Officially Winter!

 

Well it's officially winter!

One of my friends said the other day that she just wants the holiday to be over.  I know she is super stressed right now.  It's different now that the kids and even grandkids are grown.  We'll spend most of the holiday with mom and my brother. 

I'm looking forward to the hibernation season (January to March).  It might as well be called the sewing season because we seem to get so much done during those months.

I'm not really sewing right now but putting together kits of projects for the new year.  First up is two sets of orphan blocks.  I'm just cutting fabric and putting everything in baskets until after the holidays.

I've decided against doing a temperature embroidery piece.  I decided I didn't want to do that because there are so many other hand pieced items I want to make even more.  My husband said, "just put the data in you calendar."  It's a good idea so I will.

One of the things that really amuses me these days is the upset over the Pantone Color of the Year.  I've been seeing a lot of rants about this because the color they chose was "Cloud Dancer" aka "White".

"Bits and Pieces" is a youtube channel I enjoy.  Michelle  has a lot of free patterns that she demonstrates.  She also offers free patterns on her website.  One that I would really like to make in the new year is called "We Will Remember".  You can see here patterns here and her channel here.

What kind of projects are you looking forward to in 2026?

Another Apron

 

Most of you know I'm fascinated with all the different variety of aprons that have been used--especially during the first half of the 20th century.  Some new ones occasionally surface on different feeds like the Girl Scout one above...isn't it cool?

I recently found another kind of apron--the Pullman Apron.  Have you ever heard of it?  Here's the ad that piqued my interest.  It was from a 1917 Needle Art Catalog:

As usual, I couldn't find it when I searched online for the apron but I did find lots of articles in old newspapers.  I have to say that as I researched, I found myself getting more curious about it.

This kind of apron is for travel and in particular, toiletries.  All the ads and article below are from 1917:

I was really curious about the strings attached to the apron.  Was this really meant to be worn?  As it turned out, one ad suggested that was the case:

This article provided more information on using the apron:

I guess this was how the ladies carried their toiletries.  I scoured the internet looking for a photo of a woman wearing one but couldn't find one.  What do you think of the Pullman Apron?

Have a safe and happy day!

Sew Snowing!

 

We woke on Sunday to snow on the ground!

We didn't get a ton but it was enough that the side roads weren't plowed here for some time and we stayed home instead of going to mom's.  She never wants us to drive over there in bad weather anyway.  It's clear today so I'll be heading over there in a few hours when she wakes up.

I did get some sewing in though and that felt good.  In the foreground you can see the bowl cozy I made for my brother.

I also finished binding this quilt:

I also machine quilted two wall hangings--one for mom, one for me.  I'll have photos of those tomorrow or Wednesday.

Did you get snow this past weekend as well?

Have a safe and happy day!

98 Days

 

98 days until spring.  

I figured since folks countdown the days until Halloween, I can countdown the days until spring.

However--I don't want spring to come too soon.  I want to hibernate for the first three months of the year and sew as much as possible.  

Are you thinking about your 2026 projects or just focusing on finishing 2025 projects?  I am but not in a pressure way, just excited to be over the holidays and on to sewing.  

Out in the garden...

The rabbits appear to be all around the garden and eating all the plants I didn't cut down.  I didn't feel like working in the garden but from now on, I'll say I did that on purpose.  However the rabbits are driving Lucky a bit crazy....

The squirrels continue to eat the Beauty Berries.  The ground is frozen solid so any food they had buried is unavailable.  😟

Here's a fun fact but I don't know if it's true.  I couldn't find any basis for this except that the call of the birds denotes territory.

Bird calls at sunrise are called "Dawn Chorus" a phrase I just love.

How are things in your area of the world?

Have a safe and happy weekend!

Stop Doing That...

 

Still so many things going on here.  We can see the light at the end of the tunnel...perhaps we will be through all this paperwork stuff by 2026.  And I'm still caregiving.   Yesterday morning I woke up sick and it was a relief that Brad had to walk the dog and I needed to stay home.

I absolutely need to clean out my sewing room...again.  Fabric I know I had is missing.  I had bought new penguin Christmas fabric...and it's AWOL.

I suspect that I inadvertently put it in a bag with the fabric I donated for the quilt guild show. 😖

Now an older piece of Christmas is MIA...a vintage holly fabric that I had some yardage in.  😟  I'm really hoping that surfaces somewhere.

I need to stop doing this.

The office outside the sewing room is a mess too.  At this time of year, I'm rushing around so much, things just get stacked in there until I can get to them...whenever that happens.

Do you have those issues too?

Hope you have a calm and happy day!

Winter Garden

 

We had another snow on Tuesday, probably an inch or so here.  By Wednesday there was a coat of ice on the snow that had fallen and it was a bit trecherous walking the dog.  

The squirrels in our area seemed to have a problem finding their food.  By Wednesday we caught one enterprising squirrel on our Beauty Berry bush devouring the berries:

Thanks Barb for giving us the bush!  The birds will feast on the berries and the seed heads in our garden through the winter.

It's interesting because squirrels are always burying their food.  Whenever I dig soil, I find peanuts that they have hid in the soil.  The thing is they seem to forget where they have buried them. 

So this little factoid fascinated me:

What kind of wildlife are you seeing in your garden?

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!

Shepherd's Pie

 

My family background is Irish/Scottish/Welsh/English with a wee bit of German.  When I was a child, there didn't seem to be any kind of potato that wasn't served on a regular basis.

On Monday when Beth and I talked about cooking ideas, we both settled on Shepherd's Pie for Tuesday's meal.  Now here's the thing...some foods remind of specific memories.  Shepherd's Pie reminds me of the lack of them.

I had never heard of Shepherd's Pie until I was in my 30s. Even yesterday, I mentioned to my mother that I was making Shepherd's Pie and she said, "What's that?"   This is amazing to me because the pie originated in the UK and was often referred to as "Cottage Pie".   I don't know of anyone in either side of my family that made it.

My Pop-pop's family came from Centralia, the town with the underground fire.  There's really very little to see there anymore.

My maternal great-grandmother had never made spaghetti or heard of lasagna until my Nana cooked it for them.   It got to the point that my great-grandfather would open Nana's front door when they visited and throw his hat in first and yell, "What are you making this time Betty?"  😃 An action that made all of us children laugh.

Nana's family lived in Shamokin, Pa.

After World War 2, many folks emigrated out of the coal regions into other areas.  All 5 of my grandfather's surviving siblings moved out to cities and one even ended up in Saipan (government work).

Anyway, I thought about all these things yesterday as I cooked my husband some Shepherd Pie.  It's funny how things come back to you when you are in the kitchen...or the lack thereof.  Does any specific food bring back memories for you?