Our Celebration Dinner

I managed to pull off the house cleaning and a fabulous feast for eight wonderful friends.  We had all the traditional Seder dishes that included 2 types of haroseth.  A guest made a delicious version using a 15 year-old Late Bottled Vintage Port and golden raisins, it tasted like apple pie.  The chicken soup Sid made was great but my matzo balls were tasty sinkers.  I continued a new tradition for us that began years ago when I couldn't get out to get Matzo crackers.  I grew up in New Mexico, so I made tortillas on the fly that wintry night years ago and it was so popular that people now demand them.  The main meal consisted of brisket, noodle kugal (both delicious recipes from my mother-in-law), roast asparagus and stewed prunes.  Dessert was my deadly Chocolate Oblivion Torte and home-made macaroons.
I must take a moment here to complain about what is happening to the foods in this nation.  Okay, I searched the grocery store for prunes.  I finally found them and grabbed a bag real quick because the boy stocking the shelves was in the way.  I didn't bother to read beyond prunes.  Sid ate one late at night and didn't want to tell me anything was strange.  I mentioned that I needed to get orange juice to simmer the prunes in and Sid started laughing-really hard.  When he caught his breath, he informed that I purchased orange flavored prunes.  Now, what is up with that?  Why do we do that?  When did foods stop being what they are - simple, natural, one ingredient?  I'm sorry, but it just drives me crazy.  I'm not saying I don't love my Hickory Smoked Almonds or other flavored foods, but sometimes I think it gets taken too far. 
Now, it is on to quilting today while the boys blacksmith.  Last weekend, along with everything else, I did the emergency quilt and a Pineneedle Block of the month.  Today's quilt is a beautiful sampler for a client.  We have a salmon party to go to this afternoon.  I love spring in the mountains when we all burst out of hibernation and start catching up on fun.

Quilting Companions

 I wanted to show you the quilt I did last week with Sid's help, but it is a Christmas present for a client's adult daughter.  I don't think she'd see it here, but I would hate to ruin a surprise for anyone.  I'll post photos after the holidays of this really cool t-shirt quilt.  I have Sid working for me again this weekend.  We have begun another silk tie memory quilt.  This one is going to be in a windmill pattern.  For some reason, I like doing traditional patterns with these beautiful silks. Sid and I have created many wonderful quilts together both traditional and non-traditional styles.  The quilt pictured here really captures both of our talents. 

            We are very proud of this quilt named "Kundalini".  It was made several years ago as a commissioned piece by someone who liked our seed of life quilts.  This client used the word Kundalini when describing what they wanted.  I did a touch of research and discovered that fire and snakes were associated with Kundalini energy.  The client thought it was wonderful and so we created the quilt you see here.
All of the fabrics were dyed by Sid and I did everything else.  I am fond of saying that my quilts are a series of mistakes.  I learn incredible things when I allow myself to make mistakes.
The lesson this quilt taught me was about bias tape.  I had made my own and used bias tape for years.  Then we got this brilliant idea to dye the snake fabric on the bias and cut it 2 1/2" wide.  This looked great! What I learned is that bias tape over a certain width will not lay flat in curves!  After an hour of freaking out,  I decided to methodically pleat the inner curves and sew them down.  This solved the main problem and gave the snakes such LIFE!  It really looks like the snakes are moving and writhing around in the knot work.  You can view other quilts we've made using the Seed of Life pattern at our website, www.mountainjoyquilts.com.
Well, it's truffle time.  I must dip and package many of these chocolaty delights to send to all my loved ones.  Sometimes, I think it's a cop-out to send truffles every year.  I know they are looked forward too though with great anticipation and I might even get in trouble if I don't send them.
We all need a yearly overdose of chocolate, don't we?  Happy quilting and creating!

Thanksgiving Time

I've been doing a lot of hand applique this past week. I have been doing a block of the month for a client. I began it last year and discovered I really enjoy doing hand applique in the middle of winter. It is a great way to still be working while not moving 5' from the wood stove. I started on it earlier than expected this year thanks to last week's power outage.
The devastation of wind-downed trees is quite sad and impressive. I am always in awe at the raw power of mother nature when in a mood. We did lose several trees on our property. Out back, the top of huge Blue Spruce came down and took out a Ponderosa pine and large aspen.
I've got Sid arranging another quilt for me at the moment. Our brains work quite differently and we try to use that to our advantage. He excels at creating chaos while I still try to find some kind of order even in a crazy quilt. This quilt is a memory t-shirt quilt for a woman to give her daughter for Christmas. The daughter is quite an accomplished runner with lots of track shirts. Sid is composing the crazy quilt look for the top and then he'll dye the backing too. I get to sit here and write to you folks about it. At some point, he'll announce he's done and go outside to blacksmith. That's when I'll get up and sew it all together into a top.
It is the time of year to remember how blessed we all are. I am continually thankful for all those who have helped me get this far in life. I am thankful for all those that love me and accept my love in return. I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

Chocolate Truffles & Quilting

It's quite amazing how far chocolate can take you in life. I have been making chocolate truffles for decades now, usually just to send around the country as Christmas gifts. On occasion, I've made them locally as well. It was during one of these local truffle makings that someone very special discovered me. It was love at first bite on a cold January day. On further inquiry, this special someone discovered I was a quilter and that my husband was a tie-dyer.
I've been holding on to this little secret since this spring when it all began with that truffle. So, I will finally share the news that my husband & I are now published tie-dyer, quilter, and artists!!!!!! Sid wrote an article for Quilters Newsletter Magazine about how to create his stars. I just saw the early copy of the October/November issue of the magazine. We are so excited!!!! I thought I should let you all know to look for it at magazine stands in the next few weeks.

Wind in the Pines

It has been so windy for a few days now. No snow in the wind today but my goodness the damage it's done is amazing. The first thing I saw when I got off the bus in Ned was a poor VW bus whose roof had been blown off. It was really quite sad. Heavily-weighted mailboxes were down everywhere. The Pine trees are all being whipped into frenzies every which way as I right this blog. We are used to wind up here, but this is pretty impressive! I wish I had a web-cam to share it with y'all.
I have been happy lately. It's because I've returned to work at the iris farm and Spring is approaching. I finished another 16 blocks for the silk tie quilt. So that leaves me with 20 left, and I've even gotten up to Strip 5 on all 20 of them. One of the reasons I chose to back the ties with interfacing was so that I could chain piece them. It's worked out really well for me. I can just zip through them with ease, knowing the strips are stable and behaving themselves. I always knew silk was tricky fabric, but it is nothing compared to velvet. I did a crazy quilt for a client once and discovered just what a squirmy, runaway, do anything but what you want it to fabric.
Okay, that's for all now. Keep quilting, dreaming, creating, and loving!

Week in Review

This week finally brought the melting of the snow. I had a flowing river in my backyard, now it is just swampy. That area will be carpeted by columbines in a few weeks. In fact, under the snow everything was just waiting to grow and be green. Another thing this week brought was the sound of hummingbirds buzzing about. We put out the feeder for the hungry little jewels. For me, there are several signs that spring/summer might actually be here. The hummingbirds are the final say. With their arrival, I am confident that spring is officially here. How exciting!!!
In my quilt realm, I got a lot closer to finishing a quilt & pattern that I have worked on for ohhhh, maybe 5 years. I started designing a new quilt. It will be for a friend's wedding gift, a contest entry, and is the first creative/original work I've done in a while.
I've also eaten some really good food this week. I was given some fresh organic eggs by a friend. The shells were a beautiful pale green color, like already dyed Easter eggs. They were so good!!!
Also, our local store doesn't label it's meat selection very well. You have to know what to look for and , on occasion, you can get awesome steaks really cheap. We paired the steaks with pasta and salad. My mother-in-law recently brought us salad dressing from Sabatino's Restaurant in Baltimore. This dressing makes salads worth eating!

Quilting with Community

This quilt was made by the community for the community. Over a dozen artists helped in this quilt project. It was my honor to be the quilter.

As a quilter, there are many ways to give to the community. I think quilters in general are very giving, loving, caring people. That is why so many wonderful foundations have been formed where quilts are collected and given to people who need them. There is something very special about receiving a quilt that was handmade. Quilts have value beyond compare because of the love that is in every stitch. Quilts can also be made by several hands. The making together bringing people together. Maybe you can find something in your community that could use your hands and heart.

I want to share my local project that is dear to my heart. It is a youth garden group. The kids range in age from very small to 18 years. The older kids plan, grow, and sell at the farmers market. This teaches them so much. They also learn how to prepare their produce and share that knowledge with others. They give to the local food share progam. I've just barely covered the surface of how great I think this program and the kids are. Every year, they hold a benefit dinner. I make a quilt to auction using the youth's artwork. I give them fabric and markers and tell them to show what the Cultiva Project means to them. It is amazing what they returned to me this year. I pieced the quilt using my husband's tie-dye fabrics and then quilted it heavily. It is a challenge to work with others artwork. You want to define and add to it but not distract from the original artwork. I was so pleased with how it came out. I wonder what next years will be.

I hope you are inspired now. Speaking of teaching children, I just came across a great book I thought I'd let know about. It is an ebook called Cookin Kids. If you want to have a great time spreading love in the kitchen, you should really check out this ebook. You can find it at the link in the sidebar. Enjoy the holidays with children you know. They do warm the soul. We can all do so much to make this a brighter, cozier world.

Until next time, happy quilting and cooking.