Sometimes we hear the phrase “life-long learning” associated with community education classes and, to me, it sounds like hard work or something that old people do.

What life-long learning really means is that once you graduate and leave the formal school environment, you get to learn about anything that catches your fancy! What great prospects that opens for everyone!

In looking back I recognize that learning about quiltmaking and women of the 19^th century has been a lifetime-learning subject for me and it has been an important part of “enjoying the journey” of my life.

Many years ago I remember sitting in church and seeing an elderly gentleman, in the row in front of me, open his Bible to the Old Testament. He turned several pages and each one was covered with red underlinings and hand written notes in the margins. I remember thinking, “Wow, I wish I knew as much as him…or that I had even once read those same pages that are so well marked in his scriptures.”

I am sure those notes were made over time and in moments of time when he settled down to study a particular subject. That is what happens with small tidbits of information and learning…it accumulates. Before we realize, we know a great deal about a particular subject.

Last week was our wedding anniversary and we took a ride to another small town not far from here. We went there because neither of us had been there in recent memory and we wanted to take a look. The ride was enjoyable. I especially enjoyed spending the day alone with my husband. After lunch at a roadside hamburger stand we stopped at the one commercial business that was not a grocery or hardware store in this town. It was a rock shop!

What a fascinating place! There were stones and elements in beautiful shapes and colors from all over the world.

I learned that near this town is Topaz Mountain…and truly there are crystallized topaz stones in perfect cylinder shapes that look as though they are growing out of solidified gray ash on this mountain. Oh my, I want to go looking for some topaz there myself one day!

(As a side note, I am not an enthusiastic exerciser, so when I walk I am always looking for things to take my mind off of exercise. Often I look at rocks and so for years I have been a bit of a closet rock collector. However, most of what I have found is interesting shapes of gravel…..only interesting to me and my grandchildren.)

Below and at the top of this posting are two views of one of my purchases that day from the West Desert Collectors shop. It is a Septarian stone that has been formed and polished into a heart shape. It is so-o-o beautiful!

This is what I learned about Septarian nodules: “Septarians were formed millions of years ago when the Gulf of Mexico reached what is now Southern Utah. (Imagine that!!) Decomposing sea life, killed by volcanic eruptions, had a chemical attraction to the sediment around them, forming mud balls. As the ocean receded, the balls were left to dry and crack. They also shrank at the same time trapping the cracks inside the balls. As decomposed shells were carried down into the cracks in the mud balls crystals formed….” And this beautiful stone is the result!

Life-long learning is exciting and I have just found a new topic to explore. I can’t wait to find another rock shop!

At approximately 7:15 a.m. on Monday morning this week my 50-something sister was on her way to work in downtown Salt Lake City. She takes a Trax train to the city. It was a snowy, wet morning.

She had just left the train and walked a little way when she decided to cross the street at the first intersection in the middle of the block. Since the light was going to turn soon she decided to run for it. Her foot caught on an uneven paving brick and she fell.

In the fall she pitched forward and tried to break her fall with her arm. The arm bone nearest the shoulder broke and her head hit the pavement.

In a dazed state she knew she had to get out of the street, even though at the moment it was deserted, she knew the cars would be coming. She got to her feet and crossed to the other side of the street and immediately sat down on the concrete sidewalk because she felt she was about to pass out.

As she sat there trying to assess the situation, plot a plan of action, and keep from fainting, a man came and sat on the sidewalk next to her. He was a UTA (Utah Transit Association) worker who had witnessed her accident. He brought along some gauze to catch the blood coming from the cut in her forehead. He sat quietly and offered suggestions for assistance.

She decided she did not need an ambulance. Instead she phoned a fellow worker, who she knew drove into work, and asked her to stop and take my sister to the hospital. While she waited, the man sat beside her on the ground and simply “kept her company” until her friend arrived.

Since she told me about this man’s simple acts of kindness I have thought about how little it can take to provide a valuable good to those around us. Big things happen in small ways.

Changing topics, our online class is going great. Altogether there are over 70 students enrolled in my Cottage Garden class and great versions of the quilt are underway. We are having fun discussions in our Yahoo group about subjects are varied as thread to Saturday morning memories. It will be a grand party when we all get together next August here in Spring City!

I have been advised by some of my students that I did not emphasize nearly enough all of the good things the Cottage Garden class includes in the description of the class.

So if you are still thinking about joining our group (registration is open until May 2012), here is additional information about what the class includes: You will receive the patterns and several close-up photos of every block (enough that you may as well be holding it in your hands). You also receive detailed Color in Quilts (Jeana Kimball style) instruction, plus a Technical Support section that explains my stitching technique in such complete detail that it will take the full year to tell it all (it would make a very big book), And, finally with each lesson you receive an interesting historical biography or review spotlighting a person of interest from the early 19^th century.

We are all having a great time, looking forward to August, and we invite you to join us!

A Cottage Garden Quilt Center

During the past five years I have concentrated my teaching solely in this direction by teaching several small classes once a month at quilt shops in Northern Utah. It has been highly satisfying for both me and my students.

Unfinished border

Each year I design a new project. Everyone chooses their own fabric. They have learned to rely on their own color sense and at the end of the year we have an amazing array of individual versions of a single quilt.

Nasturtiums

In addition to receiving patterns each month we have a short lesson on a topic that is related to the new project. For example, for this year’s project I designed, “A Cottage Garden.” It was inspired by and stitched from authentic 1930s fabrics. So our topic this year is related to lifestyles and trends of that time.

We meet for 2 hours once a month, except for July. In July, class is held here for three glorious days of stitching, eating, show and tell, and visiting.

Carolina Wren

Recently one of my Journal readers wrote to ask if she could join my classes even though she could not attend the monthly sessions. As I thought about her request I could not see any reason why my class format could not work as an online class.

This year I am inviting all of you to join our class. Beginning August 1^st I will mail online students a hard copy of the designs for that month. You will also receive a written lesson on my chosen topic and color photos of the month’s appliqué blocks. Online students are invited to our three day retreat/class in July 2012.  I have also set up a Yahoo group for members of the class and all students—both local and online—will be members.

For those who do not know about Yahoo groups, members of a particular group correspond via e-mail that is delivered to everyone’s inbox. All questions, answers, and discussion includes everyone so we are all “on the same page” all of the time. Also, members can post photos of their finished blocks on the group’s page so everyone can watch the progress as each quilt develops.

Iris or Flag if you are in my mother's garden

I have just sent the information and a signup sheet to my web designer. Very soon (within a week) the signup sheet will be posted under the Online Classes/Retreats heading on my website’s home page.

I am very excited to be able to include all of you in this year’s project!

First, and most important, the long awaited An Old Fashioned Christmas quilt pattern is DONE! I will pick up copies “hot off the press” on Thursday before Spring Quilt Market opens in Salt Lake City on Friday.

For those of you that have followed my doubts and dilemma about publishing this pattern over the past few years, you will be happy to know that all of my reservations have been satisfied. I am very pleased with the result. They were:

1)   Pattern vs. book format….it is a pattern booklet. All of the patterns are there, full-sized and held together in a book form.

2)    The quilt is highly detailed, my dilemma was how to produce a pattern that will give the close-up views that are necessary for you to reproduce the patterns? Answer: The pattern booklet includes a CD-ROM with close-up views that will fill your computer screen!

I am very pleased with this production and I think you will be too. It will take a week or so for me to get the information to my web designer and for her to get it up and listed on my Store, so please be patient. Or, you are welcome to call next week (I will be gone all the rest of this week and the office is closed) to place your order over the phone: 435-462-9618. The cost of the book & CD is $30.00, plus postage.

The second thing I have been working was suggested by one of you. In my last post, I showed a picture of a pattern I had designed, stitched, and rejected for use in my new year-long quilt class. I teach these classes in person in Salt Lake City once a month. This reader wrote to me asking if she could join my class even though she could not attend.

My response was, “Why not? I could conduct an online monthly quilt class for those who cannot attend. And, just as my Salt Lake students do, invite my online students to an “in person” class here at the end of our one year class. I think it will work!

So, as soon as I can get the information to my web designer, I will post more information under the “Retreats” heading on my website. Class will begin August 1.

Wish me luck at Market!

In recent weeks I have been thinking of an old poem by William Davies. I think of it now because my life recently has been the opposite of the advice Mr. Davies urges upon me:

Leisure

What is this life if, full of care
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass,
No time to see, in broad day light,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at beauty’s glance
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

In an effort to remedy my over busy life I stopped today for a time to enjoy the birth of a new season. Here is what I observe:

The ground has a new cast of green as tender shoots of spring grass push through the cold brown soil. This past week it has snowed nearly every day, yet as the warming days melt the snow away the optimistic grass still shows green.

From the tops of tall old trees in town the red-wing blackbirds are voicing their optimism about the future and busy robins hustle about looking for the best nesting materials. Our cats spend hours each day practically glued to the windows with their teeth chattering at the temptation caused by robins hopping past.

You can see I have been thinking of the red-wings from the block I stitched this week. This bird is stitched from all 1930s fabrics and realistically it should be all black, except for the red wing tips, of course. I colored it lighter in view of the colors used in the rest of the quilt. Sadly, it is still wa-a-ay too dark to fit into my traditional 1930s colored quilt. It is back to the drawing board for me…. (The quilt is newly designed for my year-long classes that I teach in the City.)

Here in the country the changing of seasons is marked by many events that ignore how warm or cold the temperature may be. A new generation of babies, sheep, calves and colts is on their way and it will not be long before I spot new babies wobbling alongside their mothers. I always shudder and wish I could bring them indoors and away from the cold nights.

This year I am planning a herb garden and plans of what I will plant and how it will all fit together fit lull me to sleep at nights…..

Last fall, while teaching at the AQS show in Iowa I bought an amazing quilt. I believe it was made in the early twentieth century. Usually I admire old quilts and look for ideas to use in my own work in them, but I don’t buy. However, once in a while, when the price is right, I am captured by the work of an earlier quiltmaker and I am compelled to bring her quilt home with me. This Pickle Dish quilt is one of those quilts.

I feel that when you take the time to examine a quilt and look closely enough you will find aspects of a quiltmaker’s personality in her work. To me, this particular quilt is bursting with the personality of its maker. On close inspection of this quilt, this is what I believe about this quiltmaker.

I believe that the woman who made this quilt was probably elderly, but very confident in her competence as a quiltmaker. She liked detail, the more the better. She was frugal, had limited resources, and she had a no-nonsense approach to quiltmaking, i.e., the only reason to make a quilt was for its usefulness. She did not take herself too seriously: she was not making a masterpiece, she was simply having fun and making something useful. Most of all, however, she loved making quilts and that is why I brought a piece of her home with me.

Here are some closer looks to show you what I mean. By the way, if you measure from tip end to tip end of the “pieced melon slice” the size of her quilt block is just over SIX INCHES long. These pieces are tiny!

First of all, her workmanship is loose, her stitches large and a bit haphazard caused in part by the bulk of the many layers. When she is able to make a straight run of hand quilting stitches in a plain area her stitches are even and regular showing an expert hand. I think she was elderly because the stitches are large, yet formed with confidence. Also, who else would have the time, the depth of years shown in her scrap collection, and attempt such an intricate, small pattern if she did not have the confidence of years of experience behind her.

This is truly a scrap quilt. Fabrics are randomly chosen and placed in what appears to be a haphazard way. Yet there is charm in the combinations that I would guess came straight from her scrap basket.

She was using up fabric in a most efficient manner, the large plain pieces between the lines of patchwork were probably cut from flour or sugar sacks (one of my students suggested diaper flannel).

Large calico pieces went into the plain space between the curved pieced units. Pieces that were a little smaller went into the corner squares, and all the remaining bits went into the intricate “pickle” patchwork.

Her approach was efficient and I would imagine it was visually stimulating to see how the different combinations looked with each other.

I never tire of examining this quilt and I am still pleased that I get to live with this quilt and its maker every day.

At Christmastime I scheduled time with my daughter-in-law’s mother to spend a couple of days at her house trading knowledge. I was going there to learn to make homemade turtles. (The best turtles I have ever tasted I might add.) In turn, I would teach her to appliqué and get her started on a quilt for her bed.

This event was to take place over two days in order to cover all of the teaching/learning that was to be shared.

On the day appointed in December, I came down with a terrible flu bug and was very sick for several days. So we rescheduled for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

On our next appointed day, during the night before I was to travel the 150 miles to her house, we had our biggest snow storm of the year (20-24” of snow in about 12 hours). Again, plans were cancelled and we rescheduled.

Finally! This past week we were able to overcome busy schedules, sickness, and the weather to get on with our plans.

What a great learning experience it was for me! Occasionally, I have made candy before but it has always been easy recipes that don’t need precise techniques for a successful outcome.

Mrs. B. is a true master of her craft. When we boiled the syrupy liquid that became caramel, we checked the progress of our candy often. It was not with a scientific candy thermometer though, it was the teacup, cold water, and a spoonful-of-candy-dropped-into-the-cold-water technique to find the perfect stage between soft and hard ball stage. It was very precise with a perfect outcome based on the skill of the candymaker.

Once the caramel was successfully complete and added to the pecans, we started melting the milk chocolate for dipping.

First we had to break up a 10 pound slab (did you get that, 10 pounds !) of dipping chocolate. (Dropping from a standing position onto a concrete step did the trick. By the way, it was still packaged in heavy-weight plastic during this step.)

Once it was broken into smaller pieces it had to be shredded into shaving-sized bits with big sharp knives. This process took two of us (Mr. B. and me) about an hour.

Then the chocolate went into a perfect crock pot and there was a very long wait for the chocolate to get hot enough to activate the cocoa butter and then we waited again for the chocolate to cool down enough for dipping.

Chocolate cannot be rushed. It turns out that chocolates that are dipped at too high a temperature will turn a dusty brown color instead of remaining a glossy brown. If the dipping chocolate cools too much while dipping, the chocolate has to be reheated and cooled…it is very tricky and a candymaker has to work fast.

We had perfect results!

I received a great education in chocolate-making (the old fashioned way), and I can hardly wait to try it again on my own…. before I forget what I learned.

There are so many wonderful traditions that are best learned from those experienced in her/his craft. Yes, books and carefully written instructions can teach us, but there is something uniquely rich in learning from one who has the touch, who knows what works and what does not work, and why, and from one who has failed and succeeded to gain the knowledge that they carry.

Part of the joy in learning this way is to view a person you already know in a new light and to enrich both of your lives with newly shared knowledge.

P.S.  I’ve just posted to my Sewing Room. It is about when to attach applique borders.

Have you noticed that many quilters are making pincushions these days? I have too, and I have been gifted with several in the past year. Each is unique and is a reminder of the kind one who made it.

Recently, a long-time friend showed me a pincushion that she is teaching at a local quilt shop. It is the peasant lady pincushion shown above.

The minute I saw this pincushion I was flooded with memories of a similar pincushion I made many, many years ago. I was first learning about quiltmaking in 1979 when I took a class on making this same pincushion lady.

She is made from a series of stuffed circles with a ruffle and a head scarf to hide the hand stitches that hold her layers together. For a flat base, a canning jar lid is placed at the bottom of her full skirt. She holds lots of pins and she is always upright. She is a great sewing asset altogether.

I cannot imagine what happened to my original mauve peasant lady with a flowered muslin head scarf. In my mind’s eye, I can still see her.

But, since she is no longer around, it is great to have a contemporary replacement who will keep me company while I am stitching in the future.

Here is my grandson with the quilt I made for him while visiting. I must admit it is made completely from fabric in my collection (stash)—even the back.

A simple pattern of 6-inch squares works up quickly. Even better was the constant companionship of the quilt’s prospective owner. He kept me company while I cut and stitched and he helped with the layout…choosing block placement, etc….and we got it made in a little less than three days.

On Monday, of the storm, no one was venturing out and I had to join the quilt top with the back and tie it that day or it would not be done before I left on Tuesday. My only choice was to put together bits and pieces that had not been used on the front. It is a little crazy looking on the back, but I felt so frugal having used nearly all the fabric I had brought from home, and in saving the money I would have spent to buy yardage for the backing.

We even tied it with yarn my daughter had on hand. It was left over from the “blankey” his mom had made him before he was born. I’m not so sure how that fuzzy yarn will hold up in the long term, but he was delighted to have part of “blankey” in his new quilt.

Here we are at the eleventh hour putting the finishing touches on his quilt. No binding….no time….only a knife-edge finish (front and back turned to the center and stitched down) I stitched twice around it on the sewing machine and at another visit I will add a bias binding.

There is only one quilt yet to make, on another visit, for the littlest one. Here she is with her big sister. I couldn’t resist showing you this one last picture!

During the big storm in Georgia earlier this month I was in town visiting our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. It is such a delight for me to see them and spend quality time with them all.

It was a treat for them to see snow. The two younger ones had never seen snow before. They spent most of the day outdoors squishing around in the slushy snow. Here is a photo of their best efforts at snowman building.

I think Mr. Frosty is quite charming in spite of his stature and his very brief life expectancy.

On Saturday before the storm we visited the Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. We all had a great time and even though the kids had been there several times before they were very enthusiastic. (Notice their faces in the reflection on the glass….aren’t those granddaughters of mine darling?)

Here is another photo of everyone except my son-in-law…he was the one with the camera phone.

At this point you have probably noticed that my daughter is very, very tall. She really is my biological daughter. My husband is also very tall and slender. And, yes, in all things physical she certainly does take after the Kimball side of the family, but I like to think I am in there somewhere too.

While there I also made another bed quilt for our grandson this time. I am waiting for photos of him with his new quilt and then I will post a few more pictures.

It was a very full week and a great time. Thanks for humoring me and taking a look at this proud grandma’s pictures!