Another project.

It seems like before I get one project finished, I have an idea for the next one. I have a very old quilt that was made by my great aunt.

It has a lot of damage and deterioration from age and wear but I wanted to do something with it. I thought that I could cut it apart and make something. I decided on Christmas stockings. I wanted the design of the quilt to show through the pattern so I used a plastic shower curtain to make a clear pattern.

Then I just placed the clear pattern (which I traced off an old Christmas stocking) on the quilt and cut them out.

I'm pretty happy with the way they're turning out. I used unbleached muslin to make the backs so that it matches the original material my great aunt used. I had to do a bit of mending in spots, but it doesn't take away from the appearance of the quilts.

Now, I have to admit, I did have a little bit of help with this project as you can see by the following pictures. Molly is always there to lend her support.

Quilting

My mother used to make patchwork quilts for our family for as long as I can remember. Nothing fancy, just four inch squares sewed together in random order.

My kids and grand kids always liked to look at the various fabrics and remember what material came from which pajamas, dress, curtains or whatever, that "Big Grandma" made for them.

Well, mom had a quilt started that she isn't able to finish now due to her arthritis and macular degeneration so it's been passed down to me! Now I never would have thought that just sewing together four inch squares of fabric would be so difficult.

But I have a new appreciation for the time and handiwork my mother put into those quilts. But I'm having trouble matching up all those seams when I put the rows together! The good side, is that my mom wants to give these as Christmas gifts so I have some time to work on them. I can only hope that these quilts turn out as well as the ones my mom made.

Time flies

Boy time sure flies fast! I kept thinking I should blog today, but then before I knew it, it was weeks ago that I last posted. Well, let's see....the snow was a big story. I think all in all we had about 15 inches of snow. Can't wait for spring to be here. At least we've had a couple of warm (50) days so it's not too bad.

Apparently the blackberry jam was good. I haven't tried it yet, but those who have tried it have liked it. I think this summer we'll take the grandkids out to pick apples and let them make applesauce and then we can pick strawberries and make jam. I think they will love it.

Making jam

I've never made homemade jelly or jam but when my daughter had blackberries that she didn't want I thought now would be a good time to try. I decided to try freezer (no cook) jam. It was really very easy.

Things were going well after I mashed up all the berries until I dropped the masher and it fell on the dog and splattered all over everything!

The ingredients were only blackberries, Sure Jell, sugar and water. But since my little jars didn't have lids I had to seal them with wax.

The only part of the jelly making that required cooking was disolving the sugar into the pectin. It almost boiled over a couple of times.



Here's the finished product. It had to sit for 24 hours and then go into the freezer. I only wanted small jars so we could try it and not waste it if we didn't like it. I'm pretty pleased with the way it came out. I hope it tastes good too.

A New Computer!

After spending some time looking at the ads and comparing prices, we bought a new computer! It's a really nice HP and has some features that I really like. I wanted a web cam and this one has one. And I wanted it to burn DVD's and CD's. My old computer used to do that, but that feature broke some time ago. I had hundreds of photos on my old computer that I wanted to get off and now I can organize all my digital pictures. It makes me feel better to have all the photos organized and categorized. I hate clutter, even on my computer.

What a week!

Well, the cold that has lasted for at least four weeks, is finally getting better. Of course two kinds of antibiotics might have helped. There are some side effects though - three naps in one day! Maybe that's why the cold is better.

And my mom is home from the hospital. She went in last Friday with chest pains that turned out to be congestive heart failure. She's feeling much better now - well as better as an 86 year old woman with a lot of health problems can feel.

Christmas is over!

The last of the Christmas ornaments are put away and the house is clean again! But I just don't understand how I just put it all away and what are they showing in the stores already? Valentine's Day! I'm not ready for that! It is just one holiday blending into another? I don't decorate for Valentine's Day. Maybe if my kids were little or the grandkids were here all the time, but any Valentine's Day decor would be lost on my husband!