Doll Quilt Swap

 *click any image for full screen closeups.

 

Hi! "What's a doll quilt swap?" you ask---
Well. This was just the most fun project!
Organized by Lori of Humble Quilts blog for all her fans and readers. I think she said 60-plus people entered the swap. Plan was, we'd each make a doll quilt and send it to another participant, who'd send her quilt on to the next, then on and on. (so not a direct one-on-on swap). We had one month to make our little quilts.

So---LOOK what came in the the mail last week. For me!?

All the way from Australia, imagine that. This sort of thing could never have happened without the Internet and blogs.

Here is my little quilt, made by Dorothy in Australia.   

Is it not so adorable and so very perfect!

I LOVE Basket design/ pattern quilts.

Dorothy used different Civil War repro fabrics in each of her tiny 4" blocks. And note how all her points match, how perfect her hand quilting is.

 

I love how she did her label....

 

 

 Dorothy also sent me a lovely card and a very sweet hanky with AU wildflowers. I am sure it will work is way into a project, Dorothy. Thank you so much, I will always treasure my tiny Baskets from Australia.

Right. Lucky me. :-) Picture me squealing and jumping for joy.
Meanwhile I had to make a doll quilt for my swappee. Oh I was so excited! Lori said it was okay to use my antique blocks and antique fabrics as long as they fit the mid-1800s parameters of the swap rules.

I was/ still am/ very inspired by the antique blocks recently purchased from a dealer friend.  I  dithered, I sorted, I wondered: who is my recipient? Will she like this? Or maybe this? Is this more authentic, is this prettier?

Yes I made three little quilts.....

The first is made of approx 6"? Evening Star blocks. I loved these fabrics, the florals are probably preCivil War.

 

I  used a wonderful 19th century block on the back, for the label block.

 

I am putting block names for Mel, who always asks.
 Pls feel free to correct my guesses here, I can't find my blocks book
.
*Churn Dash*

 

But then...I had the Blues out on my table.

"Snowball with Nine Patch"

 

 

I used my favorite of the antique blocks on the back.



*Anvil/ Shoofly/ Old Maid's Puzzle*

I hand quilted hearts in the large white snowball patches.

But then...I thought, Are either of these authentic enough? They're stylistically  true to form for antique doll quilts, which were often made of leftover blocks. But they weren't true miniatures, exactly And the blues could read as any era, even though they were part of the collection of 1800s blocks.

Back to the stash... Tiny Nine Patches, only partially sewed, with cheddar, oooh. And aqua. And homespun. The little squares are tiny, finishing about 1.25".

 I used larger blocks for the backing.

*T or Cross or Temperance*
* Modified 9 Patch/ Ducks-in-the Pond?*

It looks very much like an authentic doll quilt, I thought. But is it beautiful? What if the swappee doesn't like prim?

I used a pdf image freebie from Barbara Brackman's blog for my labels.

I sent my recipient, Jill, the original Evening Stars quilt. It is, I think, 16" square.

Maybe the back is even better than the front?

Jill says she loves it, that is what counts!

The Nine-Patch Cutie will be for sale in my etsy shop if you are sad you didn't get a  doll quilt like we did. I suppose I could part with Blues, too, if someone really loves it, please email me. Pls note it has been washed but has age stains which I liked and didn't try to remove.

Thank you, Lori, for such a fun project. Thank you, Dorothy , for sending me a beautiful tiny treasure of a quilt.
I enjoyed every minute---the planning and making and the exciting anticipation.

BTW, for my non-quilter friends: which is YOUR favorite [of my three?]?

love

lizzy

gone to the beach..................

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: May 1st: all doll quilts from Lori's swap are now on her blog, here at Humble Quilts. Scroll to end for posts of the little quilts.

Easter Dinner Food Critique

Hi! Just a quick update for those of you who follow my cooking adventures and disasters here.

Easter : first of all the day itself was cold and windy but oh so beautiful with forget-me-not blue skies and brilliant turquoise water in the bays [after the flopped flea market, 5 dealers?!]...

And yes the food was great!

Deviled eggs---yummy!

Found watercress at a fancy local supermarket. It now comes in big bags like prewashed lettuce, who knew? I used 1/3-1/2 bag to get the 3/4 C chopped for Martha Stewart's recipe here

I used 9, not 8 eggs. I used 2+ heaping T. of horseradish, not 2 teaspoons. My kids like things spicy.

Could have used any bitter green---arugula, parsley, even old standby celery, because the horseradish overwhelms any other taste. But hey, watercress looks pretty, makes very cute garnishes.

Crock pot pulled pork, made yesterday [Saturday]. Fine but the big box store pork roast was tough despite 10 hours in the slow cooker.

Tasty though.

More creamy horseradish on top! Tiny gherkin/ cornichon pickles and red radishes on the side .

Excellent sweet slaw based on Country Living salad from their April issue.

 I used broccoli straws, Honey Crisp apples, and shaved Brussels sprouts. I omitted the nuts and cheese. I made a sweet raspberry poppy seed dressing, partially from a Marie's or Marzetti jar dressing plus extras, like olive oil and lemon juice; and tarragon, sugar.

We have a new gadget, a mandolin, veggie slicer that makes the most beautiful perfect
julienned matchstick cuts of the veggies and apples. I thinly sliced the Brussels sprouts by hand.

For dessert my daughter made a family fave, we don't have a name. It is kind of like cannoli filling? Low fat ricotta cheese whipped with amaretto or almond extract/ vanilla, Splenda. Stir in chocolate chips and toasted slivered almonds. Chill. Serve in small bowls with new spring strawberries on the side.

Lots of nice leftovers, the unused veggies will make a delicious stir fry in a few days, too.

edit: from my blog friend Kelley, her Easter pix!

adorable cake. It came out great, Kel!

 

beautiful, classic Easter eggs.
I love the touch of glitter.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach....

Back in the Day: An Ohio Easter

 Hi guys! Happy Holidays, Happy Easter, Happy Passover.
Welcome, Spring!

 [You can just enjoy the pictures of my house's decorations, if my childhood rambling is a ZZzzzz, ;-) ]

I suppose almost all cultures that experience seasons have a springtime ritual, a time to celebrate winter's end and the coming warm days ahead.
My friend L and I were out and busy yesterdayday, shopping for the weekend. BJ's [like Costco?] and Target yielded wonderful spring produce and fun bright scarves and shorts. Target was especially fun,because there were a number of happy, excited, younger than us moms and daddies with shopping carts brimful of Easter Basket makings.

My Easter menu is easy.... Crock pot pulled pork, requested by my kids instead of the traditional roast pork I love. The kids bring home Vermont maple syrup pulled pork sauce every winter for this dish they love. And a crisp sweet slaw made with broccoli straws, shaved brussel sprouts, and matchstick julienned apple. A raspberry vinaigrette dressing, maybe  a bit of pancetta, for a salty touch . BJ's had very nice pancetta, in bulk of course. I see a lot of pasta carbonara in our futures....

And of course we will have devilled eggs. A tradition in our household. This year my daughter chose a recipe from the Easter issue of Martha Stewart Living which calls for watercress and horseradish in the eggs' filling. Hmmm. Martha, c'mon, how likely am I to find watercress here? I'll let you know if it turns up at the fancy supermarket. (so far No, but they did have, uh, dandelion greens. Huh. no.]

I like having food traditions. Lasagna for Christmas Eve, eggplant parm only for special birthdays...and my Easter specialty is the devilled eggs.

The other day when we were talking here about childhood Easters, I was remembering  Easter when I was a very little girl, back in Ohio. Looking back I can't imagine how my young parents did all this in one day!

First of all: a new dress and maybe new shoes or hat, not just for me but for the entire family. My poor brother always got a close crew cut and had to wear a sport coat and bow tie. I think we found our Easter Baskets and had our Egg Hunt when we woke up in the morning. Eggs were always dyed on Good Friday, a holiday from school. And then we'd dig out our real straw, reused, recycled Easter baskets and refurbish them with new bows and fresh ''grass''. Ready for the Easter Bunny to arrive.

We always got a big chocolate bunny, foil eggs, jelly beans. As we got older, maybe toys or crayons and coloring books. My mom and I both wore real flower corsages---mine always a pink carnation! Hers were gardenias--- that my dad would order when he got the flowers for the cemetery visits.

Next we'd go out for brunch at the big city hotel that had a beautiful lavish Easter Brunch with a real white Easter Bunny and wonderful food. Our choice was always eggs Benedict! And Shirley Temple cocktails, how retro is that!? Grenadine in Sprite, I think? My parents would have mimosas or Bellinis. After brunch we'd go to the city's amazing Botanic Garden where the greenhouse would be filled with spring flowers and Easter decorations. The big space always smelled of hyacinths and whenever I smell hyacinths I am transported back to that time.

Next on the day's agenda was a trip to the park-like historic cemetery here where my dad's family are buried. We kids would would play  by the duckpond and we'd all admire the many flowering trees and shrubs, the flowers and chartreuse green spring grass. It never seemed like a sad visit, though it must have been so for my dad who lost both his parents and his oldest brotherwhen he was a very young boy. If Easter was late there'd be baby ducklings in the pond. Oooh. Heaven.

Home. Nap? Off to my aunt's for Easter dinner. The day just went on and on. This aunt was an older woman who raised my dad after he was orphaned. She was actually his sister in law, widowed very young, and perhaps saw herself as a grandmother figure of sorts. Too bad she and my mom didn't get along. I liked going to her house. She had German shepherd dogs, collected Hummels, had gorgeous vintage dishes and glasses and silverware for the holiday table. And she made quilts! Appliqued quilts with the finest tiny stitches. (I have two: Magnolias and Dogwood, from local Ohio company  Mountain Mist's patterns.) Lots to fascinate a shy little girl.

She always made roast lamb. Eeew. She always put garlic on it and bickered about that with my dad.  Maybe... roasted potatoes and carrots? No dessert!---the ladies were both frugal and slim. But we had our chocolate bunnies for later.

LOL I am exhausted just thinking of those days.

Later, as a young mom in NYC I didn't go to such extravagant lengths---there was a famous Ocean Edge Resort Cape Cod Easter Egg Hunt one year. Famous because there was a blizzard and my kids cried because they couldn't find the eggs in the snow. And there were a few years of brunch at the Plaza in the city, a stroll along Fifth Avenue with all the crazy NY Easter Parade people. We'd end up at the Central Park Children's Zoo. I wonder if my kids even recall those holidays, they were very tiny, stroller aged. I recall every second though, with such joy.

Below, my real assorted fowl eggs from Naked Eggs. The colors are natural! Look at that blue....

 

 

 

 

 I used shredder paper for grass because I didn't like the plastic grass from Target....

Happy Easter---make joyful memories, my friends!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.



piping plover footprints trail