Machine Quilting Options (Weekend Reads)

Phew.

I made that massive list of WIPs and UFOs a few weeks ago. Then I set to cleaning and purging. My mom was in town and she is so good for the push to get stuff organized and done. At least when it comes to my cupboards and the corners of my house. The day she left my MIL arrived, with intentions to help us get set up in the finished basement. Not surprisingly, we weren't ready for that. And with all the cleaning done we needed a change of plans for her visit.  So she took care of the kids, including preschool volunteering, while I sewed and caught up with a bit of work.

Let the record state that both my Mom and my Mother-in-Law are awesome.

Let the record also state that I uncovered 2 more WIPs.

Needless to say that it felt good to get a quilt top finished and 3 tops basted the other day. So, so good. I'm hoping to get at least two of those quilted this coming week, even though there is no extra help in the house. Late nights ahead!

This morning I pulled out my machine quilting books to browse for ideas.

Free Motion Quilting by Angela Walters is a most excellent resource. Prep work, design considerations for the modern quilt, and line drawings with very clear instructions. I've turned to this book, and Angela, more than once for guidance, inspiration, and quilting.

Modern Quilting Designs by Bethany Pease, Mindful Meandering byLaura Lee Fritz, and One Line At a Time by Charlotte Warr Anderson are all in regular flip through rotation for me as well. Sometimes it can feel like there is only one way to stipple an all over free motion quilt design. Pulling out these books gives me a chance to explore some other options, ones I may not have thought of before. It can be repetitive, at times, between all these books, but they do offer unique options as well. All of them are for the quilter who has done at least a little free motion quilting before, and therefore knows the basic technique. Generally, they consist of line drawings. Literally, hundreds of options.

I'm not entirely sure where I've landed when it comes to quilting these quilts yet, but I sure and enjoying the hunt for a good idea!

Return of the Duvet

Here, where I live, it is winter. A few storms already have left our world silver and crunchy. The furnace kicks on a million times a day when the temperature drops below -5 degrees, and nights get a whole lot cosier.

After putting the third quilt on the bed the other night my Hubby pointed out that it might be time to bring out the down duvet. Sigh. After airing and washing and fluffing and stuffing I put the duvet on our bed and folded the quilts for cuddles on the couch instead.

And for some inexplicable reason I found myself singing this song and doing a dancing while no one is watching jig.

Old Cravings New Friends (Recipe: Coconut Cream)

After the birth of my second daughter I went through months of intense cravings. More so than even when I was pregnant. I wanted all things bitter and anything coconut I could find. I'm sure it all meant I was deficient in something, in addition to sleep. It lasted months. Then it drifted away. I didn't think about coconut much again until this past summer.

I've got a few friends who can't or won't eat dairy. Frankly, I hope this is something that never happens to me because I love a cold glass of milk. But one of them told me about this awesome alternative to whipping cream. I sat on it, letting it fester in the back of my head where food ideas grow like weeds until they crowd out the real thoughts.

There was a late summer party planned and a guest with a strong dairy allergy. I had a strawberry shortcake bar planned and thought it would be awful if he couldn't participate. And I didn't want him to feel singled out either. So I grabbed this idea and whipped up a batch of coconut cream. Then another, during the party.

It wasn't the little guy who can't eat dairy who ate it all and then some. It was the rest of us.

Creamy beyond belief, rich but not sweet. It keeps in the fridge without separated or deflating. Perfect just about anywhere you would want whipped cream. Like pumpkin pie, shortcakes, hot chocolate, on a bowl of raspberries, over a banana sundae, topping grilled pineapple, on a slice of pecan pie...

Coconut Cream
Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups

1 can coconut milk (do not use the low-fat kind)
1 tbsp icing sugar

Chill the can of coconut milk, unopened, in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Keep it upright and don't shake it.

When fully chilled open the can and scoop out the hardened cream on the top. It will be about 2/3 to 3/4 of the can. Set aside the milk at the bottom of the can, perhaps using it as a substitute for water when cooking rice.

Place the hardened cream in the bowl of a mixer. Whip for 1-2 minutes. Add in the icing sugar (a bit more if you prefer it sweeter) and whip until incorporated.

Serve immediately or place in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, until ready to eat.

The Apple Lover's Cookbook (Weekend Reads)

When my oldest daughter decides she likes something she develops obsessions. Not fads, but all-out her world revolves around them fixations on the topic. Like stripes, learning about the human anatomy (the insides, folks), tigers (see stripes obsession), and now, Bigfoot and apples.

Oh, the apples. I've endured tears when I wouldn't buy them over the summer in favour of peaches and sweet melons. She nearly lost her mind when her first teeth started losing their grip in her mouth and she thought she would never bite into an apple again. When she sees the apple stand at the market she pretty much acts like a lunatic, or ravenous dog, literally drooling over the apples.

Weird kid.

So when I saw The Apple Lover's Cookbook by Amy Traverso a while back I knew I had to get it for her. We've pored over the text, learning about the amazing variety of apples out there. We dream about apples our Canadian Prairies will never see. And she picks out recipes for me to try. So far we've tried Apple Brownies, this Pork and Apple Pie with Cheddar Sage Crust, and the Classic Applesauce for the baby. And there are dozens more on the list for getting us through an apple obsessed winter.

I do like this book for a few reasons. One, for all the descriptions of the apples. So many varieties I've never even heard of, and not a Red Delicious in the bunch! Two, the recipes run the gamut from apple pie to apple gingersnap ice cream, from Welsh Rarebit to cocktails. I feel like I could cook a recipe from this book at least once a week and live in an apple scented heaven all winter.

Finally, the writing in this book is engaging, entertaining, and informative.  Yes, I read cookbooks. And bad writing, or none at all, does not grab me. The tone of the writer's voice is crisp, sweet, and refreshing, not unlike an apple.

Now, to find me a tree, a quilt, and a cup of hot apple cider to warm the rest of my weekend.