Threading a Needle

I learned to make a quilt block called "Flying Geese". I had to do quite some practicing to get the points to all come out, to get the sewing machine to do what it needed to do to achieve perfection. But perfection I did achieve and the resident quilters were amazed and very complimentary at my first piece. It was just a bag with some embroidery. It never did go on display at the store as the pattern maker who is from Australia, decided to pull her patterns from her distributor and sell them privately in Australia and so they were no longer available to us.

I can copy a Chanel suit without breaking a sweat. Quilting? Oh my god!!!! Such a universe.

Shortly after completing the piece I went through our complete book offering at the store and found nothing - nothing that gave me any great detail on the "Geese" technique. Someone did mention, however, that I research an 'old' book by Jinny Beyer - they could not remember the title. That evening I searched Amazon and found the above book. I started to browse and found a page dedicated to "how to cut the thread and threading the needle".

That was it. I dished out the $5.00 for the book. You see, I was talking to the "Always In Stitches" group that meets on Friday evenings in the classroom about making a quilt and doing the quilting by hand when one of them said "Why don't you piece it by hand too?"

In my search through our books, I found the pattern book called "Tried and True Renewed". On the cover was a quilt I fell in love with. I know it is built on browns. I thought I might like it in greens, but I really DO love the browns too, or am I being visual? Am I liking the browns because that is what is pictured? I don't know.

So, this is the quilt I am going to make this year. Totally by hand. Totally portable. I have been practicing stitching by hand, trying out various thimbles. Thimbles are not easy to get used to because I have never in all of these years, despite all of the handwork I have done, a thimble has never been a part of my history. Getting comfortable with one is such a difficult task. There are so many different types out there. And sizes. And, the more vocal I am about the ordeal, the more women are offering me their tucked away thimbles to try. I am going to have to buy a box just to hold these.

And needles! I have used embroidery and milliner's needles all of my life. Long thin needles. Now I am trying to adjust to needles that are barely and inch long. I keep saying that my hands are too big for these needles - but that is only an excuse. It is just an adjustment.

I have to get my body and my mind to change its stubborn ways. It is never too late to learn something new. It is becoming my mantra. "Something new. Learn something new".............

I have time to practice. Scraps of fabrics. It will be awhile before I can get the fabrics I need for the quilt. Tax Return. So, every day I work a little more. It will be a great quilt when it is finished. I am excited. I will show you how it is going as I work with it. maybe one day I will even work a class around this. Imagine - me teaching a quilting class.

Is there no limit........................................

Sunday Afternoon

I haven't seen Christina in over a year. We recently re-connected. She moved to the Gorge, an hour's drive from here. We lost touch. It took over a month to get our schedules in sinc so that this Sunday was possible. It was just a lovely day. We went to the market for fish and vegetables and came straight home. No errands. Too much talking to do. Gifts to exchange. Stories to tell. I cooked - she ate.

I made a mango avocado salad with fresh herbs and balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing. We had bought this imitation crab leg that was really really tasty and I sauteed that in butter and she ate that straight out of the bowl. It was absolutely sinful. I'd serve it to anyone, no matter that it was imitation. It was so good. It was made from real fish, just not crab. I am going to have to look for it again and buy more. I swear, it is something that could be very addictive.








For the salmon, I thinly sliced up three colored peppers, snow peas, broccoli, carrots. I think that was it. These I lightly sauteed in a pan pre-seasoned with oil and candied ginger. At the very last minute, I added chopped cilantro of course. I put these on a tray to keep warm in the oven while I worked on the salmon.

I then made a broth with white miso paste and got that going at a good boil. I dropped in the two salmon steaks and let them sit in this broth for about ten minutes. Then I divided the vegetables, and placed the fish next to them and poured on the herbs. The miso makes such a lovely broth. And the fish is so moist and tasty. It was very good.

Thing is, too, you can freeze the broth and use it again for more fish as it just gets better every time you use it.


I did make a dessert, but we got so into eating it we forgot to take a picture. Before the whole dinner preparation began, I cooked some huge blackberries with a spoon of sugar and got maybe a quarter cup of essence from it. This I sieved twice in tea strainers so that it was completely delicate. When it came time for desert, I took out the container of cream and Christina began whipping a small amount of it. But it wasn't whipping up. So I took over and I got confused. What was wrong? I opened the fridge and looked. I grabbed Half And Half instead of Whipping Cream at the grocers. Disappointing. So....

No bed of cream under the ice cream. I made Matcha green tea ice cream with an orange essence which I served in little bowls and drizzled the berry juice over it lightly. I wanted each taste to be complete. It was accomplished. I wanted to serve it on a cloud, but the cloud did not appear. No matter. We enjoyed.


The day was great. We talked about so many things. I gave her Baba's cloth which probably means nothing to any of you, but it means a lot to us. Baba Muktananda is a Guru long past now. Dear to both of us. It was an emotional moment between us. Reparation. Things should not stand between people. We don't have time for that. Too much is happening in the world. People are separating and isolating out of fear. We need to gather more. I know this personally. My phone rings maybe once a week? I am a big isolator. It is not good. I leave my house to go to work, to go to the grocery store, or to the doctors. I never go anywhere.

We need to come out of our caves and embrace each other. Listen to each other. Help each other. Just be there.........

Flying Geese

This is my first attempt at the Flying Geese pattern. I am not making a quilt. It is for a bag. Quite a bit of cutting, precise cutting. OK I have that under control. I put together one block and it looked not quite right. Just then, Julie who teaches beginning quilting happens to walk in to see how things are going with the upcoming re-carpeting issues.

I showed her my block and she gives me the tip of sewing just to the right of the marked line.Then I go out to the classroom with her and we talk about the move and all the work and the mechanics of everything. She leaves and I get back to work. I get 24 blocks done. I don't know.

The above, the points are not 1/4 inch seam allowance. Do I take them ap0art? Re-cut them?
What did I do wrong?


These look a little better, they were the second set. I sewed to the right of the line but closer to the line. but still, I don't think the 1/4 inch seam allowance is very abundant.


I haven't stitched any of the pieces together as I still have a third colorway to do. Blue and pink. How long does it take someone to perfect this technique?

Maybe when I go in to the my workroom today I will have to get some books and do some reading because this little pattern gives no information on technique. And I can't put on the floor for display a bag that looks all wrong. These points have to turn out right.

Pincushions

Who ever thought I would make pic cushions for the wrist. I see students in the classroom all the time with these tomato cushions strapped to their wrists as they work their patterns and I always wonder what the attraction is. I guess it's just that I ..... I don't know. i would need to have what. At least six of them to accommodate each type of pin that I work with. Or would I just load the pins on that I would be working with at that time. Of course, there is something romantic about picking up my lovely cushions and moving them constantly from here to there as I am working. I love that. No, I am not a wrist person.

But I can see that some are. And Denise and Caroline are. Yes, Denise asked if I would make her one. So I got the pattern from Caroline and she said to follow it exactly. They know me. I have a tendency to do my own thing with patterns. So I did and it really looked a bit small to me. It is the cushion on the right with the multi-colored pins. I found a remnant of fabric with sailboats that cost me $3.00. It was a big piece. So I fussy-cut it and got the tiny sailboats to come through on top. Cute little thing. I even found blue twill tape and matching blue velcro if you can imagine.

Denise loved it but it WAS small for some of the pins that she uses when working the heavy fabrics on her boats. So I made a second one and enlarged the pattern an inch. From 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inches. Much more substantial. As you can see on the left. I also placed in some iron on interfacing to give the fabric some support to take the abuse of the large pins. Of course, it only took me moments to make and I could make her a dozen of these in my sleep.

Anyone want one?

Brioche

Not what you expected, eh!!

Caroline picked out this stitch for her fingerless gloves. It looked simple and, in the end, it will be simple. But putting it to needle was so frustrating I almost decided to just do a garter stitch.

You see, this is one of those stitches that you work both sides the same.

Yarn over, slip one purl wise, knit two together. That is all it is. Turn your work, do the exact same on the other side. But in the round.....

YouTube failed me. Some people just are not good teachers.

I even brought it to work and worked on my lunch, so obsessed was I. I should never have tried to figure it out on the actual piece. I am working with tiny yarn and I kept dropping stitches, having to take out rows, it turned out to be a mess and I have already completed the 15 rows of the cuff, which I do not want to start over. I do not!!!

So, here it is now, all figured out. I took out some big yarn and big needles. I began with the flat piece going back and forth all the same on each side. Then I slipped the piece onto three needles and figured out the reverse side. Really, it should be very simple. Perle two together, slip one perle wise, yarn over, but it is very awkward. I'm sure after a couple of inches it will all become more natural and the pattern will come through. What is awkward, is that the yarn overs come at the beginning and ends of the needles and you have to be ever mindful of them. Because they are double pointed needles there is a lot more activity than single needles, and, to create more stress, I am working with size 2 needles.

So very delicate work. But they will be exactly what she wants.

A picture to follow.

They say we may have snow. This is where you lower your voice down to the bottom of your throat and languidly say"

nice.......

Christmas

So, here it is, Christmas day. I have been working on this day forever, it seems. How I love Christmas. I almost thought I would be spending it on my own as everyone seemed to be on overload this year. But at the very last moment, we all rallied and Denise and Caroline came to celebrate. I was delighted.

I planned to serve an Italian brunch so I was hoping they would come late morning, hungry. There was not supposed to be gift giving, but there was. Here is Carline with the traditional yearly ornament. This year's design was taken from pictures I have seen in Scandinavian stitchery books and patterns. I will blog it at some point this coming week.


I am actually modeling the hat that Caroline made for me. I really love it. I have never been a hat person except for a few years following my drastic loss of weight in the eighties. Here in Portland Oregon, however, because of the nature of the weather and the fact that I do not drive, I find myself always wearing hats. I have loved Caroline's hats but never thought I would wear one because they are small and fitted and I love my hats big and loose. So, she designed me one of her wonderful hats big and loose. It is a quiet blue herringbone wool with a luscious turquoise silk lining and it is stitched with turquoise threads. Very nice. Very me. I am known for putting in surprising linings in my garments. This is so in keeping with my nature. It is perfect.


The table is full of goodies we have gotten. There are two bottles of wine I received from women at work. Some wonderful body products from France. A new car stereo for Denice. You can almost see the ice cream maker in the back. I am wearing my new apron.


I wish you could see it better, but there is the cake. Caroline made her bourbon fig cake. Oh my gawd. If I were inclined to keep bourbon in the house, I would make this cake. i should just offer to buy one from her from time to time. Without the nuts of course. It was so moist. Come to find out, it requires one cup of bourbon and she accidentally put in two cups. OOPS!



This is the kitchen before the cooking begins. We decided to open gifts before brunch, even though they both arrived hungry. So they went out to the car while I prepared the first course. I forgot to take a picture so you will have to imagine.

First course : My Italian Breakfast
In a pan, I heated to a simmer some artichoke basil tomato sauce and added some stewed diced tomatoes. I chopped some fresh basil leaves. When it was properly cooked, I added two eggs and then I sliced some fresh mozzarella and laid them on top. Then I immediately covered the pan and went out to fetch the girls. By the time they came in, took off their coats, poured wine, and settled down, the breakfast was ready. the eggs were just done. You don't want to over cook them. You want the yolks to be still runny. I also sliced baguettes and toasted three slices each.

It was an ample brunch, but it was the first course and they had not eaten yet so I was comfortable serving that size. Caroline called the dish "Eggs in Purgatory". I had not known that name. I had just seen a chef make that dish on an Italian cooking show a couple of weeks ago and copied the recipe down. Eggs in Purgatory. i wonder what other recipes come from purgatory?


This is the second course: Rustic Spinach and Cornmeal Soup

You heat 4 cups chicken broth and keep it to the side.
In a large pot, you mix 1/2 cup coarse cornmeal with 2 Tb flour and begin mixing in the hot broth, always stirring after each addition until it is smooth. Add in also 3Tb butter and 2 cloves crushed garlic early on.

Before serving add in 6 oz baby spinach leaves. I took the time to remove the stems. I really don't like stems. You don't really have to. It is just a thing with me. I cooked it for a few minutes until the spinach was wilted and the smell of garlic was coming through. If the soup thickens, you can add more broth, or heat water and add a bit of water.

I didn't add any salt as I find broth is generally pretty salty on its own. I sprinkled a bit of Parmesan before serving.




Third course: Butternut Squash Gnocchi w/Sage butter and Fish w/ Chive butter

Bake the squash in the oven till soft. Scoop out the flesh, puree, then measure out 1 cup.
Cook 1 Russet potato till soft. Press through sieve and cool completely. 2 cups.
Mix squash and potato in a bowl with 1/2 C of grated Parmesan

Beat 1 egg w/ 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg & 1tsp salt & add to mixture.
Gradually add 1 & 3/4 C flour until smooth. Knead lightly. Divide dough into eight pieces. Roll into logs, cut into pieces and shape with fork. Refrigerate until ready to boil, at least 1 hour.

Cook in boiling water 15 to 17 minutes. Chill on baking sheet again until ready to cook and serve.

Heat 1/2 cup butter and add 2 Tb chopped sage. I always add more. I love fresh herbs. Toss in the gnocchi and cook until the gnocchi is done through it all looks beautiful.



Put in a warm oven until the fish is done.

In the same pan:

Heat another piece3 of butter. Add a handful of thinly sliced chives. cook until the butter is well heated. Add:

Six pieces of huge scallops
1 Lb wild fresh cod cut into the same size pieces as the scallops.

Toss into the butter and let the fish cook but watch carefully. You don't want to overcook. You want this fish to be very light and to melt in your mouth. So when you put your tongs to the fish, you want it to bounce. Very important.

Take the gnocchi and place on your dish, then the fish. make sure you scoop the herbs and butter left in the pan and drizzle it on everything. It makes a wonderful sauce.

I made the gnocchi the night before. I really struggled with this. I have seen Mario Battali make gnocchi many times. Mine was not at all coming out like his. This recipe was not a good one. I measured it out perfectly. It just did not work. I made enough pieces to serve, and then I threw the rest of the dough out, I am afraid. I am going to look for more recipes and am going to try to perfect it. By golly!!!



Course 4: Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Grapes

1 1/2 Lb Brussel sprouts cleaned and cut in half
1 Lb grapes, picked over
3 Tb good olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2 Tb Lemon Thyme leaves chopped top bring out the flavor
S & P

Toss all together. Place on baking sheet with the sprouts turned cut side down.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until your knife goes into the sprouts easily.

This is really an easy one and very delicious. I didn't cook the entire amount as I was only serving small portions. I wish I had bought more. I would have loved to have had leftovers.

I wanted to make 5 courses, but it was getting late, and they just wanted to end with desert, sit for awhile and then go home to bed. OK. Se we ate cake. What a wonderful cake as I already talked about. i managed to get some leftover.

What they missed as the last course was a roasted root vegetable dish.

Sweet potatoes
parsnips
beets
Baked int he oven tossed in olive oil with S & P

Then there was a dressing:
Oil and vinegar
Fresh parsley
Horseradish
Dijon mustard

Served over arugula leaves.

Oh well, I get to eat these vegetables myself.

A nice day being together. They sat on the sofa while I cooked and served. No real cleanup as I kept it all cleaned as I went along and I served them on little dishes one course after another. We started around 11:30 or so and ended around 6:30? I love dinners like this. I find it mush more appealing than serving a dinner all at once. I love the little bites over a long period of time. you get to really taste every little thing, every morsel, every herb and spice. Nothing gets lost in the vast offering of a loaded table.

After they left, I was content. And I knew they were happy. Caroline apologized about being grumpy. You know, I never saw it. I just thought she was the sweetest little thing. And Denise had a complicated week or more. It was so nice to be able to just make them sit and let me take care of everything. Very satisfying. And of course, they thoroughly enjoyed that. And to me, that is how it always should be with guests and a hostess. You are in my house, let me take care of everything.

Deep breath. Great breath.

Christmas' end

Here I sit in my wonderful big chair. I have just finished the Christmas laundry. I am wearing my nightgown which is newly cleaned and still warm from the dryer. And my old green Woolrich shirt which is nearly 30 years old and so threadbare that I worry it will not last much longer. They don't make shirts like this anymore. A friend gave this to me when I was living in Boston just after my gastric bypass. I was always cold in those days and he thought this might keep me warm. This was back in 1980. So, yes, 30 years old.

The Christmas dishes are done. It is dead silent in here. All the neighbors are gone for the weekend. There is so much peace and serenity here that I could just fall asleep right now as I type should I be so inclined.

It has been a magnificent day. Exactly as I had hoped it would be. Beautiful. My sister did not have to do anything. My niece kept offering and I kept reminding her that it was not the intention for the day that either of them do anything. I merrily spent my time in the kitchen doing my thing. How I love to cook. How I love to serve people. It was just meant to be this way. I am happiest in this role. Hand over the kitchen and it is like giving me heaven. Go pick up your knitting, go pick up the remote to the television, do whatever you want. Leave me to the kitchen and your taste buds and I am at peace. Content. Breathing deeply. And don't be telling me you can't eat another bite because I have another bite coming.

It does not get any more perfect than this. Wine, coffee, tea, water, food, sit.........