Another Hop Block

Gosh, it's September and sprinkling outside??!  Despite the crazy weather, here is my latest block from the Hop.  I picked the background thinking it would look like wind in the sky.  My mom thought it was water.
What do you think?

What a difference a few weeks make:

I hope you can see the difference:  My baby, Emily,  was 5 months here:
and now she is 6 months here.  Please say a prayer for her or keep her in your thoughts.  DGS Will came 9 weeks early and no one knows why.  It's good that she already weighs more now than she did when she went into labor for Will.  I'm hoping that is a good sign.  They're having another boy.

Two new babies in the family in the same year! First precious Lily in April and now BB in Dec.  They haven't picked a name yet, however Conan and Vincent are on the list.

I'm going to be a busy grandma!

Design Wall Monday 9/27

There are new items on my design wall, but today is a vegetation day - because it is 110 outside again!  Yesterday it was 110 also. And I'm just sitting in the living room taking in the cool air until the sun sets and it begins to cool.  On the left is the first of my buzzsaw charm blocks.  On the right is another shop hop block.
This buzzsaw charm quilt was in a 91 QNM issue.  As it is scrappy, I'm going to make it.  The assembly of the blocks are interconnected, so I will have to make them in the order I'm going to have them - they can't be loose.  The owl is a little crazy what with all the busy material, but that was the fabric in the bag so here he is.  I have to zig-zag stitch him to the background and he will be done.  I may do that tonight before I pack up my machine to take it for it's annual service appointment.  I use my Bernina daily so it needs it.  What's on your design wall?  Visit Judy's blog and see her post for this week as well as others.  Always fun.

It's Done

A friend asked what that quilt I was binding looked like, so here it is on the right as I finished it this morning after Mass and photography session for the Parish directory.  It is double sided.  The binding is actually a little lighter than it looks in this picture.  This is the biggest quilt I have ever bound.  It is 91" x 97".  On left is the back:
                Here is the front:
 
And below is the label  - and no, it is not a sheet showing from under the quilt.  The back was just shy of being big enough for the quilt, so the quilter added a piece hoping it would be part of what is cut off (and some of it was) but this remained when I squared it up.  So my clever daughter, who is a whiz at calligraphy, is going to use the white section as the label and write all kinds of good stuff on it.

Oven Fried Eggplant

Here's another favorite of my DH.  His mom, Helen, could make these so well - never greasy, always perfect, but I never could get the knack of it.  Then I found this recipe in an issue of Sunset magazine way back in the early 80s, and as they say, the rest is history!  This is much better than making them with a pan full of oil.  All you use is a tablespoon of olive oil per 11x14 baking sheet. 

Oven Fried Eggplant
1 large or 2 medium eggplants  - the one in the picture was the largest we've ever found.  Peel it and if very large cut down the middle and slice into 1/4" slices.  If using the 2, slice into 1/4" circles.
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese.
2 teaspoons of Basil flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
salt
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup flour

Get out three pie tins or baking square pans.  In one, mix the flour with about a 1/2 tsp of salt.  In the second pan, crack the egg and add the 1/3 cup of water and beat thoroughly til frothy.  In third pan, put the breadcrumbs, garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, Basil and another 1/2 tsp of salt.  Mix well.

Now dredge a slice of eggplant in the flour to coat both sides. Drop into the egg mixture.  Transfer to the breadcrumbs and coat evenly.  Set aside on a large platter as you do all the slices in this manner. 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  In a baking sheet (with sides) place a tbs of olive oil and with a silcon brush or your hands spread it all over the pan.  Do the same for the other sheet.  Now lay the eggplant slices on the pans and place in your heated oven for 15 minutes.  At 15 minutes turn the slices over, and place the top pan on the bottom and the bottom pan on the top shelf.  This will help them brown evenly.  Let then bake for another 10 minutes.  They should be lightly brown.  Place on a platter and enjoy.

PS:  I use these to make moussaka and eggplant parmisan, however - WARNING:  it's very easy to have the family eat these all up and not have any left for the dishes mentioned.   Enjoy!

What I'm doing today:

I'm binding another quilt!  Seems like as word gets out that I like to bind - the quilts keep coming my way.  This is one my daughter Em and her friend, Jayme, started a few years back and it's finally ready to bind.  Jayme is getting married and we want to give it to her before she returns to Como, Italy for the wedding.

Beautiful fall colors and an ultrasuede border.  It is so soft and heavy as it must measure 90" square.  It would not be my choice of fabric for the border, but the color is fabulous and it really looks nice with the embroidery that was on it to begin with.  Learn something new all the time.  Question is will it wear well?

Destination for a road trip?

Quilts: Two Centuries of American Tradition and Technique Saturday, July 3 - Sunday, January 31, 2011  at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.
Guest curated by Julia D. Zgliniec, Quilts: Two Centuries of American Tradition and Technique presents the patterns, stitches, fabrics and other construction techniques of the Bowers’ most popular quilts, and many that have never before been exhibited. To satisfy our curious and creative visitors, the top and bottom sides of several quilts will be visible. The exhibition features a variety of 19th and early 20th century patterns, a “Whole Cloth” or “Linsey-Woolsey” quilt dating to 1776, a 1930s “Utility” quilt made of men’s suiting samples, and an unfinished variation of a “Crazy” quilt from c. 1850. Made using paper templates of old receipts, bills, letters and other documents, this particular quilt is every bit as interesting as a historical item as it is a textile.

Soldiers' Angels project

I mentioned my Saturday was mostly taken up with an 8 hour class on the Old Testament, but I did get around to finish the binding on this Soldiers' Angel quilt.  This is my favorite of the 7 I am working on right now.  I'm just doing the binding and labeling.  I do have a block I made in this one.  We have 72 quilts to send this year.  Our guild members have been marvelous at pitching in and helping with these.
On the left are three others ready to go.  We hope they will bring some measure of comfort to our soldiers abroad this coming holiday season.

Gone back to School

I've been taking a Bible Study class online for about a year now. We were studying the Old Testament.  I found I had as many questions after each class than I did before, so when they announced in our church bulletin that Loyola Marymount would be having a continuing education class on the Old Testament in our area, I felt called to take it.  Saturday was our first class.  There are over 50 of us in it.  And the speakers are both excellent.  Between them, they have taught religious studies for over 30 years and wow, do they know their subject.  I look forward to finally understanding this collection of Books.

My third DGS

is Leo - isn't he a cutie?  This is a photo taken by his momma near his 1st birthday.  Thanks, Amanda for posting this on facebook.  He looks a lot like you.

Back to Quilting matters

I help with a group that makes Crisis Pregnancy baby quilts and a friend, thank you Deanna, graciously gave me for them, two boxes of baby material for the next sewing session. It's great stuff. One box is full of strips. I grabbed a handful and made this:

It measures 37 square.  My job is to make the quilt tops - there are others who do the other steps, so I'm counting this as a finish.

Any Birders out there?

Sitting at my computer, working on a website I am responsible for our guild, I heard a sound besides the crickets that are the normal background to night's here. I had not heard this in a long time.  Some kind of owl?  We heard them when we first moved into the house over 40 years ago, but not recently.  Does anyone know what it is?  Listen:
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Please leave a comment if you know. Thanks!

Giveaway Winner and a NEW Quilted Fish giveaway

Good morning! I went to randomnumbergenerator.com and had them pick the winner from the comments and got: Random number between 1 and 11 and got 6.

So our winner is Mary from FLQs. Congratulations, Mary! I'll be sending you your notions as soon as I have your snail mail address.

And if you'd like to enter a fabulous giveaway, visit the Quilted Fish.  But hurry, ends soon.

Thanks to all you entered.
Angie

Lily Mary Anita

I've been remiss about posting about our precious, Lily. So here she is in a starring role.
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I've had this video clip for a while but I just couldn't figure out how to post it and then I saw a Smilebox slide show on quiltshow.com and I was able to do it with Smilebox. The service is free with ads, so I thought I'd give it a try. Still photos of Lily taken on Tuesday coming up next.

Thanks for indulging a doting Abuela.

SAHRR Round 5 and 6

  Ready to show rounds 5 and 6. Actually, the prompt for 5 was make 4 of something. So I chose four patch, and actually since that made my q...