Posts Tagged ‘Cooking From Scratch’
2012 New Year’s Resolution
Starting in the Smallest Places
I find that more and more people are working towards a simpler life, which means something different to each of us. To some it means a move to the country, to others cutting back on rampant consumerism, still others believe baking bread and cooking from scratch will bring a simpler life.
But, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while you know you don’t need acreage in the back-of-beyond to have a simple life. It can (and does) start in the smallest places. It can start in a closest.
I know that sounds a bit strange, so bear with me for a moment, folks. I’m a firm believer that you can tell more about a person from looking in their closet than looking into their soul. The amount of “stuff” packed on closet shelves; the disheveled stacks of sheets or blankets; the boxes of personal belongings; the jumble of casual clothes, work clothes, and special occasion clothes; the pile of shoes and handbags are a better indicator of one’s frame of mind than anything else. Closets are private places. They are hidden. They are where we ready ourselves to meet the outside world. How your closet is arranged, the amount of belongings you have is a better indicator of your state of mind than you might think.
Humor me a little longer, folks. Lay your head back, close your eyes and visualize your closet. Picture the clothes and shoes, purses, totes, and hats. Now think about what you store on the shelves. Can you see it all? Does just thinking about it make you shutter? Now, ask yourself, do I need all these things? Really need them? Or, are there things you could get rid of? Do you really need ALL those purses? Are there clothes that you haven’t worn in years? Clothes that are out of style, faded, damaged or don’t fit anymore? Do you have a stack of hats, but only wear one or two? A pile of shoes, but consistently wear the same ones?
If you sifted through and only kept what you truly needed and truly used, could you find the closet floor, space on the shelves? With a little bit of gleaning could you make your closet feel new again? Read the rest of the story »
One Skirt, Two Quilts
My grandmother was an amazing quilter. She had such a knack for putting colors and fabrics together that I have often envied her talent. Over the years I have acquired several quilts she made. Some were gifts for birthdays or weddings and some were just Gran cleaning house and downsizing her belongings.
No matter how they came to me I love each and every one. They are simple patterns, not the elaborate works of art you see from quilters these days. The fabrics used were old flour sacks, sugar bags, worn out clothes that my mom and Aunt wore as little girls, and remnants from the fabric store where my grandmother worked for more than 50 years. They are time capsules of color and texture that have kept me warm and reminded me of days when self-sufficiency was as common as summer heat and not a strange concept.
Quilting is a new skill for me. I started a few years ago with a simple rail fence pattern made from flannel, for my daughter. Unfortunately, I was never able to work on a quilt with my grandmother or have her teach me her special tricks of the trade; we lived too far apart for that. Like cooking from scratch, tending livestock or managing DIY project, quilting (and sewing) is one of those useful homestead skills that everyone should learn. With a few basic sewing skills like measuring, cutting and sewing a straight line you can turn previously unusable fabric into something that will keep you warm on a cold winter’s night.
I think that’s what I love most about quilting; the stories it can tell, the people it can touch, the hominess and warmth it can bring. My quilts will never win a prize at the county fair or be the envy of the ladies at the quilt guild, but they will remind my daughter and I of times spent together, of places we have gone and adventures we have had. You can wrap yourself up in a warm quilt and breathe in the memories.
Since finishing my first quilt, I have made 4 others, also simple patterns that remind me of simpler times and days when everything was repurposed into something useful.
The quilts in the picture are a prefect example. The quilt on the right is a completed quilt that lays on my bed. It is a play on the 9-patch Pizzazz pattern. A play mainly because it has 12-patches, instead of 9, in between the larger pieces of fabric that show off the sheep scene. The Little Boy Blue quilt on the left is a recently finished quilt top that still needs to be assembled, pinned, quilted, and bound before it can be used.
Both quilts are made from a pastoral sheep print skirt I bought on a driving trip from Colorado, down through New Mexico and on into California. I loved the fabric so much that when I stopped wearing the skirt I kept it, knowing that someday I would make it into a quilt. And I did.
One skirt, two quilts, a mom and her daughter warm in their beds, wrapped up in memories.
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Aenean nonummy hendrerit mauris. Phasellus porta.