Quilters Don't Just Quilt

The artistic spirit tends to delve into more than one medium.  Quilters are no exception. I have a friend, from some years ago who quilts. Her passion, however, is tole painting, and paper-craft and cross-stitch. Another friend who is an experienced garment maker longs to be a quilter. And yet another is a candle maker and floral arranger, she is still trying to quilt. What I am trying to convey is that the person with artistic passions can often translate their skills to more than one medium. In Sewtopia, much more than quilting goes on!

I enjoy gardening pursuits between sewing/quilting projects. My herb garden was productive this year and I played around with different drying methods. My new favorite requires a couple steps but the outcome is worth it. 

  

Enter lots and lots of Parsley, this bunch is the curly variety.

•  After an early morning pick I rinse the bunch under running water then fill a sink or large vessel with lukewarm water and some Kosher salt. For an average stainless steel sink I add about 3 large Tablespoons. I swish the stems around a few times, pull them from the water and rinse again under running water. Drain, pat dry with paper towels or linen/no lint towels. This process really separates the dust, small insects etc from the hidden areas of the bunch. 
• line the microwave dish with a couple paper towels, zap for about 1 minute. Depending on your microwave you may want to start with 30 second sessions. You want to partially dry the herb but not dry it out, hope that makes sense. One tip is that you still want the herb to look green. Once it starts to darken you have zapped too much.
• From this step arrange the herb on drying racks (I use bakery racks) with another dry towel on the bottom and one on the top.
• After about 24 to 36 hours you should have lovely green little bunches to pack for storage and/or gifts. 
• This year I used pint canning jars, parchment paper secured with the jar rings. 

 

Not fancy but very practical. I store these in a cool dark cabinet and when I gift them I remind the giftee to
poke one or two little holes through the parchment paper for air circulation if you keep this open in the kitchen. None of the dried parsley has been crushed, each little bunch (without stems) is intact, I crush them at the time of use, the flavors remain intact. These become part of my Holiday/Hostess gift baskets.

 
 In another example, Linda Sue has been busy with Sea Glass and wire making pendants. They are so pretty. Working in other mediums, this quilter is stretching her wings.

What other creative pursuits feed your spirit?  Have you considered a new craft? Do you know others who are multi-talented as well?