Quilting with Laura Quilt

One of my Christmas gifts was a pattern book by Linda Halpin, Quilting with Laura – Patterns Inspired by the “Little House on the Prairie” Series, published by RCW Publishing Company.

My youngest daughter, who is an admirer of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her books, gave me the pattern and I considered making the quilt for her, although I knew this type of quilt was not her decorating style.  Surprisingly, she volunteered that she would like to have the quilt with all its scrappy blocks, so I started getting the fabrics together.  The pattern is for a large 37″x46″ wall hanging and I added borders to make it large enough for a single bed.

The quilt includes blocks actually mentioned in the television series as well as traditional blocks whose names reflect events in Laura’s time.  Instructions and templates are given for 14 blocks of varying sizes and a diagram is given for the layout of the quilt.  My main complaint is that no measurements were given for the many types of sashing used to separate blocks.  I was able to work it out but beginners might have a bit of a problem.

I’m not good at hand sewing, so all of the piecing and quilting were done on my Bernina.  After the quilt was completed, I made a label for each block, printing on fabric and then making a frame for each from backing fabric.  Each label, sewn on the back of the quilt at the spot where the block appears on the front, gave the name of the block for my non-quilting daughter and a brief explanation of why the block was chosen.  Example:  Nine Patch – a block that Mary was able to make even after losing her eyesight.

The most difficult block, and my favorite, was Doves in the Window, reportedly the pattern used by Laura in her wedding quilt.

The patterns in the book are:

• Nine Patch
• Snowball

• Sawtooth
• Indian Trails
• Flying Geese
• Corn and Beans
• Prairie Queen
• Trail of the Covered Wagon
• Bear’s Paw
• Dugout
• Album
• Log Cabin
• Schoolhouse

• Doves in the Window

My daughter tells me this quilt with low loft batting has replaced her handmade, very heavy afghan and is just as warm.

Cranberry Apple Bread Pudding with Applejack Sauce

The recipe for this dessert is adapted from one in Susan Branch’s Christmas from the Heart of the Home cookbook.  I have all of her cookbooks and they are simply wonderful.  You can get an idea of her work on her great web page.   I made a few minor changes in my recipe, including using applejack for the sauce.  The original recipe called for whiskey, but brandy or rum would also be good.

CRANBERRY APPLE BREAD PUDDING WITH APPLEJACK SAUCE

• 6 cups of bread cubes (day-old firm bread – I use stale homemade bread)
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1-1/2 Tblsp. vanilla (that’s right – 1-1/2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1-1/2 cups tart apple, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F

Put bread cubes in a colander and pour over 2 cups hot tap water.  Let stand 5  minutes, then squeeze out excess moisture.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add the apples, cranberries and bread.  Stir lightly until blended.

Pour mixture into a buttered 9×9 baking dish.  Bake @ 325 degrees F for one hour and 20 minutes.

APPLEJACK SAUCE

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 Tblsp.  applejack
• 1 egg, beaten

In a small pan over medium low heat, melt the butter.  Add sugar and stir about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and slowly stir in applejack, continue heating and stirring for one minute.  Remove from heat, slowly add a small amount of sauce mixture to beaten eggs, add eggs to mixture over low heat, stirring until thickened.

Serve the bread pudding warm with warm applejack sauce.

This makes a nice, comforting wintertime dessert.

The Engagement Ring – 1952

Every year on January 18, my thoughts go back to 1952 and the event that made this date always stand out in my memory – it was the day I got my engagement ring.  At the time, I was working as a secretary for Procter &  Gamble in their corporate offices in the old Gwynne Building in downtown Cincinnati.

In the 1950s amid the post-war propaganda of building homes and families, Procter & Gamble’s secretaries were never more friendly and excited than when one of their group came in to work flashing an engagement ring.  The day after Christmas there was a horde of girls putting out their hands for the oohs and aahs of their co-workers.

Frank and I didn’t get engaged at Christmas – I got a nice wristwatch instead.  Meanwhile, Frank had gotten his notice to report to the Navy in February, to my great surprise my father didn’t forbid me to get engaged until I was 21 (which I always assumed), and we decided to go ahead with the engagement after three months of courtship.

It wasn’t romantic at all.  Frank, his mother and I went on the bus to downtown Cincinnati on Saturday, January 12, to Oskamp-Nolting, a sort of discount jewelry house, and I picked out a solitaire diamond, very small, in platinum with a plain wedding band for a total price of $200.  Frank’s mother paid for it at the time and collected from him later.  I was disappointed that I couldn’t take the ring home that day, but it had to be sized down to a 5, promised for the following Friday, January 18.

All day that Friday at work, I was nervous, thinking maybe the ring still wouldn’t be ready and I’d have to wait yet another week.   The few girls I had told were asking me where the ring was – this was important stuff.  After work, as usual, I took the bus from downtown to Frank’s house in Oakley where his mother had fixed chili for supper.  He didn’t say anything about the ring, his mother didn’t say anything, and finally after supper as Frank was resting on the couch before his weekly bowling league, I asked if the ring had been picked up.  He took the small box and tossed it to me across the room.  No, not romantic – but I had the coveted engagement ring and that was important in 1952.

I was so proud to show my ring to all the girls and to my boss, who said, “I’m impressed!”  There was no way he could have been impressed with this very tiny stone but I enjoyed the day, being the center of attention, and being one of a select group in P&G’s Advertising Department – somebody’s fiancee.

A week or so later another girl in the department who had announced her engagement but didn’t have a ring told me that she had felt embarrassed about wearing a small stone with all the huge ones most of the girls had, but after seeing I was happy with a small diamond, she and her boyfriend decided to get her one they could afford, too.    Maybe we started a trend.

Apricot Cheese Dainties

I found this recipe in 1990 in a publication called Blue Ribbon Gazette, a collection of winners from county and state fairs all over the country.  The lady who submitted the recipe cautioned that Solo apricot filling should be used, not jam or preserves, to keep the filling from seeping out too much.  I can attest to that, since I tried other products and found Solo to be the best.

The cookies won a ribbon at the Ohio State Fair and a Blue Ribbon at the Hamilton County Fair (Cincinnati) in 1990, and have become a favorite of my daughters for every holiday – Christmas, St. Nick, Valentine’s Day, birthdays.

APRICOT CHEESE DAINTIES

• 1/2 cup margarine (I like Imperial)
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 Tblsp. ice water
• 1/2 can of Solo Apricot Filling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream the margarine and cheese until smooth.  Add flour and salt, mix together until blended.  Add water and stir with a fork until the mixture forms a ball.  Divide dough in half,  roll one portion 1/8″ thick (like pie crust) on a lightly floured surface and cut with a floured 2″ cutter.

Place cutouts on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Place 1/2 tsp. of apricot filling on each circle of dough.

Roll the remaining portion of dough 1/8″ thick and cut into 2″ circles.  Place the circles on top of the filled cutouts, press together lightly and prick with a fork around the edges.

Bake @ 375 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes until cookies are golden brown.  Cool slightly and then remove to a rack.

Makes about 1-1/2 dozen cookies.

Note:  These cookies are like pie – best the day they are made.

Quilted Hospital Cape

When I was in the hospital a couple of months ago, I was surprised at how chilly it could get at times, particularly when I was sitting in a chair or doing my laps down the hall hanging onto my IV pole on wheels.  I had my daughter bring over my favorite warm sweater but I couldn’t cover up the IV tubes with the sleeves and it kept slipping when I put it over my shoulders.

I had plenty of time to think and started designing something in my mind that would be pretty,  lightweight yet warm, easy to put on and take off, and would leave my arms and hands free.  I thought a short quilted cape might be the answer.

When I got home and felt better, I got out some nice pastel fabric and found a relatively simple block I liked called Good Luck Token on my quilting software.

I used a very easy Halloween cape pattern and cut it so that the bottom edge ended at my wrists.  I pieced the blocks and sewed them together to be the right size to cut out the pattern (two front sections and one back) and seamed them together.

I made another cape of plain fabric for the lining, added low-loft batting, fitted the layers together and did simple stitch-in-the-ditch quilting.  A binding around the edges finished it off.  I used Velcro for the closing so it would be easy to remove.

I hope I won’t have to take my cape to the hospital soon, but meanwhile it’s nice to wear when I’m sitting in the front of the fireplace, watching television.

Cranberry Cream Scones for Two

These buttery rich scones are from a Crabtree and Evelyn cookbook, first tried in 1991.  I was looking for a scone to enter in a contest at the Cincinnati Irish Feish and these sounded good, made with currants rather than cranberries.  The contest was judged by people from Ireland and I was thrilled to win a first place medal.

My daughter and I enjoy these for weekend breakfast as a special high calorie treat.

CRANBERRY CREAM SCONES

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 Tblsp. granulated sugar
• 3 Tblsp. butter
• 3 Tblsp. dried cranberries
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup whipping cream

Preheat oven to 395 degrees F

In a medium  bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.   Cut in the butter and stir in the cranberries.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and whipping cream.  Pour onto flour mixture and mix with a fork until dough forms a ball.  Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead lightly just enough to get the dough to form a 4-1/2″ flat circle.  Cut the circle into four wedges.

Place in ungreased pan and bake @ 395 degrees F for approximately 12 minutes.

Serve warm with butter and jam.  Makes 4 delicious scones.