Pots and Pins

Quilt Group Friday...

Few people were in attendance and we had even fewer quilts - like two!!!  That's an all-time LOW record for our group but the two quilts we saw were pretty spectacular in their own way.  Here, let me show you!

You might remember this from a few weeks back - this quilt was assembled at our American Hero Quilt Sew Day but there's a bit of a story to this one.  First, let me just say I will understand if you think this isn't the most beautiful quilt you've ever seen but it is a testament to using what's on hand, cleaning out those scraps and making things work!  And that makes this quilt pretty darn pretty if you ask me! 

Barbara sewed most of the 16-patch blocks together and donated them to our project.  She didn't buy any fabric to sew the blocks, just used what was in her scraps. 

Those blue blocks with the white pieces in them?  Well, those were made for Stephanie who told us that was what she wanted...but since none of us can follow directions, she got a mixed bag, which apparently was not what she wanted!!  Some of the white pieces are thin, some are fat, which just wouldn't work for what she had in mind.  So rather than spend hours UNsewing and then REsewing the blocks, or tossing them out, she donated them for our project. 

Janet ended up sewing Barbara's and Stephanie's blocks together into the top you see...and it works.  It will be given to American Hero Quilts and then given to some wounded soldier or Marine and it will be loved.  People are still getting blown up, coming home with severe injuries or worse...these quilts are still needed after all these years!  So at first glance this might not look like a winner...but it will be!!

Now, before I show you the second and LAST quilt - seriously, only two quilts, we were all a bit shocked...I have to give you some background.  In case you've forgotten, Helen is like a mad-scientist when it comes to fabrics.  She loves bright, happy, quirky fabrics that one with slower brain activity might look at and think, "There's no way that is going to work!"  But Helen has no fear when it comes to color...she cuts her fabrics, sews a block together and then decides if it's going to work or not...if it works it goes into one pile and if not, into another.  Now over the years, Helen has amassed quite a pile of blocks that "didn't work"...and this quilt has many of them in it.  I'd like to go on the record to say that I never make "trial" blocks...if I'm going to sew a block, then I'm going to use it - whether it works or not by golly!!  I don't have high standards when it comes to quilting!!

Just take a minute and let your eyes go over this picture slowly...you will notice all of the different blocks - and colors - blocks that might jump out at you and other blocks that seem to disappear in the melee. 

THIS IS A WORK OF ART.  Amen.

The red cross block, the purple and orange block, the gold and red blocks...curious, no?  Yet they work...this is the MOTHER of the Kitchen Sink Quilts!!!

Oh, about that gold and red block...that was from a project our group did about 18 years ago!!!  I made a small quilt out of those blocks, which I have since given away.  Helen made a couple of those blocks and then decided that was enough - she presumably tossed them into her "didn't work" pile and there they stayed until they were called into service for this quilt!

This quilt is huge!!  Helen doesn't usually make quilts this size, she just kept adding in blocks until it was "done."  I love this quilt - it's an I Spy quilt for quilters!!  It's eye candy for quilters!!  It's worth a 2nd, 3rd and 4th look because you'll keep seeing things you didn't see before...like the Courthouse Steps block that looks like a pink wedding cake!  Or the little girl block!  Or the basket block!  Or the house block!!

Fun.  Just dang fun. 

Kareena was quick to point out that most artists are not recognized for their work until after they are dead, so she suggested we bump off Helen so her quilts can get the respect and admiration they deserve!!!  Something to think about...

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!!! 

Homemade Ginger Ale...

I'm showing you this picture purely for sympathy.   This is what my shoulder looks like today - rotator cuff surgery, which I can't recommend, has a LONG recovery and I'm ready to be done with it!  I've started PT, which as you know stands for pain and torture, although the people who do it say it stands for physical therapy...whatever..."Just lean forward and let your arm hang down loosely, now I'm just going to pull it up and let it go and it will swing like a pendulum..."  My physical therapist will probably wear earplugs when she treats me from now on...just for the record, my arm is not a pendulum, nor does it swing like one and having someone lift my lifeless, very sore arm and then drop it was just downright rude...rude I tell you!!  I don't have enough pain pills left for that type of therapy!!!

Now, let me tell you about the mister and his very sore arm.  He asked his doc to take a look at a spot on his arm and on his chest, which he is certain is cancer.  The doc, I think more to humor him, scraped off the spot on his chest, and then dug out a small piece of flesh on his arm - and he put in a few stitches.  Like 5.  Teeny-tiny stitches.  Probably not even needed but the mister, who is a Level 3 Hypochondriac, acted like his arm had been severed and then reattached.  He came home whining...to me...as I stood there with my arm in a giant sling and an ice pack on my shoulder and he pointed to his little stitches and winced.  I said nothing, I mean, what was there to say?!?!?  Had he gone blind???  Could he not see the Silence of the Lamb contraption on my arm???  Could he not see the empty bottle of Vicodin on the counter???  Could he not see the furrowed pain on my brow?   I let him whine for a few minutes - his whimpering was amusing to a point, but when he lifted his shirt to show me a little bandaid on his chest, and said "no stitches but it really hurts!" ...I lost it...I pointed to my dead arm and said, "LOOK AT ME!!!  KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE MAN!!!"  And with that I limped,  out of the kitchen...limping was strictly for dramatic effect!

 

 

 

Thank you to DeRue for this idea...she recently returned from Hawaii and while telling me about her fabulous trip with her near perfect husband, she mentioned she had been served homemade ginger ale - she said it was refreshing and different - really, really good and suggested it would be easy to make...and she was right!  Fresh ginger is used to make a simple syrup - a tropical elixir that will transport you from the doll-drums to the islands with one sip! 

 After the syrup has cooled a bit, it is combined with club soda  and lime juice...pour it over ice in a pretty glass and then you're ready to sit back and pretend you can hear the waves lapping at the shore!  Bring a little bit of island life to your table - make this and serve it up to your family, guarandamtee they will love it!

 

Homemade Ginger Ale - Pots and Pins

1 piece of ginger, about 5 inches long, peeled and chopped

2 cups water

3/4 cups sugar

pinch of salt

1 to 2 limes

Club soda for serving

In a small sauce pan, combine ginger, water and sugar.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat, stir in pinch of salt,  cover with lid and let steep for 20 minutes.  Pour syrup through a sieve into a glass jar.  Let cool to room temperature.  When ready to serve, fill glasses with ice, pour club soda over ice, filling glass 3/4's of the way, and then stir in ginger syrup, 2 to 4 tablespoons per glass, depending on how much ginger flavor you want.  Squeeze in juice from 1/4 of a lime, garnish with lime slice and enjoy!  Makes enough for 4 to 6 drinks. 

Ginger syrup will keep in fridge for 5 days.  You can mix up a big pitcher of ginger ale in advance but it's kind of fun to let everyone add their own ginger syrup so they can have their mocktail to their liking!

Thanks DeRue!!  It really is good!  We're on our 2nd batch!  Now if we only had an island breeze...and sun...and sand...and surf...

 

 

Sew Day at Happy Valley Grange...

I survived!!!  I'm alive!  I'm alive!  I survived my rotator cuff surgery and, more importantly, I survived the mister as my caretaker!!!  I know you'll be expecting me to complain and whine, as per normal, about the mister and all of his blunderings, but I have to say, he done good!!!  I'm not going to mention the food he burned in the oven, "Who the hell put the BROIL button next to the BAKE button!!!"  or the delicious dinner of applesauce, yogurt, carrots, crackers and cold chicken (?????)  Nope, I'm not going to diss the mister at all, he took excellent care of me!  He waited on me hand and foot for days - every hour on the hour coming in to see if I needed ice or water or something to eat and I would mumble something as he picked up the remote and said, "You're not watching this are you?"  Then he would change the channel and leave the room.  And he would leave the remote on the other side of the room...so I had no choice but to take more pain pills and fall back asleep.  The mister made the bed (as long as the covers were on top of the mattress it was made) and he picked up after himself (but everything was thrown into the closet and now the door won't open!) and he even volunteered to do the laundry...I had to draw the line there...I told him he could wash HIS clothes but not mine...he wasn't listening and now he has pink undershirts!  It seems like all I did was sleep for the first week - or maybe I have just blocked that painful week from my memory.  You know things are going to be bad  when you doctor says, "I'm not going to lie, the first two weeks are hellish."  I asked him if that was a medical term, he smiled and said, "It is now!"    I'm now almost 3 weeks out and as long as I don't lift anything or move my arm, all is good!!  I still have one good arm, so really, I can't complain!  And, as luck would have it, I was even able to sew with my one good arm at our Sew Day for American Hero Quilts!

Let's talk about quilts - oh how I've missed them!  I haven't sewn for about a month - which is a really, really long time for me!  I do have a quilt in my machine, ready to be quilted, but unfortunately my arm just can't do that yet! 

Okay, so there we were at the Happy Valley Grange - the sweet little building on the old farm road that is like walking back into time when you go in the front  doors.  We love this place - it holds special memories for our quilt group as we have done two quilt shows there!   On this day, however, we were there to sew all of the blocks we've made each month together into quilts for American Hero Quilts.  Just as we were getting underway one very special lady showed up with her daughter.  Her daughter Brianna, said her mom, JoAnne had something she wanted to give us...and she opened up a little plastic bag and pulled out this quilt!  Our jaws hit the floor!  Just look at this work of art!  JoAnne said she would never finish it  and her daughters don't sew and said they didn't want it...so JoAnne decided it would be a good thing to donate it to American Hero Quilts.  I'll say it's a good thing!!!  We were all gobsmacked by her generosity.  There are still really, really good people in the world and JoAnne is one of them!  Thank you so very much and thank you Brianna, for not knowing how to sew!!

We will get this top finished and sent to American Hero Quilts and you just know this quilt is going to be loved and cherished.  It will probably go to the mom or wife of someone who was killed, like the quilt below.

This quilt was made by Stephanie, I've shown it here before but now it is all quilted and bound and ready to be mailed.  It is going to the mother of a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan.  Stephanie's son was in his unit and knew him and Stephanie wanted to let her know her son is not forgotten and to thank her for her sacrifice.  You know she will love this quilt and what it represents.  Stephanie is like JoAnne, generous to a fault and so dang good!

 

We set out the blocks we'd made all over the floor and slowly we worked them into 5 different groups and then we worked them into some patterns - they're not perfect but they went together pretty well and we were happy.   When we made the blocks we didn't have too many rules, just 12 1/2-inches and red, white and blue...next time we might say all stars or something like that so the quilts have a bit more uniformity but we did okay!

American Hero Quilts likes all of their tops to be 63 by 83 inches - big enough for a soldier or Marine to wrap themselves up in - and that's pretty big!

 We had a pretty sweet ironing station set up - Stephanie brought in her "kitchen sink" quilt and classed up the place.  Things were going swimmingly until we blew a fuse!  Did I mention the Grange is old?!?!

Jenny brought in two of her quilts that she had just picked up from the quilter - they are worth seeing again, no?  Both of them she is giving away, Jenny is like Stephanie and JoAnne, generous, kind and good-to-the-bone.

These other two quilts are Stephanie's, she made them from scraps.  The quilt on the right was from scraps from a friend that were destined for the trash can until Stephanie rescued them about 8 years ago...and when they had aged properly she sewed them into this darling little quilt.  Nothing goes to waste around Stephanie!

We can't meet at the Grange unless I can take a picture of the quilt we made and for the Grange in 2009.  It was truly a work of love - and the "Grangers" love it as much as we do - it's been hanging in the Grange since the day we gave it to them. 

I hope you liked the show - it was super fun getting together with friends to sew, even if my arm gave out half-way through and I ended up on pain meds the rest of the day - it was worth it!

I'll be back posting on a regular schedule soon...don't give up on me just yet!