quiltology...

Just in time for summer...bright and light...Crazy Daisy! 

FAT QUARTER FRIDAYs...all fat quarters just $2.50...in the shop and now online where you can build a bundle of 12!

Visit the shop on Monday, Wednesday and Friday (noon to 7p) and Saturday (10a to 5p.)

Quiltology is closed on Monday 5.28 for Memorial Day!

My newest nephew is due any day now.  Little no-name-yet is scheduled to enter this world next week via c-section, but who knows, he may just decide to forgo the surgical intervention and make an appearance on his own. 

We had a baby shower for my sister Katie last weekend and thankfully I got a small quilt done just in time.  This one features the monkey theme my sister is using to decorate the baby’s room. 

But most impressive was the blanket my niece Colleen made for her new cousin.  Folks, this is Colleen’s very first sewing project!  I love it. 

With a little help from her maternal grandmother, she learned to use the sewing machine I gave her for Christmas and made something really special.  My sister (pictured right) will definitely use this one!

Of course good times call for good food so I also made some lemon cookies. The Italians make these moist and delicious ricotta cheese cookies for special occasions like weddings and christenings.  Most cookies are crispy in texture--but these aren't so they're great for brunch. 

Here’s the recipe…enjoy! 

Italian Ricotta Cheese Cookies 

Ingredients 

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temp)
• 2 large eggs
• 8 ounces fresh ricotta (I used the store bought variety!)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract2 teaspoons lemon zest plus ¼ cup lemon juice
• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar (sifted)

Directions 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift together flour, backing powder and salt into a bowl.  Set aside.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream the sugar and butter in a mixer with your paddle attachment on high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy.  Reduce the speed to medium and add eggs one at a time. Plop in the ricotta, vanilla and lemon zest.  Add the flour mixture and beat on low until everything is mixed.  Don’t overmix! 

Drop the dough in heaping tablespoons onto the baking sheets and bake for 20 to 22 minutes.  The cookies should be puffy and golden when you remove them from the oven.  Cool on wire racks.

After the cookies are completely cool, you can make the glaze for the top. 

In a bowl, whisk the confectioner’s sugar with lemon juice to a smooth consistency.  You might have to add a little water here, but don’t overdo it.  You want the glaze to be thick enough to adhere to the cookie—but not too watery. 

Dip the top of each cookie in the glaze and let them dry for a couple of hours on the racks before you serve them. 

Buon Appetito!

Cover quilt

Title:     Unknown (The design is a reflection of Kamakani Ka Ni Aloha, circa 1900 and Garden of Kauai, circa 1910.)

Quilter: Unknown (Made in Maui for a family who lived in Kalaupapa, Molokai.)

Date:     circa 1923/1925

Owner:  Leone Kamana Ojamura of Quilts Hawaii in Honolulu.

I just returned from a wonderful week in paradise!  People do some crazy things on vacation, like sipping one too many pina coladas, falling asleep poolside and burning their mainlander bums in the tropical sun.  Happily that didn’t happen this year.  Instead I fell into the Hawaiian quilt trance, overwhelmed by the desire to return home and make one of these applique beauties myself. 

The book Hawaiian Quilts Made Easy by Milly Singletary is a sweet little introduction to a long standing tradition of exquisite hand work and dedication.  It begins with every quilter’s mantra… 

“Just as the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step, so does the beginning of a magnificent quilt start with one stitch.” 

Legend has it that quilting was first introduced to Hawaiians by a group of missionary ladies who had sailed 18,000 miles in 163 days from Boston Harbor to Honolulu. 

From the diary of Lucy G Thurston, 1820... 

“Monday morning, April 3^rd, the first sewing circle was formed that the sun ever looked down upon in this Hawaiian realm.  Kalakua, the queen dowager, was directress.  She requested all the seven white ladies to take seats with them on the mats, aboard the deck of the ship Thaddeus.” 

Although the missionary ladies shared their patchwork style of quilting with their Hawaiian hosts, that style never really caught on.  Instead Hawaiian quilters used the hand stitching techniques to create beautiful applique designs that reflected the spirit and soul of their local culture.  The Hawaiian quilt designs are usually named for what they represent—flowers like ginger lei, plumeria blossoms and lilies as well as trees like breadfruit and palms.  Other more complicated designs are named for the themes they represent like Garden Island or The Beauty of Maui. 

I bought a pattern called “Ho’owaiwai” which translates as “to bring prosperity.” The design is the traditional ula breadfruit which radiates out from a center medallion into four quads.  It sort of reminds me of the old snowflake designs we would cut from a piece of folded paper when we were kids. 

Hawaiian quilts are usually a single solid color appliqued to a white background, so the old saying that the quilting makes the quilt, is especially true here.  I’m drawn to the yellow on white, just like the quilt George Clooney and his daughters curled up in at the end of The Descendants. 

Title:      Beauty of Hilo Bay

Quilter:  Unknown (Made in Hawaii)

Date:      circa 1930/1950

Owner:  From the collection of the International Quilt Study Center at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. 

Now I just have to find the time to begin that first stitch! 

Mahalo,

ccc

Those of you who know me, know that I've been working on a wedding quilt for my sister pieced from our father's ties.  Here it is... 

In honor of President’s Day, I thought I’d post some information on a wonderful quilt exhibit currently on display at The DuSable Musuem. 

Journey of Hope

The works range from the poignantly abstract to the grippingly realistic and feature techniques including piecing, painting, appliqué, embroidery, dyeing, beading, and more. Filled with the spirit of renewal and change that fueled the Obama campaign, Journey of Hope is a celebration of our patchwork heritage and the quilter’s art. 

The DuSable Musuem is located at--

740 East 56th Place, Chicago, IL 60637

The museum's hours are--

Tuesday through Saturday 10a to 5p

Sunday noon to 5p

(closed on Mondays)

This exhibit runs through May 9th.