The Sacrifices Made

My house has smelled like a chai latte for the last two nights. I go to sleep with ginger and cardamom wafting through our tiny, crowded house. Not a bad smell to fall asleep to when your bed has been empty for two weeks.

Hubby is arriving home just in time for the Food Blogger Bake Sale as part of the Market Collective this Saturday. A huge line-up of Calgary and area based food bloggers are uniting to sell their donated treats all in support of Calgary Meals on Wheels.

To be perfectly honest, I had no idea there were this many local bloggers! And this isn't even a complete list. There will be a range of delicious treats. Vegan treats, gluten free treats, delicious treats, and plain old decadent treats. A giant thank-you to Vincci at Ceci N'est pas un Food Blog for wrangling us.

This bake sale is why my house smells so yummy. My contribution is my Chai Spiced Granola (With Pistachios and Almonds). If you have the Blog Aid:Haiti book you've seen it. Vincci has made it, as has Aimee. So, if you want to try it, you could make it yourself. Or, you could come down to the Market Collective (148-10th Street NW - the old Ant Hill Fabrics building) and pick up a bag. And if you come first thing on Saturday morning I'll be there too.

Chai Spiced Granola (With Pistachios and Almonds)

Makes 10 cups

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup water

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

5 cups rolled oat flakes

1 cup shelled pistachios

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

1/2 cup sesame seeds, flax seeds, or quinoa

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Prepare two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or non-stick spray.

2. Mix together the honey, sugar, water, oil, and spices in a small saucepan. Heat  until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. It's okay if it comes to a boil, but don't leave it there.

3. Stir together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry.  Mix together well. Split between the two cookiesheets.

4. Bake at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 275 degrees F and rotate pans. Bake another 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave to cool completely.

5. Store in an airtight container.

Workshop Updates

Well folks, I'm putting the Workshop in Progress on Hiatus for the summer. Production is low for me, and for many others, as the weather warms up and kids/grandkids emerge from hiding.

In the meantime, make sure you keep up on the Process Pledge participants. Many include Workshop type posts when they are sharing process. I will also keep the Flickr group open and we can share photos and projects there.

As for me, I'm going to try and enjoy the near constant rain we seem to be having. At least colour looks fantastic in this light!

Four

The Monster turns 4 today.  Holy crap, 4! She is a wild and crazy girl. She has two positions - awake and asleep. If her body isn't moving her mouth is. That makes her about a perfect combination of her parents.

Although she did actually ask me for a quilt last week - for the first time no less - and she has added quilter to her career aspirations (along with doctor, paleontologist, rockstar, vet, jogger, and sometimes Spiderman) this was the last quilt I made specifically for her.

A quilter carries around a lot of guilt when she doesn't get to make her own first baby a quilt. I spent 9 weeks on bed rest before she arrived in a flurry of doctors. Yes, she was gifted quilts, but it wasn't the same. So, for her first birthday I made this Monster Eye Spy.

It actually started as a challenge among some quilty friends. We exchanged charms and FQs for the eye spy fabrics. And we set ourselves the additional challenge to add the alphabet. After months, literally, of trying to make it work by using one letter to one fabric I came up with this design. The colour changes work, I think, but I did pick the wrong fabric for the letters. They get lost when viewing the quilt as a whole. Ah, lessons in value... But they are totally visible to The Monster and I up close. We play with it frequently still.

Happy Birthday Monster!

Cookies, Cookies, and More Cookies

You might not consider it a downfall, but one of the downfalls of freelance food writing is developing stories totally out of season. Today I made a spider cake for Halloween, sugar cookies, meringue cookies, and hot cocoa with marshmallows. On at +25C day. Good times.

In truth, dinner was a plain old cheese quesadilla and a handful for cherry tomatoes to soak up the sugar. Despite all those cookies though, I reserved a few of these for a post-the-girls-finally-fell-asleep-and-I'm-exhausted-after-two-weeks-of-single-parenting chocolate chip cookie snack.

These are the first things I ever learned how to make. I may have been about 9. My mom worked fulltime and we three kids were competitive swimmers. Food was about fuel - how much could we get in at any one point, how much could mom buy and cook to hopefully get us through the week. Fed up with purchased cookies I asked if I could make cookies myself. No clue who found the recipe or where it came from. But I was left alone in the kitchen.

I found the entire experience both comforting and empowering. Woohoo, I was in the kitchen and left to my devices! There was butter and chocolate involved. It was the start of something great.

From that point on these were my go-to cookies. My go-to sleepover cookies. My go-to watch TV in the rumpus room cookies. My go-to console a friend whose boyfriend dumped her cookies. My go-to chick-flick cookies. My go-to rainy day and single parenting cookies.

At 35 I have to find people to share these with - I do not need a cup of butter to myself. Thank goodness my kids are happy to help me with that. Now they've become my go-to get in the kitchen and bake with the girls cookies.

Chocolate Chip Slab Cookies

Makes 1 9 x 13 pan

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 cup chocolate chips.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

2. Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Stir in flour and chocolate chips. Press dough in pan.

3. Bake 2-25 minutes until lightly browned. Cool slightly, but cut when still a bit warm. Cool some more before you dig in.

(This post is also a part of Gluten Free Girl's round-up on the first foods we learned how to make.)

More on Process

It is wonderful to me to see the momentum around the Process Pledge. As of this morning almost 150 people have taken the pledge. Now, I have no clue what percentage that is of quilters online - small, I'm guessing - but it is quite heartening to see more and more embrace the notion of sharing our process to the advantage of us all.

Make sure you check out the post with all the links. And if you see someone sharing process but they haven't made the pledge, pass on the link. I took a little time this morning to browse the links. I want to share with you some good posts that really demonstrate the spirit of the Process Pledge.

Lulubloom shows us not only the challenge of sharing process, but an honest account of the questions we often ask as we work out a project. She hasn't shown us an update of where this project is heading, but I'm looking forward to it.

Over at Kate Conklin Designs she has shared a few projects now that outline the process. Her most recent post is in the spirit of the Workshop where she is seeking feedback. I want to give her credit for this post in particular because Kate is a pattern designer, but she is still sharing sketches and the development of the design.

I love, love, love this post. It is always a treat to see the questions asked as we stare and play at our design walls (or floors, or beds). A Prairie Home Quilts really captures this well with her Liberated Amish project.

"Taking the process pledge has made me realize that I would like to become more aware of the things around me that inspire," says Penny at Sew Take a Hike. Right on! Process isn't just about sharing how we cut our fabric or even how we picked it.  It starts right from the inspiration.

While most of us have been to Elizabeth's site, Oh Fransson, I adore that she has really taken the Process Pledge to heart. I'll be honest, hers is a site where I get frustrated at her ability to post so many finished projects. But since taking the pledge she has been sharing the details and process of almost all her quilts. And its been fascinating!

Make sure you check out all the links. I've discovered some fantastic, new-to-me blogs.

Workshop in Progress - June 9

The Calgary Modern Quilt Guild finally got it's act together and met last week! It was a small group of us, but we had loads of fun.  Show and tell, treats to eat, and already a comfort level in our conversations like we were old gossipy friends. We are already looking forward to the next meeting in July.

One of the best things is that Bernadette, the owner of Traditional Pastimes has volunteered her store for our meetings. How awesome is that? So we are going to have the chance for sew days of sorts as well. I, of course, suggested that our sew days take the form of workshop where we use each other for advice, input, and creative mind think. This will be great to do in person. And with a good group so far, including Val, Jen, and our host that night, Jessy, I am really looking forward to that creativity in one room!

For me the workshop is a head down, don't look up kind of place. I am now making my way through a few orders for commission quilts. With school coming to an end soon it also looks like many others are pretty busy.

Okay, I cannot not comment, however, on Elle's quilt.  She is planning circles.  Yeah, I know my circles!

Catch-up

The last month has been nothing more than a giant game of Catch-up.  Is that a game? Probably not. In truth, though, it feels like I am Sisyphus - achieving loads, only to have my deadlines roll down the hill and force me to start over.

When ever I get like this - sadly, not an uncommon occurrence for me - I have my little freak out, make a list, then just start moving. One foot in front of another.  One obligation or deadline met and on to the other. At some point it eases up. At some point...

So, I've been tackling the quilting side of things by catching up on my Pieced Together 2 Bee. Three months behind I was - yikes. (And apparently I am so tired I am now speaking like Yoda.)

This is Colleen's block from Not Quite Vintage. Some Kona Ash paired with actual menswear shirts. I couldn't get over the blues, so in love was I.

Sandy's Cathedral Window. Good for her! I love the way this looks, but I never want to make one again.

Finally, these are Michelle's blocks.  Some beloved to her fabrics that came together really well - Denyse Schmidt and Heather Ross. And my beloved half square triangle.

And, because I am indeed a little crazy, I started a new bee with Rossie. A random comment, a quick idea, a bunch of emails, and we have a new bee.  I am rather excited about it - it feeds my design love for all things mid-century modern.  Sigh. Busy, but happy am I.

Lollipops, Wine, and Mexico

Taking advantage of the sale at our favourite liquor store led to Sunday dinner this week. One could also argue that the near constant desire for a lollipop by The Monster and her knowledge that they have them at the same liquor store also led to Sunday dinner. Regardless.  We shopped, we cooked, we ate.

Tasting a lovely wine yesterday (Walter Hansel Cahill lane Vineyard Chardonnay 2007) I was instantly brought back to our trip to Mexico. It wasn't that the wine reminded me of the cheap imports we got at the supermercado, rather, it was the instant pairing that popped in my head. I immediately though fish, peppers, and a bit of spice. 

Sadly it was too late to get some fish for dinner last night, so we picked some up at the market today. And peppers, tomatoes, garlic, and some lime.  Sadly I forgot the cilantro.  Oh well, it still worked. I finely chopped sweet peppers, tomatoes, garlic and tossed them with a splash of olive oil, tequila, and a half a lime, juiced.

We served it with a quickly seared Opah. A bit of chili powder and cumin to season, and a few minutes per side. It would have been better grilled, as we did in Mexico (although it wasn't Sierra Mackerel), but my grill is currently inaccessible. On the side some sliced cukes, basmati, and sweet potatoes roasted with cumin and lime.

And in case you were wondering, I did not enjoy it with the wine.  One, it is an expensive wine, and two, I'm home alone with the girls so the last thing I need is a full bottle of wine to myself. Or maybe that's exactly what I need!

Five - The Pattern

Here is a fun, quick, and free pattern for you. This the Five quilt. It finishes at 36" square.

Materials Required

Two 1/2 yard/meters of high contrast fabric for top and bottom band

Two 1/3 yard/meters of high contrast fabric for middle band and accent

1/4 yard/meter binding fabric

1 1/8 yard/meter backing fabric

1 1/8 yard/meter batting

10 inch square of lightweight fusible

Coordinating Thread

- You will have a few leftovers, but we all love our scraps, right?

- Ensure that the fabric you use for the applique and the accent really stands out from the other three fabrics, both in value and colour.

Cutting Your Fabric 

Top Band and Bottom Band

One 24.5" x 8.5" strip each

Two 10.5" x 4.5" strip each

One 36.5" x 4.5" strip each

Middle Band

One 24.5" x 8.5" strip

Two 8.5" x 4.5" strip

Accent

One 10" square

Two 24.5" x 2.5" strip

Two 28.5" x 2.5" strip

-Cut the 10" square first, then cut your strips.

Assembly

1. Center portion - sew together the three 24.5" x 8.5" strips in your desired order. Press.

2. Outside pieced border - sew together two sets of the 4.5" inch strips. Keep the following order: top (10.5") - middle (8.5") - bottom (10.5"). Press.

3. Sew the 24.5" inch accent piece to the sides of the center portion. Press. Sew the 28.5" accent pieces to the top and bottom of the center portion. Press.

4. Sew the pieced border to the center/accent portion. Ensure that you line up the seam lines from the center portion to those of the border as best you can. Press.

5. Sew the top and bottom border pieces on. Press.

6. Iron your fusible to the 10 inch square piece of accent fabric. Remembering that your image will be reversed if you draw the desired shape on the fusible, trace and cut out the number or letter you desire.  Try a favourite number or a special initial. 

7. Float the number/letter a few inches from the accent border in the bottom right or left of the center portion. Be conscious of the seam between the bottom and middle background. You don't want to have a definite line right against the seam. Fuse the number/letter in place. Secure with a satin stitch around the number/letter or wait and secure with your quilting.

8. Baste your quilt and finish it as desired. I chose the loopy quilting in coordinating thread to contrast the sharp linear design.

9. Square up your quilt.

10. Cut and attach your binding strips with your preferred method. Here's mine.

Et voila!

If It Wasn't For Her

Today it is all about my Nanny. And in two weeks it will still be all about my Nanny.

It may come as a big surprise to you, but I am not so independently wealthy that I get to do nothing but make ice cream and write blog posts. I only wish. Alas, I am in the office 4 days a week, freelancing and teaching on the side, and oh yeah, raising my two little ones. I could not do any of this without my Hubby, of course. And none of it would be possible without our Nanny.

Emily watches the girls while I'm at the office.  She is outside with them everyday, regardless of the weather, she brings them treats like ice cream bubbles, she cleans the house (even taking out the garbage), and most importantly to me, she bakes. Not only am I happy that my girls get even more time in the kitchen, but it is glorious to come home at the end of the day and have fresh cookies waiting for you.

The two most used cookbooks for cookie recipes are good ol' Martha and, more frequently, Julie's One Smart Cookie. The girls are never afraid to try a new recipe, despite The Monster's usual request to bake chocolate chip anything. When I came home the other day though, these raisin cookies greeted me at the door. My first question was which book they came from?

No book, it was Grandma's recipe.  And Emily has made it so many times she has it memorized. She graciously allowed me to share it here.

To be honest, I'd never thought I would obsess over raisin cookies. But these are moist, sweet, and chewy, with a hint of spice. A chocolate chip fan myself, I can safely say these are one of the best cookies I've ever had. Thank-you Emily, and thank-you Emily's Grandma.

Ridiculously Good Raisin Cookies

makes 4-5 dozen

2 cups raisins

1 cup water

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small sauce pan boil water and raisins together for 5 minutes. Cool slightly and stir in baking soda.  Set aside.

3. Cream together butter and sugar. Add in eggs and vanilla.  Combine well. Stir in raisins then add in dry ingredients.

4. Drop by teaspoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes.

Workshop in Progress - June 2

So, tell me your pattern pet peeves.

Working in the improv style as I tend to do, I read very little patterns. (I also hardly ever cook with a recipe.) But, I promised a pattern for the Five quilt. I'm working on it and I wonder what folks love and hate about the patterns they use.

Sashing or no sashing? It is a common question in the workshop. What do you think about Lee's blocks?

Check out Tonya's blue and brown strip quilt! She was showcased in the Workshop last week for her process post. Now that quilt is done. And she's worried about the quality? Looks fantastic to me.

In teh interest of play time, I can't tell you how excited I am that Lesly found a wonderful tool on line. The Patchwork Pattern Maker takes your photos and turns them into a simple pattern.I realize we could all pixelate our own photos to do this, but this tool itself is so, so awesome.

And finally, somehow I missed this post from Katie a few weeks back. But it is perfect for our goals of sharing process. Man, I am so excited at how many of you are sharing doodles and sketches now. It is wonderful to see how we all think.

Lest I leave you photo-less this week, I am including this pic from our visit to Asparagus Festival this weekend. A small break in the rain/snow to run around in a field and eat asparagus!

Five

This quilt could have been called Rainbow Sherbet. Or perhaps a light lemon sorbet. You know that fancy dining convention of serving sorbet in the middle of the multi-course meal to cleanse the palate? Well, this is that quilt for me.

After finishing Roots I needed a little break.  Something light, something easy, something fun. With a baby shower to attend this past weekend, for the new baby of a dear cousin, I whipped up this little quilt. 

You see, I am 5 days older than this particular cousin. Growing up I also loved to point out that I was 5 days smarter, better looking, funnier, taller, and stronger than him.  I stopped teasing him when he grew to well over 6 feet tall and could kick my butt when we wrestled. Damn dancer's legs on him!

This little gem was easy to make, but a lot of fun.  You could easily swap out the appliqued #5 with a letter of choice. I fused the number on and satin stitched around it. Otherwise the rest of it is simple piecing. The back was a little polka dot number, as was the binding.

Free pattern coming out on Friday.

Maintaining the Idea of Spring

Biba Caggiano taught me how to make risotto when I was 19. It was summer break during university. In between multiple jobs to save for tuition I found the time to watch PBS on Saturday afternoon. "Biba's Italian Kitchen" was always on. So I would sit in my Dad's office, taking notes, and watching Biba on a 12 inch screen.

When I went back to school and suddenly found myself alone in a basement suite, craving something more than a hearty salad I always turned to risotto. It was the comfort food that got me through my last year of university, in between thesis writing, working, and running a muffin business.

People are always so scared of risotto.  I blame the recipes for this.  Read a recipe for risotto and it is enough to scare off anyone - they are always so wordy and make it sound complex.  But risotto is not complex. Nor does it require endless stirring.

Tonight we returned home from a weekend away, visiting family.  We stopped at Edgar Farms on the way home for Asparagus Fest.  There was a break in the rain and snow, so it worked out perfectly. We caught up with Doug, Elna, Keri, and Randy of Edgar Farms. We chatted with Wade and John. We ate, we pet animals, we jumped in puddles, and we definitely grabbed some asparagus. First from the field and then my mother-in-law treated us to a few bundles to take home (awfully generous of her since she also babysat for us last night!)

When we walked in the door at 6, everyone was exhausted from a busy weekend and an afternoon outside.  To be honest, I was real tempted to give in to Hubby's request for the pizza man delivery. Then I decided we needed to eat more asparagus, but we also needed something warming. Something to fill our bellies but still feel light enough to remind us that it is indeed still spring. Risotto! Lemon Asparagus Risotto to be specific.

I'm not going to give you a recipe. Risotto, I think, is more of a basic technique than a recipe. Now, I've never served to an Italian grandmother, so mine could totally suck.  But we all love it. In fact, risotto is the only way The Monster will eat rice. So, don't be scared, here is my technique for risotto.

1. Finely dice a small/medium onion. Toss in a tall sided frying pan with a generous swig of olive oil or knob of butter. or both. Sweat them out on medium heat.

2. While the onion is cooking mince a couple of cloves of garlic. Add to onions and stir.

3. Immediately add your Arborio rice (available in most grocery stores and definitely in an Italian market). I use about a handful a person. Stir in and get the rice coated with the oil/butter.

4. If you happen to have wine in the house, pour a generous slosh of it in the pan and let it reduce. No wine? So what.

5. Once your wine has reduced, if you've used it, start adding in hot chicken stock, veggie stock, or water.  Yes, I think it is okay to use water, you will just have to season really well at the end. Add in the liquid about a ladle at a time.  Stir well before and after each addition.

6. Add a ladle of liquid every few minutes or so. The goal is to have the liquid be absorbed slowly. So when it looks like you have little liquid, add more. After about 15 minutes, start tasting. Risotto should have a bit of "tooth" to it. In other words, you don't want it mushy, but it should be creamier than regular rice.

7. When it reaches the right consistency, turn off the heat. Stir in some more olive oil or butter - whichever one you used with the onions - another good swig or knob. Also stir in some cheese - parmesan, manchego, asiago - a grated hard cheese is my preference. Serve immediately.

Tonight I also stirred in some asparagus that I blanched for a bit and some lemon zest. Another night I might stir in roasted butternut squash, or sauteed mushrooms, or maybe peppers and zucchinis. Cook's choice. I just recommend that you cook the veggies separately so they don't get overdone or mushy in the cooking rice.

Okay, now that I've written that out it does seem wordy and complex. Trust me, it's not.

After a quiet evening of movie watching we then had a pre-bed snack with the girls.  I also picked up some rhubarb at Edgar Farms so I made this lovely Rhubarb Upside Down Cake.

Chicken and the Egg

So, which came first? The chicken or the egg? In my case, was it the quilt or the bike?

Talk about life imitating art! Hubby bought me a bike for my birthday last week. I'm not allowed to ride my mountain bike because of my still bad knees, but a cruiser was given the OK by my physiotherapist. We walked into the bike shop and I knew immediately which one I wanted.  Thankfully it actually felt pretty comfortable to ride.

But if I didn't know any better, I would have guessed I made the quilt after I got the bike!

The only problem is that I don't think my yellow helmet with bongo playing skeletons is much of a match for the bike.

I am ridiculously happy to be moving on the bike.  I rode in the evening sun, drinking in the colours and smells of our neighbourhood - a riot of spring. Movement has never made me so happy.

An Abundance of Limes

On a gorgeous weekend not too long ago, Hubby and I indulged in quite a few gin and tonics. We've discovered a new-to-us gin and are rather obsessed with it. The first time I saw it in our local wine store I asked the purveyor what it was good for, meaning martinis or G&T? His response, "Making Babies!"

Well, I can't attest to that at all - she says as she raises another gin and tonic - but I can say that it makes about the finest drink I've had. Aside from those Negronis. If we ever get some heat again the Old Raj is coming back out.

I will, however, need to buy more limes. You see, we got a little gung ho that one warm weekend and bought about a dozen limes. No, we aren't that big of drinkers. We merely forgot we already had them. Yes, we were sober when we were at the store.

With an abundance of limes and a convenient container filled with egg yolks it really did seem that the only option was to make ice cream. Gin and tonic ice cream? Hmm, not too bad of a concept, but my brain could not figure out how to capture the necessary balance of taste with the custard base. Browsing through the books, I came across a recipe for Margarita Ice Cream in Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer.

Um yeah, sign me up. 

This recipe did not disappoint. I was worried it would be too eggy, but all that lime juice really cuts the richness. Overall it is refreshing without being cloying. Smooth but somehow a bit light. It isn't a Margarita - which would have also been a most excellent use for our extra limes - but the hint of tequila is amazing. I did cut back on the amount of alcohol because I knew the girls would be having some ice cream If you swapped out the tequila for a generous splash of vodka you would simply get something akin to Key Lime Pie ice cream.  Hmmm, there might be a frozen pie idea there...

This is the second ice cream recipe I've made with sweetened condensed milk. I must admit, I'm rather fond of it.  I wonder what David Lebovitz would say? It creates a silkiness to the ice cream without overly sweetening it. I'm always afraid it will be too sweet, but it really works well.

Now, I wonder how good this ice cream will taste with the snow we're expecting? Yes, snow. Don't talk to me about it.

Margarita Ice Cream

(Adapted from Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer)

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

6 large egg yolks

300 mL tin of sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup tequila

splash of Triple Sec, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier

Juice of 6 limes and zest of 1

1. Heat the cream in a heavy saucepan. Slowly whisk it into egg yolks, off the heat.  Once combined, pour back into the saucepan and cook it, stirring, until thickened.  It should coat the back of the spoon.

2. Pour the custard into a clean bowl and let it cool slightly.  Stir in the condensed milk, alcohol, lime juice, and zest. Cover the surface directly with plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours at a minimum.

3. Churn according to your ice cream maker's instructions. Enjoy.

Workshop in Progress - May 26

In the Workshop this week, for me, is nothing but doll quilts.  I accepted an order from Bamboletta a while back.  Now that my Dad's quilt is finished I can tackle those. I must admit, it is nice to work on a small scale for the moment. Odd, I know, considering I love big quilts.

Also on the design board is a new Flickr group for the Workshop. I had a few requests, particularly from folks who use Flickr more than anything to share their work, to open this up to Flickr.  Feel free to post in the group as well. Like all workshop posts, the Flickr group is for sharing process and seeking the input of others.

So many folks out there are taking the notion of sharing Process to heart. We could call this Workshop in Progress/Process.  Same thing, really. I am very happy to see more and more folks participating, and sharing openly and honestly. This post from Andrea is a perfect example. In it she opens up her sketchbook and shares a number of concepts. This requires a certain amount of bravery, but I adore her for for doing it. And she has some wicked ideas!

Tonya at Maggie and Josephine has also taken the Process Pledge to heart.  This week she shares a new baby quilt she has on the go.  Very sweet.

And a finished quilt to share today as well. Lesly has been using the Workshop for opinions on her neutral quilt.  Well, she has finally revealed it. Oh my, what a finish!  I'm glad she listened to the Workshop (gee, when I say it that way it sounds like I'm referring to it like it's the Borg) and went with that cross hatch sashing.

To view more process related posts, don't forget to check out all the pledge participants here.

Roots

Roots

May 2010

Approximately Twin Sized

100% cotton, original design

Here it is, aptly named, my Dad's quilt: Roots.  Roots for the garden growth that sustained my Baba and Dido as well as our family.  Roots for the foundation of where we come from. Roots to acknowledge such an important part of our family legacy.  Roots to impart growth the the family as the next generations arrive and thrive.

This was a true family project. My sister and sister-in-law and I pieced together the top, with a few helpful hands from my daughters and husband. Hubby and my brother watched the 6 kids so we could get that done, while my Mom kept the secret and took care of my sister's dog when she was away to get the top done. Then my brother and sister-in-law found the fabric for the back (so much Mark Lipinksi Krakow - how appropriate). They, with their kids, basted the quilt. I quilted it, again with input from Hubby and help from the girls. Here are my brother and I putting the finishing touches on the quilt. Me, the binding, and he, the label. (This picture entertains me so, the surgeon doing hand stitching.)

Here is a broader view of the quilt, off the back deck of my brother's house.  A house my Dad built for them. My Dad is a builder, always has been. He is one of those guys that doesn't know how not to work, so he is always happy to be putting something together. Of late, he's been spending some time with crochet hooks instead of hammer and nail. 

Now, some details. This is part of the flower patch. A 2 inch checkerboard, with free motion quilting. See those little flowers interspersed here and there?

This is the house. Baba and Dido's house was this tiny house that my Dad himself help build, probably back in high school. It was probably less than 500 square feet. It consisted of a sitting room, an eat-in kitchen, one bedroom plus another sleeping area, and an entry/pantry. At some point my Dad added on another room, creating two bedrooms in total. And I still remember, back in the 80s, when the bathroom, and running water, was added.

It was quite a shock to the system to visit the house - we were suburban kids. I hated using the outhouse, and our arrival meant sleeping in stuffy beds, listening to the drinking and yelling of Ukrainian visits. Even to this day, it shows me what one can do in a small house.

On two sides of the house was a boardwalk made of wood. A small forest was on the back side, and a small lawn on the front.  Otherwise the house was surrounded by garden.

No Ukrainian garden would be complete without dill and onions! Each of the veggies in the garden was quilted individually, with some brown, tight stipple in between.  In fact, looking at these close-ups, you will see that each section was quilted individually.  I would say I used at least 20 different threads throughout the quilt. Time-consuming and frustrating at times, but worth it.

The white picket fence that led up to the house was a perfect spot to really personalize the quilt. I practiced my cursive writing and put the family's names on the fence. This frames the yard with the picnic table, complete with a box of drying onions on it.

This Toe-Catcher photo shows the slough/dug out at the front of the property, complete with the little dock where we stood to gather water for the garden. Or where we caught frogs to freak out my Mom.

This is the label for the quilt. My brother is a label star. He found the grain elevator image. It was perfect because both my parents grew up across the street from the grain elevator. He played with the image, adding the town name and the necessary details about the quilt.

And here we are sharing the quilt with Dad, at a family brunch. It was presented with little fuss, but we all spent a lot time pouring over the details. I didn't see any tears from my Dad, but that isn't surprising. He's a gruff, tough man. But he knew what it was right away and definitely appreciated it. I only hope that it keeps him warm for all his upcoming naps on the couch.

(This quilt shared as part of the Spring 2010 Blogger's Quilt Festival.)

Birthday Dinner

It's my birthday and I'll cook if I want to.

After last week's miss of a good Sunday dinner, I cooked dinner tonight, even though it was my birthday. Oh, and I also was the one who got out of bed with the girls in the morning too. And cleaned up after dinner.  Let the record state that I only wanted to cook dinner.

Dinner tonight was a simple roast chicken. I adore roast chicken. It is about one of the easiest things you can make. I mean that, it is so damn easy.

1. Take chicken out of plastic.

2. Rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry.

3. Fill chicken cavity with garlic, fresh herbs of any variety, and fruit (lemon, apple, grapefruit - cut in quarters).

4. Drizzle chicken with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, or a spice blend.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes per pound in a 350 degree F (preheated oven).

6. When the leg moves freely and the juices run clear when the skin is pierced near the wing the chicken is done. Let rest for 20 minutes. Eat.

Tonight I roasted my chicken with garlic, rosemary, and a grapefruit. (We're out of lemons.) And I rubbed the skin with an Ethiopian Berbere spice blend that Aimee gave me. Oh, yum. Served with a pile of Gull Valley tomatoes tossed with Fairwinds Farm Goat Feta and the first of the Edgar Farms asparagus it was an easy, tasty, and ridiculously local dinner.

Good food aside, it is my birthday, so cake was necessary.  Hubby was willing to bake a simple chocolate cake, but I convinced him to pick up something at the market today. A Caramel Chocolate Tart from The Bakery at the Calgary Farmer's Market. Love the Wacky Cake, Hubby, but that tart was definitely better.

So the drama of split milk and singing Happy Birthday later, we finished the night with the first backyard fire of the season. 

Now that's a Sunday dinner!

Workshop in Progress - May 19

Okay, I'm a little perplexed.  Or maybe not. I got my quilt back from the Invitational Show at Quilt Canada. And this label was pinned on.  Is it normal protocol to attach the label from a show to a quilt? Or do people merely hang on to these in a special spot/lose them in the mess of their sewing space?

Now, all around the web this week people have been talking process.  I love it! Thank-you all for taking on the challenge and the pledge.

Elle is busy, as always, on a sunny couple of quilts. In her post this week she is playing around with fabric choices.  It is really fun to see what's in and what's out.  Do you share her conclusions?

The inspiration for Elle's piece came from Sue. Now Sue is asking for input on the placement of design on her fantastic stripes and circles. This is a quilt after my own heart.

How cute is this? Katie completed her super family in cross stitch.  Any thoughts on whether she should add to the final design or not?

Our other Katie in the workshop is debating sashing choices this week. She's come up with some very different looks.  Which one is your favourite?

There are two other posts I wanted to share here. They really fall in line with the emphasis on process that Rossie and I are trying to encourage.

Elizabeth at Oh Fransson had a wonderful post on her thinking and process with her latest project - getting her bee blocks together.  Even for her, she admits, it was a change to step back and document her thinking.  But to see an artist and designer like her share with readers all these little steps and thought is fantastic!  Thanks Elizabeth!

And finally, I wanted to share Jacquie's experiment here. This is a wonderful example of crowd sourcing in the Quilting 2.0 universe. Jacquie asked her readers to pick a fabric and name an inspiration for her next project.  If that isn't a perfect example of modern quilting then I don't know what is.

New Inspiration

For Smilosarus' birthday the other day we got her some Crayon Rocks. Hubby was very skeptical about my on-line purchase from Stubby Pencil Studio.  You see, we have a ridiculous amount of markers, coloured pencils, and crayons all over the house. 

Markers and crayons, however, cannot be used without supervision because a certain small, smiley girl will either write on the walls, eat them, or break them. And there just doesn't seem to be enough satisfaction for her with the pencils. I figured it couldn't hurt to try these Crayon Rocks.

What a huge success!  They are perfect for little hands, easy to clean up, and not one has made their way into a mouth yet. And the colours! True and lovely. She handed me a pile of them yesterday and I was struck by the random combination in my hand.  A new project?