Seems my choice for this post was fairly timely seeing as we had a little snowfall. I love yesterday’s latest tweet I read from Lawrence, Ks PD. Here’s a screenshot/pic……
We had more than a little light snow here in Mid-Missouri. The schools closed due to icy roads …or most of them closed. Some may be in denial on the road conditions. I need to install a live video feed of my neighborhood of the drive-by’s for the schools out there. hehe
For now though I’m going to share some of the Wonder of Winter through the eyes of a child. Hope your Tuesday isn’t a washout.
Big changes came this week in our weather. And boy were we ready! The children couldn’t get enough of the outdoors. I am right there with ’em!
Jacket weather at last!
I even found an appropriate clipping from grandma and I’d bet she loved this time of year just as much.
It wasn’t unexpected this year but much anticipated.
In the past, I have had several Persimmon Reports. The first in 2011, followed by 2012, 2013, and after skipping a few years, I resumed after enough requests from family and friends in 2017 and last year. There’s only so much you can say about winter predictions with a persimmon so I’ll keep it simple. Remember this is not scientific.
Fork = Mild winter
Knife = Cold Cutting Temps
Spoon = Lots of moisture whether it’s rain or snow, you’ll be getting your fair share.
Drum roll………. For the Winter of 2019-2020 ……….
The Fruit
First Find is a SPooN!
For a total of 3 Spoons
With the exception of the dud seed in that last pic, you can expect much moisture this coming winter. I do hear your groans and I apologize profusely. Grab your shovels and snowblowers or have that extra cash handy to pay the neighbors kids to shovel for you.
For me, it means I will have to be pretty creative in helping children expell all their wiggles. Prayers as well as suggestions are welcome and appreciated!
Speaking of creativity, I was gifted a cute lil’ pumpkin this last week as well as a bounty from a neighbors community garden.
Season’s first pumpkin! Thank you Jenny!!
Thank you neighbor!!
There were enough beans to share with my mother! And I did snap them ahead for her ’cause that’s what you do for you mom.
Leaving you this Sunday with a photo of the Katy Trail. May your week ahead bring you much sunshine and wonderful autumn days!
Word association will be my attempt to meld a post with this week’s clipping. I struggled with this one but I loved the clipping enough to work with it. Maybe you’ll appreciate the humor and maybe not. Living rural will give you an edge for sure so, city slickers, just know that running over a cow is not an option. Enough said I think.
My ‘herd‘ of projects is becoming a bit excessive so maybe if I share some, or plans for some, I’ll get more finished just for accountability’s sake. I can hope at least.
I’ll begin with the quilt that should be finished by now—if we had a little cooler weather it would have helped. Hand quilting is so much more appealing when it’s going to keep your lap warm. At least all that’s left is this small section and the binding.
Hope to finish this tonight!
Western Wedding Ring (lap-size)
This one is actually finished thank goodness! Called Mini Sunbonnet Sue Months of the Year. I did not piece this quilt. My dear hubby found it on eBay for a steal. All I had to do was finish the hand quilting portion. And here is where I’m going to insert an explanation for those who don’t quite understand. There is a difference in construction definitions when I say (or a quilter says) they ‘Hand Quilt’. This refers to the stitching you see all over a quilt. When someone says they “Hand Piece”, it means they have sewn all the portions of the quilt by hand, not on machine. I Don’t “Hand Piece”. lol I’m way too busy for that. Hand quilting is my thing and I like the way it looks with hand stitching rather than machine stitching over the top of a quilt.
Finished!
Copied the pattern in case I want to applique another.
And on Friday my dear youngest daughter informed me we needed a baby quilt done by Saturday at 1 pm. There was only one way that would happen and she agreed to participate and assist. Thank you Kirsten and glad you got a lesson in this form of quilt assemblage.
The ties
Self binded quilt before ironing.
Daughter trimming up
Machine stitching the self-binding.
And something I’m preparing to do is use up some spare quilt blocks in a fun way. Mini quilts are my latest endeavor and much more do-able in a short amount of time. They will mostly be machine quilted for those who are wondering. I simply have too much to do to hold onto all these forever.
Vintage blocks from auctions, gimme’s from mother & aunts, as well as my own creations.
The one I’m keeping for display for myself is this one. Funny how I got a memory of it come up today on FaceBook.
mini quilt and stand for displaying
1 year ago today
So I’m a little behind on stuff as you can see. Had a set of custom bowl cozies picked up this morning and yes I do take some orders. Within reason.
Arizona Diamondback Fans
And last for this round up but definitely not the only project going on is this quilt that hubby (again) found on eBay. Lots of quilters make tops but never get them completed. This is where I’ve found a niche and I’m gladly taking time to Hand Quilt this one. It is also hand pieced and my admiration goes out to the lady who created it. You only get a peek though 😉
Calling it ‘Precious Moments’ for the fabric used throughout.
I’m a bit long-winded this Monday as you can see. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week!
With a ‘little miss’ in the hubby’s engine we are taking it nice and easy this weekend. Sharing a few photos. If you need me, I’m sewing. No stress allowed.
Tie method #1
Tie method #2
An apron using a Pinterest pattern find is hopefully a hit for the Fall craft show season.
Model of the day
And an actual model never hurts sales any. In this installment of Inez’s Clippings, May the Pies Ever Be in Your Flavor!!
It’s Sunday and time for another one of Inez’s Clippings. Grandma was often the butcher at the farm. It was nothing for her to head out to the chicken barn and grab a good looking hen (or rooster who was guilty of being too ornery) and take care of business –all the steps including plucking the feathers and readying it for the dinner table. I was never privy to learn the method as I was not considered old enough. I can honestly say I’m ok with that 😉 I saw enough meat prep of all kinds to satisfy my curiosity.
On a recent doctor visit, I was told to eat less red meats in an attempt to lower the cholesterol. I’m guilty of being an honest to goodness carnevore and his instructions are going to be tough. After all we live in the middle of the Farm Belt and I reitterate the fact that meat is my favorite staple.
So with all that in mind, we used up some garden produce this weekend, starting with some lovely sweet bell peppers in a Pepper Chicken dish. Chicken is on the ‘good’ list. As long as it’s not deep fried.
The step-by-step photos are in the slides below. Notes: #1-We double recipes sometimes so we can have leftovers and use up extra summer vegies. #2-The link for the recipe is here. #3-The recipe states beef and as I stated above, we substituted chicken. #4-Another difference is we added julienned celery. Crunch is important….to us at least.
Our rice is cooked in beef broth. Chicken or vegetable broth works too. FYI the beef broth is cholesterol free
Mushrooms are sauted first. This is not on the website’s ingredient list.
Adding the peppers and onions next.
The sauce is whisked and ready to add later
Vegies removed temporarily to cook up the chicken
Reintroduce the vegies and add sauce
To keep this gluten free, it’s important to watch soy sauce, oyster sauce and spice labels.
Sleep deprivation is a thing for many people. In our home, it happens to a couple of us—present company not included. I happen to think that my job is one of those that helps you get a good night’s sleep after the day is done. I am thankful for that. This is not to say that those who have sleep trouble aren’t working hard enough. A good night’s sleep is a mystery to many as apparently it’s a challenge to successfully treat.
This weekend while everyone in Sedalia and the surrounding area is at the Missouri State Fairgrounds (working/riding rides/seeing a concert,eating corn dogs and cotton candy), I’m here at home working on a project for some good friends. They have recently moved but we have a common friend (our daughter) who will transport the project for us once it is completed. In short, I spent Saturday cutting soccer jerseys.
Tools for the project
I started with this blue and also used red.
Of all the marking tools I’ve researched, I found these are the best for quilting. Just don’t use the orange. For some reason, it doesn’t wash out the best. As a daycare provider, ask me how I know this. 😉
Cardboard template with center point marked
Outline made
Hard to see in the second pic, but I’ve pinned the opening closed prior to cutting.
Measuring the length
Measuring the width
Cut 2 blocks at once for a saving time and for accuracy.
Centered and Cut
Some factors to consider when making someone a jersey/t-shirt quilt is that the shirts are not replaceable. For this reason, it’s taken me some time and contemplation on how to best begin. If you have a project someone has requested, definitely do the homework first so there are no regrets later. As in carpentry, measure twice, cut once. Don’t let it deprive you of sleep.
Block Cutting Complete
Stay tuned for the completed quilt in an upcoming post. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!!
In case you are unaware, a “Hane” is a piece of iron attached to the collar of draft horses pulling a wagon. Water jugs were the way to transport water back in the day before the beginning of the Convenience Store. No water bottles, Tervis’s, Thermos bottles, etc. And everyone shared from the same container. Germs? No there were no germophobes in existence. At least not in our neck of the woods.
But we didn’t have a water jug per say. We had a metal dipper. It hung by grandma’s sink and anytime you needed a good swig of water, just grab it and fill it up. That fresh well water pumped right to the sink was ice cold and always hit the spot. Ice cubes? Nah. The only time you needed ice was in your tea or when you were making ice cream.
I searched high and low for a photograph showing that enamel covered metal dipper. After all, the kitchen was always the gathering place for the women folk. We kids knew exactly where they’d all be hanging out. But I only found a couple photos of the kitchen and they’re not taken at the correct angle so you can’t see the infamous dipper. But I want you to see the photo I found anyway as it shows a Norman Rockwell-ish moment in 1969 with my mother reading and Great Grandma sitting while resting her feet. In the kitchen with no tv, no radio, no cell phones, no computers. Just togetherness.
I don’t know if my grandmother ever contributed any stories of her own to newspapers while teaching back during her teaching days, but I definitely know from my own personal experience that kids can and will say things that make you smile on a daily basis. It’s probably why she was drawn to cutting out the ‘funnies’ from the newspapers.
Before I share Grandma’s clipping for this week, I wanted to share a bit about our week during storytime. As a regular activity, we talk about stuff related to the story of the day and I have kept track of several of these over time. This past couple weeks, we had an Insect Theme goin’ on and the question I posed to them went like this….
“If you found a beehive on the ground, what would you do? Why?”
Owen(age4) “Put it back up–Because the bees will be sooo happy”
Hunter(age 4) “Go in the house–Because they will sting you.”
Owen yes we have 2 Owens (age 4) “Don’t be around it–Because they will sting you”
Bella (age 2) “Be afraid! –I don’t know & my daddy afraid & my mommy afraid!”
Jonathan (age 2) “Run away to my house, no a different house–Because I don’t like bees!”
Miles (age 5) “Scare it away — Cause I don’t like bees.”
Hudson (age 5) ” I would pick it up and put it back and wait for more bees to come back — I don’t know why”
Ben (age 7) “Leave it alone & walk around it — So I don’t get stung.”
Sawyer (age 7) ” Leave it alone so I don’t get stung and walk off”
So to reassure everyone out there, we had further discussion of how to handle this situation and also about the benefits bees provide to our environment. In addition, I just want to say that the next generation is going to be OK. They have empathy, caring hearts and are wonderful little people! So, if this didn’t make you smile, maybe the funnies coming up will…..Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday!!
Though faded with age, I have my grandmother’s handwriting in this example of her saved pieces.
It’s pretty hard to read even with the filter possibilities I tried…so here’s a clearer version.
Tree Toad Tongue Twister
A tree toad loved a she toad That lived up in a tree. She was a 3-toed tree toad But a 2-toed toad was he. The 2-toed tree toad tried to win The she toad's friendly nod; For the 2-toed tree toad loved the ground that the 3-toed tree toad trod. But vainly the 2-toed tree toad tried He couldn't please her whim; In her tree toad bower with her V-toe power the she toad V-toed him.
In the poem, it described a ‘She Toad’ who loved her sanctuary, as most women do. And she didn’t want to be bothered with the ‘He Toad’. Where is Your happy place?? Here’s Mine in pictures. Crazy Anne II quilt is ready for binding….
Crazy Anne II only needs binding
Back view in the hoop
Last section to quilt
Hand quilting
Reference
Another KC Star quilt for the books. Note: Some call this pattern Wheel of Fortune but I’m referencing the 1949 version as you can see in the photo from The Kansas City Star Quilts Sampler by Barbara Brackman. And just think, this quilt top came from Facebook marketplace in a tub of scraps for $15. About as good as it gets!! Yep, time spend quilting is synonymous with me in my sanctuary.
Inez’s Clippings is a page on my blog with entries based on a small yellow box of collected newspaper clippings belonging to my grandmother Inez Hunter. Click the ‘Inez’s Clippings’ tab above to read more entries as they are published. Thanks so much for visiting!
The world is full of medical advice these days and everyone is Googling to see what is wrong with them or someone they know. I often wonder what folks from days-gone-by would have thought of this access to so much information. Most people tend to want to look for freebies whether rich or poor. You can’t blame them with the cost of living. A little glimpse this Sunday of my grandmother’s humorous view on the topic of Something for Nothing.
