Wonkyworld

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Americana Quilt

Americana Quilt
cotton/polyester blend
Plum Grove Junior High Quilting Club
Rolling Meadows, Illinois, 1976
74" x 91"

This wonderful "Americana Quilt" was made by the Plum Grove Junior High School Quilting Club in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. It includes a collection of embroidered patches dating from the early 1970s to 1976, when the quilt was made. The border and hanging loops are made of bright red fabric, and patches are stitched over blue squares, which alternate with inscription-covered white squares. Here are just a few of the details that caught my eye.

On one of the squares in the lower left corner there is an inscription that says, "Americana Quilt, Made by Quilt Club Students 8-2, 8-6, 8-9, 8-10" -- so I'm calling it an Americana Quilt. Many of the patches remind me of my childhood. I was 10 in 1976, and a couple years later I started a little patch collection of my own. Maybe one day they'll go into a quilt.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

inscribed Bicentennial quilt

inscribed Bicentennial quilt, Vermont, 1976, 57" x 57"

This neat little Bicentennial quilt arrived today. I found it on eBay, and wasn't really paying attention to its location of origin. It came from a seller in Essex Junction, Vermont! That's where my second cousins live, and I'm very familiar with the place. In fact, I spent time there in the summer of 1976.

The quilt is made of cottons and cotton/synthetic blends, and it is 57" x 57" in size. It is inscribed with embroidery in the lower left corner, "d.l. bister 1976" and it is red, white and blue - a real-deal Bicentennial quilt! If I ever get an ancestry.com subscription again, maybe I'll try to find out more. I'm not much of a genaologist, but it would be nice to find out if the maker was really from Essex Junction. Interestingly, the quilt is both hand-quilted and tied. I'm not sure I've seen that before.

catalogue of 1970s quilts

I'm working on a catalogue of 1970s quilts. This catalogue will be self-published, and will not be available to the general public. I am creating the catalogue to keep track of my collection of 1970s quilts, and as you can see from the photo, there are a lot of them. Right now there are 136 in the catalogue, but there are more here and on the way.

One of the quilts not yet added to the book is this patriotic piece inscribed with embroidery and dated 1976.

As soon as it arrives, I will add it to the section with the Bicentennial quilts. There are a few sections in the book. I tried to organize them by category, but there are many other ways to group them.

Hopefully I can wrap it up soon and get some copies printed. I plan to send a few out to curators, and maybe plan some exhibitions. Eventually I would like to work with a publisher on a book. It's time to take a good, hard look at the quilts of the 1970s.

Friday, November 11, 2016

where I came back to life

my kitchen, where I came back to life

Food was the first thing I wanted when I got out of the hospital after my heart attack in February. The cardiologist had basic advice, better nutrition. Cut down on sugar, salt and fat. I blogged about it here.

the remodeled space

Rewind back to 2008, when I decided to remodel my kitchen and great room, one of the best decisions of my life. I spared no expense, which made my friends and family a little nervous. Soon after, the economy crashed. I was much happier having the money in my house than the stock market at that point. It was a good investment. So, fast forward to 2016, I got busy in the kitchen.

Market of Choice, Cedar Mill area, Portland

The markets were a big part of it, and we're really spoiled here in Portland. Best fresh produce anywhere! Market of Choice is my local market. It's new, and I enjoy shopping there. Since February, I have shopped there most of the time and prepared most of the foods I've eaten.

healthy breakfast, Greek yogurt, berries, walnuts and honey

beet and apple slaw with fresh ginger and a sherry vinaigrette

oven baked Tandoori chicken

Ina Garten's Montauk Seafood Salad

salad night!

mussels, reminiscing about Paris

Bobby Flay's panzanella verde salad

watermelon granita

roasted salmon with a dijon glaze and Northwest salad

salad with andouille, heirloom tomatoes, pistachios and goat cheese

Ann Burrell's eggs flamenco, with added avocado

homemade peach pie

tostada with carnitas, pico de gallo, pickled red onion and a dollop of yogurt

avocados

The weight flew off. I went from 255 to 195 in five months. Now I can wear Ted Baker and Armani. I haven't gone back to Old Navy. More importantly, I've taken control of a major risk factor, obesity. At 255, I was obese according to the BMI charts. At 195, I am in the normal range and could either gain or lose a few pounds and still be in that range.

everything old is new again - a 34 waist!

As I've mentioned before, my approach to improved health was oddly compartmentalized. Most of the time the prescription calls for diet and exercise. I did it all in the kitchen...and at the market. I'll probably start exercising at some point, but now that I'm 50, I'm not as interested in going to the gym as I once was. Used to swim competitively, but when you're done, you're done.

Glory Days? Me, pink cap, 2003-ish, Elk Lake in Central Oregon

So, that's the story of where I came back to life. Thank you to everyone who has congratulated me on the hard work, but it wasn't work at all. It was an absolute pleasure.

Thursday, November 10, 2016

where I nearly died

Ground Kontrol, Portland, Oregon-- That's where I nearly died one afternoon. It was a Wednesday, February 17th, 2016, a few days before my 50th birthday and the day before I was supposed to go to QuiltCon. I was playing pinball with my friend Chris. We'd just had lunch with his mother at Andina.

Addams Family is one of my favorite pinball machines, but my first game was terrible. I tried a lot harder in the second game. It worked. I "popped" and won a free game. My body popped, too; left arm went numb, wristwatch too tight, short of breath, heart racing. I needed to go outside for some air.

Chris joined me outside after I insisted he play the free games without me. I didn't let on that anything was wrong. I just needed some air. Eventually I got myself home, went to Urgent Care, told them I thought I was having a heart attack, and they told me I was sixth in line. I left with the people from Urgent Care calling after me saying they could get an ambulance. Miraculously, I did not give them the finger, and drove myself to the hospital.

Hospitals are not my favorite places to be, and I wanted out. I wanted to take my trip to Pasadena for QuiltCon, see friends, have dinner with Gwen, the works. The plan was to have a blast and return home just in time to celebrate my 50th birthday. None of that happened, and instead of cake, I got a stent to open a partial blockage of the left anterior descending artery (LAD). Not the gift I was expecting, but it's what I needed more than anything.

All is well now, but I haven't been back to Ground Kontrol, and that's kind of a shame. It's a cool place. I love pinball, and it's great to have a local establishment with a lot of great machines. If space was unlimited, I'd be tempted to collect pinball machines, and I'd start with my all time favorite, Fun House. So, that's the story of where I nearly died. Up next: where I came back to life...

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Patriotic Quilts

pictorial with log cabin and American flag, c. 1930s from Ohio

It's Election Day in the United States of America, but rather than talk about all of that, I thought I'd share some favorite patriotic quilts from my personal collection. Enjoy, and God Bless America!