The Ugly Duckling Quilt

The Ugly Duckling Quilt showing some of the squares and the binding (striped fabric) as well as the plaid backing flannel fabric.  With the extra binding fabric I made a pillow case for her .

This is the striped flannel fabric I used for the binding and the pillow case.  The roll is the binding after it has been cut.

 A few years ago my DD wanted to make a quilt and thought that it would be funny to make a quilt with some ugly flannel fabric.  So the quest began to find what she thought would be "ugly" flannel fabrics.  She succeeded to an extent, the fabrics that she found did not all go together.  But as every quilter knows you can always make lemonade out of lemons!  Shown here is the result of the fabric collection that she put together.  She cut out all of the squares and I made a pleasing arrangement out of them.  Unfortunately I did not take a photo of the whole quilt so that you could see it (maybe she will read this and send me a pic).  I found a striped fabric that pulls it all together and a plaid backing.  I venture to say that this quilt will become a favorite as it is warm, cozy and soft.  It also doesn't need batting, so it isn't a quilt in the truest sense of the word.  I think that batting might have made it too heavy. 
  She is now on a mission to find some more "ugly" flannel fabrics to have me make her brother one!  Let's see if we can make some more lemonade!

Indigo Days

Indigo favorite of mine, this was carefully measured, marked, pressed and stitched.  Then repeatedly immersed into the indigo dye bath.  Time consuming but worth the extra effort.   It is actually a nice blue with white.  This photo has a grey cast to it.   

Clamped and folded, immersed into the indigo dye bath.  Allowed to dry and then immersed in a second dye of yellow.  This is the result, the photo is true to color.

Indigo fold and clamped.  Love the contrast of white and blue here.

This is called Indigo Pond as it reminds me of floating leaves on a pond.  Easy!

Indigo Stitched.  This also shows me that I need to have a design board to mount my pieces on so that they can be photographed straight on.  Too much is lost even on a small angle.

Another favorite of mine.  This one is called Indigo Stripes.  It has not been ironed flat as the texture is wonderful here.

Here is a close up of the texture.  Not quite sure that I have captured it, maybe some back-lighting would help.

  I just love indigo.  It's so much fun to do as it comes out a beautiful emerald green sometimes kind of a yellow green and just get bluer as it oxidizes.  Repeated dips into the dye bath are required to get a deep blue so it can be very time consuming but it is well worth every minute put into it.  Hope you enjoy these pics of my indigo efforts.

New Year's Guilt Free Garbanzo Bean Salad with Olive Oil and Lemon Juice

   So now that the new year is under way and we have all eaten our way through a myriad of home made cookies and pies and all sorts of delicious treats I thought it would be nice to have a little something that isn't going to break the bank or for that matter the scale.  Some of you who may be feeling a wee bit guilty about having over indulged during the holidays can now throw that guilt out the window and treat yourself to this delicious salad.  The only fat in this salad is in the olive oil that is drizzled over it.  Olive oil is tasty and good for you to boot.  So go ahead  make some of this for yourself and your family.  It is great tasting and fast and easy to make.  All ingredients can be doubled for a larger crowd.  This serves 4.

 

Garbanzo Bean Salad with Olive Oil and Lemon Juice

        Ingredients:
             1 19 oz can garbanzo beans
             1 vine ripened tomato,  diced 
             3 T basil gently cut
              2 T chopped parsley
              1 small can sliced black olives
              1 clove garlic, mashed
              1/2 diced red onion
              salt
              pepper
              lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
              olive oil about 1/4 cup, extra virgin

Combine garbanzo beans, ripe tomato diced, basil gently cut, parsley, sliced black olives, 1 clove garlic mashed and diced red onion in a bowl.  Sprinkle with salt and let rest 1 hour.  After an hour combine  thoroughly  fresh ground pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. Stir gently to coat. Let rest 10 minutes.  Serve with a slice of crusty Italian bread.  Beat you have more than one serving MMMMmm.