Go Big or Go Home Dresden Plate

Dresden Blades

Ever since I started fiddling around with fabric I've wanted to make a Dresden Plate quilt but it was always in the "someday" column of my wish list...until today.

Dresden plates are made up of 20 individual "blades" that form a flower around a circle center. Most folks make them small enough to applique on to a 12 or 15 inch quilt block and then sew a quilt of many blocks, many plates. I am not most people.

I found a terrific template for the beginning quilter at a tiny shop in Wakefield, Mass. I've seen small wedges you can purchase to make the standard size block, but I wanted something spectacular, and I found it, in this Trace'N Create Quilt template from Clover:

Trace 'n Create Quilt Dresden Wedge

Yahoo! This thing is game changing, even magical. Simply pick out the size of Dresden plate you want to make, trace out the easy pattern on to fabric, rotary cut, pin, sew and go! Sizes range from 12" blocks to 40" blocks! Start to finish this 40 inch wonder took about 6 hours. That includes cutting a lot of other fabric for pending niece and nephew quilts and ripping apart the Singer 301 five times due to feed dogs/bobbin case/throat plate issues--so I could probably do it again in three. But I prevailed, and now have this to show for it:

Go Big or Go Home Dresden Plate

You can see my BlackBerry in the lower right corner--I tossed that on the full-sized bed to show the scale. Now I just need to pick out a center and figure out what in the heck I am going to applique this to! I'm thinking either white canvas or flannel to make a nice opaque window treatment for my kitchen, or heading to Marshall's to find a twin-sized simple white cotton quilt or throw and then applique right on it.

I'll keep you posted.

Until then, try strawberries, They are just coming into season and taste amazing right now:

Summer Supper

Also, here's a hint of what's to come:

Tangerine Dream

XO Terez

Herons and Turtles and Coons, Oh My!

Toll Troll

Nest Bandit

I'm Taking The House With Me

Mama?

Sunday Swim

Spotlight Stealer

Yesterday my Bird Buddy and I spent Mother's Day morning at my local bird sanctuary. The blustery wind and gray skies kept a lot of our usual tiny birds hidden but we had a terrific show put on by:

--A raccoon making a big to-do about climbing into a huge nest in the tree-tops,
--A heron that could not get enough of us,
--Mr. and Mrs. Goose and Six Goslings out on a Sunday stroll, and
--A finale by Mr. Turtle ascending the half-submerged log. 

We also had special guest appearances by morning doves, chickadees, warblers, red-winged blackbirds, blue jays, mallards, robins,  catbirds and too many squirrels to count.


XO Terez

There is Only One Mamacat

Mamacat and "My Angel" 1978

My mom was an original hipster in Portland before all the yahoos started moving there and has the hipster glasses, cute baby girl, trendy dress, hand crocheted afghan and cute renaissance man (taking the photo) love story to prove it.

{How did this happen?}

In 1976 my father ended up on a sight-seeing tour in Salt Lake City with two older Mormon missionary ladies on a whim to see the Salt Lake Temple. He joined one of the said ladies at a family friend's barbecue. He put together a plate of food started sauntering across the lawn, saw the most beautiful woman in the world and wouldn't you know it, tripped on a garden hose and dropped his food into her lap.

That renaissance man was my father. And the most beautiful woman in the world? My mother. It was her dad's barbecue.

HH asked Mamacat out for a date (remember, he was only in town for a few days!) and she said yes.

Three days later HH told Mamacat she should marry him and she told him he was crazy.

He went back to Portland, but guess what?

Eight days after she told him he was crazy, she decided he was right.

34 years, five kids, six grandkids and three cats later they are still the most happily married couple I know.

Six months after she said yes they were married. Mamacat packed it all up in the 'blue honey moon pickup' and they drove to Montana (to meet the new in-laws) and after vehicle trouble (Grandpa D said, "you're going to break down if you haul all of those books!"--and he was right!), meeting the in-laws (rumor is Grandma and Grandpa H picked them up in their pickup and Mamacat rode with them--next to Grandma H smoking cigarillos with a  beehive hairdo up to the roof) repairing the honey moon pick up, honey mooning on the Oregon Coast and settling into a teey tiny house off SE Duke street, they decided they were going to need a bigger house. Then I was born.

Mamacat and Terez's First Thanksgiving with Cousin

It's hard to put into words how much my mother means to me. Instead I'll treat her to a list of reasons why I love her so. Because really, this post is for her:

10. Because she went face to face with Mrs. Edner who gave me a B+ in 6th grade study hall because I didn't make 100% attendance due to chicken pox.

9. Because she had hipster glasses way before I did.

8. Because she got on the carousel with me at Jantzen Beach to just cheer me up after I graduated from University of Oregon and the job prospects weren't looking great.

7. Because she gave me my love of reading: "Teresa, my eyes just aren't happy unless they are reading a book."

6. Because she gave me my love of libraries. We both worked at one through college.

5. Because she's not just Mamacat to us kids but to our friends and in-laws, too.

4. Because she loves each of my brothers and I just the way we each individually need to be loved.

3. Because she didn't get mad when I told her I was going to move to Boston. Instead she made me a polar bear quilt to keep me warm here.

2. Because we talk on the phone nearly every single day, even though we live on opposite coasts and three time zones apart. She never gets mad when I call at 5 or 6 a.m.

1. Because she has always said, "Teresa, no one will ever love you as much as your mother [except your father]" and she has proved it.

I love you Mamacat!

XOXO Your Angel

Mamacat Today

Under the Rainbow

Under the Rainbow

Forecast calls for two days of cloudy skies and scattered showers. Under a rainbow such as this, who cares?

Rainbow umbrella: $14.99 at Brookline Booksmith.  There's also the slightly fancier version at the MOMA Store for $40 with a few more colors slices, see that version here.

Stay dry!

XO Terez

Cape-arium

Cape-arium

For the past few years I've been fascinated by the terrariums I've seen on Etsy and featured in the New York Times, but I haven't taken the time to try my hand at miniature enclosed gardening until inspiration struck this weekend.

I was staring at one of my glass globes from China Fair in Newton, and loving the way a collection of Cape beach rocks looked nestled in the curved base. I didn't want to use it as a traditional vase with flower stems and water mucking things up...and then I remembered I had a teeny tiny spider plant {also attained from friends on Cape Cod!} sprouting roots in a dish of water and a teeny tiny terracotta pot...and after some maneuvering and planting the plant with dirt pilfered from another potted plant via tea spoon...voila!

One important thing I have learned in just a few days--the terrarium stays really, really humid, and a little water goes a long way. 

XO Terez

A Quilt for Grandpa-Grandpa on the Occasion of His 90th Birthday

One More Row to Go

Yesterday I spent some quality time stitching in the studio with the Norwegian Knitter. Now that the new window treats are up it is so much cooler and enjoyable to be back there this time of year and it's really hard to pull myself away.  For all of the hours I spend in there,  I can never seem to finish anything because I am too distracted/discouraged by the Black Hole Craft Closet.

This abyss holds all of my fabric...and most of my beads...and most of my carving materials...and all of my holiday decorations...and all of my empty shoe boxes I might need someday...and three unused yoga mats...and a broken Hello Kitty sewing machine...you get the idea.

At 7:30 a.m., after an hour of birding, I was fed up with the looming closet.  I was getting sucked in by the magnetic-color-wheel-explosion-pull and order needed to be returned.

I pulled everything out of the closet and was determined to regoranize so I could actually get to my fabric stash. That left me facing this:

Reality

What a mess! I post this to show you I am not Martha by a long shot.


And then I unearthed a real treasure.  Something I had started last summer.  Something that I had been meaning to finish and never got to after Hello Kitty gave out:  A Kaffe Fasset charm quilt.  I had five nine-patch blocks finished and just needed to complete four more to have a finished top. I dusted off and oiled the Singer 301 and got to work.

One More Row II

I kept sewing and sewing...and guess what? I came to the conclusion I am not a great sewer...yet.  My seams are crooked and I have no idea how to nest properly when I iron, but once I got the top up in the window to take a look, I was thrilled (big reveal in a moment).

I love how the colors and the prints play, and the way the rows trickle down like the seasons--pale winter/spring bursts at the top, failling into bright spring/summer patches and finally the saturated summer/autumn tiles complete the cycle.

I was pretty happy with my 81 patches. And then I got to thinking...Grandpa Grandpa is going to be 90 years old next Saturday. If I added one more row of nine patches, I'd have 90 squares. And I have been wanting to make him a lap quilt.

Bam! Brilliant! Of course--this will be a lap quilt for Grandpa-Grandpa on the occasion of his 90th birthday!

I got to back to work. Brewed a pitcher of Passion iced-tea for sustenance. Ate some yellow and chocolate cake. Got back on the sewing machine (oh how I have missed her!)

Passion Tea

A few more pins, seams, tucks and 'oh shoot' s later, I finished this:

Grandpa Grandpa's Quilt

Now: I have to beg Mamacat and HH to back and bind the thing, because I have no idea how to do that...yet. I've got to get to the Post Office and Priority Mail this sucker! I'll keep you posted. And for the record, I hauled down about 20 cubic feet of junk to curb-cycle, and it's all gone. But the studio is still trashed, and that's ok.

XO Terez

Split Pea with Hambone

Split Pea With Easter Hambone

About once every two weeks Mamacat and I discuss split pea with hambone. "Sissy," she says, "How do you make the split pea with ham soup again? I have a hambone in my freezer waiting!" And I keep reminding her. And she keeps forgetting. And that's ok! I made another batch last night so I thought I'd do her and myself a favor and record the recipe. Mamacat: Enjoy!


Split Pea with Easter Hambone Soup--for Mamacat

--1 hambone from Easter dinner (my original ham was an 8-pounder--we left about 1 pound of meat still on the bone)
--2 bunches carrots
--2 onions
--1 bunch celery
--1 head garlic
--6-8 red potatoes (Yukon golds are nice too--not Russet!)
--2 16 oz bags of split peas (you only need one and a half)
--2 large pots (or one large stockpot and one mixing bowl that can take boiling water poured into it!)

Toss the hambone into a large stockpot. I mean really large. I think I used about a 12 quart-er. Quarter one of the onions and toss in the pot along with the head of garlic, cut horizontally in half (I just toss the whole thing in, skin and all). Scrub one bunch of carrots, break into chunks, and add to the pot (I can't be bothered with peeling carrots for broth). Rinse celery and break the stalks and add to the pot.

Cover the entire concoction with water--I bring it up to about an inch and a half from the top of the pot.

Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer for one hour until fragrant and the ham is falling off the bone.

Meanwhile, rinse and sort one and a half bags of peas (about 24 oz). Drain, toss in a metal pot or mixing bowl. If you have an electric teapot, cover the peas two times deep with boiling water from the kettle--or just pour cold water into a metal pot to cover the peas two times deep and bring to a boil and then turn off the heat. Either way works. Cover the contraption and let the peas steep for an hour.

Back to the hambone! With tongs and a large spoon, remove hambone and set aside. Scoop out vegetables with a slotted spoon or sieve--compost or toss. Save the broth! This is important! Break apart the meat on the hambone as much as you can with the tongs/spoon--it's hot and will be for a while.

Wash peel and chop the remaining bunch of carrots. I like carrot coins if the size works! Dice the remaining onion and toss into the 12 quart-er with the reserved stock. Add the soaked peas (they will have doubled in size). Bring back to a boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Scrub and chop the red potatoes into one and a half inch cubes. Add to the simmering liquid and cook for 20 minutes more. Watch the potatoes--don't let them overcook!

Finally, shred the delicious ham from the bone, picking out any fat, etc., and add to the pot.

Ladle out a bowl, put your feet up and enjoy a hearty meal. You deserve it.

Tastes better the next day and tastes really, really good with home made bread, as pictured above.

In the Kim Kitch

PS, for a tasty dessert that would go perfectly with this early spring dinner, pop over to TheKimKitch and check out her adventures with coconut cake and orange marmalady.

XOXO Terez

Friday Commute

Tulip Boom

Green Whorl

Devotion

Double Old Fashioned

Bird Bath

Whirly Whorls

HH: The Original Hipster

HH and Greta, circa 1975

My dad was into bespoke custom clothing before I was and he has the vintage Christmas card to prove it.

Sentence structure sound familiar? My friend Richard introduced me to a hilarious website: Dads: The Original Hipster. {Warning--I haven't dug too far back into the photo archives so there may be some NSFW photos or captions in there} After reviewing a few entries I could see that HH, Renaissance Man, was just as, if not hipper than these yahoos.

I remembered seeing this old holiday card from his bachelor days (pre-Mamacat and five kids) and lo and behold, I found it in my photo archive.

I showed it to a few friends and they all had the same response: "Awesome!" and immediately after: "what kind of material is that shirt?"

After the fourth query today I rang up HH on my lunch break.

ME: "Dad!?"

DAD: "Yeah-ess...?" <----HH has a funny way of drawing out his yesses that just cannot be replicated via the written word

ME: "I have an important question for you."

DAD: "What is it, kiddo?"

ME: "You know that holiday card? The one of you and your German Shepard, Greta?"

DAD: "Yeah-ess..?"

ME: "You know that shirt that you are wearing? With the long pointy collar--the brown one?"

DAD: "Yeah-ess...?"

ME: "What in the heck is it made out of?"

DAD: "Oh that one? It's pretty bad, I think it is fake leather, like vinyl."

ME: "What? Really?!"

DAD: "Yes. And you know what is even better?"

Wait for it--wait for it:

DAD: "I sewed it myself!"

Bam!

HH wins, hands down. HH, Renaissance Man, was at the sewing machine before it became all trendy and hip.

Like I said, my dad was into bespoke custom clothing before I was and he has the vintage Christmas card to prove it.

XO Terez

Hamtastic

Brookline Bunny

After yesterday's gloom this morning's sunshine was a welcome visitor, even if the stay was brief. The Easter Bunny was busy visiting my little flock on the West Coast so I took the opportunity to blow the two rolls of quarters burning a hole in my pocket and to clean things up around here with a visit to the laundry mat:

Laundry Bar

Living in a turn-of-the-century apartment is charming; one is seduced by crown moldings and wainscotting and big windows and built-ins until one realizes that washers and dryers were not in the design plan for buildings erected in the early 1900s. And one lives on the third floor. On the top of a hill.

Granny Cart Three Bags Full

I've lived in Boston nearly eight years and I haven't had laundry in my apartment or building for seven of them. My secret to staying sane? A six week supply of underwear, socks, t-shirts, dishtowels, one granny cart and three LL Bean Large Boat and Totes to haul it all with.

Other Mother's Dishtowels

I can usually tell how long it's been since I've done all the washing by how tall the dishtowel pile is when I'm done folding. The Other Mother has been embroidering days-of-the-week towels for me for a few years and I use a new one every day or two. What's the point in having fantastic linens made by a dear friend if you don't use them? Exactly.

Swirl, Suds and Swoosh

All of that washing and folding and hauling and putting away-ing helped me build up quite the appetite for my Easter Dinner with Grandma Rue's family (Carando Ham supplied by Chez Terez). Combine that dining experience with my KimKitch family visit (Taylor Ham supplied by Chez Terez) the day  before and you can chalk up this weekend to being ham-tastic.

17 Dollars and 25 Cents Later

I'm pooped but in a happy-I'm-so-lucky way: when you live far, far away from your family it is priceless to have dear friends to celebrate the holidays with. And it's even better to have friends that will let you take the ham bone home (next post hint: homemade split pea soup with ham, yesss!)

XO Happy Easter, Terez