Yesterday when I made a quick trip to the local grocery store, I saw bins full of locally grown collards and one filled with plastic containers of already shelled black-eyed peas.
I should have taken a picture!
Eating black-eyed peas and collards (mostly seasoned with pork in some form) on New Year’s Day is a custom in the south. (As is, now that I think about it, shooting of firecrackers Christmas Day night–and yes, that goes back to the loss of the Civil War and the refusal for a time to celebrate July 4th with firecrackers.)
Anyway, here’s an article from Southern Living magazine that tells you all about the how and why of eating black-eyed peas and collards on New Year’s Day. Rice and/or cornbread would often be included.
It’s been raining for two days now–6.5 inches on the rain gauge. But I think it is meant to fair off today.
Yesterday I spent–happily spent–a chunk of the day making a big batch of chicken soup. Eventually I’ll freeze some of it.
But before cooking I mailed “Red Positivity”to my niece. And made a run to Isle of Palms to drop off extra raw milk and some yogurt to Bryan and Corinne. I had thought to try yogurt again, but…no…that still doesn’t work. Corinne will make yogurt with this extra milk.
Today I’ll walk if the weather fairs off enough to risk the 2-mile walk which takes me a fair bit away from the house.
And I’ll sew. The 1920s-30s quilt top is coming along. And at night I’m sewing the binding on “Bonanza,” made from big half-square solid units. I’ve rounded two corners now. The binding is that dark midnight blue/purple.
Next up for binding is “Sprinkles,” the baby quilt I made. Then I will be caught up on binding and can start to hand-sew “Happy,” formerly known as “the quilt from hell,” LOL. And “Serpentine Surprise” is on the longarm waiting for me to baste it.
I love fantasy–and fantasy involving DRAGONS–so I’ve watched all of the prequel to Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon. There is…violence. So be warned if you are tempted. But there are also lots and lots of dragons.
I, like many, watched Game of Thrones over many years–as each season came out. Maybe I’ll watch them all again–or parts of all–so I can view them in one time and place. Or, maybe not. That series of books actually has not ended, so there isn’t a neat wrap-up to where the kingdom goes next–if it goes anywhere at all. Perhaps it is too broken to continue…
Yes, she’s done, and I’m very pleased with how this beautiful, cheerful, and BIG quilt came out. She is right at 90 inches square. The binding went faster than I thought it might. So that’s a finish to a big part of work started in the summer.
Here she is, folded over the back of the couch, before I washed her.
The back is a soft grey, and I just went out to the edge of the blocks and used the same Kona solid lavender (Thistle) to bind that I used for the sashing.
Some of you may recall that I sewed my finger the first time around with putting this quilt on the longarm–with a wide backing that would not lay true and that lost 20+ inches on the straight of grain when torn. The backing here is the replacement backing from Missouri Star, and it was true and is quite nice. I quilted with a medium grey, and that worked well too.
It’s a very good thing that I put color catcher clothes into the washer.
Oh my! But the quilt colors are just fine, so these cloths did their work well.
Reds, you know…are tricky when washed. And I usually prewash fabrics, but this collection might not all have been pre-washed. I’ve had them for a long time–about 18 or so years.
“Red Positivity” is going to be sent to a niece in Virginia–whose birthday is January 3rd. I’ll mail her after Christmas Day–next week some time.
My best to all of you for a very Merry Christmas, and the happiest of New Year’s 2024.
And tomorrow will begin the long march to the longest day of the year in June.
Quilter Bonnie Hunter shared this poem on her blog this morning:
The Shortest Day, by Susan Cooper And so the Shortest Day came and the year died And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world Came people singing, dancing, To drive the dark away. They lighted candles in the winter trees; They hung their homes with evergreen; They burned beseeching fires all night long To keep the year alive. And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake They shouted, reveling. Through all the frosty ages you can hear them Echoing behind us—listen! All the long echoes, sing the same delight, This Shortest Day, As promise wakens in the sleeping land: They carol, feast, give thanks, And dearly love their friends, And hope for peace. And now so do we, here, now, This year and every year. Welcome, Yule!
I’m having a beautiful morning. It’s bright and sunny, and there is frost on the grass this morning. It’s my kind of day!
I’m writing this post while drinking the last of this morning’s delicious Green Tree (Lincolnville, Maine) coffee that I ordered (Dark Harbor), and I am already anticipating the noon dinner espresso I will make (Roma). These coffees are roasted and blended and can be shipped at Green Tree.
AND, I have my little Dew Drop diffuser going with an enchanting mixture of essential oils: VANILLA, perpermint, and a bit of grapefruit. What a nice addition the vanilla is, and it is new to me. It’s good with Pine, too.
Next up: Christmas Spirit.
Diffusing essential oils is a good way to benefit from their medicinal properties–as well as the elimination of cooking odors that hang around.
Today is the raw milk pickup–which happens every other week. So there will also be more raw cream added to my freezer. I thrive on raw dairy products.
Later I’ll walk the 2 miles I’ve been doing. That distance is getting easier now, so it is better than just 1 mile. Will I work up to more distance? Probably, as I’m also getting faster.
Life seems so good this morning!
And I hope that each of you is doing some nice things for yourself today.
The outreach that Patchwork Gals does with their quilts and other sewing projects is truly astounding.
But, making this many quilts and other sewing projects takes money. The members frequently spend their own money to make finished quilts, or quilt tops that will be turned into finished quilts, or other projects as needed. But this group also often provides quilty “kits” members can use, and/or backings, battings, bindings, and longarm fees.
So, this fall, Patchwork Gals tried to sell some of their baby quilts and other “baby” products (bibs, birth cloths, car-seat covers, etc.) at local craft fairs, but as the members had been so generous with making all these “baby” products, there are a LOT left over.
So…
One member just formed an Etsy shop where these beautiful and fun projects can be purchased–with free shipping. See the link below.
Meanwhile, one member made a really nice brochure to hand out at the craft fairs. Here is a listing of the various groups to which Patchwork Gals donates their work. (SCYAP is South Carolina Youth Advocate Program, which fosters children that need that kind of care.)
There is also a big group of women who make a lot of red, white, and blue “quilts of valor” quilts–in conjunction with Cobblestone Quilters.
So, if you find yourself in need of a gift for a baby, take a look at the new Etsy store.
We have a new family baby coming in April, so I may dip into this treasure trove of baby products to give more than the baby quilt I already have in process. I’m sure these parents could use bibs, birth blankets, and car-seat covers–all hand made with loving hands.
Yesterday I came home from the monthly Patchwork Gals meeting–where some beautiful quilts were shown–HUNGRY.
I started pulling items from the refrigerator–a selection of colored sweet peppers, baby bok choy, 1 lb of hamburger, and leftover roasted cauliflower and carrots.
I set off the smoke alarms in the kitchen when sautéing the peppers on high heat. Flapping a towel and opening the back door helped–in time. Ugh! Anyway, the peppers were nicely browned in places–so I added in the washed and chopped baby bok choy, and the liquid it diffused slowed down all the heat. I added some herbs and just cooked more until the bok choy was softening but still crisp.
Meanwhile, the hamburger got some chopped onion, some grated mozzarella cheese, and some herbs and four patties went into the Air Fryer–they cooked in under 15 minutes on “roast.”
Somewhere in that process, I made my daily espresso and chopped up an apple–half now and half for supper.
And…what a nice meal I had as I thought about all I saw and enjoyed at the Patchwork Gals meeting. Two meals in fact, as I set up my supper meal of these same ingredients, but much less on the plate, at the same time. Three meals, as I have enough for dinner today.
I “rented” this book from the library a bit ago–COLD SASSY TREE–and realized I had read it years ago. One can buy books from a kiosk at the library for $1–and most I return when I’m done. Some I give to others, however.
I’m enjoying reading it again however. It falls into the same “Southern” vein as RUN WITH THE HORSEMEN, which my family all read back in the day. Both books have a young male protagonist. I read it long enough ago to recognize some of the plot, but not all.
I’ve been having fun with the 3rd block in my online class with Tara Faughnan, where we get a block a month with which to play. “Lines” might seem simple, but it offers so much room to experiment with color relationships, straight lines vs. curved or offset lines, and proportions. I made these to finish at 8 inches, like the Serpentine blocks and checkerboard squares–just to have some consistency.
Here’s my design wall now, with the recent “Lines” blocks on the lower left.
I am still wondering if I can make an improv quilt with these blocks, but I need to see more of the blocks to come to decide on a bigger quilt. Remember that I already made a lap size quilt with the curved Serpentine block and its checkerboard pieces. It is so cute, and it waiting for me to baste it on the longarm. My favorite Serpentine block though is the scrappy ones shown here.
Here’s where I am with “Lines” right now.
But look what happens when I turn sone of these “Lines” blocks on their sides.
Instant landscapes and possibly a big 9-patch block? I could join up these blocks without sashing. So now I”ll make at least 3 more blocks to fill out what could be a chunk in an improv quilt. You can kind of see how that could go in this picture.
For me, creative “play” like this project above is totally energizing and engaging. I don’t worry about where it will all go, if anywhere. I can always make an array of other items if I need to: bags, placemats, small wall hangings that are hand-quilted, pillows, or…nothing but putting them in the “parts department” bin for future consideration. Removing the need to “do something” is so, so freeing.
Meanwhile, the 1920-1930’s quilt is growing. These blocks are 10 inches and are meant to use up this fabric from my stash. I did have to buy a few more pieces of fabric to fill out the colors.
Last night I threaded 30 needles in my 3 little holders and started to bind “Red Positivity.”
How fun it will be to have this big, bold happy quilt in my lap in upcoming nights!
Louisa Enright's Blog 