Just One Star

Looking over some of my favorite blogs today, I stopped by http://leeprairiedesigns.blogspot.com/  to see what Carolyn has been up to.  She has a fun blog and makes some lovely things.  There I found out about  Just One Star being organized by Moda.  They are asking quilters to make a star to go into quilts for our servicemen in Afghanistan.  Carolyn had a picture of the one she had made - and I made one a little while ago and here it is.  If you would like to take part in this just go to http://www.unitednotions.com/LA_just_one_star.pdf   and download the pattern, instructions and where to send your block.  I think they will get many, many blocks for this wonderful project.  (Click to enlarge)

Vintage Tags

Last night was guild meeting and another trade of the vintage tags with Julie.  We are the only ones doing this now.  Between the two of us, we have amassed a nice little showing of this fun form of art.  Julie is really so good at this and has gathered a lot of the vintage and thrift items that make this so much fun and has taken some online classes.  There are a lot of blogs out there dedicated to collage.  My little girl above skipping rope with her thread was a vintage advertisement I found on the web and I printed it out on the printer's fabric you can find now.  The old salesslip is a scan of an actual one from PA Berner's department store in Peoria.  It could have been filled in by my Aunt Leah who worked at the notion counter in Bergner's for many years.  I found the slip in a box of things I bought at an auction west of our town in the late 80's.  I think that trim might have come from the same box. 

Here is Julie's beautiful tag.  She said the fabric behind the darling picture of the little girl in green (think St. Patty's Day) was part of a napkin.  Note the clever pleating of the ribbon.  If you want to see some of her many vintage pieces of art, click on http://justtickety-boo.blogspot.com/and it will take you to her blog.   She is also going to mount all of the tags we have done this year on a poster board for display at our quilt show in April.  I think everyone will enjoy seeing them.    (Click to enlarge)

Just What I Need - New Fabric

Batiks were on sale at Hancock's of Paducah recently and I caved in and sent for some - the beauties in the back of the picture.  The front stripped piece is in anticipation of a house block from Edyta Sitar's book that I like so much.  I have also bought several pieces of neutral batiks from our new quilt shop.  This stuff is scrumptious!

Then I bought some black and white to do blocks like these.  I saw this quilt on line - don't know where, I'm sorry to say - and thought it was really pretty.  I have lots of Kaffe's fabrics with the reds, pinks, oranges, etc., and that is what goes in the center part.  Just had to quick put together a couple of blocks to see how they look.  They look fine!  (Click to enlarge)

A Yummy Recipe

Sunday evening I went over to a very private five-star restaurant a couple of miles from my house and the lady of the house fixed a spinach cheese quiche which was absolutely delicious.  The photo above is not of the actual quiche we had but very similar.  I thought you might like to have the recipe for this delicious dish which my daughter, Sherry, prepared.  I think she said she got it in the Detroit paper. 

Fresh Spinach Quiche



1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bag (10 ounces) fresh spinach, chopped
1 9-inch refrigerated premade pie dough
1 teaspoon flour 
1/2 cup grated mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 eggs
1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon dried dillweed


Melt butter in medium skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes, do not brown. Add spinach and stir until wilted. Cool slightly.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll pie dough, dust one sidewith flour and place in 9-inch pie plate or quiche pan flour side down. Press into pan, sealing cracks and trimming edges. Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan over bottom crust. Top with spinach mixture. Beat eggs, cottage cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg and dillweed in large bowl and pour over spinach. Bake until filling is set and top is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly, cut into wedges and serve. Serves 6.

I am definitely going to give this one a go as I think you could probably freeze part of it.  Will check that out before I do, though.  I used to find so many good recipes in the newspaper.  The Peoria paper had really good ones and the Kansas City papers did also.  I certainly can't say that about the Midland paper.  I don't take it now but I did for a lot of years and never found a single recipe I ever wanted to save.  Wonder why that was.  Give this a try if you like this sort of dish and I think you will be very happy you did.

The Totebag

Here it is - the completed bag from the class a couple of weeks ago.  Just put the straps on and topped each strap with a pretty button I got at the local quilt shop.  Tried a yoyo but it didn't look good.  The largest covered button would have probably been pretty but I didn't think the shank on those would work as well.  I do like the way the bag turned out.  We will all bring them to the guild meeting Tuesday night for show and tell.  Will take pictures.  (Click to enlarge) 

Fashion Friday

There aren't many of my really old photos that I haven't featured on Fashion Friday, but I am pretty sure this fellow has not had a turn modeling his outfit.  Our model this morning is Samuel Rusk, my husband's maternal grandfather.  Dapper fellow!  He wears a three piece suit with a very high lapel and only one of just two  buttons buttoned.  Samuel has a very nice mustache.  Don't you just love the ornate settings some of the photographers had for what I believe is called a cabinet photograph.  Taken by J. C. Cone in Farmington, Illinois.  (Click to enlarge)

Trying to Sort Things Out

I have spent most of the morning downstairs trying to go through my batik bins.  The fabrics on the top of the bin above are ones I thought I might try in a pattern I found online called a schlep bag which looks easy and very nifty.  Will elaborate on that later.  We quilters are women of excess when it comes to fabric!  I am itching to do something from one of the books by Edyta Sitar - and wanted to line up fabric to choose from. 

I love the patterns and colors in this heap of batiks.  Most of these will go in a bin together for an Edyta project.

Here are more close to that second picture.  Since I took the pictures of my mess in the basement, I now have a good sized bin filled with the ones I would most likely use.  Want to add some other fabrics besides batiks, also.

Here are some pretty more "solid" colors and although they won't be in  with the more muted ones, I love the lovely colors here

 and in this bunch. There are quite a few other piles and bins of batiks,  but you all know how that is!   Don't you just love color?   Now I have to get myself ready to go to a meeting for our quilt show and then do some shopping for a package to send to Africa to my favorite 22 year old granddaughter!!  (Click to enlarge)