We put the "fun" in dysfunctional!

The first time I heard that saying was about four years ago when I worked for a growing retailer. Yes. I lead a sheltered life. This past week I read similar words to those in a quilting novel by Terry Thayer titled "Ocean Waves"*. I believe one of the characters said "she takes the 'fun' out of dysfunctional", but that was close enough to make a connection. [I read the "e-book". Free from my library. If my library has free e-books yours probably does too.]



Seems that most people I've met feel that they have a dysfunctional family. The older I get the more I realize how much we all have in common. All families are dysfunctional in one way or another. Even the ones in Pleasantville. Some just think they are perfect. lol

Because of our past with our families sometimes holidays aren't the most fun times to get together. It all depends on your perspective. 

We used to have a grand time playing in my great grandma's basement when the whole family came together for the holidays. The ladies in the kitchen cooking up a feast fit for a king. The men watching or talking about sports or cars. The kids all pumped up from eating jelly beans; running in and out of rooms - being kids. The stories you've heard a thousand times and can probably repeat word for word. The little quirks that we all have. Yes, you too darlin'. It's good to be with people who know you so well that you can say a certain phrase and all the grown-ups understand and laugh. Enjoy these times. They are the good stuff in life.

Here's something most families and people in general have in common: We all come together during both good and bad times. Holidays. Weddings. Birthdays. Funerals. We help each other. Like the hero's say: "I just did what needed to be done".

Tomorrow is Easter. A time for families. A time to celebrate. A time to be washed clean by the blood. A time to meet each other in love. This is my Easter prayer: 

Let no harsh word escape my mouth today. 

Let me think happy thoughts. 

Let me bask in the glory that surrounds me.

Let me love my fellow man. 

Let me walk in peace.

Let me live for today.

The Hippies did have some good ideas. It's all about love. The Youngbloods sing Get Together.

Happy Easter, Folks. Have a grand time with your friends and family. Make a good memory.

We're having unseasonably warm weather right now. It's supposed to get up to 50 degrees today. Hey - I'm in Pennsylvania. That's a heat wave for this time of year. I'm off for a hike with Bandit. Toodles! as my friend, Teri would say.

* This is the third book I've read by this author. They are very easy reads. Predictable, but well written dialog and character development. Of course, they're about quilts. Worth the read if you like that kind of book. A little spicy in spots, but she only sets the scene - your imagination would fill in the blank. You don't need a Kindle to read an e-book there's link to an application for it below.

Friday Foolishness

Here's a song and a story to get your weekend off to a good start.

Toes by Zac Brown Band

So I'm getting ready for bed last night. Showered. Teeth brushed. Hair combed. Alarm set. Got the dog his bedtime snack so he'd stop whining and go to sleep.
Spoiled rotten doggie. We love 'em that way, don't we? Here I go. lah-de-dah. Walking around. Checking to make sure that the doors are locked. The wood stove is banked and it's door is closed; must be drafting okay 'cause there's a nice flame at the back. Coffee pot ready to turn on. Animals have full water dishes. Work computer turned off. Burners on the gas stove are off; all three pilots are lit. 'tis an old stove - but it works better than those new fangled ones. Most of the time anyway.

[There was a day when I fell asleep on the couch for no particular reason. I laid down because I had a headache. both cats were asleep. the dog was asleep. All laying down on the floor. really odd that they were all in the same vicinity (and ain't hindsight 20-20.) Turns out the oven pilot had gone out somehow. If a friend hadn't stopped by we might just have blown sky-high. Not that we would have felt it.]

Anyway... like I was sayin'

I was getting ready for bed and kept feeling this weird lump between my legs with every step I took. Now, earlier in the day I had my weekly weigh-in...the dial went in the wrong direction, don't cha' know. But seriously - I knew I hadn't put on that much weight. My teal-green, fleece retro-70s pajama bottoms with the rainbow peace signs - that go so well with my long sleeve black Steelers thermal top - have a drawstring top with pom-poms on the ends of the string. When the drawstring isn't pulled tight and tied those pom-poms just so happens to fall in a strategic location. Think about it for a minute.  [make me go to the store and buy regular pajamas will ya? there: take that! :p ]

Now I know why guys walk funny sometimes. LOL

Y'all have a great weekend! And don't be getting jealous over my keen sense of fashion either.

On Point Nine Patch

It's funny how a simple thing like a nine-patch quilt block when turned on it's point can look so very, very different.







As long as you find and cut according to the straight of grain, squares are so easy to work with. There's no worrying about stretching (like those dreaded triangles). No set-in seams to fiddle with. No curves to pin or sew along. Just simple, straightforward sewing.

I used the rotary cutting and strip piecing methods found in the Quilting Bible to put this quilt together. I found it to be a lot quicker than traditional methods. The finished size is 33" x 52" -- a good size for either a crib or lap quilt.

Turned out rather pretty.

Amazing Service!!!

Farm Animal Nursery Quilt - Continued...

On Friday I ordered the Farm Animal Nursery Quilt block pattern from Jack Dempsey Needle Art so I could "fix" and finish the quilt. It arrived at the Post Office today via First Class Mail. This is a picture of the wall quilt I ordered at the same time.










It came with six free embroidery blocks and a little note that read:
 

JACK DEMPSEY NEEDLE ART MENTORING PROGRAM

In order to cultivate, educate and engage a 

whole new generation of embroidery

 enthusiasts, we are sending you a free sample

 to share your passion for embroidery with a

friend, family member, scout troop or anyone

 else you think would enjoy embroidering as 

much as you do.

www.jdneedleart.com

Isn't that nice? What a great way to give back! I'm thinking of speaking with my local librarian about holding an embroidery class. What do you think?

Now it's time for me to get busy and embroider that last block so I can finish the quilt.

In the meantime, here's a photo of the free blocks.

Thankful Thoughts on a Tuesday

A while back I had remarked to my son, "Great weather if you're a goose". (You know - just being a smarty-pants.) He said, "What in the world are you talking about?" I went on to explain that the snow was floating slowly to the ground, but that the flakes were the size of goose down - really big and fluffy. We're having a repeat, only it's not just floating down - it's swirling up and down and all around like it's dancing to a minuet. My kids call this one of my mom-ism's; at least they listen to me when I talk (usually).



Even though the last two sticky buns are calling my name from the refrigerator, I'm dining on Progresso Vegetable Classics Minestrone today in keeping with that nasty it's almost swimsuit time diet. I'm eating the whole can though. A big ol' 200 calories! Yup. I'm sure before the end of the day one of those little buns are going to be headed for my hips, but for now I'm resolved to be good. lol I did however put a generous dollop of homemade 'hot sauce' in the soup [recipe here.] It'll clear out your sinuses!

While I was opening the can I noticed the Box Top$ for Education coupon and wondered if the schools in this area took advantage of this program. I remember Gran used to save all of the labels from Red & White soup and give them to the school. I don't remember if it was the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts that came around and picked them up. She's just say "put them in the drawer with the rest of them". I remember we always had crackers with our soup to make the meal s-t-r-e-t-c-h further. Did your family do that? We had Ritz crackers or townhouse crackers. Sometimes Gran would splurge and we'd have chick-n-biscuit crackers. For the tomato soup we always had oyster crackers.

Isn't the memory a funny thing? We remember some things in our life in such vivid detail and other things, eh -- not so much.

Today I'm thankful that I have happy memories and for the simple ability to remember them. Some people have Alzheimer's; some have never known love.

I'm grateful for being inside a house warmed by cherry logs while watching goose-down snowflakes drifting around outside my window. Some people are homeless.

I'm grateful for vegetable soup out of a can...even though my homemade tastes better. Some people will go to sleep hungry.

I'm thankful for friends and family that telephone out of the blue just to chat about the weather. Some people don't have friends and family and feel all alone in the world.

I'm thankful for having a new day to celebrate life.

Do yourself a favor: Smile. And pass it on.

Kool and the Gang sing Celebration

Getting the hang of machine piecing triangles

If at first you don't succeed.... RIP, RIP, RIP!


I looked around for something to do while waiting for my order to come in from Jack Dempsey Needle Art so I can finish the Farm Animal Nursery Block quilt.

I get bored easily so I'm always working on something. Several something's as a matter of fact. I read books the same way - usually have three going at a time.

In my fabric stash is this lovely print that reminds me of stars. I purchased it thinking that I'd use it as a background for a dragonfly applique pattern that I picked up when a friend's shop was going out of business. Wish she was still open; her fabric selections were right in line with my tastes. The dragonfly applique piece may never be completed. It's tiny and hard to work, but I add a few stitches from time to time.

The "starry" fabric is shown below with both the deep purple and the white fabric.

There are a few different blocks I'll make with this fabric. The first is called "Ohio Star". I took the pattern from The Quilting Bible by Singer. It's one of the first projects demonstrated in the book and is fairly straightforward. This nine-patch has five squares and four triangle blocks.

I'm fairly new to machine quilting and I thought the Ohio Star would be a breeze. I usually hand piece and quilt, but I'm getting older now and want to find a way to quilt without putting as much stress on my hands.

Putting together the triangle pieces was a snap. I did as the book suggested and sewed them one right after the other leaving little chains of stitches between them. Then I sewed them together and was just so proud that my points looked so pretty.

I sewed the double triangles to the solid blocks where they were supposed to go, ending up with three strips of three blocks each. The trouble began when I sewed the three strips together. The points were no longer pointy. Oh no!

Sometimes when points don't display properly it's either a cutting or sewing problem. This was neither -- it was a pinning problem. I neglected to identify with a pin the exact spot the sewing machine needle should pierce in order for the finished product to be perfect. My daughter calls it the 'peek and pin' method. lol

Here's the finished block (not exactly perfect, but close enough).

Shown below is the in-progress dragonfly applique block. At its widest point it is nine inches across. TINY. Makes me wonder what I was thinking when I bought it.

Here is my first completed machine quilt project. It's from a kit put together many moons ago by Longaberger. A pillow with a pocket.

Saturday Reflection

Winter Sunset, painted January 2013

As I stood at the kitchen sink this morning waiting for the coffee to perk
and  washing up the dishes from last night's dinner -- a chore put off in order to spend just a few more minutes with my love -- I looked up and saw the silhouette of a mourning dove on the telephone line that runs through my front yard. In the background were leafless apple trees all gnarled with age posed in the classic stance of old men stooped over on their canes with one arm bracing their backs and clouds so deeply grey you could wring the moisture from them with a harsh glance from your eyes. Peeping between the clouds meandering across the horizon a yellow so bright it is edged with white - or is it the other way around?

At that point I realized that the glorious stark Winter sunrises and sunsets are almost over. While I enjoy every season it's taken me years to appreciate the beauty of winter. The sharp contrasts. Delighting in the variety and quantity of birds at the feeders. Watching the slow change from Autumn to Winter and now from Winter to Spring. Mother Earth falling to sleep and waking back up. As one ends another begins. More subtle than the calendar change from one year to the next.

This winter I've been blessed to watch Bandit play in the snow for the very first time. I've learned to love our two mile hikes in the snow watching the tracks alongside the trail. Listening to the way the snow squeaks under the crunch of winter boots knowing that it's really cold.

It's been great watching the cardinals, blue jays, red-winged blackbirds, tufted tit-mice, nuthatches, wrens, finches and black-capped chickadees. Not to mention the ever-present mourning doves. I love the sound their wings make when they take flight. Yet when I see dozens of them scrunched up like vultures perched in the thorn apple tree by the feeder I just want to pull out a shotgun and take a quick shot. Lucky for them I live in town too close to the neighbor for that to ever happen.

Tomorrow is a day of rest. Today my only chores are moving the squash and cucumber seedlings to the kitchen window so they get a bit more sunlight and machine quilting a nine-patch quilt (photo coming soon). Perhaps I'll take some of the leftover sticky buns to the neighbor [recipe here]. They're probably good with coffee. Perhaps I should taste one to make sure they haven't gone bad overnight.

The snow is floating down from the sky and I must start my chores.

Y'all have a great day!

Sticky Buns

Gran always called these "Sticky Buns". Our family's version of Cinnamon Rolls.







Soften 2 package active dry yeast in 1/2 cup warm water  and set aside.

Put into a large bowl:1/2 cup shortening (oleomargarine), softened
1/2 cup sugar (I use brown sugar)
1 1 /2 teaspoons salt

Scald 2 cups milk.


Pour scalded milk over ingredients in bowl and stir. When lukewarm, blend in, 1 cup sifted flour.  

Add about 3 cups flour to the yeast mixture and beat until very smooth. Then add  1 egg, well beaten.

Then beat in about 2 - 2 1/2 cups sifted flour using just enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and let stand 5 - 10 minutes.

After dough has rested, knead until it is smooth and elastic using as little additional flour as possible. (Gran always said it would feel like silk passing over your hands. Not wet, but not dry. If you get too much flour your dough will be heavy. Not enough kneading and it won't rise properly.)

Form dough into a ball and place in greased bowl. Cover bowl with damp towl and let stand in a warm place until dough is doubled.

Cover bottom of 13" x 9" pan with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 cup nuts. 

Once dough is doubled, punch down with fist. Remove from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll into an 18" x 9" oblong. Spread with 5 tablespoons softened butter or margarine; sprinkle with a mixture of 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon; 1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional; note: I usually use more nuts). Beginning with longer side, roll dough tightly. Press the edges to seal. Using a butter knife, cut the roll into 1 inch slices. Arrange rolls on sugar mixture, cut-side down.

Bake at 350 degrees F 25-30 minutes. Turn pan upside down at once onto a tray or platter. Leave the pan on top of the rolls for a minute to let all the butterscotch drip down over them.

Market SNAFU

Farm Animal Nursery Quilt - Part Three
OR Good News/Bad News

All nine blocks have been embroidered now.

There was a block that can be personalized in the set. It's where you put the baby's name, date of birth and weight - if you're making it for someone special.  Because this quilt isn't for someone in particular I decided to put a line from a nursery song that I felt was appropriate regardless of whether it's politically correct or not.

The text was easy enough to make. I used the Block Letter Guide included with the kit as a template for the letters. I drew three horizontal lines on a piece of typing paper then creased the paper in half vertically. To center the text I used what my old typing teacher taught: count the letters and spaces and divide that number in two. If it's an uneven number, center the middle letter on the crease. Once all the letters were traced onto each line, I placed the template under the block and, using a pencil, very lightly traced the letters onto the block. Easy as pie!

Next, I cut the sashing to go between and around the blocks and sewed them together as per the instructions. I had to take out one of the seams and re-sew it because instead of two right-sides together I had put a right and wrong side together. Not really a big deal, because it could be fixed and all I lost was a little time.

The SNAFU came after I had pinned the last block on the strips together to sew. (You sew the short sashing to the blocks, then sew the blocks together, then sew the strips to first the inner then the outer sashing). As I pinned it to the inner sashing I noticed that I had neglected to cut the extra fabric off the block. Can you guess what happened? YUP. I cut the sewing line instead of the cutting line. UGH!!!

All nine embroidered blocks are shown below sitting willy-nilly on the background fabric.



Here's the good news: cutting this one block on the sewing line didn't ruin the quilt, it just delayed the completion.

I went online to Jack Dempsey Needle Art and ordered a new kit. Which, by the way, was on SALE! Their shipping and prices were so reasonable that I ordered a cross-stitch sampler too. Can't wait for them to arrive!

Home from Market

Farm Animal Nursery Quilt - Part Two.

Step one of this embroidered quilt was to embroider the nine broadcloth blocks.
I'm using both the outline stitch and the running stitch. You can use whatever stitches you're comfortable with.





One of the reasons I purchased this kit was because I believed it would be easier than creating a traditional quilt. While it may be easier (and quicker) than a hand-pieced or machine-pieced quilt, I had forgotten how long it takes to embroider properly. When I say properly what I mean is the back of the piece should look as neat as the front of the piece. That's the way I was taught.

The picture above shows both the front and back of the "bunny" block from the kit. I think it looks good. What do you think?

To market, to market to buy a fat quarter...

Farm Animal Nursery Quilt - Part One

These Farm Animal Quilt Blocks were purchased from Mary Jo's Cloth Store in Gastonia, NC while on a day-trip with my mother and daughter. We spent hours browsing the shop and came away with some beautiful fabric. They have an incredible selection of all types of fabric and notions at great affordable prices. If you happen to stop by there check out their reproduction fabrics.


Mary Jo's had several patterns of stamped embroidery blocks. I liked the Farm Animals best. The pattern itself was made in the USA by Jack Dempsey Needle Art in St. Louis, MO. Here is a link to their other patterns they offer: Jack Dempsey 9" Nursery Quilt Squares Inexpensive. Made in USA. Both good selling/buying points.

The pattern instructions told the size of material to use for the front and backing. It also noted additional materials needed to complete the project were batting, a hoop, needle and floss.

It took a while to decide which "check" fabric to use for the sashing and backing. After rubbing the fabric between my fingers and looking closely at the thickness I chose this wonderful woven red check cotton fabric. Isn't it funny how you can just feel quality fabric? I guess that's why it's referred to as the "hand" of the fabric.

I didn't need to purchase the other "additional materials" so after a nice lunch at Red Lobster, we headed home.

Here is a picture of the kit I chose.

It comes with pre-printed cotton/poly broadcloth blocks, a Block Letter Guide (to use if you want to personalize the quilt) and instructions on how to assemble the quilt. Other materials and notions need to be purchased separately. The notions and fabric requirements are shown on the back of the pattern - just like on sewing patterns (Butterick, Simplicity, etc.).

I already had the notions needed. The woven check I chose is shown below.

Isn't it lovely?

It takes a while to embroider the blocks and that's the first step.

For now I'll just have a spot of tea and reflect on my next post.

Have a great day, y'all!

Brought to you in part by....

So here I am listening to http://www.youtube.com and looking out my kitchen window at the sunshine reflecting off the snow. The same sunshine that came out from behind the clouds as I was bringing in the last armload of cherry for the day.




After a week straight of snow, snow and more snow, the sunshine was blindingly bright. My first thought was "Where did I leave my sunglasses". The second random thought was I wonder what the Eskimo Indians did to protect their eyes from the light? [answer HERE]
As the sun brightens the day, I sit here reflecting on my circumstances. Who would have known that I would be unemployed for a year? I don't know of anyone else unemployed for that length of time that doesn't feel defeated. And that's definitely what I'm feeling right now. Hundreds of job applications, all those interviews, all the follow-up phone calls and letters. Still no job.

But the sun is shining and it's the first day of Spring so I'm determined to make the best of this day that I've been given.

All my life people have been telling me that I have a way with words. Friends and family have told me that they can "see" what I'm telling them about in my letters and emails.

"The secret's in the sauce - or so I'm told" says a character from one of my favorite movies. [Fried Green Tomatoes] Here's my opportunity to "give y'all a taste of my sauce". I'll serve it up. You let me know what you do and don't like.

This blog is brought to you in part by:
The Need to Create
I-R-Unemployed N NotLikin'It
Family Members
Facebook Friends
Too Much Time On My Hands <-- for those of you who are listening to this in your head right now. It'll make ya wanna get up and DANCE!