I Used to Quilt

This about says it all.  A bunch of strips sewn together and just sitting there.  Just sitting there.

Phew, this was an exhausting week.  Work was hell.  The only thing getting me through the week was the promise of a drink with an old friend.   We haven't seen each other in over a year and in two short hours reconnected. Beyond work I had some heavy deadlines for Quilt Canada, I donated blood, and had to pull off a picnic for over 30 for The Monster's birthday this weekend.  Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of quilting done.

This water quilt is a work about process.  That is, I don't have a final design in mind.  A general idea of what it might look like, yes, but no final picture.  I've been sewing strips together in varying thicknesses and lengths.  At some point I'll lay them out and see how they look.  It could be complete crap for all I know.  So far, however, I do like the combination of fabrics.  It is soft at points and bold at others.  Serene, but a bit wild.  A bit like the ocean and only kind of like me.

Here's hoping that once I recover from the fact that my Monster is three (or rather, that I've been a mother for three years) and get the invitations out for my sister's baby shower and help Hubby build a fence and lay sod, then I can get more quilting done.  

More Confessions

The very nature of a blog is part confessional.  It's time for me to 'fess up.  I've never been able to make Rice Krispie Squares.   Yup, the laziest, kid friendly treat and I've never been able to make them properly.   If you want rocks filled with rice cereal then I'm your girl.  That is, until last week.  

My mom loves to make them for the grandkids and thus The Monster was asking for them.  It hurt a little, but only a little, to buy the marshmallows and boxed cereal.  I try to limit the processed food in the house, but I have to stop beating myself up for a few little treats. Besides, it is great dessert time fun for us to throw mini marshmallows across the table in an attempt to score one in a waiting, open mouth. 

And ultimately, score one for this mom - I've finally mastered the Rice Krispie square.  My mom told me to add a bit more marshmallows than the recipe calls for and to take it off the heat as soon as those fluffy bits of corn syrup melt.  It worked.  Squares that stayed together but weren't like rocks.  Oh, and The Monster was happy.  So happy.  Such simple pleasures.

I'm all for treats and baking. I have no qualms with them having too much sugar, they actually self-regulate pretty well.  But I didn't want the cereal hanging around, constantly teasing her and inviting the ceaseless begging of a nearly three-year old.

Then I recalled a recipe that I saw from my favourite bow-tie wearing baldy, Christopher Kimball. Have I mentioned my geek crush on him before?  I'm sure I have.  He's so damn nerdy and cute. I digress.  I remembered America's Test Kitchen doing a bit on perfect, crispy waffles. Guess what the secret ingredient was?  Hell yeah, Rice Krispies!  A perfect use for the cereal.

The recipe uses cornstarch to help lighten the batter.  Whipping the egg whites separately is not a new notion in waffle recipes, but the combination of the cornstarch, whipped whites, and cereal makes a very light batter.  The cereal essentially melts, leaving pockets of crispy throughout the cooked waffle.  I've changed the recipe a bit, adding some whole wheat flour to make myself feel better.  And I prefer brown sugar for the extra flavour, but it works perfectly well with white sugar too. 

We've now made the waffles a few times.  After so many attempts to find a light waffle that doesn't turn into a brick the second it comes out of the waffle iron I've finally found one. Seriously, these are crispy, light, and perfect for toaster leftovers.  I can make a batch on Sunday morning and the girls have a few breakfasts during the week. This is a great week for mom - dinnertime laughs, afternoon treats, and pre-made breakfasts.  And all from a box of cereal.

Perfect Waffles

(Adapted from America's Test Kitchen)

1 cup unbleached flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup Rice Krispie cereal

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, separated

1 1/2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup canola oil

1.  Preheat a waffle iron.

2.  Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Whisk the egg yolks, milk, oil, and vanilla together in a medium bowl.

3.  Beat the egg whites with a wire whisk or electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until just combined.  Fold in the whites gently.  Do not overmix.

4. Cook according the instructions with your waffle maker.

Water, Water Everywhere

Did you know that today is United Nations World Oceans Day? While it is against the laws of nature to make a quilt of water and fish - and would be kind of gross even if you could - I am starting a quilt inspired by water.

This is the first pull for that quilt. To be honest, I got the idea when I did the pull for my Key Lime Pie quilt. I just loved the looks of the greens with blues that I used for the limes. Still on the high from the memories of Baja these fabrics jumped out of the stash and begged to be sewn together.

As I said, this was the first pull. I always have that initial rush of fabric delight and pull everything out that my conceivably work with the colourful notion in my head. When designing heads prevail I weed out about a third. Then, as I cut, more gets culled from the pile and maybe some other ones get added in. It would be different if I started out with a specific pattern in mind. Because for me quilting if often about process rather than final design, the fabric choices are dynamic and continually evolving.

I'm curious to see where this one takes me.

Heritage Park Quilt Show

As promised, here is a report about the Heritage Park quilt show.  I managed to get a very fast tour in last Saturday.  Hubby graciously let me escape the backyard mess and the girls for a couple of hours alone, surrounded by history and quilts.  Peace.

Heritage Park is a historical village that demonstrates life on the Prairies and in the Calgary area. For the quilt show they display the quilts throughout the park - in tents on the grass, in the different homes and buildings, and even on the buildings and fences.  Wandering through the park you can see the park entertainment, visit the buildings, and enjoy the quilts.

To be honest, I didn't find much of inspiration in the show. In fact, the day confirmed that I really don't have a traditional bent for quilting, not at all. I can appreciate craftsmanship and good use of colour, but earth tones and traditional piecing kind of bore me.  Sorry to those who love it.  I'm sure my stuff is too much for some people as well. To each their own.

Here is the biggest building on site - the Wainwright Hotel.  I love how they hang the quilts from the verandas.  If you look closely, you can see my Tuesday Night Quilt hanging on the lower veranda.  The next picture shows it better.

See, there it is, hung randomly by that crane.  It doesn't seem like there is much thought put in to the relation of quilts from one to the next.  They do have 500 quilts to show after all.

Here is my black and white quilt.  Honestly, I was a little disappointed with the display of this one.  I didn't mind that it was inside a building, but folded in half and hanging over a counter? You certainly lose the impact.  Oh well.

Other than the fact that they hung this one the wrong way (see the original here), I thought it kind of looked neat on the washing line.  This building is actually the Chinese Laundry.  My black and white quilt was at the front of the building, and this was in one of the back display rooms.
Is it just me, or does this quilt look out of place in a replica turn of the century hospital?

This is a pretty traditional quilt.  Despite what I said above, I liked this one, especially the quilting.  Mostly the quilting.

My picture doesn't do this quilt justice.  The use of fabric and colour was amazing - the quilt was luminous.

I'm showing a close-up of this one.  These are actually square blocks, can you tell?  If anyone has seen something like this elsewhere, please let me know.  Otherwise I'll be studying the photo to figure it out, a lot.

The front of this quilt was nice, but I loved the back!  Those are gorgeous fabrics, but there was no note as to what they were.  They were ridiculously vivid.  The front had fabric with elephants and hindu gods, so I'm almost wondering if it was an Indian cotton?

Under the category of "why didn't I think of that?" comes this monster quilt.  So, so cool.  And the detailed quilting was phenomenal.

Here it is on the line behind the school, with some other kids quilts.

Heritage Park also has a number of vintage quilts in the Park's collection.  Isn't this one gorgeous?  I can't go anywhere without finding circles!

By far, this was my favourite of the day.  It is too bad the shade is dappled because it takes away from the luminosity of the quilt.  Interestingly, this quilt is made up of the same block, repeated.  At first glance it looks improv, but it isn't.  Unfortunately, there was no detail on the construction.  I can tell you that it is a lot of small pieces!  Don't you love the colour gradation?

I just love this image this display the best out of any in the park.

This is a Bento Box, but the entire thing is done with Denyse Schmidt.  I'm sure there are some of you out there who will love this, I took the photo just for you.

Oh, and in case you are wondering why I didn't share the artists or names of the quilts it's because the program has already been recycled.  Oops, sorry.