Mangia

 

Ciao!

How are you making out during this cold cold winter?

We are doing okay.  Happily for my mother and I, my brother has taken up even more cooking.  He made chicken tortellini soup on Friday and that was such a nice warming food to have during the weekend.

I find myself craving oranges these days and have one every evening.  

But the main course I want is pasta.  Any kind of pasta and my brother has made some of that too.  I'm the lasagna maker but he makes his late wife's recipe for sauce which includes sausage, pork, and meatballs.  I know my niece and nephew are finding it comforting to eat Mama's food.  

And before you ask, no I'm not Italian (although my sister-in-law was).  Actually my mother's family never had spaghetti or lasagna until they moved from the coal regions down to the valley.

Apparently I'm not the only quilter to love pasta.  I found a number of pasta inspired quilt patterns on the internet.  You should check them out!

Spaghetti recipes patterns:

Spaghetti for a Crowd here.

Stars like Spaghetti here.

A free pattern for the Spaghetti Quilt Block here.

Meatballs here.

Other entrees:  

The Lasagna Quilt pattern here.

Split Pea Soup here.

So here's my question for you.  When you eat Spaghetti do you twirl it with your fork and spoon

or do you just slurp up the pasta?

Okay so how many are you making pasta for dinner now?

😀

Have a safe and happy day!

Finding Ways to Help

 

"My values, our values, aren't about pointing fingers.  They are about offering a helping hand."---Kathleen Blanco

On Friday, I read an article about a struggle many women face--finding a way to afford diapers for their babies.  You can read this insightful article here.

This article brought back memories.  When my oldest grandchild was born, our kids (the parents) struggled.  I retired and offered to watch the baby when my daughter-in-law returned to work.  We wanted to help them as much as we could and free daycare seemed like a good way.  But then we learned the price of things like diapers and formula and we made sure they knew that we had already purchased and had those items here.

These days, I don't really know how parents make ends meet.  My friends who are newer grandmothers tell me daycare is $1000/week.  The price of diapers range from $11 to above $30; the price is contingent on how many diapers one purchases.  Interesting but also telling...a lot of the boxes talk about weight and not how many diapers one is getting.

I'm not buying that much this year but I am donating what money I can and found a diaper bank in my valley and donated to it.  More importantly, I'm writing to my representatives to learn what they intend to do to help all families.

I urge you to do the same.  I know that many of you may understand that a lot of basic funding for poorer families and lower middle class families may be cut with the current administration.  No baby should be without basic provisions.  

Thanks and have a good day!

In the Garden

 

Happy Friday!

I've been so happy with a bush in my garden.  It is a Beauty Berry Bush and in the fall, it has purple berries.  Years ago, my friend Barb gave me a small seedling.

My brother Jim calls it "The Minnesota Vikings bush" because the bright purple is one of his favorite team's colors.  I've often read that the berries are edible and a favorite of birds.  Once in a while through the many years, I'd see a bird on the bush.  

But this year is different.  I have a daily visitor on the bush and it's a catbird one of my favorite birds.  Hops around the bush devouring the berries and seems unafraid of Lucky and me as we watch from inside the house.

I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying watching him.  I think I will get another bush for the backyard as well!

Hope you have a safe and WARM weekend!

Finishes

Hello and how are you today?

When I'm not caring for someone, Lucky and I are hibernating in our sewing room.  For 2025, I've mostly done handwork but I did finish enough quilt blocks to make a lap quilt.  More on that one later.

I actually finished the above fish quilt before the holidays.  It was for our guild's challenge this year.  We were supposed to feature a favorite film or book.  The kids in my family love this book I sent about a year ago:

The book is based on a true story and all the kids talked to me about the story.  I was going to make the goldfish all orange but the truth is, I thought that a kid would prefer the colorful fish.  I found the free pattern here at The Objects of Design blog.  

I've also made a second quilt that is different but features goldfish.  I'm binding that now.

Before hand surgeries, I was working on a calendar quilt featuring bunnies.  The thing is my hands started aching and also the June bunny featured a bunny getting married and I just decided to stop.  Happily though, I can use the blocks I did do for the tabletop banners.

Just as a whim, I decided to make quilt as you go hexies in a garden theme.  I just wanted to see how it worked out and I liked it.  I'm going to continue to make some more of these hexies because they are wonderfully portable as a project on the go!

More projects are in the works but none done yet.  I'm in no rush and am altering between a variety of projects.  

I'm having fun with my sewing and I hope you are too!

Tuesday's This and That: January 21, 2025

Greeting from the cold Northeast!

We received about 6-8 inches of snow on Sunday and now we are in the midst of the artic freeze.

How are you faring with the winter?

***

If you are hungry to look at antique quilts, Dana Balsamo is having another auction on Saturday.  You can check out the catalog here.

***

Since it is the week we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr., I'm sharing this article (here) on the Underground Railroad.  

Harriet Tubman

If you are thinking about the book that stated that quilts were used for the Underground Railroad, please read this.  Barbara Brackman, our most prominent quilt historian debunks the myth.

***

Wishing you a safe and happy day!

 

A Great Man

 

Orts and Cabbage

 

Hello and wishing you a happy day!

"Orts and Cabbage" may sound to you like a foreign recipe but it's not.  It's just another chapter in words I find that I love.

"Orts" are leftover threads from your sewing, usually embroidery threads.  There is a movement to reuse these pieces in a variety of ways.  They are usually collected in jars.

These pieces of threads are then recycled in a variety of ways.  Many sewists use them to "make fabric" and cover the orts with a piece of tulle or lace.  

The pretty colors of the scrap threads makes an interesting background to the lace or tulle.

I've seen orts used in a variety of ways.

Christmas balls above or ort beads below:

These are very clever uses but I won't be partaking in saving orts this way.  At this point in my life, I've become very respectful of Murphy's Law. I just know that if I don't wrap my extra threads on the appropriate cardboard bobbin that I'll need a wee bit of a certain color of thread at a later date...and I don't want to be digging through a pile of threads for it.

Cabbage is a different term that Beth taught me years ago.  It's apparently an old European term for fabric scraps.  The word "garbage" was also used for these bits of scraps.  There's a great article here.

These days, I do see people "making cabbage" with their scraps.  They cut the fabric into small bits to use as filling in pillows, dog beds, and pincushions.  Even Olfa (rotary cutters company) has a pattern for a cushion that uses "cabbage" here.

Have you heard of these terms?  The ort term seems more prevalent now with more people cross stitching.  When I cross stitched in the 1980s, I don't remember anyone referring to orts then.

Wishing you a safe and happy day!

Tuesday's This and That: January 14, 2025

  

Happy National Dress Up Your Pet Day!

Lucky is the only dog I've ever put clothes on.  Some of my other dogs did wear coats from time to time but none had a wardrobe like Lucky.

This is due to the fact that in the winter, we still have to keep his coat short to prevent matting.  He won't let me brush him so this is what we do.

Hope you have a wonderful day with your pet!

AI Sewing

 

Good morning and hope you had a great weeekend!

Most of you know that I am not a fan of AI and I suspect as folks who sew, you aren't either.  And then on this facebook, I saw this post from the Modern Quilt Studio:

"We saw this ridiculous AI-generated image (presumably of someone who doesn't know how to use a sewing machine) and decided that it's a great time to share that we won't be using AI in our work... "

"Lastly, if anyone is using their sewing machine this way, we promise that it will be much easier if you turn it 90 degrees toward you."

Then the post disappeared and while I was frantically trying to find it again, these appeared:

For those of you who embroider, you might want to read this article (here) as well about buying designs.

Well have a wonderful sewing day and stay safe and warm!

Thursday's This and That: January 9, 2025

 

Hi and how is your 2025 so far?

Over at Haptic and Hue, there is a new podcast you might want to hear.  It's called "Tapestries for Troubled Times" and it is well worth a listen.  It focuses on the Bayeux Tapestry but neatly correlates it to modern makers.

Part of the Bayeux Tapestry.  You can explore of the tapestry here.

***

A video you might enjoy is "American Seams" on YouTube.  It's about 15 minutes long and is here. 

***

Have a safe and happy day!

2025 Colors of the Year

 

Greetings!

It always amuses me to find out what "color of the year" has been chosen.  This year I found a variety but the commonality is the muted tones of the colors.

I'm trying to remember the last time these colors were in vogue.  It may have been in the 1980s when there was also an interest in colors of the Victorian era.  While the kids reveled in MTV and neon colors, adults leaned towards more muted tones. 

Remember Laura Ashley clothes, Victoria magazine, and the Bombay Company shop?  It was also the last era that wooden furniture and antiques were valued--unpainted.  It appears that some designers are now embracing "wood is good" again.

Cinnamon Slate from Benjamin Moore

Dutch Boy Color:  Mapped Blue

So often colors and tones of an era reflect more than just fashion.  Bright clear colors are often reintroduced during challenging times like during the Depression and also in the early 2000s.

Muted tones are thought to provide serenity and sense of calm.  I have to admit, I find my self attracted to these colors for the very same reason--a need for a calming effect.

What is your color for 2025?  

Have a safe and happy day!

Quilter's Giveaway

 

Hello and are you having a snow day?

I love the photo above because it brings back memories.  I had a muff when I was a child and just adored it.  I'm not sure which of my cousins sent it over (we did a lot of hand-me downs) but it delighted me!  Did you have a muff as a child?

On Saturday I attended a local guild's event called "Quilter's Giveaway."  It was in honor of a late member who had passed away in November.  "Boots" as she was often called was a really sweet woman and when I was a member of that guild, always made a point to make me feel at home.  I ended up having to quilt the guild because the distance to drive (in the dark) at night was too much.  

Everything in the room was free and had been boots.  Boots was in her 90s and had an enormous stash.  All the guild asked was that we donate money to Boot's favorite charity, St. Jude's Children Hospital.  

I wasn't even aware that things were being given away but went down to leave a donation.  I did come back with a few things.

Some fabric that I needed--autumn colors and themes...as well as a few other things.

I also picked up some ribbons and doo-dads perfect for crafts I'm making for Remi and family.

Every time I use these pieces, I will be thinking of sweet Boots and the kindness she shared to everyone.

Wishing you a safe and warm day!