Calico County Challenge

The Calico County Quilt Guild has met in the afternoon on the second Saturday of the month for many years. I belonged before Chris was born, couldn't fit it into my schedule for perhaps 30 years, and have rejoined since I have been retired. It's a small group that now meets in the basement of Bethany Church in Montpelier. When I first joined, the group was large and had a number of well-experienced quilters in it. Sometimes, it was intimidating to a newer person. Now it is smaller and the range of skills and interests varies, but I enjoy the fellowship of the group.


This year, we decided to try a challenge. Each person was to bring a fat quarter of fabric that she loved and another that she didn't like at all. I brought a multi-colored Kaffe Fassett that I just didn't know what to do with along with the moth and dragonfly fabric that I used for the back of Vicki and Samantha's quilt. We put the likes and dislikes into separate paper bags, and each person pulled one from each. We can add only 2 other fabrics and the final piece should be no larger than 12" square. It's due in February.




Here's what I pulled out of the bags. I loved the blue swirly fabric, but that khaki with beige was definitely outside my comfort zone. The khaki fabric also had some deep red and black. I knew that the traditional patchwork block just wouldn't work for these two fabrics even though I am dying to try the Anita's Arrow block described in the most recent issue of Quiltmaker magazine.




We had a newcomer visiting the group who also got some challenging fabrics, and I sure hope we haven't turned her off from the group. Before we left, though, I realized that my final product, which needs to be no larger than 12" square, would have to be something non-traditional. Elaine said that the last time she participated in such a challenge she ended up making a little bag, with one fabric on the outside and the other (the ugly one, presumably) on the inside.



Not quickly defeated, I thought a landscape would be a possibility. The blue swirls looked like a very bright night sky. Who knows what the khaki looks like! I thought back to a landscape quilts workshop I took at VQF years ago, and I also decided that fusible applique, though not my favorite, would be OK here.


So here is my final product, and I really like it. I ended up appliqueing the swirly hills and stream by hand but the tree was fused. I ran up and down the trunk with rayon thread on my sewing machine to give it a little texture. I cut the blue swirls on the borders out with a rotary cutter and fused them on. I machine quilted the whole thing. This was a fun activity that I would love to do again.

Off to the quilter!

My "Red, Red Robin" quilt is finally ready for quilting. It ended up measuring 85 x 86" so was too unmanageable to quilt on my home machine. Friday night, I took it to Mad River Quilting in Waitsfield for some long arm work. Lisa told me she wouldn't be able to get to it until after the holidays, which is fine with me. I have plenty to keep me busy.



The center medallion is from the Piece o' Cake Design book Applique Outside the Lines, and the other appliqued border is an adaptation of a design in the same book. The other borders are pieced, and the whole thing uses scraps from my stash. I pieced the back (90 x 90 or so) from scraps also, and now I can actually close my pink box and almost close the purple one. I'm sure they will be bulging again soon since these seem to be colors I buy and receive as gifts.



The "Live, Love, Laugh & Be Happy" came subliminally from Paul who was practicing When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along on his ukulele this summer when I was starting on it. I made the three robins a little pudgier than the Piece o' Cake bird. It will be a while before I tackle anything as ambitious as this but it sure was fun.

2 finishes and one give away

Yesterday, I finished the big purple and pink quilt top I've been working on for a while. Actually, it's not that big - just 84" x 84" - but it felt that way because the applique took a couple of months. First there was the center medallion with a large flower pot and tulips of all shades of pink and purple. Then there was an 8" pieced border of odd shoo fly blocks. Then there was an 8-10" border of Live, Love, Laugh, & Be Happy surrounded by the Piece o' Cake ladies' inimitable ferns and lolly pop flowers. The final border was a scrappy uneven nine patch. Now I am piecing the back out of purple and pink scraps, and I decided to take it to a long arm quilter since it's now too big for me to handle at home.

This morning, for a change of pace, I made a Secret Santa ornament for an online group I belong to. It will be winging its way to the lucky recipient soon, but I need to take a photo first. It's a horrible, rainy, foggy day, so not good for picture taking.

Yesterday was good, however, so we took a picture of a quilt I made last year that I'm going to give to my dear friend Sonia. It's an Ohio Star quilt with 3", 6", 9", and 12" blocks. I quilted it in three sections and love the way it turned out. I've made a couple of these quilts using a simple block in different sizes, and Ohio Star is by far my favorite quilt block. The background fabric is a warm natural with turquoise, red, caramel, and brown.

Sonia lives in Plattsburgh, and we have been friends for 37 years or so. We met in the Syracuse area when we were neighboring librarians, just starting out in our careers. We kept in touch through marriage (hers), divorces (both), child (me), moves (lots for her, a few for me), new jobs, various relationships. Now we are both retired but we still don't have as much time as we'd like to get together. We try to go to the Jane Austen Society meetings together but that doesn't always happen. Tomorrow we'll meet at the Asian Bistro in Williston, and I'm anxious to hear about her recent trip to Italy.

Socks, Heron Island, etc.

Yesterday was a miserable day, with Dutch weather, i.e., misty rain and gloomy. It was a good day to stay in, knit, and read. We had soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch which I always like on a damp day. I did finish my first sock ever, using pink, purple, and gray striping yarn. In the process I learned that my feet are 8.5" long. The sock fits, but the top is awfully baggy. I have set it aside for now since my dark blue cotton/modal yarn arrived, and I plan to make a vest for myself. Paul saw me working on it and requested one, too, so after I finish it, I guess I'll be looking for a men's pattern and more yarn. So far it is working up very nicely because the yarn, from Knit Picks, is very soft.

In between stitches, I finished reading Heron Island by R. A. Harold who read part of her work-in-progress last summer at the Old Labor Hall. Roberta self-published her mystery which takes place in 1903, partly on a fictional island in Lake Champlain, in rough-and-tumble Barre, and in New York City. She obviously did a great deal of research from her descriptions of South Hero and Grand Isle, the life of the rich and the poor, and the labor movements at that time. I am still unclear about whether the main character, Dade Wyatt, actually works for the Secret Service or for his friend Mr. Dodge, but, at any rate, he is scouting the security of the island in preparation for a visit by President Theodore Roosevelt when a murder occurs. Roberta mixes fictional characters with historical ones, and it is fun to read about the Webbs, Carlo Abate, and even TR. I thought it was a little long, but am looking forward to her book signing in late November at the OLH. I think I'll get a few copies for Christmas presents.

I noticed that Louise Penny recently received several awards for her mysteries, and it's about time. I was taking my time with her latest book, Bury Your Dead, because I wanted to savor it. But as I got toward the last quarter, I just couldn't stop reading. Now comes a long wait, no doubt, for her next Inspector Gamache installment.

And last night's first episode of Sherlock on Masterpiece Mystery was just great! It's a modern telling and has some humorous parts, as the old Sherlock Holmes stories had. I'm looking forward to the next two episodes!

Fresh apple cake

This fall I've been experimenting with various apple cake recipes. I made one to take to the Friends' potluck early in Sept. It was the kind with caramel frosting and WAY too sweet. I did a little web search for recipes, but finally ended up adapting the one right on the back of my favorite cookbook The Bakery Lane Soup Bowl Cookbook, published right here in Vermont by two ladies who used to own a great soup restaurant in Middlebury. Everything I make out of this book turns out great. I did add the raisins and a little more spice to the original. Also, I use the apple skin and all. Here's the recipe.

FRESH APPLE CAKE

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease/flour a 9 x 13" pan.

Mix together:
2 1/3 c. flour
2 c. sugar (a mix of white and brown is nice)
1 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

Add:
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (or a little more)
1 c. raisins

Grate 3-4 apples, skin and all, to come up with 3 c. apples. (Paula Reds, Macoun, Macintosh are all good)
Mix together 1/2 c. oil and 2 beaten eggs
Alternately add the apples and oil mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix well.

Pour into pan and bake 45-60 min. til done in the middle. Allow to cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Second place ribbon!

Rainbow Sylvia (at right) won a second place ribbon in the bed-sized category at yesterday's Show and Tell at the Green Mountain Quilters Guild meeting. I was really pleased, especially because my friend Elaine's teal Storm at Sea was just as beautiful and won a third place ribbon. The winning bed-sized quilt was black, white, and bright blue - very effective.

It was a good meeting, with 8 vendors who had some wonderful items. I bought a few batik half-yards, some of which I've already cut into FQs to share with my secret pal, and a couple of other pieces of fabric that I will use eventually. They are already in the wash. I also bought some new iron-on tape that can be used to fuse pieces of batting together. I often zig zag pieces to make larger ones, but this should be more stable.

There were two very interesting workshops. Kim talked about making and working with hexagons. She uses template plastic for hers while I have been using double layers of freezer paper. I guess I will give plastic a whirl. She also uses a paper clip to stablize while she bastes the seam allowances. This is a great, simple method I'd never thought of.

Diane told about the many ways to use computers to print onto fabric. She showed us some lovely things, including a beautiful embellished jacket with "cameos" of her mother and a neat quilt of her dog and his favorite items to chase in the yard. I'm going to have to check on what type of ink is in our printer's cartridges and, perhaps, print some sheets and then wash them to see how colorfast the ink really is. I just printed a label onto June Taylor fabric backed with freezer paper and hope it holds up when washed. Hadn't even thought to check.

It was a pleasant day, riding down with Paula through the last of the foliage (more colorful than at "peak"). We caught glimpses of snow on the mountain tops, and she said she had some wet stuff at her house the night before.

A fun time had by all

I forgot my camera every day, but we had fun with Mom even if we didn't record it for posterity. Her plane arrived on time last Saturday but her baggage didn't arrive until Sunday night. Luckily, she could borrow a few essentials, and she is always a good sport anyway. Sunday, we hung around the house and then met Chris for a play in Montpelier. The Complete History of America, Abridged was hilarious, just as we expected - lots of political humor, mayhem, and even some cross-dressing.

Monday, Mom and I headed up to Stowe because the weather was beginning to clear. Most of the other tourists seemed to have the same idea. The Cold Hollow Cider Mill was full, but we did find a few gifties there before heading to the Trapp Family Lodge. Up on top of the mountain, the views were great. We did a little more shopping before going to the Shed, a Stowe institution, for lunch. On the way home we stopped at the Danforth Pewter, Champlain Chocolates, and Cabot Cheese outlets. Mom bought me some lovely earrings.

After all that running around and using our credit cards, I thought Mom would be tired, but on Tuesday she was ready for more. So after a look at the Old Labor Hall and my garden plot, we headed over to Bragg Farm and, later, Morse Farm for maple syrup and other goodies. The ladies at Morse's told me that they had had seven tour buses that day. High season for sure, as people lined up for maple creemies. Chris and Ivy joined us for dinner which was fun.

Wed. it rained, sometimes heavily, so we decided to forego a trip to the St. Gaudens National Park in NH and head to the Porter Music Box Museum in Randolph instead. It was a fun visit and also a good day to end with beef stew in the crock pot.

Thursday was still rainy, but we went out anyway to visit Lauraine and George Warfield over in Weybridge. It started to clear when we arrived, and the foliage was not at peak there. It has peaked here so is a little disappointing. We were pleased to meet the Warfield's granddaughter Anais Mitchell whose rock opera Hadestown we had seen twice in Barre. Paul ws happy to be able to talk to her about singing The Internationale at the Old Labor Hall next May. It was a very pleasant visit, including our tour of Lauraine's quilting room, full of antiques in need of finishing and TLC. People know she's a quilter, so they send her things to fix. Glad they don't do that to me!

Friday, Mom's last day here, we tried to squeeze in all the sights we hadn't taken her to without getting her too tired: the Rock of Ages visitors' center, Hope Cemetery, etc. Cindy, Sandy, and Polly came over for dinnr which was fun, too. I was glad that she was able to meet these friends with whom I have shared so much in the last ten or so years. This morning, Chris drove us to the airport, and we were sorry to see Mom leave. She is so amazingly vital for age 88, so happy to see and do just about anything, and so enthusiastic about life. She is, I think, especially pleased to see Chris growing up so well and to see Paul and me active in our "retirement."