Library Quilts

I haven't spent much time in the local library since we moved here but did visit it more often while my cousin, Tina was staying with me.  One day I noticed the quilts hanging over the book shelves and decided I needed to get pictures of them.

I previously showed quilts from our local quilters group here .

I noticed that the quilts worked with the Dewey Decimal system of sorting books in many libraries.

 

These show 363 - environment and 400 - languages.

 

523- solar system and 581 - plants

 

598 - birds and 599 - animals

 

The neat thing about the banners is that they hang over the shelves of books they represent.

 

If you are looking for books about gardening or pets, you would look on these shelves.

 

Parenting and families - look here.

 

Some of the quilts have additions sewn on to them.  These have jewelry  and tiny quilts added.

 

These have actual examples of weaving and crocheting attached to the quilt squares.

 

The librarian I spoke to said it saves many steps by being able to say to someone looking for a book on music to look under the quilt square with the music notes on it.

 

The quilters have done a great job of picking the perfect fabrics.  Many of the borders also reflect the subject.  Look at the hockey sticks and skaters surrounding the below.

 

They have used many styles of quilting including applique and piece work. 

 

I spent alot of time admiring the quilts while Tina was choosing books, movies and Cd's.

 

I hope you are enjoying this walk around my local library with me.

 

The photos don't do the quilt justice but unless you are coming to visit, it is the best I can do.

 

Enjoy! ;)

 



Cucumber Seeds

One of the seeds I decided to save this year were cucumbers.  Some of the cukes grew up the wire I placed around the cherry tomatoes to keep you-know-who from picking at all the reddish ones early in the season.  Lulu is not a good sharer so I had to restrict her access to the cherry tomatoes so I could have some as well.

 

You are to leave the cukes grow and ripen as long as possible in the garden.  Here is one of the ones from the wire that has yellowed nicely.

 

When I was worried about frost, I picked the large yellow ones and allowed them to ripen off the vine even more.  You can see the one in the top left is starting to rot.  It is now time to save the seeds.

 

First you cut the cucumbers in half so you can scoop out the seed pulp.

 

You do not need the flesh and skin so add those to your compost heap.  If you have chickens they may eat them as well.  Lulu is a more finicky eater and likes the seeds not the flesh.

 

Next place the seedy pulp in a jar.  Add some water and shake. Over time the mixture will separate.  Leave them for about five days.  The good seeds should sink to the bottom.  I ended up pouring off the scummy water and poured the good seeds into a colander.  I then rinsed off the seeds and repeated the process.

After the second time, I rinsed the seeds well to make sure no bits of flesh were still attached.  Drain them well and place on paper towels or screens to dry for several weeks.  When they are hard and dry, bag and label for next year's use.

Sourdough Rugelach

Since I was travelling early in December and then got sick, I didn't get much Christmas baking done.  I decided to try my hand at Sourdough Rugelach after seeing them on December's Sourdough Surprises.  Rugelach are a filled, rolled cookie/pastry.

The original recipe was here and I took my filling ideas from here and here.

Ingredients for dough

 

1/2 c butter

3 ounces cream cheese

1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c sourdough 
1 c flour (I used 1/2 c whole wheat and 1/2 c white)
 

fillings - I checked out the fillings above and adjusted them to go with the jams I wanted to use.  You can change them to suit your taste.

filling #1

1/4 c spiced apricot jam

2 Tbsp chopped walnuts

2 Tbsp chopped raisins

filling #2

blackberry jam

chopped chocolate chips

chopped walnuts

filling #3

apple pie jam

cinnamon

chopped walnuts

chopped dried cranberries

filling #4

chopped raisins

chopped walnuts

cinnamon

sugar

filling #5

spiced apricot jam

chopped raisins

chopped walnuts

chopped dried cranberries

 

Beat butter and cream cheese together.  Add sugar and vanilla and beat again.  Add sourdough and flour and mix on low speed until mixture becomes a sticky dough.

 

Knead gently a few times on a floured surface.  Form dough into flat ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

 

Cut dough in half and place rest back in fridge.  Work quickly so dough doesn't get sticky.  Place dough onto lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle about 14" by 6".

 

 

Since I wanted to try several fillings, I cut the rectangle in half.  For the first half, I mixed together the jam and chopped raisins and walnuts.  I spread the mixture on the dough leaving space at the edge.  Having the raisins and nuts mixed in made the rugelach easier to roll.

 

 

Filling #2 called for mini chocolate chips.  I only had regular ones and tried to chop them in food processor - not too successfully as some of the chips turned to powder and others stayed whole.  Plus the food processor was sticky to clean.  Here I spread the jam and sprinkled on the chocolate chips and chopped nuts.

 

Roll the dough starting on the long side.  Cut slices about an inch wide and place on parchment paper.  In the original recipe you sprinkled sugar and cinnamon on the jam mixture which I thought was unnecessary.  In one of the recipes, they brushed the unbaked cookies with an egg wash and sprinkled on cinnamon sugar which I didn't do either. 

 

For the second half of the dough, I decided to try rolling them crescent-style.  Again roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface.  I used an 8" round cake pan to cut the circles.  Press scrap dough into a ball and refrigerate until ready to use it.

For the next filling I used jam, chopped cranberries and walnuts.  Spread almost to the edge.

 

Cut dough in half and then in half again.  Cut each quarter into thirds and you will have 12 cookies.  Start rolling each piece from the outer edge. 

I found these a little more finicky then the long roll.  Again place on parchment paper.



 

I then tried a cinnamon - sugar mixture with chopped raisins and nuts.  This was much harder to roll as the filling wasn't sticky so it fell out instead of sticking to the dough.

You can see the mess on the parchment paper.  It was much harder to keep these intact.

The last filling was jam and the leftover chopped raisins, cranberries and walnuts.  I just rolled the leftover dough into a rectangle and rolled and cut the rugelach as before.

Bake at 350°F for about 15 or so minutes until cookies are brown around the edges, turning pans after 10 minutes.  Some people sprinkle the cookies with icing sugar.  Cool rugelach and enjoy!



The rugelach were a big hit.  They tasted part pastry - part cookie.  I enjoyed the spice jam ones and also the ones with chocolate.  The filling variety is as broad as your imagination.  ;)

Lulu and Wheatgrass

Last year I brought some sod indoors for Lulu to eat during the winter.  It worked alright at the start but as we got less sunlight, the grass began to go dormant.

Someone suggested I try wheatgrass for Lulu.  I grew several trays of it for her.

 

She loved her fresh greens.

 

By having two trays, I could alternate them so the grass could grow in between feedings.

 

She did a good job of keeping the grass down in height.

 

I keep the wheatgrass in a sunny window and bring it down to Lulu on her end table.

 

I do not leave the grass there all day.  She only gets it once a day for a treat.

 

Often she stops what she is doing when I am snapping pics but not when eating her wheatgrass.

 

 

Lulu is a very happy camper when she gets her feed of wheatgrass.

 



 

"Yum, yum, yum!"  mumbled Lulu with her mouth full, "I love this stuff!"

 

 

"It is so fresh and green." Lulu chortled.  "And I don't have to go out and get my feet cold!"

 

"I'm so happy, I could crow!"  chuckled Lulu.  "If I was a rooster that is!  Ha! Ha! Ha!"

A Snowy Night

A couple of weeks ago when we got a heavy snowfall, I stood in the doorways and took pictures into the night.  I thought some of them turned out quite interesting so I hunted up a poem about nighttime in winter to share with you.  Enjoy!

A Winter Night

 

The storm puts its mouth to the house
and blows to get a tone.

I toss and turn, my closed eyes
reading the storm's text.



The child's eyes grow wide in the dark
and the storm howls for him.

Both love the swinging lamps;
both are halfway towards speech.



The storm has the hands and wings of a child.
Far away, travellers run for cover.

The house feels its own constellation of nails
holding the walls together.



The night is calm in our rooms,
where the echoes of all footsteps rest

like sunken leaves in a pond,
but the night outside is wild.



A darker storm stands over the world.
It puts its mouth to our soul

and blows to get a tone. We are afraid
the storm will blow us empty.



by Tomas Tranströmer
translated from the Swedish by Robin Robertson