Knitting

I have a Longaberger cake basket sitting on the floor next to the loveseat where I always sit. It's full of Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn in various colors. Whenever I feel the urge, I reach into the basket and pull out my needles and knit a row or two on my newest dish cloth. I love the pattern and have knit dozens of them since I discovered it on the Homespun Living blog (link to main blog on sidebar). Here's a picture of my latest one in progress.


I learned to knit when I was about nine years old. And once again, it was my dad who taught me! I remember sitting in the doorway of the back door between dad's legs, our legs dangling down to the ground because we had no steps yet, as he showed me how.

A few words about my dad. When I was growing up, I had two heroes--my dad and John Wayne, and they were both bigger than life. :-) My dad had been a paratrooper in WWII in the 101st Airborne, the division featured in the Band of Brothers book and mini series. He jumped at D-Day and the invasion of Holland, and was wounded in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. He was one of the original smokejumpers out of Missoula, Montana after the war. He was gruff and tough although he has mellowed through the years. He learned to knit from the grandmother who raised him after his father was killed in a car accident when dad was fifteen months old. (His twenty-three-year-old mother had two older children, and held down two, sometimes three jobs to survive, so relied on both sets of grandparents to help her with the children.)

I guess I was and still am, the proverbial "daddy's girl." As a matter of fact, the father's day card I sent him last year said just that on the front and on the inside it said, "and proud of it!" Mom said dad loved it.

Here's a picture of me, my Bruder Bear, and Dad taken last May just after Dad's eighty-sixth birthday.
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Creating

I mentioned several posts ago that I teach embroidery classes at my local Bernina shop. This was a sort of serendipitous happening. The original Bernina shop closed about three years ago and I was crushed! I had been going to an embroidery club there for many years and loved it. Originally we all had Deco machines and so we called it "Deco Therapy". For a teacher with no energy left at the end of the day, machine embroidery was perfect. Pick design, thread machine, and let the sounds of stitching lull me.

About six months after the first shop closed, I got a notice in the mail that a new shop was opening, very near my house! Oh the joy!! Several of the ladies who had worked in the old shop now worked at this one and one day the owner said one of those ladies had suggested me as someone who might teach a new embroidery club. Me?? Well, after thinking about it for a month or so, I said yes. It's been so much fun, but I have to admit, coming up with ideas sometimes causes a little stress. A week or so ago I lay awake one night wondering what we could do this month and an idea came to me. I worked it up in my Explorations software, and here it is:


Each triangle pennant is stitched in the hoop then trimmed and attached to the binding. Voila--a valentine banner to hang wherever the maker chooses. I kinda like it. :-)

Happy, Happy

anniversary to us! Yes, thirty-eight years ago today Dan and I were married on a wintery Sunday afternoon. I am so thankful for him! What a blessing he has been and how steadfast he has been as a husband and father. And fun, too! How amazing that it has been thirty-eight years. He was twenty-six and I was twenty-two and I thought we were oh so grownup. :-)

We've been busy over the last few days getting some needed chores done so I have no new pictures, but I'll leave you with one of some of Dan's wonderful woodworking.


The china hutch was a birthday present to me some years ago. He also made the table, the shelf on the wall, and the turned candlestick. I love having my own custom furniture maker--just one of the many reasons I love him! (And ignore the none-too-scenic curtain rod--we're in the process of revamping the dining room curtains and have removed the Austrian shade valance that formerly covered the rod.)

Comfort Cookies

Dan and I drove out to the woods this morning and it was beautiful. Not much snow, but heavy frost which made every pine needle, every branch, every weed a thing of grace and beauty. The sun was out and it was as if the world was created out of diamonds. My sweetie is a total woods man. He has spent many, many years working in and caring for his beloved woods. I love the woods, too, but not like he does. "See those dying trees? Grand fir. The soil isn't good for them." And when I pointed out an adorable little tree by the side of the road, he said, "Spruce." The man knows his trees. I think adorable, he thinks species. :-)

When we got home it was noon and we grabbed some lunch and then I noticed our empty cookie jar. And beside it a basket of fruit which included one and a half bananas which were past their prime. Hmmm, memories of an old family recipe came to mind so I hunted it up, pulled my trusty Kitchenaid over, and began. The recipe is from my aunt, my dad's older sister, Betty Jane. When I was growing up, she was one of my most favorite people. If I came home from school and found her at our house, it was like chancing upon a wonderful party. She was fun. When I was in high school, I was at her house one afternoon and she was making these cookies. When I left, I had the recipe. They are comfort cookies--soft inside, with a crispy exterior. Perfect on a winter's day with tea. Here's the recipe.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup mashed banana
1 egg
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup nuts (I used pecans)

Cream shortening and sugar. Add bananas and egg and mix. Add dry ingredients, then oatmeal. Add nuts. Drop on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes. Makes 3 1/2 dozen.


And yes, that's a Christmas towel beside them. Or, let's just say it's a red plaid towel with a woodsy tree on it. ;-) (A Mary Mulari machine applique design.)

Sewing: More Buffaloes Conquered

If you have been reading my blog, last week I wrote about several of last year's Christmas gifts that had me "buffaloed", meaning I had put off using them for so long that they seemed impossible to do. Well, in the sewing room there have lurked several items that had become buffaloes.

I teach embroidery classes at the local Bernina shop, so I stop by the shop often to see what's new. One day in November I was looking around and saw the ruffler attachment. It led to a conversation with a friend who was working the counter about how it worked. She said to give it a try, so I popped it on a 730 and played. It was fun! I almost bought it but decided to wait a day (it's not cheap). When I got home, there was a little niggle in the back of my mind, and a dim memory came to me. Did I own one for the Pfaff? I dug through a couple of drawers, and sure enough, there was a box and a special book of instructions I had ordered from Nancy's Notions years ago. It had come, looked intimidating, and since I was short on time due to teaching, I had stuck it in the drawer and forgotten about it. Fresh from playing with the one at the shop, I attached it and it worked!!

Another confession. I've had the Pfaff for almost twenty years, and know it like the back of my hand, so I've continued to use it for buttonholes. Haven't tried the 200/730. I know, how difficult could it be? But I'd have to look at the instruction book. That takes time. It was much easier to just go to the Pfaff.

The Sunday before Christmas, I found a very cute design for hand embroidery on Gail Pan's blog. I printed it out, traced it on some osnaburg, and stitched it out that night. I decided it would make a darling pillow, so last weekend, I decided to slay some buffaloes. I made the ruffle on the Pfaff with the ruffler attachment and used the 200/730 to make the buttonholes to fasten the back after the pillow was inserted. The automatic buttonhole attachment worked perfectly, and I loved how I could measure the button on the screen and set the size. I know, I know. I could have been doing it for the last four years... Sigh.

So, here is the pillow. I'm crazy about it!


Who said buffalo are getting scarce?

Sewing: A Tale of Equal Opportunity Machine Purchases

I haven't mentioned much about one of my favorite things to do--sew. From the time I was little, anything done with a needle and thread (and needle and yarn, but that's another story) has lured me in. My Mom made all my clothes when I was young, and they were beautifully done. We had very little money, so Mom would peruse catalogs and store windows and then make me similar dresses. Ruffles, piping, ties, lace edging, all done on a straight stitch Singer 301 my Dad bought for her.

My early sewing was done by hand and I longed to use the Singer. When I was about eleven, I had to have a number of teeth pulled to make room in my mouth before I got braces. Dad took me to the dentist, and when we came home, as a reward, he opened up Mom's machine and showed me how to use it. Forget my mouth stuffed with gauze--I was in heaven! And thus began a love affair with sewing machines that continues to this day. I've been blessed to have wonderful machines. Mom and Dad got me a Singer Touch and Sew for a wedding present and I used it to make many clothes for both Matt and Ann--it was the era of knits so I was able to make t-shirts, shorts, sweats, etc., as well as dresses and pajamas. It was my therapy! One thing that stayed done, in contrast to the laundry, dishes, and housecleaning. :-)

My next machine was a Viking that had needle up/down, the ability to change needle position, and other amazing features. (Should I tell you I sold the twenty or so pieces of sterling silverware I had to help pay for it? I did and I've never regretted it!) I loved it and kept right on stitching. I used this machine to make my first quilt.

My next machine was a Pfaff 1475. My mother-in-law had always been a Pfaff fan and after she died, I decided to buy one in honor of her. I loved the built-in even-feed foot and it had an amazing number of stitches including some embroidery-like ones. I still have this machine and for certain things, there is nothing better. I will never part with it.

My next purchase was a Deco 600 embroidery machine and it was a gem. That little machine stitched out hundreds of designs with never a whimper. It's pretty much retired now, but I know I could get it out and away it would go. I longed for a bigger stitching field and so purchased a Brother ULT 2002, in part because it came with many Disney designs and took the same embroidery cards the Deco used.

My latest purchase is a Bernina Artista 200, upgraded to a 730. It's a great machine and I plan on using it for a long, long time. It sits out in my sewing room, along with the Brother ULT, the Pfaff, and my Bernina 2000D serger. I also have the Handi-Quilter HQ-16 and am fortunate enough to have space for it in the same room.

I'm a long way from my Mom's trusty Singer 301 in the cabinet in the living room. I know how blessed I am to have these great machines with which I can create anything I can dream of.

Singer, Viking, Pfaff, Brother, Bernina...they all sing my name when they stitch and they're singin' my song!


Pictured above is a table topper I made for my Mom's last birthday. It's called Taco Salad and is in Terry Atkinson's book Let's Do Lunch. I quilted it using the BSR on my 200/730.

Family

At the start of a new year, thoughts always turn to the past year and then to what's to come. I want to start this new year with some thoughts about family. I have been so blessed with love--parents who gave their all to raise a family through sometimes difficult times, brother John who is my wonderful Bruder Bear (and has blessed me with my only "sister" and two nieces and a nephew), my Sweetie Dan, and my incredible children, Matt and Ann and their families: daughter-in-law Amy, grandson Ryan, and son-in-law Eric and grandsons Cameron and Keaton. I don't think any of us takes the love we have for one another for granted, and we seldom miss a chance to tell one another, "I love you!" And I think that's one of our secrets. Spending time with my loved ones is my number one joy. I can tend towards hermitness (is that a word?), but when it comes to family, come one, come all! My house is your house. One of the reasons we bought this house after our children were grown is so that we have space for everyone to come home, and come they do. Thanks, gang!

So in this new year, I hope each of you have many opportunities to spend with those you love. Order a pizza, grill some burgers, or whip up a box of good ol' Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (a favorite of the shorter people in our family) and kick back and enjoy. Giggle over old memories, remember those who have gone on, and give hugs to those who are there. And tell them you love them. Don't miss a chance.


Two of my favorite people--son Matt and grandson, Ryan, whipping around the backyard on the 4-wheeler this fall.


Bye guys, see you soon. I love you!