Third Discussion of The Persian Pickle Club

Mother's Dream Quilt Block

It's time now to discuss the ending of the book! 

At the end of The Persian Pickle Club, Rita sends a "Friendship Forever" quilt to Queenie and the club.  What is Rita trying to tell the club?

Rita includes a card that says, "If you wonder who's responsible, I did it."  Who really did do it?  Does it matter?

Was this a satisfying ending to you?  If so, why?  If not, why not . . . and how would you change it?

There are no right or wrong answers.  We'd love to hear your ideas and thoughts!    

Reminders - If you receive my blog posts via email, you will need to click through to my blog to be able to see comments and to respond yourself.

When you comment, you will need to select a profile in order for your comment to show up.  This is to block annoying spammers.  It takes only a few moments to create a Google or some other account.  If you are a follower of my blog, sign in first and then you should be able to comment. 

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/second-discussion-of-persian-pickle-club.html

Second Discussion of The Persian Pickle Club

Country Farm Quilt Block

This is our second opportunity to discuss The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas - the first book selection of the Quilters' Book Club.
   
What did you think of the book?  Were you engaged immediately or did it take you a while to get into the book?  How did you feel while reading it - amused, sad, disturbed, confused, bored?   

If you could ask Sandra Dallas a question, what would you ask?  Have you read other books by her?        
 
There are no right or wrong answers.  We come from many different locations and are of different generations - so I'm expecting some differences of opinion!  It wouldn't be much of a discussion if we all feel exactly the same way.  One reason for being in a book club is to hear ideas other than your own and stretch your mind a bit.  Having said this, it is also important to be respectful of each other's opinions.    

I would urge you not to be a lurker.  Enter into the discussion.  We'd love to hear your ideas and thoughts on the book.

A reminder - If you receive my blog posts via email, you will need to click through to my blog to be able to see comments and to respond yourself.

Another reminder - When you comment, you will need to select a profile in order for your comment to show up.  This is to block spammers from taking over.  I originally set it up so that you could comment as "Anonymous," but I ended up with so many spam comments that I couldn't stand it.  You may have seen some very strange comments until I was able to delete them!  They were coming every two minutes one morning.  It takes only a few moments to create a Google or some other account.  

Two more questions tomorrow! 

You might also enjoy my previous blog post:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/first-discussion-of-persian-pickle-club.html

First Discussion of The Persian Pickle Club

State Fair Sunflower Quilt Block

This is our chance to discuss The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas - the very first book selection of the Quilters' Book Club.  These questions are from the author's website:

The Denver Post called this "A book about how times can never be so hard that they can't be eased when people come together."  How do the gatherings of the Persian Pickle Club ease its members' troubles?

In The Persian Pickle Club, Queenie says, “It was marrying that made women appreciate other women.” Grover is a nice man who listens to Queenie’s fears and shares his own. What do the women characters provide each other?

There are no right or wrong answers.  We come from many different locations and are of different generations - so I'm expecting some differences of opinion!  It wouldn't be much of a discussion if we all feel exactly the same way.  One reason for being in a book club is to hear ideas other than your own and stretch your mind a bit.  Having said this, it is also important to be respectful of each other's opinions.    

I would urge you not to be a lurker.  Enter into the discussion.  We'd love to hear your ideas and thoughts on the book.

A reminder - If you receive my blog posts via email, you will need to click through to my blog to be able to see comments and to respond yourself.

Another reminder - When you comment, you will need to select a profile in order for your comment to show up.  This is to block spammers from taking over.  I originally set it up so that you could comment as "Anonymous," but I ended up with so many spam comments that I couldn't stand it.  You may have seen some very strange comments until I was able to delete them!  They were coming every two minutes one morning.  It takes only a few moments to create a Google or some other account.   

Two more questions tomorrow!

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/quilt-blocks-for-persian-pickle-club.html    

Quilt Blocks for The Persian Pickle Club

Mystery Quilt Block

Decisions!  Decisions!  It's the last week in February, so it's time to talk quilt blocks.  To sum up, here are the potential blocks to go with The Persian Pickle Club: 

Theme of Friendship:
Friendly Hand

Friendship

Friendship Name Chain

Friendship Scrap

Friendship Star

Friendship Star Variation

Friend's Star

Right Hand of Friendship

 

Setting of Rural Kansas during the Depression of the 1930's:

1930's Square

Country Farm

Depression
Farmer's Fields

Kansas Dust Storm

Kansas Trouble

Kansas Troubles Variation

State Fair Variation (Sunflower)

That Thirties Thing

 

Main Character Queenie Bean:

Mother's Dream

Prairie Queen

The Queen's X

Events:

Weekly Persian Pickle Club meetings:

Calico Spool
Miniature Spools
Spool
Making the Celebrity Quilt:
Autograph Star

Siggy Stardust
Signature

Signature Chain

Signature Cross

Signature Star

Zepha giving Queenie her best quilt:
Road to California

Keeping secrets:
Axe and Churn

Double Axe Head or Friendship Forever

Mystery

Reminder: Our March book selection is A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick. It is the first book in her Cobbled Court Series.

Tomorrow, we'll begin our discussion of The Persian Pickle Club!

Please comment and let Quilters' Book Club members know which block/blocks you've decided to make to go with our February book, The Persian Pickle Club. Also, let us know what project you're planning to do. Are you going to make a sampler quilt with one block to go with each book, or do you have a different project in mind?

Eating Opalina's Scones with the Persian Pickles

I think the Pickles would love this apron with the cheerful polka dots and the seed packet fabric - including the Kansas sunflowers seed packet!

1930's Timeline

1930 - More than 1,300 American banks fail, unemployment exceeds 4 million as Depression sinks

1931 - The Star Spangled Banner becomes the national anthem

1935 - Benny Goodman and band usher in the Swing Era

1937 - First Social Security checks distributed

1938 - Congress established a minimum wage - 25 cents an hour

While you're reading The Persian Pickle Club, you might enjoy some of Opalina's Scones like she served to the Pickles.  (Hopefully, your scones will not be as dry as Opalina's were!)

"We had barely finished talking about the Celebrity Quilt when Opalina said it was time for refreshments.  'I'll put the kettle on.  I'm serving scones,' she announced, as if it was a surprise. 

"'I'd hoped you would, Opalina,' Mrs. Ritter said.

"I had hoped she would not, but fat chance.  Opalina always served scones, just like Nettie always served fruitcake.  The scones weren't as old as the fruitcake, but they were just as dry, with none of Tyrone's bootleg to help them go down."

                                                         from The Persian Pickle Club, page 71

Opalina's Scones

4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoonful salt

3/4 cup butter

1 cup raisins

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 tablespoonful vanilla

1 tablespoonful grated lemon peel

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  In large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut butter in with pastry blender.  Add raisins.

3.  In another bowl, whisk milk, eggs, vanilla, and fresh lemon peel together.  Pour into flour.  Combine with fork.

4.  Divide in three pieces.  Pat each piece into a circle on a floured board.  Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

5.  Cut in eight pieces.  Put pieces on well-greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

I found the recipe and 1930's timeline in Egg Money Quilts by Eleanor Burns.

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/dresden-plate-quilt-block-quilting-with.html 

Dresden Plate Quilt Block - Quilting with The Pickles

Quilters' Book Club member June read and re-read The Persian Pickle Club to make a note of all of the quilt patterns mentioned in the book.  She plans to make a Persian Pickle Club Sampler Quilt.  Here are the patterns she found:

Grandmother's Flower Garden*
Rocky Road to Kansas*
Celebrity Quilt*
Nine Patch
Wandering Foot (also known as Turkey Tracks)*
Peony (the pattern Zepha called Piney)*
Road to California*
Crazy Patch
Drunkard's Path*
Whig's Defeat
Dresden Plate* shown above
Remembrance Quilt
Christian Cross*
Double Axe Head (also known as Friendship Forever and Apple Core)*

Several years ago, each member of my quilting group made an Egg Money Quilt as a block of the month.  We each bought the book Egg Money Quilts: 1930's Vintage Samplers by Eleanor Burns and made one block each month, using Eleanor's unique techniques and methods.  (Your local library may have this book.) 

I put a star behind each of the above patterns that are found in the book.  On the Quilt in a Day website, you can click on free videos of Eleanor making several of the quilt blocks.  She also gives interesting information on quiltmaking in the 1930's:   http://quiltinaday.com/theater/egg/egg1.html.  

Eleanor's book and the videos really go perfectly with The Persian Pickle Club, don't they?  And thank you so much to June for researching all of the quilt patterns mentioned in the book!

You might also enjoy my previous blog post:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/colorado-beauty-quilt-block.html    

Colorado Beauty Quilt Block

This 12" Colorado Beauty block is the 21st block of my Starwood Sampler Quilt, created to tell the story of my home and community.  I made it as a block of the month with my quilting group, the Persian Pickles.  A friend and I chose the blocks, and we found this pattern free on-line at Block Central:  http://www.blockcentral.com/qb-coloradobeauty.shtml.  Alternate blocks in my quilt are set straight and on point.  This block is set on point with the blue fabric as sashing.

Each season in Colorado provides its own beauty.  In winter, we have mostly blue skies each day.  When snow comes, we appreciate it because we live in a semi-arid climate and always need moisture.  But to children, snow means something entirely different.  Snow means the potential of a SNOW DAY from school!  

I teach reading in the morning and tutor students at my home in the afternoon.  Among my tutoring students, there are differing theories on how to encourage heavy snows to come.  Three elementary-aged sisters told me that they were going to wear their pajamas inside out; each girl was going to put a spoon under her pillow.  They were going to throw ice cubes into the toilet and finally do a snow dance.  The youngest sister said it was also important to wear your underwear inside out, but her two older siblings hotly denied that. 

Next came a middle-schooler with a completely different theory.  She said all of the other girls' ideas would only discourage the snow from coming.  She took the completely opposite tack.  Her advice was to say in a loud voice, "I can't wait to go to school tomorrow.  I can't wait to get up early to catch the bus and then work hard all day at school.  I don't want to sleep in.  I don't want to stay home, doing whatever I please."  Act like you could care less about having a Snow Day was her advice.  

Apparently, it is unnecessary to wear your underwear inside out to bring on a Snow Day.  At 4:20 this morning, I received a phone call announcing that school was closed for the day due to snow.  

         Snow Day        

        Snow day,

        Ten-below day,

        Bundle-up-and-go day.

        Pile three deep

        On the old wooden sled,

        Snow-crusted jackets,

        Cheeks frozen red.

        Scrunch, crunch, scrunch,

        Boots punch holes in snow.

        From three small balls,

        Watch a snowman grow.

        Cocoa sipping,

        Cookie dipping,

        One free night

        Of homework skipping.

        A friend’s toboggan

        Is ours to borrow –

        Please let there be

        No school tomorrow!

                      Carol H. Stewart

You might also enjoy reading my previous post:

http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/january-redwork-birdie-stitches.html           

January Redwork Birdie Stitches

I realize I'm only a month behind - but better late than never, right?  I have missed having a small handwork project.  Another quilter recommended Birdie Stitches Block of the Month by Little Miss Shabby, available free online: http://www.littlemissshabby.com/2010/12/birdie-stitches-supply-list/  When I saw it, I knew it was the perfect project for me.  The designs are fun and whimsical.  There are twelve small projects - one for each month - that are 8" square when finished.  Instead of using several colors of embroidery thread, I chose to use just No. 8 perle cotton in red.  All I need is a needle, scissors, a ball of perle cotton, and my monthly project.  Everything fits in a little bag, and I can take it anywhere.  

I printed the twelve monthly designs from the Little Miss Shabby website.  Next, I ironed freezer paper to a 12" square of Kona cotton in Snow.  I taped a paper pattern to a window, then taped the cotton backed with freezer paper over the paper.  I traced the design with a pencil. 

I have done redwork on a single layer of fabric, and the knots show through from the back.  I've tried backing the fabric with very lightweight iron-on interfacing, but the interfacing  wrinkled.  This time I used a double layer of the Kona cotton.  I ironed the layers together and used an embroidery hoop.  I didn't baste the two layers together, but it has not been a problem.  I've been very pleased with the results so far.

I did make one change to the design.  I added the name of the month to each block by finding a script font on my computer and enlarging it to 72.

The Months

January brings the snow,

Makes our feet and fingers glow.

February brings the rain,

Thaws the frozen lake again.

March brings breezes loud and shrill,

Stirs the dancing daffodil.

April brings the primrose sweet,

Scatters daisies at our feet.

May brings flocks of pretty lambs,

Skipping by their fleecy dams.

June brings tulips, lilies, roses,

Fills the children’s hands with posies.

Hot July brings cooling showers,

Apricots and gillyflowers.

August brings the sheaves of corn,

Then the harvest home is borne.

Warm September brings the fruit,

Sportsmen then begin to shoot.

Fresh October brings the pheasant,

Then to gather nuts is pleasant.

Dull November brings the blast,

Then the leaves are whirling fast.

Chill December brings the sleet,

Blazing fire, and Christmas treat.

                                Sara Coleridge

 You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/chickadee-counted-cross-stitch.html

Chickadee Counted Cross Stitch

I made this chickadee counted cross stitch several years ago from a pattern that I no longer have, I'm sorry to say.  The background is linen.  It hangs in our dining room, so we can enjoy these birds inside our home as well as outside.   

This Black-Capped Chickadee and its cousin the Mountain Chickadee provide much joy to us throughout the year.  They do not head south to warmer climes in the fall but remain year-round to enjoy all of the seasons with us.  Their cheerful chick-a-dee-dee-dee call brightens our day anytime of the year.  Both chickadees are 5-1/4 " long, but the Mountain Chickadee has a little white stripe above the eye, making his black eye patch look a little like Zorro's!

Nuthatches are also faithful, year-round birds.  The Red-Breasted Nuthatch is 4-1/4" long so a little smaller than the chickadees.  But they are easy to identify because they travel headfirst down the trunks of trees and even eat headfirst!  They are such fun to watch.   
 
We had to take in a bird feeder last night because raccoons like to climb onto our front porch in the night and gorge on sunflower seeds.  They are clever and can twist the cupholder screw so that the entire feeder falls to the ground.  This morning when I replaced the feeder, a chickadee immediately flew onto it.  I felt a little guilty that I had yearned for our hummingbirds when we have such faithful birds that bring such cheer to us throughout the year.

You might also enjoy my previous blog post:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/events-in-persian-pickle-club.html

Events in The Persian Pickle Club

Calico Spool Quilt Block

I found quilt block patterns free online that would go with the events in The Persian Pickle Club. 

Weekly Persian Pickle Club Meetings:

Calico Spool:  http://www.quilterscache.com/C/CalicoSpoolsBlock.html 

Miniature Spools:  http://quilting.about.com/od/quiltpatternsprojects/ss/graces_spools.htm

Spool:  http://quilting.about.com/od/quiltpatternsprojects/ss/spring_ribbons_5.htm

Spool Quilt Block

Making the Celebrity Quilt:

Autograph Star: http://www.quilterscache.com/A/AutographStarBlock.html

Siggy Stardust:  http://www.quilterscache.com/S/SiggyStardustBlock.html

Signature:  http://www.quilterscache.com/S/SignatureBlock.html

Signature Chain: http://www.quilterscache.com/S/SignatureChainBlock.html

Signature Cross: http://www.quilterscache.com/S/SignatureCrossBlock.html

Signature Star: http://www.quilterscache.com/S/SignatureStarBlock.html

Zepha giving Queenie her best quilt:

Road to California:  http://www.quilterscache.com/R/RoadtoCaliforniaBlock.html

Keeping secrets:

Axe and Churn: http://www.quilterscache.com/A/Axe&ChurnBlock.html

Double Axe Head or Friendship Forever: http://www.quilterscache.com/A/ApplecoreBlock.html

Mystery: http://www.quilterscache.com/M/MysteryBlock.html

Mystery Quilt Block

Next week, we'll discuss The Persian Pickle Club.  I'll post questions and invite all members to write their thoughts in the comments section of each post.  And be thinking about the block you'd like to make to go with the book.  I've given you many choices.  It's totally up to you how many blocks you'd like to make to go with each book - anywhere from zero to an entire sampler quilt!    

And to help you plan for our future book discussions, we'll be reading in:
March:  A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick (first of her Cobbled Court Series)
April:  The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini (first of her Elm Creek Series)

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/hummingbird-redwork.html    

Hummingbird Redwork

I am beginning to think spring, even though it is still quite a ways off here.  One event I look forward to in spring is the return of the hummingbirds. 

I had fun handstitching this Broomhandle Garden redwork pattern.  It was designed in 1999 by Jackie Dodge at dgesew@aol.com.  I haven't yet been able to find any evidence of it available on the internet.

In spring, we welcome the broad-tailed hummingbirds, a tiny 4" long.  The Guide to Colorado Birds by Mary Taylor Gray has this to say:  "The broadtail is the classic hummingbird of the Colorado high country, arriving in late April and early May, then departing the state by late September.  While all hummingbirds make a whirring sound with their wings, only the male broadtail produces that distinctive buzz-bomb whine.  Special tapered feathers at the tips of the wings create slots through which wind whistles when the bird flies, making that familiar trilling." 

I fill the feeders once a day during the height of summer.  If I'm out on my front porch and the feeder is empty, the hummers will hover around me, reminding me to get with it! 



My son Drew took this photo of a broadtail drinking from a feeder on our front porch.

I have to take the feeders down at night because sugar water is much beloved by the black bears!  If I forget, I find the feeder lying on the ground the next morning, often destroyed.  



Drew took a photo of this black bear right behind our home.

In mid-July, we start to look for the Rufous Hummingbirds, a mere 3-3/4" long.  Their coppery sides and tail give them their name.  They are smaller than the broadtail but unbelievably aggressive.  They pass through here from their nesting grounds in the Northwest on their way to their winter home of Central America.  The guidebook has this to say about these hummers:

"Like the bad boys of summer, Rufous Hummingbirds arrive in Colorado with a show of bravado, ready to take over the neighborhood bars and bully the locals.  Once a rufous discovers a feeder, it moves in, drinking its fill then taking up a guard post nearby to keep away trespassers.  Extremely aggressive, these copper-colored sprites will dive-bomb and drive off Broad-tailed Hummingbirds that may have used a feeder all summer.  Watch for rufous hummers from mid-July to mid-September."  It is amusing to watch such tiny birds be so aggressive! 

Hummingbird Feeding Nectar

1 quart tap water (distilled water removes too many naturally-occurring minerals)
1 cup sugar
(Red food coloring should NOT be added.)

1.  Boil the sugar and water together to reduce the chance of bacteria and mold. 
2.  Allow to cool before pouring into the feeder.  Only fill your feeder with enough sugar water to last, at the most, two or three days. 

The mixture can be made ahead of time and stored for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Always discard any sugar solution in the feeder that has turned cloudy or contains black mold.

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/house-2-of-my-house-block-bee-quilt.html

My House Quilt - Church Block

This is a block from my House Block Bee Quilt.  I participated in an on-line bee with eleven other quilters.  We were each assigned a month by our queen bee.  Before the first of my assigned month, I mailed out fabrics to the others to be used to make a house block for me.  I purchased the blue fabric for the sky and the green fabric for the grass.  I sent each person a couple of owls and a couple of children to be included in their block.  Then I looked through my stash and included scraps to be used for houses, trees, etc.  Each quilter could also add their own fabric, if they wished.

This block was actually made by a very dear friend.  We signed up to be in this on-line bee together.  I think she does beautiful work.  This block is a combination of free-style piecing and machine applique.  She did not use a pattern.  Don't you think the fabric she used for the church's stained glass windows is absolutely perfect? 

After I received all of the blocks, I sashed each one in a cheerful yellow and quilted with straight lines, using a quilt as you go method.  I finished with a blue border and green binding.  This quilt now hangs in my classroom and brightens it considerably, making it an inviting place to read and learn.

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post:

http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/eating-hermit-cookies-and-wearing.html

Eating Hermit Cookies and Wearing a Chicken Mash Apron While Reading The Persian Pickle Club

We invite you to join the free, on-line Quilters' Book Club!  Our book for February is The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas.  Pick up the book at your local library and begin reading.  If you don't want to miss any of the book club posts, become a follower of my blog or sign up to receive my blog posts through email.  (See the right side of my blog to sign up.  You will need to view the web version of my blog for this.)

On page 20 of The Persian Pickle Club, Queenie Bean says to her husband Grover:   

     "'I've got jumbles and hermits, made with the black walnuts we gathered down on the creek last fall.'

     "'Both kinds.'

     "I took out my plate with the peach-and-plum decal on it and piled it with cookies.  Then I put the pitcher of buttermilk on the table with a glass.  The outside of the pitcher was damp, and little drops of water ran down the sides, forming a wet ring on the tablecloth.  I took off my apron and sat down at the kitchen table across from Grover." 

Queenie Bean's Hermits

1 cup shortening

2 cups brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1/2 cup cold coffee

3-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2-1/2 cups seeded raisins

1-1/4 cups broken nuts (black walnuts if you have them!)

1.  Mix shortening, sugar, and eggs thoroughly.  Stir in coffee.

2.  Stir together flour, soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon; blend into shortening mixture.  Mix in raisins and nuts.

3.  Chill dough at least 1 hour.

4.  Heat oven to 400 degrees. 

5.  Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough about 2" apart on lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until almost no imprint remains when touched lightly in center.  Makes 7 to 8 dozen 2-1/2" cookies. 

 

Betty Crocker named Hermits the best cookie of 1880 - 1890.  This recipe came from Betty Crocker's Cooky Book, published 1963. 

When serving your cookies, don't forget to wear a little vanilla extract behind your ears like Queenie does!  If you have other recipes for foods featured in The Persian Pickle Club, please share them with us.

You might also enjoy reading my previous blog post:

 http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/main-character-of-persian-pickle-club.html

Main Character of The Persian Pickle Club

Prairie Queen Quilt Block

In the on-line Quilters' Book Club, we're reading and discussing The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas for the month of February.  This week's focus is on the characters.
 
Farmwife Queenie Bean is the main character in this book, set in Kansas during the Great Depression of the 1930's.  If you'd like to make a quilt block to go with the book, here are some block patterns I found on the internet that fit Queenie perfectly:

Mother’s Dream: http://www.quilterscache.com/M/MothersDreamBlock.html

Prairie Queen: http://www.quilterscache.com/P/PrairieQueenBlock.html

The Queen’s X: http://www.quilterscache.com/T/TheQueensXBlock.html

If you'd like to make a quilt block that goes with the theme of friendship found in The Persian Pickle Club, click here for ideas:  http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/01/theme-of-friendship-in-persian-pickle.html

And if you'd prefer a block that goes with the setting, click here:
http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-setting-of-persian-pickle-club.html

Prairie Queen Quilt Block in Another Colorway

 

Mother's Dream Quilt Block

Question:  The members of the Persian Pickle Club provide an interesting study in characters.  Do you have a favorite?  Can you see yourself being friends with any of the members?   

Please reply in the comments section so all book club members can see and respond.  You have to choose a Profile in order to comment.  You may select Anonymous if you have no other profile name.

 

Check out all book club posts by clicking "Quilters' Book Club" under "Labels" on the right of my blog.  Here is the previous Quilters' Book Club blog post:

http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/eating-jumbles-and-wearing-apron-with.html

February Redwork Birdie Stitches

I have missed having a small handwork project.  Another quilter recommended Birdie Stitches Block of the Month by Little Miss Shabby available free online:
http://www.littlemissshabby.com/2010/12/birdie-stitches-supply-list/  When I saw it, I knew it was the perfect project for me.  The designs are fun and whimsical.  There are twelve small projects - one for each month - that are 8" square when finished.  Instead of using several colors of embroidery thread, I chose to use just No. 8 perle cotton in red.  All I need is a needle, scissors, a ball of perle cotton, and my monthly project.  Everything fits in a little bag, and I can take it anywhere. 

I printed the twelve monthly designs from the Little Miss Shabby website.  Next, I ironed freezer paper to a 12" square of the Kona cotton in Snow.  I taped a paper pattern to a window, then taped the cotton backed with freezer paper over the paper.  I traced the design with a pencil. 

I have done redwork on a single layer of fabric, and the knots show through from the back.  I've tried backing the fabric with very lightweight iron-on interfacing, but the interfacing  wrinkled.  This time I used a double layer of the Kona cotton.  I ironed the layers together and used an embroidery hoop.  I didn't baste the two layers together, but it has not been a problem.  I've been very pleased with the results so far.

I did make one change to the design.  I added the name of the month to each block by finding a script font on my computer and enlarging it to 72.  

Valentine Food for Thought

                       

CABBAGE always has a heart,

GREEN BEANS string along.

You’re such a cute TOMATO,

Will you PEAS to me belong?

You’ve been the APPLE of my eye,

You know how much I care;

So LETTUCE get together,

We’d make a perfect PEAR.

                  

Now, something’s sure to TURNIP,

To prove you can’t be BEET;

So, if you CARROT all for me,

Let’s let our TULIPS meet.

Don’t SQUASH my hopes and dreams now,

Be my HONEY, dear;

Or tears will fill POTATO’s eyes,

While SWEET CORN lends an ear.

I’ll CAULIFLOWER shop and say,

Your dreams are PARSLEY mine.

I’ll work and share my CELERY,

So be my valentine.

                               Jeanne Losey

You might enjoy reading my previous blog post:

http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-simple-womans-daybook.html

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Simple Woman's Daybook for February 10, 2013

Outside my window . . . snow is gently falling, and more snow is expected tomorrow.  It's beautiful!

I am thankful . . . for the very special family times we had in January.  First, we celebrated my dad's 90th birthday.  His wife (my mom), all his children (three daughters), ten out of eleven grandchildren, and all two great-grandchildren were able to come from across the United States to honor him and reminisce about family times over the years.  Next, we celebrated my mother's 86th birthday at a fun restaurant with all of her daughters.  Finally, a son and daughter-in-law came for a baby shower for my very first grandchild.  It was a wonderful January!

In the kitchen . . . four loaves of banana nut bread are baking in the oven.  The smell is wonderful!  

I am hearing . . . Season 3 of Downton Abbey on T.V.  I am writing and watching at the same time.  I can also hear a fire crackling in the fireplace!  

I am creating . . . a Redwork Birdie Calendar Quilt designed by Little Miss Shabby.  I enjoy having a small piece of handwork always ready to work on.  I am nearly finished with the February block.   

I am going . . . to head to the living room with my redwork when I finish this post so I can enjoy the fire. 

I am reading . . . Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner with my 4th grade book club, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Great Illustrated Classics) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with the Domination Readers (5th grade boys book club), and The Quilt Walk by Sandra Dallas.  I love being a reading teacher!

I am hoping . . . for more snow.  We need the moisture!

I am looking forward to . . . watching my hyacinths continue to bloom.  It's such a treat to have bulbs in the house during the wintertime as a sign of the spring to come. 

I am learning . . . how to run an online book club for quilters.

Around the house . . . my husband is reading a book in front of the fireplace.  I will be joining him soon!

I am pondering . . . how to organize my blog to accommodate the Quilters' Book Club! 

One of my favorite things . . . is the 5th grade boys' book club, Domination Readers.

A few plans for the rest of the week . . . lunch with longtime friends, my book club meeting, and Valentine parties at school. 

Go to http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/  if you'd like to participate or read other women's daybook entries.

You might enjoy reading my previous blog post:

http://www.starwoodquilter.blogspot.com/2013/02/lady-of-lake-quilt-block.html