Roosevelt as a gift from the people of West Virginia. It was "rescued" from a consignment shop by a quilt collector in 1976. Thankfully, my great grandmother had embroidered her name and date on the back side and the quilt was researched and documented.

I had my sewing machine, Red serviced while I was at QuiltCon. What a difference it sounds when sewing. I don't remember it ever sewing this quietly. What did I do to the poor thing?! I have to keep checking to see if it's actually sewing. The service provider timed the needle bar, and reset the bobbin case and hook clearance. He said he could tell I sewed a lot. Maybe I won't wait four years to get it serviced next time.

I chose this Shoofly block for our guild's BOM. It's also a great reminder that I have a Shoofly WIP quilt to work on. My works in progress are completely out of hand.

I finished the Madrona Road challenge. We only had fat eighths to work with and I hacked at them with abandon to attempt this curved piecing. After seeing all the negative space quilts at QuiltCon, I decided to go that route versus buying more of the fun prints to make something big enough for an actual quilt. The top finished at 42" x 44" and will make a modern baby quilt for some modern baby.

Sunday Stash #68

The SWAG (stuff/shit we all get) at QuiltCon was off the chain. We received tons of fabric, threads, batting samples, patterns, and much more. So happy someone in our group had the good sense to check an empty suitcase. This is Kathryn with the Form & Fabric portfolio that was in my SWAG bag. I traded her for a saltier version.

Yep, more me.

Free fabric! Who doesn't love free fabric?

I couldn't resist the Japanese imports from Bunny's Designs.

Or these adorable novelty print fat quarters.

This bundle might even have a purpose in quilt I'm working on. Or, I'll just pet it for a while and let it season on the shelves.

This is the pretty pincushion I received in the swap. It was beautifully handcrafted by the talented Angie from the Oklahoma Modern Quilt Guild. She blogs at Sewing with Squeak.

It still looks like QuiltCon threw up in my studio, but I think I'm making progress getting everything organized and put away. I should be finished by the next QuiltCon in 2015.

Block Printing with Lizzy House

The Block Printing class with Lizzy House was fun times 10. I've always wanted to carve blocks and even had a cheapie Speedball stamp making kit (unopened) in my studio cabinet. Lizzy is a wonderful and hilarious teacher. Her dedication to art and the process brought a few of us to tears. I felt so lucky to have such a passionate instructor. Plus, she cracked me up all day long.

We started out with pencil sketches on paper and I decided a tomato slice might make a fun stamp. Or rather, it would be easy for my virginal carving. Since I had leftover media, I carved a little flower and swirl as well. These pink blocks are very easy to carve.

I stamped them on fabric with various results. It's kind of tricky to get your brayer and stamp covered perfectly in the oil-based relief ink. And guess what we used to clean up the ink? Vegetable oil! Worked like a charm and no odor or chemical exposure like turpentine or other oil removers.

Here's the flower and swirl printed. I like the way the background "noise" carvings add movement. You can carve all that away, but sometimes it adds to the design.

I popped by our local art supply store to stock up on more supplies. QuiltCon is going to cost me for a while.

And I finally boiled all the wax off my batik fabrics. It was kind of a process as I boiled each fat quarter size separately because the dyes ran in the boiling water. The pot I'm using was in Inspector Gadget's apartment when we started dating. I suspect it belonged to an old girlfriend, but now it's my wax boiling pot. A big wooden spoon gave up its life to dyeing as well.

Here they are wax free. I loved this technique too. It's taking all I have not to turn my back porch into a dyeing studio. Wouldn't that be fun? You could come over and dye with me! To see more of the fun batik class, go here.

And just so you don't think I'm slacking in the cooking department, I baked the Inspector an apple pie for his birthday and made him chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes with milk gravy, salad, and peas. All his favorites. We had a full house and a fun birthday celebration.

Eating Our Way Through Austin

It's amazing I didn't come home from QuiltCon 20 lbs. heavier. The food in Austin, Texas is amazing and I sampled a little bit of everything. Luckily, I walked the city quite a bit, so I guess I walked off those extra calories. And did I mention it was a great place to buy souvenirs if your first born is named Austin? I especially had to have a "Keep Austin Weird" shirt, because I've been doing that for 21+ years.

We ate at Manuels on Congress Street twice. That really says something about the restaurant as there are plenty of wonderful dining destinations in the city, but the menu options had us returning to sample more. Their guacamole was really good. And they had food presentation down pat.

Beth ordered a ooey-gooey chili con queso. It was heaven. Nothing like melted cheese spiked with tomatoes, onions, and poblano peppers. Sign me up!

Grilled shrimp and veggies with more of that creamy guac. The black beans were especially good with that dollop of decadent crema.

The food trucks and trailers in Austin are bountiful. I heard from more than one person that they enjoyed their meals from these mini restaurants. I ate this delicious cheeseburger and fries at Downtown Burger, which was just across the street from the convention center. It was my splurge for walking 20+ blocks that day. I also tried the Vietnamese food truck and ate a delicious chicken, herb, and vegetable dish, but I forgot to get a photo.

Our last night we ate at The Backspace, which was recommended to us by Lizzy House and our hotel bartender. The restaurant is small, but packs a punch with its Neapolitan-inspired menu. The Brussels sprouts were amazing. Wood fired and topped with lemon juice and bread crumbs.

We were told to definitely try the meatballs, so of course we did. They were delicious with a mixture of lamb, pork, and beef. Cooking in a wood fire oven has to be tricky, but the chefs had it down. The tomato sauce was good too.

My pizza was to die for. The crust was so good. Mine was topped with ricotta and other cheeses and then a pretty amount of arugula. I'm still dreaming of this pizza.

Lookie here, I wasn't the only one snapping pics of their food. We also got plenty of photos of everyone using their phones at the table. And some of us got a little twitchy when our batteries were low.

Smoked Dr. Pepper barbecued chicken. Spicy, but delicious. I'm not a fan of Dr. Pepper, but I assumed it would make a great barbecue sauce. This restaurant was called Moonshine and we ate there twice as well. This was the only barbecue I got my hands on in Austin.

Buffalo meatloaf with mushroom gravy. Those little ramekins hold roasted garlic mashed potatoes. And if you're into veggies, the squash and tomato saute was really good. The carrots were glazed with booze? and brown sugar.

This steak dish was the special that evening. That ball o' stuff on top of the spinach is bacon jam. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

Hot skillet apple pie with maple ice cream was big enough to have leftovers for breakfast. Or so I'm told. I save my dessert calories for all the other stuff.