Elfing at its Finest
There are elves out there that know me quite will. Out with the clumsy cardboard. Who knew there were such things for Cricut organization?
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Noreen
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Noreen
The Past Revisited
The agenda today was to pull out some heirloom favorites to unfold, air them and enjoy them. My mother-in-law Esther Schafer could crochet in her sleep. How thankful I am that I caught the bug from her.
A full size bedspread that has been used and loved and cherished. A tribute to Esther Schafer, my children’s grandmother.
The white crocheted bedspread was on her and Art’s bed every single day. Every night it was folded to lay on the foot end of the bed, ready to be replaced the next morning. It is crocheted so densely, it does weigh a whole bunch. I needed Dennis’ help to get it unfolded and placed on the bed. This was the first time Esther had tried that pattern. She must have fell in love with it as she continued to make seven more. I cannot imagine the concentration that it took. Each of the seven could choose the color that they wanted. Carrie and Kevin’s dad, Orlin, had chosen blue. Thank goodness there was a Ben Franklin store in Hector, Minnesota. I am sure Esther was their favorite customer, as their huge 80″ long dining room windows, of which there were four, also had hand-crocheted, full length sheers. I call them sheers, and they had the look of lace but they were weighty. Esther made good use of the curtain stretcher that had all the points of the rustproof brads pointing outward when there was a crocheted item to be dried after being washed.
The crocheted motifs are not as solid as Esther’s, and thus the project was not quite a timely one. It was a labor of determination. The same determination my daughter has me labeled as, “The head goes down and she doesn’t quit until she is done.” In my defense, it does serve me well.
I began making many, many motifs for my bedspread while we lived in Texas and thereafter until they could be crocheted together. If I ever thought of giving up, Esther would encourage me and talk me through each arduous step, lending me a hand whenever we would visit. Carrie and Kevin were good babies and I was not working out of the home. I filled many evening hours with the task at hand. Even after we were farming, the crochet project was always close at hand. Crochet thread that was the bedspread weight was fairly inexpensive and it sure kept me content. My bedspread was in the ecru color and I always imagined this huge bedroom with this being taken on and off much like Esther’s every day. There was no way I wanted to repeat this project as Esther had done, over and over and over. I was not that strong.
I was the only person in the family who could tackle any crochet project that was put in front of me. There came a day when Esther was gone, but the bedspread still held an important part of her memories. There were a fair amount of repairs that needed to be done.
Each one of the crocheted roses with green leaves were attached to the surrounding white border by eight strategically crocheted stitches. I do believe that dying the crochet thread weakened it. The darker the color, the weaker the thread. In looking at the bedspread, the roses and their leaves that seem to have a more pronounced border are the ones that I repaired. Yes, there were many, but the integrity of the bedspread is strong because of the repair.As I said, today was the day to allow these beauties to be put out. As I go about my day, it makes me smile to have them catch my eye. They may even remain in place for another day before they find their home on one of the new shelves that Kevin put up on Thanksgiving day. Our small home does not allow for the real estate around each of our beds for ease of taking off and putting on, on a daily basis. The opulence is desired, but reality and durability of bedding takes over.
Each time I work with these bedspreads, many memories of times gone by flash forward as if it were yesterday. Carrie has the blue bedspread. I did have it professionally cleaned. For one, I don’t have a curtain stretcher. And two, I couldn’t handle all the bulk when it was dry, let alone when it would have been wet. At such time, Esther’s original will be Kevin’s.
Over five decades that some of these memories span, I choose to save the best and leave the rest.
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Noreen
Fleeting Thoughts:
It’s 4:30 and very dark out, as if it could rain. I have the glow of our Christmas tree to lighten and keep my spirits up.
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Noreen
A mild day for anyone that had things to do outside. Yesterday, the last – and I mean the very last – of the job jar was taken care of. It didn’t take anything from Dennis and me other than signing the bottom line.
We had Complete Basements from Mankato put in the basement perimeter tile system in 2006, complete with the battery backup. Nick was here yesterday to do the annual check on it. If the annual visit is not done, it voids the lifetime warranty. The entire while Nick was working, he would need to trip it manually as the basin under the concrete basement floor was filling up fast and it needed to be emptied up and out onto the yard to the northwest.
The backup battery motor was kaput; seized up with calcium deposits. As Dennis and I know, the sump pump has to work hard with heavy rain, or as in this case, a lot of rain over several weeks before the ground had a chance to freeze. The sump pump is running more now that it had all spring and summer. A hit and miss of electrical services could see us again go glob, glob.
With a small home, we would be lost without two things: Dennis’ garage porch and my basement sewing area. It would mean us either building or buying a newer larger home.
Nope, this little compact home has and is all that we need. As it is, it does not maintain itself, we are just so thankful there is only so many square feet that need tending.
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Noreen
Sewing Projects Require Good Tools
Many decades ago I made a color wheel when I was doing fabric painting with Tri-Chem oil paints. The color wheel still comes into play when choosing colors of fabric for quilting and now with machine embroidery.
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Noreen
It Is a Birthday Kind of Day
Oh for the wisdom that sparkles
in Lena’s blue eyes.Today my Mom would have been 99 years old. I hear many people make note of their heroes in life, from sports individuals to philanthropists. My heroes in life were, and still are, my parents. Today would have been Lena’s day. No doubt she would have made plans for the entire family to come to the farm in Boon Lake Township located in Renville County either the Sunday before or the Sunday after the December 2nd date.
When I think things get tough in my life, I only have to stop and reflect on Lena’s life. My Mom grew up in a large family with a father who was a party man. Emil would not think twice about staying at a local pub while his family hustles to take care of livestock on the farm. Emil would buy drinks for others and come home with not a coin left in his pocket. Emil also spent some time in prison as he had taken a pitchfork to my uncle Bill.
I only bring up the information about Mom’s childhood, and it never, ever left a negative mark on her beautiful soul and heart. Mom and my Dad met when they were both hired hands on a farm. My parents went on to have a family of four who they raised and took care of with every fiber in their beings. My Mom often would share with me that she never wanted for anything after marrying Raymond as he was a good provider. When times were tough, we may not have had a lot of materialistic things, but we never knew the difference as we were happy and content within the home that was provided for us. Dad taught his boys to work wonders in the tool shop and my Mom taught us girls the fine arts of baking, cooking and sewing.
I know she made a huge impact on the grandchildren, playing cards with them or letting them follow her around when they would spend time in grandma and grandpa’s home. Even for my granddaughter, Megan, who wants to be a writer, there would not be enough words to sufficiently describe Lena and her legacy.On another note, when daughter Carrie found out she would be having a baby in the late November or early December time via a c-section, Carrie reserved December 2nd for Megan’s birth. Today Megan is 12 and Mom would have been 99; my breath is taken away for oh so many reasons and I have memories sliding down my cheeks.
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Noreen
The last of the Thanksgiving guests caught a ride to the Sioux Falls airport heading for Arizona this early morning.
“Ah, Dad, do you have an extra heavy jacket I can borrow?” Son, Ken, had come off the plane with a long sleeve sweatshirt. I believe the ride from Sioux Falls to St. James, either was shivered through, or that vehicle had the heater on high. I don’t think Ken was planning on visiting Minnesota in the winter at the time he parred down positions when he packed up and moved to Arizona.
It was nippy with the wet snow falling yesterday. Today there are mini ice cycles hanging from the house roof. We will be in a thaw mode for the next several days. What a whirl wind.
Dennis had blown snow late yesterday afternoon and the remaining snowfall did not amount to more than an inch or two. I did go out and push some snow off of the drive just to get some fresh air. Never would this heavy snow been something to be totally moved manually. I think they call it a “heart attack snowfall.”
A mix of fresh air and mending makes for a good feeling. A pair of jeans needed shortening. It was a breeze. The open arm concept of the new machine allowed for the pant leg to be stripped on for sewing and the pressure foot and needle glided over the heavy welt seams as if it were butter. It’s a good thing.
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Noreen
It’s not like they didn’t warn us about snow coming. Dennis just got done taking the first wave of the snow off the drive. I do keep a close eye on him and now he is being consoled in the garage porch by Snuggles, Butter Ball, Fuzzy and Harry. I am sure they are all taking in the snow that would be falling off of his boots. The feline population can be very thankful for their laundry baskets of pillows and flannel in the garage porch and the fact that the porch never gets below 40 degrees.
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Noreen
Quiet Day #2
Reversible scrappy quilt will leave Stauffer with a new embroidery label.
Do not get me wrong – Dennis does not interfere with my creative juices. There is just something about a totally quiet home that allows for me to have total concentration. My new machine and my desire to try all it has to offer, does require my kind of quiet. I do know that others could perform brain surgery with music blaring and go-go dancers caught out of the corner of their eyes.
Yesterday brought to a close the king sized quilt. I wanted to put a label on it before I turn it over to its new owners. Previously, I have had to buy cloth-backed paper to feed into the computer printer and work at setting the printing before attaching it to a project. I so wanted to have a sewn embroidered label for it.
No more inkjet printer labels. I have thread and fabric!
I watched Bernina YouTube videos until my eyes burned. I stopped following instructions in the owners manual with my fingers, as I was afraid I would smear the ink and really be up a creek without a paddle. It took a combination of having my laptop down in my sewing room going step by step of embroidery instructions while tapping on the display screen through each step. I was actually pleased with the first label – right out of the gate – if it had not been that I had set the date prior to sewing at 2115. I doubt that the quilt will make it that long.
I really think I am going to enjoy my new sewing machine on so many levels of creativity. The quality will last for decades as I sew straight seams, mend and shorten jeans, do free motion quilting or embroidering a dish towel or do any entire quilt with embroidery. How do I know that? My sister bought her first Bernina in 1965 and her machine is still working like a champ for her. Ah, family members . . . keep your creative juices alive and well.
Dennis will be home for supper as this is the last day of his trade show in Jackson. After today it will not bother me if there is one or three televisions going on in the background. I broke ground on the most challenging of the functions. The fear is gone and replaced by . . . “what if.”
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Noreen
A Quiet Day
First came the Thanksgiving prep, then the huge event day – and yesterday visiting with old friends over coffee. This morning I got up at six to have coffee with Dennis before he left for a trade show in Jackson. Then . . . my kind of quiet settled in.
It feels good to be on the last several steps of this king sized scrappy quilt. It feels wonderful to know that it will have a new home shortly. Quilts are meant to be used and enjoyed . . . so I can try out some new patterns and make more.
Thanksgiving day, I got a taker on the scrappy king sized quilt that has been quilted and now needed binding sewn on and then hemmed. I checked out options on the new machine and did several test runs. No televisions on, no anticipated visitors and no phone calls expected. Grammie settled in for a day of stitching. I do know that heirloom quilts are to be hand hemmed. I do know that some quilts demand high utility. I do know my hands hurt for days after hand hemming a quilt as large as this scrappy one. I do know why I decided to let the machine do the stitching.
Kevin positioned the new machine on a lower table than I had been using. After being at the machine for quite some hours, the lower table height was kind to my back and as well the stretch from the shoulders to the hands. Good call on all fronts.
The clear square box on each foot has a computer chip to correspond with the choice of stitching.
Several foo-pas taught me some good lessons on the use of the new machine. It gave me the opportunity to take a few parts under the pressure foot apart to pull out snarled thread. In times past when not paying attention to the fact that my bobbin had run out of thread, I would sew for several feet before realizing. Nope, this machine shuts down and the display screen tells the rest of the story. By the way, each foot that can be used on the machine has a computer chip that communicates and if you are way off track on the choices of feet, the display screen lets you know and not one stitch will be allowed.
I was surprised how I had whiled away the day. Lots of good
work was done and I am surprised, I do not feel weary from the full day. The Kenmore work give me a workout as I kept the machine on the straight and narrow with good seam allowances. As others, this machine has the two feed dogs that pull the project under the needle, then go down and come back up, ready for the next grab. I now have an additional tool behind the machine sewing foot that allows for yet another type of feed dog to help maintain the good seam allowance. It can be pushed up and back when not needed.I had a great day and now it is time to get real and begin getting supper ready for Dennis when he arrives home from Jackson.
