Tumbling Blocks

Tumbling Blocks is my Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt for September.  I don't often say this about my work, but I am proud of this little quilt!  I've been trying to figure out what it is about this quilt that makes it so special to me and I think it's the fact that it is so different from the quilts that I usually make.  I don't think I will ever consider myself an art quilter, but making quilts for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative has given me an opportunity to let my inner artist loose and expand my quilting horizons.  The small scale of the Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts is the perfect venue for trying a new style or technique too!  Why not let your inner artist loose on a Priority: Alzheimer's Quilt and see what happens?

Done!

The forecast lows for the end of the week are for the mid 30's, so I guess I timed the finish of Miss One's shrug just about right!

Chinese Block, Broken Dishes Or ???

About a year ago my cousin, Cheryl, was looking for some information about the quilt pattern in this photo.  We did a little research together and found that it was similar to a Chinese Block or Broken Dishes, but there was a slight variation in the center from the examples that we found.  Cheryl played around with drafting templates for the pattern and even made a few blocks, but the project had been set aside until last week when she saw a post on Barbara Brackman's blog entitled Block Mystery.  The post was devoted to the mysterious Chinese Block and the lack of information available about this beautiful quilt block.  Barbara's post did answer a few of our questions and she noted that there are several variations of the block, but we have yet to find a block like the one that Cheryl's great grandmother made.  Did she draft this variation herself?  It's possible.  Needless to say, this new information has renewed our interest in her Great Grandma Ely's quilt!  I used the block pattern that Barbara provided in her post as a starting point and then drafted a center to match Great Grandma Ely's quilt...I think it's a pretty good match and the best part is that there are no templates involved!  I don't think it will be long before Cheryl and I both have our own reproductions of her great grandmother's quilt.

Silent Sunday

September 2011 Flood

There is no question that we have had a lot of rain here in Pennsylvania over the past couple of days!  There is record flooding going on all around us, but thankfully any flooding in our immediate area hasn't been anything worse than some wet basements and a few creeks that overflowed  their banks.  Our basement has a few inches of water in it, but that is something that we expect when it rains hard for any length of time, so we don't keep anything in the basement that might be damaged by water.  Wellsboro was fortunate compared to many of our neighbors.  Sayre, Athens, Muncy, Hughesville, Montoursville and so many other nearby towns all have large areas that are now completely underwater.  The devastation is heartbreaking!

September 2011 Flood Photo Gallery - WNEP

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, melted butter, peanut butter, egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt just until blended. Spread batter into a greased 9 x 9 pan and top with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day..."Now bear down on those machines!"

Silent Sunday

Straight Forward

I just have a lot of straight forward straight line sewing to report this week with a couple of very uninteresting photos to accompany the story.  First on the list were new curtain panels and ties that my daughter-in-law had asked me to make for their bedroom.  After the curtains were finished, I moved on to making flat sheets for the lil' cowboy's new "big boy" bed.  He has lots of fitted sheets, but needed a few extra top sheets, so I cut down a large flat sheet to make two toddler bed size sheets.  Like I said, all very straight forward projects with lots of straight line sewing, but I know these curtains and sheets will make some of my favorite people very happy.