Yosegi Kakudo (Angles)

How did we manage before microwave ovens? My kids can’t remember a time without one, but I can. I was a teenager when mother and daddy bought one; the first microwave on our block. It was a simple affair. A dial like a kitchen timer turned it on; no buttons for “popcorn” or “defrost.” The first thing we put in it was a cinnamon roll. We weren’t sure how long it would take, but it was reduced to charcoal in no time. Our latest microwave died Monday, as I was trying to steam fresh cauliflower. We’ve had it nearly a decade. That’s pretty good for a microwave, as they last an average of seven years. We bought a replacement Tuesday, but it won’t be installed for a few more days. Meanwhile I’m rethinking how I cook everything from vegetables to the hot water in my cocoa mix. It’s just a good thing I’m so flexible.

Yotsume Guruma (Quadruple Wheel)

May is only half finished, and already it’s beginning to feel like July. When I take my grandson out for a walk, we dart from the shade of one tree to the next.  Even with the air conditioner grinding away, it’s far too warm in my house, especially upstairs. I don’t remember being this uncomfortable in my Yorkshire home. It didn’t have A/C, or even a fan. But it did have thick stone walls, cool marble floors and a very solid tile roof with a generous overhang. For the most part the English summers were chilly and damp. On those odd days that weren't, we just threw open the windows (they didn’t have screens, and we never once missed them) to catch a cross breeze. Today we installed blinds in all our west-facing windows. It probably won’t be enough to make me stop missing England, but I sincerely hope it will help.

Tatemimasu (Three Upright Squares)

Yes, I know there are really four squares on point in this block. But if you look closely, you can see that each square is a series of three concentric squares. I have to assume that’s where the name “Three Upright Squares” came from. I Googled the word Tatemimasu, but instead of this block I came up with dozens of pictures of the form of traditional Japanese embroidery called Sashiko. Sashiko means “little stabs.” It describes a form of embroidery that was originally meant to reinforce clothing where it is expected to wear out, or to disguise repaired clothing that has already worn out. Today sashiko is more decorative than functional. It is usually worked in heavy white cotton thread on deep indigo blue cloth. I’m told that it can either be stitched into the top of the quilt before it has been layered, or afterwards, running through the top, back and batting as additional quilting.

Manji

Last April, while we visited the Port Museum in Dunkirk, we noticed a huge ship’s anchor that bore the symbol of a swastika.  We usually associate that symbol with Nazism, so we were puzzled to learn that the anchor was much too old to have anything to do with the Third Reich. On closer inspection, we noticed a small plaque that explained (in French, of course) that the symbol had once represented security and prosperity. To many Native American tribes, it was a symbol of healing. This quilt block, which is also a form of swastika, is called Card Trick in the Midwest. Susan Briscoe names it Manji, a Buddhist symbol of eternity and universal balance. It’s the simplest block I’ve made so far this year. Instead of wading through the directions, I pulled two triangles from my Marti Michel template set A. The whole block was cut, stitched and pressed in under an hour.   

Tsunagi Masumon (Linked Square)

This year Quilts Etc. in Sandy is offering two blocks in their block-of-the-month class. One is meant to be simple to assemble, and the other is for the more adventurous patchwork piecer. This one wasn’t very difficult, at least not compared with some of the previous months. In Susan Briscoe’s book Japanese Quilt Blocks to Mix and Match, it’s called Linked Square Pattern. But the directions from Quilts Etc. referred to it as Melon Bread. I found the name puzzling, so I did a little research. Melon bread is a popular sweet treat in Japan. Melon isn’t typically an ingredient in the bread. Instead, it is so named because it resembles half a cantaloupe. Melon bread is made by encasing roll dough with a thin layer of cookie dough. When baked, the cookie dough crinkles a little like a cantaloupe rind. Why rename the quilt block after a Japanese sweet? I guess there are some mysteries I’ll never solve.

Gakubuchi (Frame)

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane, Sherlock Holmes confesses, “I am an omnivorous reader with a strangely retentive memory for trifles." I’ve always loved that quote, because I feel it applies to me. I enjoy reading all sorts of things. I wish I could retain the more useful parts of what I’ve read, but more often it’s the odd bits of useless trivia that become stuck in my head and won’t get unstuck. Did you know that women generally a have a higher body temperature than men do? It’s one of the reasons that women tend to make better nurses. Have you ever had someone with ice-cold hands check your blood pressure? It’s also why men often make better sushi chefs. It seems that cold hands are more suited to handling fresh fish. See what I mean? It does me no good to know something like this. All it can do is make me hungry for a tuna roll and pickled ginger.

Winding Ways

Every summer for the past six years I’ve submitted a quilt in the Utah State Fair Quilt Challenge. The challenge is to create a wall hanging using a specific fat quarter (18”x22”) of fabric. Each quilt must be the work of one person, from the original design right down to the binding. Working on my entries for the quilt challenge has pushed me to improve my skills. I love to do the patchwork piecing, but I’m usually happy to let an expert stitch the “sandwich” of top, batting and back together. I’m seldom pleased with my own attempts at binding quilts, especially when it comes to corners. This Winding Ways top was a practice quilt to help me get ready for last year’s competition. Sadly, my entry last year only earned me a white ribbon for third place. I have every hope that this year’s quilt will do much better.