Relatives

Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, 

and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, 

you should include all things in your gratitude.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Quilting

Since my SIL retired she's enjoying many new hobbies. Fortunately she has a multitude of skilled relatives to show her the steps. She asked me to help her make her first quilt. Some of you may notice these are the same colors, and indeed some of the same fabrics, in the two quilts I made for her previously: a Lone Star baby quilt and the Farmhouse quilt.

She'd already cut the blues and whites into large triangles and sewed them into hourglasses. I spent the weekend talking her through sewing them into a top with setting triangles, adding borders (which included visiting a local quilt shop!}, and pin basting the quilt. 

The next time we get together, we'll work on walking foot and free-motion quilting. Fortunately, we own identical Bernina machines. I'm bringing some extra feet for her to test. 

Our mutual BIL also sews... and welds, rebuilds cars, etc. He made these blocks with leftover and gifted fabric a few years ago. We all helped lay them out and he spent his time sewing them into sets of four. 

While we were at the LQS, he purchased this cheery yellow to make narrow sashing. Now he has to cut it and sew the top.

As if that wasn't enough, Grandchild 3 {G3} visited and worked her way through my scrap bag. She pulled a bunch of leftover pastel squares leftover and laid out a throw quilt for herself. She maintained attention long enough to help sew the rows together. I may be finishing this on my own unless she visits again soon.

Reading

I spent several weeks reading Dress Codes by Richard Thompson Ford and enjoyed it tremendously. Starting in the middle ages when tailored clothing first developed, Richard covers laws limiting every aspect of clothing to maintain the social order. With the Great Male Renunciation where men eschewed colorful and embroidered fabrics to demonstrate they contributed to and supported Enlightenment politics. With pressure from seamtresses, women's clothing began to diverge significantly from men's. 

That's only the first quarter of the book. The rest discusses more modern sartorial effects from flappers and zoot suits to hoodies and the CROWN act. 

Enjoy the day, Ann