Quiet House

With Tonya on her way back to Paris the house is very quiet again. Brownie has slept all afternoon...guess all the attention wore the little cat out!

Today I worked a bit on my Santa red-work. I have finished three so only 9 more to go! They are very fun and relaxing. The pattern is from Bird Brain Designs and is aptly titled "Here Comes Santa Quilt."

While Tonya was here we did a lot of tea drinking. I even got into the kitchen and made some Fruit Scones which go very well with clotted cream. (Calories don't count when friends visit - right?!) She asked for me to post the recipe so here goes....

Fruit Scones
3 cups flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup chopped dried cherries
1/4 cup currants
1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange rind
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Glaze: 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon of water

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl; stir well. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Stir in apricots, cherries, currants, and citrus rind. Add buttermilk and stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly 4-5 times.

Pat dough into a 10-inch circle on a an un-greased baking sheet. Combine water and egg and brush top of the scones. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut into 12 wedges; separate the wedges slightly (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch.) Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm. (Though we ate some for breakfast the next morning and they were still good!)

When I made the scones this week I didn't have currant so used more apricots and cherries. I also doubled the amount of lemon rind because I knew I was going to use some of my quilting friend's lemon marmalade...so wonderful!

The photo below shows one of my favorite gardens. It is outside the village of Doddington and for a few weeks in spring looks like a black and white garden (up close you find out the tulips are really dark purple.)

Quilt Show!

Tonya and I made it to the Malverns Quilt Show and back to Teddington in one piece. Our plans to not buy any fabric were busted 10 steps in the door! The second stall was manned by Kim Porter of Worn and washed reclaimed fabrics. The photo below is of her stall. It so made us think of Bonnie and her new book. Kim has a great sense of color. The rolls were hard to resist...so we didn't. Two of our rolls are in the first photo. We also got some packages of fat quarters in bright plaids, some indigo fat-quarters and some very fun Indian stamps. Not as much damage as I've done at some shows and more than others!

Now we are going upstairs to my quilt room so Tonya can "shop my stash" and find some bits to go with her new fabrics and maybe drink our 100th cuppa tea!
We also have to chase Goldie out of the guest room again...she isn't sure why T has taken over "her" bed!

Sunny Days!

I have been bad about posting, cleaning house, quilting or just about any responsible thing the past few days....blame it on the weather. We have sun. Beautiful, beautiful sun!

We went on a long walk around Snowshill on Saturday. The woods were filled with wild garlic in full bloom. Boy was it fragrant! Wonderful. We had lunch at a local pub. All and all a great day. I just can't bring myself to stay indoors. I have lots of cleaning to do for visitors coming this month and two quilts to finish. Maybe I'll just walk MacBeth....

Jane Austen visit and recipie

I finally made it to Bath where, as my husband puts it, I "stalked" Jane Austen. He just doesn't get it... Anyway, the city was wonderful, the sun was shining, and I ate way too many scones with clotted cream. It doesn't get better than that. Oh, ya, and there is a very cute quiting store...bonus!


Here is some of the regency architecture. There were four crescents surrounding a small park. The photo below shows the detail between the first and second floors. There were hundreds of different patterns. They reminded me of appliqué.
I would definitely like to get back there again. I was able to go to the Abbey but ran out of steam and didn't see the baths (no pun intended!) don't you just love these carved angels climbing the ladder! They were on both side the Abbey. (And check out those blue skies!!!!)

A couple of folks asked for the Blueberry Pound Cake recipe. I think it came from Cooking Light but it may have been Southern Living. If they don't come from my family then 90% of the recipes I use are from one of those magazines.

Blueberry Pound Cake

2 cups sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup reduced fat cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour, divided
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 (8-ounce_ carton of lemon yogurt
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
(optional: grated lemon peel)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat granulated sugar, butter and cream cheese at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla.

Combine 2 Tablespoons of flour and blueberries in a small bowl and toss to coat. Combine remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda and slat. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternating with yogurt - beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fold in blueberry mixture.

Pour into a 10-inch tube pan coated with cooki8ng spray. Sharply tap pan once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes. remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl (optional: add 1 tsp grated lemon peel.) Drizzle over warm cake. Cut using a serrated knife.

Food Festival

It has been a pretty dreary weekend here. I could do with a full day of sun right around now...I worked a bit on the border for my around th world quilt. Goldie has claimed it as hers - but then she does that for every quilt!

We did go to a fun food festival in Tewksbury this weekend. Lots of organic stalls...though to be honest we only had some Old Spot sausages and some local beer. I think I was overwhelmed by the choices. My main reason for going was to see Paul Rankin, a TV chef, do a cooking demonstration. The demonstration tent was very crowded though and when I went to sit down I was body checked by a young guy who really wanted that seat. Only I could get a twisted knee at a cooking demo!

We bought some lemon yogurt so I can make my blueberry lemon pound cake today. That will make me feel like spring!

Prague

I'll get back to my quilting after this post...I just had to put up some photos of Prague. It is a beautiful city! Lots of museums and old buildings. Lots of old and new art. Even some Dixie music on a 14th century bridge!


I loved how the restaurant below had different fabrics on each of the chairs! There were several outdoor spots like that . Obviously it made me think of quilts!

The next two photos are from St. Charles Bridge. A great spot if a bit crowded with tourists. It has dozens of statues along the bridge with lots of artists selling their works. I wish we had a bit more sunshine but at least it didn't rain!

Polish Pottery Trip

I've been off-line a for the past week because I went to visit Poland and Prague. It was a very interesting trip...

It started when I was unpacking my car at the hotel in Fairford. A woman walked up to me and asked, "Do you blog?" How weird is that?! She is a quilter who enjoys reading the Maverick blog ring.

The next morning we left at 0500 in a 16 passenger van with lots of space for shopping...we used every inch of it! Seventeen hours and countless bags of junk food later we were in Poland. Our main purpose of the trip was to visit the potteries. There are a lot of potteries there. In our first day we visited at least a dozen stores - I lost count. I lost count of a lot of things - like how many cups I bought, how many boxes of pottery the driver loaded in the van with my name on it, and just how much I spent. I'm calling it pottery amnesia.


In some ways it was a lot like fabric shopping. There are so many beautiful patterns and so many of them mix that putting them together was similar to pulling pieces for a quilt. My favorite purchase is the 6 mugs each with a different design to use on a mug tree.

I also really liked our visit to a tiny pottery workshop where they had many unique pieces. They also were very nice about letting me take photos in their work areas. I love to see how things are made! The photo below shows one of the drying racks stacked with pots. After they air dry they go to the painting room.
Here are some waiting to be glazed/painted.
Below are some items that have been painted and are waiting to go into the kiln. It is interesting to see how different the glaze is prior to being fired. They look very pale and dull...
After the firing they are very vibrant! I can't wait to make some soup for this tureen!


Last trip they found a store that sold fabric that went with the pottery but we couldn't find it this trip. Guess I will have to get creative when I make my table runners.

I'll post some of my photos of Prague tomorrow. Need to finish unpacking an do laundry! (don't you hate that part of traveling?!)

Around the world

I haven't been blogging much the past week so this is a bit of a catch-up blog.

The good news is I have five bags of clothing to go to the charity shop and four boxes of "stuff" for them as well. I made some progress on the clear out and get ready to move front. Of course I also went to an auction and bought two very cute bedroom chairs, a painting and a regency period writing desk. So much for the clear-out space! But the new/old stuff is just more fun than a couple bags of suits!
I also finished piecing an Around the World quilt top using Bonnie's directions. I had the blocks done for months and after reading her post about her copyright being elbowed I thought I should put the blocks together. I used a lot of my 2-1/2 inch strips of 1930's reproduction fabrics. I would like to put a border on this but am going to wait a week or so. My first inclination is to use a 1 inch strip of red then a wider border...unfortunately I don't have any solid red left in my stash and this was to use up. So instead I may use a very deep royal blue instead of the red and maybe use some red print strips for the outer border. I'll have to think on it!

We did go on a steam train ride last weekend. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway runs along the hills in back of my village to the race course. It was on my list of things to do before I leave. Yahoo...something to scratch off the list! Makes me think a bit of the Hogwart's Express...it was very fun.

I have started on the next step of the Orange Crush mystery quilt. My 2 inch squares are cut...it is something! I have a busy week in front of me though and I may not get much more than that done for a bit...Hope I don't get too far behind.

A little finish

Lately I have been working on small projects. Read that as little projects that can be actually finished in a day - if not a few hours. Sometimes any finish is a good finish. First I planted a few more pots out by the front door. My house was in desperate need of some color. I love these pansies!
Then I made up a little cat-flower pin cushion. Very quick and very fun. It is sitting with my favorite laughing rabbit...he is always the last Easter decoration to be put away. (Some years he stays until Christmas!)

Finally I finished up[ my 150 4-patch blocks for the orange crush mystery quilt. Can you believe I finished a step before the next one is posted. Mark this day on the calendar!!! I actually made 162...so my math is still a bit iffey....

New meds have me a bit off kilter at the moment. I have to cut back on a new pain med since it is making me a bit dizzy (no jokes here.) My husband is complaining there are times I just "phase" and stare out into space (he also claims that is why I burned the block on the ironing board...he may have a point) I'm hoping it is just a matter of reducing the dosage since it started out working well. So until I am cleared to use the iron and the sewing machine without supervision (his word not mine!) I am back to the little non-hazardous projects like sorting fabric...

A late April Fools

This is what we woke up to this morning...no kidding. The April Fool's joke was on me. I listened to the weather the past few days and when they said "snow" I just laughed. I mean it is April. We didn't get any snow all winter. "clouds and showers with intermittent sunshine," is about the only forecast they ever give that is close to right!

So this morning when I opened the door to let MacBeth out to a blanket of snow. needless to say...he had a blast!
Being from New England I had to immediately go out and check out the neighborhood. All and all looks like a good day to stay in and sew....

Should come with a warning

Some days the quilting room can be a danger zone! Today I have pinned a block to my sweatpants, broke the needle in my sewing machine which now has it jammed up, sewed the final block of my sampler quilt in upside down, and set fire to the ironing board...that final one deserves some explaining.

My husband bought a new ironing board cover. I basically use the iron to press fabric. My Dh on the other hand irons everything. It can be 90 degrees out and he will iron his shirt and trousers before going out to golf. By the time he gets off the driving range he is a wrinkled mess...but that doesn't matter. He only stopped "touching up" T-shirts last year. (Glad to know I've had some influence on him!) All that to explain why he bought this new fangled ironing board cover that "reflects heat." He put it on the board this past weekend.
So how did this lead to a small fire? One word - paperpiecing. (hummm - maybe that is two words?) Anyways, I was working on some civil war blocks and used the iron which was still on his setting for a cotton shirt for my block. I use the very thin paper sold in fabric stores specifically for paper-piecing. I generally just iron it quickly to keep folds from occurring...also it makes the paper come off easier - in this instance a bit too easy. There was no smoke. No warning. Just woosh. A quick flame sprung up the side of the iron. I jumped back and grabbed the closest thing - my husband's shoe - and slapped the block like crazy!

So the block is now in the trash. I will have to explain a slight scorch mark on the new cover to my husband tonight. I think I will go back to using my cotton ironing board cover again...

I'm not sure how many of these blocks I will end up doing. Some are from Dear Jane and others from a variety of books. They are 6 inches and are using up some of the tiny bits of repro fabric that I love and just can't part with. A few are made up of orphan blocks or bits of blocks. I wonder if the original Jane didn't do that as she made some of her blocks.

Strip Danger

I overdid it a bit this past weekend so my eyes were a bit "wonky" today. A good day to sort fabric and iron...not a good day to use a rotary cutter!
The first bag was for the school kids in the next village. One of the woman in my quilting group is teaching them to sew so any fabric goes to good use there. Next was fabric that I know I will not use but is big enough for a project - such as making the jewelry bags or the sewing caddies. The final bag was for fabric to cut into strips. None of it was supposed to return to the shelves...ya, right.
As I unpacked the bag I started finding fabrics that...well, I wanted. No wait...needed! No, they needed to be cut into strips. I was afraid if I waited then they would sneak back into the stash so I began to cut. Bad move. I now have three fingers bandaged! Didn't bleed on the fabric though! (I have priorities....)

Guess I will try again later...

Lambing Day

One of the things on my "to do before leaving England" list was to visit a sheep farm and to see a lambing. Even though it was a cold and dreary day it was great to see the sheep and all the tiny lambs. Unfortunately because of the cold my friends and their children didn't go (she is getting over a cold.) So this post will have lots of lamb photos...in no particular order. The first photo is of my favorite sheep...one of my neighbors called her Audry Hepburn because of her smile! (All you farmers can laugh now....)


The little one in the photo above is in the orphan crib. The light keeps her warm. I think she just assumes everyone is there to feed her!This pair was born about 20 minutes before this photo was taken. Mom was still busy cleaning them up.


The farm is over in Overbury which is only a couple miles away and sits on the side of Bredon Hill. the folks working there did a great job of explaining how the farm is run. There were two young vet students there getting some practical experience...a lot of experience. I learned that lambing is quite hard work!I was surprised at how different the lambs all looked. I have to admit this little white one was a favorite. On the quilting front. I spent some time this afternoon to search the internet for some redwork patterns with - you guessed it - sheep!

Happy Easter!

Well it doesn't feel much like spring this weekend. Bits of snow fall, then sun, then black rain clouds...and all of those changes in less than an hour! The photo on the left shows the edge of one of those clouds coming into the next village of Overbury.

Holidays are tough to be away from home. On Good Friday my family usually goes into the North End of Boston and shops at the "farmers" market and the Italian Bakeries. In ends with a large pizza (no meat) at one of the Italian restaurants. I have to admit I missed that a bit. This year I helped out with a village tearoom to raise money for a new dishwasher for the village hall. There is a long history of folks walking up Breedon Hill on Easter weekend. Participating did make me a bit less homesick.

I am trying very hard to organize my fabric and sewing stuff which means I am not getting as much sewing done. Don't you hate when that happens? I have a quilt for my Fairford group that needs to be quilted but I just can't get myself going on it. Uggghh...


I cruised through my photo files to find springy quilts without much luck. So here is one of my antique log cabin quilts. The center is a red wool and the entire block is just over 4-1/2 inches.