Quilt modifications

I have finished the piecing of my "Retreat" quilt.  This is not at all like the pattern looked like.  The flying geese border was changed because my husband likes to play with quilt designs on my design wall and he thought this layout would be cool. I'm referring to the flying geese border that no longer looks like flying geese but rather just an arrangement of triangles. That was an OK thing to do because it did not change the width of this triangle border.  I proceeded to apply the next 1" border.  When I started the outside border I ran into an issue.  After I had the four blocks for the first side sewn together, I took it to the design wall and it was way short... no easing would even come close.

  At first I thought it was off by just a little over 1", so I proceeded to add 1" (cut 1 1/2") in the middle of the 4 blocks. That did not fill the gap. After initially thinking I was off by 1", I found out I was really off by 2".  I then ripped that one piece out and added 2 - 1 1/2" strips using both colors and sewed the white side to the black edge of the block, and the black side to the white edge.  It almost made it look like I planned it that way.  I then put together the top border that has 6 blocks and thought it would be an even bigger discrepancy, and it worked out that the exact same size for the additional strips worked on all 4 sides.

I at first thought the pattern had instructed the strips to be cut the wrong size.  I went back to the pattern after I had verified that my seams were all indeed 1/4"... and they were.  Backing up a bit here... at the retreat that we were recently at, we had watched a video on a block made by using a "tube" method.  The finished block looked almost like the blocks in this quilt... minus one additional triangle.  We thought it would be neat for all of us to start this quilt at the retreat. Anyhow I decided I did not need to read the instructions in the pattern because I thought I could make the block based on that video.  I was soooo wrong.

I have not tried to make a new block using the instructions from the pattern because I had all 20 blocks for my quilt already completed that measured 7" square - the pattern said they should be 7 1/2".  Had I at least read far enough to see what size they should be, I might have avoided this issue. I only read enough to find out what size to cut the strips.


At the top of the triangles above you can see the point is actually flat.  By moving the ruler over 1/4" the triangle ends up being wider.  I told everyone to line the ruler up on the point.  In my defense, I typically do not try to show someone how to do something that I have not done before.  We decided on this quilt after watching the video on YouTube at our retreat and finding the quilt in the quilt magazine that looked like the same block was used.  I was sure I could assist everyone without running into any issues, but instead I have learned another lesson, but this time I led others astray in the process.

End result for me looks fine.  I could not have it turn out any better if I had planned it that way.  Hopefully the others who have already cut their triangles can come up with a fix that will work for them... and I would certainly, if they dared to allow me to assist them, fix theirs the way I did mine.

New Gadget in the Kitchen

For those who have not heard of this new gadget, I want to introduce you to some exciting fun in the kitchen.  Maybe about a month ago I saw a post in an online forum that talked about a Personal Pie Maker.  I did a little investigation at that time and thought it would be a neat thing to try.  Around that time I was talking to a good friend who said she had also heard about this new gadget.... Then I kind of put it on the back burner, out of mind.  Two weeks ago, she calls and says she bought one at a William Sonoma store.  Then she brought dessert to a meeting I had at my house and she made the little pies in her new Breville Pie Maker.  That is when I decided I just had to have one.  Last Friday I bought mine.  My husband wasn't too sure it was worth the cost, but he agreed that it looked very intriguing.

My first pies were cherry with two crusts.  I had a bit of a time getting the pies out, even though I had bought the two prong lifter that they suggested to go with it.  I used my regular pie crust recipe and the crust turned out nice and flaky as usual.  I then made pumpkin pies which do not have a top crust and they were just awesome... but again I had a bit of a time getting them out in one piece.  We have already had three different kinds of pies, and it is still not a week since I bought it.  My husband is not afraid of the kitchen, but he likes to know he can accomplish the task before he starts.  I told him that he could probably make himself a pie anytime he wanted one if I rolled out and cut the crust for him.  I figured I could layer the cut crust between wax paper in the fridge to have handy.  He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with the crust.

I was reading through the book that came with the unit and it indicated that you could use bread as the crust, or puff pastry... so not limited to just pie crust.  The unit comes with a two-sided cutter.... large on one side for the bottom crust and smaller on the other side for the top crust, and a press that forms the bottom crust to the pie shape.  Ron asked if I thought we could try using tortillas so I bought a fresh package to give it a try.  Today for lunch we had mini-chili pies.  I first put the 4 tortillas in the microwave with a damp paper towel over them so they would become a little more pliable.  I also heated the canned Wolf chili a little.  I pressed the bottoms in place, spooned in the warmed chili and put shredded cheese on top.  Ron thought I should try one with a top crust, so I only put a top crust on one.  These little pies were great.  I didn't get too fancy on these cause I wasn't sure how the tortillas would work, but the tortillas worked beautifully... and they were just as good with or without the top crust.  I can see making a meal out of these with a nice salad to go with a couple of these little gems.  The scraps from cutting the crusts could just be laid across the tops or eaten on the side... so there would be no waste.  I can see there will be no limit to creativity here.

What I did learn from the tortillas was the best part.  I like to roll my pie crust really thin.  I look at it as kind of an art to be able to roll thin pie crust.  Well thin is not good with the pie maker.  The filling is heavy enough with most pies that the thin crust is just not sturdy enough to allow a clean lift to a plate.  These tortillas on the other hand lifted out perfectly.  They turned out like baked shells, nice and sturdy and crispy on the edges.  So I will be rolling my pie crust for the pie maker just a bit thicker from now on.  Of course when you buy pre-made pie crust from the freezer section, it is rolled thicker anyhow, so this would not be an issue for alot of people.  Thicker is better, at least for mini-pies.

Ron has decided now that he has seen how nicely the tortillas work that he can make himself a pie with whatever he can find in the fridge, anytime he wants to... like when I'm gone to my quilt meetings.  Did I say that once the pie maker is heated up (about 4 or 5 minutes), the pies are done between 8 to 12 minutes.  How great is that?