a short cut method?

I started cutting fabric for my next quilt and discovered that I need 480 of these half square triangle units.

 Yep, 480.

The book that  I'm using for the pattern shows this method as a short cut for making these units...
First, cut a rectangle 7 x 13 from both your light fabric and your dark fabric. Place them right sides together with light fabric on top.
With a pencil and a ruler, draw this grid of  2 7/8" squares on the light fabric. Draw diagonal lines as indicated.

Sew a seam 1/4" away on each side of the diagonal lines (only). Remember the dark fabric is underneath.

This is how it will look..

Now, carefully cut on ALL the lines..this is what you  should have...

Open them up...and there are your half square triangle units! It makes 24 of them.

 Press them open and trim off the dog ears.

I didn't actually time how long it took to do these. I am sure it would be quicker after I did it a few times...but I think I will probably use a different method. The drawing of lines and all the different angles when cutting seems like extra steps rather than a shortcut. 

And what I really don't like is the wasted fabric around the edges when the large sewn rectangle is cut. The extra is there only to pivot as you are sewing those diagonal lines (I guess).

I am off to try something else!

our favorite burgers

We went to our favorite burger place...WW Cousins. They have opened this second location on Outer Loop...much closer for us.

If you have never been here, it's definitely worth a try. The burgers are the best but they have other food too.  This toppings bar makes it fun. Besides the regular stuff you might normally put on your burger, there are lots of other toppings to try...relishes, peanuts, hot peppers, sauerkraut, and more.

When we first started going I would try a lot of different things on my burger.

Now I have narrowed it down to , lettuce , tomato, salad dressing, onion, jalapeños, and green olives.  Keep it simple, I always say ( not!).

That is a 1/3 pound burger. We used to get the half pounders but these smaller ones will fill you up.

While we were out we stopped for a few things at Sams Club, where I used this "free sample" vending machine.

You scan your membership card and it plays a short ad...and then dispenses a sample packet of Kleenex.

Not all that amazing, maybe...it's just something I've never seen before.

pillowcase with pocket

On meeting day for the Mt Washington Quilting Bees, we generally have a class or a project lesson. This time the project was "making a pillowcase with a pocket".

I was going to take pictures of each step but I needed all my brain power to get the pieces sewn together right and forgot all about using the camera.

I did get a shot when laying out the pocket. It is in the wide hem of the pillowcase.

I didn't finish in class but I just had a couple of seams to finish up at home.

For a nice enclosed seam on the inside of the pillowcase...first sew closed with the right sides out.

Then turn inside out and sew along the same sides. 

 All finished. That's the pocket...the crescent shaped area.

We were all trying to think of things that one might want to keep in their pillowcase pocket. There were suggestions of phone, TV remote, tissues, glasses, medication.

One lady suggested that young children could put their tooth in the pocket for the tooth fairy...

Then someone else said... 'Old people could put their teeth in the pocket too!'

Lots of nervous giggles at that remark!

salmon spread

Salmon is supposed to be so healthy to eat - I wish I liked it. I have tried cooking fresh salmon and also ordering it at restaurants. I just can't seem to develop a taste for it.

This is a pretty good snack spread using canned salmon. Someday, I'd like to try making it using fresh cooked salmon...it might be even better.

Here are the basic ingredients...

And these

Salmon Spread
6 oz. Can pink salmon
8 oz. Cream cheese
3\4 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. minced onion
1 tsp. horseradish
lemon pepper or salt and pepper - to taste
few drops liquid smoke flavoring
dill and/or parsley to taste...maybe 1/2 tsp. or more

First take care of that canned salmon!
The worst thing about canned salmon is how it looks right out of the can.  Eeek! Ick!

I buy the larger can even though the recipe calls for a small can. This way I can really clean out all the bones and skin and darkish parts (those areas have a stronger taste) and still have lots of meat left. 

Now this looks better...almost like tuna. Why can't they give it to us in the can like that?

Once you have the salmon ready; combine all the other indredients then add the salmon. Mix well and refrigerate a couple of hours for the flavors to meld.

The finished spread...

 It is good on 'Socialite' crackers or 'Bagel Crisps'...definitely needs something crunchy since the spread is so creamy.

salvia, peonies, and.....and...

what's this under here?

It's "Arum Italicum" and  it isn't really very big...it was just the camera angle.

See...

Later, the...um...spadix, will develop into a red berry cluster. The leaves will then yellow and wither, and strangest of all...they come back green in late winter.

Other blooms in the yard...

Purple and White Salvia. The big Bumble Bees love them!

Peony. Just now starting to bloom.  Ants love them!

Purple Iris and Gold Iris

Euphorbia "Chroma"

Solomon's Seal, a relative of Lily of the Valley, for a shady spot. It supposedly has healing properties

And just because it is so beautiful, a full moon rising.

what I am reading

This book was a quick, lightweight read..."Please Excuse My Daughter" bu Julie Klam.

Funny and entertaining, the author recounts her early adult years and how, in spite of being raised in a wealthy Jewish  family in New York and having a good education, she was unprepared for entering the real world. So, it's sort of a "coming of age" story...maybe just a little later in life than one might expect.

The characters in the book...family members, friends, boyfriends, employers...could all  fit right in to a "Seinfeld" episode.  Ms Klan has a knack for seeing the funny and absurd side of things and she is not afraid to poke fun at herself as she describes unfortunate choices in men, bad job experiences, and her efforts to really be an "adult" and make it on her own. By the end of the book she has learned a few of life's lessons and is happily married with a young daughter of her own.

I enjoyed this book and would read others by this author.

at the Welcome Center

It's Tourism Week here in Bullitt County. The director of the Tourism Commission asked if a few members of the Mt. Washington Quilting Bees would set up a display at the welcome center to talk about quilting with any interested travelers who stopped in.

Four of us took a few quilts and quilted items and set up in a corner.

The gorgeous hanging quilt was made by my friend, Sandy. The yellow " Sun Bonnet Sue" one on the left was made by her husband's grandmother.

I didn't have any big quilts to take. I had my dog quilt and a couple of mini quilts and the bargello flag.

There is my friend Freida, she is finishing up a memorial quilt. It has photos of her late brother transfered to fabric  and sewn into a quilt.

We had fun just sitting and sewing and talking to the travelers.

(That's my friend Shirley on the left and that is Sandy across from me.)

9

There were representatives from Jim Beam and a local winery (no free samples). ..and this guy with a snake,there to promote Bernheim Forest.

It was a corn snake - very colorful and very popular with a busload of school children who stopped in while on a field trip. They didn't even look over at our quilts one time.

There was also a lady making baskets.

Outside, there were local musicians performing.

Wish we could have been out there too,but our stuff would have probably blown away!

They asked us all to come outside for a group photo. We quilters were staying away from the snake guy!

It was fun and several travelers mentioned that they appreciated having all this to look at when they stopped to stretch their legs.