Dolphin’s Butterfly Quilt

When my 7-year-old granddaughter (known here as Dolphin) saw us picking out fabric for an anniversary quilt I was making for her mother, she said she wanted to choose some fabric for a new quilt for herself.  Actually, I started learning to quilt 8 years ago so I could make a baby quilt for this little girl.  She has long ago outgrown the baby quilt and I was happy to take her shopping for just the right fabric.  It took her a short time to pick out butterfly fabric in pink and lavendar and the border in pale pink.  We thought maybe a brighter pink would work better, but she wanted it to be all pastel.

Since this quilt will be drug around the house and probably wind up as a tent, a theater curtain or anything else a first-grader can imagine, I wanted to make it sturdy and without my favorite intricate piecing.  It was a very fast quilt to put together with 12-inch blocks, 1-1/2 inch sashing and borders which became a rather wide 6 inches because of the length and width that Dolphin requested.

For the backing/batting, she chose a flowered fleece which she liked because it was so snuggly-soft.

Her mother also loved the soft fleece backing (and she loves large bright-colored flowers).

The only place I used a bright pink color was in the binding.  I scanned a picture of Dolphin and me and printed it on fabric to make a label so she would always remember how we looked when she received the quilt.

Because of the fleece backing, I could use minimum quilting and just did some very simple straight line and in-the-ditch machine quilting.  The finished quilt measures 50×63 inches.

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Wednesdays with Grandma

From the time my youngest granddaughter (known here as Dolphin) was a baby, I’ve had her at my house on Wednesdays while her big brother was at school, to give her mother a break.   For the first couple of years, I spent most of the time pushing her around the neighborhood in a stroller.

Then, as she grew older, we spent more time in the house and she made friends with a small stuffed Moose and ate popsicles.  Her first word was “yellow” and that’s the kind of popsicle she wanted.

We tried to spend an hour every week at the park, trying out the big tire swing and slide.  We made bread, we made cookies….

Finally, the day came when Dolphin went to pre-school

and then to kindergarten, and I only had her until lunchtime on Wednesday.

Now, the school year is drawing to a close and she will be spending the summer with brother Jellyfish enjoying all the good warm weather activities.  In the fall, she’ll be going to the first grade all day, so today was her last Wednesday with Grandma.

It’s been so much fun.

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Easter with the Grandkids

On this Easter Sunday, in addition to enjoying the grandkids and a ham dinner, I was presented with a brand-new computer.  I’m trying out the “blog-writing” feature to see how it works.

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Pork, Apple and Sweet Potato Casserole

After being stuck in the house for three days after a major snowfall, I was ready for my daughters and grandchildren to come for Sunday dinner.  I wanted to try something new and found a recipe on Allrecipes.com which I adapted according to our taste and what I had on hand plus I made some changes in procedure based on readers’ comments on Allrecipes.  I thought this casserole was very tasty served over rice and made good leftovers.

PORK, APPLE AND SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

• Six 6″x 3″ pork loin pieces, about 3/4″ thick – cut in half to form 12 3″x3″ pieces
• 1/2 cup of flour for dredging
• salt and pepper for dredging
• 1-2 Tblsp. olive oil for browning pork loin
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, sliced thinly
• 2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 3 Tblsp. light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. curry powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Dredge pork loin pieces in the flour that has been mixed with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.   Heat oil in a large skillet and brown pieces of pork loin on both sides.  Pour the half cup of water in the bottom of a large casserole or baking pan.  Place meat to form a single layer in the bottom of the  pan.

In a large bowl, combine the sliced onions, sweet potatoes and apples.  In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, pepper, salt and curry powder.

Pour the brown sugar mixture over the vegetable mixture and toss to coat.  Spoon the vegetable mixture over the pork loin pieces.

Cover and bake for one hour @ 375 degrees F until the sweet potatoes are tender and the pork has reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

The grandchildren, known here as Jellyfish and Dolphin, showed different attitudes at the presentation.  Jellyfish looked like he might be willing to try some, but Dolphin definitely didn’t look impressed.

Serve over rice. Sprinkle with snipped parsley if desired.

Yield:  4-6 servings

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The Great-Grandkids Bake Christmas Cookies

My two great-grandchildren have never come to my house before to make Christmas cookies, but this year their mother thought they were old enough at 2 and 4 years to have the fun she used to have with all the flour and butter and cookie cutters.  Here’s their mother baking cookies when she was nine years old.

I supervised as great-granddaughter measured flour and sugar, and even broke an egg.

The two-year-old wanted to do anything his sister was doing and got right into the spirit.

Great-granddaughter soon caught on to the art of rolling cookie dough….

….and great-grandson let his mother help him, his only comment being, “Bite, bite” for bits of the cookie dough which we didn’t want him to have.

They each brushed milk and sprinkled colored sugar on a sheet full of wonderful cookies.

We used the same recipe from all those years ago – it’s a good one.

Grandma’s Sugar Crisps

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Happy 77th – to me!

Actually, my birthday isn’t until Wednesday, but my two daughters and I like to celebrate birthdays the entire weekend before the big day.  So, on Friday evening my oldest daughter showed up for her usual weekend visit with flowers and two pints of gelato – let the fun begin!

When I went to the kitchen on Saturday morning I found a gift on the table to think about until my daughter got up for breakfast.

It was two towels, hand-embroidered redwork with horses – I’m sure they’re harness horses.

We met my youngest daughter and her two children for lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant and did some shopping in the afternoon.

On Sunday morning, on the kitchen table was the most gorgeous box that was shaped like a book – and I wondered if it might be a book or a box with something wonderful in it.

It was indeed a box with some amazing contents:  An 1883 autograph book that belonged to a woman living in Cozaddale, Ohio – a small town close to where we live.  Each page was filled with sentimental verses in the most elegant handwriting.  Did everyone write that beautifully in the 1880s?  In addition, there was a handwritten list by the woman’s daughter identifying the people who had contributed to the book.  Then, my daughter had taken it further by finding census records for the people and information on Cozaddale, as well as locating a book written in 1960 about the founder.

And the day had just begun.  At lunchtime, my youngest daughter, her husband and children came for dinner, after which there were more gifts including a Garrison Keiller CD, a Minnesota State Fair book, microwave steamer dishes, a big brass alarm clock with an alarm I can actually hear, a new garden flag and a set of solar lights for the front yard,

…a candle, a Jadite hen covered dish, mini loaf pans, a drop cookie maker, embroidered pillow cases and embroidered redwork panels for me to use to make a quilt.

The grandchildren, known here as Jellyfish (10) and Dolphin (6), made their own special gifts.  They each made molded, fragrant soap and they made decorated boxes to hold the soap.  Dolphin also made a horse light catcher and Jellyfish worked with his mother in assembling a book of his photographs of my “favorite things” – family members, of course, and all kinds of neat things that are in my house.

As usual, the youngest daughter brought her renowned Best of Show White Cake with Caramel Frosting.  After cake and gifts, the girls, the grandchildren and I took a drive to – where else? – Cozaddale – a pretty drive on a late September day.

I was sorry to see everything end – and I don’t think it could all have been done in less than a weekend.

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Grandparents’ Day and a New Dessert

Yesterday, on Grandparents’ Day, my two youngest grandchildren showed up at my front door, bearing handmade gifts as usual …. six-year-old Dolphin ….

…and ten-year-old Jellyfish (currently in training as a “Ghostbuster”).

Jellyfish had taken my picture last week and printed out a frame and mounted it plus he made a great bookmark.

Dolphin had promised me a hundred times on Saturday that she would make my favorite Scottie, which she did, along with a colored picture of a grandma and granddaughter baking.  She even made her own wrapping paper and a paper bow.

Their mother has always had a mug made up with a picture on it for Grandparents’ Day.  This year, number 11 will join the others on my special shelf.

I fixed a roast beef dinner for the family and for dessert tried out one I had seen on All Recipes, Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball.  I called it a “girly” dessert but my son-in-law and grandson managed to enjoy some of it, maybe not as much as my two daughters and I did.

CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESE BALLS

• 8 oz. package of cream cheese (not low-fat or Neufchatel), softened
• 1/2 cup butter (butter only, no substitutes), softened
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 Tblsp. light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup toffee bits
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

In a medium bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and softened butter until smooth.  Mix in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, shape the chilled cream cheese mixture into three balls.  Wrap each ball in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour.

Before serving, roll one ball in toffee bits, one in pecans and keep one with just the chocolate chips.

I served these dessert cheese balls with honey pretzels, thin cinnamon wafers and Golden Delicious apple slices.

The comments on All Recipes indicated some people had problems getting the mixture to form a ball.  Other people suggested storing the beaten cheese mixture in a metal bowl and refrigerating overnight.  They also stressed using only full-fat butter and cream cheese.  I followed these suggestions and had no problems forming the balls.

It was a fun dessert and a nice ending to our Grandparents’ Day dinner.

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A Day at Kings Island

When I was raising my first three children in Cincinnati in the 1950s and 1960s, our amusement park was Coney Island on the Ohio River, east of town.  There were rides including a gorgeous merry-go-round and an exciting Shooting Star roller coaster, shady picnic groves, a huge swimming pool, and a big lake for paddle boats.  It had everything we needed and the kids loved it.

By the time my fourth child was a toddler in 1972, things had changed.  Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, became the place to go.  We didn’t get to visit that often because it was expensive for a big family and a long drive from our house, but it’s the place that my youngest daughter remembers fondly.

Coney Island has remained in business and we visit a couple of times a year, but now we all live about 10 minutes from Kings Island and my daughter buys season passes for everybody.

Last week, I went along for the sights and sounds of Kings Island with my daughter and two grandchildren, known here as Jellyfish (age 10) and Dolphin (age 6).  I don’t get on any of the rides but I come in handy sitting with one of the kids while the other is on a favorite ride with mother.  The Beast is one of Jellyfish’s favorites.

Dolphin has a lot of exciting rides to choose from like the Dodgems, the Scrambler, Shake Rattle & Roll, a kid-sized roller coaster ….

A ride I like to watch is the old 1926 merry-go-round which was moved from Coney Island.

It has 48 beautiful horses….

Jellyfish is a very good photographer and took the pictures in this post (except this one).  This is a view from the top of the Kings Island Eiffel Tower, a 1/3 replica of the one in Paris.

We all had several hours of fun and then drove the short distance to my house for lunch.  Just like in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, I have a chance to enjoy going on a summer outing with some cute kids.

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A Young Artist-Crafter

My five-year-old granddaughter (known here as Dolphin) is a budding artist-crafter.  As soon as she was able to hold a pencil or crayon in her hand, she started creating artwork.  She loves the idea of recycling and finding uses for odd items in a craft.  Everything is fair game – wrappers from the straws at McDonald’s as well as the paper napkins, bits of fabric, beads, pretty stones, cereal boxes, etc., etc.  Her mother and I both keep an area well stocked with all kinds of paper, tape, crayons, markers – all Dolphin needs is an inspiration to get her started and she gets inspired multiple times an hour.  She’s come up with some really interesting projects and I can’t wait to see what she’ll do as she gets older and more experienced.

For my Easter gift, she used a kit rather than one of her own creations, but carefully put together a unicorn with a tiny flower.  I told her I would  mount it and frame it so I could set it up and admire it.  She specified a blue frame and I printed out a background with a moon.  Her only complaint was that she thought red flowers on the frame would have looked nice and I imagine there will be some on it as soon as she has a chance to work on them.

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A Linus Quilt with a Vintage Look

I like to make quilts to donate to the Linus Project which distributes blankets and quilts to hospitalized children in the Cincinnati area.  I’m always on the lookout for cute, kid-oriented fabric and found a remnant while shopping in Holmes County (Ohio) Amish Country last fall.  I thought the 1930s era panels would work out well with some type of filler block.  I tried out several patterns but wanted to avoid taking attention away from the cute pictures.  Since I always have scraps, I tried making a block with 3/4″ finished postage stamp squares and this seemed to be the perfect block to accompany the puppies, kittens, bunnies and kids in the panels.  Each postage stamp square block took about two hours to make but I used up a lot of small scraps and liked the vintage look.

I used some pink, blue and yellow fabric to complete the borders….

…and used a fleece backing, as recommended by the Linus Project.

All of the sewing was done on my Bernina and the quilting was very simple and minimal since I wasn’t working with batting.  For the binding, I sewed together strips alternating in pink, yellow, white  and blue.

I’m not usually tempted to keep the quilts I make for the Linus Project because they’re designed to appeal to kids, but I wouldn’t have minded keeping this quilt with its vintage images from my childhood.  My granddaughter and her friend, George, liked the quilt, so I’m hoping some little girl in the hospital will like it, too.

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