Anne's First Quilt

Anne decided to make a Lisa the Unicorn quilt from Elizabeth Hartman for the fair. Like most of her patterns, Lisa is a little intense to cut out as it has many unique pieces. Anne got a little overwhelmed and a few weeks before the fair, we decided it was not realistic for her to finish it.

She had been playing with my scrap basket all summer and began organizing pieces into strips. With some encouragement, she assembled an improv top for a quilt for her American Girl Doll. I may have bribed her a little by promising Minky for the back if she finished the top before she went to a week of summer camp. While she was gone, I sandwiched and quilted the piece (acceptable for her 4-H level for someone else to quilt it). She finished it with a facing when she got home.

The county fair 4-H judge was not impressed. She pointed out nearly every aspect of the quilt as something she did not like - the colors, the fabric, the design, the size, her seam allowances, it should have a hanging sleeve, the facing, the hand stitching on the facing. Honestly, the only thing she liked was the quilting, which she was aware that I did. One of the lessons of 4-H that is sometimes hard for youth to learn, is that the result is one judge's opinion on one day. Usually judges provide constructive criticism to help youth understand that decision and provide a learning experience so the next project is better. In this case, every statement started with "I don't like ..." Had she phrased her opinions using elements and principles of design or quilting procedures from the project manual or acknowledged that she read the one-page narrative Anne provided, I would understand. Yes, the quilt could use more contrast. No, it isn't the most complicated pattern ever made by an nine-year-old. The hand stitching was pretty awful. As a 4-H judge who has been through judge's training in many disciplines and taught it, I was frustrated with this judge's feedback. (And, I've shared my frustrations with the 4-H staff in my county office.)

We had decided to enter her quilt in the Nebraska State Fair Open Class show prior to the county fair. It was a better experience not only because of the appropriate feedback from the judge, but also because Anne had a wonderful moment with some of my quilt mentors who took the time to encourage her and give her feedback that will make her next quilt better. Thank you for great mentors!

2018 Fair Quilts

For awhile now, I've shown quilts at my local county fair and the Nebraska State Fair in the Open Class Division. In 2018 I finished a couple of quilts that had been in the works for awhile and included a class project and my one and only entry in a Project Quilting Challenge.

Make It Fun Quilt
The Make it Fun quilt was begun as a part of the Improv Sampler Quilt Along hosted by Patty Dudek of Elm Street Quilts in 2017. Each block was improv-pieced in response to her weekly prompts. The blocks were showcased in previous posts: 1 and 2. I designed the setting. This quilt was special and then Marsha Gormley Swanson of Dog Ear Creek Quilts added her magic. It was fortunate to win the best of its lot at the Saunders County Fair and was named the Best Improv Quilt at the Nebraska State Fair in 2018. It also hung in the 2018 Lincoln Quilters Guild Biannual Show.

Lola the Llama
Using one of Elizabeth Hartman's adorable patterns, Lola the Llama is Kona and batik on linen. It was quilted at David M. Manglesen's in Omaha. It was begun for my neighbor's baby who is now two but should have a llama quilt to go along with her real-life kitties, dogs, horse and herd of goats. Hopefully I'll finish her sister's quilt soon so she can have it. Lola earned a blue ribbon at the Saunders County Fair and hung in both the Nebraska State Fair Open Class Quilt Show and the Lincoln Quilters Guild Biannual Show.

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
I was fortunate to participate in a workshop with MJ Kinman at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum early in 2018. MJ guided us through creating a gemstone quilt using a freezer paper template piecing method. I quilted it on my Pfaff. My mini was finished just in time to hang in the Lincoln Quilters Guild Biannual Show. It also earned a fifth place ribbon in the Nebraska State Fair Open Class Quilt Show.

Nebraska Home
Kim Lapacek's Project Quilting challenges have caught my attention for quite some time. I really wanted to dive in this year but life got in the way. This was my lone entry for the first challenge: Hometown Proud. Since Nebraska, in some ways, is one big small town, it seemed apt to try out Cassandra Beaver's raw edge appliqué meets quilting via many stitches. I was pretty pleased with the effort. The Saunders County Fair judge wasn't as pleased. :) It received a red ribbon in its class.

Upcycled Picnic Blanket

One of my quilting mentors, Dorothy Heideman Nelson, has encouraged me for a couple of years to enter in the Textiles Open Class show at the Nebraska State Fair in addition to the Quilt Show and I finally had a project in 2018 I wanted to make and enter. One of the challenges is that the entry cannot be eligible for the Quilt Division.

When planning a denim upcycle night for my 4-H club, I found a post on Pinterest that was a denim quilt I wanted to make. Simultaneously, I had been looking for projects to use the feedsacks chicken feed comes it. It is a woven plastic, much like a lightweight tarp. Thus, the upcycled denim picnic blanket was born. By sandwiching two sturdy layers without the batting in the middle, it would not be a quilt by definition and only eligible for the Textiles Division.

As the blogger describes, I cut six- and two-inch strips of various shades of denim and used a 60° angle ruler to join pieces to make strips. I happened to have one pair of red denim capris that had an unfortunate incident with a purple crayon in the laundry to add some accent to the blues.

The top was sized for four chicken feed sacks cut open and stitched together. For added interest, I rounded the corners. The binding is a raw edge denim strip.

It earned a fourth place ribbon at the Nebraska State Fair in the Open Class Textiles Division in an upcycling class. It took me a bit to find it in the show because it was hung with the feedbacks facing the viewer and the denim "quilt" hiding in the cabinet. :)

A Modern Mini Swap Between the Omaha and Lincoln Modern Quilt Guilds

I am a member of two modern quilt guilds - one in Omaha and one in Lincoln. Having access to two (actually four, two of which are modern guilds) groups' activities makes it more likely I'll get to some of them each month with family and work commitments. Each guild has meetings most months with educational programs, show and tell, and connecting with other local quilters plus an assortment of classes, workshops, outreach events, and sew-days.

A few of us are in both the Lincoln and Omaha Modern Quilt Guilds. The leadership of the two guilds decided this year to host an activity to bring the guilds together. That sew day included a mini swap to help members from one guild get to know members of the other guild on a more individual basis. I was fortunate to be paired with someone that I recognize but don't really know.

My swap partner is a great quilter who is inspired by zentangles. She lives in a mid-1900's house and loves all things Mid-Century Modern. This quilt was adapted from a photo I had found on Pinterest (unfortunately without attribution). I paper pieced it using Kona Solids from a paper template I drafted in Adobe Illustrator. Few colors seem more mid-century to me than aqua and orange.

I was not planning to be at the swap day but I was able to show up for an hour or so. Nancy loved her quilt, and I'm pretty excited about the mini she made me - it was actually similar to one on my short list to make for her!

Chicken Taco Bowls

We like all kinds of tacos, burritos, rice bowls, and quesadillas. To keep things interesting, we are always looking for new, quick filling ideas. With a hectic work, school, and activity schedule, a slow cooker filling would provide a quick dinner at whatever time everyone got home to eat.

A quick inspection of the freezer yielded three pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Once defrosted, they were seasoned with Penzy's Chicken Taco seasoning. As I've mentioned, we love Penzy's. Whether I visit the retail store about an hour away or order online, I always find high-quality, interesting seasoning mixes to try. There have been few that have not made the regular rotation in my kitchen. The Chicken Taco is one of our favorites. I now buy it by the bag for a big jar instead of the little sampler sizes. It works great mixed with some rotisserie chicken for a quick taco filling or as seasoning for chicken fajitas. It is also a great seasoning for carnitas, other pork and vegetables. The seasoning mix doesn't have any salt so I can control the amount of salt added, too.

The night I made this chicken taco filling, we ended up with a cancelled soccer game. While the kids played elsewhere, I made a big pan of fajita veggies and a pot of rice. Not only did dinner get more interesting, but I was able to make a few taco bowls for lunches later in the week and beyond. These taco bowls freeze well for future lunches or quick dinners, too.

Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Filling

3 lbs. Thawed Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts

4 tbs. Penzy's Chicken Taco Seasoning

1-2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth

1 lime

Put the chicken in the slow cooker. Sprinkle the seasoning on top. Pour the chicken broth over the seasoning and chicken. Set the slow cooker to low for 6-8 hours. I have a model that lets me set the cooking time and automatically switches to a warm setting until whenever someone turns it off. I love this! With this feature, I set the time to the low end of the range as the warm setting will continue to cook a little bit. A typical work day for us is usually about 11 hours of total slow cooking time.

To serve, shred the chicken and mix in the seasoned broth. I smashed the chicken pieces with a tongs to shred. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. When I slow cook with a pre-made broth, I always wait to season with salt until the end. I find that even the low sodium brand cooks down and concentrates the salt flavor. Juice one lime over the chicken.

Serve in tacos, on top of baked potatoes, in a rice bowl or in quesadillas. Leftovers can be refrigerated for three days or frozen.

Fajita Veggies

3 large bell peppers - we prefer red and I'm always tempted by the big bag at Costco

3 large yellow onions

2-3 tbs. olive oil

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

2-3 tbs. Penzy's Chicken Taco Seasoning

Cut the peppers into strips, and finely slice the onions. I prefer the pieces of peppers a little bigger and the onions a little finer. Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and the vegetables. Cook over medium-low to medium heat for twenty to thirty minutes. Stir frequently, being sure to scrape the bottom. I like a flat-edged wooden spoon for this. If you notice some areas sticking or over-browning, add a little more olive oil. Midway through, I add a cup or so of low-sodium chicken broth and the seasoning. This steams the vegetables and helps adhere the seasoning to them. When the vegetables are all soft and have a little color, they are done.

WIP - National Quilter's Circle Block Challenge Part 2

As I mentioned earlier, I started the year with the National Quilter's Circle Block Challenge. In the earlier post, I shared that blocks three and five were done, but not photographed. Here they are:

Block six was still in-progress as of the last post, primarily because I changed it a bit to allow for the continuous stripes of the fabric in the bounding square set on-point. I am positive it would have been easier to just follow the directions. Here it is:

Block six and some other commitments in my life led me to set this project aside for a bit. Hopefully it will be a late 2018 or 2019 finish.

What does Modern Quilting mean to you?

One of the modern quilting e-zines I read is Jessica Skultety's Wonky Press. She has a great mix of current activities, trends and movements in the online modern quilting community and her own personal project accountability. Each issue has at least a couple of links to works I'm really glad to have found. If you haven't yet checked it out, visit her site, The Quilty Habit.

In a recent issue, she asked readers to share what modern quilting means to them. It prompted me to reply. My contribution follows.

Modern quilting encompasses a methodology, an aesthetic and a community. The best modern quilters are technically sound quilters who are skilled at knowing when to adhere to age-old rules and when to toss them out the window. As someone who isn't particularly adept at following rules, this is part of what draws me.

Modern quilting formalizes improvisational piecing, wonky lines, "made" fabric and other techniques that quilters have been doing for generations. The aesthetic of modern quilting is what I feel is most defined - the use of bold colors and prints, high contrast and graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, expansive negative space, and alternate grid work. "Modern traditionalism" or the updating of classic quilt designs is also often seen in modern quilting. I would add asymmetry to this list. While quilters have been gathering for centuries, The advent of modern quilting in a time when social media has exploded has allowed quilters to identify a global community no longer limited by face-to-face interaction or geographic proximity. That said, modern quilting has also brought together new groups of quilters in communities around the world.

I am a member of two long-standing general or traditional guilds. One is small and based in my local community. The other is larger and meets in a nearby city. I am also a member of two modern quilt guilds, both in nearby cities. I am one of the youngest members in my two general guilds and solidly in the middle in my two modern guilds. The modern quilting community has been more inviting to new and younger quilters than the traditional quilting community has seemed to be.

In the most recent issue, #59, Jessica printed my response! It's always exciting to see something you've written in print. Thank you, Jessica!

So, what does modern quilting mean to you?