the little collection

Shaking things up

2011-10-03T16:52:00.000-04:00

After blogging here for several years...and a few long absences...I've decided to move my quilt blogging here. If quilting is what you love, then come on by for a visit. I think this little space will stay on hiatus for the time being.

Cheers!

Andrea

Easter and Creating

2011-04-27T15:11:00.004-04:00

This past Easter Sunday found me in desperate need of some rest. The few days previous had been filled with worry and late nights working on logistics for a fundraising event which I'm excited to help plan. So instead of pursuing a few invitations to celebrate socially,
we stayed home.

I made my traditional "Easter" bread very late in the day. (We ate it warm from the oven at 10:30 pm...all gooey, melty deliciousness.)

I sewed a signature block for my friend Victoria.

I basked in the loveliness and fragrance of the lilies which the hubster bought me for our anniversary last week and which have been blooming like mad ever since then.

I rested.

I may have also giggled a time or two about the comment I heard at church about the Easter Bunny representing the religious side of Easter because, as prolific pro-creators, bunnies are symbolic of new life. Maybe so...but I don't know that I'd share that Easter morn to the whole congregation.

A little bit of rest, a touch of humor and some quiet creativity brought me new life this weekend. It may not be the New Life we typically talk about around Easter,
but I'm grateful all the same.

Grateful heart

2011-04-17T10:24:00.006-04:00

1. Sharing one umbrella yesterday with the hubster as we dashed around the city. (This photo

reminds me of this feeling...)

2. Looking forward to seeing family.

3. Discovering that unpicking was worth it!

4. Knowing a dear friend and I were both reserving a special time to be together. Hooray for weddings!

5. The A/C re-installed and all installation chaos cleaned up.

6. Snuggling.

7. Late church.

8. Sunshine on a Sunday morning.

9. A little more green on the trees every single day this week. (How do they do that? It's like magic and a reminder to me of to the power of small consistent efforts!)

10. Whole Foods "Mom's Chicken Soup". A little more broth + noodles = tonight's instant dinner.

Quilting for others

2011-04-12T10:59:00.005-04:00

In our Metro Mod guild, round robins are becoming a favorite. This was one of the first and a few others are in the works. At the February meeting, David brought this and asked if anyone wanted to add to it.

It looked like stained glass and I could envision a rose window above it. So, I took it.

After learning paper piecing for Victoria's Christmas Flower block for the bee...

...I thought I'd try paper-piecing for this too. It was a bear figuring out how to design and sew such a huge paper-pieced section, but in the end it turned out just fine!

It was declared "done" by the group and passed to Kim who wants to quilt it.

The best part was seeing the picture posted by Victoria in her guild meeting post. I was so busy showing and telling, I missed David's reaction! Sometimes, with a little luck, you just get it right. I love it when that happens!

The Rose Quilt

2011-03-28T09:04:00.006-04:00

In the midst of a very busy day Saturday, I zipped on down to the Empire Quilt Guild show with the hubby to see my Bed of Roses quilt hanging in the show. Shortly after I got there, I ran into a friend who said, "Congratulations on your quilt!"

Congratulations? Yes indeedy! She won a ribbon!

What a lovely surprise! Looks like both my sister and I get something to keep...a quilt for her and this little beauty for me.

It was an interesting experience observing parts of the judging process, thinking about why I entered my quilt to be judged and seeing others reactions to the judges' decisions. Perhaps I will wax philosophical about it another time. For now, it just makes me smile to see that cheery ribbon hanging in my kitchen "studio".

p.s. It also made me smile to see that Victoria's quilt did very well too. Two ribbons! A second place for the "traditional" technique/machine quilted category and the prestigious judge's recognition. I knew about one of the last one from helping on judging day and went a little crazy keeping the secret! Hooray for Victoria!

Why Do We Quilt?

2011-03-23T08:00:00.001-04:00

(Note: I'm a guest blogger over on Victoria's blog today, but alas, the pictures didn't publish. What's a quilting blog post without pictures of quilts? So, here is the republished version with pictures.
Check out all her other fabulous guest bloggers posting their thoughts and retreat inspirations all this week!

Without futher ado...the post.)

I remember a story of a first generation immigrant (and first generation quilter) proudly sending one of her recently finished quilts home to her mother. The mother promptly sent a return letter, worried that her daughter was struggling financially and needed immediate help in her new life. Why else would she be scrounging up scraps to make her gifts?

It certainly isn't financial hardship that drives most of us to quilt. (Ummmmm...at $10/yard the quilting addiction may in fact drive the rest of your budget to financial hardship!) So what is it that draws us to create in this form?

The retreat showed some of the reasons we quilt. I heard about sewing to unwind from stressful work, enjoying making gifts for others, and being inspired by other generations of family members. They shared quilts to be hung as art, quilts to be worn, and quilts to be used (and loved and washed and used some more). Quilts were inspired by and approached in many different ways. Some quilts had clear plans from the very beginning. Some grew from nothing more than a wisp of an idea and lots of play. Some quilts were inspired by an old pattern or a desire to have one "just like that!"

Why do I quilt?

I quilt because my grandmother quilts. She started quilting about 10 years ago and has become quite prolific. She likes bright colors and a bit of whimsy. She doesn't always follow the "rules". (That's appreciated around here, right?) She was the first person to give me a quilting lesson and we still enjoy sewing (and fabric shopping!) together.

("Coat of Many Colors Quilt", made by my grandma)

I quilts because quilts are all about comfort! When I am wrapped up in my grandmother's heart quilt, it is as if I've pulled her close to me across the miles, wrapping myself in a tangible expression of her love. It reassures me that my family is with me, even when they can't actually be with me. Making a quilt for some one else spreads that tenderness and warmth to one more soul.

(Grandma's Pink Heart Quilt)

I quilt because other people inspire me to step outside my comfort zone. Some of my most enjoyable quilts have been made for someone else. Victoria's love of "bathtub" Marys inspired this mixed media piece...something I never would have dreamed up on my own.

Making "Bed of Roses" for my vibrant and funky sister challenged my design abilities and pushed me outside of my color preferences of the time (Civil War prints, red and white, etc.). Now? Don't ask how often I think that my living room needs just a bit more fuschia and orange!

I quilt because ideas just set my brain on fire and beg to be made. A fabric, an image, a combination of colors, a certain kind of design...something just lights up inside and won't be still until the thing gets made! (Ok, let's be honest...until the thing gets started!)

My Great Lawn quilt in progress, inspired by this scene...)

I quilt because it's meditation. I remember how an hour at my sewing machine would relax and rejuvenate me after exhausting sessions in a grad-level movement analysis program. (Just thinking about those weekends might merit another session at the machine!) And the other night, when my brain absolutely would not shut up and go to sleep, the rhythm of sewing triangles together for 15 minutes quieted it right down and finally let me rest.

What makes you scrap scrounge, fabric splurge, cut things up, sew them together and make one more quilt?

Getting Ready for the Guild Show

2011-03-23T07:37:00.005-04:00

It's the final days before our guild show and it appears quilts have taken over every surface of our living room. Two hang on the back of a rocker (one is usually there...one was recently photographed and didn't go back where it usually lives). Everywhere else....WIPs!

"Bed of Roses" is almost completely finished. (Final pics coming soon!) Just need to finish sewing down the binding and she'll be ready to hang in the show.

The other two quilts will be for sale in the guild boutique. The Irish Chain quilt needs a bit more quilting and then the binding finishing. "1865 Trip Around the World" needs a little label love and the last corner of binding stitched down. (Doesn't that vintage handkerchief make a fun label? Thank you guild scrap table! Just stitching down the lace so it stays put.)

Also, I'm selling the last of my raffle tickets for this AMAZING quilt. All hand applique and hand quilted, with a real New York touch? Unbelievable! (All the blocks are applique versions of famous subway station mosaics. Cool, right?) Anyone interested? At $5 for 6 chances, you can't go wrong! You don't have to be present to win and they will even mail it to you. Let me know if you are interested....

What are you working on this week?

p.s. Check back here after the show to see if any of the boutique quilts still need a home. Yours, maybe???

Retreat Joy

2011-03-18T14:50:00.006-04:00

Last weekend, I had the sheer pleasure to sew with these lovely ladies at a retreat sponsored by the fabulous Victoria. Boy were they inspiring!

Kim, LeeAnn, Karen, me, Jackie
Jessica, Helen, Bonnie, Victoria

Non-photo taking me didn't have my camera there for show and tell...and then didn't take pictures of everyone's projects, but oh my....if you visit their blogs, what wonders you will see!

Scrap-diving highlighted the weekend! See, even Jessica's son agrees!

Although, we didn't agree of everything. He apparently wanted a scrap for a ghost jacket and I kept looking for little bits of yellow. (Good thing he let go of that Jennifer Paganelli scrap and we didn't have to duke it out!)

I came home with the starts of brown, red and cheddar quilt...

some lovely yellow blocks...

as well as some scrap inspirations for several other projects. I'm dreaming up a red quilt (with splashes of deep purple), a feminine tan and purple quilt (maybe to include the little "Lady of Guadalupe" fabric from Victoria?) and something with the sweet yellow scraps from a baby dress.

Oh my, I had fun playing! So thank you ALL for such a lovely weekend. Your creativity, your scraps and your projects gave me so many new and wonderful ideas. Truly a pleasure to sew with you. Hope to do it again soon!

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T17:21:00.003-05:00

Hope something tickles you pink today!

One Block Over: January

2011-01-17T17:06:00.006-05:00

This year I joined my first bloggy quilting bee with One Block Over. Here's my first set of blocks for Michele. She wanted large, slightly wonky log cabins. I sure loved the strawberry prints!

Looking forward to a whole year sewing different blocks with these lovely gals!

Inspiration in the Day

2011-01-12T20:34:00.004-05:00

A new neutral fabric...

speckles on this morning's brown eggs...

ice crystals diving and dancing outside my window, little sparks...

the start of something new.

Double Mint Fun: 2 Chocolate Mint Cookie Recipes

2010-12-19T13:05:00.007-05:00

Before I head off to my favorite snowy mountain states to celebrate Christmas with family, I'll leave you with the two cookie recipes I most enjoyed making this year.

Marin's Andes Mint Cookies

3/4 c. butter
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T. water
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 1/4 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Melt butter, sugar and water over low heat.
3. When melted, stir in semi-sweet chocolate chips. Stir until melted. Cool 10 minutes.
4. Beat in eggs, soda, salt and flour. Cool 45 minutes.
5. Roll into balls and place on cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 11 minutes.
7. Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, top each cookies with an Andes mint. Spread the mint across the top of the cookie when melted.
8. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and let cool.
(Note: I sprinkled crushed candy cane on these cookies, but Marin makes them year round sans candy cane. Yumm-o!)

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
12 candy canes, crushed

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix again.
4. Sample as much of this truly divine cookie dough as desired. If there is ample dough left, proceed with recipe. Otherwise, begin again at step two.
5. Mix in crushed candy cane.
6. Drop by spoonful onto greased cookie sheet.
7. Bake 8-10 minutes.
8. Cool only slightly, then transfer to rack to cool. (Note: Maybe they shouldn't cool at all on the sheet. I left my cookies on the sheet too long and the bits of melted candy cane cooled, hardened and stuck to the cookie sheet. As this is an improvised recipe, I'm still figuring this part out. If you have any insights, by all means share!)

What are you loving making this year?
Whatever it may be, I hope your Christmas is

peaceful, joyous and delicious!

Design and Play with Metro Mod Quilters

2010-12-15T22:39:00.000-05:00

I'm really digging the Metro Mod Quilters' Guild. Here's a peek at a project I participated in for last months meeting.

Jessica made this from a scrap exchange...

She mentioned loving the scrap with the tiny little crumb strips in it. (Can you find it?) I liked the improvised sense, the bright colors and that same little detail. I found it interesting, but wasn't swooning. That makes it a good play project. (When I get overly precious about something, I'm not always able to think outside the box and PLAY.)

When I sat down to work on it, I had a few "rules":

1. Only use fabric I already have.
2. Somehow echo the design elements that are already there.
3. Include more little strips, since Jessica loved them.

Here are the strips....

I kept thinking "borders", but ultimately decided that instead of framing the entire quilt, the borders could echo the block design. I put them on only two sides, making Jessica's piece the cornerstone of one big block. Here's how it turned out...

I went from thinking "interesting" to "love, love, love"! I so enjoyed the process, just experimenting with design and color, rather than focusing on the final product.

Check out what V did with it next!

Three Reasons You Need Quilting Friends

2010-11-23T16:08:00.004-05:00

1. They make you think about how to make your quilts the absolute best they can be today, without going crazy. While you all were right that unpicking would be insanity, it made the problem roll around my brain long enough to realize that a little unpicking might do the trick.

And it did.

2. They take you to sweet quilting events, like this quilt give away. All the families in temporary housing were delighted to receive their quilts.

Some couldn't wait until they got home to love on them.

3. They give you funny dreams, like the one I had last night about shop hopping with Amanda Jean and Shelly. Don't ask me why V & I were scheduled to fly home when these two were heading out. I'm sure if I'd slept a bit longer, we would have canceled all plane tickets and gone hog wild! Three days visiting fabric stores with these ladies??? Heaven! I woke up with a smile.

What do you love about your creative friends?

To unpick or not to unpick

2010-11-09T07:14:00.004-05:00

This weekend, Amanda Jean raised the question of when to just leave imperfections alone and when to go back and rip them out. In the middle of quilting a quilt myself, my first response was, "Every quilt is a learning process. Finish it and move on." Sometimes though, getting it right IS part of the process.

I started thinking more and more about my quilt and wondering if maybe I should kick it up a notch. Here are the questions I'm asking myself to decide whether or not to get out the seam ripper.

1. What is the purpose of this quilt?

It is a gift for a friend who got married recently. However, all of my quilts right now are "quilting practice". I want to push myself beyond my current free-motion quilting abilities, so I take it as a given that the quilting will be less than perfect as I learn. (I take Diane at her word when she says here, "Make the quilt for a baby, friend or an in-law. They will love whatever you do, good or bad, mistakes and all.")

2. What is the problem?

The quilting I'm thinking about changing is actually the part I love best! I wanted free-motion roses in the border and spent a lot of time sketching to find a design that looked like roses and could be done as a continuous line. Figuring it out and being able to do it on the quilt itself feels like a major step, no leap, forward in my quilting. All weekend I wanted to call a quilter to celebrate the milestone. (Ok, I might have sent one little e-mail to shout "Yipppppeeeeee!")

The problem? They don't quite fit the design of the rest of the quilt. They are dense, detailed and semi-realistic roses. The rest of the quilt is open curves...outline quilting, wonky spirals, big cursive words. Those prolific roses up against the spacious words...just not working for me. (We're not even going to discuss thread choice. Learning about that one from observation, not correction, on this quilt.)

3. Do the problems affect this primary purpose?

Not really. I think my friend will still like it and I learned to consider how the different parts of a quilting plan work together as a whole. It gives me a new perspective for future quilts, whether I pick out this one or not.

4. Is there a simpler solution rather than unpicking???

Possibly. Perhaps adding vining leaves or something around my words will make the contrast between words and flowers not so drastic. A bit of time brainstorming ideas on that one may be a life-saver.

5. Can I do better?

On this part, yes. I definitely feel confident that I can figure out roses that fit the open, curvy style of the rest of the quilting.

I am not touching the rest of it since I don't know that I can do better on the center curves or the wonky spirals in the first border. (They weren't supposed to be wonky.) Unpicking either of those parts sounds like torture and may not improve anything. Plus, it is just time to give her this quilt already!

6. Will I (or my friend) get out of it what I put in to it?

Undecided. Unpicking and redoing, probably not.

7. Do I honestly have the time to change it?

Also undecided. As I said before...it's time for this project to be done already and gifted. Maybe not.

8. Will it feed my creativity and sense of satisfaction or deplete it?

Undecided.

Hmmmm...lots of undecideds or maybe nots. Unpicking may not be worth my time. I think I'm going to spend some time sketching some possible fillers for around the words. I'll keep you posted.

When do YOU go back and redo? When do you just let it go?

Top Ten Things to Do as an Auntie

2010-10-29T09:30:00.007-04:00

(Bean all bundled up.)

10. Be in awe of your beautiful, strong sister as she calmly takes on motherhood.

9. Giggle a little that at times the Bean's breathing does indeed sound like a CPAP machine.

8. Volunteer for diaper duty.

7. Knit booties.

(Gratuitous bootie shot.)

6. Interrupt dinner-making every 3-4 minutes to kiss these sweet cheeks. (Mid-nap cooing requires an immediate response.)

(When she stretches, she barely fits in this basket, little long-legged girl.)

5. Watch everyone just fall in love with her.

(Bean and her great-grandma.)

(First-time Grandpa.)

4. Wonder how her little ears and her silky, curly-when-just-bathed hair grew so perfectly.

3. Cheer when she kicks, stretches her long legs out straight or focuses her eyes on something for more than a second.

(Bet you wish you had an alligator work-out suit.)

2. Spend inordinate amounts of time in one's pj's.

1. Smell her sweet, sweet baby smell while snuggling with this little bundle napping on my chest.

Welcome to the world baby Bean. This auntie is smitten!

Metro Mod Quilters Challenge

2010-10-14T22:15:00.000-04:00

(My radiatiant block for Metro Mod Quilters' Challenge.)

This little project is singing to me! At the guild meeting, I suggested the monochromatic challenge inspired by Helen's strip quilt. To decide on a color, we tossed a coin onto the group quilt-in-progress and it landed on the bright cheddar yellow fabric in the strip I contributed. I've got good vibe going here!

Check out more about the block I finished and what other members are contributing here.

Happy sewing everyone!

Working Around our House

2010-10-14T01:28:00.002-04:00

Things I've been up to the past few weeks:

moving furniture
relocating every book we own, which is no small feat)
organizing files
painting bookshelves
painting (and repainting...and repainting) walls
coming up with new solutions when my original plans don't work
mixing my own paint
figuring out how to function in chaos
making many trips to the hardware store
having only occasional mini-breakdowns

Things I've learned:

I like painting.
Even so, paint colors, like potential partners, should be fully vetted before making a long-term commitment.
Improvising is good.
Testing things out is even better.
Purposeful work pays off.

Hooray for a home on the up and up! All I can say is "amen" to the quote that kept me going....

"Only through labor do bodies become stronger, homes more attractive,
families more tightly knit and lives more robust."
- Gordon B. Hinkley,
(paraphrased from this book.)

Amen!

A New Path

2010-10-07T11:43:00.007-04:00

Recently, I found myself reflecting on our journey through infertility and the many others who travel this path. I know some of that long and hard road, but now, lightness and peace creep into my heart. I feel comfort and excitement exactly where we are. In a moment of looking back, I know am so very ready to look forward and to own all of this experience as part of my story.

Along the way, I heard a variety of other people's stories. Some shared their own pathway to parenthood when they found out our desires for children. They opened up about their struggles, longings and joys. Those stories almost always felt personal and intimate. They whispered, “Here’s how we got through...(Yes, there is a way through)” and "Keep moving forward". They created a sacred trust and a glance into how varied the road to parenthood can be.

Many, many others told us second-hand stories of miracles, waiting, adoption, failure, medical mysteries, despair and hope. These stories were more difficult, leaving me often overwhelmed or baffled. What was this person, the Universe or God trying to tell me? Could someone else see into my seemingly indiscernible life, like a sorcerer reading runes, or were they oblivious fools prattling on about miracles? I know it was neither really, but at the time, I listened with occasional confusion, anger or fear. I left one ear wide open, hoping to hear the whisper of how our story was going to turn out and blocked the other ear, fingers and fist shoved hard against my head, afraid I just might hear a future I didn’t like.

In a much earlier time, while I prepared to get married, a counselor told me that my path into marriage was bound to be different from the one my parent had trod. I desperately needed to hear that wisdom as I watched my parents approach the precipice of divorce. What a relief to see these years later that she was right. Our marriage has been unique and beautiful. The struggles and the deep joys we experience are ours, belonging to and blessing the two of us.

I wish I better remembered this same advice while listening to the myriad of stories from so many well wishers. Where ever they thought I was (or I imagined they thought I was) at each point in my journey or where it would take me, I never needed to be anywhere other than where I was in each moment. I could listen or dismiss as my heart told me to, without attempting to predict the future. My faith, my uncertainty, my research, my questions, my grief, my hope, even my desperate desire to know how this would all work out...each had its own time and place. Each brought me here, somewhere far different from what I imagined as a young woman.

Now, I would not trade the unique journey or where it brought me. I feel calm facing the fact that I will not bear my own children and a tingling sense of adventure at how our family will be formed. Acceptance showed up last week, an unannounced but welcome friend. Come right on in, I say! Let’s get out the map, dream about new sights, plot the next route and then let's get moving! I am bursting with anticipation for the children we will adopt.

We are going to adopt!!!!

I admit, I don’t know what this next part of our course will be like. Nor do I fully understand what it will mean to me, to my sweetheart or to our children. However, looking back reassures me that we are traveling exactly where we need to be. Wherever adoption leads us, I trust this unique path more fully. As we move forward, we will be guided every step of the way.

Along the way, I promise to tell my myself, my love and my beloved children what each of us needs to hear whatever our struggle, “Have faith and move forward, child. Your story is your own. All your own.”

15 minutes

2010-09-16T23:31:00.001-04:00

Victoria sponsors a "15 Minutes of Play" blog.
The idea percolated for some time.
This week, I played.

One night, digging through my stash a bit of fabric caught my eye and was made into a block.

Then, I picked up some greens and blues to play with an image from my visit to Central Park with out of town guests over Labor Day weekend.

A few days of 15 minute sessions gave me a beginning of my own abstract interpretation of the Great Lawn...

Ahhhhh.....play!

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity." -- C.G. Jung

Kitchen Scents

2010-08-24T09:35:00.005-04:00

This morning, my kitchen smells like basil from last nights dinner and ripening peaches. Lovely! My peaches from the farmers market were finally ready to be
blanched, peeled, sliced and frozen.

I love how these girls just slip out of their skins after having taken a hot bath!
Now they slices of gold, tucked away and ready to eat all winter long.

Abundance.

The Quilt Retreat Post...Finally!

2010-08-21T13:23:00.000-04:00

So, sometime ago, V mentioned that she was planning a retreat in Minnesota with a group of other blogging quilters. My little ears perked up. Oh, that sounded like an awful lot of fun. Holy Toledo! I had now idea just how much fun.

What a group of gals! Talk about talented and prolific! I mean, there is V herself, who whips up unique quilts at an alarming rate. There's Shelly, who posts stash reports on the hundreds (I am not kidding, hundreds) of yards of fabric she goes through in a year. (Stay posted on her site for the patriotic quilt she was madly sewing while we were there!) And Amanda, well everyone knows how much that girl sews! That's just on the prolific end! How this slow poke got invited to the big dance is still a mystery, but what a ball it was! We sewed and sewed and laughed and laughed, saw the quilt show, and then sewed some more. And the best part? It was the same weekend as my birthday! I haven't had a birthday this fun in YEARS!!!

Now, let's talk about birthday generosity. These gals gave me the loveliest quilty things, even a few from ladies I was meeting for the very first time. What sweetness!

This is the little quilt from V that looks awesome in my living room.

(Don't you love the quilting stitches?)

Here's a bit of Amy Butler fabric from Rene' (one of the nicest gals ever), shot cotton solids from Toni and Doris (a joy to watch as a powerful creative team and as truly supportive friends) and the Hmong applique blocks I treated myself to for my birthday. Can't wait to play with all this fun fabric!

Then, the quilting genius Shelly (yep, we had two Shelly's there) let me ~~decimate~~ raid her batik stash looking for a few extra blues and purples for my borders. I may have gotten more than a little carried away and she was nice enough to just say "Happy Birthday!", not "Get out of there crazy lady!"

Add to the mix Terry (who found the most fabulous Halloween fabric ever and I hope to see in NYC one of these days), Mary (who had the loveliest old Featherweight, calm presence and beautiful spiderweb quilt -- you can check it out on her banner) and Heather (who couldn't stay, but left the biggest box of fabric to share), and you have a quilting fiesta extraordinare.

Birthday + new friends + quilting? Man, I'd do it all again next year, without a doubt! (Yes, Miss Amanda, I'd even go running...or at least jogging...for short spurts...if there are no low hanging signs.)

p.s. Don't you love how Amanda's completed the red theme of her quilt?

Generosity: Soap and a New Friend

2010-08-11T23:45:00.001-04:00

Ever since my trip to Minnesota this June, generosity's been on my mind. Throughout the trip, generosity kept peeking out, the first time with a new friendship and a bar of soap.

When I discovered Megan's blog some time ago (through Carol of Giraffe Dreams), I knew I'd found a kindred spirit. She posts about the things she is grateful for, her travels and favorite recipes (which look sublime by the way), but every now and then she posts some thoughtful reflection on a topic like, oh, Mercy with a capital M, and wham, I just want to walk right over to her house with a plate of cookies and have a real conversation. As I started reading, I hoped this girl would become a friend.

When I emailed her about visiting while I was in MN, I didn't know what her response would be. Talk about generous! My invite to meet for lunch was reciprocated with an offer of a ride from the airport, an invitation to stay with her and her hubby and another offer to drive me up to the retreat. At the rate she was going, I wouldn't have been surprised if she offered me her sweet puppy for company the entire time I was in the state! Was I ever glad to take her up on some of her offers! It was so fun to chat in real time, to eat her yummy food (and the excellent arugula/goat cheese pizza at Punch) and to see lovely MN.

Then, like good friends do, she taught me a lesson. Shopping in the cutest little shop, she came across something that smelled delicious and asked me if I liked almond. (Why yes, I do.) She started to tell me about a soap she bought that was almond scented and I immediately interrupted to say, "And you really don't like it?" (You know that something you bought that you just didn't love in the end, but you don't want it to go to waste and you know someone will love it? Mmm hmmm, I jumped right to that conclusion.) No, she LOVES it. She buys extra to give to others all the time, sharing her abundance. Made me wonder...why was my first assumption that she was offering to pass something along because she ended up not liking it? Yikes! Do I share only that which I don't like or don't need? Showed me again how joyful it can be to share the best. I can do more of that! Thanks Megan for the good example.

What have you been taught by a friend's good example?

Generosity

2010-07-29T01:04:00.004-04:00

These are the little bits of generosity I saw sprinkled through my day....

- A crook-neck squash, two tomatoes and a green pepper delivered by the gentleman across the street straight from his garden to my grandmother's doorstep, a cane in one hand and bag of fresh-picked produce in the other. What a generous friend!

- A walking path paved on private pasture land for the neighbors to have a nice place to exercise. An extra treat for me as I don't get to walk past lounging cows very often. What a generous neighbor!

- My aunt's open home and a spread of hamburgers, salads, rootbeer floats, homemade cookies and all the fixing compiled by family who gathered for a short-notice barbeque to enjoy one another's company, visit with us out-of-towners and just catch up. What a generous family!

- A little blue bird hanging in my grandmother's window which was custom-made by my cousin's lovely and creative wife. (If you want one too, look here. Aren't they fun?) What a generous gal!

- A stack of blocks-in-progress sewn by Grandma while I cut fabric for my next quilting project. What a generous grandma!

It has been the loveliest of days. What generosity did you see?

Quilting again...

2010-07-16T00:53:00.004-04:00

Things are looking up, indeed.

Where I Lived and What I Lived For....

2010-07-06T21:09:00.004-04:00

Contrary to the Thoreauvian writing that should follow such a title, this post will not recount adventures in building a house in the woods or growing beans or visiting friends in the village. In fact, if I were to recount where I lived for much of the past few months, I could only give a detailed description of the inside of a Manhattan office or the case files that spontaneously grew there or urgent visits to late night copy shops. As for what I lived for, well, it alternated between hanging on for weekend respites and anticipating good Asian delivery.

All said, however, this time reaffirmed my need to live deliberately and seek the essential elements of my life, which is Thoreauvian indeed. So, I am grateful to return here. Grateful that this space is a place where I can accept the mean and embrace the sublime.

And boy do I have a sublime quilting retreat to tell you about! Stay tuned...

Home and Family First

2010-04-20T22:38:00.005-04:00

Today, attending to our home and family meant cooking (an easy) dinner* this morning as we were both coming home late and now, corresponding with an artist about a work I'm interested in buying for our home.

Yesterday, it meant having a family home evening with the hubster and then staying up (too) late to help him with a job cover letter.

Sunday, it meant staying home to write and reflect on what's being neglected.

These are some of the little things that said "family first" to me this week. What little things say it to you?

*I can't not share the easy dinner idea, right?

Mom's Taco Soup

In blender, liquify:
1 Qt stewed tomatoes (I used a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes)
1 Qt water
3 Tbs bouillon (or 3 cubes...or use part/all chicken broth in place of water)
1 tsp chili powder
Other spices to taste (cumin, paprika, garlic, cayenne pepper)

Heat soup until hot. (You want it hot enough to melt the cheese you'll add to your bowl...yum!)

Serve with:
Chopped tomato
Chopped green onion
Cubed cheddar cheese
Chopped avocado
Crushed tortilla chips

Enjoy! 'Night my lovely friends!

Tonight's Inspiration: Loops and Circles

2010-04-08T02:08:00.002-04:00

Tonight I fell in love with this wonderful looped song by Emily Hope Price

and this photo seen here.

Don't you just love being drawn in by unexpected finds? What have you been inspired by lately?

Two Works in Progress

2010-04-06T23:45:00.001-04:00

Chinese coins, both stacked and rolling:

Trip Around the World, ready for lots of machine quilting practice in the wide borders...

Any works in progress in your house or studio?

Adirondack Daily Report

2010-04-05T23:39:00.005-04:00

Dear Hermanacita-

Upon your request, following please find my report on the Adirondack daily. Suggestions included, in big sisterly fashion, at no extra charge.

When traveling by Amtrak, it is advisable that you:

1. Pack a lunch. Market manchego, local apples and fresh baked baguettes are much better than the pre-packaged, microwave-heated sandwiches offered in the (only occasionally open) dining car.

2. Do not, however, pack excess liquids. You will want to visit the lavatory as little as possible. Dehydration is your friend.

(Photo spot intentionally left blank. Your welcome....trust me.)

3. Enjoy the view. Farms...lakes...mountains...the surprising abundance of swimming pools in the Canadian suburbs.

4. Do nothing. When do you have hours to do nothing? Take advantage of it!

When you tire of that, kick your husband's trash at Scrabble.

5. Pack a camera with a speedy shutter. There will be (rare) occasions where the train will actually move at a fast clip...

...and you will want to catch those trainspotters striking modern-dance poses just outside of Albany.

(Do you think they are related to these S. Utah hoodoo dancers?)

6. Be grateful for a chance to get out and stretch your legs.

7. Notice things. Somethings will be right in front of you, seemingly mundane.

Other things will be un-photographable moments gliding past your window....gleaming copper sunsets...marshland swirled in foggy meringue...bold iron geometry of railroad bridges...diverging train tracks of ways not taken...golden glints of sunlight on a church steeple...curving tracks hugging the lake shore. You can't slow down, speed up, back-track, stop, use your flash or take another picture. Notice it as it just keeps slipping past your window, non-stop, the entire ride.

8. Finally, dream of your next trip by rail. Perhaps with one's favorite sister?

Respectfully submitted (with kisses) to a traveling kindred spirit,

(sspbt)

A

Daily Beauty and Creation

2010-03-26T11:05:00.000-04:00

Inspiration...

Exploration...

My husband is chistoso, but not Mexican

2010-03-19T00:34:00.004-04:00

One night, earlier this week...

4:55 pm: Hubby brings in the mail, including the 2010 census.

9:28 pm: Having a few extra minutes I decide to fill out the census.

10:22 pm: Getting ready for bed, I proudly tell the hubster that the census was on the door for mailing.

(Note: Ok, the census is NOT a big project. In fact, I think it took 3 minutes tops...including a discussion about whether the hubby having a father and grandfather -- both of Scottish decent -- born in Mexico, would even remotely qualify as being ethnically Mexican. My pride was in the turn around time, as most things get buried in my inbox for time periods more closely resembling geological ages that nanoseconds, regardless of project size. End of note.)

Giving myself a metaphorical pat on the back, I ask, "I got it finished and ready to send the same day! How often does that happen???"

10:23 pm: Without missing a beat, "Once every ten years?"

Wise guy.

Intercambio de recetas (or recipe exchange)

2010-02-20T23:49:00.005-05:00

(Cornbread, pepper chicken and beans, those lovely habichuelas!)

I have discovered my dad's cornbread recipe has bartering power. Wahoo! This week, it was worth one lesson on Dominican-style beans. Oh my, did I get the better end of this deal! Admittedly, this is more on the "concept" end of things than a hard and fast recipe, but Marisol said you're supposed to season it to your taste. So please do!

Habichuelas Dominicanas por Marisol

Ingredients:

Large pot of beans of your choice, cooked until soft, undrained
garlic, lots of it & chopped fine
oil
vinegar
8 oz. tomato sauce
small red onion, with ends and skin removed, cut in two pieces
1 sopita cube, which appears to be Domincan flavor bullion, cut in half

small red pepper, green pepper (and/or other peppers of your choice), seeded and sectioned
tomato (such as grape tomatoes), only a few
adobo
Dominican oregano
cilantro, regular and wide leaf

1. Heat oil. Add garlic and saute. Add 1-2 TBS of vinegar before it starts to brown. Add the onion cut in two. Add tomato sauce. Add 1/2 sopita cube. Let simmer for 5 minutes, mas o menos.

2. Add the hot garlic/tomato/onion sauce to the beans. Also add peppers, tomatoes, dash of adobo, oregano (crushed in your palm before it's added), and other half of sopita cube. Bring beans to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes or more, until the water has cooked down but the beans are still soupy. Add both cilantros, whole. Let simmer an additional 10 minutes. Take out large onion and pepper chunks and cilantro if you desire. Season to taste with salt, pepper and adobo. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Crafternoon II

2010-02-07T21:35:00.005-05:00

Forget the Superbowl. This is what's inspiring me...

And last Sunday's crafternoon? I was in desperate need of a desk calendar...but this desperate? Bleh!

With a little help from the back of last year's calendar...now we're talking!

Wahoo! Now there are quilts on my desk. Aren't they beauties???

This Sunday afternoon creativity time is good for my soul.

And my desk.

One Joy of No TV

2010-01-31T00:34:00.001-05:00

YouTube commercials are new to me. This one made me laugh out loud....thrice.

Homecoming Queen, 2010

2010-01-27T20:56:00.009-05:00

(or the post in which I eat my own words)

My senior year of high school, I didn't exactly think my involvement in the debate and environmental studies clubs garnered me huge popularity points, but somehow I found myself on the receiving end of a senior girl's highest honor, a homecoming queen nomination.

Most of the details of the nomination process, election and homecoming week are fuzzy memories, but the coronation assembly before the big homecoming game and dance flashes like a bright neon sign among my high school memories. The big event involved cheerleaders cheering, Madrigals (both current and alum) singing traditional school songs, skits by the students body officers and school produced videos full of exciting football moments and rousing school spirit. The crowning moment was the processional of the homecoming royalty nominees and the announcement of that year's queen.

There we were, lined up at the back of the darkened auditorium, waiting for our names to be called. In turn, each of us was escorted down the aisle to the stage while we were introduced to the student body. Our glowing high school curricula vitae and hopeful future plans were read aloud to sentimental music as we promenaded past our peers. I knew the vast majority of my little biography would be about school, because, well, we were in school and I planned on attending more school once I graduated. The other nominees were bright, accomplished young women. Their service to the school as student body officers and cheerleaders, then their college plans and future careers were all mentioned. For some, there was also mention of desires to have a family or to go on a mission.

Then there it was, read aloud to an entire student body in our homecoming assembly, tucked in among the lists of choir achievements, parts in the school play and college plans. One girl hoped to be, and I quote, a "mother in Zion".

I was dumbstruck. Zion as an ideal spiritual society was part of the religious lexicon of Sunday school lessons, but there in the midst of a contest that was essentially a popularity election? Shocked, I couldn't process it. It seemed out of place and not a goal worthy of mentioning. Sure, we were going to be mothers some day, but didn't she know that when some one asked her about her plans for the future, they were asking about her secular life...what she was going to study, make of herself, and do in the future? Where were her dreams, her ambitions? This mother in Zion business seemed such a limited view of her future and the world.

Fast forward quite a few years. I moved away from home, graduated from college, moved further away to a city I love, pursued a career in my own meandering way, married, traveled and experienced a bit of corporate success in an unexpected second career. Through the midst of it, the desire for children grew gradually and persistently but has been repeatedly frustrated. Time and time again, this challenge drew my focus to home and family. Used to looking out into the big wide world to justify my identity, purpose, strengths and success, looking inward and homeward was often uncomfortable and uncertain.

Recently though, something has shifted. I feel a growing excitement and purposefulness about nurturing the life that is centered around my own hearth. Now, not only do I want to care for my relationship with my husband and prepare for future children, I see it as extremely fulfilling work. I am excited to focus on meeting the needs of our little family of two and preparing to care for an expanding family. I want to learn how our home can be organized, peaceful, and supportive of growth. I want our spiritual life to be vibrant and strong, our meals to be nourishing, our recreation to be rejuvenating, our space to be welcoming. Simply put, I want to create a bit of Zion here in our little apartment.

Oh, the delightful irony. My seventeen year old self saw that vision as limiting, short sighted and even out of place. Now, I see it as possibly the most freeing, meaningful thing I can engage in. The effects of a well managed home and a cared for family are not out of place in the real world, but intimately woven into a family's and its individual member's successes in that world.

So, I take it back. I too want to be a mother in Zion. I want to learn all that entails from organizing and cleaning to nurturing emotional development, from preparing healthy meals to creating family time, from wise financial planning to having a deep, soulful marriage. All of this feels like deep and sacred work. I want to embrace it, share it, and write about it here.

And if, along the way, this focus on decorating, refreshments and cheering for the home team wins me a Homecoming Queen crown, who am I to complain?

Crafternoon Project

2010-01-18T22:41:00.008-05:00

Bit of indigo fabric, pin-tucked...check.

Little blank book from here...check.

Elmer's glue....check.

White thread...check.

Result? A little calendar/day book that I love.

What are you making lately?

Should I yes or should I no, now?

2009-12-23T00:16:00.008-05:00

I just finished reading this post, which Jen ends with an invitation to join her in living a "simpler life", including saying "no even if I feel obligated to say yes". Ladies and gentlemen, someone's singing my song.

The past year has involved a lot of saying no. No to sewing projects. No to volunteering. No to dance projects. No to opportunities. No to quilt-alongs. No to jobs. No to swaps. No to travel. No to purchases. No to crafting. Sometimes I've said yes to those things, when in my heart I knew I needed to say, "Nope. Not this time." Little by little though, I'm working on that no.

Here in the blogging world of YES! YES! YES!, I sometimes feel a bit displaced. Heavens, in the regular world of "What do you do?", "What are you working on?" and "What's new?", I feel out of place. As I say no more frequently, I often wonder what I'm saying yes to*. Little by little, yeses have started peeking through. They excite me, and at times overwhelm me.

For today though, here's a YES to Jen's invite for simple living and savoring family. That's one I can definitely say yes to!

p.s. Said no to trying to find a photo to accompany this post and yes to going to bed at only a "crazy late", instead of a "totally insanely late" hour.

*Hermanacita....see how freeing that preposition at the end of a sentence is? You should try it some time.

Moments: Creating order

2009-12-12T10:33:00.005-05:00

Creating sometimes seems to make only chaos.

(The same bed from yesterday's post on peace...12 hours later.)

Creating sometimes makes delicious order.

(When in doubt for dinner, hubby's omelets are a sure bet! With leftover squash? Yum!)

p.s. Does eating a banana with my ice cream pie make my breakfast healthy? Someone needs to buy cereal...and bread...and T.P. around here. Guess that's me! Bye for now.

Moments: Peace

2009-12-11T09:57:00.005-05:00

I'm needing a break from such long posts, so inspired by Amy's "Moments" idea....

The sweetest moment of my day yesterday was just after I turned off all the lights in our apartment on my way to bed. From the darkness of the hall, I came around the corner to the gentle light of our bedroom where I saw my honey tucked in bed, reading. The soft light from lamp, the cozy blankets wrapped around him, knowing I was about to snuggle up next to him...it was all comfort and peace.

I love that feeling!

On the cutting board and on the needles

2009-12-09T09:38:00.008-05:00

Two new projects I've been wanting to do for years:

First, a Christmas tree skirt made from our old pants and skirts.

I'm using:

pattern paper from a friend to design it
lace from my grandma's stash
tweedy cotton (that I thought was wool when my honey wore it)
velvety embroidered fabric from a skirt I wore in high school to our Argo Society activities, like attending the opera (I did not, however, wear it to the hockey game we went to)
corduroy and khaki fabric from both our work pants
new trim, yet to be determined, but almost certainly from here (ooooooh! They have free shipping for orders over $25. If can't get to the NY shop, do you want to visit their online one!)

Second, a lace shawl. This lace shawl.

It was all the online rage several years ago, but I could never convince myself to fork over the $20+ to buy the Rowan magazine it was in. Amy even kindly checked to see if she had it among her knitting library. It's just been on my brain again this fall.

Then, by a series of coincidences (begun by fabric.com including yarn in the shop), I discovered the pattern is online (here!) at Rowan. FOR FREE!!! That my favorite yarn, was also on sale only sealed the deal. (Yes, several people have told me it looks like I'm knitting with hair...but it's MO-hair ladies and gentlemen!)

I'd been knitting for about a week and a half by the time I finished the first skein. I remembered reading that several people had run out of yarn with this pattern, so I thought I better check to make sure I was on track to finish with enough yarn. (There's some crazy math involved as you start with nearly 300 stitches and knit down to one.) After calculating the thousands of stitches I'd knit and the thousands yet to go, I realized I probably wasn't going to have enough. Aaaaaargh!

(Insert your own version of ensuing debate over whether to order more yarn that is now not on sale and won't qualify for free shipping that you may or may not need, depending on how the rest of your knitting goes. Or start over from the beginning, with only 10-20 fewer stitches, which will add up to thousands over the whole shawl.)

I ripped it out. The whole skein. I felt really calm while I did it, then frustrated and compulsive to get it back on the needles. Oh those first few rows of 300 stitches are soooooooooo long. But they are coming. I certainly hope my math was right!

How do you feel when you start a project? Or when you start it....again?

Contentment in a Pie Plate

2009-12-04T14:39:00.004-05:00

When hubster was first called to serve in the Spanish-speaking congregation 2 years ago, we had an open house the weekend after Thanksgiving to get to know people. This year, we decided to do a repeat to socialize with the same people, who are now our friends.

I started making pie baking plans. Easy ones, like cream cheese and ice cream pies. Standards, like apple and pumpkin. Cream pies and fruit pies. Pies with meringue topping and those with whipped cream topping. Perhaps a tart or two. Old family recipes and new experiments. 20 pies was my goal.

Two years ago, my busy, anxious baking dervish had gone crazy making all kinds of cakes, breads and cookies. It was productive, fun even (in a challenging, adrenaline rush way) but flavored throughout by the ongoing theme song of anxiety. Would we have enough? Would they like any of my American desserts, breads and cookies? Would they be offended by the lack of "real" food (no meat or rice or beans), or by my horrible Spanish, or by our home, or by a gringo serving the congregation? Would they see the places I hadn't scrubbed? Would we have enough chairs? All these things keeping me in an mild (to not so mild) state of distress while I prepare to supposedly open my heart and home to new people.

As I started rolling out my first pie crusts this year, I felt those familiar feelings creeping in. This needed to be cleaned, that needed to be baked, this needed to be bought, that needed to be prepared, etc. etc. etc. And the what if's. Then I stopped.

I like making pies. I reminded myself again. I like this. When do I get to spend two whole days making pies??? And so I decided to enjoy it.

I started humming Patty Griffin. I thought of all the memories I have of making pies with my dad and my sister. I thought of how many pies we used to make together at Thanksgiving. I let myself try new recipes. I stopped to play a rocking drum solo or two with my honey on his new toy. I enjoyed eating out on Friday night at a favorite greasy spoon burger place, rather than rushing home to bake some more. I let myself go to bed when it was time.

I didn't make 20 pies.

And all of it? It was lovely. The pies. Time baking. New recipes. The feeling between me and my husband. Time with friends. Doing something I love. Holding cute babies. Laughing at the boy who hid out under the table, emerging only for another slice of apple pie. Meeting a couple recently baptized. Being invited to a guest's house for dinner this week. Listening to a five-year old's reading of "Where the Wild Things Are".

It felt good to truly open my heart, relax and just enjoy.

How do you find contentment?

(Sour Cream Apple Crumb & Dad's Famous Apple Pie)

If you'd like to enjoy my new favorite pie (an experiment that worked, yeah!), here's the recipe:

Sour Cream Apple Crumb Pie

For crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cold
Ice-cold water

For filling:
6-8 apples (preferably Mutsu/Crispin, Ida Reds or Granny Smith)
1 cup sugar (or less if you like a bit of tartness in your pie!)
2 Tbls flour
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
1 cup sour cream

Crumb topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 Tbls butter

Prepare crust: Mix flour and salt. Cut in butter to make course crumbs. Gradually add just enough water to form larger clumps of dough, while stirring with a fork. You want the dough to stick together when clumped by hand, but not be overly wet. The drier the dough, the flakier your crust. Form into large disk with your hands and then roll out on a well floured cutting board, making repairs to the edges as you go. Transfer to pie plate, flute edges as desired and trim off excess dough.

Prepare filling: Peel, core and slice apples. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir 'til evenly coated. Add sourcream. Stir thoroughly. Pour apples into crust.

Prepare topping: Mix flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter to make course crumbs. Stir in pecans. Pour evenly on top of apples.

Cover edges of crust with foil. (Next time I think I'll try covering the entire crumb topping with foil for part of the baking time or chop my pecans smaller. The exposed edges of my pecans burned!)

Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes. Let cool before serving for the filling to set. Enjoy, preferably with ice cream!

First Free-Motion Quilted Quilt!

2009-12-01T09:51:00.005-05:00

** Note: This was originally titled "First Machine Quilted Quilt". 'Twas not the truth. What I meant was this is my first big project that I've quilted using free-motion machine quilting, but that is simply too long for a title.
Apologies for any confusion.**

A few weeks ago, I finished the quilt for Craft Hope's project 5, but in the rush to get it out the door, I was lucky to get a any pictures of it, let alone post about it. Here's a belated peek at the final product.

I was finally able to figure out free-motion flowers for the white blocks! Yeah!!!

I was excited about doing some free-motion quilting on a real quilt, rather than a small quilted project, like a table runner, but it was definitely a learning process...

...designing a continuous line pattern and attempting it,
...laughing and how my quilting SO didn't match my design,
...figuring out why my tension was horribly off in parts and fine in others
(stitch length it seemed),
...unpicking and practicing a more consistent stitch length,
...modifying my design and trying again
...being satisfied with my flowers, but laughing out-loud again at the bizarre quilting lines in my ribbon borders. Oh well, something to learn on my next project.
...finally, enjoying how it all came together to make this cute quilt!

The front:
The back:

I think I like the back as much as the front! I loved adding the bits of color in the binding and the "ribbon" of color in the borders and on the back. Those woven ribbons are my new favorite detail!

Then off it went to Margaret's Hope Chest. What a cool charity! Wanna make them a quilt too?

Creating Abundance and Grandma's Rolls

2009-11-26T21:59:00.001-05:00

Last month at my grandmother's funeral, the most frequently used word by the speakers was almost certainly "frugal". Grandma was known for saving all kinds of things for re-use: twisty-ties, bread bags, disposable plastic cups, styrofoam trays used to package meat, wrapping paper. She was teased about it from time to time, yet all of us recognized she lived through a time when you didn't take throwing something away lightly. If it was useful, it got used.

As we talked together in the following days, Grandpa wanted us to really understand her Depression experiences that laid the foundation for frugality. Grandma's family was extremely poor. With no job and a large family, her father struggled constantly to make sure they were all fed. During high school, Grandma had just one dress that she washed and hung every night to dry for the next day of school, putting up with occasionally snide comments from other girls in new new matching sweater sets. She always knew college wouldn't be possible, due to lack of financial resources not academic ability. She learned to make do with what she had and to make other plans when necessary. She learned how to care of things and make them last. She learned the importance of high quality and always worked to create things of excellence. Frugality was part of survival.

A life like this, of altered dreams and doing without, could make one miserly and bitter, but that's not what happened. She chose something different. As the stories others shared and my own memories flood my mind, it is her generosity that stands out to me. She took her impoverished background and created abundance for the people in her life.

One son shared a memory of watching her willingly prepare and pack a full lunch for a local beggar, simply because he knocked and asked.
Neighbors told of times she brought over food when they were in need.
While home, we slept under a faux fur throw, a remnant of the many "softs" she made her children and grandchildren.
After the funeral, we flipped through photo albums she put together of reunion after reunion where her love for her grandchildren was shown through creating: sewing personalized aprons, leading rock painting activities, or running a family Olympics complete with opening ceremony parades.
I remembered one of her letters from when she was serving alongside my grandfather over a mission in Michigan. She told of the dozens upon dozens of Christmas care packages she made for each of the many missionaries serving with them, packages I knew from the many years she sent them to us.
Her daughter reminisced about her talents as a seamstress. She couldn't remember a single dress, blouse or skirt she owned as a child that wasn't made by her mother.
I shared the story of her careful work assisting on my junior prom dress when we were behind schedule. She sewed meticulously even when I wanted to rush because, um, my date was waiting while it was finished.

Amidst all of these stories and memories, one of Grandpa's comments said it all: her background made her empathetic to the suffering of others. When she saw some one lacking, she sought ways to share with them. When they were down, she sought ways to reach out a lifting hand. Within her family, she made consistent efforts to provide us the best of comfort, nourishment, creativity, beauty and enjoyment. While her life was not one of dramatic public accomplishments, the work of caring for the people around her will always be remarkable to me. I am honored to have known her and to have seen the ways she created abundance.

Today, it felt appropriate to attempt her family-famous rolls for the first time. Her Thanksgiving dinners were always delicious and these rolls were divine. I really struggled through this first attempt, not sure how to work with such unwieldy dough, and yet, I loved every minute of it. It felt like an honor to her legacy of creating bounty for the people you care about.

Hope you feel blessed with abundance this Thanksgiving, including good food.

Grandma's Parker House Rolls

Dissolve in a small bowl:
2 pkgs. yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Dissolve:
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp. salt
1 cup scalded milk

When cool, combine mixtures. Add:
4 cups flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup veg. oil

Stir well, then add:
3 3/4 cups sifted flour

Mix well with large spoon, not a mixer. Let rise covered, until double (about 2 hours).

Melt several tablespoons of butter and set aside. Punch down dough with a spoon. Pour (yes, pour) about half of the dough onto very well floured bread board. Sprinkle generously with flour to prevent sticking. Roll to about 1/3 inch thick. Cut rolls with biscuit cutter, score gently with a knife and brush with butter along the crease. Fold in half, pressing the round edge together and transfer to a greased cookie sheet. Lightly brush with melted butter. Let raise until doubled again (about 1 hour). Bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Brush tops with unmelted butter.

The secret to these light rolls is not using too much flour and not handling the dough too much.

Her final, somewhat deceptive notes? "They are so easy to make - just stir them up - raise - roll out and bake. SO SIMPLE!" I think it should say "So STICKY! but worth it!" Mine need a bit of work to find the right balance, but I think I have a few years before I have to have them "Grandma perfect".

True Wealth

2009-11-09T20:27:00.000-05:00

Every now and then, my dad calls to tell me how rich he is.

This is the same man who periodically reminds me that he's trying to figure out how to be born to wealthy parents so he'll be set for life, so you can rest assured he's not talking about an investment portfolio or bank balance. No, when my dad says he's rich, it usually means he has an abundance of some delicious food at home, often stockpiled in the freezer.

Maybe live crawfish mailed in from Louisiana, just for a crawfish boil with his daughters.

Or enough of the best Utah peaches (yes, he has copious notes from various taste tests to prove it) in his freezer to provide peaches on his oatmeal all winter long.

Or the first strawberries ripening on the variety he read has the best strawberry flavor ever, but can't be commercially grown because they deteriorate too quickly. (For best results, pop it straight in your mouth once picked.)

(His strawberry starters.)

Yes, when my dad says he's rich, it almost certainly means food, and lots of it.

So tonight, I feel rich to have lots of my favorite, favorite crackers (recipe here) warm out of the oven.

Note: Even with a double batch, I think they're going to disappear quickly. I may have possibly eaten half a baking sheet since starting this post.

Hiking the Hudson...

2009-11-07T17:56:00.010-05:00

What I want to remember about today:

That I really wanted to go hiking and we made it happen, in spite of... having to bail on the early hike, missing the train to the later hike, rushing back home for our hiking book and nearly missing the next train, and then discovering that the last train to our hiking destination was the one we missed. Grrrrrr.......but I remember thinking "it's going to be ok" and it was better than ok.

Going up....and up....and up...

Breakneck Ridge

All of the people scrambling up the rocks with us. Everyone seemed to be out on this gorgeous fall day!

Watching the mile-long train across the river, (or was it only a half-mile? a lively debate ensued), while eating a morning snack of bananas and Oreos.

Lots of talking with husband-o, as always...then a bit of solitude on the wooded trail heading back. Nice to stop for a chat, a hug and a reminder to root for the home team!

Go team!

The lonely, lovely stone architecture left from an abandoned dairy, especially all the arches of what must have been a beautiful, large multi-story home.

The light on the stream, the sun shining through the trees, the layers of color...sky, mountain, foliage...

The sugar maple leaves in town. (Right, Alexis? Sugar maples?)

Hot chocolate in town before we headed home, tangy-sweet Ida Red apples with ricotta salata cheese and watching the sun set over the Hudson.

What do you want to remember about this weekend?

Craft Hope Quilt & Limitations

2009-11-03T14:20:00.013-05:00

When I decided to make a quilt for Craft Hope's project 5, I knew I'd be working with limitations, if for no other reason than my quilting budget's on the skinny. Along the way, I was reminded that limitations can be great at sparking creativity!

I knew I needed to use mostly fabric I already had, so I pulled out a scrap bag and started with a collection of funky pastel string scraps.

When it didn't make enough blocks, what else could I use? Other backgrounds? Nope, sticking with the scrap bag white.

Could I cut those blocks in half to make them go further?

Hmmmm....in spite of my flying geese love, like the squares better in this case.

Then, there's the "didn't measure twice and no more yellow fabric" limitation I created for myself.

That little strip of color made a big difference. I added it to the other "extra" blocks as well.

This morning, borders. I was quite sure I didn't have anything that would work. I've already been through my stash, but before I ran to the quilt shop, I looked again.

Odd. I tried this for one of the extra block in the middle and thought the color was wrong, but it works for the border.

Each step of the way involved experimenting, trying things out, searching through my stash. The limitations forced me to look at lots of options, come up with new ways to do things and then make decisions of what would be best for this quilt. I loved the creative process and the end result is turning out better than my original plans. I'm having so much FUN integrating a mix of fabrics, working with a balance a movement and stillness and finding new ways to use the focus fabrics! Who knew that limiting my options would improve both the process and the final design so much?

Hooray for quilting on the skinny, huh?

Giveaway winner....

2009-10-27T18:00:00.007-04:00

Whose name did hubby draw last night?

Hooray for another excuse to visit V. Special delivery coming right up!

p.s. If you are looking for another yummy giveaway (it's all honey, honey), check this one out!

A Finished Object...and a Giveaway!

2009-10-23T21:02:00.004-04:00

Since several people asked, here she is, start to finish.

The part of the fabric that talked its way into my stash...

I just couldn't resist the little dancer!

The quilting...

I was at a loss for how to quilt this. Then, while I was practicing on the little quilt sandwich Shelly gave me, stipple-like quilting just started coming out. It felt good and easy and I instantly knew that's how I wanted to fill the space on this project. Well, it wasn't so easy to do to fill all the varying spaces, stopping and starting, coordinating hand, foot and eye, but when it all worked, it looked like this.

How it looks on my entry table...

And the big picture....

(It's not quite that wonky on the left end. I've got to figure out how to take these pictures better!)

And the giveaway....

It's my 150th post and I want to do something fun. I found this slightly flawed, but endearing book of children and doll quilts on a clearance table. I bought one for me and one to giveaway. And today's the day! I'll draw a random winner on Monday night. If you want to comment, but don't want the book, just say so and I'll keep your name out. I'm sure those who do want it would be thrilled to increase their odds. :)

Have a lovely autumn weekend! It'll be a rainy and busy one here. How 'bout yours?

Making me happy these days...

2009-10-22T10:28:00.005-04:00

Harvest Corn on the table.

Quilting (free-motion quilting, mind you) on my new machine...and a Halloween table runner that is almost done. Subway commuting = finishing the binding today!

Yummy brownies.

M.I.A.

2009-10-13T19:45:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I posted here! Life just came up and living it was more important than blogging about it. This time has been.

Delightful...

...sewing with V & Shelly. Honestly, playing in Victoria's scraps and getting machine quilting tips from the amazing Shelly??? Fantastic fun! What inspiring gals! Thanks for letting me crash the party!

Bittersweet...

...going home for my grandmother's funeral. After many years with Alzheimer's it is a relief to know she is no longer suffering, but hard to know she is now completely gone from us, especially from my grandfather. It was wonderful to celebrate the wonderful woman she was and to gather with family (including my sister, who's been in the Caribbean! Hooray!!!).

Purposeful....

spending some time focusing on my home, including printing and hanging photos I like.

Creative....

plugging away on unfinished projects, a bit of sewing, some knitting.

Adventurous....

...going from this...

...to this.....

I think I'll be knitting more warm scarves to keep my bare neck warm this winter! Oooooh, it's chilly!

Reflective....

...attending a women's group, reading great books, talking to loved ones, writing in my journal a lot and thinking about the changes I am seeking. Good me time.

In any event, I'm home again, missing blogging and thinking of you all!

Playing with layout: Autumn quilt

2009-09-17T10:36:00.003-04:00

Inspired by a maple leaf quilt, with rows upon rows of large maple leaves, I started piecing the blocks. Growing bored with the simple repetition, I started appliqued leaves and embroidered words. I imagined something like this, with wind-blown leaves tossed across the quilt top.

But I didn't know where my eye should go. There was no direction. Maybe the original structure isn't such a bad idea?

Some combination of both? Oh dear, this version would take forever.

Balancing movement and structure, chaos and order. Still a work in progress.

Life these days

2009-09-15T12:12:00.006-04:00

I realized why I've felt a disconnect between my life and the things I typically share on my blog. I'm just not in a very project-y, "life is good, let me show you the pictures" kind of place right now. Yes, I have been crafting and sewing and shopping and cooking and homemaking and visiting inspiring places, but underneath is grief and some upheaval of purpose that seems to keep me from posting about those things.

Last year, when I started making more conscious efforts to focus on what matters most in my life, it felt connected to my preparations for motherhood. I chose to slow down, be home more, focus on family. I said no to projects and simplified the projects I did do. It often ran against my grain, but I felt it was important, part of a higher purpose. I hoped, assumed even, that this time of change would seamlessly blend into pregnancy and motherhood, but it did not. Now, in the midst of that heartache, I sense the need to continue these difficult changes anyway.

So, I'm doing it. I'm working on my daily living. I'm thinking about my marriage, my home, my spirituality, my creativity, my health, my future and trying to care for those things. I'm starting to think that consistency matters far more than I've ever cared to acknowledge and (begrudgingly, at times) trying to learn how to be consistent.

Bleh, it sure feels boring at times. I don't want to blog about boring! You certainly don't need to see the daily stack of clean dishes on my counter (though having the stack be clean on a regular basis is definitely new around here). And I don't want to blog incessantly about heartache, although there are days when I feel chin deep in it. But I do want to blog about life and what my life is. So for now, that it occasionally means sharing some slogging and working through change. Bare* with me, I know the changes will also bring beauty I promise to share too!

*This is why I need an editor. (J.B., you've got the job!) This was not intended to be an invitation to go skinny dipping. Although skinny dipping with all of you lovely bloggers would probably bring a bit of beauty to the world, it would simply be one more thing I wouldn't photograph. This isn't one of those sites.

Foundations of a good marriage

2009-09-07T15:57:00.004-04:00

Husband-o: (Eying the last bite of sandwich in one hand and his last chip in the other...serious internal debate occurring.) Which one should be the last bite?

Me: The sandwich. (Pointing to the still 1/2 full bag of chips on the table.) If that's just not satisfying, there are still more chips to munch.

H.: (Smiling.) Brilliant.

Me: Aren't you glad you married me?

H.: You enrich my life every day.

Yes, indeed.

Iraqi Bundles of Love

2009-09-04T11:52:00.004-04:00

Anyone else putting one of these together for IBOL?

(Click here to check out the project)

Here's my growing pile...some large folds of cotton, some decorator weight, some yarn, some smaller folds for color (do only quilters love fat quarter sized bits and pieces?), some thread....

Don't you want to help???

Raid your stash this weekend and get a bundle in the mail by the 8th. You can't go wrong sending fabric to someone who wants to sew, for heavens sake. Right?

Quick sewing projects?

2009-08-31T09:55:00.005-04:00

Here are last week's "quick" little projects that turned out to not to be "sew" quick projects due to...

(My block for the Pixiedust Gather at Bumble Beans.)

...drafting curving pattern pieces, then attempting machine curved piecing for the first time and fighting it all the way...

and...

...attempting to figure out my rolled hem foot (anyone? I couldn't get it to work consistently), having threading problems (operator error or my NEW machine??? Argh!), bailing on the rolled hem and then fighting the bulk of the corners even after they were trimmed down (They weren't moving at the start of the seam. Is this normal?).

Shouldn't napkins be an easy sewing project??? Hemming four straight edges? It was a frustrating sewing day to say the least. Guess I will take my sewing machine sales shop on those free lessons soon.

Oh well. I love how the block for the Pixiedust Gather turned out and I love seeing homemade napkins when I open my kitchen drawer.

Good bye paper towels at the table! Yes, we were that high class. Call Martha Stewart if you must. Maybe she could show me how to use my rolled hem foot...

Unexpected Benefits

2009-08-27T20:12:00.005-04:00

Last night, I took the time to give myself a pedicure, a practically unheard of occurrence in my life. Ahhhh....the indulgent attention. I buffed. I massaged. I cuticle creamed. I trimmed and filed. I lacquered, and then re-lacquered my stubborn big toes. I watched a favorite movie while they dried. Perfection.

Flash forward to my walk home tonight through my 'hood where everyone was out enjoying the lovely night....kids in the streets with baseballs and bats, men playing at domino tables, ladies gossiping on front steps and in lawn chairs, teens chatting and texting, and endless groups of young men just hanging out. Hanging out and passing out compliments (or come-ons) of "God bless you, mami" or "beautiful" or "angelita" to every woman who walks by.

Tonight's compliment? "Beautiful toes."

Why thank you. Thank you for noticing.

I'm Home...

2009-08-24T00:02:00.000-04:00

making tortillas...

airing out camping gear...

auditioning fabric for a quilt back...

laughing at my funny cleavage tan
(ummm..my swimsuit might have cut just a bit lower than my sunscreen coverage did)...

and missing my family.

Have sunglasses...will travel

2009-08-03T10:14:00.002-04:00

Husbando is finished with his grad school program (Wahoooooooo!) and so we're heading off for a little va-cay with the familia. I'll be scarce around these parts for a while. Hope you are getting in some good-time summer fun yourself.

¡Ciao!

p.s. Fear not Ms. V...the Pixie Dust block is all planned and will be sewn up lickety-split upon my return. I haven't forgotten you!!!

The power of a phone call

2009-07-30T21:04:00.008-04:00

Today I called a friend I serve with about "business." She said to me at the end of the call that I am the only person from church who regularly calls her. I felt instantly guilty because I usually call her when "business" needs to be attended to. Shouldn't I be calling because she is my friend?

It made me think of another friend I haven't really talked to in a while and I decided to call. We talked for only 8 minutes. (Cell phones details....) As we were saying goodbye, she said thank you too. She expressed that she doesn't feel like she has many friends, which surprised me. She is kind, generous and loved by many people. How does she not feel it?

How often do I assume those I care about know it, focus on my own problems, or think a small little thing like an 8 min. phone call is insignificant? All the time, to tell the truth. Tonight reminded me that showing it, in small ways, is how people know I care about them. Its how they feel it. And it is how I know I care about them, too.

It feels good.

The Janome 6600

2009-07-23T08:38:00.007-04:00

What shall I call her? Wanda the Workhorse? Jean the Machine? Ooh, I like that one. Any other ideas?

Name or not, she is being broken in. I love her! I get more and more excited to do the next project...and the next...and the next! The first thing I worked on was this top in progress:

I pulled one of the "block of the month" blocks I won at the guild meeting and just started improvising. (Thanks V for sharing your improvising.) Decided to throw in the white rose blocks I had in my stash and whatever else struck my fancy. Then, hubby and house guests came home, so it was set aside. I think I need some more structured blocks to connect that BOM block and I don't know what else. We'll see.

Sewed the binding on my little table runner this morning. Note to self: If you decide to try sewing on the binding before something is squared up/trimmed down (which someone suggested, but I can't remember why...stability?), please don't cut off the edge of the corner binding when you do trim it up.

Sigh. Oh well. Repairs have been made and she's all ready to have her binding stitched down during my commute today. She'll be out in my entryway just in time for the 24th of July!

Have a lovely day, y'all! (Yep. Y'all. When you stitch Americana and anticipate a pioneer holiday, your inner Westerner just slips out!)

Home Report

2009-07-19T21:31:00.008-04:00

Recently, I've been struck by the beauty I took for granted when I was growing up. It was just the way it was. Once I moved away, I saw that the "way it was" is not the way it is everywhere.

When I'd go back home, I noticed the way it had been all along. (I really DID grow up in a dry state. There really aren't TREES outside of mountains or parks or yards.) And I started to regard that little part of the world as unremarkable. "It's brown! It's dry! It's ugly!", I'd whine. "It's just suburban yuckiness for miles!"...etc...etc...etc.

Lately though, I am amazed at how beautiful it can be. Yes, the mountains may look dusty by August. Yes, there is suburban sprawl. And yes, you can see it all exposed as you whiz by on the freeway (unlike the towns tucked behind the East Coast curtain of forest), but wow, Utah can be beautiful! Wanna see?

I love the land where I grew up.
It is part of me.

Traveling, traveling...

2009-07-08T10:15:00.003-04:00

I'm heading off to a wedding. Be back in a week or so, but look what I have waiting for me at home....

HOORAY!!!

Visiting V: Quilting Report

2009-07-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

Earlier this week, I got to go to V's house. Wow, I think every city dweller needs a house away from all the chaos. There were trees and greens in the garden and quiet nights (and mornings and afternoons) and sandy shores not too far away and grassy design walls.

I took these three blocks I won in the block of the month raffle at the guild meeting last month. I thought they'd be great in a summery/4th of July/Americana table runner for my entryway. But we also played with V's fun stash. This was my favorite:

Isn't it great??? In the end, I decided the traditional look would fit my entryway better, but oh . . . I still question giving up on all that lovely color!

Here's a close up of the pearl cotton quilting I've started, also inspired by V.

We tossed my scrap blocks on a bunch of different fabrics.

What fun! Good to just play around. Good to start the juices flowing with possibility. Good to get away for a day. Thanks V!

p.s. Check out her project for the day here.

Wordless Wednesday: Visiting V . . .

2009-07-01T21:52:00.009-04:00

Friendship making it happen!

2009-06-25T09:00:00.001-04:00

Photo at M.'s company's NYC debut concert, 2007.

Dinner last night included: three friends, one birthday, two farewells, three unknown futures (aka adventures), one heartache, a good measure of laughter, a few secrets, lots of listening, a variety of perspectives, not enough spring rolls.

Three and a half years ago, the three of us came together as Mormon modern dancers in the Big Apple. Together, we formed an Artists' Circle to make things happen. Now both of these friends are leaving within only a few weeks of one another, perhaps to return next summer, perhaps not. So I look back at what this time has brought....

We made things happen! The short version? We self-produced three shows in three years (with all that entails...publicity, fundraising, rehearsing, etc. etc.), choreographed various independent projects and created teaching opportunities locally, out-of-state and internationally. But between those professional endeavors, we shared things much more valuable...brunch in the park, early morning studio time, hospital visits, dessert, a sounding board for professional problems, baby-sitting, inspiration, a listening ear for personal struggles, picnics, subway rides, ideas and a bit of our hearts.

On the street corner by my apartment, well after midnight, wrapping up our conversation as we have after so many other late night subway rides, M. expressed it best. We are blessed to have found each other and will forever be different people for having known one another. As they are leaving, I think about the gifts they have given me that could have only come from them and I agree. I am a different person from having known them. Our Artists' Circle friendship made something happen, something within.

Blessings to you both! Hope we're dancing and talking and eating together soon!

On Hiatus

2009-06-18T00:26:00.005-04:00

I'm waiting up for hermanacita to arrive from the airport.

She sympathizes with life sucking.

She's also pretty adorable.

Once she gets here, we'll have lots of chatting, picnic-ing, shopping, cupcake-ing and sitting on the couch in our pj's until everything is right in the world again-ing to do. So, I don't think I'll be around these parts much. However, since she is also a big fan of silly, can I leave you one of my all-time favorite silly t.v. clips?

I'll see you in a week...

p.s. Thank you for all your kind thoughts, hugs and well wishes. It's good to be a honest about what's going on in the rest of my life and be supported. Hugs right back to all of you!!!

Getting through

2009-06-15T11:25:00.001-04:00

To say the last few weeks have been hard would be an understatement. Another setback on our journey to parenthood leaves my emotions reeling. Yet in the midst of this, the tears and the painful days, I am getting through. How? "How am I ok?" I ask myself.

While Mr. CK, my family and my faith are bedrock during the worst of it, noticing the small and simple things is day to day survival. Perhaps it is the coming together of the Buddist idea mindfulness, the "tender mercies" talked about David Bednar and this blogging community's focus on honoring everyday beauty. (So a Buddist monk, a Mormon apostle and a blogger walk into a bad day....?)

In any event, since this is a place for recognizing the beauty in my life, here a few of "the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts" I've received this past few weeks:

peonies on my kitchen table (inspired by bloggy friends)...

an invitation for tea...

time to create...

(A mad mess of strippy scraps sewn up into 16 lovely blocks.)

a virtual hug....

a visit to the Botanic garden with a friend....

texts, e-mails, lunch hour visits...

things that make me laugh...

(Is it appropriate to notate seminary honor roll achievements (aka diligent attendance at 6:30 am religion class) with symbols that look like cartoon expletives???)

(R. reigning in her desire to chase the bunny in the garden...)

(...and almost succeeding!)

a few new plants for my window sill...

blogging to reflect on it all...

Thank you for being part of my tender mercies.

Another doll...

2009-06-11T22:27:00.004-04:00

I just finished and mailed this sweet thing as part of Craft Hope's 2nd project. I think I'm figuring out the pattern for these little dolls! Hooray! I mean, her head actually looks round. (First attempt, not so much.)

Off she goes to Eren at VintageChica and then on to Nicaragua. Buen Viaje!

To do today...

2009-06-08T09:54:00.003-04:00

1. Buy peonies.
2. Share another funny "in-print" discovery.
3. Reserve some studio space.
4. Work.
5. Have dinner with Mr. Kent.
6. Get hugged. (The market demand for hugs is pretty high these days.)
7. Plan (and shop for) said dinner. (Grocery shopping apparently not high demand these days.)
8. F.H.E.
9. Find a little down time.
10. Snuggle and sleep. Sweet sleep.

What's on your list today?

How do you spell...?

2009-06-04T09:33:00.006-04:00

You've seen these, right? Hand drawn thank you posters to a grocery store or bakery or restaurant from the 2nd grade class that recently came there on a "who are the people in your neighborhood" field trip. Plastered on a wall for all the customers/parents/kids to see, they are kid-cute variations on the same theme...crayoned rendition of the shop, a short thank you message, mention of their favorite part of the trip, a picture of something they remembered, etc., etc.

But every now and then, something slips past the teacher, like this one hanging above my table at a little bakery (eh hem, where they specialize in bread) in Idaho last month....

I didn't realize that was on the menu.

Creating beauty from chaos

2009-05-30T08:17:00.007-04:00

Every night this week, I've been turning this...

into these...

Giving order to confusion.

M.F.E.O.

2009-05-27T09:33:00.005-04:00

It is official. Mr. Kent and I are made for each other. Remember his idea of a perfect dinner?

Well, here is my deliciously balanced breakfast from this morning:

Yes, we love our veggies and fruits. We eat lentils and beans and greens. But deep down, deep down, we are united in honoring our family motto:

Eat Dessert!

And so we do.

Connecting with home

2009-05-22T19:03:00.008-04:00

I've spent more than ten years in the big city, away from my family and many dear friends. I totally dig living in NYC, but lately I've longed for my loved ones back home. Seeing them, catching up with them, hugging them and laughing with them earlier this month filled me up to overflowing! I felt so strengthened and reassured in my current path. Knowing they love me made me feel full of joy.

Want to meet some of the people I love?

My beautiful mom, who roots for me always, even when following my dreams takes me far, far away, and hermanacita, who makes me laugh, laugh, laugh....

My crawfish (even though spell-check insists it's crayfish) cooking Papa-Bear....(oh I need to post about our crawfish boil! What fun it was!!!)....

The Four A's (re-nicknamed the A-team on this trip) who were my constant high school confidantes, cheerleaders and conspirators....

My best college friend, who gives the most awesome hugs....

Sisters and mothers and in-laws....

A New York friend who is out West for college. She is delightfully smart, extremely funny and great company....

My grandpa, who is so deeply devoted to my grandma, even through her Alzheimers, and my grandma who I still love talking with....

My other grandma, who inspired me to start quilting and taught me how to bake a good loaf of bread...

A (2nd?) cousin (once removed?) who is my age and used to be a favorite playmate and pen pal. So fun to get back in touch....

And Hhhh-era, who has the most fabulous wit and had the gall to move to a place where you are worried about snakes and scorpions instead of subway rats and yappy dogs...

(Ok, this pic of us is several years old, but I was silly and didn't take a picture of us together this trip!)

And still, there are so many more people I wish I'd been able to see! (You could come to Women's Conference next year, you know! :) I guess it just gives me lunch dates and cousin barbeque's to look forward to this summer! I'm so grateful I'm connected to these people! They love me and pray for me...I can feel it!

Who fills you with joy and makes you feel loved?

Book-o-phile...

2009-05-18T23:15:00.001-04:00

Friday, a delicious thrill swept over me as I chose a few books from the Spanish institute's library. It surprised me, the anticipation of biblio-pleasure. My love affair with books has fizzled a bit over the past few years. Over time, my long-time passion shifted to frustration at their high-maintenance demands.

High-maintenance demands, you ask? Books? Well, yes. They took too much! Too much space...hubby's and my combined libraries spilled, no poured, off of one tiny bookshelf in our newlywed apartment. Too much time...subway reading time was replaced by subway fiber and fabric time. Too much money...spontaneous book buying dried up as every purchase was scrutinized through the lens of a budget.

But then I started to miss them. I longed for their loyal companionship: always available, ready to entertain, willing to comfort, completely honest, surprisingly vulnerable. I wanted to open up a book again and move right in, taking up house in a different time and place. I remembered the good times we'd shared, when books connected with me, making me laugh out loud or start crying unexpectedly on the subway. I missed how a book could occupy me, expand my view and crack my own heart open until both my outside and inside worlds had shifted. I missed my love.

So, we're trying it again. With the help of a wall of salvaged book shelves, a book club and a library card, books and I are seeing if we can't make it work after all. They are creeping back in and claiming their rightful place in my life: on my subway ride, in the doctors office, late at night, on the airplane. Last week, in the quiet library, I fell in love all over again. I tingled with the sense of endless possibility between the covers of that little level two reader...would it entertain, intrigue, touch, comfort, inspire, challenge, inform, tease, delight or satisfy? I was going to take it home and find out. The foundation of a life-long love affair. I think we're going to make it.

Magic Slippers

2009-05-14T00:36:00.005-04:00

This morning, I tiptoed into the lives of two little girls and discovered the delights of reading stories about the ballet and a child's love of the night sky, creating celestial hair decorations in a Crayola studio and dancing 'round a playground where hippos wander free.

On the way back to my "regular" life of part-time office job, I found this in my shoe:

the tail of a shooting star. I smiled and took it out...paused...and put it right back in.

After all, how often do you get to wear magic slippers to work?

Nothing is sacred...

2009-05-10T22:38:00.005-04:00

I came in while hubby was setting the table....

Laughing, I fetched my camera.

"You going to put that on your blog?

(nod)

"Is nothing sacred?"

Nope. Sorry hon. Not even the intimate relationship between man and his cookie...

Things I'm grateful for today...

2009-05-09T23:11:00.003-04:00

Photos that bring humanity to divinity....

Piña coladas...

Wearing this beautiful scarf from a friend....

Buying ribbon today at the guild meeting to make a headband...

How handsome hubby looks right after a haircut (especially when I don't whack off big chunks over his ears)...

And, of course, eating more of Jessica's cookies!

Home at last...

2009-05-06T21:08:00.006-04:00

Trying to catch up on sleep...

Wearing this new addition again....and being asked if I am going for the hippie look...
(um, no)

Cleaning up and getting organized....

Listening to my "Cooking in Dad's Kitchen" playlist (lots of John Denver and Heart) after having cooked in his outdoor "kitchen" on Saturday...

Baking these cookies....

Looking forward to sewing some and knitting some...

Trying to figure out why in the world our prescription program includes four different companies and what each one of them does....

Mostly being grateful to be home....

On a Jet Plane

2009-04-28T10:48:00.002-04:00

I'm going home for a week to attend a women's conference with my beautiful mother and hermanacita and to visit other family and friends. See you when I get back!

Finding deeper water

2009-04-25T13:47:00.010-04:00

My life is currently shifting. Most of the changes are gradual, but I am surprised by the suddenness of others. Some of are by my design, some by circumstance and some by the decision of others. In any event, they give me more time to pay attention to what I deem most important, rather than just urgent.

So, what in the world do I do?

I'm floundering just a bit, like a fish out of water (the original title for this post). It reminds me of the salmon we saw several years ago in Alaska, fighting their way upstream, even when half of their bodies were above the water level. They'd found the current and relentlessly swam against it. Often they were splashing or stranded or struggling to breathe. (Hmmmm....is there a special word for fish "breathing"?) They swam fiercely, driven on in their final life and death swim. The fruitlessness of their reproductive attempt in this shallow stream did not change their direction.

But wait. I think that fruitlessly fighting upstream feeling is what is comfortably known. I feel more the way those fish might feel if they were suddenly plucked out of the fray and placed in the calm waters of a large and bounteous lake, with no current to swim against. I certainly know how to swim upstream, fighting (and occasionally avoiding) the current of the moment regardless of the importance of the endeavor. (I'm thinking of "urgent camp" t-shirt obsession in the middle of a fabulous family reunion, for example.) I am skilled at focusing on the struggle and turning a half-blind eye to the things that fall by the wayside. But without the current? I don't know what to do.

Today, I find myself with little current to push against. I stare at my dishes...do a little menu planning...wonder about some sewing...wander over to the computer. I'm moving in starts and spurts with long, lost pauses. It is not for lack of things to be done, but a lack of anything urgent. I'm not used to this way of being. I think it's going to take me a while to find an inner current.

Let's hope I don't get buried under dirty dishes first.

Two ways to help...sewing or bidding

2009-04-24T07:56:00.003-04:00

Here are two ways to help orphans in Nicaragua and in China.

1. Make a doll for a child in a Nicaraguan orphanage. I think it's perfect timing that Craft Hope's next project involves doll making since I've recently discovered how much I enjoy it! If you want to make one too, just pop on over for the details and then let Jade know you're in.

2. Bid away on this fabulous 9-patch quilt. All of the money raised in the Love Without Boundaries auction goes toward caring for orphans in China, including providing heart surgeries for those who need them. I contributed blocks to this quilt and when it was finished, it was so cute I wanted to scoop it up and take it home! Thanks to Victoria at Bumblebeans for organizing this project and sewing it all up!

(photo by Victoria at Bumblebeans...how could I forget to give her credit?)

The auction for the quilt is here. Don't you want to take it home??? Please check out their auction store. There are many, many fabulous things to bid on.

Spring Break 2009

2009-04-22T11:20:00.005-04:00

A sum up of my whirlwind week? Backpacking into a cabin in CT, (related packing/unpacking), going to youth conference in upstate NY, (related laundry/packing/unpacking), cleaning the house some (emphasis on some, I'm afraid), reading your delightful blogs as a post-YC wind down (instead of scrubbing away mildewy shower curtain), attending to post-YC sleep deprivation, hosting cousin and his lovely wife for a few days (where they had to shower behind said shower curtain....YIKES!), lunching with a dear friend from home, then rehearsing, working and celebrating with my honey. Whew! It was great, but I don't mind getting back to a routine!

I wish I had a picture to share of the beautiful sunrise on the shores of Seneca Lake. I also loved seeing the sky from this grove of trees. How lovely it is to have hills and trees and lakes and long horizons around you!

And for you quilters, here's a picture of a quilt from a historic cabin we visited. Never got the chance to ask if it was period or replica, but I like it none-the-less. (Makes me think of Laughing Duck's flying geese quilt.)

Hope you have the Spring or the Break you need.

Wilderness II

2009-04-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

"We need the tonic of wilderness."
- Thoreau -

Upon my return from staying in a little cabin by this stream, I couldn't agree with Mr. Thoreau more. Off again for a few days with a church youth conference. Hope you have lovely week.

New Sewing and Crafting Project: A Doll

2009-04-12T17:55:00.006-04:00

Without a little girl at my house, I never thought I'd make a doll, until I saw this adorable one and the ones that inspired it. Then a baby shower for a girl this past weekend made me decide a doll was definitely in order.

Here's the sketch of my own variation (although, as I look back at Molly's, maybe it wasn't much of a "variation"! And if I'd had a fabric doily, you bet I would've used that too.)...

The end result...

I'm already sketching out what I'll change the next round, but I think this one turned out cute enough...even with her slightly odd body-to-head proportions! (Lesson 1: Stuffing changes the dimensions of a softy!)

Have you ever made toys or have a favorite hand made toy of your own?

What I believe...

2009-04-12T17:54:00.002-04:00

In my church, it is often said that sharing your spiritual beliefs affirms and clarifies them, not just to others, but to yourself as well. With blogging friends of diverse backgrounds, I do not know if your journey is similar to or completely different from mine, but I appreciate how the blogging community allows us to share one another's experiences and life stories.

The past year has been one of opening up, both to myself and to a few close friends the many questions I have about religion. Although I come from a religious background, I find that knowing the "Sunday school" answers doesn't automatically ground me in faith and provide me a spiritual foundation. Recognizing the irony of being "religious", without always finding the "spirituality" within that religion, hasn't been a comfortable process! However, talking about it (and dancing about it!) has given me the confidence to face both my uncertainties and beliefs with greater honesty. This Easter Sunday, these are a few beliefs I stand on:

I believe deeply in spirit, that there is a spirit essence in all of us.

I believe that there are spiritual purposes to our lives.

I believe that the Divine Creator is concerned for us and aware of us.

I believe in change, that is is possible...(and possibly even necessary).

And Easter? I believe its message to me this year is that grace comes as we place ourselves in the hands of God, exactly where we are. (Thank you Dieter F. Uchtdorf, for saying, "The first step to discipleship begins, luckily enough, in the exact place where [you] stand."

I hope you find grace, growth and beauty this spring, whatever your journey.

Dancing for Joy

2009-04-08T08:22:00.005-04:00

I don't know why these kinds of videos bring me to joyful tears, but oh they do. I just want to be there...

p.s. And Julie Andrews? "Doe a Deer"? So joyful! You can't go wrong! Reminds me of doing The Sound of Music for a church production growing up. I was in the chorus and my mom was both a nun (the one that stole the spark plugs from the German soldiers' cars) and the eternally bowing Frau at the concert. I can still see her bowing. Loved it!

Our favorite chocolate chip cookies....

2009-04-04T10:45:00.000-04:00

I decided to make these the other night to celebrate a successful performance by my students and the completion of another dance residency. Thought you might enjoy them too....

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter (or 1/2 cup shortening, 1/2 cup butter)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour (I do 1 cup white, 1 cup whole wheat)
2 1/2 cups quick oats
chocolate chips (3/4 - 1 12 oz. bag)

Cream butter (barely softened) and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and choc. chips. Drop in golf ball sized clumps on cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 for 8 minutes, or until the tops of the cookies are slightly brown. (Do not over bake.) Let cool for a bit on the cookie sheet.

Eat warm.

For more chocolate chip cookie tips (like the impact of creaming butter properly, why cookie dough is better the next day, etc.), check out this article.

Design: rings, circles & petals

2009-04-02T21:45:00.007-04:00

This is one of my favorite designs. There is something I love about the circles shifting between being interlocking rings and four-petaled flowers. I'm love noticing different interpretations of this idea.

The double wedding ring quilt pattern...

Photo by CaliforniaAmy

An antique ring from my hubby...

An improvised block...

Quilting on my show quilt...

And the graphic design on Amy's banner. When I first saw it, I was heartbroken that it wasn't my blog banner! (Aside: If you don't know Amy, you really should. For many reasons above and beyond her lovely banner!)

How about you? What designs and patterns do you love?

Try these yummy flax seed crackers!

2009-03-31T00:01:00.000-04:00

Finally, here is the updated link to the recipe for the flax seed crackers I have obsessed about here and here. I love them. Adore them! Think you should definitely try them. Crunch them. Munch them. Snack and dip and devour them.

Now I'm going to have to make myself a batch soon....yummmmeeeee!

Wilderness

2009-03-28T12:49:00.003-04:00

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds, the ebb and flow of tides, the folded bud ready for spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature..."

- Rachel Carson -

Cornmeal Lemon Bars (sans powdered sugar)

2009-03-26T15:31:00.005-04:00

I've had lemon meringue pie on the brain for weeks, but when I finally pulled out the recipe book at 7:30 pm Sunday before last, I discovered that it would be at least 5 hours from that moment until a lemon meringue pie would be ready to eat. After-midnight pie wasn't much of an option, but my lemon-y hankering was growing by the minute. Something had to be done.

How about lemon bars? Prep time only 45 minutes? Sold, but a quick ingredients check revealed there was no powdered sugar in my kitchen. None. I checked twice. I even used the stool.

As a side note, I ALWAYS have powdered sugar in my kitchen because I NEVER use it. If I want to make frosting or lemon bars or . . . (what else do you use p. sugar for?), I'll stand in the baking supply aisle straining (and failing) to remember the last time I bought it and how much is left. In exasperation, I buy another box...and then add it to the stockpile when I get home. So imagine my surprise when I actually didn't have any powdered sugar. Do not fear. I am a creative girl and was not about to be stopped from satisfying my craving for lemony desserts due to a lack of time and/or powdered sugar. The result?

Cornmeal Lemon Bars (sans powdered sugar):

Crust:
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
zest from one lemon

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Press into pan and bake for 13x9x2. Bake for 15-20 min. at 350. Don't overbake.

Filling:
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 Tsp flour
1 tsp zest
3/4 cup lemon juice (about 6-8 lemons worth)
1/4 cup half-and-half, light cream or milk

Mix filling and pour onto hot crust. Bake 15-20 minutes more, until center is set. Cool. If you don't eat them all promptly, store them in the refrigerator.

My vote? Yummy. Tweakable? Sure, but definitely yummy.

Now, if your helpful hubby, after listening to your tale of despair at the woeful lack of powder sugar in the house and your explanation of how ingenious and creative your dessert solution is, opens the cupboard and pulls out this...

...you have every right to eat all of the lemon bars yourself.

Show quilt photo....finally!

2009-03-23T16:53:00.005-04:00

Here she is hanging in the show!

(She's not trapezoidal...just hanging high and hard to photograph!)

The show was an interesting experience and I'm glad I participated. Maybe I'll write about it later. Or not. It's been such a crazy couple of weeks that blogging hasn't gotten anywhere beyond the mental processing stage, so we'll see.

Thank you to everyone for your kind comments in the process! Be back soon. (I hope! Another busy, busy week is in full swing already!)

Hope your weekend was rocking and this week is looking good too.

Current Favorite Necklaces

2009-03-12T20:31:00.003-04:00

I just love delicate necklaces. I seem to be wearing one of these almost every day.

This one is just a bit of upcycled bit of hardware I found.

And this one was from my honey for Christmas from lolabean.

Do you have something you wear all the time?

Amazing Empire Quilters' Raffle Quilt

2009-03-11T12:43:00.005-04:00

Isn't this quilt just phenomenal??? It is the raffle quilt for our guild's show, which will be happening next week-end. I am selling 30 raffle tickets in support of the show. Anyone interested??? They are cheeeeeeeap! Only $1 per ticket, or 6 for $5. I know you want at least a shot at owning this quilt....and for $1??? You can't go wrong!

You can see more details about the quilt here. (Be sure to check out the details and the pieced backing.) Wow, I want this quilt!

UPDATE: A little more info about the tickets....I will be turning in all raffle tickets stubs and the money to the guild the day of the show (March 20th), a week later than they would be due if you were sending your money directly to the guild via mail. That means if you want tickets, you and I just need to have it all arranged before then...kind of like someone who goes to buy lottery tickets for the office! Just let me know and we'll find a solution. :)

p.s. I'll post about my show quilt too, including pics soon. :)

Show Quilt. Done.

2009-03-07T19:24:00.003-05:00

My image of accomplishment after a late, late night push to sew on the binding last night. It's finished. It's turned in to be judged. It's ready to show in 2 weeks.

Sigh of relief....

Protecting growth

2009-03-05T22:31:00.000-05:00

On a recent walk through a local garden, I noticed these little burlap fences. While I loved their visual impact on the garden (their color, their texture and how they redefined the space), I wasn't sure of their use. They were so fragile and so open. What could they possibly be protecting?

When I saw one of the gardeners, I asked. She explained that there are several types of heather in this garden and some are more fragile then others. These simple fabric fences surround the more delicate varieties, offering enough protection against the winter winds to prevent dessication and subsequent freezing. Clearly, the gardeners here care for each variety of plant in the garden with detailed attention to their unique needs. They make plans to ensure the growth and full beauty of all that grows there. They protect what needs protection. They nurture what needs more attention.

Could I be more like these gardeners? Could I can give a bit more attention, protection and care to what grows in my life? Can I be clearer in my intentions in choosing what I plant and how I nurture?

I can. I am.

Honoring YOU!!!

2009-03-03T19:01:00.009-05:00

As I was writing down the names of those of you who put your name in the hat for my giveaway so I could, uh, put them in the hat, (see favorite, favorite hat below)

I found myself thinking how grateful I am for each of you and that I wanted to send this little scarf...

...to Bumblebeans for her ongoing efforts to use her creativity for the good of others....

...to Brenda for complimenting my quilt-making efforts when I was new to blogging and showing me see how inspiration passes from person to person....

...to Carolyn, for sharing quilts that inspired me to start a blog in the first place....

...to May, for being funny, open and honest in beautiful and unique ways....

...to Amy, (who lives in my home state!) for simply sharing her life...

...to Jessica, for sponsoring the Soup Swap and reminding me of the little pleasures in life...

...to Mom, for loving beautiful things and always loving me...

...to Alexis, for always finding the coolest things....

...to Megs, for sharing her voice of faith and hope...

...to Amy, for being the first person to really show me what a blogging community is about through her friendship...

...to Kendra, for her enthusiasm and creativity and for extending friendship...

...to Latharia, for amazing me with her energy and generosity...

...to Jean, for creating such beautiful art...

...to Jen, for loving her family and the adventure of her life...

...and anyone else along the way who has made the little collection someplace I like to sit and visit awhile.

Alas, I have only one scarf to give away tonight. And so it goes to.....

(interlude with hubby assisting with very formal drawing)

Jen! The newest visitor to the little collection! Congratulations Jen!

100 Posts Giveaway

2009-02-24T07:45:00.007-05:00

aka: the "Wahoo! I want to celebrate the people I've connected with through blogging" giveaway.

After my first giveaway, my thoughts about giveaways changed. That one was part of a quilting giveaway of close to 100 craft bloggers. I was amazed to have so many people stopping by and commenting on my blog, but I found myself hoping that when I drew a name (or the random integer generator did) that it would be someone I knew...someone whose blog I loved, or a friend who reads mine, or a family member back home. I decided that the next time I gave something away on my blog, it would be a celebration of the connections made through blogging.

And so I'm celebrating the community I found here. I'm so grateful for the ideas shared, the beauty exposed, the inspirational thoughts posted, the gratitude expressed, the honoring of details, the insecurities gently revealed and the reassurances so freely given. I'm grateful for my bloggy friends! And while this post may be followed with an "Aack! How do I keep up with all of the wonderful people I've connected with through blogging?" post, it is simply because I consider you, all of you, to be part of my community now.

And so this giveaway is a thank you to YOU for visiting! I am so grateful you are one of the wonderful people who stop by here. Whether you comment often or we've never formally met, whether you've been here before or whether this is a first visit, you are part of my blog. And so to one of you, as an act of "community service" (hee hee!)...I'd love to give away this little scarf. It is a slightly narrower version of this pattern made out of my favorite yarn in the world in color called Meadow. (Isn't that perfect for spring?) Oh, this yarn makes such airy, soft delicacies! I love, love, love it!

Simply comment on this post, say hello if you are commenting for the first time, make sure I have a way to contact you and then wish upon a star. I'll draw (yes, this time I think I'll draw) a name out next Tuesday night. Good luck! And THANK YOU for being part of my blog.

p.s. If the winner wants buttons or ribbon to go with it as shown in the pattern, simply let me know when I contact you. I would be pleased as punch to add them for you.

I am grateful for....

2009-02-21T14:13:00.006-05:00

A hike....

Here's what hubby spotted. She wasn't bashful. Watchful, but not bashful. She foraged with a younger deer, used her nose to to satisfy an itch (can you see the little nuzzle mark in her fur?) and watched us watching her. We spotted four deer. They were beautiful to watch!

A new project....

I'm embroidering these as a housewarming gift for a friend who moved into a new apartment.

A bit of green...

After seeing Amy's pic, I had to see if there was any green coming up by me and there was!

My next post will be #100. As part of that celebration, I think I'll give away something green. 'Til then, have a lovely day.