Wedding Shower Present for Amber

My White cousins grew up in Indiana.  The youngest is my cousin Kathy, the only White girl cousin.  Her daughter Amber is getting married in North Judson, IN, this Saturday to Derik Lenig.  This belated wedding shower present is an insulated casserole carrier, complete with a 9" x 13" covered pan and a spoon for a carrier handle . But this isn't just any spoon.  This spoon is one made by my cousin Jerry White - Amber is his niece.

The church where Amber is getting married is one I sat in many times when as i child I visited my grandparents Jack and Eloise White.  My uncle Leonard, my dad's only brother,  and his wife Elizabeth were married in that church.  My grandpa Jack's funeral was in that church.

 Making this shower present has put me into a "Circle of Life" mood. A former student and his wife just had a baby. Amber's getting married. A guild friend just last night sat with her father as he passed from this life. For now, I rejoice in Amber's new life as a bride and a wife.

The carrier opened up

The top and bottom portion folded over the 9" x 13" pan

Present Parts

 

My best friend's son is marrying, and his fiance's wedding shower is Sunday. I'm sad about missing the February meeting of the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild, but I'm thrilled for my friend and her family. I found an unusual batik, one side is metallic and the other isn't. I'm currently working on quilting this with a metallic thread. The binding and handle straps will be a solid black. And the batting is a thermal batting. The spoon which serves as the handle is one made by my cousin Jerry. And who doesn't love a 9" x 13" pan with its own cover? This casserole carrier will be fabulous!

My Cup Runneth Over!

With wooden spoons!

My cousin Jerry White finds joy in his family, his mechanical engineering work, and his woodworking.  In February I sent him one of my casserole carriers and asked if he would make spoons for future projects.  He agreed.

Look at these!  They are beautiful!

Jerry's daughter Erin is getting married this summer.  Seems like one of these carriers might be an appropriate shower present! 

Thank you, Jerry - these are fabulous and nicer than anything I could have bought!

Bartering Services

My cousin Jerry is a craftsman both in his vocation (engineering) and his avocation (wood working). I want spoons from him, and this casserole carrier is on its way to the Kansas White House. Now he'll be able to see exactly how I want to use these spoons. The discovery I made today is that the spoon handle needs to be almost 10" long. A spoon that is 13" in length would be ideal. But I have no idea whether what I'm asking him is reasonable or feasible.

Check out this blog entry from last June - Jerry gave me some of his work, which I treasure and use.

Casserole Carrier - Quilted, of course

Underneath the spoon and the ties is a 9" x 13" pan.  I saw this pattern a few months ago and finally ordered it, thinking how easy it would be to make and what a great gift it could be.  After spending the morning making this, here's what I've discovered.

1.  It is a nifty idea.
2.  It would make a great gift.
3.  This pattern isn't difficult, but it is time-consuming.
4.  This gift is not a casual one considering the time invested, the cost of the fabrics, and the cost of the pan and the spoon.

This carrier is made from two quilted rectangles, one of which is 10" x 34" and the other is 18" x 34".   Both of these rectangles must be bound. There are also two ties, 1" x 40".

The narrow end flaps are folded over the pan.  Then the two sides are folded over than and tied.

The wooden spoon becomes the handle for this tidy little package.  See the top picture for the finished bundle.

I think I will make a couple of these, but I won't crank these out in great numbers.  Now that I've made one, I think the second one will be sent to my cousin Jerry White in Kansas - he's the woodworker and perhaps I can get some spoons in exchange for a carrier. 

But tomorrow?  Back to purses...