A Welcome Visitor

Turkey Tracks: April 7, 2022

A Welcome Visitor

Betsy Maislen, from Vermont, came to visit for a few days.

And to pick up a sewing machine she bought from a friend here. Her old machine, with which she started quilting, finally died.

Going from a very old machine to the Janome 8900 has been like going from a Model T car to a space ship for Betsy. It was so fun to watch her delight as she began to sew on her new machine.

We set up a sewing station for her downstairs:

And she went home with this top for a baby quilt—Wendy Sheppard’s ”Whirlygigs,” found in Simply Moderne magazine, No. 26.

I really like how the white squares are forming a very interesting pattern in the center of this baby-sized quilt. There are just so many geometric shapes that titillate the eye in this pattern: x’s, o’s, paddles.

I worked on the longarm while Betsy was here—and finished quilting and trimming ”Pot-Pourri 3.” The binding went on after Betsy left on Tuesday and after I had done my weekly cleaning/laundry tasks. So I now have hand sewing for night tv watching.

Here’s a sneak peek at one of the Churn Dash blocks for ”Eye Candy 3.”

Some days before Betsy came, I got really hungry for a pasta salad. I have to use rice pasta, but I’ve gotten used to it over the years. It is softer and if overcooked can get gummy. I love to use crisp veggies in a pasta salad: celery, onions, carrots, colored peppers (red, orange, or yellow). I add some roasted meat, like chicken. And those tiny organic green peas that are in the freezer section. And lots of herbs—with good olive oil. Sometimes I add some grated mozzarella cheese.

I didn’t have green peas or roasted chicken on hand, so I fried a small cube steak and but it up. I put the salad on a bed of mixed lettuce, and it was delicious.

For the leftovers, and after a trip to the grocery store, I added a hamburger patty and the little peas.

And while she was here, Betsy got roasted lamb, baked potatoes with raw butter, tiny new asparagus, and baked apples with vanilla ice cream. (Haagen-Dazs vanilla is the only ice cream I can find that has real ingredients and not a lot of fillers meant to substitute for actual cream.) And, for lunch before she left, we had a big green and veggie salad with meat from a just-cooked spatchcocked chicken.