Evidence of yesterday’s Pi Day celebration here at the cottage.
Apple pie for breakfast.
It rained most of the day yesterday and then turned very foggy last night. Since Don was out doing a gig, I was a wee bit nervous about his return home, but he made it home safely. All is well.
Today looks to be gray and windy. I saw the sun for brief moment, but it has disappeared. I will repeat to myself, “That’s okay. Gray is okay, because the snow is melting!”
After gazing across the room at the quilt ensconced in its protective cover every day for about a month and a half and doing nothing, I finally took it out of its bag and gathered my hand quilting tools together. I switched out the lamp on my side table (not bright enough) and spent about three hours hand quilting in the late afternoon. As always when I start hand quilting after a long break, the index finger on my left hand has to build up a callus to withstand the prick of the quilting needle. That callus isn’t quite there yet, so my finger is a bit sore today.
This quilt has very large squares, so when I take a look at it and think to myself, “I’ll do a square a day!” I quickly realize that my expectations need to be adjusted. I’m quilting rather densely and there’s simply no way I can do a whole square unless I’m willing to forgo everything else I have to do in the course of the day. A good lesson in staying in the moment. I’ll just do what I can do that day.
And of course, Dame Scout was constantly demanding something or other. She needed to go out. She wanted her dinner. She wanted me to start cooking my dinner so she could watch. She had to go out again. She has very clear ideas about the proper order of her day. My job, apparently, is to facilitate it for her.
Doesn’t she realize Mom is quilting? That the quilt is big and awkward and that Mom has to get up and rearrange everything before she can attend to her Dameship’s needs?
Short answer: She doesn’t care.
I do love hand quilting. It’s the only way I quilt. I’ve quilted everything – from a queen-sized quilt to a mini quilt – that way. It takes a lot of time, yes, but it’s very satisfying. And meditative. Someday I may send one out to be quilted because it can be hard on your hands and wrists, but for now, I’m doing it my way.
I realized after I asked the question about whether I should showcase the egg cups again this year that the way I phrased it sort of prohibited anyone from saying “No more egg cups!” in the comments. Silly. Ah well. It does seem, however, that most of you would like to see them again or for the first time, so I will highlight them sometime before Easter.
It’s the Ides of March.
Happy Sunday.
The egg cups are cute and I love that you share a story about how they came to you so I say lets see them again. I love the colors in the quilt. Someday I’d like to try my hand at quilting. It’s a sort of gray day here and this morning on the way to early service at church we had to deal with a little fog too. Hope you enjoy your day Claudia!
Don and I are going to go out and do something, not sure what!
So funny about Scout not caring about your priorities. I have a new puppy named Buddy and he doesn’t care either – I have to pee, I need to eat, I want to play….all my chores/work (we work from home) revolves around him lol.
And they would say everything we do should revolve around them!
Even your photograph of an unwashed plate is gorgeous and atmospheric.
How do you do it, Claudia?
Well, that was taken with my iPhone and I used one of the filters. It turned out to be pretty interesting!
I am some what new to your blog, so I’d love to see the eggcups. Our cat, Mimi, has trained my husband to be her servant. Since he is home all day while I am working, she has him at her beck and call all day. She is adorable, of course.
The quilt is beautiful. I failed at quilting class. I didn’t go to the last class due to my sad looking quilt. We did have a 6.8 earthquake that day, so I used that as my excuse. At least I learned that I liked hand applique and hope to try that again when I retire.
I’m jealous of your appliqué skills, Sylvia. Good for you!
Good Morning Claudia, one day when looking at your egg cups I thought how I never see any around but surprise when I unpacked some Easter decorations, there were two I had made for my son’s. It is a little rabbit holding a egg. I had put their name on the egg. I will think of you when I display them this year. Doris
Love that you made them for your sons, Doris. That makes them priceless!
Claudia, Scout is your little girl and wants your attention, that made me smile. You quilt as my aunt always did, by hand. She did have a huge frame she would pin them to and my uncle hung it from the ceiling in their bedroom and she would lower it with ropes and sew on it. Then when she wanted it out of the way, she pulled the ropes up. I remember this , because all those pretty patterns fascinated me. Ted’s mother had a frame like a stand and you could roll the quilt onto a rod as you did the sewing. I truly admire anyone who quilts…it’s a talent. Blessings for a nice day there, xoxo,Susie
What a neat idea that was! I have a quilting frame in the shed, but I only ever used it to baste my layers together on a large sized quilt. Unless you have unlimited space, it’s hard to know how or where to store them. Hanging it from the ceiling? Genius.
I should of added I made them in ceramics class.Doris
Even better, Doris!
You know, it’s almost tradition, that you showcase your egg cups before Easter…wouldn’t want to mess with tradition! ;)
Okay, okay! I’ll do it!
I love, love that plate!!
Thank you, Carol!
I remember this quilt it’s the one you pieced in Hartford, right?
Scout does have a routine– you should know that mom, when you set out to do something- she will want you at that moment. That’s how my kids were! Glad Don made it home- and glad he’s got gigs- work is work right? I’m Happy he enjoys his! It’s over cast here again today! But at least it’s not raining!
Yes, I pieced it in Hartford, Pat. It isn’t raining here, either, which is nice. But it’s awfully windy!
I’d forgotten it’s the 15th today – glad my name isn’t Julius.
Apple pie for breakfast sounds pretty good. Is it an American custom to add a slice of cheese? We were recently reading about the early settlers of our district and apparently cold pie was an ideal food to pack when traveling long distances (although it probably contained some sort of meat).
Love your fabric choices for the quilt – so pretty. Have you ever thought of making a mini quilt for Caroline? I suppose the issue would be the bulk of the fabric, but I’d love to see one!
Some people add the cheese. I’ve never been a fan. I like my apple pie without cheese!
The bulk would be a problem, I think. Whenever I see a quilt for a dollhouse, it looks bulky.
I like cheddar cheese with apple pie, but I LOVE vanilla ice cream with pie even more!
I made two tiny quilts for my daughter’s model of Laura Ingalls’ cabin from Little House on the Prairie, a 3rd grade school project. Of course, the scale was larger than 1:12, in fact, there were probably at least three or four different scales in that house she made (!), but the quilts turned out well.
I don’t know if I would have the patience to make a tiny quilt, Wendy! And I think my fingers might not be able to handle the tiny stitches….
I cheated, Claudia, I machine pieced. It was a simple quilt with tiny squares, so I stitched in the ditch.
I would say Scout knows you are quilting and that exactly why she has other things she wants you to GET UP and do. Happens here all the time. My 80 year old Mom still hand quilts. The large quilts are too much for her, so she makes baby size quilts for all the pets we have. They each have spring, fall and Christmas quilts and they use them all.
Oh, I love that your mom makes quilts for the pets! Now, that’s love, Gina.
What a pretty little plate for your pie (pi)..I also remember the work you did on that quilt while in Hartford..Well now Claudia..Dame Scout certainly knows who is in charge there doesn’t..sorry to tell you..it isn’t you..lol..I am anxiously waiting to see the egg cups again..Have a fun day together…
Oh, we know that she’s in charge. We kid ourselves that we’re in charge, but we know better!
Charlie follows me around when I’m working in the house and then when I sit down for a rest he thinks he has to be in my lap. It is his job! :) Sun is shining today and I’m so happy. I finally got some work done in my spare room and it feels so good. Lots of things to donate in boxes and other things to giveaway to friends. I do need a bit of rest now! Your quilt is gorgeous.
hugs,
Linda
Of course it’s his job, Linda! I have to begin sorting through things around here. But the thought is so overwhelming that I pick up a book instead!
Sounds like a great thing to do on a gray, cloudy day when Don is away. I know what you mean about Scout wanting what she wants NOW – Bella’s the same way. Like I don’t have anything else in the world to do. But, that’s ok. I made her that way. LOL
Your quilt is looking beautiful! You do such gorgeous work.
Judy
You’re so right, my friend. We made Scout that way, too!
Can’t wait to see that beautiful pillow, Judy. I fell in love with it!
“Gray is okay.” This should absolutely be our mantra here in the Northeast for the next few weeks. As long as it’s raining, it’s not snowing, and this is what is most important right now. No more white stuff on top of the dirty brown/gray stuff! Enjoy your [gray] Sunday!
PS – you’re following a fine tradition with your apple pie breakfast. I remember hearing, from the elderly farmer who lived across the street from us when I was a kid, that pie was often served for breakfast back in the day. Breakfast was the biggest meal of the day for farm families when he was young [late 1800s] and it was common to have things we generally only think of for suppertime now [steak, pork chops, fried chicken, all kinds of potatoes, pie leftover from the night before]. And when you stop to think, this actually makes a lot of sense. People needed all that energy then. Most work was far more physical. I’m thinking that maybe breakfast should STILL be the day’s largest meal. After all, most of us just sit around and relax after dinner – supper should be our lightest meal. The “upside-downness” of our eating habits has GOT to be contributing to the US obesity problem. It can’t be all technology and high-fructose corn syrup making us fat.
My grandparents always ate their biggest meal of the day at lunchtime. Grandma grew up on a farm and they kept those traditions. I can’t remember: Did they call lunch, dinner and dinner, supper? Something like that. But the big meal of the day was much earlier. The idea being that you came in from chores on the farm, had a big meal to sustain you and keep you going. Then after all the work was done, a light meal.
Makes an awful lot of sense.
Hi Claudia, In spite of Sister MaryAnn’s best efforts to instill Roman history in my brain during four years of high school Latin class I still couldn’t remember the other two important days of the Roman calendar, so I googled Ides of March and found a fascinating explanation on Wikipedia. The Ides was the full moon~~I wonder if the stabbing occurred under the light of the full moon or during the day? Can’t remember that, either! Ét tu? Oh well, I do know that I would love to see more of the egg cups, and I’m sure you’ll have something interesting to tell us about one of them. Visiting your cottage is so pleasant and seeing familiar items makes us feel even more like we are with a good friend! Linda
I wonder. I thought it was in the ‘marketplace’ but am I remembering something else? If so, it would most likely have been during the day. Oh, what do I know?
The quilt looks lovely, Claudia…a labor of love! My pups always want to gout out when I am right in the middle of something. I think they want attention…
I think you’re right, Linda. Scout somehow knows when we’re busy or if we’ve just started eating dinner!
It doesn’t matter does it Claudia what we are doing our kids want what they want when they want it? My Boo wants her breakfast at 4:30 AM every single day. She has a temper that one!
I have only hand quilted once. I was making a quilt from flannel shirts that had been worn by by uncle and cousin. Both of whom have passed away. I was making it for my aunt. I couldn’t get my machine to work correctly so I hand sewed every piece of it, and then hand quilted it. I would never have attempted it for anyone but my aunt. I understand about the callous.
Good for you for hand piecing it as well, Trudy! That’s amazing!
Love seeing your quilting. My mom used to quilt, both by hand and with her sewing machine. Unfortunately I didn’t inherit a love for doing that sort of thing from her … I wish I had.
It’s great that you not only know how to quilt, but that your hands/wrists allow it. My hands are small and I ruined them with keyboarding/repetitive data entry and similar tasks on business machines over decades in the years before ergonomics was a consideration. . I can’t do any handiwork at all anymore; it’s even hard to hold a book in my hand…and forget about threading a needle or trying to pick up and put in earrings for pierced ears. Completely frustrating and they’ve told me (the medical people) carpal tunnel surgery won’t help. I’d wished I was, yet never was adept at sewing or crocheting or knitting even before my hands went ‘bad,’ although I was taught as a child to embroider with a hoop, which I was ‘okay’ at…but I’ve loved art projects which I had to abandon because I have such poor dexterity (I enjoyed mosaics and was just learning to work with glass [stained glass/leaded glass art] when my first hand froze on a keyboard). I leave the occasional reader comment and, yes, they’re long, but then I have to go do something else after I’ve typed them because the nerves flare up and my fingers begin to sting…thing is, we use our hands for EVERYthing. I’m hoping when my grandmother’s piano is restored that I’ll still be able to play but I do think I can try my hand at painting again (paint on canvas or paper or silk). We have to focus on what we CAN do. Good grief, I just read about the ‘Still Alice’ film director who passed of ALS recently and he directed a movie with mere toe signals…some sort of apparatus ala Hawking (in his case, the eye does the work I think); just miracle stuff, really. Or Bethany, the surfer girl, who surfs with one arm. Or former congresswoman Gabbie Giffords from Arizona…did you see her on today’s Sunday morning show? Even with this tremendous brain injury to overcome in the past 4 or so years, after getting shot in the head, she’s playing the French horn again; I love her spunk. Very inspiring and can-do spirit. Anyway, back to sewing, I had just yesterday read a long piece about tatting and how there’s a push to make it more relevant to younger women, so that they’ll learn it…i.e., making jewelry (earrings, wrist cuffs, decorative neck wear). These home arts have gone unsung. We have to make sure they don’t disappear. I don’t know anybody who tats anymore. I have a deep appreciation for women of the past and now (like you!) who can master this kind of artistry/craft. My mom did so much that I didn’t fully appreciate when I was younger…we rarely had store-bought clothes; she made all my clothes, even in high school. She knitted, crocheted, hooked rugs; loved to paint birds and landscapes. She did a lot of embroidery and crewel work. My great-aunt also did lovely needlepoint. I wish I’d been more interested in learning before it got too late. I’ve sensed in myself (my past self) …and I’ve seen it happen with other women… where at earlier times in our life we didn’t feel we had enough time in a busy work day to do these other skillful and rewarding handmade things but I think the mistake was in not taking that time because it’s a wonderful form of expression and relaxation, which is just as important, if not more so, as anything else. And it’s productive; it’s the making of something useful and beautiful, so it’s also an achievement and it feels really good to accomplish something worthwhile, have a finished product and say, “I did that!”
Your quilt is so pretty and spring-like. It must be a joy to work on when the days are gray.
ellen
You are talented to be able to quilt by hand Claudia – and do such a beautiful job! It must be hard on a large item – Scout is funny expecting you to put it aside and attend to her needs, you are a good mama to show her such love.
Yes, we love the egg cups so will look forward to seeing them when you post for Easter.
Hope it’s starting to warm up for you by now!
Hugs – Mary