Iron Chef Sacramento

I came home from work tonight and enthusiastically told my husband we were going to play a fun game. Iron Chef Sacramento! He'll be Bobby Flay and I'll be Alton Brown. We'll pretend the other chef didn't show up for the competition, so he doesn't have to cook four or five gourmet courses; just one will be enough to qualify. He'll have an hour. And the secret ingredient is:

BLACK FOREST HAM!

He just looked at me and asked, "Have you had a couple cocktails?"

Sheesh! I really can't trick that guy into much of anything! At least he didn't wait for me to do a back flip or two to start off the competition.

More Prince and Canadian Spy Currency

Okay, the guy's still a little odd. Coincidentally--unless there's some weird cosmic Prince thread running through my life--there's a story today that Prince has announced he'll be doing 21 London shows this summer but won't be performing anywhere else in Europe because he must study the Bible. Okay, whatever. No one's ever accused him of being normal! Here's a link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070508/ap_en_mu/people_prince

No more Prince for awhile unless he shows up at my house or something equally newsworthy. Maybe he'll read my blog about my gallbladder "issue" and want to make it up to me since I missed the concert. Maybe he'll read about "C" and want to see the quilt named after one of his songs. Maybe he'll come to my door, bearing my own personal copy of The Watchtower. (Do you think he'd autograph it?)

Oh, and speaking of weird and newsworthy, did you see the story about how American officials were concerned that the Canadian poppy quarters were spy devices being planted on American contractors traveling in Canada? I meant to mention that last night but forgot. How weird is that? I worry about our so-called "intelligence" agencies sometimes, don't you?!

Little Bits of This and That

The last couple of days, I've blogged a few rants and stories and haven't mentioned much about some of the little things that have happened in my life that I wanted to share, so I thought tonight I'd fill in the "gap."

First of all, because we all like to look at photos and hear stories about the nice things husbands do sometimes, I wanted to share with you the blueberry muffins my husband surprised me with on Saturday morning. Yum! No pretty plate and charming presentation, but who cares if you don't have to do the work, right?! As long as there's fresh coffee to go along with a treat like this, I'm happy!

I know it's an odd thing to share, but I wanted to tell you about a death notice I came across in the local newspaper. Friday I was in our kitchen at work, waiting for a pot of coffee to brew, and I thought I'd flip though the local news section while I was waiting. This section also contains the obituaries, and although I rarely read them, as I was flipping pages my attention was caught by the obit of a doctor. Since my firm's clients are doctors, I wondered if it was anyone we "knew." Nope, but it sure was funny for an obit. I'll give you a link to read it yourself, but the part that cracked me up was this: "He was the adored husband of Georgia (most of the time), and a wonderful parent to his two children . . . ." Since the obit references his "dry wit and sense of humour," I'm guessing he must have written the notice himself before he passed away. I don't know about you, but I think it's pretty cool that this guy could maintain a sense of humor in the face of death. Anyway, here's the link:

http://www.legacy.com/SacBee/DeathNotices.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=87744974

Are you tired of Prince stories? One of the reasons my ears perked up when "C" mentioned naming her quilt after a Prince song was because I just LOVED his music back in the days of Purple Rain. Following the movie, Prince went on tour in 1984/1985, and I was beside myself with excitement when I was able to get tickets for me and my sister-in-law. If I remember correctly, the concert was scheduled for early March. In mid-February, we celebrated my kids' first and fourth birthdays at a pizza parlor. That night, I experienced a sudden, sharp pain that felt a lot like what I would imagine a heart attack to feel like, but the worst of the pain was in my back and it was more on the right side. The pain passed and I felt fine the next day. Two nights later, though, the pain hit again. Needless to say, the next morning I was in the doctor's office. At first they thought it might be an ulcer and put me on a bland diet, but I continued having the discomfort, so they sent me for further tests. Well, as you may have already figured out, it was my gallbladder, and it needed to come out. Unfortunately, this was a couple years before they started doing laparoscopic procedures, so it was major surgery. To further complicate the situation, by the time they diagnosed the diseased gallbladder, I had become jaundiced, and they had to rule out hepatitis before they could send me to surgery--and I was in quarantine for a week! There's more to the story, but suffice it to say that I was still in the hospital by the time Prince came to town and I missed the concert. Darn gallbladder! I can't tell you how extremely disappointed I was. Like "C," I've always enjoyed his music--even the songs with the highly questionable lyrics. And what a vocal range he has! I think his "Artist Formerly Known As" period did a lot to damage his career, or maybe it was his choice to semi-retire for awhile; too bad, because the guy has talent. I still think it's funny to think of his fan base as all of us middle aged grandmas though!

Tonight I'm trying to finish the quilting on a fall/Halloween quilt. I have a Thimbleberries Club meeting on Wednesday night and would like to have it done for show and tell, if I can. It doesn't seem like I've really accomplished very much this month, so I thought I ought to get on the ball. Maybe I'll have a little eye candy for you in the next couple days though. Watch for it.

And, also tonight if I ever get to bed, I'll finally get to start reading this:

I've been so envious of other quilters who have blogged about getting their copy before I received mine! Once it did arrive, I was in the middle of a Sue Grafton book; I finally finished that last night so now it's on to this one.

Well, I think that's all for news about me and the miscellaneous pieces of my life. Happy quilting!

You Can't Judge a Book By Its Cover

I learned pretty early in life that quite often, people aren't what they seem. And I don't mean that in a negative way; I don't mean to say that most people try to deceive each other or pretend to be what they aren't. But people are complex beings. I think we all look at those around us and make certain assumptions about them based on their appearance, what they say, or what little we may know about them. Case in point:

Not too long ago, I was sitting at a table with a group of about 20 women at my local quilt shop. We had met for our monthly Jo's Little Women Club, a program based on the 1800s reproduction fabrics and patterns of Jo Morton. As is our custom, we had reached that point in the meeting where we show our latest "creation" and say a few words about it. Sometimes questions are asked of the quiltmaker. It was "C's" turn.

"C," a tall, thin woman with short gray hair, whose age is probably somewhere around 60, stood up and displayed her quilt. Amid all the "oooohs" and "aaaahs," it was a little hard to hear her, but I thought she said she had named this quilt--the dominent color of which was a pinkish red--Raspberry Beret after the Prince song. Hummm. Could I have heard that right? Prince? I looked from the quilt to "C's" face and back again. Naw, she couldn't have said Prince, could she? When most of the questions died down, I asked, "So, do you like Prince?" "C" admitted somewhat hesitantly that yes, she did like some of his music. By now the room had quieted, and the quilt shop owner looked at me--kind of like I was nuts--and asked, "Why did you ask her that?" So I explained that "C" had named her quilt after a Prince song and I was just curious. Although I didn't say so, I sure wouldn't have pegged "C" as a Prince fan!

I wonder what Prince would think about a group of 50- to 60ish quilters sitting around talking about him? Heck, even naming quilts after his songs! I think I'll always look at "C" a little differently now. I'll probably wonder from time to time whether she's hiding a wilder side underneath the grandmotherly appearance she presents to the world. And I'll probably think about naming one of my quilts "Darling Nikki" just to see if I get any reaction. But maybe I'll wait until I'm 70 years old--I kind of like the idea of being thought of as a shockingly racy old lady!

Shopping with Lisa

When my two children were in elementary school, I took three years off work to stay home and be a "mom." Times were hard financially, but that time we spent together was rich in many ways, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I had a home typing business and would pick up work occasionally, but it seemed very seasonal. There were times, usually during the summer, when I would work 12 to 15 hour days and then I'd go for months with no work. That worked out fine for me--those spurts of work would give us "extra" money for Christmas or to buy the bigger things we had gone without. During the leaner times, though, I operated on a budget of about $300 a month for groceries, gas, and anything else that wasn't a mortage or utility payment. Even an outing to McDonalds for a Happy Meal had to be planned in advance and worked into the budget.

In order to make ends meet, I watched the grocery ads for bargains. One of my favorites was when one of the grocery chains would put whole chickens on sale for something like $1 each. They had a limit of two chickens per customer, so I'd call up my friend Lisa and we'd make a circuit of all the stores in the area, coming home with a car full of chickens to go into the freezer. Lisa didn't need chickens--she just came along with me so I could get around the two-chickens-per-customer rule.

Lisa got ahold of me earlier this week and invited us over tonight for a BBQ. As it turned out, her week was so hectic, she never made it to the grocery store; not a problem--we ended up meeting at a favorite Italian restaurant instead. Lisa's husband Terry and my husband went through school together, and I met Lisa when she started dating Terry, so the four of us have been close friends for over 25 years. Any time the four of us get together, we have a great time!

Lisa's life has always been hectic. She's not one to sit still for long and just relax, unless relaxing is part of some larger social obligation. She packs her life full of family, friends, work, and social events. In many ways, she and I are complete opposites. She's 6' tall and I'm 5'4". She's impulsive in many ways, except when it comes to money; I'm rarely impulsive EXCEPT when it comes to money! I've mentioned my hermit tendencies before; I'm happy spending time alone; she's happiest spending time with other people, and the more, the merrier. I'm sure she doesn't "get" quilting and wouldn't have the patience for it. Sometimes I suspect she thinks my life is pretty boring, but then I believe she understands that what I do isn't at all boring to me.

During dinner tonight, I asked Lisa if she wanted to go over to Trader Joe's after we finished eating to do a little grocery shopping--I knew she needed to go and there were some things I wanted to pick up too (so that I can be a total bum tomorrow and do my hermit thing). We sent the guys off to Borders, where they sat in the cafe, listening to a band, drinking coffee, and chatting, while Lisa and I went shopping. Pushing our carts around, we got to talking about how I used to make her come with me to buy chickens--I don't think we had gone grocery shopping together in the 15 years since.

It's funny how things change over the years but some things stay the same--like my friendship with Lisa. You really know someone's a good friend when they're willing to spend half their day with you, driving around town, buying chickens--especially when they probably had a gazillion other things planned for that day instead.

No matter how you measure friendship--perhaps in laughter, tears, or even chickens--I hope you are equally blessed with a friend like Lisa!

Decisions, Decisions

The other day I was in the grocery store. Among several other items, I needed toothpaste. Now I’ve always been a Colgate kinda gal. My mom was a dental assistant back in the 50s and 60s, and her boss preferred Colgate, so that was good enough for our family. Of course, back then, there really were only two major brands: Colgate and Crest, so it was a fairly simple decision. Have you shopped for toothpaste lately?

Most of us would choose a quilt shop that carries 5,000 bolts over one that carries 50 bolts. And most of us would shop for shoes at a store that carries a wide array of styles, colors, and sizes rather than one that carries only a few pair. Choice can be good. Choice helps us develop our own style, separate and apart from everyone else around us. But toothpaste?

There I was, in the grocery store, staring at the huge and varied selection of toothpaste. I had already narrowed it down to Colgate, which should have made it easier, but it wasn’t. When did we become a society that demands so many choices in toothpaste? And why? Did I want paste or gel? What flavor did I want? Toothpaste with baking soda? Why? In case I want to use it to bake a peppermint flavored cake? And, oddest of all, I thought, was the decision about what I wanted my toothpaste to do. Now I can see a customer needing a special toothpaste for sensitive teeth. It’s kind of like dandruff shampoo that way–something that is needed by some but not by all. But what’s the deal with tartar control versus whitening? Do people want one and not the other? "Oh, no thank you, I DO want my teeth to be white, but I don’t care if I have tartar build up." Or, "Thank goodness I can get rid of that horrible tartar without changing the nice yellow color of my teeth." Why not a toothpaste that does it all? Why make it so hard?

Life is full of choices and decisions, and right now I’m tired of it–not life; just some of the stupid decisions that have to be made. I need a secretary, a wife, and/or a housekeeper to take care of all this mundane garbage without bothering me. Frankly, between my father’s passing, helping my mom to take care of all that needs to be done, and concern about some medical issues that my husband is dealing with, I’m already on mental overload and heading toward depression. Hey, Colgate-Palmolive, if you're reading this, here's an idea for you: How about Colgate with Whitening AND Prozac? I bet it would sell like hot cakes!

Continuation of a Theme . . .

No, not the Thimbleberries theme. The CHAPS! I just can't seem to get them out of my mind! Well, and who could blame me with a horoscope like this today: "You have the power to turn up the heat on your romantic life -- make things sizzle!" Hummm.

How about these babies? Anyone know where I could go out and get myself a pair of these?--

And I already have a pair of thigh-high brown suede boots. Yep, I do. Really. In fact, I seem to recall mentioning them to my son's girlfriend a week or so ago. Probably more information than she needed and she's probably scarred for life now. As my husband may be if I find myself a nice pair of spurs. But don't those chaps help prevent that kind of thing? Well, maybe not.

Oh, and you may wonder what all this has to do with quilting, which is what I'm all about, right? Did you know that back in the "old days" of the West, the gals working the cat houses would cover their beds with tarps to keep those dirty ole cowboys from messing up and tearing their quilts with their boots and spurs? True fact! It's amazing the kind of stuff you learn, watching documentaries while you quilt!

So, now I have a new quilting adventure to contemplate. Ride 'em cowboy! Yee-Haw!

Another Photo of the Thimbleberries Binder Cover

I'm adding another photo of the binder cover--this is the inside of the back cover that shows the strip to slide the binder through and then the inside of the flap that wraps around to the front outside to close the binder. If you don't want to use a button and loop closure, you can use Velcro, or one gal even just attached ribbon to tie hers closed--very cute idea!

Mostly Thimbleberries

I was chatting online with my friend Eileen about the Thimbleberries Club block for this month and it occurred to me to share the block I made and an earlier club "extra" project.

I'm a little tired tonight, having been up until 2 a.m. the past two nights, and then awake at 6:45 a.m. for work--it takes much longer than you'd think to kill your mom and bury the evidence. Okay, I'm just kidding--actually things went more or less okay when my husband and I went to visit her last night. Oh, except that apparently I won't "let" her get her teeth cleaned, buy new prescription eyeglasses, or get a perm. Of course, I explained to her that it's not a matter of me letting her do anything, it's simply a question of what she can afford once we figure out what her income will be. And if there's not enough money for everything, it's certainly her choice whether she'd rather have a perm than pay for telephone service. Well, I'm sure you can see where this all went--which was pretty much nowhere.

Since I'm a little lacking in energy and imagination tonight--I know this because about all I managed to do while watching TV was to stare at fabric without doing a darn thing to it--I thought I'd just share with you these couple Thimbleberries things. In January, following our first club meeting for the year, I made this binder cover--it was the "extra" club project.

If you've ever done a quilt-as-you-go project, these are constructed very similarly. You just layer backing and batting, and then on top, sew the first strip and press back; sew the second strip and press back, etc., until you get the length covered. From what I recall, I think I pretty much made the stripped piece fairly long--something like 36" to 42"--and then after trimming, I used those cut-off pieces as the pocket on the inside front cover and another as the strip to slide the back cover through. A binding was added around the edges and a loop and button closure. It really dresses up a plain, old binder and makes it individual--it sure looks a lot nicer sitting on one of the shelves or the desk in my sewing room!

Here's a photo of the inside as well as this month's block. I'm making my blocks half sized and I've modified the block a little from the original pattern--so if you know what it's SUPPOSED to look like, you'll see there are a couple minor changes. Once I've put the quilt top together, I'll add some decorative touches to the house--maybe a few plants and flowers, etc. The pattern shows embroidery on the windows to separate them into panes, and I'm sure I'll add that too. And I think that upper window might need some shutters or something--what do you think?

OH! P.S.: I almost forgot to tell you! Hey, do you read Confessions of a Pioneer Woman? Ree's writing is wonderful and entertaining and I think hers is the only blog I read regularly that's not about quilting--and she has fine photos and many of them include even finer men--in chaps even! Anyway, for dinner tonight, I made her steak sandwiches--if you go to her blog and scroll down, you'll see them on the right side. Men love them. I love them. My husband loved them so much, I think I've convinced him to wear chaps. Yeah baby! So I'd better go check on him . . . .

Less Than Six Months to Halloween!

I love Halloween and the fall. Of course, we have a long, hot summer to get through before it arrives. I was reading Carole's blog yesterday and she mentioned a witch pattern, which got me to thinking--well that, and maybe the fact that spring Quilt Market is in Salt Lake City this year and begins any day now.

You see, back LAST October, my friend Kairle organized a quilting retreat just south of Salt Lake City for some of us, and we had a wonderful time sewing, shopping, and gabbing. While there in Utah, one of the shops, Quilt, Etc., hosted our group for lunch in their classroom space, and on the wall was the cutest Halloween quilt I had seen. One of the things that greatly appealed to me was the fact that it was cute and funny without being a "kid's" quilt. I just had to get the pattern! The rest of the shopping I did on that retreat was geared primarily toward collecting FQs for the project. Here's what I put together for the fabrics and another photo of the pattern--sorry about the glare:

Since that trip, I found a great yellow with red polka dot fabric, and I may use that as the background and then readjust my thinking on which of these FQs to use in the rest of the quilt.

The pattern is by Mountain Valley Stitches and this gal is a Utah designer. I haven't seen the pattern anywhere else, although I did just find it this a.m. online at a shop in Utah that we actually visited. Pine Needles carries it and although I'm not sure you can order online, you can probably contact them and arrange to order it if it's something you're interested in.

Well, now that I have this out, I guess I'll need to get started on it soon. After all, Halloween is less than six months away!