A Christmas Gift

Oh dear, oh dear. I have been neglecting this blog dreadfully. The problem is time or rather, the lack of time.

Here is a placeholder post. This is a photo of a gift I received last Christmas. It is a Muller 12 antique toy sewing machine. Made of cast iron it sews a simple chain stitch. Mine has a lovely case as well.

The Muller factory was founded by Friedrich Wilhelm Muller in 1868 and produced sewing machines until the 1970s. They were one of the largest manufacturers of small sewing machines in the world.

Beadwork

Mittens on a Line

Doll Quilt

Yes, this is another doll quilt. Well, the pieced top. It hasn't been quilted yet. In fact it's not fully sewn together. And no, I haven't finished the other doll quilt top yet.

The pieced squares are made up of 1" scraps of feedsack prints from the scrapbag I inherited from John's great-aunt through his grandmother. The quilt top measures 10" square.

Thrift-Store Find

I found this cute little wooden doll bed at the thrift store the same day I found my new
knitting bag . It's about 6 inches high and 9 inches across. The miniature quilt pictured with it was made a number of years ago and is 7 1/2 inches square. The $1.95 price tag included the little pink mattress! I couldn't resist!

Blogs for Those Who Love Aprons

Yes! There are blogs devoted to aprons! Making aprons, collecting aprons, reading books about aprons, apron patterns, and more! Check out this blog Tie One On and look at the dozens, dozens! of links to blogs written by other apron lovers.

More Aprons

Here's a webpage which sells wonderful church lady apron patterns .

101 Meals in 10 Minutes or Less

Oh, yes! This is my kind of cooking for this time of year and at this time of my life! Enjoy!

Wall of Antique Doll Quilts

I'm not the only one who has fallen in love with the idea of having a wall full of doll quilts. This photo is from Collecting American Country . Now all I have to do is find a blank wall and start making doll quilts!

Aprons

I collect many things. Fabrics, vintage rick-rack, patterns, books, buttons, charms, beads,--all sorts of things. One collection I've been working on most recently is my apron collection. I collect apron books, apron patterns, and best of all, vintage aprons. There are some on Ebay, but they're expensive. The best place to find them is thrift stores. And if I can't find ones I like, then I can always make some.

Little Song Birds

The little song birds are back. I've missed them.I think they were gorging themselves in the grass seed fields these past few weeks and now that harvest is almost done, they've come back to the gardens in town.

Summer Cake

A friend gave me this recipe years ago and I use it every summer. The original recipe used black plums but I've made this with peaches and with apples. The cake is rich and easy to make. The recipe calls for using a springform pan, which is fine if you want to make a presentation cake, but if a homey cake is all you need, use a heavy, round cake pan. This cake is nice with a little dollop of whipped cream or, when it's still warm, with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream. The bad part is that it takes an hour to bake, but I usually bake it early in the morning or while baking something else. Wrap it well and it will keep six months in the freezer. Here's the recipe:

Summer Cake

Preheat oven to 350F.
Butter and flour a 9" springform (or plain round cake) pan.
Cream: 1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

Add and beat until the consistency of tiny crumbs: 1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Add and beat: 2 eggs
Spoon into pan, spreading evenly.
Place cut side down on batter: 8-12 plums, halved.
Combine and sprinkle over plums: 3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Bake 1 hour. Serves 8-10

Library Books on Hold

The library limits me to 25 holds and I always have all my slots used up. Of course, John uses some for CDs and DVDs he wants (putting a hold on them is the only way to get them). These are some of the books I have on hold now:

** Itty-bitty Hats: Cute and Cuddly Hats to Knit for Babies and Toddlers
** Kaffe Fassett's Quilts in the Sun
** Clean & Simple Scrapbooking: Ideas for Design, Photography, Journaling & Typography

Old Sage Pincushion

I am making this pin cushion with hand-dyed wool, cotton fabrics, beads,an antique button, and embroidery floss with a piece of old upholstery fabric for the backing. This is what I've done so far. No, that isn't where the vines will go; I've cut them out but haven't pinned them in the correct spots yet.

Homemade Apple Pie! Yum!!

I baked an apple pie this morning with vanilla, cinnamon, a sprinkle of nutmeg, and dotted with bits of butter. I used a star cookie cutter to make the steam vent. This is one of John's favorite pies.

Pink and Brown Doll Quilt Top Finished! Well....Maybe

I stole a few more hours of vacation time this morning and finished the quilt top. I don't know if I want to add borders or not. I auditioned a few fabrics, but none worked very well. A pieced border, perhaps? An appliqued one? I don't know. I'll set it aside and think on it some more. And now I need to go back to my studies.

Backyard Flowers

I'm going to spend the next couple of hours in my backyard, watering and admiring my flowers. I'll smell the roses, listen to the birds, let the breeze spray back a bit of cool water on my face, and keep an eye out for the wild rabbit that lives nearby. I won't weed!

I love old fashioned flowers best--sweet peas, snapdragons, sweet William, hollyhocks, hyacinths, cornflowers, geraniums, peonies, zinnias, larkspur and the one in the photo above, cosmos.

Recipe for A Hot Summer Day

The first thing to do on a hot summer's day is to take a nap. I did. It was a short nap, but a nap nonetheless. I made macaroni salad for dinner. It's fast and it's good on summer evenings.

Macaroni Salad
Cook up a package of salad macaroni, drain and rinse with cold water.
Add, in any amounts you like,chopped green and red peppers, celery, bread and butter pickles, green onions, cubed cheddar cheese, and cubed cooked ham. These ingredients should equal about the same amount as the cooked macaroni. Salt and pepper to taste. Add enough mayonnaise to moisten.

It's nice with a glass of iced tea. That's it. Not exactly a gourmet recipe, but it'll do.

The photo shows the salad before the macaroni and mayonnaise were added.

Half of the Blocks

I opted for machine piecing on the Featherweight. Well, duh. That's why half the blocks are already done.

I brought a portable fan into my sewing room, which helped quite a bit. I love listening to the Featherweight as it sews. It's like no other sound. It transports me back to when I was six years old and my mother let me practice sewing straight seams. She made an entire set of doll clothes (some sewn and some knitted) for my Betsy-Wetsy doll (remember those? If you do, then you're probably about the same age I am!) that Christmas, made after I'd gone to bed so it would be a surprise.

The thing is that I haven't sewn in over a year. I rushed. I didn't pin. Oh, bad idea! I had to rip out some seams. Some seams I had to rip out several times. GRRRRRR.

So half of the blocks are finished. And I think I'm working way too hard for a day off. And it's hot. I'm going to get myself an ice cold cherry Coke from the refrigerator, find a mystery paperback to read, fluff up some pillows, and read in bed for a while. Maybe I'll take a nap. Maybe I won't. It doesn't matter. It's my day off, after all!

Fabrics for Pink and Brown Nine Patch Doll Quilt (And a Story)

Here are all the squares, cut out and ready to be pieced. It's an eclectic mix of fabrics: reproduction prints, Robyn Pandolph, Patek/Brannock, and even a batik! I like it! The next decision I have is whether or not to piece by machine (the plus is I'll be using my mother's Featherweight which I love and I've missed using; the minus is that it's going to be over 90 degrees today and it's warm in my sewing room) or by hand (the plus is that I can do it sitting next to an open window or even outside and it's more traditional and the minus is that it'll take longer). Oh, I know! There are other options. I could set up the Featherweight in the backyard with an extension cord and sew under the apple tree.

Oh! That last sentence reminded me of something I read long ago in The Quilters Women and Domestic Art: An Oral History . Wait just a second while I go find the book!

Found it! And I may be studying to be a librarian but my (must be close to a thousand quilt)books are not organized in any particular manner, but are in a huge bookcase in my bedroom. This is what I remembered reading (page 72):

"When a girl was thinking' on marryin', and we all done a lot of that, she had to start thinkin' on gettin' her quilts pieced. The way I done mine was real nice, I think. Papa had laid up a beautiful arbor with the brush he had cleared from the land. It was set up a ways back of the house. Well, I jest went out under that arbor, set up my frame, and went to quiltin' outdoors....

You won't believe it to look at me now, but I married me the finest-looking young man for three counties around when I was eighteen. And I didn't meet him at no dance neither. I don't reckon I would have stood a chance there. These big size tens were never so graceful. They're just good strong platforms for standin' on.

Anyways, what I was doin' was settin' there under that quiltin' arbor one spring afternoon, April fourteenth, just quiltin' and dreamin' a dream on ever stitch and just planning' who might share 'em with me.

And this deep, fine voice says, "Pardon me, ma'am, but I've been seein' you out here ever day for weeks and I jest got up the nerve to come over and speak to you and see what you were workin' on with such care."

Lordy, girl, I married him and, as I recall it now, that was the longest speech he ever said at one time to this day."

Isn't that a wonderful story?