Flower Series 6: Success??

Bright flowers
12" x 12"
acrylic

I planned a series of quilts inspired by flowers, mandalas and the Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes. Months later I have a stack of acrylic paintings. One is a mandala, all have flowers, and  I see Milhazes in their layers and colors. My niece Gretchen got me started painting a pineapple for her. Since then I've painted on cotton, drew with stitch, and collaged with fabric and paint. But there is no series as planned.

Instead, I'm on a discovery trail and loving it. 

1. For inspiration, give me flowers -- they are more than mere petals and stems!
2. And give me paint to mess with. Yesterday I read about an artist who paints with his fingers, wearing plastic gloves. I'm more of a natural mess; I love my fingers all gooey with colors. (Paintbrushes also have a place. ) For me, precision is in the feel of the finished piece, not perfection according to plan. I must discover a way to make messy quilts, with undefined edges 
3. For now  I'll skip "meaningful" (or political) work. The world is such a tumble, but direct defiance is not my best response. (Embracing causes has not worked for me,  in either religion or journalism. Or art.)
4. I'm going to continue painting and sewing and looking and loving. Flowers and paint are not the end. They are leading me somewhere.

Crust for Thanksgiving pies

Pie crust is tricky. That's what Mom said. And a flaky crust is the mark of a good cook. She said that too. I've used lots of recipes, including Mom's, and have to admit mine is not always as flaky as I'd like. My current favorite recipe is from Bon Appetit. I love that it says to work the dough with your hands! You could also use a food processor or a fork, I guess.

The Flakiest, Butteriest Crust

1 cup + 2 T. chilled unsalted butter
2 1/4 C. flour
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 T. apple cider vinegar
3 T. water

1. Cut butter into 1" pieces. Chill it while you measure the dry ingredients.
2. Mix the flour, sugar and salt together in a big bowl. I use that bowl you see in the photo above.
3. Add the butter and toss it until it's coated with flour. Then use your fingers and palms to work the butter into small, irregular pieces. This is fun. Stop before the butter gets warm. You should still see some pieces of butter.
4. Mix the vinegar with the ice water.
5. Drizzle the liquid over the flour-butter mixture. Mix it up quickly with your hands so the dough kind of sticks together. It will still seem pretty dry.
6. Turn the dough onto a piece of waxed paper (no extra flour needed) and knead it a few times. Don't let the butter get all mixed in. The idea is to keep some butter in discreet pieces.
7. Push the dough down and cut it in half. Press each half down to about an inch high, and wrap the two pieces in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator 1 hour to 3 days. (OK, I'm doing a few more than three! Let's see -- Thanksgiving's four days from tomorrow. In a day or two I'll:
8. Roll it out and fit into pie pan.
9. Blind bake or fill and bake according to recipe.

I'll be making this pumpkin pie Thursday morning.  You could do worse!

Sweet, squiggly hanging heart: How-to

Yours will look better! This is old and well-loved. It guards my fabric cupboard.

Here are directions I made for friends at Sew Arty. We are sharing ideas for quilted gifts.

1. Draw a heart on stiff paper.

2. Cut it out.

3. Find a quilt scrap.

4. Trace heart on it. Cut it out.

5. Repeat for a backing.

6. Sew the two hearts together, right sides out. Stop, leaving room to stuff.

7. Stuff the heart with loose batting. Finish seam.

8. With wire, make a loop between the two heart lobes, slipping wire through your stitches, then twist to secure.

9. Squiggle a longer piece of wire decoratively and end with a hook for hanging. Make sure wire is strong enough to hold the heart without sagging. Squeeze the ends of wire so they are not sharp.