Redesigning Mill Works

Of the thirteen quilt tops I’ve made for the hospital quilters, eight have been samplers. When I make a sampler quilt, I usually begin with kits designed to make a dozen different 12” blocks. If I'm very frugal when I cut the fabric from those kits, and I can usually turn twelve kits into at least eighteen blocks. Add a few fat quarters to the mix and they become thirty. With sashing, corner stones and a couple of borders, I’ve got a big enough quilt top to fit a double or queen-sized bed. This top (I expect it will eventually become number fourteen) is a little different. The original design by Nancy Rink calls for twenty-five blocks on point. But the finished quilt would have been 92” square; too short and wide for my needs. So I'll omit a few blocks, increase the width of the sashing and add an extra inner border. Now the question is: What shall I do with my leftover blocks?

Spinning Star

I’ve seen copycats, but this recipe is the hands-down winner. I’ve made it at sea level and a mile high; it’s practically fool proof. I almost always have the ingredients on hand. (In England, where buttermilk and shortening are unheard of, I’ve substituted drinking yoghurt and lard.) It makes a big batch, but there are never leftovers.

Texas Sheet Cake Brownies

Combine 2 cups flour with 2 cups sugar; set aside. In a saucepan, mix 1 cup water, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup shortening and 3 tablespoons cocoa. Bring to a boil and pour into sugar/flour mixture. Mix well. Stir in 2 eggs, a teaspoon cinnamon, a teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 cup buttermilk. Pour into a greased 12.5x17.5” jelly roll pan. Bake at 400F 20 minutes. Bring 1/2 cup butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa and 5 tablespoons milk to a boil. Remove from heat, beat in a pound of powdered sugar, and pour over brownies while they’re still warm. 

Fox and Geese

In 1989 two movies showed police detectives battling crime with difficult dogs: K9 and Turner and Hooch. In 1995 we were treated to Babe and Gordy, featuring cute talking piglets who try to save their bacon. Two years later everyone ignored volcanologists' warnings in Dante’s Peak and Volcano. All life on Earth was threatened by huge asteroids in Armageddon and Deep Impact in 1998. That same year misfit ants tried to win the affection of their princesses in Antz and A Bug’s Life. Red Planet and Mission to Mars showed manned Mars landings going horribly wrong in 2000. In 2005 we saw animated zoo animals breaking free in Madagascar and The Wild. 2006, with Happy Feet and Surf’s Up, was clearly the year of the penguin. 2012 gave us two versions of the same fairy tale: Mirror, Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman. It seems to me that Hollywood works harder at imitation than innovation.

Four Double X Blocks

“Everyone can have a prayer in his or her heart while walking the dog, driving to work, waiting in a doctor’s office, standing in line at the theatre, or lying in bed trying to fall asleep. One of the best ways for a person’s heart to be drawn to God continually is to spend time identifying those things for which one is grateful. While walking the dog, one is grateful for the ability to walk or the beauty of local surroundings. While driving to work, one is thankful for the physical ability to judge distances. In the doctor’s office, one can express gratitude for the progress of medical science. In line at the theatre one can appreciate his or her uniqueness as a child of God among the billions of His children. While struggling to fall asleep, one can be grateful that the mattress is soft and that there is safety and security inside a warm house.” – Jeffrey R. Young

Cut the Corners

Maybe you’ve never heard the term before, but I guarantee you’ve seen it. You may have even done it yourself. Manspreading is a new word, having been added to the Oxford Dictionary only last week. It’s what happens when a guy sits with splayed legs or stretched arms (occasionally all four limbs are involved) in a crowded area like an airport terminal or a passenger train, effectively hogging space that could accommodate three or four people. It’s a sort of passive-resistant misogyny, whether deliberate or unconscious. It’s the first word that came to mind when I read about the 17-year-old transgender student in Missouri who has “identified as a female” since age 13. The school tried to accommodate his needs with a gender-neutral restroom, but he insists on using the girls’ bathrooms and dressing rooms. It seems to me that he could have found no more effective way of proving to the world just how male he really is. 

Sage Bud

Today’s block is a classic from the 1870's. I stumble across the design all the time in quilt shops and antique stores, and in books about quilts or quilters. It comes in a pieced version with straight lines (like the one pictured here) and in an appliqued version with curved lines (I actually tried to make one once with horrifying results). Like most traditional blocks, it has many names: Turkey Tracks, Turkey Foot, Wandering Foot, Bird of Paradise, Rosebud and Bible Tulip are just a few. I’m usually quite fond of old-fashioned blocks, but this one isn’t my favorite. Something about it seems somehow awkward and inelegant. I’ve made this block several times with different colors and values, but I’m never quite satisfied. I’m beginning to think it’s just a matter of proportion. If the center square was smaller than it is, and the four “feet” in the corners were larger, I think I’d like it better. Back to the drawing board!

Everybody Wants to Be a Cat

This is the ninth year I’ve participated in the Utah State Fair Quilt Challenge. The rules are simple: Use at least half of the fat quarter provided (18x22”) in the front of a 24x36” (or smaller) wall hanging. Provide a hanging sleeve and dowel, and a label with my name, the quilt’s name and year. Every bit of the quilt – from the original design to the final stitch in the binding – must be my own work. This last little detail makes the challenge both difficult and rewarding. Ten years ago I’d never designed, quilted, bound or labeled a single quilt. I smile when I look back on my first few entries and think how far I’ve come. Perhaps the most difficult part of the challenge is that the quilt must be turned in ON TIME. I’ll probably be riding Trax to the fairgrounds today, so I can add the last few stitches in transit.