Sister's Choice Quilts

Extreme UFO Situation: Intervention Needed

I apologize for the lack of any quilty posts lately.  For some reason, I just have not gotten into my sewing room this week, except to sleep at night to get away from my DH's snoring and coughing.  (TMI?)  I sure will be glad when this virus of his goes away!  I do miss the cuddling, but am desperate for a good night's sleep. 

At night, while lying in the sewing room, I have had ample opportunity to consider the colossal number of my unfinished projects.  (They are impossible to ignore, since I am surrounded by them, and had to move at least six of them off the bed in order to get into it). The situation is shocking, really.  Completely. Out. Of. Control. 

To snap myself into action, I should make a list of everything I have started and still have unfinished.  For the amount of money I spend on fabric, patterns, books, and notions I think I should be a bit more dedicated towards getting some finished quilt tops done.

These pictures are just *some* of my project boxes of UFOs.  Half the closet only.  I am not even showing the ones on the top shelf, the ones under my sewing table and the ones stacked up next to the bed.

See the box labeled WEB SAMPLER?  That is as close to an update on my block progress as you all are going to get this week.  Oh, and there is pretty Toulouse sitting on the floor, abandoned.  Posh Baskets is stuck on the cutting table, right where I left it last week.

I've always been kind of proud of myself as being quilt an accomplished Multi-Tasker, but, this is ridiculous.  There are so many creations being juggled here, it is no wonder I feel too overwhelmed to enter the sewing room.  So, here's the plan.  I am going to make a pile several very high stacks of these project boxes, and prioritize them in order of desired completion.  Then, I will start at the top and get to work.  No more purchases, no more cutting out new projects with stash on hand, no more visiting Bonnie Blue Quilts, Fatquartershop or any other of my favorite online shopping sites.  Not even just to look to see what might be new. 

Rumpelstiltskin is locking me away and throwing out the key until I spin some of this stuff into gold.

Egg On My Face

I take back every single nice thing I ever said about him.  I never should have bragged about how dog training was going so well.  Ozzie is incorrigible and will never be a good dog.  Ever.

These are brand new designer shoes I paid a bloody fortune for, and wore for a total of about 30 minutes.  I just bought them TUESDAY for heaven's sake.  Did I mention they cost a fortune?  Look at that. 

I have one very very naughty Welsh Terrier, from champion blood lines, who cost a gazillion dollars who, right now, I would give to the very first person who said they would have him.  Let's hope I feel differently before I get  a hundred offers for him.  Seriously.  I am sick about these shoes.  My first and probably only orange python gladiator style wedges I will ever have in entire my life.

He is staying outside for the rest of his short life.  I mean it.  Let him chew on the garden hose for all I care. 

A Peek at My Garden

I've been too busy to sew the past week, plus the weather has been too nice to be cooped up inside!  We spent all day Saturday out in the garden and look what is going on out there!  The photo above is our wisteria, not very well situated in a back corner of the yard.  It blooms its heart out every March, and in order to see it, you have to go out there and hunt for it behind shrubs and a couple of trees.  I think it smells like Tea Berry gum, if anyone out there in blogland is old enough to remember that!

This gorgeous blue stuff is blooming trailing rosemary!  Who knew that the rosemary flower was so lovely?  Isn't the color amazing?  It just trails down out of a big planter box.  It is actual rosemary, that you can snip off and put in your cooking.  I haven't tried eating the flowers though, so I cannot recommend it.

This bush is called Bridal Veil for some reason.  No idea why really.  It isn't bridal colored, but it is sure pretty.  It is a huge bush and is just covered with these tiny pink flowers.

My husband got the impatiens all planted, and I cannot wait for them to do their colorful thing in a month or so.  In a matter of weeks, this pot will be just jammed with flowers in every bright color impatiens come in.

I bought lots of baskets of hanging geraniums from the nursery.  I have four shepherd's hooks that hold two hanging baskets each.  You just have to be sure the two baskets are of equal weight, or it is the teeter totter syndrome, where the heavier side keels over. 

This is my garden gazing ball.  I can sit outside and see the garden reflected in it, and do all sorts of deep contemplation.

Here I am in my comfy garden chair, contemplating my Posh Basket blocks that I should be sewing, and here's Ozzie, contemplating his next meal.  Have I remarked lately, how grateful I am to live in California?

Easter At Our House

Easter in our family is always exactly the same.  We all gather at Dad's house around 11:00, and everyone always brings exactly the same offering to the pot lunch brunch.  No variations, no subsitutions allowed!  No one misses this brunch unless they are in Tierra del Fuego (like my nephew) or sick as a dog (like my husband). 

My mother in law usually makes the sacrificial lamb shown in the photo above.  This year she is recovering from knee surgery and couldn't get out of her house, much less make the lamb, so my lovely daughter Sara took over.  The concept is so simple really.  You make a batch of Rice Krispy treats and moosh them into an oiled two part mold in the shape of a lying down lamb.  Let it set up, unmold and decorate as you choose.  Sara had her lambikins on a bed of green coconut, and the lamb itself had a frostinged face ( a new embellishment) and coconut over all for fleece.  No one had the nerve to cut into it while Sara was around, but I bet my nephews will get into it tonight.  We have had a lamb like this at our Easter brunch for three decades!

Grandpa Jack dyes the Easter eggs, and is ever so disappointed that his dye of choice, Ruby's Egg Dye, is no longer available (not seen since the '80's).  You see, he likes to make swirly colored eggs, not those dull solid color ones.  We made do with a dye called Dudley's, which he said was "a dud".  I think they look pretty good though.

We had fruit platters, bagels, croissants and loads of bacon and sausage.  My sister Andrea is the family vegetarian, and for some unknown reason, has cooked the meat on Easter for as long as I can recall.  She put her foot down this year and announced she was done with that.  She was switching to sticky buns and someone else could do the meat from now on.  My sister Trish jumped at that, and clever girl, she precooked sausage and bacon and home and only had to warm it up when she got here.  My sister Kate makes a killer eggy mushroom egg strata, and I always have to make a special version of blueberry French toast that is also an egg strata type thing.  By the time we got those dishes on the table, everyone was digging in, so I didn't get a photo.

We had 21 folks around the table.  As everyone arrived, we put a mimosa (champagne and orange juice) in their hand.   We ate, we laughed, we were thankful for spring and for the family (most of us) being together.  The loved ones who weren't with us were remembered and it was another perfect Easter over with by 2:00 pm.

My personal Easter Bunny, Remy, is above, lovingly cradled by my niece Maddi.  Ozzie stayed home with my husband, who is still under the weather with the horrible 60 day cough that is going around.

So here we are, another Easter over, our tummies full, and Spring to look forward to!

Posh Baskets

I didn't wait very long after all, did I?

Posh

Prairiequeens got in the entire collection of Posh by Chez Moi for Moda.  Debbie at PQ says it reminds her of a dish of melted Neapolitan ice cream!  I agree, it's got the pinks, the chocolates, a touch of pistachio, and the backgrounds are a vanilla white.  I love this fabric.  Love with a Capital L.  The day I was at the shop, teaching, what do you know, but the UPS guy came in with a bag of Posh bundles, jelly rolls and charm squares.  Somehow or other, despite my recent thoughts of not buying any more fabric for awhile, a bundle of fat quarters came home with me.  The prints are swirly and dreamy and there are coordinating tone on tone solids that would work beautifully incorporated into a quilt block.  I also bought a couple yards of my all time favorite white fabric, "Snow" by Kona.

What to make, what to make?  This initial decision is by far the most enjoyable part of quilting.  You have the fabric, you fondle it, you place various pieces next to one another, and you wait.  You wait for inspiration to strike.  Sometimes, this means getting out a stack of your quilting books and perusing them for just the right idea.    I am taking my time with this thoughtful process and will keep you posted as I ponder.  At this stage, I feel a basket quilt calling out to me.  Wouldn't the baskets stand out beautifully against the Kona Snow?  See how I have been playing with the fatquarters?  No fast decision for me on this one though.  The right idea is worth waiting for.

Speaking of waiting, there is a funny story about this fabric group.  My friend Lisa (Stashmaster) has a very annoying habit of scooping me when it comes to finding and purchasing desirable fabric.  (I love her anyway, so it's ok, usually).  So, it is right after Fall Quilt Market, and a few, very few shops managed to buy the fat quarter bundles at Market and have them available for sale.  Lisa sends me an email saying "So and So Fabrics in PoDunk has the Posh bundles!"  All excited, I immediately find the store website and put in my credit card order thinking,  "Yippee!  That bundle is MINE, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it!"  About fifteen minutes later, I get a phone call from a lovely woman at So and So Fabrics in PoDunk.  "I am just SO sorry", she says.  "A woman in Washington State bought our last bundle of Posh just moments before your order came in".  I think you all can guess where Lisa lives.

So, the lesson is, some things are worth waiting for.  Gorgeous fabric and good friends.  I am lucky I found both eventually!

Saint Patrick's Day, Revisited

Saint Patrick's Day was two days ago.  I know, I know.  Things have just been a bit hectic in my life the past couple of weeks, so that I am behind on my posts.  Every year on March 17, my father and assorted other male relatives beg me to make my version of Corned Beef.  Hardly anyone cares about the cabbage, carrots and potatoes.  It is all about the beef.  Actually, it is the secret ingredient in my sauce that they are so keen on.  That would be Jack Daniel's Whisky.  If you would like to surprise your folks next year, give my stand-by recipe a try.  It always gets raves from the boys.

Dad was horrified on Sunday, March 16th, that I hadn't purchased the roast yet.  "You haven't BOUGHT it?  But, Saint Patrick's Day is TOMORROW.  What if the store runs out?"  Lucky for me, they still had corned beef when I turned up at noon on the next day.  Here is my recipe, easy as can be.  You will be multi tasking at the end, but believe me, it is dead simple.

Nicole’s Corned Beef

5 pound corned beef brisket, with pickling spices

1 or 2 bottles of Guinness Stout Ale

3-6 carrots, quartered

3 onions, cut into wedges

1 green cabbage, cut into wedges

1-2 pounds red potatoes, quartered

Butter

Parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Place the corned beef and pickling spices in a large Dutch oven.  Pour the Guinness over it, and top with water to cover.  Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer.  Cover and simmer on the stove top for four hours.

Remove roast from liquid and place in a roasting pan.  Cover with Glaze.  Place in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, basting the beef with glaze occasionally.

Glaze:

1 ½ cups of brown sugar

¾ cup of apple juice

3 T. mustard (I use whole grain)

¾ cup of Jack Daniel’s Whisky

Whisk until smooth.

While the corned beef finishes up in the oven, cook the vegetables.  Add the onions and carrots to the hot corned beef liquid in the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer.  Cook 15 minutes, then add the cabbage wedges.  Cook 15 minutes more.  When the vegetables are done, fish them out of the liquid with a strainer.  The remaining liquid supposedly can be used to flavor a stew or soup, but I have not tried this.

In a separate pan on the stovetop, boil the red potatoes.  They will take 15-20 minutes and can cook while the other vegetables simmer away. When they are done, drain and top with butter and chopped parsley.

To serve, remove the corned beef from the oven and slice.  Place beef slices in the center of a serving platter and surround with the vegetables.  Serve boiled potatoes in a separate bowl.  Pour the remaining Glaze into a gravy boat and pass at the table.

Life Goes On

Hi there.  Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  As you may have gathered, things have been kind of lively in my family life, with the health care drama for my MIL, and having to be running 75 miles up and down Highway 101 to tend to things.  Happy to relate that things have settled down, and my dear MIL seems to actually be enjoying her stay in the new convalescent hospital.  She and her roomie  have bonded and have made plans to keep in touch once they get out.  With luck, my dear one will be home this weekend.  She is able to get around a bit with her walker and gets stronger each day.

I would like to extend my gratitude to each and everyone of you who commented on my last post. I will be answering all of your comments when I get home.  It means so much to me to have you dear blogging friends sharing your stories and offering your support.  You are all terrific and I love you lots!

I have been up in Palo Alto staying at my father's house, and of course that means, while I tend to business, I get to see my grand dog Remy.  Here is a picture of Ozzie and Remy sharing a toy this morning.  They are so adorable together!

One of them starts by picking up a toy and waiting for the other to come try to snatch it away.  Ozzie seems to sense that he has the advantage in this game, so he waits patiently for Remy to get a grip on the toy, then the tussle begins.

I think I like this game better than the one where Ozzie rolls Remy around the living room like a hedgehog.

There are some lovely things I have to share with you in my posts later this week.  My first experience teaching a quilting class is underway and going great!  I want to share with you the photos I took of my student's quilt.  Also, I have some fabulous new fabrics I want you to see.  Check in tomorrow and I will have lots of newsy things.

Gotta run, the puppies are starting to play too rough.....

The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease

istockphoto

Getting old is just the pits.  Not for sissies, as Bette Davis said.  I want to share a personal experience with you, more as a cautionary tale, rather than as a soapbox rant.

I've been out of town and away from my computer for a few days, tending to the needs of my 86 year old mother in law.  Six days ago she had knee replacement surgery, and because of her age and special needs, she was sent to a convalescent hospital to recover.  Even though my 86 year old father in law requested that she be placed in a facility near their home, she was put in a place quite far away and inconveniently located from him, making getting to her side every day quite an ordeal for him.  Believe me, when I say he has his share of his own health issues, I am not exaggerating.  He can still drive, and gets around pretty well with his cane, but (among other things) has developed a speech problem, in which he cannot easily get the words he wants to say out. 

So, why was my intervention needed?  Because, sad to say, in many cases, older adults are not treated kindly, with dignity, with respect and with compassion.  I started writing this post yesterday, bemoaning the treatment my mother in law experienced, and twice, in my passionate typing, I hit a button that deleted everything I had typed.

I think that may have been a hint from Above, that I didn't need to share the specifics.  Okie dokie, so what I will do is tell you how things are different now that we got her transferred to a better place.  She now gets her pain medication on schedule, people introduce themselves to her when they enter her room to do a procedure, she is handled gently, people use her name when they speak to her, her physical therapy takes place consistently, her simple requests (for water or a change of position) are attended to promptly, and people talk to her as if she were a real person who has feelings and can look into the future.  In just a few hours of being transferred to a different facility, things changed totally.  I cannot imagine how dreadful it would be to be elderly, ill and confused, and be stuck in the first place she was taken too.  Her room mate in the unacceptable place had been there nine months.  Think about it.

istockphoto

My mother in law is the sweetest, most precious lady, never asking for much and always putting herself and her needs last.  She has lived 86 years and has seen a lot, and she deserves to be handled like the fragile, lovely person she is.  I want her care givers to treat her with love and respect.  That is why I intervened.

Thanks for listening. 

Flying Geese, Another Way

On April 18, 2007, I posted a tutorial on my favorite way to make Flying Geese Units.  Any time you are making flying geese units, you can use this technique, which isn't always given in the block assembly instructions.  Check it out, by clicking on the link.  You make four perfect flying geese in no time flat.  Plus, it is FUN.

I recently posted on my dissatisfaction with the cutting instructions for the Toulouse pattern by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.  Love the pattern, love Carrie Nelson (the designer), do not love the non-short cut cutting and construction techniques given for that project's nine patch units.  I won't say any more about that, having devoted a previous post to whining about it.  To her credit, Carrie is the person who introduced me to my favorite short cut flying geese method.  This completely puts her in my good graces again, now that I have recalled that.

Some buddies and I are working together on the Web Sampler project.  This is a Block of the Month project where participants receive twelve block patterns and the fabric to construct each of the sampler blocks.  These instructions do NOT employ my favorite flying geese method, but instead the more common technique you all know, involving sewing two squares onto a rectangle.  I will  use this opportunity to share a construction technique that you all may find useful.

Here you see two flying geese units with the squares sewn on.  You have all done it a million times, right?  And sometimes they come out perfect, and sometimes they come out a little wonky.  I want to invite you to look a little closer:

 

Darn, I wish that picture had come out a bit clearer.  What I want you to see is that I did not stitch precisely on the drawn line.  I stitched about a hair's width on the outside of it.  No, you don't measure, you just eyeball it.  What this does is to give you just a teense, just a skosh more fabric to flip over so that the edges match up perfectly.  Plenty of room at the top seam line so you can't sew over your nice sharp points.  All your geese will be happy ones with this technique.