Putting Pieces Together

The start of a new year makes for a good opportunity to develop some new skills. For me, it's probably no surprise to anyone that a number of the new skills that I have learned this year related to quilting. Three weeks ago, I had the wonderful opportunity of attending a 2-day quilt retreat hosted by Village Dry Goods in Brigham City, Utah. This year's teacher was Pam Buda whose quilt designs and fabrics are rooted in prairie life of the 1800s. You can see more of her quilting designs and fabrics at her website: Heartspun Quilts. Pam's Prairie Women's Sewing Circle Club series feature stories and quilt designs from this era of history. Needless to day, these themes resonate with me and my favorite quilting styles.

Here is a short summary of the projects and skills that I developed during the course of the retreat. Part of what I enjoyed the most about these projects was the process of organizing the pieces together and then combining them into patterns that were much more than the sum of the individual parts. 

The first day, we worked on a pattern called Settlers Puzzle. You can see from the picture to the left that the early stages of putting the pieces were a bit tedious and not exactly remarkable at first glance. As we continue on, however, triangles are added, strips are sewn together, and a small block is completed.
After four small blocks were completed, it was time to arrange them together to create the larger pattern that will be repeated throughout this quilt. Here is a picture of how mine turned out. When I purchased the fabric for this project, I hadn't fully thought about the consequences of the strip pattern. As things turned out, I was rather pleased with the subpattern that was created when the four blocks were put together. What do you think?

Part of the fun of participating in classes like these is seeing the fabric choices of the other ladies and how they work together. Here is a picture of the blocks that our class created. I like how some chose to reverse the light and dark fabrics within their quilt blocks. You can also see that one participant created her block with a variety of red fabrics as the dark color rather than the same one.

The second day saw the class working on techniques for improving our accuracy using some of Pam's "make it bigger, cut it down" tips. Part of the fun of this class was seeing fundamental quilt block components such as half square triangles, four-patch blocks, quarter square triangles, and square-in-a-squares come together to make the center block for a lap-sized quilt. The center block is featured in the picture below. See if you can identify the smaller subunits within this block. 

My final "new skill" for the month of January has been learning how to use a rather nifty triangle ruler. I came across this ruler at Quilter's Haven in Bountiful and then ended up buying fabric for a baby quilt so that I could test it out. The picture below shows how you cut strips of fabric to the specified height of the triangle and then rotate the direction of the ruler to cut the triangles.

To create the blocks for this particular quilt, you sew a smaller white and a larger colored triangle together like this. You then sew two 2-triangle units together to create a 4-triangle unit.
The next step is sewing two 4-triangle units together and trimming the block so that it is a square. 

For the particular pattern that I used, I also added a machine appliquéd square in the center as you can see on the picture of the completed quilt top. I am excited to get it to the quilter and then to its yet-to-be-born owner.

Arranging pieces within a quilt has parallels within both the Old and New Testaments as to how God designates roles and responsibilities for His people. While some pieces in a quilt may catch a person's eye more than others, each is essential to bring harmony and completeness to the quilt. Even so, each believer is essential to the unity of the body.
In the book of Numbers, God assigns specific responsibilities to the families of the tribe of Levi in relation to the service of the tabernacle. Some families had  responsibility for the furnishings of the tabernacle associated with worship. Others were responsible for the tent pegs and cords - not the most glamorous of roles. At the same time, without these individuals to carry the tend pegs and cords, the tabernacle would not have had a supporting structure where worship could occur.
In the New Testament, Paul reminds believers that while we are all baptized into one body by one Spirit, we are many members of that body, each with a distinct role and function. Paul also reminds believers that the purpose of these different roles was so "… that there should be no division in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another," 1 Corinthians 12:25.

Time For Tea … and Downton Abbey

In a recent post, I had mentioned something about not having time to follow a television series with any regularity. As it turns out, that is really only a partial truth. For me, there is one exception to that claim, and that is Downton Abbey. Although I am a bit of a latecomer to the series (began watching Seasons 1 & 2 right after Christmas last year), I have to admit that I am rather enamored with the show. I love the costumes, the manner in which historical events are incorporated into the show, and the screenwriting, especially Lady Violet's lines. 

Since the close of Season 3 last February, I have been eagerly counting down the days to the start of Season 4 (well, maybe not literally, but you get the idea). Now that the start of Season 4 is upon us here in the US, I thought it only fitting to mark the day with an English-style tea party. My tea parties most likely don't exactly meet Downton standards, but here are a few pictures and recipes that you may wish to use in creating your own tea party.

Dill Dip

Since discovering this recipe, it has become my "stand by," and I can't remember the last time I made dip using Hidden Valley Ranch mix. The exact amounts will vary based on how much you make, but part of the fun is seasoning this dip to fit your tastes.

• Equal parts sour cream and mayonnaise - for the most part, I don't measure these but rather eyeball the amounts. Often I will start with roughly 1/2 cup of each.
• Dried dill weed. I typically start with about 2 teaspoons and then can add more if needed.
• Garlic powder. I prefer powder over fresh so that I get just a hint of garlic flavor rather than have it overpower the other flavors. I tend to use 1/8 teaspoon or less.
• Dried parsley. I tend to start with about 1 teaspoon and then adjust as needed.
• Dried onion flakes. This is optional based on your tastes. I typically take about 1/2 teaspoon and crumble them a bit more in my fingers before adding them.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

Stir all ingredients together. Chill for an hour or two so that flavors can meld together and serve.

Cucumber Sandwiches

What would an English tea party be without cucumber sandwiches? Although easy to make, these sandwiches do take some time to prepare. 

• Peel a cucumber and slice it very thinly. Place the slices on a paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt to allow the cucumbers to "sweat" for about 1/2 hour or more. Blot the excess liquid from the slices.
• Spread the bread of your choice with a thin layer of cream cheese. I prefer to use a heavier bread that won't fall apart when I spread the cream cheese.
• Place a double layer of cream cheese on the bread. Top with another slice of bread that has been spread with cream cheese. Cut into small squares or triangles prior to serving.

Deviled Ham Toasts

I discovered this recipe a few years ago in one of my English tea books. I am providing the American adjustments to the ingredients and measurements.

• 1 tbsp butter
• One 5 oz can of smoked ham, drained
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Cayenne pepper (to taste)
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp dried parsley

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the remaining ingredients and warm through. Spread meat mixture on bread as either an open-faced or traditional sandwich. Cut into small squares or triangles before serving.

Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread is actually a traditional Scottish dessert comprised primarily of butter, sugar, and flour. Shortbread is traditionally shaped into a large circle which is divided into wedges, small circles, or oblong rectangles. As you can see from the picture, I have topped the cookies with a dollop of sweetened whipping cream and fresh raspberries.

• 1.5 cups butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3.5 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt

Mix the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the vanilla. Mix the flour and salt together and combine into the sugar/butter/vanilla mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. You may also need to mix the dough together with your hands. Note that it will appear very dry and crumbly. Once the dough is thoroughly combined, wrap it in plastic and allow it to chill for about 30 minutes. 

Roll the dough out until it is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes as desired. I used the rim of a drinking glass to cut my dough into circles. Bake on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet for 20 minutes at 350 degrees until edges begin to turn brown.

I sure do like those Christmas cookies …

Baking cookies is one of my favorite activities of the Christmas season. I enjoy baking sugar cookies - as the song goes, "The ones that look like Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and bells, and stars." I also enjoy using older family cookie recipes this time of year. 

For this particular post, I am sharing cookie recipes from two of my great aunts. These great aunts were two of my maternal grandmother's older sisters. Both were born and lived their lives in southwestern Minnesota. The recipes I am sharing reflect a time when cookie recipes were much simpler and precede the introduction of the chocolate chip. One of the recipes features raisins and the other features molasses, common ingredients of the time for cookies, cakes, and other "sweets." Both also feature stirring baking soda into a warm liquid, a common step in recipes of that day. The idea behind this practice was to give the baking soda, a leavening agent, a bit of a jump start in the rising process. Here are the recipes. I hope you will enjoy them.

Great Aunt Emma's Raisin Puff Cookies

1 cup raisins

1 cup water

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup butter or margarine

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

3 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

Simmer the raisins and water together on the stove. Drain the water, leaving approximately 1 tablespoon or so. Stir in the soda and set aside. Cream together the butter/margarine, sugar and vanilla. Mix in the eggs. Stir in the flour and salt. Fold in the raisins. Note: if the dough seems a bit sticky after stirring in the raisins, add some extra flour as needed. Shape the dough into teaspoon-sized balls. Roll the tops of the balls in sugar. Bake at 10-15 minutes at 350ºF.

Great Aunt Clara's Molasses Cookies

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup shortening

4 tsp baking soda mixed in 4 tsp hot water

2 eggs

3/4 cup molasses

4 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

Cream together the sugar and shortening. Mix in the soda and water mixture, eggs, and molasses. Stir in the flour and cinnamon. Shape the dough into teaspoon-sized balls. Roll the tops of the balls in sugar. Bake at 15 minutes at 350ºF.

Ok, true confession time now. I do have to admit that I enjoy watching Duck Dynasty. While I am not one to follow the show on a weekly basis (I simply don't have time to follow any show on a weekly basis), I do enjoy finding a repeat episode to watch when I do have the time to turn on the television. That being said, I am planning to watch their Christmas special on December 11. In the spirit of this blog about Christmas cookies, here's the Duck Commander singing the Christmas Cookies song along with George Strait. Enjoy!

Gobble Gobble

Please rest assured that the title of this posting does not imply that I hold to the "gobble 'til you wobble" mentality with regards to Thanksgiving. "Gobble, Gobble," happens to be the name of the fabric line used in this quilt. Since Thanksgiving is upon us, I thought this would be an appropriate blog subject.

I truly love the Thanksgiving season and the solace of this time of year. For our family, this is a season of settling in and reflecting on the blessings of the past year. We've always been ones to stay close to home during the Thanksgiving weekend. We're also ones who like to stay as far away as possible from the malls and stores on Black Friday. Because my children have typically had the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as a day off from school, I also take the day off work to spend time with them and begin my cooking. I do enjoy spending Wednesday and Friday cooking and preparing my family's favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

Three years ago, we had very recently moved into our new home. I had completed this quilt to serve as a memento of our first Thanksgiving in our home. Here are a couple of close up photos featuring the the completed quilt, printed center panel,  and some of the machine quilting featuring a pumpkin motif. 

From our home to yours, we wish you the very best blessings of the Thanksgiving season. We pray that this will be a season of reflecting on the blessings of the past year and sharing memories with family and loved ones.

I will close this entry with words from Psalm 100 as a call to thanksgiving and acknowledgement of God's goodness and mercy.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting: and His truth endureth to all generations.

Psalm 100:5-6

Squash Soup

The last two years have found us enjoying our garden much more so than in years past. Our larger garden plot has allowed us to try growing vegetables which our previous small garden plot did not. Last year, we enjoyed some nice success with acorn squash. This year, we decided to add butternut squash. To make a long story short, our efforts at growing butternut squash were very successful. In light of this success, we found ourselves needing to identify recipes to use our squash. Our favorite, by far, has been butternut squash tortilla soup. Here is how we have personalized the recipe along with some of the techniques that we have found helpful in preparing it.

Butternut squash - native to the Americas

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 cloves of minced garlic (we like to use a couple spoonfuls from a jar of minced garlic)
1 large chopped sweet onion
3 large sliced carrots
3 ribs of sliced celery
1 medium to large butternut squash, peeled and diced
12 cups chicken broth
8 ounces of salted tortilla chips
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
2 teaspoons dried cilantro leaves (optional depending on your taste preferences)
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles
1 bunch green onions
2 tablespoons lime juice
Around 8 dashes of green Tabasco sauce, we also like to use some of the garlic pepper Tabasco sauce
Coarsely ground black pepper to taste
Additional salt to taste

Now, here are the steps:
1. Unfortunately, there really are no easy steps to preparing the butternut squash. Here is what we have found successful for this recipe:

Squash cut into sections

• Cut the squash in half lengthwise and then cut each half into about 3 sections. My tools of choice are a cheap ice cream scoop to clean out the seeds and pulp and a potato peeler to remove the outer peel/rind.
• Be thorough in peeling the squash and be prepared to make several passes to get down to the deep orange squash flesh
• After the squash is thoroughly peeled, cut it up into small chunks. You will be cooking the squash in the chicken broth along with the carrots and celery so you want pieces that are small enough so that they will cook evenly with the other vegetables.

Peeled squash pieces

Cut up squash pieces

2. Melt the butter or margarine in a large stock pot over medium high heat. You will see in the pictures that I am using my pressure cooker to accommodate a double batch of soup.

3. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and squash. Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. I typically sauté until the onions start to become transparent.

Vegetables ready to be sautéed

4. Add the chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the squash is soft and tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. I typically press a chunk of squash up against the side of the pot. If the squash is nice and squishy, it has cooked long enough. I also check the carrots to see if they are soft and tender.

5. Remove from heat and stir in the tortilla chips until they are wilted.

6. Add the cilantro and cheese and allow the cheese to melt in the pot.

7. Puree the soup in the pot using an immersion blender. You can also remove the soup in batches and blend it in a regular blender. (In my opinion, spending about $40 for an immersion blender at Target is a worthwhile investment.)

8. Stir in the chiles and green onions.

9. Season with lime juice, Tabasco sauce, black pepper, and salt. 

10. Enjoy!

Plane Projects

The term "plane" in the title is correct. The months of September, October, and November typically find me doing a more than just a little bit of traveling. My fall traveling adventures include presenting my research at professional meetings, receiving ongoing training related to my research interests, and participating in professional meetings. As such, I end up spending more than just a few moments on an airplane. I'm also one who likes to keep myself busy while traveling. As you can see from the above picture, my packing includes resources for projects that can easily be tucked into a carry on bag.
My plane projects of choice are ones that can be transported easily and ones that I can work on without creating a disruption to others. For the last few trips, I have been working on more snowman blocks. I introduced the snowman project in one of my January postings. These wool appliqué blocks will be included in a quilt (possibly the topic of a future post). They also have been fun to complete, and I've enjoyed giving each snowman its own personality. 

I've taken on another wool appliqué project this fall. (For good or for bad, I do enjoy moving from project to project.) This one features a monthly series of "blankets" that can be used with a wool sheep who will be featured in a future post. The monthly blankets involve some smaller pieces and a finer degree of detail. Just the same, I've enjoyed completing them.

As much as I enjoy my traveling opportunities, my favorite part is always returning home. I am very grateful for a family who supports me and a God who sustains all of us while I am gone. Through this season of traveling, I've been reminded of God's words to Jacob in Genesis 28:15 when he was fleeing to his Uncle Laban's home and experienced the dream of the stairway extending to heaven. This verse features the Hebrew word "shamar" which translates as "to keep, preserve, protect, guard, take care, and watch over." Through the miles of traveling and days of separation, I can rest secure in God's sustaining presence and knowing that He will be faithful to accomplish His purpose for me and my family.

Behold I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. 

Genesis 28:15 

Stuffed Squash

As I shared in my last post, fall is my favorite time of year in Utah. I think that "fall foods" are some of my favorites as well. For our family, the term, "fall foods," includes dishes such as soups, hot dishes, and other items that incorporate ingredients associated with the fall harvest. 
One of our favorite fall foods is stuffed acorn squash. The above picture, however, illustrates a butternut squash in addition to the acorn squash. This year, our acorn squash did not fare as well as they did last year, so we decided to try this recipe with one of our butternut squash. It turned out great. Take home message: Use the stuffing with the winter squash variety of your choice.

Ingredients:
Squash:
The stuffing recipe will fill about four average-size acorn squash (8 halves)
Stuffing:
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
1 pound Italian sausage (we prefer mild for this recipe)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1-2 cloves of chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon sage (we like using sage from the garden - see note about drying sage below)
1/4 to 1/2 cup pecans (optional - we like the extra texture that they give to the stuffing)

Preparing the squash: 
 Cut them in half. Scoop out the seeds and pulp. Place them, cut side down, in a pan with some water in the bottom. Poke holes in the top of the squash for ventilation. Bake at 350 degrees until they are baked - about 30 to 45 minutes.

Preparing the stuffing:
Cook the rice. You can cook the rices separately or together use 2 parts water to 1 part rice and boil for about 20 minutes.
Cook the sausage in a large frying pan over medium heat. When the sausage is nearly cooked, add the onion and garlic. Continue to cook until the onion is translucent.
Stir in the cooked rice, sage, and pecans. On a side note, the stuffing is very yummy by itself.

Putting it all together:
By this time, the squash should be ready for stuffing. Remove the squash from the oven. Turn them flesh side up, and fill with the stuffing. Return the pan to the oven and bake another 20 to 25 minutes until the squash and stuffing have heated through.

Drying sage:
We have enjoyed seasoning the food we cook with herbs from our garden. This year, I grew sage for the first time. In contrast to herbs such as parsley, oregano, or thyme, sage has large, heavy leaves. They do, however, dry easily and in much the same manner as any other herb. Here is a picture of my sage plant. It looks a bit scrawny because I had just picked a bunch of its leaves.
After picking the leaves, I wash them, pat them dry, and then place them in a pan on my kitchen windowsill to dry. Once they have dried up, I crumble them up into a container to use later. The crumbled sage leaves take on a distinct almost "heavy powder" consistency that is distinct from other crushed leaf herbs. The sage flavored our stuffed squash rather nicely, and I am looking forward to seasoning our cornbread stuffing with it on Thanksgiving.

Sage leaves set out to dry 

Crumbled sage leaves ready for use