The World According to Maiden Fair

Today my granddaughter had her first day of sewing camp. She LOVED it!! She has been learning to sew here with me, so she is somewhat familiar with the maching and sewing a relatively straight stitch, but we thought she would like to learn more. Today she made a book cover and started on a schrunchie (a hair holder for those of you who have no idea what a schrunchie is!) Tomorrow she will finish her schrunchie and start on her shorts/pants/skirt whichever she wants to make, and Thursday she will complete her project. She’s now talking about taking another class to learn to make slippers - guess what we will all get for Christmas!! LOL.

It is amazing to me how with my generation, we learned to sew for the most part, but our daughters simply refused to learn. Now our granddaughters want to learn and their mothers can’t teach them, so they are learning from us. They are the ones who will carry on the old traditions of quilting and knitting and needlework that their mothers rejected so many years ago.

I’ve often wondered how many girls learned creative arts from their grandmothers rather than from their mothers. My grandmothers died early - one before I was born and the other one before I entered school, so what I learned I did learn from watching my mother and trial and error, but I wanted to learn. It is so much easier to learn these things as a child rather than waiting until you are an adult - more often than not if the basics aren’t learned as a child, the adult won’t learn them. Sometimes I think the problem in learning from your mother is one of the mother-daughter dynamic. The idea that daughters think mom doesn’t know anything so why should I listen to her. Where with grandmothers, the dynamic is often absent - granddaughters will do things with and for grandmothers that they would not consider doing with or for their mothers. Just an observation but and interesting one I think.

At any rate I received a partially completed quilt from my sister a few months ago asking if I could complete it and return it to her for our mother. It turns out the quilt was started my our grandmother sometime prior to her death in 1945. Mom worked on it for a while, but it was still incomplete. I finished piecing it and added the borders and with the help of my granddaughter (her mother doesn’t sew or quilt) we assembled the quilt and quilted it with a version of the big stitch quilting. I’m very pleased with the result and deem it a true family heirloom. A quilt that spans 5 generations.

Just realized that I hadn’t posted my reading lists in a long time, so here’s several month’s worth, I’ll catch up the rest in another post.

December book List

The Book of the Seven Delights by Betina Krahn
Sins and Needles by Monica Ferris
Dressed to Die by Beverly Conner
The Hydrogen Murder by Camille Minichino
The Lady’s Secret by Jo Beverly
The Christmas Train by David Baldacci
Cut and Run by Carla Neggers
The Crossword Murder by Nero Blanc
What Dreams May Come by Christina Skye
The Princeton Murders by Ann Waldron

January Book List

The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry
The Angel by Carla Neggers
Paper Thin Alibi by Mary Ellen Hughes
The Killer Stitch by Maggie Shefton
A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber

February Book List

Evan Can Wait by Rhys Bowen
Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz
Frill Kill by Laura Child
Ham Bones by Carolyn Haines
Beyond Seduction by Stephanie Laurens
The Body in the Transept by Jeanne M Dams
TailSpin by Carla Neggers

March Book List

Skeleton Crew by Beverly Conner
Two Down by Nero Blanc
Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs
Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch by Haywood Smith
The Diva Runs out of Thyme by Krista Davis
One Bad Apple by Shiela Connolly
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
The Ghost and the Haunted House by Alice Kimberly

Today is Tuesday and I have to say it is the most beautiful day!! I went to lunch with my friend Mo and we sat outside at a really neat restaurant down by The River and talked and shared about many things. I also took my latest quilts to show her - she hadn’t even seen the completed Friends and Family quilt. Not much is going on here. I’m still really really tired - wonder if I’ve come down with a touch of something that has left me this way. I had a headache and ached all over the other day and was really tired. It’s possible I suppose - just plan on resting and getting the right things to eat.

I tested out my new bread machine yesterday and it actually worked!! I made some French Bread to go with my casserole for dinner last night and it was amazing - everything was ready at exactly the same time!! Fresh hot bread to go the with perfectly cooked casserole - that doesn’t happen very often.

I have to say that this has been one of the nicer birthday celebrations I can remember. It started last Monday when my aerobics class all went out to lunch and I received a card shower – that was a lot of fun. Then I got a wonderful card and note from a friend I haven’t been in contact with for quite a long time – it was so good to hear from her. Then my niece called and wished me a happy birthday – and then my sister-in-law called. I got an email from another dear friend that I’ve been out of touch with, and a couple of my message boards have been loaded with well wishes. Yesterday hubby gave me a new DVD I’ve been wanting and today when we took my granddaughter home, my daughter had baked a cake and there were presents. A lovely key rack from the girls and a bread machine from her. I’ve been wanting a bread machine so now I need to learn how to use it. Next week my friend is taking me to lunch so that will make a lovely ending to a week long celebration that I mistakenly wanted to avoid.

My GD and I spent most of the afternoon getting our container garden planted, and she spent a lot of time arranging the table the exact way she wanted it. Hopefully the plants will do well this year. I have the chocolate mint again and I also got some regular mint. She has moss rose and violets, and marigolds and several that I have no idea what they are called, she just liked them, so we got them.

I’m nearly finished with the Five-generation quilt. Just stitching the binding down and it will be ready for the label and it’s picture. I’m planning on making a quilt scrapbook, with a picture of each completed quilt and a little bit about it, where it is now etc. Hopefully I will be able to find pictures of all of my quilts. So far there is one that I might not be able to get as I have no idea where it is and I didn’t photograph it before it disappeared.

At any rate have a great day and stay warm and dry – or cool depending on where you are.

Hatchling Basket

I found this today and it is just so funny - and True!!:

You Know You’re From Quad Cities When…

You know what the phone number is for “Car Dead Call Fred”!

You refer to the Mississippi River as “The River”

You have to watch the paper to see which bridge would be best to get across “The River”, since they are all are being worked on

You know that Joes, Franks, Shortys, Clints, and Nancy’s are not names, but pizza places

You know that Whitey’s is an Ice Cream place, not a racial term

You know that South Park is the name of a mall, not a television show

You know that Daisy Dooks is off of I-280, not a character on a television show

You know that Tuxedos is not a place you rent one from

You will stand in line for over an hour to buy “sculpted concrete”

You know that Milan is not pronounced like the one that is the fashion capital of the world

You know that “Magic Mountain” refers to a meal, not an amusement park ride

You use the term “Palmer” as a familiar landmark

You don’t crash into a low clearance bridge driving on Brady or Harrison street

You know that pork is THE white meat, not THE OTHER white meat

You have used the phrase, “stupid Iowan” or “go back to Illinois”!

You have to dial long distance to call someone within sight across the river, but dial a local number for someone twenty minutes away

You know that the coming of spring mean that the Rock River WILL flood. Your house WILL be under water, and you’re ok with it.

You measure distance in minutes, not in miles

You know what Taco Pizza is

You THINK you know what four cities make up the Quad Cities. No one really knows.

You know what Evel Knievel sounds like when he’s mad

You hear someone say, “I’m on Kimberly” and you do not think it is something sexual

You can pay $14 for a round of golf

You know that the Slider run refers to getting burgers, not to running a race

You cannot see a White Castle restaurant for hours

You can name 2 dorks!

You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Quad Cities.

I cringe when I hear someone wishing for a white Christmas!! I’ll tell you what - I’ll trade places with you for the month of December. It is -7 F outside this morning - we’ve been under a wind chill warning for 3 days now - meaning you can get frostbite in 10 minutes or less for any exposed skin. We’ve had 2 or 3 winter storm watches and/or warnings an ice storm warning and a winter weather advisory in the last week or so, we’re under a Winter Weather Advisory from tonight until tomorrow night when it changes to a winter storm watch through Christmas eve. We’ve had quite a lot of ice and snow accumulation and they are predicting about 6 more inches before Christmas. Add to that the Ground blizzard we had Saturday and Sunday and we were unable to get out of here to go anywhere. My granddaughter’s Christmas Pageant was postponed at church yesterday and she was very upset, she has been looking forward to this for weeks. We will just pray that the weather clears a bit before Epiphany when they are supposed to present it.

I can get out this morning - so we are taking Little-Bit home for her AWANA’s Christmas Party this afternoon and going to the grocery store. We have no idea if we will be able to get out again this week. I think I would settle for a nice brown and green Christmas. At least you can get out and get around and things don’t get cancelled and postponed.

I found directions yesterday to make a fleece snuggle - a blanket with sleeves. It gets pretty cold down in my sewing room this time of year - especially when the temps drop below 0 and the wind chill is at -40 - and this would help keep me warm - I’m going to see if I can stop at the fabric store and get some Polar Fleece to make it - It shouldn’t take very long and will be totally worth the time. I also have a couple of quilting projects that need to be completed in the next couple of days and I have to finish printing out the calendars and then all will be ready for Christmas. The girls put up the tree this week and got it decorated so all is well on that front!

Well here it is this much closer to the holiday and I haven’t had a migraine yet!! That is wonderful news - it means my new approach to preparing for the holiday is working. What am I doing different this year you might ask? Well I’m not getting all upset about it for one thing. We aren’t going overboard or feeling pressured about it. My California family has decided to not exchange gifts, and we are limiting the gifts we exchange locally as well. I’ve also done most of my shopping online which has limited my exposure to the hustle and bustle and rudness of the general public. Hubby and I went out last Monday and did the shopping that needed to be done and we came home and will wrap those. I have a couple of gift cards to get and I’m awaiting some fed-ex and USPS deliveries and I’m done. My house has been cleaned and we can acutally find what we need do to a massive reorganization of our storage space. I’m spending my time working on some quilt projects and some painting projects.

Years ago I started painting a plastercraft Christmas Village. Then things got hectic in my life and I stopped painting them. This year we set up the little village again and I was suprised to find 3 unfinished builtings. So Little Suzie and I are working on the painting and I found a source for new projects since I can no longer get them locally.

Here are pictures of the houses I have completed:

I’m working on an ice pond, a fire station and a victorian house - plus a half dozen trees. Of course the new lighted magnifying lense I got for Christmas last year is making all of this so much easier.

Have a great day and keep the headaches at bay!

Well, actually Christmas has come to my house. My dear hubby gave me my Christmas gift the other day - a new Kitchenaide Stand Mixer and I’m so excited!! I am going to throw away all my old mixers - I think the newest one is 25 years old and they are all dying!! I just mixed up a loaf of bread in the new mixer without getting my hands in the dough and it seems to have made a wonderful bread dough!! I love fresh homemade bread but I just can’t seem to get it to work for me any longer. We set up a baking center with all the supplies and utensils that I need right there together. It took a little bit of shifting things around, but it will save a lot of time and steps later. We realized that we have not changed the kitchen storage arrangement in over 30 years - it is really about time I set it up to suit our current lifestyle instead of the way we used to live.

My Granddaughter and I set up the little Victorian Village that I have been painting for many years. In the midst of setting it up we discovered two unpainted houses and a partially painted skating pond. So we have set to painting the rest of the buildings. We looked to see if we could find more, but there weren’t any at Ben Franklin Crafts. I’m going to look online and see if I can find some more - there used to be lots of buildings - but knowing my luck they’ve discontinued the line or something.

I picked up a ring for my candle at Joann’s Fabric and Crafts yesterday and it looks really pretty. Today the girls want to decorate the table at the end of the hall and set up the Nativity scene. They wanted to put up the tree, but I put my foot down - Not yet - not even next week. Maybe the week after.

Anyway, I’m going to do some baking and break in my Christmas present!

Winter arrived with a vengence!! It is cold and dreary outside and depending on which report you look at, we got between 4 and 6 inches of snow. Most of that melted yesterday as it was warmer - but there is still snow on the ground and my car and the road. It is only 24 degrees today and the nice weather - eg sunny, warm, dry - that had been in the forcast yesterday has been removed. Thankfully I don’t have to go out today - I can stay inside and stay warm and dry.

I don’t know about you, but I did not go out shopping this weedend. I stayed home and put my house back together after the holiday - read a good book - and worked on my quilt. And then I read about the shooting in the toys r us store and the trampeling in the WalMart store and wondered what this world is coming too. This is supposed to be the season of love and hope and good will to men. But what we seem to get are shootings in stores, mobs violence trying to get into the store to save $ .29 on a stupid made in China toy, and massacres in places I can’t even pronounce. WHY?? I mean for heaven’s sake - NOTHING is so important that you have the right to disregard the personal safety of another individual over it. On top of that - why would anyone want to go shopping with over 2000 other people trying to get in the same door. There is nothing I want badly enough that it could induce me to fight through that kind of mob to obtain.

My shopping this year is going to be carried out at the hobbie shop, the grocery store and online. I refuse to fight the mobs for the sake of a gift. Besides, a thoughtful and/or hand made gift usually means a lot more than a cheap thing grabbed off the shelf. I really don’t want a headache or a broken bone to complicate my Holiday any year.

Enough about the mob mentality of Christmas - yesterday my granddaughter and I set up our Christmas Village on the Piano and discovered two unpainted houses. Hubby and I are going to go down and buy some more paints later today or tomorrow and with the help of my big new (gift from last Christmas) lighted magnifying lense - we will get them painted and added to the scene. I also need a small round miror to use as an ice skating pond.

I found a wonderful new site called Learning Herbs. They have some free herb courses, some interesting newsletters and also some other classes you can enroll in. I’m working me way through a free class before I try one of their other courses. I simply find herboloy fascinating and want to learn more!

The book list for November includes some very favorite authors and some new ones that I’ve never read before.

Christmas Knight by Christina Skye
Murder in Miniature by Margaret Grace
Laws of Attraction by Sherryl Woods
The Perfect Gift by Christina Skye
The Chick and the Dead by Casey Daniels
The Master Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini
The Penguin Who Knew Too Much by Donna Andrews
Charmed and Dangerous - Lori Wilde
Spanish Dagger by Susan Wittig Albert
The Ghost and the Femme Fatale by Alice Kimberly

Have a great day and stay warm and dry and upbeat.