I-Spy Birthday Quilt for Zoe

Happy Birthday to my granddaughter, Zoe - 8-years old.  

Look at the sparkly shoes

Zoe requested an I-Spy Quilt in pink, so here it is . . . after emergency help from Miss Carol when my plan to quilt it on my little machine did not work out.  She saved the day and the quilt! ☺ Thank you!!

I think the quilt is a hit!

Quick Strippie Quilt on the Wall

It was time for an easy summer quilt and I found the perfect pattern, thanks to Miss Carol from Sweet Peas and Possum, on MaryQuilts.com called the Quick Strippie Quilt.  Be sure to look at all the variations of this pattern on her site.  It makes a great child's quilt too.  This was by far my quickest quilt yet.   I added some side borders to make it a little wider.  The finished size is about 44 X 60.

 The material was purchased a few years ago at the Vermont Quilt Festival and had no idea what I was ever going to do with it, but loved the different quilts displayed on the fence with the old houses in the background.   The line of fabric is Diane Phalen for Elizabeth's Studio and the yellow print was a coordinating fabric.  The darker blue was from my stash and will also be the binding color after I find a suitable backing.  This one is a keeper.

Happy summer quilting to all!

Science Center Adventure

Today was a super special day because I spent time with both of my lovely granddaughters at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland.  My son Adam was our chauffeur and he put up with all things "girls" for the day - all pink, all the time.

Ahh, the wonders of science!

Toria and Zoe are cousins but act like they are sisters!

Toria and Zoe in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 

Toria gave a two thumbs up for the Goodtime III 

We closed down the Science Center and then Adam took us to his favorite Chinese Restaurant - the food was excellent!   After dinner, we visited the unusual China Town (mall) Store.  The girls loved it and found the best fans ever - pink and blingy.

My Mysterious Granddaughters!

Refrigerator Dill Pickles - Easy and Delicious

Yea!  Sweet corn is back in season for northern Ohio and we found some, in the back of Earl's truck, at the Haymaker Farmer's Market in Kent.  It has been so dry, actually a drought, and farmers are very worried about crops.  Fortunately, the corn is surviving so far.  Zoe, my granddaughter, helped peel the ears for lunch . . . she is such a good little helper!

We enjoyed a porch-nic (picnic on the porch) with lots of corn and a healthy whole grain pizza.

This looks good to me!

Refrigerator Dill Pickles - Recipe below

I used the cucumbers from the market to make three quarts of dill pickles.  I like this recipe because you don't cook the pickles, just the brine, so they are good and crisp.  Of course, if you use fresh picked cucumbers or pickles it is even better.  NOTE:  If you have never made pickles, don't use aluminum pans, stainless steel is best.  If you don't have jars, you can put them in any glass or stainless steel container.

The down side of refrigerator pickles is that you have to eat them within three to four weeks.  That is not a problem at my house since I give a jar to each of my pickle-loving sons and they are gone in a flash.  

I didn't have pepper, so only used dill, garlic and about a TBS pickling spice in each jar.

All done!  The pickles will change colors and look green in a couple of days.  It's best to wait a few days to eat them.

Dill Pickles for the Fridge

4 cups water

3 cups white vinegar

2/3  cup white sugar (scant 1/2 cup better)  You can adjust the sugar for sweetness

4 Tablespoons pickling salt

Garlic, 1 Tablespoon pickling spice, slice of hot or medium hot pepper and dill in each jar

Fill each clean jar with sliced/speared cucumbers, dill, garlic, pepper (optional) and pickling spice.  Pour boiling brine in jar to cover.  Leave 1 inch head space.  Put on lids.  Let cool and then store in refrigerator.

No need to sterilize lids or jars since these pickles are refrigerated.

Makes 3 quarts of pickles with a little brine left over.  Easy Breezy!

One Fine Square!

I almost forgot that this is a quilting blog . . . So here is Miss Carol from Sweet Peas and Possum with her newest, dilly-dally, influenced project . . . She says, "Thanks Mrs. Dilly Dally!"  

Thursday Sit and Sew with Miss Carol

Quilt Delivery Day

My grandson Nick and his Walk in the Woods Quilt

 The quilts I have been working on this spring have been delivered.  In my former posts you saw this quilt top hanging on the clothesline and in the post about my first attempt at using a long-arm quilter - "Driving a Long-arm."  It is true that every quilt has a little story behind it.  This kit was purchased at the Vermont Quilt Show and finished two years later.  Nick likes the outdoors and fishing, so the bears, moose, fish and trees in the quilt were perfect.  Also, he did find his name that I wrote in the quilt with the long-arm and then lost

The prayer quilt was knotted and then delivered to my friend Cheryl who is currently fighting cancer.  Good timing since she will be starting a new round of chemo soon.  She is sad and upset because she does not want to lose her hair again.  She is a fighter though and prayers will help.  Please say a prayer for Cheryl.

Cheryl

May God heal your body and soul.

May your pain cease,

May your strength increase,

May your fears be released,

May blessings, love, and joy surround you.

Amen.

http://www.helpguide.org/life/spirituality_prayers.htm

  

Thursdays with Miss Carol

Every Thursday since school has been out for the summer, I head down south near Newcomerstown, to quilt at Miss Carol's studio.  Miss Carol is the blogger and quilter from Sweet Peas and Possum.  This day has become the highlight of the week for me as we quilt and gab (my favorite thing after quilting) all day.  Oh, yea, and "eat."  The time goes by faster than a jelly role race.  Carol is so kind to offer her quilting space and good company for the day.  We in turn offer her our problems and errors in quilting.  She patiently helps us figure out what to do next with our projects.  What would we do without her!

Miss Carol's studio - my Thursday home.

The cornfield across from the studio.  

Miss Carol by her zig zag

Little Barb and her zig zag

Gina's zig zag

A show and tell from Miss Carol.   I love the watercolor look of this log cabin

Miss Carol was showing us some of her scrappy quilts that she has made from her stash.  So colorful and interesting to see.  It makes me think of a kaleidoscope or modern art.  

Mama Barb and her fall zig zag 

Enjoy the 4th - America's Birthday!  

Square for Church Quilt

An ambitious lady from our church, not me, decided that we needed a quilt to hang in our fellowship hall.    She found a beautiful pattern with different blocks that are based on Bible verses.  Being a quilter, I was roped in, I mean I volunteered to do a square.  I tried to get an easy one, but it was gently wrestled from my fingers and I ended up with the trumpet square instead.  After all, I am supposed to be am experienced quilter - which is a matter of opinion.  Here are my directions:

33 pieces in all

 Here are the pieces (they were already cut), but I had to sort and figure out the colors.  Luckily they gave us a fabric color chart - very helpful!

Trumpets emerge out of chaos and confusion

"Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed."  1 Corinthians 15:51 NIV

Columbus Quilt Show

Where have I been?  My sister actually called me up to tell me that my blog needed updated!  That shows someone is reading it.  Well, my wireless was down for a couple of days, but before that I was finishing up grades in the classroom - done!  Then I headed south to Barbie's house and we went on a bus trip to the 43rd Annual NQA Quilt show at the Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.  My first time for this show and it was quite impressive.  The theme of the show was the Mariner's Compass as you will see by the pictures.

"To be considered a "Compass" pattern, a Mariner's Compass star should contain 16 to 32 points.

Little Barb

Gladys

Mama Barb

We enjoyed the vendors, but have to say the quilts were all pretty exceptional.  Our highlight of the day was meeting one of the grand prize winners and learning more about her and her quilt.
Sherry Reynolds made this Mariner's quilt called America, Let it Shine.  It is a tribute to America's foundations and values.  It includes part of the Gettysburg Address, Preamble to the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence.  It is an original design as you will see Sherry holding up the blue print pattern that she created to make her quilt.  I cannot even imagine starting a quilt of this magnitude!  Little Barb liked all the sparkly dots on the quilt.  Sherry said the number of sparklies was equal to the number of words in our Constitution (If I remember that correctly).

Sherry Reynolds and her quilt America, let it Shine

the original design for the quilt!

Here are a few more quilts for you to see and enjoy:

Is this the Snake River Quilt?

It looks like it was done in batiks

This quilt caught my attention because I like barns.