Easter Dress?

When we were children, mom would make Easter dresses for us. Keep in mind that she had eight, all girls, so there were many dresses to sew. Truthfully, I can't remember whether there were new dresses every year or not, mostly I remember the idea of Easter dresses. 

Perhaps it was the only time we even got new clothes. My memory gets rather fuzzy somewhere along there and it's possible that the talk was new dresses but really they were new to us...as in handed down from an older or bigger sibling. 

Anyway, it seems that even now I should be getting a new dress around Easter. Handed-down? Why, yes, please. Especially since it means I won't have to go shopping. I loathe shopping, especially for clothes. I decided to sew one using whatever I had on hand. I found some nice linen and a couple of patterns I liked. There would be only a few minor problems: I didn't like the thin straps of the dress pattern (there were no other options), and I really liked a top pattern but a top is not a dress. 

So I decided to combine the two and make one dress. Hopefully one that fit since neither pattern was the correct size. Have I mentioned that the patterns were way too small for my body? No? Hmmm. 

I know, right!? Who does this? But I wouldn't be wasting fabric as I could toss it all in the scrap bin and make a quilt. See? THAT is how my brain works. So I got going on Saturday around noon, with the kids coming for supper Saturday evening. Let's just say I couldn't see the pressure for the idea. Don't cha love an idea?

The idea worked. Quite well, surprisingly. By Sunday evening I had a dress. Not a completed dress since I've decided to wash it before hemming. Who cares at this point if it's another day or three since I haven't worn it yet?  

I did put it on and it covers my body without showing my bra straps or much of my skin. (Can you believe I'm modest? Good. Because I'm not.) But clothes should cover your body. Otherwise what's the point? Go live in a nudest colony so the rest of us are not distracted by your perfect beauty, wrinkles, tatoos, rolls, whatever. Some of us have ADHD. 

Oops, I digress, back to the dress. I'm perfectly happy with it, except it needs a belt or a waistline of some sort, but it's basically D-O-N-E, complete. If it's finished on Easter Sunday, doesn't that make it an Easter dress? 

Linking up with

My Quilt Infatuation

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Crazy Mom Quilts 

Sinatra, Martin, Crosby, et. al.

Dean Martin

Are you listening to Christmas music yet?  My morning started in the studio where the radio burns it up 24/7.  After just a few minutes of sewing, I noticed a familiar beat and paused a moment to listen.  Christmas music!!!  Yay!

Frank Sinatra

I love Christmas music--can you tell?  I especially love to listen to the music of my childhood.  Now although I was born in 1960, to me traditional Christmas music was sung by Perry Como, Elvis Presley, Julie Andrews, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and their ilk.  


My mother had a few Christmas albums and a radio.  The early 60's radio stations were still playing "traditional" Christmas music, so those are the songs burned into my memory.  Of course, as I grew older, I listened to more modern music.  Then mom got sick and on occasion I'd babysit her to help Daddy out, especially during the holidays when I had several days off.  To entertain her and to make her happy, I purchased a CD package of old music and played it when she visited.  Now Momma's music is one of my Christmas traditions.  

Bing Crosby

So what is on this list of greats?  How about I list my personal favorites?


1. It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas -- Dean Martin
2. Santa Claus is Coming to Town -- Bing Crosby
3. Jingle Bells -- Frank Sinatra
4. The Christmas Song -- Nat King Cole
5. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas -- Frank Sinatra
6. Silver Bells -- Dean Martin

Rosemary Clooney

7. I'll Be Home for Christmas -- Bing Crosby
8. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen -- Bing Crosby
9. Winter Wonderland -- Frank Sinatra
10. Zat You Santa Claus -- Louis Armstrong

Nat King Cole

I don't know that I'd say the numbers are correct.  I love them all and many more.  My CD set has 70 or so songs, but there's always Sirius on the TV and, of course, the radio.  In other words I can get my Christmas music fix!


What about you?  What's on your Christmas music list? 

Easter Fun

This is a post from 2012 but I thought you might like to know how to get these beautifully dyed eggs, so I'm reposting.

We managed to have a couple of days of fun for our Easter vacation.  Although we go back to school tomorrow and face state testing this week, I was able to forget the stress of work for a few days.  All three sons and their families visited on and off over the weekend.  

As I write this, the local news is reporting the egg knocking competitions in our parish.  The children did get an opportunity to go to the Cottonport Egg Knocking on the Bayou for the egg hunt.  When they returned, we took naps then woke to our own egg fun.  We dyed about seven dozen yard eggs.  

The little girls really had fun with egg dying.  Jenny brought a kit that the grandchildren used to dye their eggs.  I, however, dye way too many eggs to play with dying one at a time.  Instead, I've perfected my own egg dying technique, which I really like because I'm able to get brilliant, rich colors.  

To dye eggs, I first place a towel in the bottom of a large gumbo or stock pot.  Carefully putting the eggs in the bottom of the pot, I add hot tap water to cover the eggs and turn the stove on high.  Once the water comes to a boil, I turn the heat down to keep the eggs from moving around.  When the eggs are cooked, I move the entire pot out to a table on the lawn where I've already put some large glass bowls, Wilton food dye, and vinegar.  The recipe of one/eighth cup vinegar, 1/8 teaspoon food dye, and hot water to cover the eggs in the bowl seems to work very well.  I like to dissolve the food dye in the vinegar with about one cup of water before adding the eggs.  I use the hot water from the pot because the eggs and water are the same temperature and the eggs are less likely to crack.  

Note that most of my bowls are deep rather than wide, so that I can put in four or five eggs without having to add a great deal of water.  I also gently stir the eggs so that they are evenly dyed.  When the eggs are dyed to my satisfaction, or I simply get tired of waiting, I put them on the table to dry.  I've found that placing them in the crack between the boards is especially useful since the eggs don't roll around and the space allows for faster drying.  I also like to store the eggs in a carton because they are less likely to break or hit against each other.  

Why all this egg dyeing?  Because knocking, or pocking as many people say, is a tradition in central Louisiana that is fun.  I love that the elderly people enjoy it so much.  When our children were young, we spent most of our Easter Sunday visiting from house to house, Easter eggs in tow, so we could "pock" eggs.  This photo is of my grandmother, who died 20 years ago.  She is on the porch at my parents' house with both hands full of colored eggs, apparently going to pock with someone.  That smile is the reason I still dye eggs.  I think of her every time I dye eggs.  The tradition of dyeing and knocking eggs runs deep in both mine and Richard's families. 

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: TRADITIONS

Just a few traditional quilts because I am very late getting this post out and I do have to face students in the morning.













And before I close I have a treat for you!  If you have not met Barbara Wood, it's time you do.  She is a lovely blogger from Georgia, who shares her quilt story on "wont-to-be quilter."

She often begins her post with "Beautiful day!" and has a spirit that is catching.  I love to read her blog posts just because she lifts my spirits so much.   Here's a sneak peek of something she's working on, but she can tell you about it much better than I possibly could.

Have a great week,
Mary

Finally! Presenting a Finish

I actually finished this little quilt last week.  First I needed photos and then, well, I don't know, exactly.  I think life just got in the way.  I did get photos but they are the usual bad pictures.  The weather has been absolutely miserably cold, so going outside was not happening.  I have outside duty early in the morning and take all day to warm up, so no, I'm not going out for pics.

The quilt is remarkably traditional for me: a few four-patch blocks alternating with a block made from some of my mom's fabric, which I found at her house only a few weeks ago.  It works so well with the five in squares that Lane won as a door prize when we went to a quilt show in the fall. 

The fabric from mom's house is burgundy and white but it almost reads pink in the photographs.  The deep burgundy is from my stash.  I'm not so sure I like the blocked border, but I've been wanting to try this for some time.  I'm not going to use it again any time soon, but oh well.  I had to figure that out, I guess.

I used an allover feather quilting design, which I do like very much.  This is the second or third quilt that I've quilted this way.  It's almost perfect: fast, easy and almost impossible to mess up.  I did get carsick though.  I like to loop my feather stem in and out rather than just stitch straight across.  Start adding the feathers to those roller-coaster loops, and after about an hour I was getting queasy.  Did Richard have fun with that!  He teased about getting drunk on my own quilting and laughed at his own silly jokes.  

All I could say was "I am happy someone can appreciate it because I am not in a mood to laugh about nausea."  That only fed his fire, so I stretched out on the couch for a nap, then went back to the long arm after a good 30 minutes.  Of course, I was still too queasy to cook supper two hours later!

Happy Quilting,
Mary

Sunday Quilt Inspiration: Red and Green

May your Christmas be 

Merry and Bright

In keeping with the season of Christmas, may God bless and keep you.

Merry Christmas

Reflections on family

Angie, Courtney, Mandy (niece), Mary (me), Riley (niece), and Lee

The whole family (at the time), including
our paternal grandmother and a cousin, in the 1960's.
The youngest sister, Jeanne, wasn't born yet.

Some of my sisters and I drove to Mobile for my uncle's funeral service.  I have seven sisters and getting a chance to visit with them all is very difficult, especially since only half of us live in Louisiana.  The other four live in North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Arizona--a bit spread out for family reunions.  Getting a couple of us together becomes a big event, and five of us were in Mobile for two days.  Add a few cousins to the mix and the gathering became a mini-family reunion.  

Laura and her girls in TN

Our family honors a death by celebrating life.  It's part of our Cajun heritage, and any type of gathering, including funerals, generally includes food, stories, and laughter.  Although we did not have a wake service for my uncle, we did all gather at my aunt's house to visit.  Her daughters made spaghetti and we brought cakes for dessert.  Before I realized it, hours had passed and it seemed that we could have used a few more.  

Angie as the Southern Belle because she's wearing my hat.
I can't wait till she sees this pic.

After we got back to our hotel, I began thinking about how we can go a year or two without seeing some of our cousins, yet we go back to the familiar customs and traditions that our family holds so dear.  Our informal gathering included only one person from my dad's generation, yet every member of the three generations who were present joined in the sometimes solemn, sometimes joyful discussions; knew appropriate ways of helping to deal with the heartache and joy; and added to the healing and sense of family.  
 

Lee and her daughter Mandy at Ft. Conde

 Some of these second and third cousins met for the first time on Friday; others met again after years of separation.  Isn't it interesting how humans just know?  How we have both a sense of self and a sense of others?  How we share the same customs, traditions and values as though they are built into our DNA?  

Another picture in Mobile:
Courtney, Mandy, Mary, Riley, Laura, Lee

I realize that all families do this.  Still, I'm amazed every time it occurs to me personally.  I studied a bit of folklore and psychology in college, and together those classes helped me to observe family and group dynamics, to understand customs and to appreciate traditions.  Now it seems I can't help myself and it amazes me every time.