Cloth Shopping Bags

No idea why it took me so long to organize cloth bags for my grocery shopping. If I could have anticipated the smug, righteous feeling I would get at the checkout counter as I whipped them out, I would have made them long ago . . .


These are made from a thrifted tablecloth ($1) and lined with grey dotted swiss that was a stash pass-along. I made five and they held about two-thirds of my week's groceries. So I'm thinking two or three more, in some dashing fabric.


Perhaps green?

In the Vintage Kitchen: Butterscotch Slices

Refrigerator cookies from my oldest cookbook . . .


We did a variation on the variation and filled them with a little piece of super-dark chocolate.


And that worked fine.

Corduroy Toy Bags

. . . are in the shop, if you were needing one or three.

In the Woods

Of course the mornings start out chilly, so a fire is in order . . .


and a person can sit beside it and work on a little hand-sewing project they might have brought along. I seriously considered bringing my sewing machine; after all, we were going to be there for two days!


And while you wait for the cabin to warm up you'll need your hooded sweatshirt.


When you do go out, it's breezy and blue.


A stop in at the closest antique store is in order.


Beautiful arrangements, a little pricey. We didn't bring anything home.


Off for a hike--without little girls, who stayed in with grandmother. Felix was more "in the woods" than the rest of us.






No matter where we go, the most beautiful things in creation are these faces:


Bella


Felix and Clara


Clara at sunset


and Giles.

Off to the Woods

We are headed out for the weekend, to a cabin in the mountains. Lots and lots of cooking and eating, a little hand-sewing, some hiking, and looking at gorgeousness. Back on Monday!

Three Lovely Sewing Books

I have been adding to my library of sewing books--there is so much beautiful inspiration out there! Here are some I have really enjoyed recently, and can recommend either *as* gifts, or for *making* gifts, take your choice.

Last Minute Fabric Gifts by Cynthia Treen. I'm latching on to her designs for cosy wool hats made from thrifted and felted sweaters--I'm itching to get started on these, no pun intended.



Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I especially adore the fabric birds pictured on the cover, and plan to make several for my Christmas tree. I also love her idea of "machine-tying" a quilt by machine-embroidering an ovals in each square of the quilt.



Simple Gifts to Stitch by Jocelyn Worrall. Elegant indeed! She uses a variety of fabric, from silk to vinyl, and has some interesting new structural ideas I've not seen before.



Riches!

The Library Basket

This is the library basket. It has been making the weekly trip to the library for over twelve years now. I believe it had a former life as a grocery shopping basket, ended up stranded in a thrift store, and was rescued by my neighbor, who passed it on to me.

Why is the library basket so perfect, so superior to a tote bag?

• Its rigid sides keep books from sliding out and around in the car.
• Books can be neatly stacked, magazines don't get crushed.
• Its metal frame can support many, many pounds of books.
• It's substantial enough to have a "home" under a table in the schoolroom. Library books *belong* in it, so they tend not to wander as bad as they might.
• It's easy to see what's in the basket, whether you're looking for something to read, or checking to make sure you've got everything with you to return.

Daisy brought home some books today in the library basket. Then we read on the couch.

Cabbage Plant

For the pots this fall: big graphic cabbage plants on the front steps.

Vintage Fifties Dress: Simplicity 3749

A beautiful pattern for a housecoat, housedress, or street dress. Seriously, a housedress? I made this up in a cotton and it seems *very fancy* to me! I think I will be wearing it out of the house.


A gorgeous cotton find from Denver Fabrics--sixty inches wide and luminous watery color.


Keeping things on the luxe side, I used pale pink velvet ribbon in place of seam binding at the cuffs (I love cuffs! I love three-quarter sleeves!).


I also used the velvet ribbon as a waist stay. The skirt drapes beautifully--I love the gathered panels at the side front.

Books in the Shop

A handful of Grace Livingston Hill's are in the shop tonight--I found these in hardback so am trading up.

"The Thing About Real Life"

"The thing about real life is that important events don't announce themselves. Trumpets don't blow, drums don't beat to let you know you are going to meet the most important person you've ever met, or read the most important thing you are ever going to read, or have the most important conversation you are ever going to have, or spend the most important week you are ever going to spend. Usually something that is going to change your whole life is a memory before you can stop and be impressed about it . . . ."

--Edith Schaeffer, L'Abri

Round Mirror

My friend Elyse has given me a handy rule of thumb: if you see a little antique mirror, you should buy it. I am following her advice, and now am enjoying this beautiful circular example which has stalks of wheat printed along the edges, and lots of speckled foxing. Could it be lovelier?

In the Vintage Kitchen: Salmon Patties

Getting that Omega-3 in the old-fashioned way . . .

How to Sew a Simple Girly Skirt

Here's a lesson in sewing a simple half-circle skirt for your favorite girly girl. I'm creating mine for a three-year old, and it's going to take a little less than a yard and a half of fabric. I will also need matching thread, a tape measure, scissors, chalk, and a drawstring that is 12 inches longer than the child's waist measure.

First, measure around the widest part of your girl's hips. Then measure how long you want the skirt to fall from her waist. I want this skirt to be about 15 inches long, since I like the length of the pink skirt I already made.


Now, take that hip measure and add an inch for the seam allowance, and then divide it by 3. My hip measure was about 17", so my magic number is 6".

Now, lay your fabric out folded in half crosswise, so that the selvedges lie on top of each other. Choose a corner on the fold, and designate that the top of the skirt. Now take your magic number, and using your tape measure, mark an arc 6 inches (or your magic number) out from that corner, in a quarter circle at the top of the fabric. Hold the tape measure in the corner, and swing it around the full arc (just like using a compass) making chalk marks periodically, then free-handedly join them into a continous line.


Now, working from the arc you have drawn, draw the bottom hem of the dress, using the number of inches you want plus an inch for seams. I wanted my skirt to be 15 inches long, so I hold the tape measure 16 inches out from the short line and again mark an arc, just like a compass, farther down the fabric. Now cut on your lines, and you will have a shape like this:


Using the leftover fabric, cut a waistband that is 1 inch longer than your hip measure, and is 2 inches wide. Working right sides together, pin the waistband to the waist of the skirt. Let half an inch of the waistband hang over the side edge of the skirt. If you've never done it before, pinning a straight piece of fabric to a curved piece will feel a little strange. Don't fret, it will all work out. Just let the straight piece curve gently for now, and match the edges carefully.


Stitch them together using a half-inch seam allowance.


Now, carefully snip into the seam allowance--almost to but not reaching the stitching--about every two or three inches. You will find that your waistband will now lie much more easily.


Time to press! Press the seam allowance of the skirt up towards the waistband. Press the little excess ends of waistband under, towards the inside of the waistband. Stich down with a zigzag stitch. Your drawstring is going to emerge here, so do a good job. Then press down the top of the waistband, so that a half inch is folded under.


Now fold the waistband over towards the inside of the skirt, aligning the pressed edge with the seam. Make sure that the casing you are creating is wide enough for your ribbon drawstring. If it's not, pick a new ribbon! Or refold the waistband with a smaller seam allowance.


Pin the folded waistband in place. Working on the wrong side of the skirt, stitch the waistband down, forming a casing (a tube through which you can thread a ribbon). Stitch all the way from one end to another, but do not stitch the short zigzagged openings closed. Reinforce the ends which might be strained by pulling on the drawstring by stitching over them several times.


Okay, you're past the hard part! Now arrange your skirt inside out, two selvedge edges together, right sides together. You're going to sew up the back seam. But DON"T sew the waistband! Remember you'll be threading ribbon in. Reinforce the top of the seam by stitching over it 2-3 times, up and down the first inch of the seam. Now press it open nicely. No need to finish the seam since you used the selvedges!


Time to press up the bottom hem. Working carefully, press up half an inch all the way around (if you can manage; nothing bad will happen if you go a little larger, but try to keep it even all the way around). Now, tuck the raw edge of the fabric in until it meets the pressed crease, and pin in place. Isn't that tidy? You're going to stitch all the way around the skirt right beside the top fold you just made, and your hem will be completed.



So close! Now thread your drawstring in. Pin one end to a safety pin that will fit in the casing, and poke that all the way around the skirt, drawing the ribbon along behind. Leave even amounts dangling out, and knot the ends so they can't be pulled in.


Decorate child with skirt and allow to twirl!

Textures

Beautiful new textures in the shop tonight!

Pink Skirt Day

I'm not trying to start a National Day of anything, but at our house, it was Pink Corduroy Skirt Day, as I whipped out two of them for Bella and Daisy.


They're both made out of this darling corduroy, multicolor polka dots with the random ladybug scattered here and there. I didn't use a pattern; instead I just cut a half circle with the right waist measure and the right length. Daisy's waist is elastic, and Bella has an invisible zipper in the back seam. So simple: a narrow machine hem and you're out of the sewing room!



Back to the book and Boy Scout popcorn now.

A Birthday Dinner

Today was the Composer's father's birthday, and we always celebrate with a really nice dinner for him. Last year was a Herculean effort for extended family on the occasion of his seventieth; tonight was simple and quiet. I wasn't able to do anything ahead of time at all, due to a houseful of company all weekend, but I did have the meal planned and the day clear to devote to cooking. Which made for a very pleasant time. The girls and I took our time, puttering through the table-setting, shopping, and actual food work. They are such a help!

We kept the table neutral, with a cream cloth, white dishes with a little gold, and little bits we gathered from outdoors in purple colors.


A bunch of purple grass from the pasture as a centerpiece:


A sprig of sumac berries on a linen napkin:


The first course we served plated: hot crab dip spread on slices of baguette and run under the broiler, with grape tomatoes on a puff of alfalfa sprouts.


Next we had a butter lettuce salad with a balsamic vinaigrette, with slices of goat cheese crusted with chopped walnuts.


The main course was strip steaks done in a skillet with a brandy-cream reduction. I had to borrow from a neighbor to have skillet room enough for all the steaks to cook at once.


Dessert (in process here) was an autumnal birthday cake--spice layers with molasses, lemon zest, and ginger, frosted with cream cheese frosting. I decorated it with purple oak leaf hydrangea leaves and a few rusty-rosy hydrangea blossoms on top. Removed the flowers for serving and poured a batch of brown-sugar sauce over the top.


The kids presented Grandpa with a brightly-decorated basket filled with homemade cards. Daisy's was dictated:"You are the best grandpa because you are my grandfather. You're welcome for the presents." Signed with the Greek sign for alpha (apparently), written over and over.

Homecoming Saturday Pleasures

• Daisy's pockets filled with candy tossed at the homecoming parade.



• Strawberries at breakfast.

• Downtown on a beautiful blue morning. Girls at their first Girl Scouts meeting.



• Friends I haven't seen in many, many years.

• A long bright walk this afternoon and those purple grasses ripening acridly in pastures.

• Eleven children at the dinner table tonight (a mixed blessing perhaps?) as their parents attended other homecoming events.

• Loaves of date-walnut bread cooling on the counter.

Small Town Fun

We are happy to take our fun where we can find it: at the football field for the high school homecoming game.


Giles allowed me to handle his camera and politely hid his scorn.


That's his best friend Ben down there playing the baritone.


And here are two of my best friends.

"Baked Potatoes with Supper"

"Then there was a week steeped in the magic of Indian summer sunshine, and in the cold sharp evenings Mother would touch a match to the kindling in the grate and Susan would have baked potatoes with supper."

--L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Ingleside

Beautyberry and Carnations

I had a few stems of carnations left from last week's grocery store purchase--a luscious perfect match with the stems of beautyberry I picked behind the house.

Quilted

Finished! *Loved* the walking foot--it would have been disastrous to quilt this top without it.

I quilted in the same pattern I would have done if I were hand-quilting, running the stitching along the inside of each diamond. Every single diamond. I don't want to start another one soon.

Machine quilting is a lot like riding one of the early cars, I think. If you've only gone by buggy in the past, it seems like you're flying at breakneck speed. The fact is, though, you're only going about twenty. And there's a lot of stopping.

Even More Orchids

I simply can't pass up cheap orchids. It's mind-boggling that they're available at the grocery store and at Wal-Mart; they carry such an aura of fifties' glamour.

This week I found dendrobiums for $8 a piece at the store. I haven't had any of these before, and was enchanted with the delicate shades of greeniness and general fine bamboo-like quality of the stems.

My orchid experience so far is limited to keeping the blooms healthy as long as possible--which can be months--and nurturing some new leaf growth, hoping for another stem of buds next season. I certainly don't wish to wander down the dark, obsessive pathway of lighting strips, tweezers, and paintbrushes, assisting orchids in their private lives. I just want to keep my grocery store flowers happy.

A Bright Supper

Strikingly colorful supper preparations tonight. I prepared a little beaten egg for breaded pork cutlets. My neighbor Phyllis provides me with the boldest yellow-yolked eggs in the world.


And here's a side of purple cabbage to go with the schnitzelen.

A Rooted Life

Tonight the Composer and I attended a short marriage seminar hosted by our church. Each couple was asked to bring a wedding picture to display on a table at the back and I have to say, there were some surprises. Apparently, some of our closer friends used to, at some point, be Hilary Clinton and Billy Ray Cyrus. Just going by what they looked like.

What struck me, though, setting the picture up in the church sanctuary, was the fact that it was taken in that very room, and the same elaborate and beautiful quilt is still hanging on the wall, just like it was at our wedding. Eighteen years have passed and here we still are, right here in this spot. Entirely different people than we were, having actually raised people who didn't exist then--but some things haven't changed.

Vintage Housecoats for the Girls

With cold weather coming at any moment (three weeks? five?), I hustled to get flannel housecoats sewn for the girls. Bella got this fabulous model, vintage McCall's 3416. I went ahead and used a ladies' size 12, simply shortening the bodice and the skirt with the HANDY built-in ruler you see below. Why don't patterns include this anymore? It seems like genius to me. With those alterations made, this pattern fit her curvy little figure perfectly.



Huge pockets, gathered in by funny little pleats in the side panels. Huge collar, double-breasted buttons at the waist. Those fifties designers weren't afraid to add some big style.



Daisy is pictured here in her new flannel robe, the "Morning Glory" model. She puts her robe on every morning after she gets up. Her hair is a huge wreck, and I cannot say how delicious she is. But. She didn't want her picture taken this morning, unless I let her dance on the dryer.

Schoolhouse Gingerbread with Chocolate

Gingerbread is a house favorite here, and we make it every week or so regardless of the season, to eat at breakfast or for dessert. Today I took my game to the next level with some melted chocolate, inspired by a picture in a cookbook. The chocolate adornment is one of those little things with a huge payoff, trust me.

•Schoolhouse Gingerbread with Chocolate•

Combine and beat until smooth:

1 c. sugar
1 c. molasses
1 c. oil
3 eggs

In another bowl mix:

3/4 t. salt
1 t. cloves
1 t. ginger
1 t. cinnamon
2 c. flour
2 t. baking soda

Add to first bowl, then stir in:

1 c. boiling water.

Melt half a bag of chocolate chips in the microwave in a small bowl. Pour half the gingerbread batter in the pan, then dribble with half the chocolate. Repeat with the other half of the batter and the chocolate.

Bake in a pammed pan (I have the best success in an 8 x 12, although you could probably go bigger or smaller if you adjust the baking time) at 350 for 45 minutes. Can be fed with great success to any small group.

Kitchen Scrubbing

Kitchen scrubbing day today, and I was seeing how many kitchen doodads I could squeeze into the dishwasher for a thorough cleaning: a lot! Soapdishes, breadbox and breadbox lid, cookie jar, stove burners, dish that holds the scrubbies, microwave plate, honey dispenser.

Such an easy way to do the occasional deep cleaning.

Vintage Craft Patterns

Many, a great many, vintage craft patterns are in the shop.

Alstromeria

Early in the morning, milky coffee and this pitcher of flowers . . .