Half Snowball Blocks

Snowball is one of the simplest blocks I've ever made; with a triangle in each corner. This block is simpler still, with only two triangles. It may not look like much right now, but just wait until I get 168 of these babies together!

Magic Valentine’s Pudding

4 cups frozen cherries, thawed
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup self-rising flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 cup milk

Stir cherries and 1 cup of the sugar together in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Use microwave to melt butter in 2-quart glass baking dish. Combine remaining ingredients and stir into melted butter. Spoon cherries on top of batter and bake at 350 F for 35 minutes. The cherries will sink as they bake, just like magic. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.
I made Swedish meatballs for Sunday supper. In my own kitchen this is a simple meal to prepare. But without a cookie sheet for the meatballs, a stockpot for the noodles, or a wire whisk for the cream sauce, it was unbelievably complicated. I would have liked to make a nice sausage lasagna or double chocolate brownies for Valentine’s Day, but dishes like that will have to wait a few weeks. The suite we’re renting while we wait for our furniture to arrive has an oven but no baking dishes. When we stayed in Florida last December our suite had plenty of baking dishes but no oven. Six weeks ago today the movers packed my whole kitchen except for the kettle, two mugs and a teaspoon. These they left for the very last because they needed them to make tea. It didn’t take much to keep those sturdy Yorkshire lads happy. They had their cuppa; what more did they need?

Chigai Igeta (Staggered Grid)

I don’t think I’m an irresponsible computer owner. After a good deal of research I chose the most reliable model I could afford. Except for the odd accident (usually involving chocolate), I keep it scrupulously clean. I never allow it to get too hot, because heat can do damage. I periodically allow my laptop battery to run completely down instead of keeping it continually plugged in. I use a replaceable external mouse rather than the trackpad. I’m careful about which websites I visit and what content I download. Still I’ve never owned a fully functional model for more than two years. Inevitably it comes down with a virus. I treat it with antiviral software: a cure worse than the disease. It ends up so crippled that I eventually give up and buy a new model. The second Monday of February is Clean Out Your Computer Day. I think I’ll celebrate by doing just that; one way or the other.

Yottsu Masu (Four Square Measures)

Heather and I spent yesterday afternoon at the cinema with our 3D glasses on, watching Beauty and the Beast. When this film was released in 1991, my kids were 5, 7, 9 and 12. It was hard to take the whole family to the movies, but this one was worth it. The following year it was released in VHS, and we were the first family on our block to own it. Heather watched it so many times that it wore out and had to be replaced. Now we own a DVD copy, and Heather also watches it on her iPod. She has every line of dialogue and lyrics to every song completely memorized. We certainly didn’t need to see it again, but I’m glad we did; not just because we got to see Rapunzel's wedding before the feature film began. I don’t think we’ll ever tire of the “tale as old as time.”

Kakuyose (Parquetry Angles)

The Boy Scouts of America was founded on this day in 1910, a decade after the Boy Scouts of Britain. There are over four and a half million young men involved in scouting in the US today, from 7 to 21 years of age. These young men aspire to obey the Scout Law: to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Their motto is “Be Prepared,” and their slogan is “Do a good turn daily.” Ask any scout and he should be able to rattle off the Scout Oath: “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country; to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.” Making this block required a little more mental wakefulness than I could muster. But if you squint a bit it doesn’t look too bad. It’s a shame there isn’t a merit badge for quilting.
The Boy Scouts of America was founded on this day in 1910, a decade after the Boy Scouts of Britain. There are over four and a half million young men involved in scouting in the US today, from 7 to 21 years of age. These young men aspire to obey the Scout Law: to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Their motto is “Be Prepared,” and their slogan is “Do a good turn daily.” Ask any scout and he should be able to rattle off the Scout Oath: “On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country; to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.” Making this block required a little more mental wakefulness than I could muster. But if you squint a bit it doesn’t look too bad. It’s a shame there isn’t a merit badge for quilting.

Good Fortune

Susan Briscoe calls this block Kurume Kasuri Haba Ni Masumon, but I like Good Fortune better. While we lived in the UK I tried to follow Utah news online. At times it made me homesick, but I wanted to stay connected. Two years and two months ago I began reading about the disappearance of a young West Valley City mother. For a long time I wondered if she would ever be found. I wondered if her small sons would ever have a chance to live normal lives. I read about her husband’s erratic behavior and I wondered what he would do next. Sunday as our family snacked, chatted and watched the big game, we received word that this man had ended his life and the lives of his young sons. Perhaps now those boys are with their mother again. Perhaps their father is finally learning you can choose your actions but not their consequences.

Karame Inazuma (Lightning Spiral)

Tomorrow will be the first time in three years that we’ll be able to attend my mother’s annual Super Bowl Party. I’m really looking forward to it, though I confess it’s more for the food, the company and the commercials than for the game. I’m bringing a big pot of chili; made from a recipe given to me by another quilter:

Wendy’s Chili

1 pound ground beef chuck
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 15 oz. cans kidney beans, drained
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 diced onion
4 oz. can diced chilies
1 celery rib, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon coarsely fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed fresh garlic
1 cup water

Brown beef in Dutch oven, drain. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer one hour, stirring occasionally.

Sankaku Ichimatsu (Triangle Check)

Yesterday was Groundhog Day, and the news from our furry February friend is that there will indeed be six more weeks of winter. I’m not too concerned about this; at least not as concerned as I would have been a day or two ago. Our air shipment has finally arrived! We now have sweatshirts, socks, pajamas, slippers, boots and coats enough to last us until spring comes. We even have robes and sandals to wear on the long, chilly walk to the indoor pool and back. Best of all, I have enough fabric to keep me occupied until the daffodils and tulips are blooming again. Like Treasure Island’s Jim Hawkins eating apples to make a long ocean voyage seem shorter, I can shorten the tedious end of winter by stitching these four quilt tops together. By the time I’m done, I’ll be back with my own furniture in my own house, watching the grass grow greener every day!

Kasuri Check Revisited

I thought this block would be easier the second time around. I was wrong. I made exactly the same mistakes with this one that I made with the block I posted Saturday. What should be scant 1/4" seams are actually ample 1/4" seams. It’s a difference of a hair’s breadth, but when you multiply that shortage by all the seams in a block the result can be devastating. I’d gotten pretty good at judging proper seam allowances with my British sewing machine. I guess it will take a few practice blocks with this machine before I can trust my eyes again. The biggest reason I used the seam ripper on this block was I was interrupted several times while making it. Maybe when we’ve moved into our house there will be time to make a quilt block from start to finish. I doubt it will happen while I’m living in a hotel.