Dreams Do Come True

For the past three years I've wanted a quilting machine of my very own. I've priced them, studied them, and dreamed about using one on my own quilts. I put one on my Christmas list and handed the list to my darling husband, the man who isn't the mayor, but should be.
"How much is one of these?" He asked.
"$7,000," I managed to say with a straight face.
"Why do you want one that is so expensive?"
"It's the best. Why do you fish with a $45,000 Triton bass boat?"
Conversation ended.

Well, the economy intervened and it's not like there aren't plenty of ways for me to spend my time while I wait.

Fast forward three years. A month ago I received an email from my wonderful sister-in-law Jesse titled: Quilting Machine. This is what I read . . . and noted.

Hi Jeri:

Bonnie gave me her quilting machine and stuff. I just don't think that I will ever use it. I am not a quilter. I thought I might be interested, but I just do not find a quilting bug in me. Too much cutting, and stitiching small items. Would you be interested in it? If you are not a quilter either, I do have a cousin in Elko who would like it. Bonnie almost gave it to her instead of me, so I know it would be all right with her if I gave it to her.

You are very clever with your knitting, much better than I am, so when I saw you with your knitting last night, I wondered if you would use this stuff. It has two large tables, a machine, frames and a video on how to use it, plus some fabric Bonnie left.

I told Bonnie that she could have it when she comes back, but I don't think she will take it back.

Let me know if you want it and we will bring it over. Otherwise, if you just want to look at it before, come by sometime and I will show you it to you before you decide. You really need a room dedicated to quilting.

Love, Jesse


With all apologies to the cousin in Elko, she will never see the quilting machine. After responding instantly to Jesse that YES, I wanted the machine, I suggested that she should call Don and tell him so he could give it to me for Christmas. She did call him, and smart man that he is, he claimed the machine for me, and called me a few days later to tell me that I had a quilting machine in a pile of parts in the basement.

When I got home that night, the parts were assembled into a real quilting machine in as few minutes as possible, only to find that a major part was missing: one of the two carriages the machine sat on, making the whole thing useless. AGHHHHH! So close and yet so far away.

After two calls to HandiQuilter where I finally talked to the right person who assured me that yes, they did replace missing parts, resulted in the carriage sitting in my sewing room five days later. And, now I have a quilting machine. Imagine the possiblities! I can't wait to start quilting.

And why haven't I quilted yet? I have two trials this month, and if I set up the quilting machine, I will never be ready to argue in court. But just check back after the 24th and see how dreams really do come true.

Wrapped in Love, better known as Self-Binding Blankets

One of my favorite fabric stores had the cutest baby blankets on display. On closer inspection I figured out that the blanket back was wrapped to the front to form a border. How was this done? I had to buy the instructions. Once I figured out they were pretty easy to make, I had to teach everyone else how to make them too.

While I was in St. Louis with Chris, Lacy and family, I learned that Colter didn't have but one flannel blanket. So, I made several for him my last day there. And, since every baby deserves a cuddly blanket, here goes:

Materials needed for one 35" x 35" blanket.

1 1/4 yd fabric for blanket back
1 yd fabric for blanket front

1. Cut fabric for blanket back: 40" x 40" square
2. Cut fabric for blanket front: 30" x 30" square.

3. Mark the center of each side of both fabric pieces with a small clip.

4. With right sides together, match the center notches of the two pieces of fabric.

The ends won't match, because remember that one piece is smaller than the other.

5. Sew all four sides, matching up center notches. I use a 1/2" seam allowance. Whatever seam allowance you use, sew to within that allowance of the end. (Ex: if using 1/2" seam allowance, sew to 1/2" of end.) Leave a 6" to 8" opening for turning in one of the sides.

If you do this right, the seams will meet up with the corners of the blanket back hanging out.

6. the next part is the trickiest part. Fold each corner of the blanket so that the seams are lined up on top of each other. The corners will fold into a triangle. This photo shows the stitching, but imagine it without the stitching.

7. Using a ruler or other straight-edge, line it up with the blanket edge across the corner triangle. Mark this line. Repeat for each corner.

8. Sew on the line you've marked, from the side seams to the opposite edge.

9. Clip the corners and turn through the side opening.

10. The best part: once you've turned the blanket, it should naturally open to it's completed shape, borders and all. Press the blanket and even out the borders as you go. Press the raw edges of the opening under. Pin the entire border in place.

11. Sew the border in place along the seam, closing the turning opening.

That's it! Wrap around the baby and enjoy.

Colter's new blankets, in different colors and weights.

My darling Colter, who loves being cuddled in his new blankets.

Once you understand the technique, you can be creative and vary the sizes. Basically, the blanket back is cut larger than the blanket front by double the size of the desired border width (plus seam allowances). A 10" difference creates a 2 1/2" border.

You can use any combination of fabrics, assuming they can be washed together. I always pre-wash my fabrics (before cutting) so I won't have to worry about uneven shrinkage.

I've used pre-quilted fabrics on the back (the blue gingham in the photos), which makes a nice padded blanket. Using two layers of cotton makes a nice summer weight blanket, while layers of flannel makes a slightly heavier warmer blanket. You can also add an additional layer of fabric between the two layers for more padding.

I would love to see your creations! Please share.

A Day of Domesticity!

All right, I know it's been months since I last posted anything, and honestly, I have several posts under construction, and I'll finish them eventually. But, I finally realized that not all posts need pictures, even though they are what people like to see. I mean, what is the point without photos?

Well, I've now looked at some top blogs and I'm happy to say that not all of them have photos, so I can post every now and then without them.

So the point of this blog is that as much as I would love to be totally domestic, I work full-time and have to juggle my domesticity with lack of time and energy for said domesticity. But, every now and then I get to spend a few hours being completely domestic. This weekend was one of those times. The future mayor of Provo is away at a conference and I've had the house to myself since Wednesday. What to do (meaning, which of my projects will I tackle first)?

I've been reading Julie & Julia, which is great but for the language. And it inspired me to try something new. I brought home a cookbook by Paul Prudhomme several years ago and have never tried any of the recipes. So why not? I found one for seafood stuffed zucchini and since I have plenty of both on hand, gave it a shot.

Wow, it was kind of intense. It actually called for margarine, something I haven't purchased for over a decade. I didn't have to make a roux, but I may as well have, because by the time the vegetables and butter and margarine were finally completed, they were dark brown. The dish took about 75 minutes to complete, and included the aforementioned stuffing, a fabulous cream sauce, and zucchini boats, all brought together at the conclusion of the dish.

I filled the zucchini boats with the shrimp, crab, and veggie stuffing, topped it with the cream sauce and took a fork full. It had the potential to be amazingly incredible and rich and deep flavored. However, I halved the recipe and while combining the seasoning mix of peppers, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and other seasonings, I misread 1.5 teaspoons of salt for 1.5 tablespoons of salt. Need I say more?

I awoke this morning and tackled the weeds in the flower bed, which raged out of control while I was in St. Louis with Chris and Lacy. I spent about 2 hours pulling weeds and trying to tame the beds again. It was deeply satisfying.

I went to a class on weed control at the Utah Water Conservancy center a few weeks ago. I learned about how to control some of our most obnoxious weeds (like bindweed or wild morning glory). It was a great class and thanks to what the weed expert taught I have a focused approach in dealing with weeds now.

For example, we learned that bind weed lives for 30 years or more. It's pretty hard to kill, but it can be killed if the vines are torn away from the root on a regular basis. And, if one can wait until the vines bloom before tearing them away, the result is more devastating to the root. So, now I'm a bind weed hunter. I wait patiently for it to bloom, and then: rip it apart with glee! I just needed a plan and now I'm executing the plan(t).

Later I got to go shopping with Talara and Madi for bedding for Madi's new room. We found a comforter set, great sheets, and adorable window treatments. Madi picked a design with several shades of purple on white. I can't wait to see everything put together.

Next I tackled the sewing room. I have a large cutting table in the middle of the room and it is stacked high with projects waiting to be done. It's like Christmas every time I start wading through the piles. What do to first?

1. Made pattern for peepee teepees. Talara and I saw these in Mesa and thought there were too cute. A miniature terry and flannel teepee that gets placed over the hoo hoo of baby boys while being changed to keep the diaper changer dry until the new diaper can be secured. Expect picture soon.
2. Completed a half-made receiving blanket. Will post instructions soon.
3. Made red cowboy fabric duvet for cabin. Looks great! Will finish the dust ruffle and maybe tooled leather look pillows before going to bed.

Wow, an entire day being domestic. Heavenly.