Quilting as My Hobby - Then and Now

I don't know when I learned to quilt. I do know that we all (my three sisters and I) worked on piecing quilt tops as we were growing up. We also had the opportunity to practice hand quilting when Mom had a quilt in frame and also when one of our relatives had a "quilting" - we didn't actually call it a quilting bee but that's what it was.

My first solo quilt was made with corduroy. I started collecting corduroy material as a teenager, then at age 18 or so, I cut out patches 3"x6", laid them out in a stair-step pattern, and sewed them together. I picked seams back out (what quilting books refer to as "unsewing") and removed the ugliest color in there, adding in a nicer color. Then did it again, but this time it looked rather bland with the replacement "prettier" fabric. This was a good lesson in realizing that sometimes it is necessary to mix things up a little to have the most pleasing outcome. Hmmm... I wonder what else in life that could apply to?? So I left the second-ugliest one in.

I had the top done when I moved in with my sister Regina and her family in Grants Pass. I borrowed her sewing machine and machine quilted, using a pale yellow/beige piece of yardage for the backing that someone had given Mom as a gift for me when I was a baby. (People did things like that back then.) Thing is, Mom had never used it for anything - I guess there was too much of it to use for a dress for me. So she had saved it, waiting for the right project. Using it for the quilt backing seemed like a good idea. It was a bit challenging getting such a large awkward amount of bulk pushed through the sewing machine, but somehow we manage, don't we? Did I mention it's a double size?

I love that quilt - it goes quite nicely on the guest bed. There were scraps from two suits Mom had made for my brother Roger when he was little, one in a textured dark burgundy and the other a blue and black houndstooth type pattern, and I was able to get several patches from each one. These are in corners where there are the fewest "steps." I love quilts with history! At one time, I was looking for more prints because most of my fabrics were plain colored and I found a skirt at a thrift shop between Kalona and Iowa City. It was dark blue with little flowers and leaves on it. Okay, I was in highschool. There was no way I was going to wear it, but by taking the seams apart and cutting out patches from the flat areas, I had a wonderful print to add to the project.

I made a lot of baby quilts over the years, one for each of my nieces and nephews and many for the children of friends. Because I was actually buying fabric for these projects, I began with the belief that any fabric left over was wasted money and I should have planned better. I knew I had turned the corner into being a QUILTER when leftover fabric became a bonus because now I could add to my STASH! And even more so when I began buying fabrics for my stash with no particular project in mind. And more even more so when I was reluctant to use all of a fabric in my stash because then I wouldn't have it anymore. If anybody reading this is a quilter then you know exactly what I'm talking about. I found it particularly rewarding when I could complete a whole project just by shopping my stash.

I thought about quilts all the time. When I saw landscapes, I thought about how to incorporate those ideas in a quilt. I always had a pad of graph paper, small ruler, and sharp pencil handy to draw out patterns, complete with sewing and cutting lines.
I would notice color combinations like say, traffic lights against a brilliantly blue sky, and consider them for quilt colors. I always sought out fabric sales locally, and fabric stores while traveling. I have wonderful fabrics I purchased in Mexico and nearly had a heart attack when Aidan and his friends cut one of them up to make a cape. I quietly retrieved the pieces, smoothed them out, folded them up, and added them back to my stash. Which is behind glass doors in a lawyers bookcase. So I can see how pretty the colors are anytime. And gave Aidan an uglier piece (uglier to me, not to him) to play with.

So imagine the jolt I felt when trying to make a friendship quilt for Mom & Dad's 50th wedding anniversary which happened last year (2009). I had given myself like two years to do it, realizing how busy I am and didn't want to stress about it. But I realized I wasn't enjoying the process anymore. What!? How can this be?? I'm a QUILTER! What kind of quilter doesn't like to quilt?? I love to design and come up with really creative ideas. But sadly, I do not enjoy cutting out perfect patches, sewing them up with perfect seam allowances, ironing them just so, and sewing again. It makes me nuts!

I still love my fabric stash...

And designs...

Then I saw it. My new inspiration. A magazine called Cloth, Paper, Scissors. Oh my goodness. One can make art quilts without worrying about seam allowances. One can even leave raw edges. And incorporate paper into the design. Wow. Mind you, these are not bed quilts. Or ever to be laundered. These are to hang on the wall or something. So I pulled out my plastic tote with all my small scraps, prepared to dig through and find colors I wanted to work with. What? How did they get all organized in big zip lock bags sorted by color? Hmmm... I guess maybe I do remember that as a project last year. Sheesh, can't I remember anything? Well, it was a nice surprise.

It was a Saturday evening about a month ago when I started my new inspired work. I just couldn't stop. Every combination I put together was brilliant! I didn't have any bad ideas. Wow, this is easy. I used several "found objects" such as a washer, a button, some beads, and a couple sticks of incense. Hmmm, I should be getting tired. But I wasn't even close. The creative ideas just kept coming. I put the design together and began sewing. About 1:30 a.m. I decided I really needed to take a Melatonin and get myself in bed. I felt like a little kid putting my project on the nightstand next to me. :) I was so excited. I felt like the inspiration was so compelling it was keeping me awake. Well, it was. But then I also happened to remember that as an experiment, I had forgone my daily half cup of coffee all week, then that morning had a cup with soy hazelnut creamer (Yum!) and also Aidan's since he didn't drink his. It was probably noon before I finished. Oh, so now I was extra sensitive. There's a reason why I normally limit myself to less than one cup and quite early in the day. It always affects my sleep when I have too much caffeine, either by keeping me up, or I'll fall asleep and then wake up about midnight or 2 and can't go back to sleep until it's time to get up.

Well. A couple of days later when I tried my creative process on the next piece, I realized I probably did have my muse nearby that Saturday night because this time nothing worked. I could not put anything together that I liked. How frustrating. So I set that one aside and a couple of days later tried again, this time working one up in reds, using a hearts theme. That one is almost finished, but I've lost the little heart charm that came off a remaining earring I was going to attach. Shucks! Well it will look really cool when I do find it.

My idea is to make a series of these little art quilts that are 9x12. Maybe I'll enter them in a show... Maybe I'll win some award or prize or something... it could become really big and I'll be really well known!

Oh. Well. Maybe I'll just do them for fun. :)

"Better Butter"

I got the directions for making "Better Butter" from Leanne Ely at www.savingdinner.com although I probably heard it on one of her podcasts rather than from the website. She does a weekly radio show on blogtalkradio.com so the podcasts can be downloaded from there or from iTunes.

So, to make "Better Butter" you need:
~ 1 stick butter which is 1/2 cup, room temperature (NOT margarine!!)
~ 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil - make certain it's labled cold pressed or expeller pressed
Blend together.
This photo shows it partially blended - keep whipping together until it's completely blended.

This can be done in a blender - easier to clean out if your blender comes apart, or with a hand mixer in a mixing bowl - make sure to use a deep bowl not a shallow one to avoid splatters. Scrape all of it into a little dish; cover and refrigerate.
It's good for you, and... even cold out of the fridge, it's always spreadable! How cool is that!?

If you want to make butter: Put heavy cream into a butter churn, and churn until you have butter. Or put the cream into a jar and shake until you have butter (don't fill the jar). The fat will begin to clump together and soon you'll have a wodge of butter sitting in the leftover liquid which is buttermilk. Next you have to get the rest of the buttermilk out of the butter - this is best done using a wooden butter bowl and matching wooden butter paddle. Don't ask me how I know this. So you mush the butter around with the paddle, pressing the liquid out. Add some fresh water and keep working the butter until the water you add runs out as clear as it went in. Get all the liquid out, then add salt if you want to and work it in evenly. Pack it into a dish and refrigerate.

When I was growing up, we had a butter churn that was a square glass jar with paddles and a handle affixed to the lid. The paddles went down into the jar when the lid was in place and one turned the handle to rotate the paddles inside. I can't quite remember how long it took to get butter - I'm sure it seemed longer to children than the actual time - and, it probably depended on how diligently the "lucky" person was whose turn it was, was turning. It only seemed like great fun the first time, and also was directly proportional to how much anyone else wanted to do it.

We didn't make butter regularly until we got a cow when I was in my early teens. She was a really pretty little Jersey named Mystic. At least that's what her ear tag read when Dad bought her down at the Kalona Sales Barn. It was as good a name as any so it stuck. Jerseys are known for smaller daily milk production, but high butterfat content - we got about a quart of cream off of each gallon of milk.

Prior to that, we raised goats for milk. Although goat's milk is also high in butterfat, it is naturally homogenized so the cream doesn't separate from the milk like cows milk does. You need a cream separater which we didn't have, so we just used the milk. For those of you who believe goat's milk has a nasty flavor, I will tell you it all depends on what that goat is eating. If they're eating weird weeds and garbage, the flavor will reflect in the milk.

When I began Kindergarten at Kalona Elementary, I learned about "milk time," when you get 8 ounces of milk in a wax carton each afternoon. It didn't take me long to decide, "I don't like cow's milk." This stuck with me for quite a few years. Eventually I realized the cartons made the milk taste particularly horrid - especially that bit right at the bottom, which by that time had always gotten warm. Gross!

I don't drink milk anymore. I do make kefir and yogurt though. I got my "kefir berries," the culture used to make kefir, from my sister Marji last summer when I was visiting in Iowa. If anyone would like some, let me know and I'll share. It grows over time so there's always more! Kefir and yogurt are both FULL of probiotics which are excellent for digestion. You'll thank me later. :)

Chips Anyone?

Chips. Who doesn't like potato chips? And hey! Now they're available with No Trans Fats! How about that. Ingredients: Potatoes, corn oil, salt. Oh yeah, and usually preservatives.

My doctor pointed out that corn oil and the like contain Omega 6 fatty acids, which we all need. The trouble is, we need it in a specific ratio with Omega 3 fatty acids - the optimal ratio is thought to be 4 to 1 or lower. High levels of Omega 3's are found in wild salmon, flax seeds, and walnuts to name a few.

According to the National Institutes of Health, modern Western diets typically have ratios of Omega 6's to Omega 3's of 15 to 1, or higher. Research shows that excessive levels of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids can lead to inflammation and diseases such as cardiovascular, cancer, and autoimmune diseases.^

Dr. Heather also explained why farm raised salmon can actually be harmful: they are raised on corn and thus their fat tissues are high in Omega 6's and not the Omega 3's that only wild salmon can produce.

So the potato chips? Bad idea.

So what do I do instead? One of my standbys for a snack is sweet potatoes. Peeled and thinly sliced. Raw. The darker, the sweeter the flavor. I like the "Garnet" variety.

For some reason, here in the West, yams and sweet potatoes are labeled opposite than in other parts of the country, but I'm talking about the brown ones that are bright orange inside. Preferably organic - I think they taste better.

Last fall, I bought a few turnips from our local Grower's Market. I hadn't had raw turnips for a long time, probably since I was a kid, and these were the sweetest, peppery taste I could even imagine. I thought to myself, Wow, I should do this more often! By then the market had closed for the season. So, while at Fred Meyer one week, I picked up a nice large turnip in the produce section and was all set for that great taste. Boy was I disappointed. No flavor. And I realized if I had had that one first, I would likely not have tried the others, thinking "I don't like turnips."

Just goes to show you - locally grown, organic produce can be so much more flavorful as well as have better nutrition and hey! If we're going to eat, why not make it something to really enjoy as well as be nurturing.

You'll thank me later. :)



^www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909

Raw Candy

At last month's Wineaux Night (where a group of friends get together to try new wines and of course, food) I made "faux" fudge. Since I'm off sugar (with the exception of a bit of dark chocolate now and again... Okay, maybe daily. But honestly, who's checking?), I wanted to be sure there was something yummy I could nibble on without giving in to the temptation of all kinds of good tasting treats. Several people wanted the recipe so here is a rough rendition - since I sort of made it up after basing it on a couple of recipes I have, I'm not totally sure of the measurements.

Raw Candy

1 cup almonds or walnuts
1 cup dates

Process in food processor until crumbly. You want it to stick together so add a drizzle of either orange juice, maple syrup, or agave nectar or something similar. Process again. Pinch a little bit in your fingers to see if it holds.

To give it a chocolatey flavor, add a tablespoon of carob or cocoa. Blend and see if it tastes good. Adjust with a little more if necessary.

I added some chopped dried cranberries for a surprise taste - I think about 1/4 cup or so. Blend only enough to get it mixed in; you don't want to over-process or you lose the little bursts of flavor. I think dried cherries would be brilliant in this mix too, so I may try that instead of the cranberries next time.

Oh! I believe I added some unsweetened coconut flakes as well, up there with the nuts and dates. I would try about 1/2 cup to start with.

When it's the way you want it, press into a little pan (mine was about 7"x10" or so) and chill. It should be about 3/4" thick or so. Then cut them into small squares.

How's that for a recipe? If anyone would like more precise measurements, please leave a comment and I'll keep track next time I make it and update here.

Although this is not a low-calorie snack, it is made of REAL FOOD and our bodies know what to do with it.

Enjoy and if you try it, add a comment and let me know how it worked out for you!

4/26/10 Update:

Here is my most recent go:

1 cup pecans (may use any kind of nuts)
1 cup dates (may use raisins)
1/2 cup coconut
1 Tbs carob or cocoa (optional)
1 Tbs cinnamon (optional)
1-2 Tbs maple syrup or orange juice (depends how sweet you want it)
1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped finely (or any other dried fruit, or just skip)


Process nuts, dates, coconut, and carob and cinnamon if using in food processor until the bits are finely chopped and crumbly. Add a tablespoon of maple syrup or orange juice and pinch a bit in your fingers to see if it holds together well. If not, add another tablespoon and mix again. Add the candied ginger and mix just enough to get it co-mingled. Put into a flat container about 7 x 10 and smooth it down with a rubber spatula. Chill, then cut into 1 inch squares.