Harmony

'Harmony"- a doll quilt

Hi! Happy Friday...[beach pix at the end! I promise!]

Oh it is chilly here, with dense fog.
I almost drove wrong way down a one way street while running errands in town. The fog was so dense I couldn't see the signs. [That's my story and I am sticking to it!] I hastily backed out and carefully took me and this week's white tulips home....

A fun little project this week! Lori at Humble Quilts showed the sweetest little prim doll quilt a week or so ago.  I think all her readers loved it, and so she did a quiltalong so we could all make our versions.
Perfect timing since I have recently finished two large projects and am still dithering about what's on deck next. This is the original 19th century quilt:

The little quilt probably dates from  the mid 1800s. It features madder prints and is adorably poorly constructed. I love the crookedness and unrepentantly reversed sawtooths, so charming.

Madder is a natural dye that was prized by 19th century seamtresses because it is  colorfast and can produce reds, browns, and purples, often with a coppery or brick red cast.

Here is quilt historian Barbara Brackman's post with a detailed explanation of the dye and fabrics of the Civil War era. Lori also suggests googling ''madder prints"...

So now I had to dig in my stash!
I love Lori's doll quilt projects because they give me a chance to use  my collection of antique quilting fabrics. Some of these very old, yet sometimes brand new; and many are tiny scraps, so a doll quilt is a perfect showcase.
On the other hand madder prints are not exactly my ''thing''..for years I loathed brown quilts and so in my modern stash I was dubious that I'd have anything useful at all
 But I found things! Had to sub the center bock, that print was hopeless. And I made the sawtooth squares larger than Lori's intructions because I wanted to show off the old calicos I used.

What I do is:  I print out a full page color photo of the doll quilt. I study each block to find a match, first sorting through my antiques then filling in with modern or vintage fabric.

I have no Prussian blue at all,

 so I tried to capture the shade by dying a small toile. Others I tea dyed to get the needed brown cast.

Isn't it cute!

My main disappointment was that I couldn't figure out how to reproduce the very charming wonky crookedness of the original. Maybe another time, when I can do more intensive study.

I also now see that my version needs a tea bath dunking to tone it down! Too bright!

I chose this pretty brown rosebud print for the back. I like the larger scale for contrast. The rusty red will be the binding.

I thought about using this House block on the back...I love the pink. But maybe it should be a doll quilt on its own?

And I think it is the wrong period, perhaps is late 1800s-1930?

And now so those of you who read my blog for the beach! The doctor has said I may resume walking on the beach if it does not make me cough or wheeze! And so these pictures are from the only sunny day of this week. Maybe....Wednesday?

 

 

  

 

Ahhhh. April showers, April fog. See the fog bank rolling in?

At least sand doesn't get muddy so I shouldn't complain..

Have a good weekend! Flea market Sunday! Yay!

love

   lizzy


 gone to the beach.....

PS Lori's blog today shows her version and has a Linky thing at the end, so you all can see the other version. enjoy! here

Apricot

Hi everyone...
Last week I bought hyacinths again....so rare, only available as cut flowers for a few weeks in March or April. 

This time I was adventuresome! I chose the apricot spears instead of my usual blue or white.

What a glorious color, a pop of springtime for these cold windy days.

I keep my flowers on my coffee table, usually in my favorite large transferware pitcher, yeah you've seen it a zillion times.

That pitcher cost a LOT! A long time ago. It is English, c. mid 1800s. Mint mint mint condition. Sky blue and opaque dense white.

It could have cost as much as 45.00? Or maybe more, like 85.00, I do recall how extravagant the purchase seemed.

I sure got my money's worth.

So anyway the other night I was sitting there, eating a late supper, watching Project Runway...lol, maybe it inspired me? During one of their endless commercials I looked at my coral/ apricot/ peach hyacinths and  thought, That's a really gorgeous color. That color is just beautiful!

Then, I need a sweater that color. That's the PR inspiration, I guess?

okay, I m a little out of date, but trust me

I will never love 2013's emerald puke shade!

Oh yes, apricot. A sweater! Alpaca or silk or cashmere yarn that color.

In..a cozy cardigan?  here 
From:

Botanical Knits: Twelve Designs Inspired by Trees and Foliage

by Alana Dakos   www.botanicalknits.com

Ummm hmm, yes!

I'm a very slow knitter. Even if it has 3/4 sleeves.

It could take me a year. The yarns are so costly. And I am a yarn snob, I love the the hand dyed luxury yarns. Remember the lesson of the $$$ blue and white pitcher! [better to spend on one thing you love than buy cheap things you never use...]

I could get a Lands End cashmere t-shirt instead? here

And really...will I wear apricot/ coral/ tango tangerine/ peach?? Is this not more ME?


                             

Oh well, yes. But....those glorious aprcot hyacinths are calling me:
"See!We're beautiful too!"

Do you have a favorite color? For clothes, for flowers? Do you love all white or, like me, are you tempted by color?

love

l     izzy

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

a/n The bombing in Boston is horrific. I went ahead with this frivolous post because if the bad guys can ruin our lives, our simple pleasures, then the bad guys have won. I don't want that to happen.

 

 

 

Yarn and sweater photos from internet...

It's Still Chilly

 

 

....Okay it's not snowing but it's not the heat wave the NYC weather lady bragged about the other day. 84*? hah! Try 53*...the ocean is cold, so the air stays cold. Gale blowing in from the east at 40 mph too right now.

Hi guys! I hope you didn't have the snowstorm, but those of you out west got clobbered, huh? That nasty weather is now here, just rain and wind, but still...

Ive been doing a smidge of spring cleaning, mostly using up winter pantry stuff. I made the beer chicken again---this time used thighs, much better!

And I used up a bunch of canned goods making Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage. A winter-y dish for a chilly wet weekend.

I love old-fashioned comfort foods like some people love chocolate. I only make stuffed cabbage about once a year, which is silly because it is easy and makes loads for fill the tummies of people with hectic schedules, aka my kids and friends. I admit I do not know if it is ''healthy"...probably not, the good stuff never is, is it?*

Filling: you need a family size pack of good ground beef, 1 1/2 - 2 pounds? or 1/3 ground pork, not sausage, to 2/3 volume beef.

 I add lots of spices: Caraway is the main ingredient. 1/4 cup or more, be lavish!

Plus, to taste, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon pepper, regular pepper. Hungarian paprika. Cumin, coriander, cinnamon, dill. Pinch of salt.

 

Chop one large sweet onion, 5 cloves of garlic. Microwave in 2 minute increments with a t. of olive oil until golden.Or saute in a small pan. Cool, add to meat mix.

Two cups of cooked, cooled white rice. I am lazy, so two bags of Success Rice in the microwave for 6 minutes. (ignore their 10 minutes instructions, we want the rice not quite done)

Drain well! Fluff.

Mix in with ground beef, onions  and spices with one egg. Remember the mixing in the sink trick so clean up is easy...

Make casserole sauce: 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes, 1 can of tomato paste, 1 C. beef broth; 3 T. of  honey or sub Splenda. Some lemon juice.  Parsley, a smidge of garlic powder, black pepper. Cover loosely and microwave for about 6 minutes, stir a few times.

Meanwhile: wash and core a green cabbage. Pick a nice big one!

New trick I learned is to steam/ boil it, removing the outer layers as they parboil. I just pluck them off with a  tongs. [Yes this is tedious, I do it while I machine sew on my quilts, because I get bored in the kitchen. But, you know, keep a close eye on it all,lol.]

 Lay the leaves on paper towels to cool, then cut out the thick middle stem of  each leaf. Just the first inch or so, leave the leaves as intact as possible.

Put a couple ladlefuls of sauce in the bottom  of a large casserole.

Spoon 1/3 of a cup [= large meatball size?] onto one end of a leaf. Roll up, tucking in edges.

 You're making little pillows. Set each roll seam side down in the casserole dish. Today/'s batch made 24 rolls, approximately.

 

 

Use up all your leaves, set aside leftover filling and cabbage core for now.

Spread the rest of the sauce on top of the cabbage rolls, cover with foil and bake
350* for one hour to 1 1/2 hour, depending on size of the pan.

You'll see thru the glass of the dish when it gets bubbly and caramelizes. I wasn't fast enough with the camera! Someone was hungry!

I didn't have extra sauce so I made separate sauce more or less same as the first sauce batch. Be sure to make it sweet.

Serve two or three rolls on warm plates, with sauce spooned on top, plus sour cream and parsley. My family likes steamed broccoli on the side...they love their veggies.

Oooh, that first bite! When your fork cuts into the roll, the fragrant spicy steam wafts out. 

Delicious!

Now back to the unused stuff....If you used all the beef mix, sliver the cabbage and put it in a smaller bake dish, drizzle olive oil . Roast for 30 minutes. Another yum! OR saute the beef/ rice mixture til brown, spoon on chopped inner cabbage core. Add more caraway, salt, pepper, a bit of the tomato sauce. Stir it up and save as leftover for snacks. Yummy!

On reflection, after doing a taste test with a foodie friend, we decided next time to add toasted pignoles/ pine nuts, and chopped golden raisins to the beef filing. Maybe adds a little middle eastern twist?

Probably, if this all seems too much!!!! your supermarket or a good Kosher deli will have stuffed cabbage ready made. But trust me...homemade is better.

Based on recipes online and the handwritten notes of my mother-in-law, SH.

*You could healthy-ize by using ground chicken or ground turkey and brown rice or quinoa. Kale for the leaves?

love

    lizzy

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