Pineapple Log Cabin Therapy: Block 34 of 42, etc.

Greetings from the midst of Advent!  "Busy" does not even begin to describe all the balls I've got in the air right now, but I blocked out some stitch therapy time and managed to complete another pineapple log cabin block this week.  That's 34 blocks completed, 8 more to go, in case anyone's keeping track.

Pineapple Log Cabin Block 34 of 42

Here are the four most recent blocks up on the design wall.  Each block finishes at 17 3/4", and the fabric strips finish at 3/4" wide.

Blocks 31-34 On the Wall, With Bear Paws

Christmas caroling is in full swing, so the Giant Green Dress has been out and about.

Caroling With Cecilia

I'll be practically living in that dress all of next week.  It's such a pain to put on, and I'm sick of wearing it, but the little girls LOVE IT...

My New Buddies

Speaking of little cuties, I ran across a couple of Oldies But Goodies on my computer the other day.  Check out Lars, helping to decorate the Christmas tree on Black Friday nine years ago:

Lars Hauling Out the Holly in 2008

...and here is that very same child, on Black Friday of this year, snuggling with our dogs on a break from stringing lights on the tree:

Lars Snuggling With Rottweilers on Tree Decorating Day 2017

Back in 2008, my son Anders used to smile sweetly for the camera, too.  Here he is showing me a reindeer ornament that he made in preschool:

Anders Showing Off His Reindeer Ornament in 2008

Fast forward nine years, and I am lucky to get a picture of him at all.  I just went through my phone and this is seriously THE BEST recent photo I have of him.

Anders in 2017, Too Cool for Mom to Take His Picture

But in the midst of cooking and entertaining, I managed to get a cute Thanksgiving picture of me and Bernie:

Me and My Sweetie, Thanksgiving 2017

This turned out to be the year that I accidentally dumped ALL of my gravy down the drain (forgot to put a bowl under the strainer!), but no one seemed to care.  

Time flies, doesn't it?  The holidays are definitely different with teenagers than they were when I had little ones in the house.  I would wrap this post up with a pithy observation about the passage of time and seasons of life, but alas, my brain is too tired.  I need to hop in the shower and get dressed for the boys' Christmas show at church tonight.  I'm looking forward to seeing what all the high school kids have been working on for the past few months.  :-)

I'm linking up with Esther's WIPs on Wednesdays.

Of Capitulation, Resignation, and Thanksgiving Mules

Well, folks, I tried to reason with him.  In vain I sought dialogue and dreamed of a compromise that might streamline this year's production of Thanksgiving Chez Moi.  I ransacked my trove of cookbooks for simpler recipes, considered paring down the list of side dishes, and reducing quantities.  Then I sat down with my obstinate German husband and proffered my suggestions one by one, summoning forth all of my patience and carefully laying out reasonable arguments in favor of small changes, just this once, just this year...

And he shot down EVERY SINGLE ONE of my ideas.  He will not give up his buttercup squash soup.  He will not agree to a smaller turkey (and he is already scheming to safeguard the leftovers lest his mother-in-law attempts to run off with all the turkey again).  He will not permit Thanksgiving to be hosted at anyone else's home, and he is vehemently opposed to disposable plates in lieu of fine china.  After an exhausting morning of negotiations with my mule of a man, I am now committed to doing everything exactly like we've done it every other year.  

Me and Bernie, Discussing Changes to Our Thanksgiving Menu

Ah, well.  At least there is no stress of the unknown, since we've been making these recipes for nearly 20 years now.  And the one concession I got is that Bernie is going to do the work of prepping the stuffing on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving so that I can concentrate on pumpkin pies that day.  (Now it's in writing, Bernie, and the whole Internet has witnessed it.  No backing out!)  The stuffing is pretty elaborate and takes a couple of hours what with cooking the wild rice, chopping and browning the apples and vegetables, etc. Last year I ran out of time and had to buy pies from Dean & DeLuca on the way home from church on Wednesday night.  They were nowhere near as delicious as my recipe.  The molasses pumpkin pie is MY favorite part of Thanksgiving, and I'd just as soon serve everyone popcorn, jelly beans and toast for dinner as long as we have my pumpkin pies for dessert!

Popcorn, Pretzels, Jelly Beans and Toast

So far today I've reserved my fresh 22-24 pound organic turkey from Whole Foods and placed a Harris Teeter order for all of my non-perishables and wine, and I'll pick up the groceries later this afternoon.  Hopefully Harris Teeter will have that buttercup squash for Bernie's soup and we won't need to waste time enjoy the hunt of visiting every grocery store in Charlotte looking for it this year.  Because squash soup, herb butter, and spiced pecans all need to get made and frozen this weekend.

Ah, my husband is so lucky he's cute!  It will all be fine, though.  It will be even better than fine -- it's going to be great.  My mom is bringing her green bean casserole and an apple pie, because she is NOT fond of my molasses pumpkin pie (more for me!).  My friend Lisa is bringing a yummy apple salad and I think maybe something with sweet potatoes, too.  And, as I said, I've already selected and ordered plenty of wine.  With the year we've been through, we certainly have a lot to be thankful for.  When all is said and done, gathering friends and family together over good food and good wine is EXACTLY what we all need this year for Thanksgiving.

Let the Culinary Games begin!

Of Recuperation, Thanksgiving Hostility, and EQ8 Quilt Designs

First of all, I am glad to report that Bernie is back home again after five miserable days in the hospital.  His ICD (Implanted Cardiac Defibrillator) is now working to pace (and if necessary, to shock) his heart out of those lethal ventricular rhythms and he's doing well; just a bit stiff and sore from the surgery.  Since I spent most of the last week either in the hospital, driving back and forth from the hospital, or driving kids around, I have no actual sewing projects to show you.  

I did, however, bring my laptop computer to the hospital, and I spent some time working on a couple of quilt designs in my newly upgraded EQ8 software while Bernie was in surgery and recovery:

Variable Block Applique

This is not necessarily a quit that I'm planning to MAKE, mind you -- just an experiment with the Variable Block layout.  Primarily I was interested in familiarizing myself with the new software interface and locating all of my favorite design tools.  But do like the idea of combining traditional applique with modern color schemes and non-traditional layouts, so I may come back to this idea later.  I'm still a long way from finishing my Frankenwhiggish Rose applique project and have no plans to start any new applique until that one is finished.

60 x 80 Charity Quilt

This second quilt is one that I might actually make.  The goal with this one was to make a 60" x 80" charity quilt that would be relatively quick and easy to make, and interesting enough to hold my attention.  (Of course I always think I'm designing something simple, and then it ends up being not simple at all...)  Anyway, this row quilt fits the size parameters for Lutheran World Relief Mission quilts, and features fifteen 12" blocks, three of each kind.  Here are the challenges:

1. Lutheran World Relief says their Mission quilts are used by recipients primarily for warmth, so my go-to thin cotton battings wouldn't be appropriate for this one.  100% high loft polyester is probably the most practical choice, but I've never quilted with that before and I don't want to mess with raising the height of my presser foot or anything crazy like that.  Those of you who regularly make charity quilts, what do you recommend as far as batting?I don't actually have the fabrics I used in the design of this quilt. 
2. My husband is likely to be annoyed with me if I buy all new fabric for a charity quilt when I literally have a roomful of fabric that I have bought and never used, but most of my fabric stash is either fat quarters or purchased for a specific project.  Before I could make this quilt, I would have to make as many fabric substitutions as I could from my stash and still would probably need to shop for more fabric.  I have quite a few quilts that I've designed and purchased fabric for, but never actually started -- so I'm really, really hesitant to rush out and buy STILL MORE fabric.  In fact, I really should be on Fabric Shopping Probation until I use up all of the fabric I've already purchased!
3. I am seriously overextended right now and have no business starting any projects at all -- there is at least an 85% chance that I would buy the fabrics I needed but never get around to actually making this quilt.  At least not as a Thanksgiving project, like I had in mind.  I probably wouldn't even get to this until next Spring.  Who am I kidding?  That fabric could be stashed under my cutting table for 5 years without ever seeing the light of day.  I get stressed out over the meal preparation for Thanksgiving every year, and now I want to add a charity quilt project on top of everything else?!

Which brings me to my next topic: we in the United States will be celebrating Thanksgiving two weeks from today, and I'm feeling slightly hostile about it.  I've been reevaluating our family traditions (to the chagrin of my husband, who wants the SAME EXACT MEAL EVERY SINGLE YEAR): Roasted turkey with vast quantities of rich, high-carb side dishes and desserts that require weeks of preparation, hours of cleanup, and put us all into a food coma afterwards.  This "traditional" menu makes very little sense historically, since potatoes were not yet cultivated in North America at the time of the first Thanksgiving.  The Pilgrims had not yet built any ovens for baking, and they had completely run out of sugar so there were no desserts and no sugary cranberry sauces, either.  According to one source, the First Thanksgiving included venison, lobster, deer, swans, corn porridge, and seals on the menu.  Fascinated as I was by this bit of trivia, I shared it with my husband.  His response?  "You want me to CLUB A BABY SEAL for our Thanksgiving dinner?!"  

Seals and Swans for Thanksgiving Dinner?

But SERIOUSLY -- Since we're especially thankful for our good health and beating hearts this year, shouldn't we rein in some of that culinary excess and serve a lighter, healthier menu that doesn't require so much work?  Because how, exactly, does stuffing ourselves with carbohydrates and giving ourselves indigestion reflect a thankful heart?

What Bernie Wants for Thanksgiving

And so I'm torn.  Part of me wants to skip the next two weeks of meal prep entirely and just order my Thanksgiving meal catered from Dean & DeLuca, focusing my energies on other things (music, exercise, current UFO projects, new charity projects, staying on top of reading for a class I'm taking, Christmas cards and caroling that's about to kick off next weekend)...  But another part of me feels like these holiday memories are a gift that we bequeath to our children, and that makes me feel a strong compulsion to order a raw turkey and start making and freezing vast quantities of squash soup that no one besides Bernie wants to eat.  Because threatening to withhold pumpkin pie from my children if they don't eat their vegetables is a time-honored family tradition.

-- Will Rebecca ever actually MAKE any of the quilts she designs?  Will her family be forced to eat turkey cold cuts and frozen tortellini for Thanksgiving dinner, or will she succumb to the pressure from her recuperating heart patient husband and cook the ridiculously overblown feast everyone is expecting?  Will she eat an entire pumpkin pie by herself for breakfast the next day?  Find out next time...  ;-)

Today I'm linking up with:

• ·       Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com  
• ·       Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts http://www.cookingupquilts.com/
• ·       Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/

Let's Bake Cinnamon-Molasses Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crust!

Homemade Cinnamon-Molasses Pumpkin Pies with Pecan Crusts

So, THIS happened yesterday!  I ended up buying pies from Dean & DeLuca for Thanksgiving because I spent the entire day before Thanksgiving working on my stuffing, and I ran out of time to bake before I had to head to church for Thanksgiving Eve service.  The Dean & DeLuca pies were fine, I guess...  But they merely whetted my appetite for the REAL pumpkin pies, my favorite recipe gleaned from the pages of Bon Appetit magazine back in December of 1999.  I have been obsessing over this pie recipe ever since Thursday, and I had already purchased all of the ingredients before I admitted defeat and ran to D&D.  I figured, better late than never, and so I baked my pies yesterday.

Bon Appetit has a number of pumpkin pies available on their web site, but not this one, so I'm going to share it with you all today.  That's how much I love you.  You're welcome.  [Added bonus: by posting the recipe online, I will always be able to find it again if I ever misplace the original!]  And now, without further ado, I bring you the recipe for:

Cinnamon-Molasses Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Crust

Yield: two 9-inch pies, one for Mom and one for the rest of the family to share

Advance Preparation: Dough for crust can be prepared 3 days ahead & refrigerated, or 1 week ahead & frozen.  Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before using.  Bake pies the day ahead.

Key Ingredients, Ready to Go

 INGREDIENTS:

For Crust:
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
6 T packed light brown sugar
1 1/3 c. finely chopped pecans
1 tsp. salt
1 c. (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces
4 T (approximately) ice water

For Filling:
2 ½ c. packed light brown sugar
¼ c. all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground allspice
½ tsp. ground ginger
TWO 15 oz. cans pure pumpkin
6 large eggs
2 T mild-flavored (light) molasses
1 ½ c. heavy whipping cream

Quick note about the ingredients: I use Penzey's spices, which are so much fresher and stronger than the spices I can buy in the grocery store.  Sniff two jars of cinnamon side-by-side and you'll be sold.  There's a Penzey's store at The Arboretum shopping center in Charlotte, but if you don't have one near you it's totally worth ordering online.

As for the crust: I think the pecan crust is delicious, but you can use plain crust instead if you have nut allergies to contend with, or if you are in a time crunch and need to use the ready-to-bake grocery store pie crust pastry instead.  Just make sure you use a deep dish crust or it will overflow.  However, maybe you have no nut allergies in your family, maybe you have plenty of time and you LOVE pecans, but you are afraid of making pie crusts because you have failed miserably in the past?  Ah, do I have the gadget for YOU!  I am about to solve all of your pie crust problems for a mere $6.95 plus shipping and handling, and I don't do any of those affiliate links, either.  I am sharing this with you out of the goodness of my heart because it's the ONLY way I can make a pie crust without swearing like a pirate.  Allow me to introduce you to the 14" Pie Crust Bag from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalog:

14" Pie Crust Bag, available here from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalog

This is going to totally change your pie-baking life; I promise.  All you do is wipe your counter with a damp rag (the plastic bag will stick to the counter now instead of sliding around), unzip the bag all the way around, and sprinkle both halves lightly with flour... 

Meanwhile, back to our recipe:

For crust:

1.      Pulse pecans in food processor until they are finely ground but still have visible chunks.  Using electric mixer, mix flour, brown sugar, pecans and salt in large bowl until well blended.  Add butter and mix on low speed until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Cut in larger chunks of butter with a pastry knife.  Using fork, mix in enough ice water to bind the dough. 

2.      Transfer dough to a work surface & gather into a ball.  Divide in half.  Flatten each dough half into a disk; wrap each in plastic.  Chill 1 hour (or up to 3 days; OR freeze).  Let dough soften slightly at room temperature before using.

3.      Roll out each disk between 2 sheets of parchment (or in pie crust bags, see photos below*) to 12” round, about 1/8” thick.  Remove top sheet of parchment and invert each dough round into a 9” diameter glass pie plate.  Remove parchment and gently press dough in place.  Trim overhang to ¾”, turn under and crimp edge decoratively.  Freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.

Disk of Dough Centered on One Half of the Pie Crust Bag

Bag Zippered Shut

Roll Crust Through Bag, With No Sticking, Sliding, or Cursing!

For a Perfect 12" Circle, Roll to 1" from Outer Zipper on 14" Pie Bag

Unzip the Pie Crust Bag and Carefully Peel Back the Top Half...

Ta-Da!  No Sticking!  Perfect!

At this point, it's easy to invert your glass pie dish in the center of the crust and carefully invert the whole thing, easing the pie crust into your pie pan.  You have a nearly perfect circle of pastry to work with because you rolled it out in a perfectly circular bag, and the bottom half of the bag gives you extra pastry support when you flip the whole shebang over, so there's no risk of tearing your pastry or having it fall apart all over your counter after all your hard work.

Woo-Hoo!!!

4.      Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°.  Line crusts with foil, fill with dried beans or ceramic pie weights, and bake pie crusts until golden at edge, about 15 minutes.  Remove foil and beans, and continue to bake until crusts are pale golden, piercing with fork if crusts bubble, about 5 minutes.  Cool completely on rack.

After Blind Baking, Crusts Cooling on the Stovetop While I Mix Up the Pie Filling

For filling:

1.      Reduce oven temperature to 350°.  Whisk first 6 ingredients together in large bowl to blend.  Whisk in pumpkin, eggs and molasses; then whisk in the cream.  Pour pumpkin mixture into crusts, dividing equally.

Pumpkin, Eggs and Molasses Added to Sugar Mixture

...Now We Whisk In the Heavy Cream...

...And the Pie Filling is Ready to Pour Into the Crusts

Ready to Bake!

...Finally In the Oven, Crust Edges Protected by Pie Crust Shields

The purpose of the pie crust shields is to prevent the edges of your pie crust from over-browning or, heaven forbid, outright burning during the long baking time.  I got my nonstick pie crust shield ages ago, don't remember from where, but I found similar ones for you guys on Amazon here.  I put the pie shields on when my pies go in the oven, and I don't remove them until a few minutes before I'm ready to take the pies out to the oven.

2.      Cover edges of pie crust with nonstick pie shields or strips of aluminum foil.  Place pies in oven and bake until sides are puffed and center is just set but still looks wet.  Begin checking after 50 minutes.  (The Bon Appetit recipe said the pies would be done after about 50 minutes, but in my experience they usually aren’t ready to come out until about an hour and 15 minutes of baking).  Cool completely.  (Can be prepared 1 day ahead; cover and refrigerate).  Serve plain or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Fresh From the Oven!

The photo above shows what the pies should look like when they are done baking and ready to come out of the oven.  See how the edges are puffy?  If you enlarge the photo you can see that the center of the pies still looks wet, but when I jiggle them I can see that the centers are indeed set, no longer liquid and sloshing around.  As the pies cool, that puffiness sinks down a little and then the finished pies look like this:

After Cooling, Ready to Enjoy

Oh, and you DO want to completely cool and refrigerate these pies before eating them.  Also, they are fabulous for breakfast.  :-)  Just sayin.'

Well, it's a rainy day in Charlotte today, but there's no more baking on today's agenda.  I need to spend some time learning the Second Soprano for the choruses and chorales in Bach's St. John's Passion, reviewing my Alto part for my upcoming Christmas caroling gigs, and maybe I can even squeak in a smidge of sewing before I have to pick Anders up from school and take him to his violin lesson.

Have a great day, everyone!

Countdown to Thanksgiving!

"Freedom From Want," Norman Rockwell, 1943

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only two days away?  I'm hosting this year and preparations are already underway.  The Buttercup Squash and Leek soup was made and frozen two weeks ago, and I moved it to the fridge to start defrosting it this morning:

Buttercup Squash and Leek Soup, Ready to Puree

I've also made and frozen my maple spiced pecans, which get chopped up and added to my stuffing:

Maple Spiced Pecans for Stuffing

The fresh organic turkey we ordered from Whole Foods was picked up this morning and crammed into the refrigerator as well. 

Sherry Shallot Herb Butter, for Smearing Under the Turkey Skin

The herbed butter and roux for thickening the gravy have been made, and the Cranberry Citrus Compote is in the fridge, just waiting on scallions to be stirred in right before serving. 

Cranberry Citrus Compote, Scallions Will Be Added Just Before Serving

I've got another grocery store run to do today for perishables, even though I know it's going to be a madhouse.  I think of these pre-Thanksgiving grocery store trips as akin to invading Russia right before the first snowfall of winter.  You know you're in for it, but sometimes it just can't be helped. 

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.  May your turkey be moist and flavorful, your stuffing be thoroughly cooked, and most of all, may your dinner conversations remain cordial and politics-free!

Weekend Recap: Getting Our Thanksgiving Groove On

Does Martha look smug to you in this picture?  If so, it's probably because SHE was organized enough to order her fresh heritage turkey for Thanksgiving on November 1st instead of waiting until a week before the holiday.  Also probably because one of her underlings cooked this turkey, and she just gets to glide in after being professionally styled and made up, slip on an apron, and pose with the beautifully cooked golden bird. 

I'm not yet recovered from Halloween (and no, I do NOT remember where I hid your candy, boys, so stop asking!), but the show must go on and Thanksgiving Dinner will open to an expectant, hungry crowd in just a few days.  When I called to order my fresh turkey a few days ago, Whole Foods informed me that they had already pre-sold their entire fresh turkey inventory for both their heritage and their organic birds.  Then I called Earth Fare and managed to snag their very last available fresh organic turkey.  Whew! 

The Victor With His Vegetable Prize

Yesterday morning Bernie and Lars went on the 15th Annual Buttercup Squash Scavenger Hunt.  They go from one grocery store to the next in their search for this delicious but elusive squash, overcoming obstacles like crowded parking lots and trolls disguised as produce specialists who insist that butterCUP squash is the same thing as butterNUT squash (no, it isn't).  Midway through their squash odyssey, Bernie called and requested that I send photographic proof of this squash variety's existence to his iPhone so he could battle the scorn and ignorance of the grocery clerks with the weapons of Truth and Technology.  Ultimately, as usual, he arrived home triumphantly with twice as much buttercup squash as we need for his Buttercup Squash and Leek Soup.  Every year, I ask him whether he really wants to go to all the trouble of tracking down the squash and hacking them up to make his peppery soup with them again, and every year he replies that he looks forward to the Squash Hunt and it would not be Thanksgiving without it.  He cooked and pureed his soup Saturday afternoon, while I made the Cranberry Citrus Compote. 

Cooked Whole Cranberry-Citrus Compote, cooling on the stove top

It feels good to have some of the menu items crossed off the list already.  Tomorrow or the next day, I'll need to bake spiced pecans for the stuffing and make the roux for the gravy.  I also have to throw one of those green bean casseroles together for the annual school feast, which happens on Tuesday. 

A lot of cleaning happened this weekend as well, with even Lars pitching in to dust and polish furniture in the dining room, living room, and in my office.  We always put up our Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving, and I told my family that every room has to get a thorough cleaning before any decorations can come out.  Now that everything is spic and span and gleaming again, and my house is smelling like holiday food, I'm starting to feel more enthusiastic about the approaching holiday season.

Meanwhile, Bernie has been working hard on the built-ins that I designed for Lars's bedroom to accommodate his staggering collection of LEGO sets (which he refuses to disassemble, and which had previously occupied nearly every square inch of his bedroom FLOOR).  We repainted the walls in Sherwin Williams 6523 Denim, which really makes the white trim paint pop and looks much more "big kid" than the sky blue wall color that he had previously. 

Lars's Built-In LEGO Display Shelving Nearing Completion

Lars started putting LEGO sets away on the new adjustable shelving (deeper than book shelves, so they can accommodate even the largest assembled sets), but he stalled out and left piles all over the place.  I think a Mommy Intervention will happen while he's at school tomorrow -- organization is not his strong suit, and right now Bernie can't even get past the toy piles to measure for the doors that go on the bottom cabinets and the drawer fronts that go on the two drawers beneath the window seat.  At some point I'm going to make a cornice to go above the window and a boxed cushion and throw pillows for the window seat itself.  The main objective is to create order out of chaos before Christmas morning and Lars's birthday the very next day.

Although I helped Anders work on his quilt this afternoon, I have not had a chance to work on any of my own sewing projects in several days, which is making me irritable.  My applique blocks for Jingle are all finished and what with all the cleaning, holiday planning, homework assistance/supervision, and back-to-back 504 Plan meetings at the kids' school last week, I haven't gotten up to the sewing room at all.  It's really a bummer not having a hand sewing project to carry around with me.  I've promised myself to knock out the last four pieced blocks for my Jingle quilt first, and then I can start in on the large center medallion applique piece.

Where did this weekend go?

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up 2012: Grampa's In-House Catering Service Saves the Day

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful, restful day, complete with good food and surrounded with the blessings of friends and family. 

We have so much to be thankful for this year.  The cease-fire in Gaza reminds me of how fortunate we are to live in a place where violence is rare and the day-to-day safety of our loved ones is something we can take for granted.  We're thankful for our home, our livelihood, our community, and for the wonderful teachers who bless our children with their dedication and enthusiasm every single day.  And we're thankful for the Screaming Cheetah Wheelies who go by the names Lars and Anders, our rambunctious sons who try our patience daily but also fill our lives with so much joy that we wouldn't trade them for the world.

Those are the Big Blessings, but honestly, what I was most thankful for this Thanksgiving was Grampa's In-House Catering Service!  Since Bernie has been traveling so much for work this month, and I was busy working on a design project for a new client on top of my responsibilities as Chauffeur, Algebra Tutor, Science Project Supervisor, and Keeper of the Video Games for the two princelings, I just didn't have the time or energy for the weeks of cooking necessitated by our traditional Thanksgiving dinner menu.  Then, to make matters worse, Bernie stumbled and fell on the stairs last week, spraining his ankle pretty badly, so he was on crutches and unable to fulfil his usual role as Thanksgiving Sous Chef.  My father, who is himself recovering from shoulder surgery, came to the rescue.  Bernie managed to do a remarkable job cleaning our house with a crutch under one arm, pushing the vacuum cleaner with the other, and laid out roasting pans and other equipment.  I set the dining room table, decapitated some roses and arranged them in a bowl for a centerpeice, and my parents showed up on Thanksgiving morning with a completely prepped Thanksgiving meal to cook in my ovens: turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and green bean casserole.  I had made my Cranberry Citrus Compote and Cinnamon Molasses Pumpkin Pies ahead of time and stocked up on champagne and our favorite pinot noir, and my mother made the gravy, so we managed to pull off a decent Thanksgiving feast between the four of us.  Dad's apple cider brined turkey was delicious, and all the tastier because I didn't have to fret over it myself.  Thanks for coming to the rescue, Dad!  :-)

Photo Shamelessly Stolen from SewCalGal

This was the most relaxing Thanksgiving Day I've had in a long time.  I even managed to sneak upstairs to my sewing room to whip up another Dresden Plate while everyone else was watching the Westminster Dog Show downstairs.  Which is why, when I saw this adorable quilted turkey with Dresden Plate tail feathers on SewCalGal's Thanksgiving post, I had to snatch it for myself.  By the way, Darlene -- as I'm counting my blessings, you're on the list.  Thank you so much for your 2012 Free-Motion Quilting Challenge.  I know you have put a lot of work into organizing and hosting this year-long event on your blog, lining up expert quilters, sponsors and prizes, and getting the tutorials and winners posted each month.  I am amazed by how much my FMQ skills have improved, just by spending one day each month practicing a new technique.  Thank you for bringing this community of quilters together from all over the world to inspire and encourage one another!



My Dresden Plate, One of Eight

As of right now, I have 7 Dresden Plates pieced, and I just need to assemble one more before I get out my embroidery module and machine-applique the red flower centers to all of the blocks (using Marjorie Busby's fabulous embroidery design for Accuquilt precuts). 



Rose Dream Block from the Kansas City Star, click here for Tutorial

The plan is to alternate Dresden Plate blocks with the vintage Rose Dream block that the lovely, talented, and unbelievably generous Charise of Charise Creates was sweet enough to redraft as a 14" block for me, just so it would work for this Dresden Plate quilt.  Charise, I'm thankful for you, too -- and can't wait to see what other challenging and unusual blocks you'll be sharing in your Vintage Block QAL in the coming months. 

The Rose Dream block was published in the Kansas City Star in 1930, around the same time that Dresden Plate quilts were most popular, so I feel like the two blocks make sense together historically.  The curved piecing looks just a bit more challenging than the drunkard's path blocks I mastered for Lars's Drunken Dragons quilt, and I feel like the combination of curved lines and pointy little squares will be a nice complement to the pointed edges on my Dresden Plates.  I've traced Charise's enlarged pattern pieces onto template plastic and carefully cut them out, but I haven't cut any fabric for these blocks yet.  I'm still considering different options for the background fabrics in this quilt, and I think I'm going to use one of my software programs to audition a few alternatives before I make a commitment.  I don't have any of the dedicated quilting software programs like EQ7, and I don't have the ability to create a new block design in the quilt design function of my Bernina Artista embroidery design software (and there's no way this Rose Dream block would be one of the block designs in the software's design library.  However, I think I will be able to use my Minutes Matter Studio interior design software program to do some mock-ups for this quilt, since I can draw any shapes I want, fill them with fabrics, and import, crop, and duplicate photos in Studio.  I'll let you know how that works out.

Meanwhile, my hallway is piled high with boxes of Christmas decorations, and my family is chomping at the bit to haul out the holly and decorate Christmas trees.  Lars and Anders have even been cleaning their bedrooms, with actual cleaning products, because Bernie told them he wasn't going to set foot in the LEGO store this year unless they could put away all of the LEGOs they already own.  Who ARE these whirling dervishes of bedroom cleaning, and what have they done with my sons?!

Whatever you're up to this weekend, whether it's holiday decorating, shopping, or just relaxing and enjoying leftover turkey, I hope you have a chance to reflect on your blessings and spend time with your loved ones.  Happy Thanksgiving!