Here and There


Been looking for me lately?

Aside from my love for Twitter - oh how it fuels inanity - I've been out and about. Here are a couple of places where you can find recipes, cooking school features, and articles from me.

Profiling part of the goat industry here in Alberta.
* Coincidentally, you could also participate in Goaterie as a great way to get your goat on.

Take advantage of that back alley rhubarb in these refreshing cocktails and summer drinks. I am truly addicted and still scoping out unharvested rhubarb plants in the neighbourhood.

Both of these articles were written for the Taste Alberta series. I've got to admit, although I've been published in magazines, it was kind of special to see a byline in the newspaper I grew up reading, The Edmonton Journal. It was also neat to get the notices that the articles were picked up across the country.

You can also read weekly posts from me at What's Up Families. I especially like these cooking school posts I've been doing. Once a month I've been sharing info and cooking tips on a specific ingredient. In time for summer there is a post all about ice cream and one on taking advantage of summer greens.

Finally, I've also been writing for Delish Mag. This great lifestyle, on-line magazine gives me the chance to write about some fun topics. In this issue alone I was able to interview a great fabric designer and artist as well as talk about visiting farms! In the last issue I write about turning into my Baba and interviewed another designer.

Other places you will find me? Trying to tame both my overgrown tomato plants and my overblown children.
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Making It Work

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When it came time to put together the Triangle Quilt I had some work to do. When I started out in the bee I wasn't overly particular about finished block size, just asking for a variation of 12.5'' to 18.5''. And in sending out a Canadian fat quarter of the background fabric it isn't always easy to get a 18.5'' block. It would have been impossible with a US fat quarter. That meant that I got blocks 12.5'' square, 18.5'' square, and 12.5'' by 18.5''.

What to do?

My initial plan was to mix it all up and assemble the top like a puzzle, adding extra blocks or chunks as needed. It is a part of the process I actually relish, the puzzle challenge.

When I decided to turn these blocks into a bed quilt, however, I needed something a bit more straightforward. I needed blocks, all the same size. If this quilt was going to get done it needed an easier puzzle.

That meant that I had to turn the smaller blocks into 18.5'' square blocks. A run through my stash revealed that I was no longer in possession of some of the fabrics I'd used. It confused me, because I could have sworn I kept aside some extra fat quarters for this precise purpose. Oh well, nothing a little shopping (at home and at the store) couldn't solve.

Of course I could not find the fabrics I'd used, save for one. No problem. The backgrounds were already a mix of yellows, adding a few more wasn't going to be the end of the world. I truly embrace the improvisational spirit. Tim Gunn would be proud.

It seems fairly standard to add sashing to bee blocks. For one, this increases the size of your quilt without having to make more blocks. Secondly, it is a good way to even out the size of what might be slightly different sized blocks. Even with a good pressing, one person's 12.5'' square can be slightly different than another person's. Adding to each block is an alternative to adding sashing.

Besides, you know how I feel about sashing.

This is what I did. (Using 2 blocks as an example.)







So I added on to about 8 blocks. I also made another 12 blocks from my yellows and leftover geese fabric. I laid out the top.

Then I found the yellow fabric I'd set aside.
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Calm Complexity

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Option 5 won out. Sort of.

After an evening of doodling/sketching and staring at the layouts, Hubby and decided on a wilder pattern that was only indicated by Option 5. So I set up a temporary design wall by taping batting to a beam, put the sprinkler on (and the TV later) for the girls and I spent the afternoon working out the puzzle. After the girls were in bed I picked up the mess made when my youngest (aka Evil Genius) purposely walked through the hanging batting and Hubby helped me finish the puzzle.

(don't ask me why my winter slipper is in the midst of that when this was taken on the hottest day of the year so far.)

It was a fantastic, contemplative exercise. I definitely picked the most complex of the options. Not because I like to make my life difficult, but simply because that's what spoke to me. I could happily have made any one of the quilts, and likely will at some point. Thank-you for all of your opinions.

And maybe, just maybe, I would love to keep up the design wall... It looks good from the front and back.


Quilts Recover Update


The sun is shining! I can ride my bike again! And I may have actually sewn too much!

Okay, no exclamation point on that last one. My foot is bothering me and my physio thinks working the foot pedal may be to blame. Yikes! Can't stop me though, it's manageable and I'm on a roll.

Besides, I've also got Quilts Recover to keep me busy. The quilts are starting to come in now that the postal lock-out is over. Good timing too as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge returned the spotlight to the rebuilding of Slave Lake this week.

If you are planning on donating to Quilts Recover there is still time to do so. We are accepting finished, unused quilts in a functional size (baby to full/queen) until the beginning of August. All quilts will be labelled and delivered to families rebuilding in the wake of devastating wildfires in the town of Slave Lake, Alberta.

Many overseas readers have also expressed a desire to donate quilt tops, as the postage for quilts is quite a bit. I can share now that I've lined up a long armer and a few volunteers to help us finish these quilts. I'm still looking for batting and backing donations. If a finished quilt isn't something you can do, maybe you can consider donating some supplies. Or, if you are local, maybe some time to help get the quilts bound and labelled. I will be announcing a sew day for late July/early August to finish all that.

Again, thank-you for all your support for Quilts Recover.