Farmhouse Stars

“I had a substitute teacher in the second grade that told my class when she wants something, anything at all, she prays for it, and promises something in return and she always gets it. I’m sitting at the back of the classroom, thinking my family can’t afford a bike. So I went home and I prayed for one, and promised I would recite the rosary every night in exchange. Two weeks later, I got home from school to find a brand new mustang bike with a banana seat and easy rider handlebars! My family informed me I’d won the bike in a raffle that a friend of mine had entered my name in. That type of thing has been happening ever since, and as far as I can tell, it’s just about letting the universe know what you want and working toward it while letting go of how it might come to pass.” – Jim Carrey

Sunflower

If you use sunscreen - and you should - chances are you’re doing it wrong. First, your sunscreen has probably expired. If it’s been in the medicine cabinet eighteen months, it may still be good. If it’s more than two years old, or if it’s been in the garage or the glove compartment, toss it. Second, you’re probably not wearing it regularly. If you think sunscreen is just for the beach, think again. Third, you’re not using it liberally enough, and not applying it often enough. Even if you trowel it on, when you’re swimming or sweating, you need to reapply frequently. Are you using a chemical or a physical sun block? It makes a difference. The physical kinds give immediate protection, but chemical sunscreens should be applied thirty minutes BEFORE going out. Think your clothes will protect you? Nope. Your favorite white T-shirt is probably an SPF 7. So what do I recommend? No idea. Personally, I plan to hide indoors or under a big floppy hat until at least September.

Nine Chained Stars

Josette Duran was surprised when her son started asking for an extra lunch every day. He said, “Mom, it’s for this boy at school. He sits by himself and all he eats is a fruit cup.” So the New Mexico mom packed two lunches every day. When the other boy’s mom found out, she tried to pay it back, saying, “I know it isn’t much, but I just got a job.” Josette wouldn’t accept a cent. “Just a few years ago,” she says, “We were homeless, living in my car. We were washing in public bathrooms and we didn’t have food.” Josette didn't stop there. She and the volleyball team she coaches raised more than $400, and the check went straight to the cafeteria. “We paid up all the past due accounts for all the kids that need lunch. Now no one in that school owes any lunch money to anybody, and everybody can eat,” she said.

Four X

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

Four Chained Stars

“We sometimes overly associate the power of the priesthood with men in the Church. The priesthood is the power and authority of God given for the salvation and blessing of all—men, women, and children. A man may open the drapes so the warm sunlight comes into the room, but the man does not own the sun or the light or the warmth it brings. The blessings of the priesthood are infinitely greater than the one who is asked to administer the gift. To receive the blessings, power, and promises of the priesthood in this life and the next is one of the great opportunities and responsibilities of mortality. As we are worthy, the ordinances of the priesthood enrich our lives on earth and prepare us for the magnificent promises of the world ahead. The Lord said, ‘In the ordinances the power of godliness is manifest.’” – Elder Neil L. Andersen

Which Came First?

I don’t often choose novelty fabrics as they tend not to lend themselves well to the kind of piecing I prefer. The novelty prints in my stash are usually there because I bought them for a friend’s baby quilt, because they coordinate with the state fair challenge quilt fabric, or because I won them in a drawing. Most of the prints in this quilt – sunflowers, eggs, roosters, hens, baby chicks and chicken wire – fall into that last category.  I supplemented them with a few near-solids and gingham checks in agreeable colors, and followed the simple directions for a Yellow Brick Road quilt by Atkinson Designs. It saw more use when there was a full size bed in our house. These days it serves as a backdrop for backyard picnic lunches or for glorious afternoon naps under the walnut tree.

Scrappy Chained Star

Julius Hadley has lived in Texas for ninety-five years. He knows how hot it can get there. He knows that the heat can kill, and it’s especially likely to kill the elderly. So in early June, when his central air and his window AC both went out, Julius did what anyone in a life-threatening situation might do. He called 911. Officers Margolis and Weir paid Julius a visit. “It was 8:30 a.m. and his house was already 90 degrees inside,” said Officer Margolis. The two policemen made a pit stop at Home Depot to buy Julius a new window unit. The Home Depot employees kicked in $150 of their own money. Weir, Margolis, and their coworker Officer Rebrovich installed the unit that afternoon. When Julius’ story got out, a local AC company offered to replace his central air as well. “He’s a World War II veteran,” Margolis said. “In our eyes Julius is a hero.”

Whirligig

“Do all the other things, the ambitious things — travel, get rich, get famous, innovate, lead, fall in love, make and lose fortunes, swim naked in wild jungle rivers (after first having the water tested for monkey poop) – but as you do, to the extent that you can, err in the direction of kindness. Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial. That luminous part of you that exists beyond personality — your soul, if you will — is as bright and shining as any that has ever been. Bright as Shakespeare’s, bright as Gandhi’s, bright as Mother Teresa’s. Clear away everything that keeps you separate from this secret luminous place. Believe it exists, come to know it better, nurture it, share its fruits tirelessly.” – George Saunders

Thirty-six Patience Blocks

It’s taken me the better part of a month to piece all these simple, tiny blocks. All the while I’ve wondered about their name. Individually, they’re not taxing in any way. I think I could make the little two-patch blocks that are their root in my sleep (and I probably have). After that, you add a cream-colored rectangle to one side and another rectangle and a black square to the other, press and it’s done. Maybe where patience is required is in the fact that you can’t really do much with two or three of these blocks. You need a few dozen at least before they start forming neat little furrows (as above), concentric diamonds (below), or other interesting patterns. It does take a measure of focus and endurance to keep plugging away when the task becomes routine. It reminds me of Alma 37:6: “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”

Providence Star

“In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshiping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. The compelling reason for choosing God is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money you will never have enough, never feel you have enough. It’s the truth. Worship beauty and you will always feel ugly. And when time and age start showing, you’ll die a million deaths before they finally grieve you. Worship power you will end up feeling weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to numb you to your own fear. Worship your intellect, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. But the insidious thing about these forms of worship is that they’re unconscious. They’re default settings.” – David Foster Wallace

Twenty-five Patience Blocks

“Young adult sisters and young mothers sometimes question their self-worth and ability to contribute. But when their thoughts and prayers turn toward heaven, they will be blessed by a strength and conviction that the Father and the Son understand their feelings. Women come to earth with unique spiritual gifts and propensities. This is particularly true when it comes to children and families and the well-being and nurturing of others. Men and women have different gifts, strengths, and points of view. That is one of the fundamental reasons we need each other. It takes a man and a woman to create a family, and it takes men and women to carry out the work of the Lord. A husband and wife righteously working together complete each other. Let us be careful that we do not attempt to tamper with our Heavenly Father’s plan and purposes in our lives.” – Elder M. Russell Ballard

Father's Day Rail Fence

I never made a quilt from the Out of Your Box BOM class in 2005-2006. I finished all the mismatched blocks but lacked the skills to assemble them into a single quilt. Some became parts of other projects; others were sad orphans. I was left with lots of long skinny leftover scraps in “manly” colors. I’d also won a bundle of fat eights at the Quilt Shop Hop that year – woodland prints, canoes, and rainbow trout. When John isn’t at work or out fishing, he’s in his recliner in front of the TV, complaining about how chilly it is. So I turned the scraps and fishy prints into this lap quilt for him. Tomorrow is National Go Fishing Day, and it’s also Father’s Day. The family will be over for dinner. I’d serve trout, but many of them (including John) would raise strong objections. Maybe we should have Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food for dessert instead.

Sixteen Patience Blocks

When George Mwinnyaa was five his father passed away, leaving seven widows to support themselves and their children. George’s mother struggled to feed him and his six siblings, but she made sure they always attended school. “My mom knew,” he says, “Education is more important than food.” George’s school in Ghana had no library, gymnasium, cafeteria, or even electricity. At the end of his senior year his test scores were not high enough for admission to Ghana’s public universities. Instead, he earned a community health worker certificate. George later met and married a Peace Corp volunteer, and they moved to Nevada. He worked as an elementary school janitor while he attended a community college. In 2015 Johns Hopkins offered him a full scholarship. This spring he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in public health studies. “In America,” George says, “I have learned dreams can turn into an unexpected reality.”

Tic Tac Toe

Quilts Etc. chose today’s block to honor Danica Sue Patrick, professional stock car racing driver, model, and advertising spokeswoman. Here are few short quotes from 5’2”, 100 pound Danica: “No one wants to hear my perspective on politics, but I think honestly as you get older, you get more interested in it.” “Take those chances and you can achieve greatness, whereas if  you go conservative, you’ll never know. I truly believe what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Even if you fail, learning and moving on is sometimes the best thing.” “Girls need to know two things: that they can be WHAT they want, and they can be WHO they want. I was raised to be the fastest driver, not the fastest girl.”

Nine Patience Blocks

On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution which stated: “Resolved, that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” Until this time, the flag had thirteen red and white horizontal stripes, but in the northwest corner was what we call the Union Jack. It’s probably just a weird coincidence, but June 14 is also the anniversary of California's Bear Flag Revolt. On this day in 1846, thirty-four settlers arrested the Mexican general in Sonoma, and declared their new “Bear Flag Republic” an independent nation. A flag emblazoned with a star (a nod to the lone star flag of Texas) above a grizzly bear was raised as a symbol of their independence from Mexico. When California became a state in 1850, it kept the bear and star.

Swing in the Center

I had several wonderful teachers, but some left more of an impression than others. Much of what I know about rehearsing and performing as an accompanist I learned while working with my high school choir teacher, Mr. Jones. He’s also the reason I know how to lead an orchestra from the piano, but that’s a story for another day. During my senior year, I regularly went with him to all the area elementary schools to lay the seeds of future high school choirs. He was disappointed that I didn’t yet have a driver’s license. He thought I’d make a great race car driver. I was so tiny, he said, they could build a small roll cage for me making a lighter, more powerful car. I had him explain what a roll cage was, and immediately lost all interest in racing. Mr. Jones was ahead of his time. The very year I graduated, Shirley Muldowney (at 100 pounds) won the National Hot Rod Association championship. 

Four Patience Blocks

“My husband and I were invited to a gathering of many experienced Church leaders. A new presiding officer had recently been called, and at the end of the meeting a difficult and contentious question was asked. His response was something like this: ‘Brother, I don’t know the answer, but I’ll tell you what I do know. I know God is our Eternal Father. I know Jesus is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I know Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. I know the Book of Mormon is true and contains the fullness of the gospel. I know we have a living prophet today who speaks for the Lord. I don’t know the answer to your question, but these things I know. The rest I take on faith. I try to live this simple statement of faith I learned from Marjorie Hinckley: first I obey, then I understand.’” – Linda K. Burton

Ohio Star Surrounded

Benjamin Franklin became interested in electricity in the mid-1740's, when very little was known about the topic. He spent the better part of a decade conducting various electrical experiments. He coined a number of electrical terms we use today, including battery, conductor and electrician. Franklin is also credited with the invention of the lightning rod, which is used to protect buildings and ships from lightning strikes. As the story goes, on the tenth of June 1752, Benjamin Franklin and his son William flew a kite from a spire atop Christ Church in Philadelphia during a thunderstorm. The kite was not struck by visible lightning, but a charge was collected in a Leyden jar (essentially a very early form of capacitor), enabling Franklin to demonstrate that lightning was electrical. 

Three Inch Patience Block

In 1890 one of the first hydroelectric generators was built at the mouth of Ogden canyon. A development like that will inevitably lead to others. It wasn’t long before there was a hotel here, trolley service from the valley below, a grand ballroom, and a swimming pool fed by hot mineral springs. In the 60’s there was an eighteen-lane bowling alley. Today the hotel, the ballroom, the pool and the bowling alley are gone. In their place is Rainbow Gardens which houses My Heritage Fabrics, Ballroom Boutique (Utah’s largest gift shop), Planet Rainbow (where you can buy a singing bowl or have a psychic reading), and The Greenery Restaurant. If you go, I recommend the Crab Louie or the Benedict Arnold, but not the Chicken Penne Pesto. I also recommend grabbing half a dozen Mormon Muffins for the road.

Kim's Doll Quilt

This quilt design came attached to the Village Squares quilt pattern – a way to use all the tiny bits of leftover fabric. It’s meant to be 7x9” finished, too small even for a Barbie doll bed. Heather was interested in Barbies for about six months altogether; long enough for me to buy her two Disney-themed dolls, Pocahontas and Esmeralda. At the time they were the only two dolls I could find who didn’t dress like streetwalkers. They even had a house: a two-story, four room plywood affair with carpet, wallpaper and plenty of furniture. I played with it more than Heather ever did. Today our dolls are much more substantial, but still Disney-themed: Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. I doubled the size of this quilt for them, in case they ever get bored with the one they’re currently using. 

Bradford's Corner

If you missed National Rocky Road Day on June second, don’t despair. You can always catch up today: National Chocolate Ice Cream Day. No one’s going to quibble if you toss in some almonds, marshmallows and chocolate chips.

Decadent Chocolate Ice Cream

1 1/3 cups milk

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

1 vanilla bean

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Combine milk and cream in large saucepan over medium low heat. Split vanilla bean and toss in. Simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and discard bean. Put sugar, eggs, yolk and cocoa in mixing bowl. Beat until thick. With mixer on low, blend in 1 cup of warm milk/cream mixture. Stir chopped chocolate into saucepan, then add mixing bowl contents to saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it resembles chocolate pudding. Cool completely before processing in ice cream freezer. 

Village Square Quilt

In our little studio we teach violin, viola, cello and piano; much from the Suzuki method. Typically, the bulk of our students are somewhere in book one. “Long, Long Ago” is in book one for each of these instruments, so it’s a rare day that I don’t hear this melody played at least once. A while back the question of who’d written it came up, and I admitted I didn’t know. The Suzuki books only cite T. H. Bayly. So I looked him up. Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797-1839) was born in Bath. He was for a short time a popular poet, composer and playwright, but “Long, Long Ago” is probably the only thing he wrote that you’ve ever heard. The most interesting tidbit I dug up was this: a century after Bayly’s death, Glenn Miller turned his sentimental tune into “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree.” How did I hear this song daily for decades and not notice that?

Double Dash

“Recently, Wendy and I were in a meeting where the organist was poised and ready to play the opening hymn. His eyes were on the music, and his fingers were on the keys. He began pressing the keys, but there was no sound. I whispered to Wendy, ‘He has no power.’ I reasoned that something had stopped the flow of electrical power to that organ. Well, brethren, in like manner, I fear that there are too many men who have been given the authority of the priesthood but who lack priesthood power because the flow of power has been blocked by sins such as laziness, dishonesty, pride, immorality, or preoccupation with things of the world. If we will humbly present ourselves before the Lord and ask Him to teach us, He will show us how to increase our access to His power.” - President Russell M. Nelson

Four Village Squares

It’s counterintuitive, but many things are healthier and taste better (and some even last longer) if you allow them to spoil in specific ways. I’m thinking of things like sauerkraut, cheese, pickles, yogurt, green olives, buttermilk, and sourdough. In the warmest part of my kitchen there’s a ceramic bowl of Lactobacillus Sanfranciscensis (San Francisco sourdough starter) happily bubbling away. I feed it about a half cup of flour and a quarter cup of water daily, and once a week I use it to make:

Sourdough Pancakes

1 cup sourdough starter

1 egg

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and blend well. Lightly grease large pan and bring to medium-high heat. Pour in about 1/4 cup of batter. When the whole surface is bubbly and edges are slightly dry, flip the pancake. As soon as pancake is set, remove from heat and serve. Repeat with remaining batter.

Rolling Rockets

Marty O’Connor spent the morning of August 12, 2012 playing golf. Then he caught a matinee Angels game before hanging out with friends in Newport Beach. That’s when he fell down a flight of stairs and suffered a C3/C4 compression fracture that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. “After I got hurt,” Marty said, “I kind of thought everything was lost. I didn’t really have a future.” But he worked out at rehab centers, and began to use a wheelchair. In 2015 he enrolled at Chapman University to pursue an MBA. His mother Judy, a retired elementary school teacher, attended all his classes with him as his official note-taker. Two weeks ago, at Marty’s graduation ceremony, his mom was surprised with an honorary degree. “She’s been instrumental these past two years,” Marty said. “There’s no way I could have achieved this success without her.” 

Village Square Block

Nineteen-year-old Joey Prusak was working the till at a Dairy Queen near Minneapolis in 2013 when he noticed a blind customer drop a $20 bill. “The lady behind him saw it and picked it up really quick,” Joey reports. He asked the woman to return the money, but she refused, saying it was hers. Joey told the woman, “Ma'am, you can either return the twenty or you can leave, because I’m not going to serve someone as disrespectful as you.” After she left, Joey took twenty dollars from his own wallet and gave it to the blind man. “I was just doing what I thought was right. I did it without even really thinking about it.” Another customer was so impressed, she shared the story on the DQ website. After that Joey, an amateur racer, started getting lots of attention; including an offer to attend the Daytona 500 as Kevin Harvick’s guest.