Fresh

On the way back from picking up D’s 6-speed 2-seater (about 100 miles away from our house – and on a weeknight!) I “splurged” and stopped at a fruit and vegetable market I had seen on one of our earlier car-shopping excursions - Joe Randazzo’s in Dearborn Heights.


Fourteen “items” for $11.27! I had to keep reminding myself of how much available refrigerator/freezer space I had available. Items I didn’t purchase but was very tempted by included bulk portabella mushrooms for $2.99 a pound, bean sprouts at $0.49 a pound, etc.


Best deals I did buy were seedless grapes (I forgot to include them in the photo) for $0.89 a pound, strawberries for $0.99 a container (after getting home I realize they are from Plant City, Florida where a blogger had a great time at the Strawberry Festival), parsley only $0.34 a bunch, and so on – look at that receipt!

Having been influenced by others’ blogs I couldn’t resist buying a yucca root for $0.69 per pound (had no idea if that was a good price or not) – we enjoyed it with stuffed green peppers (made 8, ate 3, 5 in the freezer for another day) for supper this evening. Even D agreed we should have these baked fries again.

I need to check out some of the markets in west T-town. Hopefully they can match those prices! ~~K

Steep Learning Curve

Free Motion Quilting Part 3 of ?

My current machine quilting is free motion only in the sense that the feed dogs are down – I’ve resorted to drawing on the fabric before sewing! I had a “design” in my head I could follow on small practice sandwiches, but now that I’m on a child size quilt I find myself getting lost.
Thanks to a new flow point on my wood-burning tool I was able to burn a puzzle-like stippling continuous line on an overhead transparency (another use for silicone baking mats). I then traced the pattern lightly onto the quilt back with a pencil, but found it too light to follow successfully. It is a soft lead so I’m going back over it in smaller sections just prior to quilting. That’s more work than I anticipated; especially since I originally thought I wouldn’t even have to “draw” a quilting line.
After finally getting a “pattern” technique developed, my next frustration is pulling the bobbin thread up to get started. I divided the quilt into 10 sections, hoping I would only have to do this ten times, but I realize now how much thread this project is taking as I frequently run out of bobbin thread. At least I preloaded the four empty ones I had available.

I started the quilting with curved safety pins for basting. After I carefully examined my first section, I’ve included many straight pins between the safety pins and just remove them upon the needle’s approach. That first section had a few puckers that I think will just have to remain as evidence of my beginner’s status.
Due to poor tension in an area that I could “hear” almost as soon as I started a section, I stopped, ripped it out and restarted. I missed an area and went back and quilted in a closed “puzzle piece”. There were also a few “puffy” areas where I left too much of a space between the quilted “lines”. That “school of hard knocks” is quite a task master!

It surprised me how difficult it is to maneuver the fabric and not let it move where it wants to go due to the small surface and the quilt’s weight. Ugly rubber coated work gloves I had never used have proven to be an invaluable help. Who needs special quilting gloves? –Not me!

On the positive side, I’m proud of my stitch length so far – if anything the majority of my stitches are probably too close together. There are a few quarter-inch gaps that have snuck in – but very few.
This quilt still needs several sessions to complete – I find I need to work in short spurts with breaks in between. I’ll keep plugging along – I have another “Quilt for Kids” top pieced and waiting. ~~K

Getting Closer

Free Motion Quilting Part 2 of ?

Having completed 20 paper “quilts” I wanted to try my hand with real quilting on a sandwich. This photo is my first attempt (back side):

I think I’m ready to tackle a “Quilt for Kids” with free motion machine quilting. According to an email I received, my kit should arrive Tuesday. In the mean time I’ve used some scraps and “Goodwill” fabrics to create an “Arthur” quilt top for the charity.

About 3 hours are invested in this so far (including cutting the fabric). I don’t have a backing yet – hopefully I’ll get lucky at a thrift store sometime over the next several weeks.

Back to practice! ~~K

Free Motion Machine Quilting – Part 1 of ?

First Practice –about 30 minutes before school (reading instructions, setting up machine, etc)

I was eager to start so I took an 8.5 x 11” piece of paper and “quilted” it without thread – just to see if I could get a feel for pressing consistently with my foot on the speed pedal and moving the “fabric” so I had acceptable stitch length. I only did one sheet of paper – see photo. Obviously I have a lot to work on – my goal is to keep stitches short (no longer than if I was hand quilting).

I then took a small “sandwich” that I had never completed hand quilting, and again without thread, I attempted free motion quilting on it to get a feel for moving the fabric. I couldn’t see my “stitches” but I think I should do this some more to be able to control the fabric – I think I need to get better at keeping the fabric “square” as in don’t rotate it (I wouldn’t be able to rotate a large piece of quilt) – just move it around – practicing more on paper will probably help me there.

To save money I’ll do some more practice quilting on both paper and “sandwiches” without thread. I know the paper sewing will dull the needle and perhaps get more “dust” in the bobbin area, but I planned on buying new needles anyway and a good cleaning of the machine should take place frequently. FYI I’m using my Jeans Machine by White that has served my sewing/upholstery needs well over the last few decades – when looking in my instruction manual I saw I purchased this new in 1991 – my previous two sewing machines were used Singers.

I think with some daily practice (10 minutes?) for a week I can get a handle on the technique, but I’m going to need more guidance on how to move for an acceptable “pattern” (I’m used to hand quilting over pre-drawn guide lines). I think I’ll next try some freehand drawing on paper – maybe waves.

A nearby quilt shop is offering a 2-hour evening machine quilting class May 6. It mentions using a walking (or even feed) foot – I used a darning foot for my practice. I need to contact them for more information to see if I have what I need to be accepted into the class and if it's “free motion” or straight lines. A quilt shop I visited in Michigan last week also offers a class, but I’m not sure I want to drive over 2 hours each way for a 5-hour class that might not meet my needs.

Back to practice – hopefully part 2 will show some improvement! Any tips would be appreciated. ~~K

Puzzling

After several days of “puzzling” we have a border (minus a few pieces we haven’t located, even though those straight edges should be obvious)!

A few other sections of the scattered matches design have also been pieced together.

I’m so glad we have such nice puzzle boards that can be quickly stowed away in their own carrying case. Hopefully these puzzling activites will help to ward off “senior moments” as well as be a diversion from our “overuse” of computers. ~~K

Cheese Freak

Most of you know how much I love potatoes, and CHEESE ranks right up there as one of my favorite foods. I was craving Irish farmhouse cheese, but besides being hard to find it costs more than I care to pay. Since Kroger had milk on sale this week I thought it was the time to make it myself.

I have used George’s mom’s recipe before and thought it was great and simple - both in the ingredients and technique. Ever watch “Ham on the Street”? That’s the George I’m talking about. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/george-duran/georges-moms-homemade-herb-cheese-recipe/index.html

Two summers ago I gathered or made my cheese-making supplies. For one gallon of milk, a whipped topping container is perfect. I used the electric drill to get drainage holes in the bottom (if you do this, be sure to remove all the plastic particles - you might have to use a very sharp knife to do this).

I purchased a package of cheesecloth, cut off about a 36” long tube and tied one end closed. That might seem very long, but I found that length necessary to completely cover my colander so I wouldn’t have to worry about it slipping as I poured in the curds and whey.

On my electric stove, using milk and half and half directly from the refrigerator it took slightly over an hour to reach 195 degrees. I tend to be impatient and those last 15 degrees seemed to take forever. I wish I had an “instant read” cooking thermometer - I use a meat thermometer that I have to hold in place until the needle stops moving.

Curdling takes place quickly. I’ve learned to add my ingredients (today I used fresh basil from the garden and one freshly minced clove of garlic) while it it still easy to stir.

Then I slightly squeezed it.

After flipping it around in the cheesecloth tube so the “knot” wouldn’t leave a lasting impression, I placed it in my “cheese press“. I have a small bowl that is slightly smaller than the container and then put something heavy on it. After about an hour of draining, it “ages” overnight in the refrigerator.

Finished product; DELICIOUS! ~~K

Craic Agus Ceol

Fun and Music

Our annual trek to Ohio’s capitol region isn’t complete without enjoying hours upon hours at the Dublin Irish Festival, and a more recent “tradition” of taking advantage of family hospitality (thanks SMS&R).

What’s a fest without food and drink?
Unfortunately due to a contract with Coors, a true Irish brew is not to be imbibed – but they have come up with a “Guinness-like” beer called Dublin Stout – supposedly brewed in Colorado just for the fest and available in a few local taverns in the days surrounding the festivities (last year they ran out even before the fest was concluded). We enjoyed this stout with traditional fish and chips from the Old Bag of Nails.

Killians Irish Red went well with very tasty Irish Salted Potatoes swimming in garlic and butter!
Last year at the end of a our meal at Schmidt’s in Columbus’ German Village there was no room for dessert, so we had their delicious cream puff as a “shared snack” with iced tea.
Oh, the games people play!
Besides “people-watching” there are so many events available it is impossible to catch them all and even hard to decide which ones to commit to attending.

Gaelic Games has been a recent addition to the fest and we found it fascinating to watch the Caber Toss and Sheaf Toss.
“Caber” is gaelic for “tree”, so as you may imagine it looks like men in kilts throwing telephone poles. After picking up the tree trunk (many contenders don’t even get this far), they have to balance it vertically in front of them before attempting to flip it so the end not in their hands lands first on the ground in what should again be vertically straight up and down as the tree had grown. These are strong men!

What appears to be a combination of gleaning and pole vaulting? Sheaf Toss! Using a pitch fork, contestants throw a burlap bag stuffed with straw over a bar. Each man had three chances at each height and was eliminated if none of the attempts threw the sheaf over the bar.
On the unorganized spontaneous side, in a frat party atmosphere, the competition ran “high” in the beer glass stacking tent late Saturday night.
Irish music, be it traditional or rock, reigns at the fest!
Bagpipers are entertaining to me in limited doses.
Old favorites like the Clancy Legacy and the Hooligans are “must sees”.
We always make it a point to watch the champion step dancers. The price of some of the girls’ costumes is exorbitant! After seeing some of the girls’ hair “au naturel” I realize how much I dislike those crazy curly wigs. That withstanding, the dances are so intricate and entertaining. Talk about being fit!
A new twist to entertainment included a short comedy about that Catholic Irish tradition known as Bingo. Of course the main characters were a priest and nuns!
Another unexpected favorite this year was “Salsa Celtica”. They described their act as a “Colombian-Irish Shotgun Wedding” - what fun! Bagpipes with salsa music, and trombones and saxophone with Irish jigs – most entertaining and international.

The Irish rockers cause me to protect my ears – I enjoy them, but find earplugs necessary if we are sitting too close. The “Prodigals” were a great final act (I’m still partial to Gaelic Storm).

We’re already looking forward to next year! – August 6, 7 & 8, 2010 --K