Finally Finished an Heirloom UFO

This week I had the honor and privilege to finish a quilt that my husband's grandmother Rosa Schadt started many years ago.  About a year ago I had a post on here that I hoped to finish this UFO (unfinished object), and so it is finally done!  It was a total joy to work with this quilt top.  I don't know for sure exactly when Rosa began this quilt, but after a lot of research into fabrics and pictures online, I am convinced that this quilt top was made during the early 1940's.  She used a great many scraps of Depression Era fabrics  and I have viewed photos of these same fabrics on web sites describing fabrics from that era.   Because there are newer pieces used also, I am guessing that she made this quilt around 1942.      
     I got the quilt top given to me by Harold's sister a couple years ago.   The quilt top was unfinished along one edge - perhaps Rosa gave up on it?  Or ran out of fabric?  Or became ill?  Or got busy with something else?  We will never know.   All I do know is that she was quite the avid quilter and made many, many quilt tops.  At any rate, the quilt top was quite dingy with years of storage dirt and yellowed and stained with moisture stains in several areas.    A neighbor gave me a special quilt wash that was supposed to be good for vintage quilts.   I soaked and washed the quilt top by hand in a laundry tub, very carefully.   Years of dirt came off, and none of the fabrics bled, and the quilt top just brightened up so nicely!  Even the moisture stains lightened up so much, they were hardly visible.
     As I worked with the quilt I tried to think about where some of the fabric pieces came from.  Were they from dresses?  Feedsacks?  Pieces from her scrap stash?  Some of the fabrics are so pretty I wished I had dresses made from them!  Today's fabrics just don't have the same charm, patina, or patterns.   All of the fabrics were well worn, so my guess is that they were from cut up clothing, curtains, aprons, etc.  If only fabric could talk!   How I would love to know the history of each piece!
     Since one side was unfinished, I had to dig in my own scrap stash to find something compatible.  I do have some vintage fabrics and feed sacks, so I chose some pieces from them.   I also included a piece from an apron from my own grandmother Kulnis's apron!   And wonder of wonders, I even had an exact match for the teal green squares used in between the octagon pieces.    The original quilt was sewn partly by hand and partly by machine.  Harold said she had an old treadle machine.   Just sewing those few pieces by hand gave me an idea of the massive amount of work that went into this pattern (not sure what this pattern is called?).  How many hours Rosa must have labored to make this quilt!  If she could see the quilt today, I am sure she would be pleased.
     I had to make a decision whether to hand quilt this quilt, or tie it.   I know that if I had tried to hand quilt it, this project would probably never get finished in my lifetime.   Besides, most of the homemakers of that time were very thrifty and didn't have a lot of money (and neither did Rosa).   Thread was expensive and if they had money for thread, they certainly would not waste it to hand quilt something.   Instead, thread would be used for sewing new clothing.   The vast majority of quilts of that era were tied with scraps of crochet threads or yarns, salvaged from other projects.   And so I decided this quilt would probably have been tied by Rosa anyway.
     Working on this quilt was like working on a piece of history.   The quilt is a collage of old time fabrics, each one unique.  I never got a chance to meet Rosa Schadt from Severy Kansas (originally from Germany), but her legacy lives on...........

You can see that almost a whole row was missing and needed to be added to with somewhat matching fabrics.

 

 

Some of the pieces she had were even pieced to make a full piece (see the pink, brown and green)

Here is one of the pieces I added.  It was from MY grandmother's apron. 

Some of the colorful vintage fabrics.

I laid out the quilt across two tables to pin and layer it. 

Crochet thread ties were placed at each teal colored square. 

The finished quilt, which measures 53 x 83.  It was probably originally made for a twin size bed. 

Another view.

   

Wearing Hats

Years ago every fashionable lady wore a hat to church, restaurants, travel, visiting, etc.  Growing up in the 50's and into the early 60's, I also wore hats.  My Mom would buy my sister and I a new Easter bonnet every spring to wear to church and on Sundays.  During the late 60's when women's lib came into vogue, hats went out of style.  I guess when women liberated themselves from corsets and bras and stockings and wearing dresses all the time, they quit wearing hats, too!  I always liked hats, though.   But I didn't have the courage to wear hats when nobody else was. 
     About 8 or 9 years ago I joined the Red Hat Society and started wearing lovely red hats to meetings.  See below:

Three of my ultra fancy Red Hat Society hats. 

Other than Red Hat meetings, I didn't wear any hats other than winter hats in the cold.   But about 3 or 4 years ago, the pastor from our church thought it would be a fun idea for the ladies of the parish to wear Easter Bonnet hats to church for Easter, and encouraged all the women to find some kind of hat to wear.  All of us ladies were game for that idea, and so I set out to find some kind of hat to wear for that Easter Sunday.  However, that particular Easter was in early March, and it was cold!   I remembered an antique store that had a booth just for hats in Bemidji MN, so I went there to find something.   What I found was a great vintage hat from the 1930's, made out of felted wool and very warm for a March Easter!
See below:

My vintage 1937 "pie plate" hat with navy blue netting and decorative key attachment.

Well, wearing hats again was so much fun, I decided to start wearing hats to church more often.  Every time I went to an antique store or thrift shop or flea market I would look for cute hats to wear.   Sometimes I would find nice hats in catalogs I got in the mail.     Pretty soon my collection of hats grew into plenty of nice ones to match almost any outfit.

Some more of the hats from my ever growing hat collection.

Just the other day I was in a thrift store in Fargo, and found this cute little navy straw hat for just a few dollars.

My latest purchase - navy blue with a navy 'carnation'

My husband teases me that pretty soon I will be the "Imelda Marcos" of the hat world.  If you recall, she was the Philippine lady who owned about a thousand pairs of shoes.  I don't think I'll ever get to that many hats, but I have to admit that it's hard to pass by any hat I see at the antique malls or second hand shops.   A dollar or two just might get me a new look.  Most of the hats I wear are either cloche style or brimmed hats.  I would like to find just the right vintage hat from the 40's or 50's with face netting, or maybe one of those "fascinator" hats that Princess Kate likes to wear?  You just never know.  For a vintage loving gal like me, wearing old style hats seems to put me into a long ago 'sisterhood' with all those fashionable ladies of years ago!

Our Latest Farm Purchase

For years now, Harold has been wanting a good tractor/loader to use for things around the farm.   We need something reliable that will move dirt, move large rocks, move snow, haul logs, etc. etc.   So finally we were able to purchase this 400 FarmAll tractor with a DuAl loader.   It will be so useful and great for so many things around here.  This is something we should have had at least 10 years ago!  This tractor is a 1955 version, but has all new hydraulics, and the engine was recently updated.  It's still in pretty good shape for an old gal!  And the price was within our affordability.   I suppose now I'll have to learn how to drive this thing?  Maybe not - might be a husband thing, ya know?

Harold drove this home from where we bought it, 10 miles away.  I followed behind in the pickup, in case I had to tow him.    Didn't need to, though, the tractor made it home just fine.   Harold was pretty cold, even though he was bundled up good!

Another view of the new piece of equipment.

The Winter Doldrums

About this time of year just about everyone is sick and tired of winter, anxious for warmer temps and spring, and tired of being cooped up indoors.   This must be the 'winter doldrums' that is often talked about.  It's easy to be bored, easy to gain too much weight by snacking too much, and somehow nothing seems interesting. 
     To combat boredom in the middle of winter I usually start a new project, or get out the cookbooks and try some new recipes, or find a new book to read, or get started on cleaning and sorting projects.  Anything just to keep busy!  Sometimes I have to really work at it to stay motivated, because it's easy to just go take a nap.   If the weather isn't too cold or snowy I'll go for a long walk.  Or I might call someone I haven't talked to in a while.  Sometimes I re-arrange furniture.  Today I hung up some new curtains in the kitchen - they weren't really new, but I have several sets of curtains and I hung up a pair that I haven't had on the windows for quite a while.   It makes the kitchen look different and that's what I wanted:  something new to look at!
     What do you do to combat the winter doldrums?  Will you share some of your tactics?

We're Committed Now!

We've been living in an unfinished house since we moved into it in May of 2006.  We actually built the home in 2005, but it was nowhere near complete enough to move into until spring of the following year.   But since 2006, we have not finished the living room or the bedroom - two of the hardest rooms to finish.  We, that is, I, decided that "enough is enough" and I got tired of the polka dotted walls (polka dotted, as in dabs of sheetrock mud to cover drywall screws).   It was always a matter of time and money to finish projects, and then Harold got sick with multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer) and his level of energy took a nosedive.  I have carpal tunnel issues with my hand and it is difficult for me to hold brushes and trowels without pain after a few minutes of gripping, and since Harold does an excellent job of drywall finishing we have put projects on hold until he can get to them.   We also finally scraped together enough money to finish a few things, and so here it is - 2015 and we are going to finally finish the living room!!!

Here is what the living room looks like now:

We still need to take down the rest of the ceiling fan and two more pieces of  furniture.   See the polka dotted walls?

We have furniture stashed all over the house, making it hard to get to things.  This will help us to get going!

I will post a photo or two of the finished room later on.   I am thinking of painting two walls with a pale blue and two walls with a pale beige, and putting up a wallpaper trim I bought a couple years ago that has blue and beige flowers.    The bay window will have a sheer valence curtain of either beige or blue (or both), and all window and floor trim will be painted white.   We still won't be able to afford flooring, so I'll paint the wooden sheeting floor again with a fresh coat of beige paint.  Our decor won't be magazine fabulous, more like "country eclectic".   At our age, buying new furniture seems like a waste of money (that we don't have anyway).  The finished living room will certainly be an improvement, though!  Next project will be to finish the master bedroom.   Wonder how long that will take?  This is what happens when you build your own house all by yourself without using professional contractors and you do things as you can afford them.   But, we will APPRECIATE things more!

And Another Year Begins!

Happy New Year to all!  Can you believe it's already 2015?  I have changed the looks of the blog again, as I like to start a new year with a new look!  This will be the start of my 3rd year blogging.   I truly appreciate all the comments and views from my readers.  If you don't know how to comment, try using the name/url to do so.  If you don't want to publish your name, then use anonymous.

Here is something I started last year's blog off with, and I still think it is a great suggestion for a general New Year's resolution for everyone:
                   **********************************************
Mend a quarrel.  Seek out a forgotten friend.
     Write a love letter.   Share some treasure.
Give a soft answer.  Encourage youth.
      Keep a promise.  Find the time.
Forgive an enemy.
     Listen.
Apologize if you were wrong.
     Think first of someone else.
Be kind and gentle.
     Laugh a little.  Laugh a little more.
Express your gratitude.
     Gladden the heart of a child.
Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.
     Speak your love........speak it again.........Speak it still once again............
                    *************************************************

Wonder what 2015 will bring?  It always seems a little scary, yet exciting to begin a new year.   I always feel like a kid with a new coloring book and a new box of crayons.   No matter what 2015 will bring, let us always remember to trust in God daily and let Him direct our paths.   Things always work out better when we let God be in the driver's seat!

Christmas Fruitcake

Fruitcake is one of those misunderstood food items.  At this time of year, everyone makes jokes about fruitcakes and a person either "loves 'em" or "hates 'em".  Some fruitcakes are indeed awful, especially the ones commercially made and found in your average grocery store.   Personally, I cannot tolerate any fruitcake made with citron, or some of the glaceed fruits they sell for fruitcake mix that taste like chemical sludge.   For me, a REAL fruitcake uses real dried fruit and real nuts and real juice.  I have tried many recipes over the years, and the best one I have found is from an old Better Homes and Gardens cake cookbook from 1980.  I am typing the recipe here, and if you like fruitcake, please try it!  It takes a while to mix up a good fruitcake, and it takes a while to "mellow out" a good fruitcake.  So it is indeed a labor of love.   I don't make a fruitcake every Christmas, maybe every few years or so.   This insures that when I do make one it is really special!  Nobody ever jokes about MY fruitcakes being used for doorstops!

CHRISTMAS FRUITCAKE

3 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder 

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. cloves

1 tsp. salt 

Mix the above in a large bowl and set aside. 

Then in a really large bowl, mix the following: 

2 c. brown raisins

2 c. golden raisins

1 12-oz pkg pitted prunes, snipped into small pieces

1 12-oz pkg dried apricots, snipped into small pieces

2 10-oz jars maraschino cherries, drained (leave cherries whole)

1 c. chopped almonds or slivered or sliced

1 c. pecan pieces

1 c. walnut pieces

Mix the flour mixture and the fruit mix together in that very large bowl.   Set aside.  

     In another bowl: 

4 eggs, beaten (I use either large or extra large)

1 3/4 c. brown sugar

1 c. freshly squeezed orange juice (yes, use fresh it is so much better!)

1/4 c. molasses

3/4 c. butter, melted (stick and a half)

     Mix the wet ingredients together and then mix this into the dry mix.  The batter will be stiff, just keep on mixing everything together until well blended.   Mix by hand with a wooden spoon - do not use an electric mixer!

Next, grease three 8 x 4 loaf pans and line with wax paper all around.  Grease the wax paper and use 2 layers for the bottoms of the pans.  Fill the loaf pans with the fruitcake batter, filling about 3/4 full.  

     Bake in a 300 degree oven for about 1 3/4 to 2 hours until cakes test done with a long tester pick.  Cool, then remove from pans and peel off the paper. 

Now, here's the fun part!  Soak 3 old linen towels or heavy cheesecloth in orange juice (for this part you can use the concentrate stuff).  Squeeze out the excess and wrap the loaves up in a cloth, one at a time.   Put into plastic bags, and store in the refrigerator for a week (two weeks is even better!), although it's still OK to eat after 3 or 4 days of mellowing.   Store fruitcakes in the refrigerator and if the cakes get a little dry, wrap them in orange juice soaked cloths again.   You can also freeze the loaves, but I have never done that because this fruitcake keeps very well, and it never lasts long anyway!  During the holidays it goes quickly and I also give some of it away.    Instead of orange juice you could use apple juice, but I find that orange juice seems to compliment the dried fruit better than apple juice.   Traditional fruitcake is soaked in brandy or rum, but I don't drink and I don't have liquor in the house.   Soaking the fruitcakes in fruit juice makes it so that even children can enjoy this fruitcake!  A very MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!

The fruitcake batter ready to bake in the wax paper lined loaves.

The finished loaves fresh from the oven. 

The loaves are wrapped in juice soaked cloths and put into the refrigerator in plastic bags for a week before eating.  I just use bread bags to store them in.

Decoration Plan

Now that December is here and most of us are beginning to decorate for Christmas, how do you go about it?  Do you start right after Thanksgiving?  Do you put everything up at once?  Do you put outdoor decorations up?  Do you put a little bit of Christmas in every room of the house?
     Back when my children were small, I would put up all the decorations I had all at once, and put the tree up about 10 days before Christmas and take everything down either on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day.   We usually had a real tree, so having the tree in the house for that long a time was probably stretching the life of the tree.   Sometimes my kids would help me decorate, but most of the time it was "Mom's job" to put up the tree and decorations.
     Now that my kids are grown, I tend to put up the decorations a little at a time.  By the time Christmas Day arrives, the house is all decorated.  I still leave things up until New Year's Eve.  I like to start the new year with a clean house and a clean slate.  So, on Dec 1st, the first thing to put out is the window candles.   I have electric candles that I put in almost every window of the house, and some larger ones on the porch.   Also on Dec 1st, I get out my Christmas dishes!  During December, I only use my Christmas dishes (unless I run out of clean ones!)  Tomorrow on Dec 2nd, I'll put up a few more decorations, and on the 3rd, a few more things, etc. etc.  By the time Dec 25 is here the tree is up and my house is fully decorated.   I do try to put a little bit of Christmas in every room of the house (even the bathroom, which gets Christmas towels and a bar of Christmas soap, and some holiday scented liquid soap.).
     This year my son Jerry is coming with my grandson Jeffrey, and we are going to have a real tree!  A while back on my blog entries I mentioned that there was a blue spruce growing in the ditch alongside the road.   That will be our tree this year.  I will put that up a few days before the 25th, and leave it up until New Year's Eve.  Ten days is plenty for a real tree in a dry house.
     Another favorite decoration item to put out is my village that a neighbor gave me as a housewarming gift many years ago.   She bought it at an auction and thought it might fit on her bay windowsill, but it didn't, so she graciously gave me the entire village when she saw my big bay window seat area.  I don't have a recent photo of the village, but here is one from a few years ago, before I added trees and people:

I put the village out sometime around the 6th of December.

The village at night

One set of my Christmas dishes is a set that Harold bought at a garage sale in Canada back in the days when he was a trucker.   They are a lovely set of Scio dishes with a 'made in Japan' on the back, so I know they are old.   I have looked up these dishes on the internet for pricing, and they sell for about $50 to $75 a set.  Harold says he gave 5 bucks for them.  When we were first married, my dishes were in storage and when Christmas time came I was upset that I wouldn't have any holiday plates to use, like I always did.  Harold just smiled and went out to a shed in the back yard and came in with a box of those lovely Scio Christmas plates and cups and saucers.  Was I surprised that he would have Christmas dishes (guys don't care about such things, right?)!  He told me how he bought them at a garage sale in Canada years ago and sort of forgot about them.   I have a couple other sets of dishes, too, so here is a sample of the plates and cups we will use during the holidays:

And here are the window candles that I put up:  triple candles on the porch, and single ones in all the other windows of the house: 

It was 15 below zero outside when I took this photo!