Friday, August 30, 2013

Blueberries in Muffins

With blueberries in season (and almost gone) I thought I'd share a recipe we've been enjoying 1987.  I found it in the March, 1987, Country Living magazine where it was called "Sour Cream Blueberry Bread."  It truly is a sweet bread recipe but because we always bake the batter in muffin tins, we call them muffins.

In the recipe below I noted changes I make in brackets after each ingredient.  (Abbreviations:  c./cup; tsp./teaspoon)

Banana Blueberry Muffins

Cream:
1 c. butter, softened [shortening works better]
3/4 c. sugar

Add:
2 large eggs
1 c. mashed, ripe bananas [or frozen, slightly thawed and mashed]
1/2 c. sour cream [regular, low-fat, fat-free, or drained yogurt]

Beat in just till smooth:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Fold in:
1 c. fresh blueberries [or frozen if you don't have fresh]
1/2 c. coarsely chopped pecans [optional; we never use]

Bake in greased and floured loaf pan in 350-degree oven for about 60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool completely in pan.

We bake them in 12 paper-lined muffin tins for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove immediately from pans, let cool a few minutes, eat when they're cool enough.

Enjoy!

--Nancy.
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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Slow Progress

I'm just playing, here, trying to decide what to do with the corner blocks I've made to put together into larger blocks.  I have 10 sets of corners sewn and have yet to decide how to put them together.


My husband suggested stripes and is quite sure one of those striped fabrics will be perfect.  When he saw the creams (in the photo below, the horizontal strips in the upper left block) he commented that they looked too much like the background.  Except that the background of a bulletin board is not the background of the quilt.


I pulled out all the fabrics I have with stripes ranging from dark orange to burgundy/maroon and also fabric with stripes in creams/tans/naturals.  I don't have many and most of the ones I have are small pieces.


Still open for consideration on this quilt are the joining strips, the centers, and the sashing between the finished blocks.  Options for the strips connecting the corners is to use the same fabric for all blocks; use a variety of fabrics; or use stripes or not.  Though my husband thinks the stripes are fabulous, I'm not yet convinced.  I still have time to play around.

The blocks will end up about 9", if I use 1" strips.  Each corner block is 4 1/2" as it is now, will finish at 4" when sewn.

When you're auditioning quilt blocks, do you have a somewhat clear idea of how the quilt will look when finished or do you work like this, too?  I think it's much easier to see a photo of a finished quilt and copy it or make it your own however you choose - fabrics, colors, layout, etc.

Thanks for visiting.

--Nancy.
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I almost forgot! I'm linking this post to WOW at Esther's Blog and to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. Thank you, Esther and Lee.
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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

To Lift My Spirits

Our house was broken into on Saturday.  My husband and I are both feeling somewhat unsettled.  He is kind-hearted, generous, and has a healthy sense of humor.  He never misses a "find" waiting to be rescued.  Thinking to cheer me and lift my spirits, my husband brought me a gift this afternoon.
   

When he saw this in the alley near the library he couldn't resist.  At first he thought it was just the cupboard and metal stand but when he lifted it, he realized there was more -- a machine folded down inside.  I have no idea how he got it into our car by himself.  It weighs a ton!

It's a Singer Class 27.  (Sorry for the reflection.)  It was made available in August, 1901, one of 38,499 others.


I can't exactly say that it works but all the parts move:  the treadle treadles, the wheel and bobbin case turn, and the needle goes up and down.  But I think it will take some loving care to get this machine back to sewing order, if that's even possible.  (And I know nothing about repairing machines.)

It's too bad someone took the drawers, though I can understand wanting the drawers.  They were probably lovely, even if dirty and dusty.  I think the logo on the side is quite nice -- but , of course, it, too, needs some cleaning.

It doesn't make up for what was stolen but it was a fun surprise.  It did help lift my spirits a little, though we're still feeling unsettled.

I hope you and the loved ones you cherish are safe.

--Nancy.
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Friday, August 23, 2013

Fair Quilts, 2013

I've been quilting Center Light for the past few weeks - some day for nearly 4 hours.  Whew!  That's a lot of hand quilting.  The unfortunate thing about hand quilting is that it's hard to show progress (especially when the photographer is me!).  So no photos of that quilt.

But here are photos of some quilts from the 2013 Ohio State Fair that I took in July.  (I didn't record the names of the quilters, unfortunately.)

These two small quilts were in a showcase.

Of course I liked the red in this one
and the geese flying around the borders.

This one was more interesting when viewed closer than
from a distance.  You can click on it to enlarge and
see it closer.  (I'm not using Lightbox so you'll be
able to click a second time and see it even larger.)

The quilter used many different reds and blacks in this one.
Even though all the blocks are the same I like the
visual rhythm and patterns they create when set in rows.

I thought this one was very fun.  It was full of bright colors.

A close-up of the quilt above.

This quilt won best of show.  It was hand-appliqued using lots
and lots of different fabrics.  It just made my heart sing to see
it.  The blocks are set on point, not obvious from first glance.

Click on the image to see a larger version
where you can see some of the fabrics.

And an even closer view of one wreath.

I didn't think the prairie points on the edge
added much except color but the vine and trumpet
flowers that dance around the border are delightful.

When I see a quilt show in person I notice some things and not others.  Then when I get home and look at my photos, I have questions that could have been answered if I'd thought of them when the quilt was in front of me.  Do you do that, too?

I hope you're enjoying whatever you're working on.

--Nancy.
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Monday, August 12, 2013

Thoughts from The Farmer's Wife

I know most quilters use The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt book as a resource for the quilt patterns to make a sampler quilt.  I liked many of the patterns in the book but I've decided I'm not interested in sewing a sampler quilt just now.

However, I was thoroughly interested in the writings of the farmers' wives who entered the 1922 competition telling why they wanted their daughters to marry farmers.  Many of the entries were eloquently written and most were very persuasive.  My father grew up on a farm and determined never to return to farming after he was able to move away.  He said it was just too much work.  His sister agreed.  But these farm wives loved living and working on their farms.

There were two entries that I especially appreciated, thoughtful whether living and working on a farm or in our modern world.

Mrs. R. C. W. of Jasper County, Mo., wrote:
"The average farmer’s wife who plans her work can find a number of hours for reading, writing and social pleasures and in this day of autos and good roads, has time and opportunity for movies, concerts and lectures.  The woman who is a drudge on a farm will be a drudge wherever you put her.  It is lack of management, lack of order and lack of backbone and brains that make drudgery."    (p. 64 ¶3)

Mrs. M. M. C. of Allegheny County, Pa., wrote:
"The work of the farmer’s wife is often burdensome.  This can be helped by the spirit in which it is done and by the putting some of the element of play into it.  If some task is to be done, attempt it, believing it to be a recreation and notice the difference in your outlook.  Since we are only children grown up, and a child is taught to love work by doing it as play, cannot grownups try this a little?  Too often we forget that work is a blessing God has given us; that He meant each of us to be a producer--not to be content with doing less than our share.  Life is what we make it and the busy person is always a happy one."    (p. 99)

I think the covers are charming and I'm sure the pages inside would be just as attractive as well as interesting to read.  I've been unsuccessful in finding an online resource with OCR images but I hope one day some organization will make them available.

How about you?  Are you making or have you made a sampler quilt?  Have you read the book and, if so, did you enjoy it?

--Nancy.
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Saturday, August 3, 2013

Similar Blocks, Different Names

Have you ever noticed that block names can change depending on who's talking about the block and/or the color arrangement in the block?
Sometimes this block is known as Sisters Choice, other times as Farmer's Daughter.  I see some call it Rabbit's Foot and others, Butterfly at the Crossroads.  There's a shape and arrangement I particularly like about this block which is most clearly shown as Butterfly at the Crossroads.  The block most makes me think of birds, though!

I made four corners and am playing around with center divider blocks.  Traditional...,


narrow...,

or slightly wider.

Plaids, prints, plains, or a combination?  Lights, mediums, darks?  To make or not to make?  I don't know yet.  I'm just playing.

I hope you're having a great weekend!

Linking to Design Wall Monday at Patchwork Times.

--Nancy.
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