Opposite Day

Yesterday was Opposite Day so I did the opposite and didn’t write a post yesterday. However, I got it all wrong. Opposite Day was meant for you to try things you haven’t tried before, or do things you’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t. Here’s what I attempted yesterday:

• Try to be different - was subdued and acquiescent. For all of 15 minutes. Not gonna happen.
• Try a new route to work – got lost.
• Wear a color you’ve never worn before – pea green was hideous.
• Don’t have your usual lunch – lots of hot spicy food was a bad idea

Didn’t get a whole lot done in the afternoon, which is a complete 180 for me. More than likely had something to do with the atomic bomb I had for lunch. Try something new today – you’ll probably have better luck than I did!

A Yummy Recipe

Today is National Buttercrunch Day!  Hooray!  Buttercrunch is caramel coated in chocolate and ground nuts.  Sounds heavenly!  In honor of such an auspicious day, here's a buttercrunch recipe.

It comes from Stonewall Kitchen Winter Celebrations: Special Recipes for Family and Friends by Kathy Gunst, Jonathan King and Jim Stott.  You can double the recipe if you like, but if you want to make more you shouldn’t try to multiply the recipe by three or four -- simply keep doubling the recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light Karo syrup
2 tablespoons water
2 large (about 7 or 8 ounce) chocolate bars*
About 1 cup very finely chopped walnuts**

*Buttercrunch can be made successfully with regular grocery store milk chocolate or chocolate chips, but you can also splurge and use fabulous bittersweet or semi-sweet 60% cocoa chocolate. The choice is yours.

**You can use walnuts, almonds, pecans, pistachio, or any type of nut but it must be finely chopped to adhere properly to the chocolate.

Directions

Line a cookie sheet with a piece of well greased aluminum foil.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, sugar, Karo syrup and water over a low heat, stirring frequently. The mixture will caramelize and is ready when it hits 290 degrees on a candy thermometer. Watch it carefully, particularly toward the end of the cooking process. It will take at least 15 to 20 minutes to reach 290 on low heat. The mixture can burn easily; reduce the heat to very low and stir constantly if it seems to be cooking too quickly or turning darker than pale golden brown.

When the candy hits 290 remove from the heat and carefully spread it out in an even layer on the sheet of greased foil. Spread with a spatula to make a fairly thin layer. Let cool and harden. (If you are really impatient you can place the cookie sheet outside in the cold in a protected place so it will harden more quickly.)

While the buttercrunch is hardening melt the chocolate in a saucepan over very low heat, stirring until smooth. IF you choose to let the buttercrunch harden outside or in a very cold spot you must bring it back to room temperature before spreading with the chocolate. If the buttercrunch is too cold the chocolate won’t adhere properly.

When the buttercrunch is hard to the touch (you shouldn’t feel any soft spots), use a soft spatula and spread a thin layer of chocolate over the entire thing. Sprinkle with half the nuts, pressing down lightly so they adhere. Again, if you are the impatient type, you can let the chocolate harden in a cold spot. The chocolate should be fully dry—no wet spots to the touch. Carefully remove the foil with the candy from the cookie sheet; place the cookie sheet on top of the foil and candy. Gently flip the candy over onto the cookie sheet and peel away the foil. Spread the remaining chocolate on top of the other side of the buttercrunch. Sprinkle with the remaining nuts, pressing down lightly. Let the chocolate harden and set in a cool spot.

When the buttercrunch is dry and hard break it into small pieces. You can keep it in a cool, dry tin or tightly sealed plastic bag for up to two or three weeks.

Serves 6 to 8 (or one if you keep conducting quality control tests - ha).  Once you taste it, it’s hard to stop!

The Answer You've Been Waiting For!

An interesting article in Parade stated that scientists writing in the Medical Journal of Australia have an answer to an age-old question: should Band-Aids be ripped off or slowly pulled off?

Faster is better they say.  Sixty-five medical students at James Cook University had medium size Band-Aids applied to their skin on three different parts of the body: upper arm, hand and ankle (no knees?).  Two volunteers were given the job of pulling the Bankd-Aids off - one with a quick yank, the other with a slow and gentle peel back (just reading the second one sound torturous).

Subjects were then asked: On a scale of 1 to 10, how much did each removal hurt?  Zero for "no pain" and 10 for "the worst pain imaginable."  Fast came in below 1 (.92) on the scale, while slow scored 1.58.  Neither was a big deal, but fast clearly hurts less.

They should have tried that experiment on screaming toddlers to see which way worked best.  The answer would be neither!  Try holding a toddler still while you either rip or peel.  You have to soak off as much of the Band-Aid as you can in the bathtub, then let if flap around until the next time they take a bath.  In the meantime, when you mention "Let me take the rest of that thing off," you're met with wails of protest and a protective hand over the limp and sagging Band-Aid.  My teenagers now soak off their own Band-Aids.  Maybe one day they'll graduate to the rip or peel method.

What Am I Doing??

Today is National Nothing Day.  So what am I doing writing a post?  Well, it isn't National Do Nothing Day, so maybe Nothing Day means nothing will bother me (snicker), nothing will get done, the kids will bicker over nothing (likely), or nothing good will come of what I'm going to do this afternoon (sounds intriguing).

On the romance side, there's "I'm nothing without you darling." Or I'm wearing nothing but a ... never mind.  Nothing good is coming from that (harhar).

However you celebrate National Nothing Day, be sure to do it enthusiastically!

That Many?!

I know Trivia Day was last week, but I just learned another interesting tidbit.  Each person eats an average of 35,000 cookies in his or her lifetime.  I think I'm already over my limit!  I wonder who didn't get any cookies?

It's Time For Some Snuggly Flannel

Because today is Cuddle Up Day!  Now flannel may not be your fabric of choice for snuggling, but it is mine.  Nothing says cuddly goodness to me like being in my flannel jammies and snuggling with my husband.  What great timing that Cuddle Up Day is in January and not July.  I guess then it would be called Stay The Heck Away From Me - It's Too Hot Day.

Happy cuddling!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone has a blessed 2010.  Happy Back To Work Day too.  I'm sure after sitting around watching bowl games and eating leftover Christmas cookies, everybody is bright eyed and rarin' to start a productive 5 day work week.  Hey, don't throw rotten tomatoes at me - I'm just trying to be encouraging! :)

To get your mind off of the 7,000 emails that have lingered in your in-box over the holidays, I'll let you in on a little secret: today is Trivia Day.  Hooray!  I know you've waited 7 weeks to hear that.  And here's some trivia to amaze and impress your co-workers: the prickly pear cactus is the only type of cactus that grows in Yellowstone National Park.  Isn't that remarkable?  Now you're ready to be a game show contestant.

Stay tuned for more interesting "holidays" throughout the year!

Button Day Is November 16!

Button Day is a fun day to collect, use, and just enjoy buttons. Button come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colors and designs. There is an amazingly endless variety of buttons for your collection.


But wait a minute... is that the meaning of this day!? Maybe the purpose of this day is to wear buttons. You know, those diverse buttons that send a message for political purposes (according to Macmillan Dictionary, it is in England). Or ones that have funny sayings. Or a button with a smiley face to cheer everyone up.

The origins of this day are unknown. So we can't be certain of the real meaning of this day.


While every day is Button Day at Fran's Button Corner, it's nice to know there is an "official" holiday to acknowledge the wonderfulness of buttons. To celebrate, EVERYTHING in the shop (Clearance too) is 15% OFF until November 16! No secret codes to enter, unless of course, you just want to expound on virtues of buttons. :) Your 15% discount will be promptly refunded via PayPal.

From our friends at Holiday Insights, here are some other ways to celebrate Button Day:

• Button Collecting and Display Day - collect and display clothing buttons

• Button Up Day- 'cuz it's cold outside!
• Pushing Your Buttons Day - you're kidding me, aren't you!?
• Belly Button Day - now, here's one that could be real fun
• Belly Button Fuzz Day - it's amazing what you find in there.
• Wear Buttons Day - skip the political buttons. My favorite is a Smiley button.

To send a free Button Day card to your favorite button enthusiast, go to All-Yours. They have some really cute ones.

 However you choose to celebrate, have a Happy Button Day!

Christmas In October!

As a sequel to last week’s post about thread, I got an early Christmas present: a thread cabinet to put it all in! I’ve outgrown my plastic shoe box method of storage, and was looking for a bona fide spool cabinet. I saw an antique J.P. Coats one online for over a thousand dollars and figured “that ain’t gonna happen.” My favorite antique store to the rescue! Those ladies must love to see the QL Mobile pull up, because I always walk out of there with something.


Here’s my something: an Art Deco dresser from the 1930s with original Bakelite drawer pull inserts, made with real wood and dovetail joints. It’s so beautiful. I know it’s not a thread cabinet, but it will do the job. Plus, there’s extra room for fabric!

Art Deco was a popular international art design movement from 1925 until the 1940s. It was an opulent style, and its lavishness is attributed to reaction to the forced austerity imposed by World War I. The structure of Art Deco is based on mathematical geometric shapes, and was widely considered to be an eclectic form of elegant and stylish modernism. Eventually though, the style was cut short by the austerities of World War II. The dresser has “Denmark Manufacturing Company” stamped on the back, but I couldn’t find any information about the company. If anyone knows anything about this particular dresser and/or the Denmark Manufacturing Company, I would love to know more.

Time to move the thread into their new home!

Another Addiction?

To quote one of my blogging buddies, “I got thread!” 54 new old spools of thread were delivered into my hot little hands today, bringing my spool count up to 267 including an approximately 80 year old French blue variegated from Cartier Bresson (last pic). Is that too many? Perish the thought! Like vintage fabric and buttons, I love vintage thread. I don’t know if it’s the age or the colors; most likely both. I also adore the old label graphics on wooden spools. They’re a treasure all their own. I’ve read that thread degrades in quality as it ages, but I have never (jinx!) found that to be the case. Probably because it has spent decades in Grandma’s dark, temperature controlled sewing box. I’ll seek a 12 step program is thread starts to take over my life, but it’s going to have to get in line behind fabric and buttons!

A Challenging Quilt Label For A Quilt Challenge

One of my regular customers called and asked me to make a label for a quilt she was entering into an Ugly Fabric Challenge. The only parameters she gave me, besides the message to sew onto the label, was “make it creepy and black, and put a spider on it. I trust you.” As much as I appreciate my customers’ trust, I get very nervous when they say that. Sometimes I get a wild “out there” hair and who knows how something will turn out? Plus, this was for a contest! I can hear it now: “You were going to win until we saw that horrific piece of crap sewn to the back.” Are you sure you don’t want to tell me exactly what you want? After I got through whining about it, I got to work and here is the result. I used the Blackadder font which was really challenging to sew given all the loops and flourishes. The customer was very happy with it, and I hope she wins (the crown covers her last name to protect her privacy – another thing I’m a big spaz about).

My Dork-Out Quilt Is Done!

I finally finished the redwork/feedsack quilt I’ve been geeking on about. Hooray! Except I couldn’t call it My Dork-Out Quilt and expect to sell it. So its professional name is Everything Old Is New Again.

Here’s some history for those who aren’t familiar with redwork or feedsacks. I got the inspiration for this quilt from two of my favorite mediums: redwork and feedsacks. Redwork is a style of embroidery that was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It's called redwork because of the colorfast Turkey red thread that was used at the time. The redwork patterns used are authentic 1890s motifs which I hand embroidered. One of the design themes in turn-of-the-century redwork was nature which is where I took my cue for this quilt. Peaches, strawberries, leaves, roses and cherries fill the 5 embroidered squares.

Feedsacks that formerly held flour, sugar and feed were a popular quilt material during the Depression and World War II. Through the shortages of money during the Depression, and of cloth during the war years, feedsacks filled the needs of thousands of women for fabric to create the things they could not otherwise buy. Recycling at its best! Nine 3” squares of mostly cotton 1930s feedsacks with some viscose and cotton scraps were hand sewn together to form each block. I got these blocks already sewn together at an antiques store and instantly fell in love with them. Each one is still gorgeous and the seams strong even after all these years.

There are red frames around the embroidery, and around the center is a border of black and red paisley print from this century. The border has a double cable quilt stitch, while the smaller 9 patches are quilted with a half moon pattern. The quilt stitches are hidden in the seams around the redwork so as not to distract from the embroidery. The backing fabric is a white on cream tiny floral design. To keep all this red from becoming too overpowering, cadet blue thread was used in the quilting, and blue and cream plaid binding was used to finish off the quilt. Its finished size is 34” x 34”, and is available for sale on the Quilted Lovelies website and the Quilted Lovelies Etsy shop. If you would like to see all the embroidered redwork and 9 patch squares, please see my portfolio on Flickr.

To keep the antique theme going, I just got in a 45 year old Flower Garden quilt to restore. More on that later!

Diva Moments

Inside my businesswoman body beats the heart of an artist. And sometimes that artiste gets pretty darn uppity, wanting nothing more than to cut up whatever I’ve been working on. The kids started calling these episodes Diva Moments, and the name stuck.


Diva Moments occur when a quilt I’m sewing is not meeting expectations. This is a bane to my perfectionist tendencies. Why can’t everything I do be perfect the first time? Instead of realizing I’m not perfect and trying a different approach (perish the thought), my prissy little diva starts ranting.

“This is swill! Why can I not create anything but garbage? I’m going to put this in the fireplace and burn it!” Sometimes, on the way to the fireplace, a reasonable facsimile of sanity returns. Or my husband brings the matches, and I am dismayed that he agrees with me.

Methods of destruction and expletives vary according to how high my frustration level is (much like the ever worsening rings of hell in Dante’s Inferno):

• Small seam ripper: mutter, mumble, big sigh
• Large seam ripper: How hard can it be to sew two pieces of fabric together in a straight line?
• Big honkin’ seam ripper: If this weren’t for a customer, I’d cut it up right now.
• Big sharp scissors: This looks like crap! Prepare to say hello to your new friends in the scrap bag! (see picture)

Other destinations where my projects have ended up are:
• The fireplace after being cut up.
• The dog’s mouth (Merle’s new chew toy).
• The shredder (bad idea – had to buy a new one).

You’d think after the shredder incident, I’d learn to control my little fits of pique, but no. Take this post for instance. It’s almost been to the new shredder three times.

I’m getting a little better as I get older though, and my Diva Moments can’t be heard by the neighbors anymore. I realize I can’t be perfect all the time, and try to be more patient with myself. But I did buy my own personal heavy duty shredder just in case…

Two Dork-Outs In One

I’ve been wanting to make a redwork quilt ever since I restored the 1907 redwork quilt last year (see first post). But I wanted to do it with authentic patterns, so the hunt was on! During my quest, I came across nine patch squares from the thirties at my fave antique store. Shortly thereafter, I located the aforementioned redwork patterns. Two, two, two dork-outs in one! Redwork embroidery and antique fabric!


The nine patch squares were filthy dirty and stapled together (just put a staple through my heart why dontcha), but after I surgically removed the staples, I was able to move on. After a good long soak, most of the grime came off and I could get a good look at what I had. Nine 3” squares of mostly cotton with some viscose were hand sewn together to form each block. All are still gorgeous even after the indignities they’ve suffered.

I thought it would be cool to pair the redwork and nine patches together since there was a lot of red in the 9 patches. Fortunately, the reds complement each other and a new quilt will soon be born.

The hand embroidery took 27 hours to complete, and was a joy to follow patterns over 100 years old. There are 1” frames around the redwork to make all the blocks the same size. Around the center is a 6” border of black and red paisley print. The blues in the squares plus the cream in the redwork balance out all the red fabric. I’m almost done quilting it, and haven’t decided on a binding fabric yet. Maybe a blue and cream print? Any ideas?

Meet The Teacher Night

For maximum embarrassment to your teenager, be sure to try these tips at the next Meet the Teacher or Open House night. They really work!

 

1. Wait patiently for your turn to speak with every teacher.
2. Tell every teacher that your child has “special needs”
3. Speak French to the French teacher (or foreign language of your choice). The worse you speak it, the more embarrassed your teenager becomes. It’s amazing!
4. Give all the teachers permission to hand out extra homework to your middle schooler in order to get her/him “ready for college”.
5. Ask all the members of the opposite sex who say hi to your teenager to fill out a health questionnaire.
6. Make sure the P.E. teacher knows it’s OK to give your child extra laps/pushups every day.

Use these little tidbits, and I guarantee you at least 3 eye rolls and a couple of huge sighs.  Maybe even a "Mother!" or two! ;)

 

"New" Antique Textiles

I went on a bender the other day and bought a ton (OK, a little less) of antique textiles.  It’s a good thing my affinity for old stuff runs in less expensive areas than let’s say furniture or jewelry.  OK, on to the “booty”.

First are 3 linen hankies, which are hand embroidered in the corners and around the edges. The needlework is exquisite, and its perfection is what drew me. Ditto for the 2 hand sewn picot trimmed doilies. They’re cotton, also hand embroidered and 11” x 8”. Both items are in excellent condition for being over 60 years old.


I also found a set of 8 colored damask rose napkins from the 50s. They had never been used or even unfolded. What a shame since they are so gorgeous. When put in the light, the white on white design radiates like sunbeams. After I got the napkins home, I was afraid they would fall apart because they were stiff at the fold lines from disuse. But no worries, after a little soak, they were as good as new. I don’t know what I’m going to do with them yet – I may just put them to their original use as napkins!


The piece de resistance is a twin size quilt top made from 2” feedsack squares from the 30s. Each square is hand sewn, and the points match up perfectly. The seams haven’t come apart anywhere even after all this time. I wonder how long it took to make – probably years. I did my best not to let my spazziness out in public, but it was hard. I think my inner fabric nerd fainted. I’m certainly going to finish quilting and binding it, but whether the quilt goes on the website is another matter. I don’t know if I’ll be able to part with such a labor of love.

Pros & Cons Of Working Alone

I run a one woman shop, so I work by myself during the day. I never get lonely though because I have our Golden Retriever, Merle, to keep me company. I’ve had people ask me if it bothers me to be by myself all day, and after working in the corporate world for over 15 years, I can answer: H E double hockey sticks no! But to be fair, I wrote myself a list of the plusses and minuses of working solo:


1. No more tyrannical, ego-maniacal bosses to put up with.  However, I am now my own tyrannical, ego-maniacal boss.


2. No commute.  However, I'm responsible for all the daily household minutiae because I’m home all day “doing nothing”.


3. Don’t have to listen to co-workers’ drama, but now I have to make up my own gossip.


4. Don’t have to stress over the rumor mill, but one day, I may have tell myself I’m laid off (awkward).


5. Peace and quiet rule!  However, Merle doesn’t like my singing.


6. Don’t have to complete “personal goals” on my section of my performance review. They never liked seeing, “Save my money to open a quilt business.” Or “Retire by 58.”  On the minus side, how the heck do you write a business plan?


7. My artsy-fartsy creative side can finally breathe.  The CYA, watch your back, don’t trust anyone side can retire.


Since the plus list is longer than the minus list, I guess I’m where I’m supposed to be. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to see if I’m achieving my business goals, and complete Merle’s performance review.

I Learned Something New Today

Always make sure your parking brake is off before driving. I had just dropped my daughter off at school and was heading home. A school bus was in front of me. After I passed 25 m.p.h., this horrible screech was heard all around. “That bus needs to get its brakes fixed!” I grumbled. I slowed down because the bus was slowing down to turn. The horrible screech began again. “What is that noise?” I grumbled some more. “And what’s that smell?” Turns out I had been driving with the parking brake on for a good half mile. Here’s another tip (a twofer weekend!): never assume the one making the horrible racket isn’t you.

College Life

Talked to my son yesterday for the first time since he left for college. Classes start today, so I wanted to call and wish him good luck. He said everything I didn’t want to hear, everything that sets my Mama Grizzly Bear /DEFCON alarm off. Fortunately, by sheer force of will, I kept my side of the conversation upbeat, positive and encouraging (at least I hope so). Here’s how portions of our talk went:



Me: How’s the food?
Him: I haven’t tried the dining hall for dinner yet, I’m still eating that pizza Dad and I got Sunday.
Mama Grizzly Bear: Sunday?! Today is Wednesday! Is it still good? There wasn’t that much left over. What’s he eating? Half a slice of moldy unhealthy pizza for dinner? He’s not eating right, he’s going to make himself sick. AND classes haven’t even started yet!
Me: You might want to try out the dining hall at least one meal a day so you can get enough healthy stuff to eat.


Me: You sound tired. Watching too much TV (said jokingly)?
Him: The bed is like a rock and my roommate snores. Plus I think everyone on this floor just came here to party.
MGB: ACK! ACK! Not sleeping AND not eating right! That’s a recipe for disaster right there! And what does he mean by “party”?
Me: I’m so sorry to hear that. Maybe we can bring some more egg crate foam with us in October. Would you like me to mail you a white noise maker to block out your roommate’s snoring? I know it’s hard now, but it will get better. A big change like this takes some getting used to. What do you mean everyone’s there to party?
Him: There’s loud music every night, and this morning, two thirds of the stalls in the bathroom were taken up with guys puking their guts out. I’m looking into switching to an intense study or substance free floor.
MGB: OMG! DEFCON 4! DEFCON 4! What kind of riff-raff is he living with? However, that’s my son making a wise decision. Look at him, all out on his own, and making very mature decisions. He takes after me that way.
Me: That’s an excellent idea. I hope there’s a room available for you.


Me: Have you made any new friends?
Him: No, there’s nothing to do.
Me: I thought there were meet and greet activities this whole week.
Him: Yeah, if you’re rushing a fraternity.
MGB: Stupid fraternities.
Me: You need to check things out a little better – I’m sure there are other non-Greek things to do. Have a good first day of school tomorrow!
MGB: Hey! Remind him to eat better and get more sleep and stay away from the riff-raff and wash his hands and stay away from bad girls and study hard and go to class and... !
Me: Bye-bye!

Man, I gotta figure out a way to quiet that bear down.  She's going to get out and cause trouble again.

Sunbonnet Sue Quilt

This quilt was made by my mom and one of her sisters at least 45 years ago. When asked the exact date, my mom said, “A hundred years ago.” My aunt’s memory was a little better. Her reply was, “After you were born.”


They made a 12 patch Sunbonnet Sue quilt, with each block being 18”. There are 2” sashings between each block, and a 2” gingham border around the Sues for a total size of 62” x 82”. Each Sue is different with a pretty dress and coordinating bonnet. I love all the old fabrics that were used. I remember as a kid wishing I had Barbie clothes that matched that nicely (even then - fabric, fabric, fabric).  Most of the material is from the 40s and 50s, and had been in the scrap bag a good while. All the embroidery was hand sewn, as well as the appliqué, the quilting and the binding. The batting is real cotton and thin, but I don’t know if that was the original design or has become thin from years of love.

Double spaz for me because not only was this an antique quilt, but one I had adored as a child.  I never knew Sue's story until I was asked to restore her.  Some days it's a good thing that only our Golden Retriever, Merle, is around to see me in action (ha).

Poor Sue had around 4’ of binding at the top that had come loose. Additionally, all the quilt stitching at the top had come out. I repaired the binding and the quilting, and gave Sue a nice long soak. She looks as good as new, and is ready for another 45 years of memories.

To see all the Sues up close and personal, please go to my Flickr page.