Corn: Nebraska Gold

Nebraska is celebrating its 150th birthday this year, and one of the many celebratory activities is a quilt competition hosted by the Nebraska State Quit Guild. I was fortunate to have a sneak peek during the Lincoln Quilters Guild Biennial Quilt Show in October and was inspired to participate.

As harvest season was upon us, I wanted to submit a quilt that honored Nebraska agriculture, our number one industry. As a lifelong Nebraska corn farmer, it seemed a good option to pursue. I was also fascinated by how to depict actual corn.

I was able to get a good start ... specifically on the actual corn part ... at a Lincoln Quilters Guild class taught by Kris Kahn, a friend from the Omaha Modern Quilt Guild. The rest of it waited until after the holidays but went together nicely.

While I wanted the final product to be recognizable, I also wanted it to be a distinctly modern depiction. The entire piece is improv strip-pieced using a mix of scrap fabrics, fabrics shared by friends at the class, and Kona solids.

Image Credit: Sheila Green

It is one of 37 submissions and will hang at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum in Lincoln through February 25 and again on National Quilting Day. There are prizes. I don't have expectations of winning, though it would be cool to have my quilt included in the honorable mention group simply so it could travel the state and be a part of local Nebraska 150 celebrations over the next year.

This post is linked up to Sew Can She's Show Off Saturday

2017 Quilting Goals

Like many, as 2016 was coming to a close and 2017 commenced, I reviewed a fairly successful year in quilting and began to plan for the coming year. A few things came to mind, but the first was that I needed to focus on what I've got. For the last couple of years, I've consciously been acquiring new fabrics, patterns and a lovely new sewing machine. My studio is overflowing, and I need to focus my cashflow on a family trip to Southern California this summer. The two combined led me focus 2017 on finishing some of the many projects I've started, planned and/or purchased supplies for.

Goal #1: Only purchase supplies as actually needed for continuing a project under active work.

Goal #2: Emphasize finishing existing UFO's.

To help me maintain some of this motivation, I've joined American Patchwork and Quilting's 2017 UFO Challenge along with many members of the Omaha Modern Quilt Guild. The Facebook group has been great so far fun with participants from around the globe and in my backyard. You can follow our guild's progress by tracking the hashtag #omqg17ufo and the whole project at #apqresolution.

I've followed the #finishalong tag for awhile and this post will includes my goals for the first quarter:

• I volunteered to contribute the February raffle prize for the Omaha Modern Quilt Guild. This is actually already finished as it seemed easiest to deliver it at the January meeting held January 3. In September, I nabbed a stack of vintage crazy quilt blocks someone had gone to a lot of work to finish but not set into a quilt. I used the first sixteen for a Christmas quilt for my mom. One of the orphan blocks became a vintage mini for the OMQG raffle. I have one remaining block and will finish it up in a similar way for the Lincoln Quilters Guild that will start its 2017 program year in March.
• Nebraska is celebrating 150 years of statehood in 2017. The Nebraska State Quilt Guild is sponsoring a quilt competition. My entry is entitled "Nebraska Gold" and depicts a combine unloading a load of corn into a semi truck trailer. It is improv strip pieced and made of fabrics from my stash. I completed the "cone of corn" during a guild workshop in October led by quilter Kris Kahn. As the entry deadline is tomorrow, January 15 I finished it up last week to submit yesterday. There is a competition component with the top prize including a lovely cash award and acquisition by the International Quilt Study Center and Museum. I don't expect to win, but it would make me ecstatic to be included in the six honorable mentions that get to travel the state during the celebration year with the top three finishers.
• I am participating in the first Modern Quilt Guild Miniquilt Swap. I am wavering between a scaled down excerpt from Allison Glass' Feathers or Lady Harvatine's January Block. I need to decide soon as it's next up for me to do and ship by February 1 or so. :) I have pulled some lovely batiks and will, of course, include my favorite Kona gray, Charcoal.
• At the Nebraska State Fair, we have an awesome quilt show. One of the special categories is for quilts based on a child’s artwork. Last summer during the Pokemon craze, Henry made the most amazing Pokemon ball craft that I immediately thought should be a quilt. If I want my super-amazing, best longarmer in the country quilt guild friend to quilt it and have it back by summer fair season, I need to get it to her by mid-February.
• I have two baby quilts and a big girl quilt that need to be done by mid-May so they should each get a start, too.

Whew! I am going to be busy! I can only hope for a lot of snow days where we keep our electricity!

Goal #3. Sew with Anne.

Anne is now eight which, among other things, means she is a full-fledged 4-Her this year. One of the projects she has long been interested in participating is quilting. We’ve already drafted plans and acquired supplies for a quilt for her American Girl Doll, a Quilt of Valor, and a skirt for the county fair the last week of July.

Goal #4:Quilt for Good

I’ve made a lot of quilts to be gifts for others. In fact, I have very few of the quilts I’ve made in the last ten years, but I have not been as active as many other quilters in making quilts for good or charity quilts. This year I plan to make at least one Quilt for Kids and one Quilt of Valor (not counting Anne’s).

On project that has been brewing in the back of my mind for awhile is making new paraments or altar cloths for our church. We go to a small country church, literally in a cornfield, and members pitch in to do all the projects. George has been rebuilding windows for over a year now.

KAF #bakealong: Everyday Whole-Grain Bread

I've been quite negligent in blogging. :( Life happened. Our summer was busy with softball, work, vacation, 4-H, fair and the start of school. I spent almost all of September on the road for work. It's been good to be home more in October, though I did spend a whole week at a conference followed by a class.

Here in the Nebraska corn belt, we are deep into harvest. A few neighbors are finishing up, but we are only about half done. Luckily, the weather has been nearly perfect. Just last week we were reminded about the 1997 snow storm that dropped more than a foot of snow in this part of the state closing schools and roads for up to a week in some places.

This fall, the King Arthur Flour crew started a monthly #bakealong challenge. I missed the August launch, Pane Bianco, and have yet to find an excuse to make that great looking bread. We joined in September with some Inside Out Pumpkin Muffins. We weren't huge fans of the muffins. They looked better than they tasted, but it was fun to join in the Instagram fun.

October's recipe, Everyday Whole-Grain Bread, appeared to be a straight-forward, tasty bread. It is exactly as it appears. With a short sponge, great instructions, and almost sure-fire results, this is a great beginner bread recipe with enough flavor and texture to make a good daily loaf. I opted for the loaf pan option to be able to use it as a sandwich bread. I shared a loaf with my sister, and we ate the second loaf so fast, I have yet to try it in a sandwich. Hopefully today's second batch will make it to Monday's lunch. :)

The recipe calls for equal parts white whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. I made the first batch with equal parts KAF's artisan bread flour and unbleached all-purpose flour. Today's batch is equal parts artisan bread, white whole wheat and all-purpose flours. I think this recipe has the flexibility to adjust to infinite flour combinations, and I've seen reviews indicating others have used sourdough starter or gluten-free flours.

Find the full recipe on the KAF blog at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/everyday-whole-grain-bread-recipe. Join the #bakealong at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/bakealong/.

Dinner this Week - 04.17.16

It looks like I might be home more than gone this week so it was time to make a meal plan. Too many weeks have passed with Cheerios or chicken bites for dinner. With planting season upon us, a little extra planning will make sure everyone gets a dinner that doesn't rely on hot dogs.

Sunday

Spaghetti, Apple Slices

Monday

Tacos, Oranges

Tuesday

George's Birthday Day!

Grilled Chuck Eye Steaks, Grilled Potatoes, Broccoli, Strawberry Shortcake

Wednesday

Lemon Garlic Marinated Shrimp, Rice Pilaf with diced carrots and onions, Oranges

Thursday

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Fresh Mozzarella, Carrots, Strawberries, Garlic Bread

Friday

Saunders County Medical Center Benefit Picnic

Saturday

Butterfly Pork Chops, Frozen Mixed Veg, Apple Slices

Dinner Tonight: Chicken Cacciatore

When I was at the grocery store last week, the in-store chef was demo-ing a whole array of yummies and one caught my eye ... or tongue, I should say. Her Chicken Cacciatore was a simple throw everything in slow cooker recipe that happened to work for me for an oven meal so I've included both procedures below. I did make a few modifications but the base recipe and inspiration are courtesy of Chef Maryanne from my local HyVee.

We had this over some cheese ravioli from the freezer but it would also be good over any pasta or rice.

Chicken Cacciatore

1 lb. chicken, cubed or cut into small pieces

1 can petite diced tomatoes (I actually only had whole Marzanos and they were great)

4-6 cloves minced garlic or 1-2 teaspoons of garlic powder

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tsp. dried basil

1-2 tbs. flour or cornstarch to thicken

1 bell pepper, cut into matchsticks

1 medium onion, sliced

1 8 oz. package sliced mushrooms

1 cup chicken stock (oven method only)

Optional: 1-2 tbs. additional flour or cornstarch to thicken right before serving.

Slow Cooker: Layer all ingredients, as listed, in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Optional: Before serving, stir flour or cornstarch into 1/4 cup water and stir into mixture. Cook on high for a few minutes until thickened. Serve over pasta or rice.

Oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Layer all ingredients, as listed, in a Dutch oven. Cover. Bake for 60 minutes. If you desire more thickening, move to a stovetop burner on high. Combine additional flour or cornstarch with 1/2 cup of cold water. Stir into the chicken dish and continue stirring until the desired thickness is reached. Serve over pasta or rice.

The Yoshiko Jinzenji's Modern Sampler QAL with the Salty Oat

Quite awhile ago I saw a post on Instagram advertising a Quilt-A-Long hosted by The Salty Oat for Yoshiko Jinzenji's Modern Sampler. The little picture on my phone looked so adorable I took a screenshot. A little bit later I found her post and got a little bit excited, excited enough that I bought the pattern. When it came, I selected and bought the solid background fabric. Then, I put it on the shelf to work on some swaps with nearing deadlines and some Christmas projects.

Over winter break (the University I work for banks some holidays from throughout the year so we can shutdown between Christmas and New Years), I opened it up and wanted to catch up on the QAL. Yikes! Twelve blocks with templates for itty bitty wonky pieces. Ugh! After I got over the urge to throw it in the trash and toss the six yards of Kona Smoke into my stash, I dutifully traced all the blocks on white butcher paper. I pulled leftovers from the OMQG's charity quilt to use for the scraps ... Kona Red, Kona Sunny, and Kona Capri. Fortunately, by being behind, I could read others' posts about their first blocks. My adventures with Blocks A through E follow. I should note that many blocks have the same borders. For consistency, I'm opting to do all the borders at the same time.

• Block A is pretty straightforward half-square triangles so it went together pretty quickly. I actually haven't done a lot of HST's. Over the last few years when there have been many posts and projects using HSTs, I was fascinated by improv piecing and hiding my rulers in their shelf. A little Googling and reading and I was ready to cut and piece.
  
  
• Block B gets a little more complicated. The original version of this block had 51 or 52 individual pieces in five neat rows. I opted to foundation paper-piece this block. In my first attempt, I tried to include all of those pieces. It was a bit wonkier than I wanted so in the second attempt, I combined some of the pieces that were going to be the same color. When it was finished, I realized it is backwards and that I should have traced it upside down. Fortunately, there aren't any words because we're going with backwards on this one. :)
  
  
• Block C tosses in curved piecing. In completing my Shades of Grey Challenge Quilt last year, curved piecing and I came to terms. The tiny piece inside the handle seemed a bit small so I began construction by hand-piecing the handle and its center. Then I machine=-pieced the gray background around the handle followed by attaching the handle to the cup and, finally, the remaining background. The saucer and additional background strips were easy peasy.
  
  
• Block D was back to itty bitty pieces sewn into strips. Back to foundation paper piecing. Have I mentioned that I don't particularly enjoy foundation paper piecing? Anyway. From the start, I combined like-colored pieces and am happy with the first and only shot at this block. I actually kind of like this block and could see making a bigger piece with it if I can figure out how to strip piece rather than paper piece the blocks.
  
  
• Block E is a simple nine patch on a wonky point. I made the nine patch, aligned the squares with the template and trimmed. The first time I did this, I forgot to add a seam allowance around the outside edge so I made it twice for ease when adding the borders later on.
  
  

Now that I'm caught up with the Quilt Along (and actually a month ahead), I put it away again to focus on some other projects. I'll revisit it sometime in March. There is another great curved pieced block coming up and too many more that will likely be paper-pieced.

I am linking this post to The Salty Oat Quilt-a-Long for January and, because I actually sewed a little ahead, Salty Oat: modern sampler quilt along: block E link-up.

Under the Needle - Quilt Goals for Q1 2016

Last year the Omaha Modern Quilt Guild and the store at which we meet both had PHD challenges ... Projects Half Done. I did quite well at working through my list last year and have compiled a list for 2016. Right now, the list has twenty-eight items. Twenty-eight! Many of these are swaps I am already committed to, and I left four slots for swaps later in the year. There are also at least four big quilts. I've never made four big quilts in one year. We shall see how this goes. I've thought for a long time however, that setting high expectations are the best way to accomplish things.

As I've become a bit addicted to the quilt community on Instagram, I found @quiltalong's quarterly finish challenges for 2016. This post shares a few projects I have started and hope to finish by March 31, 2016.

1. January's 2016 Birthday Fun Swap
   My hive mate with a January birthday loves gemstones. After all, diamonds are a girl's best friend. She also loves the palette of April Rhodes ... neutrals, coral and aqua. I was inspired to paper piece an aqua diamond on a linen background. It is pieced, sandwiched and edged but needs quilted and either bound or faced.
   
   
2. Zipper Pouch Swap
   I have identified a pattern and pulled fabric, but we shall see how it evolves.
   
   
3. Tula Jaybird Mini Swap
   Again, I've pulled fabric and selected a pattern, but have not started cutting or constructing. The fabric pull did garner positive support from other swappers in the FB group so I am optimistic.
   
   

There are a few more projects on the spreadsheet that need to be finished by the end of March, but they don't meet the Quilt-A-Long's definition of "started", yet. :)

I am linking this post to SLO Studio's Quilt-A-Long's Quarter 1 Call for Projects.