I Swear the Dog Needs a Job

You know your dog visits the vet a little too often when he gets his own Walgreens prescription card!

The big puppy or "Big Rig" as we like to call him, recently had another bout with illness (tumor on his spleen, turned out to be benign) that required more surgery but is recovering nicely and anxious to get back to work so he can help pay for all of his $$ medical bills $$.

He was recently laid off from his longtime job of waking the teenage girl in the house every morning because she went off to college and now has to find someone else to do that for her. Chasing squirrels doesn't really pay much so if you know of any part-time positions available for a sweet, friendly, hard-working, conscientious Wheaten Terrier, let us know. Just send an application to the house because, look, he gets junk mail now too.

Only a matter of time before his voter registration card arrives. This is an election year and we live near Chicago where every vote counts . . . sometimes twice.

Small Quilt - Week 2

Hopefully some of you have chosen your fabric and cut the pieces for your blocks for the Crosses Mourning quilt in my book Prairie Children & Their Quilts. I had so much fun motivating you to begin this year of making small quilts that I decided to make this one right along with you. Since I already made the one in the book with nine blocks, I am making the smaller version of the quilt (with only 4 blocks) that I started on Saturday.

Week 2 (this week!) is the week you are supposed to piece your blocks together and so I am not going to get ahead of myself here. Yep, that's all I did  - took it kind of slow and just pieced these four blocks together in about an hour. This way I feel like I can do other things this week but I've still accomplished something here and am certain I will finish this one this month.  How about you? Small quilts are the easiest and most fun for me and, unless something dreadful comes along, this weekly schedule of doing just a little at a time should work out just fine.

Sometime next week we'll work on the sashing and borders and, before you know it, the quilt will be finished

Are you still with me??

The Civil War Sewing Circle Club

Here's some more fun for you to think about. Some of you are enjoying making this small quilt of the month with me and so I thought I'd pass along a link to another shop that is doing a quilt a month from my latest book, The Civil War Sewing Circle.

Jerry Stube at Quilters Quarters in Leavenworth, Kansas, is coordinating a year-long program at the shop to make ALL of the quilts from this book beginning in March. With kits! That means loads of fabric. This is also going to be available for her online customers. That could be you.

Jerry has done programs like this in the past with my other books. I've heard good things about them and you and I know that clubs are a great way for you to actually get some quilts made. Sometimes all you need is a little nudge. Online clubs like this are terrific if you cannot take a class at a local quilt shop. You can still join in the fun. Even better if the fabric is already chosen for you and delivered right to your door. 

Knock, knock. Who's there? Fabric.

Okay, so I tell jokes like a three-year-old, with no punchline, but you get the point. And, if you join the club, you get Fabric. Every month. So check with Jerry and see what she has in store for you beginning in March.

At some point we may also be doing one or two quilts from this book in our small quilt quilt-a-long in the Yahoo group and through this blog as we go through the year.

Some of you have finished this month's quilt already! Good for you! If you are not in the Yahoo group and have nowhere to post photos so we can all see them (and ooh and ahh), you can upload them to my Flickr group - Quilts Designed by Kathy Tracy, which I created last year just so we can see what people are making.

If you haven't started cutting your pieces yet, get going . . . there's still time.

Quilt of the Month - Week 1

For those of you who are doing this small quilt challenge with me where we'll be making 12 quilts this year (# 1 - Crosses Mourning Quilt from Prairie  Children & Their Quilts this month), by the end of this weekend you should have at least picked out your fabric and perhaps cut out the pieces for the blocks.

These blocks can be made strictly from an assortment of your scraps. In making my quilt,  I chose nine different muted (but still colorful) prints. I used an assortment of light prints and shirtings for the backgrounds and 2 different black prints for each block, sometime repeating prints. If you don't have a lot of black to use, and you like the dark motif, how about indigo or dark brown? I think those would work just as well.

This beginning part shouldn't take long at all and if you're following along at my simple, no-pressure pace, you can stop now and work on piecing the blocks together next week. Here are some sample pieces for a block that took me all of 15 minutes to choose and cut. Follow the cutting directions in your book and do this 9 times for 9 blocks for the quilt in the book or 4 times if you're making the smaller version with 4 blocks. A couple of hours, at most.

I did not use red in my original quilt but I really like the way this looks.

Now put it aside and work on your other projects or go for a walk. Don't pressure yourself to finish it today. Don't worry, you'll get it done. You can get to it again next week when you have a little time. However, I would be very surprised if you stopped here, LOL. Sometimes small quilts are so much fun to make that it's very easy to just keep going until you finish the whole thing (like that bag of chips, but let's not go there . . . ) 

Small quilts do not require a lot of time but there is such a sense of satisfaction when you finish one. I know that disciplining yourself to get started is the hard part. We always have so much to do but, like exercise, if you don't carve out the time, it's just not gonna happen. If you just do a little at a time, every week, on a consistent basis, you'll finish this quilt by the end of this month and then we'll start another in February.  I'm pretty sure it's going to be a red & white Valentine's Day version of another one of my little quilts but I'm not telling which one yet.

Thanks for joining me!

One Small Quilt a Month

Many of you know that am I owner and moderator of a Yahoo group called Small Quilt Talk where those of us who like love to make small quilts can chat about and show photos of projects we make. Sometimes we do challenges and have swaps among the members. There's always a lot of quilty chatter and our members are from all skill levels (and countries too). Everyone is always willing to help beginners, answer questions and give support to our collective small-quilting addiction.

Tell me if this sounds like fun. We are currently beginning a challenge to make some small quilts this year from patterns in some of my books. One quilt a month for the year. Many of you have some if not all of my books and someone in the group thought that this would be a great way to finally get around to making some of them. Maybe you are having trouble getting started. I know how it is  - I have so many quilt pattern books and usually buy them because of  certain patterns I really love and am dying to make. Do I make them? Hardly ever, I have to admit.


Did you know that there are patterns for at least 40 small quilts, or doll quilts, in all four of my books? (If you count the large ones there are even more.). That's a lot of quilts to choose from. I know not everyone likes ALL of the quilts and many of you have made some of them. There are some of you who would really like to make a few more. This is what you tell me when I visit your guilds and I show my quilts. Why else are we inspired to buy the books if not to try making the quilts?

This is about 1/3 of my small quilts . . . .

I am extending my group challenge to the Sentimental Quilter blog-readership and it is going to work this way. Every month I will choose a quilt from one of my books and challenge you to make it. I'll upload a  file to the Yahoo group to assign the quilt and also to show you an alternate way of making the quilt - colors, size, etc. Because of copyright, I am unable to reprint the patterns from the books and give them to you here for free, and I hope you understand. I think many of you already have the books anyway or you wouldn't be a fan of my quilts and reading this blog, right?

Here are some of my friend Julia's small quilts. Isn't this adorable? She's as crazy as I am. Imagine, at the end of the year you could have your own little stack of quilts just like this . . .

Every month there will be another small quilt assigned from one of my books and you can choose to participate in all or one or none. No pressure. But if you do participate, just think, by the end of the year you will have 12 small quilts completed! Not bad.

Also, we will be doing this as a sort of Small-Quilt-a-Long. In the yahoo group (maybe here too) I hope to prompt and motivate those of you who are doing this to keep working on the quilt. The first week of each month I will choose the quilt and try to encourage you to begin choosing fabrics and maybe cut your pieces. The second week I will try to prompt you to sew them together. The third week is for sashing and/or borders and the last week I will encourage you to quilt your little quilt and finish it. Sound like fun??

Of couse, it's all easy for me because I have already made all the quilts, LOL. Some of them twice - or even three times (!) so my part is simple. You guys have to do all the work and make the little scrappy quilts you tell me you love so much. But honestly, they take very little time to finish. They're so SMALL. And - at the end of the year you can have your very own Wall of Quilts to rival this one that belongs to an antique doll quilt collector! I never get tired of being inspired by this photo. You can even make 2 every month in different colors and give one to a friend.

(From Collecting American Country by Mary Emmerling )

You can still participate even if you are not a member of the Small Quilt group. Only members can view the files and post and view photos of the finished quilts, however.

This is a wonderful way to get the New Quilting Year off to a great start  -  and feel good about making some of those quilts from the books that are beginning to collect dust . . .

To kick off the year, I chose this quilt for January - from Prairie Children and Their Quilts, my second book.

Crosses Mourning Quilt

When the pioneers left their homes and headed west in covered wagons, women sometimes brought along quilts for the journey that were intended to comfort the sick and perhaps even shroud the dead. One young woman wrote about her mother who had passed away while on the trail west. They had to leave her and continue on their journey. "The rolling hills were ablaze with beautiful roses . . . and we heaped and covered mother's grave with the lovely roses so the cruel stones were hid from view." I made this little mourning quilt (with the beautiful  border of roses print) as a memoriam to the many men, women and children who died on the trail and because I was so touched by that quote.

Mourning quilts made during the nineteenth century were often expressions of loss and sorrow, and healing was hastened perhaps by the comfort of making a quilt. Pieces of clothing from the deceased were sometimes included in the quilt as reminders of and tributes to the departed.

So get out your books, quilters, and join the fun. Make a small quilt a month. I know you can do it!

Happy Healthy New Year!

(Just to warn you, this post may be heavy on the vegetables so get out now if you feel you must!)

It's January 1 again! I always make resolutions on January 1 and sometimes I keep them but they always seem to be the same ones. And this year is no different. Isn't that the truth? I'm doing it a bit differently this time though and trying to make small, important changes that will stick without pressuring myself so much that I get stressed and give up before February gets here.

For instance, the exercise thing - always the first thing on my list every year and the one thing I try so hard to make work for me. Until I give up for some stupid reason (Okay, I'll give myself a break -  ankle, foot and knee injuries are a good excuse and I've suffered from those time and time again. But just when I think I'm off the hook there's always some wise*** who suggests . . . swimming!)  I already began an exercise program recently to get some of my muscle strength back and I will try to continue working on that if I can. If it's not too cold to walk outside, that is . . . Otherwise, there's a track nearby that I used to go to but haven't been to in awhile. No excuse. It's only about 5 miles away. Why does it have to be so hard to put that one foot in front of the other, LOL??

This is better than walking around inside a mall when it's 20 degrees or less outside. Also, I am not tempted to spend any money LOL.

If I time it right I won't have to walk around the track while all of the skinny people are working out below me with their loud music. I'm trying to listen to a book on my ipod you guys . . .

Keep eating my fiber! I love most vegetables and eat plenty (fruits too) but I mostly cook them. Because I have suffered from some nasty digestive ailments in the past, this year I am determined to try to increase my fiber even more and eat more raw vegetables. Fiber for me keeps the doctor away. No, I have no interest in eating a raw diet AT ALL. And I think the jury is still out on which is better for you -  cooked or raw. Did you know that raw carrots supply polyphenols, chemicals with antioxidant properties that may reduce cancer and the risk of heart disease? Cooking carrots destroys all the polyphenols and breaks down the vitamin C so your body can't use it. Yet cooking supplies MORE beta carotene than raw which is one reason we eat the vegetables in the first place, isn't it? The same holds true for spinach, cabbage, peppers, asparagus and many other veggies. I think the solution is to just eat a combination of both.

When I cook my vegetables I don't get as much fiber as I could. Last year I started grating a whole raw carrot into my salads at home and sometimes will add half of a grated apple too. Yum. Seriously, it makes for a very good salad and I will sometimes add a handful of walnuts too. Seems to fill me up much better. If only I could find a low-fat dressing I liked  . . . That's what usually gets me every time. The quest is on to find a dressing I like that isn't high in fat.

I try not to  eat a whole lot of processed foods and I usually do fine but I sure like to snack as much as anybody else. If there's a bag of chips in the house I will eat it so the key for me is to just not buy it or only buy them occasionally. I get really tired of eating raw veggies and dip.  I cannot eat many of those ready-made dips or any dip made with soup mix because of the MSG or added spices and flavorings. Here's a dip I made over the holidays that everyone liked really well. I made more today and added more raw vegetables -

I used my nifty little mini-food processor to chop up fresh broccoli and red pepper and then added the vegetables to Greek yogurt (twice the protein as regular and thicker and creamier too) with a little garlic powder and salt. No, I did not eat the whole bowl! Not bad and a good way for me to get in those raw vegetables instead of eating boring raw veggies with a high-fat dip. Too bad my favorite crackers have a little too many calories . . . . Have you tried these?? They're half pretzels, half crackers and very crispy.

I don't usually eat a lot of sugar snacks on a regular basis but boy did I have way too much over the past several weeks. Candy, fudge, cookies . . . you name it. So it looks like sugar is going to have to go too. Goodbye  Peppermint Bark! Here's my healthy substitute -  SKINNY POP.

Probably the single best popcorn I have ever had without butter. And I like it just fine without. Look at those calories. Or lack of them I should say. A little pricey and so I try to make the bag last but even if I don't - it won't kill me to eat more than a cup. Low in sodium too. Made in Chicago so you may have to check to see if they sell this in your area.

I haven't even had time to think about my quilting resolutions yet. I think this is what is going to occupy my mind instead of quilting for awhile until I get into a routine and the changes stick. I did promise myself I  would get some more Dear Jane blocks finished in the coming weeks, months, so don't worry, I'm still here. Just taking a little health break.

Cabin Fever Quilt Retreat

There are still a few openings in a couple of classes I am teaching at the Cabin Fever Quilt Retreat at the Grout Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, Feb 2-4, 2012. We'll be making Clarissa's Garden Quilt -

 . . . and the Album Quilt from The Civil War Sewing Circle, another great scrappy quilt -

I will also be giving a demonstration to make that cute housewife needle case you saw a few posts ago.

This January, the Grout Museum begins hosting an exhibit titled "Covered by Glory: Civil War Commemorative Quilts" which promises to be very exciting. Here's some more info about the exhibit from the museum -

"During the Civil War many women turned to needlework as a refuge from the stress, loneliness and worry of war. They utilized their skills to support their families, raise money for the cause and create necessary items for the soldiers. When the war was over, they stitched commemorative quilts celebrating victory and honoring those who died. A century ands a half later the sacrifices are still remembered with commemorative fabrics, patterns and quilts that mark the Sesquicentennial of the Wat between the States. This exhibit showcases several quilts, some made during the era and commemorative quilts made from ten to 150 years later. Photographs, archives and more will enhance this exhibit."

I am proud that a few of my quilts will be hanging in this exhibit, which runs through September 2012. Make sure it's on your calendar if you're  planning to visit  Iowa next year! 

http://www.groutmuseumdistrict.org/

Merry Christmas!

  

Were you good and did you get everything you wished for from Santa?

My daughter gave me this cool vintage-looking necklace with a little sewing machine, scissors and button charms.  

I also got  that critically acclaimed Stephen King book about the JFK assassination I've been wanting to read - 11/22/63.  Look what else - some Perfect Circles and those neat Karen Kay Buckley applique scissors too, 'cuz remember, I do applique now, LOL. And an LED flex-light to wrap around my neck so I can see exactly what I'm doing when I'm doing my applique. Lots of other cool gifts too.

The best gifts?  My kids were extremely thoughtful in their gift giving to us and each other and - get this - last night my son even cleaned up the kitchen after Christmas Eve dinner because I was so tired after cooking all day. What more could a mom ask for??

I love Christmas and feel blessed, being together with family. I hope you all are having a wonderful, special day too.

'Twas the Day Before Christmas Eve . . .

 . . .  And someone is scrambling around trying desperately to get things finished and ready for the holiday. Am I the only one?? I love Christmas!

Running around today looking for some little things to put in the kids' stockings -

Yes, they still get stockings, bigger than this one, LOL, even though they're 18 and 23 . . . . I love "pin tins." Found these Hello Kitty tins filed with candy for my daughter that will be just perfect for my applique pins after she eats the mints and tosses them away. Good thinking, huh? I love Christmas!

I'm not making any quilts this year, been busy making some jewelry though -

I love Christmas!

Who's the lucky girl who's getting some homemade earrings? Shhhh. Don't worry, I went to Ulta and Forever XXI at the mall too.

Haven't done much baking but my plan is to make a few batches of cookies tonight. More peppermint bark too . . . I love staying up late and baking after everyone else has gone to bed. I'll put on some quiet Christmas music. It will just be me and Michael Buble . . .  in the kitchen, baking the cookies.

Always something to do . . . Hurry, hurry . . .  Can you tell I'm a bit stressed? Not enough hours left . . . Need to run and get more groceries for Christmas Eve dinner. Family is coming over tomorrow night and I'm baking a ham, cheesy potatoes and also spinach lasagna. My daughter is vegetarian so the lasagna has become one of our Christmas traditions (red and green). Hope it stays a family tradition if all that cheese doesn't kill us off, LOL. I sure love Christmas!

Christmas Past

I always have the best intentions but never seem to find enough time to make enough Christmas gifts for friends and family. I usually get a few done but never as many as I planned. Maybe it's because I start too late, LOL? And then I get really busy. They often carry over unfinished and then at least I have a head start on gifts for next year . . . .

Only a few days left and I was thinking about what kind of last minute, quick gifts to make for Christmas. A couple of  years ago I made a few of these Civil War "huswife" needle cases for friends -

They stitch up pretty quickly, and are even great for non-quilters. My sister uses hers as a gift card or credit card case since the pockets are just the right size. The pattern is in my book Remembering Adelia, which I know many of you have. So, if you're looking for a quick handmade gift for a friend, there's still time to whip one up!

During the Civil War, Christmas celebrations were  very subdued and often somber. Many families were without a father (remember the fictional March family in Little Women). Church attendance followed by a large family dinner was the custom in most homes. By 1861 most homes also had a Christmas tree as well as stockings hung in anticipation of St. Nicholas' arrival.  Christmas trees were decorated with popcorn balls, ribbons, colored paper and sometimes edible treats.  Popular gifts of the time included needle books (!), pin cushions, paint boxes, jewelry, tops, pen wipers etc. But the best gift of all may have been the arrival of a loved one returning home from the war.

Sallie Brock Putnam of Richmond VA wrote that Christmas 1861 had been spent making and preparing warm items for the soldiers - caps, stockings and colorful scarves. The soldiers were foremost in people's minds and what food they could afford was sent to the camps to cheer and comfort those who would not be making the trip home for Christmas. The absence of loved ones was keenly felt around most dinner tables and vacant chairs were set as reminders.

As I was sorting through and organizing papers recently I came across pages of the diary entries that were in my Remembering Adelia book. Adelia was 19 and lived in northern Illinois in 1861, the year the Civil War began.  I thought some of you might enjoy reading a simple, firsthand account of what Christmas was like for many families that year:

December 4, 1861

Lydia and I went to Mrs Shaver's in the afternoon. Marg and Frank went with us to Vosburgh's in the evening. Marg has just been to Chicago and she showed us all the new things. Sam Shoemaker brought home the body of his brother Jerome who died in the hospital in Mo., a member of Co F, 15 Reg.,  Illinois Volunteers.

Dec 5, 1861

Mother and Clara went with Mr Goodwin's folks to Crystal Lake to Jerome Shoemaker's funeral. I wrote a letter to Lester. Received one from Em.

Dec 6, 1861

A man recruiting for Mulligan's Brigade in Chicago lectured at the schoolhouse and staid here all night. Wesley Shepard and George Gill signed the muster roll.

Dec 7

The recruiting officer took the boys to Chicago today. Were all here for dinner. Elias went to the station and brought me a letter from Lester and one from Jim at St Louis and a host of papers. Made Clara an apron today.

Dec 18

Mrs Goodwin came here early in the morning to have me do some sewing for her on the machine and she put the facing on the girls' dresses for me.

In the afternoon I went over to see how Jule was and to help Mrs Vosburgh if she needed me. I swept, made some cookies and did her ironing. [Jule was a neighbor friend who had enlisted in the war, became very ill and had now returned home].

Dec 19, 1861

Mother made the stuff all ready for mince pies, chopped apples and all that sort of thing getting ready for Christmas.

Dec 20, 1861

Mother made nineteen mince pies today which took about all of her time. I made a housewife for Lester and Elias is going to Woodstock to carry it to be sent to Washington [where Lester, her "young man" was stationed].

Dec 21, 1861

Worked the forenoon if I ever did. Dressed the chickens, washed the pantry floor, the kitchen floor, made up beds, swept the chambers and almost a little of everything. Mr Bennett and sister came between three and four o'clock. Anderson came in the evening and we went to William's to sing. Had a fire in the fireplace and we couldn’t keep warm. Jule Harback worse and they sent for Father to go and watch.

Dec 22

Got up this morning and the ground was white with snow. It continued to snow all day and it was about eight inches at night. Mr Bennett was here and he was in a stew to know how he was going to get home. Anderson had to go home in the storm and break his own path. I think I never saw so much snow fall at one time.

Dec 23

Father carried Miss B— to the cars [train cars] and Mr Bennett went home with the buggy. Picked and dressed the turkey for Christmas and did the washing. Julius Harback died today. He has been sick more than two months and is nothing but a skeleton.

Dec 24
How unfortunate! When we have got so much work to do. I have been real sick most all day. Got breakfast and washed the dishes and did nothing till three o'clock. Elias went to Crystal Lake after Jule's coffin.

Dec 25

Got up early and got the work done and the turkey in the oven and then went to Jule's funeral. Had a miserable sermon but a full house. He was buried in the Patterson place beside his mother. Found McComber's folks here when we got back. Got dinner as quick as we could. Edwin's folks,  Uncle Johnson, Lydia, Jo, Em and all hands were here.

Dec 26

All hands started home as soon as possible in the morning for the snow was melting so fast. They were afraid of losing the sleighing. It turned cold about noon and froze everything solid. I was left alone with lots of dishes to wash and the house to put in order. Mother was called out in the night to Mrs Stroop and did not get back until afternoon [Mrs Stroop's son was captured and imprisoned].

Last night received a photograph of four soldiers—Lester's and John Southworth and two strangers, no names attached.

(Photo of two soldiers, courtesy of The Library of Congress)

*   *   *

Life was not easy for those who lived 150 years ago and I feel blessed that we do not have to endure some of what they did. It really gives one pause to think of how so many families survived the hardships of this terrible time and yet still managed to celebrate Christmas together in whatever way they could, reaching out and helping each other through the difficulties. I hope all of you are lucky enough to have family around you this time of year and if you know someome who does not, think about inviting them to share your celebration. 

As if the above was not depressing enough, LOL, it looks like there will be no snow here in Chicago for Christmas this year - so, if you're like me and love the stuff,  try to have yourself

A very Merry Christmas anyway!