quilting that charity quilt

I finished up enough 16 Patch blocks to make a quilt top...and sewed them together.  I used up the rest of my leftover batting trimmings and pieced together a batting big enough for this small quilt (about 40" x 56").

I've layered and pin basted it and now I am doing the quilting!

Other ladies in my quilt group are also making quilts or blocks for our charitable giving this year.  Some are making these 16 Patch blocks and some are working with a different pattern. We will have a nice variety to donate to Hospice and Project Linus.

One member of our group, Jennifer, who also owns Busy Lady Quilt Shop , brought in some fabric scraps that we could use for making donation quilts and she also brought in enough of these finished "string blocks" to make about 3 small quilts.
Aren't they pretty!

Jennifer got one top assembled from them that same day, then another quilter took some home to sew together and I brought the third set home to work on.

These string blocks are made differently that other quilt blocks. The fabric strips are sewn to a paper foundation...something thin like phone book pages.  See how they look on the back?

The paper keeps the strips from stretching out of shape and also lets you see about how long to cut your next strip to add.

The paper is carefully torn away after the block is trimmed to size and before the blocks are sewn to others.

So, that's next on my list..sewing these blocks into a quilt.

antique mask..or what?

My grandfather on my dad's side loved to go to auctions and he must have enjoyed picking up things there that were out of the ordinary......like this....

It is a full head covering sort of a mask.  It is at least 70 years old...my dad remembers walking around with it on his head when he was a child.  It's a little scary looking!

It's made of a paper mache like material.   I tried to see if I could find pictures of something similar online but had no luck.

I was going to put it on my head and take a selfie but the opening is too small for an adult head (or maybe I just have a big head?)

So, do you suppose this was something made for kids to play with?  That doesn't seem right either because the eyes and mouth opening would be too far apart.

Maybe it was supposed to be for an adult but someone goofed up on the size of the opening? 

It's a puzzle.  Any guesses?

Okay...later edit...my older brother, Dennis, thinks it could be "Old Mr Boston".  I looked it up and found this picture...

It's very close!  And the time period is right...He was first featured on the cover of a bartender guide in 1935.

Different in that the mask has longer facial hair and is showing teeth...but could be designed that way for breathing and speaking through.

Stone Soup

Are you familiar with the old story of Stone Soup?  (You can read one version of it by clicking here)

My quilt group, The Mt Washington Quilting Bees, has Stone Soup day every year in January.

Members each bring an ingredient for making soup...what ever they want. It could be a vegetable, meat, pasta, barley...it's different every time.  They used to add a stone to the pot, and who ever got the stone in their bowl of soup would win a prize...but then they decided maybe that wasn't such a good idea...so now it isn't technically stone soup. It tastes as good or better, though.

We get a couple of our best cooks to oversee the cooking.

Here we are, looking over Carol's shoulder.  She made broth this year (at home) by simmering beef bones for 16 hours. She also brought along that little basket full of seasonings and spices. There to the left are a some of the cans of veggies that others have brought in.

While the soup was simmering, some of the ladies were working on blocks for our charity quilts.

Also, games were played in which the winnings were fabric strips anted up by the players! 

 Soon it was soup time!  Two big cauldrons full!

And there were a few extras,,,crackers, cornbread, desserts.  

Say goodbye to any diet related New Years resolutions!  

It was the perfect day for hot soup, though...freezing temperatures outside. 

it was on sale

It's a good thing that I don't have an actual pantry or I might have bought more!

These three pack, large cans of Libby's pumpkin were only $1.91 per pack at Sam's. That equals a hair under .64¢ per can.

29 oz. cans

Besides the obvious pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin roll type items, it can be used for pumpkin soup, pumpkin casserole...and I remember seeing a recipe for pumpkin risotto somewhere.

Gosh , that sounds a little like Bubba and his shrimp dishes in the "Forrest Gump" movie.

At any rate, I will be trying out some pumpkin recipes!

Once when I was shopping at Sam's with my older son, an employee told us to watch for the shelf tag prices ending in "1".      That indicates the lowest price before the item is taken off the shelves.

At that time we were each buying a twelve pound canister of hot chocolate mix for $1.61. Just kidding about the twelve pound size, of course...but it was a very large can!  Enough to get us through about three winters!

carrot salad

There used to be a buffet restaurant where my husband would take me and the boys occasionally...but it went out of business so many years ago that I have forgotten the name of it.

They had a few foods that I hadn't seen at any other restaurant, so I would get them there every time...spiced apple rings-deep red in color, some kind of a pink rice salad with mini marshmallows, and a carrot raisin salad.

My husband really liked the carrot salad, too...so I tried making it at home. At that time, I couldn't find a recipe for it, so just sort of put together my own version.Since then, I have found similar recipes and adjusted the ingredients a bit.
This makes a big batch so you might want to make only half.

Carrot Salad

1 lb. carrots

20 oz. can pineapple tidbits, drained

5 oz. pkg. dried cranberries or 3/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup Miracle Whip

1/2 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt.

Clean and grate carrots.

Combins carrots, dried cranberries, and drained pineapple in a bowl.

Mix Miracle Whip, sour cream, brown sugar, and salt. Pour this mixture over carrot mixture.

Toss gently to mix. It may seem like not enough dressing at first but it gets jucier after it sits in the fridge for a couple of hours.   You may want to adjust salt and sugar to your liking.

My memory is foggy on this...but they might have served a carrot salad at lunch when I was in elementary school...in one of those flat bottomed, waxy paper fruit cups.

At that time, I wouldn't have touched it with a ten foot pole!

barbrcue rub

Barbecue...just say the word and you will have the attention of nearly all the members of my husbands's family.  To them, pork is the only TRUE barbecue. Other meats aren't even in the running.

They are always looking for the best barbecue restaurants... as my husband says " when I see a barbecue joint, I nearly skid sideways in the road!"

Time is devoted to trying to develop the very best method for cooking ribs or pork butts on the grill and smoker and discussing formulas and ingredients for the best sauce...preferably one that's hot enough to make your face red and sweaty when you eat it!

So, there was much discussion and excitement when my husband's son, Chris, brought us a jar of  "dry rub" at Christmas time. It's a blend he created and mixed. ( If you aren't that in to barbecue, a dry rub is like a dry blend of spices and other ingredients, that you coat meat with before you cook it.)

Chris was very closed mouthed about his recipe. Every time we asked, he would start listing the ingredients...brown sugar...paprika....then he would suddenly switch to another subject.

A few days later my husband was itching to try out the rub...just try it out on something, so I convinced him that we could try it on some chicken breasts that I had on hand (even though it wouldn't be TRUE barbecue).

Here is what the plate looked like when he brought it in from the grill.
Look at that piece of chicken on the upper left!  He was cutting off chunks and eating it as it was cooking!

It looks like he likes it !

curious turkeys

There was a cat prowling around the yard one afternoon. I stood at the window watching him as he climbed up on a planter...to wait and watch for mice or birds, I suppose.
He is there on the left...black..you can mostly see his tail.

Next, some wild turkeys (on the right) came out of the woods and were passing through the yard. When they saw the cat, they stopped in their tracks.

Then they started inching closer...craning their necks and turning their heads to look at the cat with one eye and then the other. So funny  to watch them!

They were curious but after they got that close they decided to go back the other way. I wasn't sure what would happen, but the cat acted as if the turkeys didn't even exist. He wasn't curious about them at all.

A different day...turkeys coming across the field...it's hard to count them. Maybe 23..24?

And in the front yard...This tom started spreading his feathers, but never did put them completely up.

A couple of times in the past,I have seen a male turkey displaying his plumage. It is a sight!

They spread those tail feathers and puff up all over. They pull their head back and stand there seeming so pleased with themselves. I guess the lady turkeys like it!