Farewell

Goodbye 2011

2011 was a fantastic year!  It was

filled with adventure, travel, learning,

progress in building the empire and

the lovely experiences of meeting new

friends and reconnecting with old friends.

I think about the hands I've held,

the places I've seen,

the vast lands whose dirt is caked

on the bottom of my shoes.

The world has changed me.

        ~ Ameilia Earhart

Me too.

I look forward to the

hopes and dreams of 2012.

Let's start the adventure...

The Circle of Friends Quilt

Civil War Remembered 2011

This is a group quilt made for

Barbara Brackman in appreciation

of her Civil War Block of the Week

featuring a weekly history lesson

and quilt pattern.

Last January Barbara Brackman

started a blog and would post a new

block each week on Saturdays at 7am.

Dustin started a Flickr site so we could

all share our progress.  After we all consulted

tech support (the youngsters in our lives) to

find out how to add photos, the circle of

friends started.  Each week we would share

our progress, our photos and our lives.

Becky came up with the idea to make a group

quilt as a thank you for Barbara.  Quilters from

Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Malaysia,

the Netherlands, Portugal and 19 states in the

USA participated.  The most popular name among

the participants was... Barbara ~ there were 4 of

them.  The Barbara Frietchie Star, Indiana Puzzle,

Log Cabin & Lincoln's Platform were the most

popular blocks ~ they each appear 3 times.

The quilt was assembled by Becky Brown and

quilted by Deb Jacobs.  We just found out from

Barbara that the quilt is being photographed to

be included in the companion book to the series.

My block is the 4th row down, 3rd from the left.

It has navy corners with a white pinwheel in the

center.  My quilt that I will make from my blocks

will be especially significant to me since I made

mine all around the world this year.  I can remember

arriving in Cairo on a night flight and while everyone

went for dinner I was hand stitching my block all

alone in my hotel room listening to the sounds

from the street of a country that had just gone

through a revolution.  What memories!

I have taken what I call my "Brackman

Bag" with me all around the world.  It is

filled with some fabric and supplies and I

have been able to finish my block each week.

Surprisingly, I have never been questioned

by a customs official about the rotary cutter.

Any quilter knows that could be a lethal weapon!

I want to say to my Civil War Family, this

quilt has "stitched" us together as friends.



Civil War Remembered ~ Block 52

Christmas Star

We are quilting along with Barbara

Brackman's 2011 Civil War Quilt.

http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/

Fabric Requirements:

Fabric A: Light Print

6 - 2 3/4" squares - Mark

a diagonal line on back.

4 - 2" x 2 1/2" rectangles

Fabric B: Red

1 - 2 1/2" square

2 - 2 3/4" squares - Mark

 a diagonal line on back.

Fabric C: Small Green Print

4 - 2 3/4" squares

Fabric D: Gold

4 - 2 3/4" squares

Fabric E: Large Green Print

4 - 2" x 2 1/2" rectangles

Make Half Square Triangles:

Pair 2 3/4" squares with right sides

together in the following combinations:

2 - A/C     4 - A/D     2 - B/C

Sew 1/4" away from each side of drawn

line, cut on drawn line and press seam to

the darker fabric.  Square to 2".

Layout units as shown and sew together

in 2 rows.  Press seams in row 1 to the left

and seam in row 2 to the right.

Sew rows together and press seam to the top.

Square to 3 1/2".  Make 4.

Make Center Outer Units:

Layout units as shown and sew together

along long edge.  Press seam to the bottom.

Square to 2 1/2" x 3 1/2".  Make 4.

Assemble Block:

Layout units as shown and sew together

in 3 rows.  Press seams in rows 1 and 3 to

 the outside and seams in row 2 to the inside.

Sew rows together.  Press final seams

open to reduce bulk.  Square to 8 1/2".

Just one more week!  What will we do?

I have no idea how I will finish this quilt!

We are celebrating Christmas here at our

American Homestead.  Best wishes for

the happiest of holidays all around the world.



What Is A Hoosier Cabinet?

Yesterday I happened to mention my

Hoosier cabinet on a facebook post.

My friend, Olivia, in Germany, asked,

"What is a Hoosier cabinet?"

Oh, Olivia!  Not only do I have a

Hoosier cabinet but, it comes with

a great story.

First, let's address what a Hoosier

cabinet is.  The Hoosier Manufacturing

Company in New Castle, Indiana made

furniture for the kitchen.  Years ago,

kitchens did not have built-in cabinets

so you had furniture made specifically

for the kitchen.  Hoosier cabinets were

a one stop cabinet, they had storage, a flour

 sifter, a bread drawer, and a work surface.

So, now we'll get to MY Hoosier

cabinet.  Years ago when my Aunt

Jane & Uncle Bob bought an older home

on Grove Street in Rahway, NJ there was

a Hoosier cabinet in the kitchen.  I first

remember this cabinet as the dress-up

cabinet that was in the garage.  As you can

see in the above photo, we all loved to

dress-up!  Yeah, that's me, front row right.

So, years go by and I grow up and

my aunt and uncle were down-sizing

and having a garage sale.  Someone

came to the sale and happened to spot

the cabinet and made an offer to buy it.

My Aunt Jane called me and asked if

I knew what a Hoosier cabinet was?

I said, of course!  They are great old

cabinets, etc. etc....

To make a long story short, my aunt

gave me the cabinet.  Rob & I scraped

off all the paint and restored it and it

has been one of our prized possessions

ever since.  At that time we would never

have dreamed that one day we would

live in Indiana.  But now, we live a half

an hour away from where the cabinet

was made.  Aunt Jane said, we brought

it home.

I have seen other Hoosier cabinets

that are much more decked out than

ours but to me they can't compared.

And it just so happens that today is

my Aunt Jane's birthday.  So please

join me in wishing Aunt Jane

A Very Happy Birthday!

I also have a Sellers cabinet

but that's another story...

Christmas Lights

Last night we went on a Luminaria Walk

 on the grounds of the Oldfields mansion.

We strolled the grounds and could see

the beautiful decorations inside.  Since

we had just toured the mansion on Sunday

we didn't go inside.

I had never been to Oldfields in

the dark before.  All lit up for

Christmas made it especially beautiful.

It was a bit rainy but not too

cold so we strolled through the

deserted gardens with only the

candles lighting our way.

In my hometown in New Jersey, everyone

would put out luminarias in front of their houses

on Christmas Eve.  It was very festive and

beautiful, especially in the snow.

I wonder if they still do that?

Then we went to downtown Indianapolis,

in the center of the city is Monument Circle.

At Christmas the monument is made into

a Christmas tree.

Beautiful stained glass windows

in the Cathedral.

There are still some great

old buildings downtown.

I hope you are enjoying the lights

of the season wherever you may be.

Elle's Kitchen: Brie en Croute

Looks Impressive but Simple to Make

In French the term en croute means

in a crust.  This appetizer will wow your

guests but only you will know how simple

it was to prepare.  You can prep this ahead

of time and pop it in the oven just before

guests arrive, making it even easier.

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 Tabl. water

flour

1/2 of a 17.3oz pkg. of

Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry

(thaw for 30 minutes)

1/2 cup apricot preserves

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

13 or 16oz. round of brie

Serve with baguette or crackers

or sliced apple or all 3!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Beat together egg & water, set aside.

Flour work surface and roll out thawed

 puff pastry to a 14" square.  With a knife

or pizza cutter, round off edges and save

scraps for later.

Spread preserves leaving a 1" margin.

Sprinkle with dried cranberries and

toasted sliced almonds.

Place round of Brie in center.

Note: Do not do it as pictured! 

I am adding this to show my

mistake.  I had a large wheel of

Brie that I wanted to finish and

thought it might work for this.

But alas, no.  There was too much

melting and leaking during the cooking

 process.  Use a smaller, entire wheel.

Brush edges with the egg & white

mixture.  Fold edges up and over brie,

sort of like wrapping a package, remove

any preserves that may ooze out as that

will burn during cooking.  Place seam

side down on a baking sheet and decorate

with cutout shapes from the reserved scraps.

Brush surface with egg mixture.

Note: If preparing ahead, refrigerate after

being placed on baking sheet.  Do not brush

with egg mix until ready to bake.  Add an

additional 10 minutes to baking time.

Bake for 20 minutes or until top is

golden brown.  Let stand for 30

minutes before serving.

Enjoy with those you love!

Midnight in Paris

Brie en Croute & Kir Royales

We wanted to see Midnight in Paris together

but due to hectic schedules we missed it in the

theatres.  The film came out on DVD yesterday

and we all gathered to watch ~ of course we

needed appropriate refeshments.

We had Brie en Croute ~ brie with apricot

preserve, dried cranberries and toasted

almonds wrapped in a puff pastry crust.

And to drink ~ Kir Royales.

Creme de Kassis and Champagne.

We toasted to when we can all

spend Midnight in Paris together again.

Oh ~ and don't miss the film.

It was great!



Me Time ~ December 20, 2011

Christmas Party!

I participate in an ornament exchange.

These are the ones I made this year,

pattern to come soon...

Dawn's

Judi's

Yeah, I'm sure she has heard

every "hooker" joke under the sun...

Dawn's gift for Kate's dorm room.

A gift for a stitching, baker ~ me!

A gift for a crazy sock wearing, button lover.

Every quilter will get this.

Today we enjoyed a party together

filled with raucous laughter, some screams,

and great friendship and that is the

real gift!



An American Homestead: Oldfields at Christmas

A Great American Country House

The kids are home from school and

before everyone starts running in

opposite directions this week, we took

a day to spend together as a family.

It is a tradition in our family to visit

Oldfields, now a house museum on the

grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

It is a 22 room mansion that was once

the home of the Lilly family.  We love

to visit at Christmas time to see the

beautiful decorations.

The trees in this room were decorated

with eggs.  They explained that during

the war years people were encouraged

to decorate using natural materials.

We have been coming to Oldfields since

our kids were little.  We will often stop

by on a Sunday afternoon to stroll through

the gardens and greenhouse.  We were lucky

on this visit to have such a beautiful sunny

day, especially after all the grey skies we have

been having lately.

As always, I love the kitchen, I guess

since I spend so much time in my own.

I hope you get to experience some of

your family traditions with the ones you love.