Tuesday's This and That: December 3, 2024

 

It's a bit of this and that today!

I enjoyed reading this article entitled "Lace--So Lovely There Was a Law Against It".  I was actually researching the topic because of a painting I had seen online:

The title of this painting is "School for Blind Lace Makers" created by Giacchino in the 19th century.  About 50 years ago, I read a book about a lace maker who was going blind.  

The topic is somewhat controversial with some writers stating that couldn't happen even if they were sewing in low light.  There were a lot of 18th and 19th century references to blindness in lace makers.  I think this article is actually a good reference and provides more insight.

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One of the women from my old Quilt Study Group sent this article about a quilt made by a Native American woman that celebrated her ancestors.  

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Have a safe and happy day!

Oh Christmas Trees!

Hello and how are you today?

Did you have a good holiday?

Thanksgiving arrived and so did the winter cold!  Our holiday was good but quiet.  The holidays are tough for my brother right now.  It's his first Thanksgiving as a widower and it's obvious how much he misses Janet.  This coming week he finally gets to see some specialists (the appointments were made in September) and hopefully more answers about his health.

I used to always use Black Friday to do a deep clean and decorate the house.  When the grandkids were young, I really went crazy with decor and traditions.  Now they are older and we haven't had a Christmas tree up since the pandemic began.  I think that portion of our life is over.   

So the only thing decor I added to the house was a few Christmas quilties--and they were all tree themed!

I love how the ladder quilt turned out because Lizzie's quilting is so phenomenal!  She also quilted the little wall hanging on the Nana Elsie window and she made it the same as the ladder quilt but scaled it down.  It takes a simple pattern and really elevates it.  Thank you Lizzie!

What kind of decorating and special quilts do you do for the holiday? 

Have a safe and happy day! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a safe and happy holiday!

 

Walk Don't Run

 

How are you today?

 If you're in the U.S., are you ready for the Thanksgiving holiday?

It's been over 3 years since I've done any hand sewing.  I've had 3 hand surgeries so far and need another one--but on my left hand.  To be honest, it's been almost a year since my last surgery but I was just wary of picking up a needle.  And I didn't want to rush into a big project just in case.  I still get some aches in the right hand so I just held off.

Last month--I decided this:

I've been doing some little projects to get my hands used to the needle again.  At first my fingers felt clumsy but I kept at it.   I did one wee wall hanging and now I've finished four.  

I only did the binding on these but it is a start.  I also played for a little bit with a running stitch and was heartened that my stitches were smaller again.

During the next year, I'm hoping to do more of these "littles" as I call them.  I even bought some table stand quilt holders for my mom, me, and Linda's mom, Carolyn.  

Carolyn in particular has moved into an retirement community and has an apartment.  This retirement apartment building has a shelf outside each apartment for seasonal decorations.  Linda has been decorating her mom's shelf.

Linda loved the idea of the table stand quilt and even asked if I could do a Christmas wall hanging with a music theme.  She will pick this one up this week.

Anyway, these little projects make me happy and I use as much of my scraps as I can while doing them.

I doubt I will be doing much posting this week as I'm doing a lot of cooking, etc.  

Have a safe and happy day!

 

How are you doing today?

I feel relief.  We had some rain last night and it is really a joy to have some precipitation.  I've been worried about our trees and bushes so hopefully this will sustain them.

Lucky and I have been doing our walk at the park.  An enormous amount of nuts have fallen there and one has to be careful where one steps.

So the other morning we encountered another animal at the park.  It was really early (we like to go at daybreak).

She was eating and eating and looked at us and continued eating.  Turns out, deer LOVE nuts and she wasn't about to leave the acorns behind.  I talked to her for about 15 minutes and Lucky didn't bark.  Once in a while she would look at me as if to respond  to something I said and then continue eating.  It was a lot of fun seeing her so close!

Hoping you have a great day!

Scrap Pieces

 

How are you doing?

I've been buzzing around but finished a few tablerunners.  Mostly I was inspired by something I forgot to write about before.  This:

I laughed like crazy when I saw this!  But it did make me go upstairs and pull out a drawer of Christmas fabric to see what scraps I had.  Turned out I had quite a lot of 2.5 inch blocks and a few 4 inch blocks.

I had made table runners for my mom, Kathy, and my friend Nancy last summer so I put together one for each of them and one I'll keep.

What have you been sewing?

Have a safe and happy day!

A Treasured Catalog

 

I have a Grandma Dexter/Virginia Snow catalog in my collection.  One of the things that has struck me about some of these booklets is how they were treasured.  I suspect this catalog had fallen apart somehow but the resilient woman who owned it rethreaded the booklet.

Actually you can see it even better on the back:

I do believe that we sometimes take it for granted how lucky we are quilting or sewing in this age.  Yes, fabric is expensive but look at all the inventions and technology that makes our work easier!

My note on this piece said this publication happened after 1927 when Dexter Mills was purchased by Collingbourne Mills.  The same company that had produced the "Virginia Snow Studios" products. 

I often wondered if women kept these booklets to not order quilt patterns but to draft their own using the images in the catalogs.

I do enjoy looking at the patterns and sometimes have a difficult time picking my favorite in the catalog.

Wishing you a safe and happy day!