TA-DA!!

Well, faithful followers of the Great Pickle Process in DoodleMoochie Land..Today was THE day!  You know the first blog I wrote was the beginning of The Process and I also mentioned that I was working on a quilt for 'Candy'.  Today was closure on both accounts. 

My mom came over and helped me pack and process the cute little cukes.  She wasn't discretionary at all.  She just stuck her hand in the crock, grabbed a fistful and slammed them in a jar.  No consideration at all of who they had been floating next to for the last 13 days.  No feelings for the relationships they might have formed..just crammed them in whatever jar was closest.  Well, I guess that is the way things will have to be.  It is their cucumber...ah-hem (pickle) destiny.  They now reside in 18 pints jars and 6 half-pint jars and one 4 ounce jar.  The 4 ouncer is for someone I don't really care for, who I suspect is not really going to enjoy the fruits of my labor.  It is for someone that I only feel obligated to share my pickles with...A 'necessity' if you will.  So look out.  You DO NOT want to be that person.  That person will want more and have none.

notice the 4 ouncer, right up front.... ;o)

We held out a few to eat with our sandwich at lunch...and yes, they are just THAT good.  Aunt Cleo would be proud.  I think I will take my cousin, Aunt Cleo's son, a jar of these pickles..and it will NOT be the 4 ouncer.

I also finished 'Candy's' quilt.  Actually I finished it last week.  But she teaches school in a nearby town and could not make it until today to pick it up.  She excited to have something that her Grandmother had started and we had finished for her.  Candy doesn't sew and so (sew and so..Ha) we finished it, binding and all.  Bed ready.  I am sure that her quilt will bring many generations of fond memories.  Well, now that 'Candy's' quilt is off the frame a new one is on...Look out Sue!  Yours is next..Another custom job and it is turning out beautifully.
Pictures are posted of the Great Pickle Process Production and of my mom.  I think it was safe to post the picture of her since she will never see it..she doesn't have internet.  If she does see it..I will have my brother to thank..and I WILL not thank him.
Until next time...

Vinegar!!!

Well, well, well.  Here we are on day 10 of the Great Pickle Process!!  And just exactly what does that mean?  To be specific, it means one heaping teaspoon of whole cloves, 4 sticks of cinnamon, 10 cups of sugar and 20 cups of vinegar.  The mayor of DoodleMoochie Land hefted the cuke filled crock to the sink and we gave them their last wash of fresh water.  It's good-bye, cruel world for these babies.  They are now floating in a wonderland of a spicy, sugary sweet heaven.  It smells so good in my house.  I know, I know.  Not many people would find the smell of vinegar pleasant.  But I do.  And apparently so does my oldest son, Mahoney.  He says it smells just like Aunt Cleo pickles..and they were the best EVER!  The vinegar smell makes me think of the time when my Aunt Cleo was still with us.  She and my mom would hack up the cucumbers, laughing and reminiscing all the while.  The smell of vinegar also reminds me of Easter egg dyeing time, long ago and far away.  Before the time of fizzing color tabs and droppers of oily paint that float on water.  I miss Aunt Cleo, but I sure am glad my mom is still here to share.  She is coming over in a few days when it is time to divide the cukes into their own little cuke condos (also known as Mason jars).  I am unsure of this process and still don't have good technique, so she will be here to drop some nuggets of wisdom and cheer me on.  I am excited about the whole thing. Mahoney and I couldn't wait and we snuck a slice while working with the pickle syrup tonight...and we were so pleased that we delivered one to the Mayor.  All in agreement.  So far the Great Pickle Process is a very good thing!

Day 7 of the Great Pickle Procedure!

So today is day 7 of the Great Pickle Procedure..and let me tell you I have had my share of scum skimming and mold removal...EeeWEeeee.  But it did not smell bad at all..go figure.  When the mayor of DoodleMoochie Land came home today he flexed his muscles and showed them pickles what-for.  Yessireee, the Mayor hefted that 5 gallon crock filled with hacked up cucumbers and salt water effortlessly to the sink.  He dumped them in without spilling or splashing a drop.  It was kind of like a pickle ballet.  Then I gave them a shower of tepid water, ever so gently rinsing away the saltwater bath and refreshing them with some clean, clear water.  I tenderly lifted the cukes by loving handfuls and laid them ever so gingerly into the once again clean crock.  You could almost hear their sigh of relief.  You know girls, like when you get a perm and the stylist finally tells you 'it's time' and they put your itchy, tight head of hair under that cool stream of everlasting loveliness we call..water. And then....HaHAhaaa..I covered the little suckers with BOILING water!..Again..don't judge me..It is what the recipe called for.  I had to leave the room.  Cucumber screams are just more than I can bear.
I found refuge in the quilt studio.  Today was DOPU day at DoodleMoochie Inc.  You know ..drop off, pick up day...Silly you, you didn't guess what DOPU stood for, did you?  I had two quilts picked up and six quilts dropped off.  A pretty good balance!  I am currently working on the binding for Candy's quilt.  It is almost finished, Praise the Lord!  That quilt has been a thorn in my side.  The mayor of DoodleMoochie Land just made the comment..'Do you ever have a quilt that is smaller than a football field?'..Well, I did three wall hangings yesterday and am about to load a baby quilt.  Then you guessed it, back to quilts for elephants. I personally believe that any quilt worth having is a quilt that will cover your toes and tuck under your chin.  Apparently a lot of people think bigger than me.  O.k...I should get back to the studio..and back to work (if you can call it that)..because I LOVE it!

Pickle Update

So today is day 2 of the 14 day Great Pickle Process.  The hacked up cucumbers sit in the crock drowning in a sea of salt water...'You know, Levi is going to drink out of that' says Angel Baby...'Not after the first lap' says my Mom.  (You see the water is 3 cups of salt to 2 gallons of water.)  'The only person that would drink out of that is Nan' (my Mom) says the mayor of DoodleMoochie Land.  My mom loves salt SOOO much that we are thinking of having her headstone carved from a salt block when the time comes.  I taped the recipe for these particular pickles on the wall behind the crock and dated it with notes about the day and approximate time that the Great Pickle Process began..otherwise, as my mother so tenderly reminded me, I would forget and the Process would turn into A Great Disappointment.  I can just see the poked out lip, the quivering chin, the single tear rolling down the cheek, when one of my children went to the pantry only to return from pickle retrieval duty empty-handed.  Now I can't have that kind of grieving going on in this house...NO!  So dutifully I taped the recipe behind the crock...safe and sound.  Maybe I should take it down and make a copy of it...  Maybe I should put it in the recipe notebook.  Hey!  Maybe I could snail mail it to myself..would the post office keep me from A Great Disappointment??  Now wait..what did I say I was going to do with that recipe??  Have you seen my cell phone?  Have you seen my car keys??  ArrGGhhhhh!

Maiden Blog

Thanks for visiting the 'maiden voyage' of Quilt with DoodleMoochie! We are so glad you decided to join us. I was inspired to start this blog after meeting Pat Wyse of Silver Thimble Quilt Company at our local guild meeting, discovering the Free Motion Quilting blog, CraftFail, and of course watching the movie Julie and Julia. I am inspired by ALL of these ladies!