Replacing Grandma's Quilt - The Decision

You know that one picture you have in your mind of a person? The one you always think of when you remember them? This is the one for me of my Grandmother Loretta. Here she is enjoying a beautiful Michigan summer day by sitting outside on her deck and quilting. Don't you love the "Harry Potter" glasses? She wore them decades before J.K. Rowling put them on Harry. I have many memories of my grandmother and her quilting is a prominent one.

Grandma made dozens (if not hundreds) of quilts for her family and she HAND QUILTED all of them! To this day, I don't how she did it. She believed quilts provide a function and purpose and she had one insistent directive when giving them - "Use it!" She didn't want her work stored away untouched and unseen. Through the years I received three of her quilts, two bed sized and one crib.

One quilt is in my guest bedroom. It is a double bed size quilt with a maple leaf pattern that is bright and cheery and has a vivid pink binding. The memory of my grandmother is passed on each time we have new guests and I tell the story about her and her quilts.

The crib quilt became a "blankie" for my daughter Laura, who loved wrapping herself in it. Enveloping yourself in one of grandma's quilts is ...... Wow, I can't find any words for that incredibly special feeling!

The biggest quilt is queen size but fits our king bed (pictured here on a smaller bed) and has been covering it for over 30 years. The quilt is literally falling apart and needs to be replaced (you can see some of the damage in the photo). However, the idea of sleeping under a store bought quilt doesn't feel right and I can't do it. I need a quilt that will continue to help me remember grandma and one that follows her quilting tradition. I'm going to have to make it myself!

My plan is to sew a king size quilt to replace my grandmother's quilt. How much of a crafting adventure will this be and what can (or will) go wrong? Follow my journey and find out!

Next: Replacing Grandma's Quilt - What Went Wrong

Coronation Cord and Pinwheel Bedspread - Tracking down Crochet History

This past week I struck pay dirt and finally found the answers to two crochet mysteries.

Mystery #1

I was intrigued by the wavy line of work in the middle of this crocheted edging. I had never seen anything like it before and didn't know how it was done. The answer is coronation cord. Coronation cord is a trim used in embroidery, crochet and tatting work and its use peaked during the late 19th century and early 20th century.

The crocheted edging was attached to a linen cloth that was probably originally used as a hand towel. The cloth was stained and worn so I removed the edging and I'm waiting for the right project to come along to reuse it.

I'd like to find the pattern for this piece but I've never seen a crochet trim pattern that called for the use of coronation cord so I'm going to have to try looking in some new places.

Mystery #2

Over 10 years ago I wrote a blog post about Crochet at Colonial Williamsburg and showcased this bedspread. I FINALLY found the pattern!

The name of the pattern is Pinwheel Bedspead No. 423 and it was published in the book Bucilla Hand Crocheted Colonial Bedspreads. The book has a copyright year of 1932 which fits right in with the time that the Rockefellers moved into Basset Hall. You can find this book and hundreds more vintage pattern books at the Antique Pattern Library

My Crafting Pochette

Whether it's knitting, crocheting, sewing or any other "making" these are the tools I most regularly need and reach for. When I'm crafting in my "mom's chair" they are next to me in a small bag that I can easily pick and carry wherever I want to work.

I didn't know there was a name for it until I read this New York Times article: It Took 800 Hours to Make This Chanel Dress. The word is pochette, a small envelope shaped bag/purse. Designers in the fashion world each have their own pochette to hold their tools. Karl Lagerfeld’s pochette was specific to couture sewing but mine has a few additional items suited for knitting, crocheting, and general crafting.

Here are the items in my pochette:

1. Black and white thread. When I'm working on a particular project I'll have the color of thread for that item, but for basting and many things that need just a few stitches, black or white thread will suffice.
2. Seam ripper. I have three seam rippers. One is next to the sewing maching, one is next to the serger and one is next to me. I use my seam rippers a lot.
3. Pins. Most of the time when I'm sewing I use satin pins, but when I need a quick pin or two I like pins with heads.
4. Sissors. I use scissors on a lot of different materials (paper, plastic, yarn, thread, fabric) and this little pair has risen to the task of cutting almost everything and has become my favorite.
5. Crochet hook. Other than actually crocheting with it, I use a crochet hook to pick up dropped knit stitches and any time I need to a hook to grab something. I've found the size B hook to be the best suited for most tasks.
6. Ruler. I'm always having to measure things and this 6" ruler is my favorite. It's transparent so I can see what's under what I'm measuring. The width of the ruler is 1/2" and the height of the ruler is 1/4", two of the most frequent measurements I use. I've worn the markings off two of these rulers from using it so frequently.
7. Tape measure. Because lots of stuff I need to measure is more than 6"!
8. Chibi. I have no clue why it's called a Chibi. It's just a case to store tapestry/yarn needles.





9. Needle case
This is a crocheted needle holder that also holds extra safety pins and stitch markers. I frequently make this for gifts and the pattern for it can be found here.

Ecobrick

I try to pay attention to my carbon footprint and lately I've been working on reducing the amount of trash that goes to the curb each week. Plastic has been a particular problem. My city's single stream curbside recycling program collects the plastic bottles and containers but there are so many other types of plastic that can't be recycled this way.

While I was researching what could be done to reduce or reuse the plastic that isn't allowed in the recycle bin, I came across the Ecobrick. Ecobricks are made from plastic bottles that have been stuffed (and I mean STUFFED) with waste plastic. These "bricks" are then used to build things like benches, tables, and buildings.

I've written before about how certain ideas or projects grab my imagination and won't let go. The Ecobrick is one of those and I had to make one. It took three attempts to get it right.

My waste plastic - it's just too much

Try #1: Single serving water and soda bottles are most commonly used for making Ecobricks, however, I stopped buying those a long time ago, so I started by stuffing plastic into a Costco sized 2.83L juice bottle (bigger is better, right?) but this bottle was too large and difficult to pack.

Try #2: Next I tried a 1.7L juice bottle. I stuffed waste plastic into the bottle, I stuffed more plastic and I stuffed even more plastic but when I was done the bottle did not meet the weight requirements. A properly made Ecobrick will have a minimum density of .33g/ml so my bottle should have weighed at least 584g (651g if I included the weight of the bottle and cap) and it was more than 100g short of that.

Try #3: For this attempt I knew I needed to improve my plastic packing technique. I cut any plastic that wasn't soft and pliable into small pieces. I also used two different kinds of sticks. One stick was a 1/2" wood dowel and worked really well to push plastic down the sides of the bottle. The other stick was the wood handle from a broken toilet plunger (what a way to reduce, reuse, recycle!) and this worked perfect for pushing plastic into the middle of the bottle. Success! The total weight for the bottle was 667g and it is a solid plastic brick.

My packing sticks

Will assembling Ecobricks make a real ecological difference? I don't know but it has certainly opened my eyes for the need to do better about managing the amount of plastic in our lives. I still put all the plastic I'm allowed into my curbside bin and some of the plastic I used in the Ecobrick could be recycled by taking it to a plastic bag and film drop off location but an astonishing amount of plastic can't go to either location and there is also this additional dilemma detailed by the New York Times - Your Recycling Gets Recycled, Right? Maybe, or Maybe Not

What will I build with the Ecobricks? Again, I don't know. For now, I'll keep making Ecobricks and hope a project idea develops. Making Ecobricks can't hurt and in the meantime my hands and upper arms get a regular workout.

Ear Warmer Pattern

I'm not a hat wearer and I needed something to keep my ears warm during the winter so I designed this headband and it fits the brief perfectly.

Needles - size 10
Yarn - Cascade Yarns 128 Superwash

Stitch Definitions:
K = Knit
P = Purl
Kfb = Knit 1 into front and back of stitch
M1p = Make 1 purlwise
P2tog = Purl 2 stitches together

There are a variety of ways to work the twisted stitch. The video links show the way I worked them in this pattern. Other methods may or may not provide the same look.
Tw2R = Twist 2 Right (link to video)
Tw2L = Twist 2 Left (link to video)

PATTERN

The headband is approximately 4" wide. To make wider versions add multiples of 4 stitches to the cast on and work an extra Tw2R & Tw2L for every multiple added

I like a headband that narrows in the back to prevent it from sliding up my head but if you want one that is sized evenly all the way around then cast on 16 stitches and just work rows 11 and 12 until the headband measures 19" or your desired length.

Cast on 8 stitches.

Increase section:
Row 1: K1, p1 Tw2R, Tw2L, p1, k1 (8 sts)
Row 2: K1, p6, k1
Row 3: Kfb, k1, Tw2R, Tw2L, kfb, k1 (10 sts)
Row 4: K1, p8, k1
Row 5: Kfb, (Tw2L, Tw2R)two times, m1p, k1 (12 sts)
Row 6: K1, p10, k1
Row 7: Kfb, k1, (Tw2L, Tw2R)two times, kfb, k1 (14 sts)
Row 8: K1, p12, k1
Row 9: Kfb, (Tw2R, Tw2L)three times, m1p, k1 (16 sts)
Row 10: K1, p14, k1

Straight section:
Row 11: K1, p1, (Tw2R, Tw2L) three times, p1, k1
Row 12: K1, p14, k1
Repeat last two rows until piece measures 16" or 3" LESS than desired total length.

Decrease section:
Row 1: K1, p2tog, k1, (Tw2L, Tw2R)two times, k1, p2tog, k1 (14 sts)
Row 2: K1, p 12, K1
Row 3: K1, p2tog, (Tw2L, Tw2R)two times, p2tog, k1 (12 sts)
Row 4: K1, p 10, K1
Row 5: K1, p2tog, k1, Tw2R, Tw2L, K1, p2tog, k1 (10 sts)
Row 6: K1, p8, k1
Row 7: K1, p2tog, Tw2R, Tw2L, p2tog, k1 (8 sts)

Bind off and sew ends together.

Heart Shaped Breath Mints - Valentines 2018

My 2018 valentines day gift project was conceived and inspired by a blog post for homemade breath mints and Fimo hearts made for me by my daughter.

Laura's bowl of hearts

Laura shaped all of her clay hearts by hand but I needed hundreds of them so the biggest challenge for this project was finding a heart shape cutting tool small enough to make a breath mint --and I DID! It was in the clay supplies area at Michael's and the smallest heart in this kit was the perfect size. Once I had a heart cutter I knew I was good to go with this project.

Heart Shaped Breath Mints

Supply List

• Heart shape cutter
• Gum paste (I used a 2 pound bucket of Satin Ice gum paste and that was more than enough to make over a dozen tins of mints)
• Red food dye
• Hard candy flavoring oil(s) (flavor extracts may work just as well but I had cinnamon and spearmint flavoring oils on hand and they worked extremely well)

Steps

• One cup of gum paste. I could only cut so many tiny hearts at one time so I made multiple one cup batches over the course of several days .
• Add red food coloring and mix in. It took only two drops of food coloring per one cup of gum paste to get the pink I wanted. Wear gloves if you don't want your hands looking like this!





• Add flavoring to taste preference. One teaspoon of hard candy flavoring oil per cup of gum paste gave a strong flavor. Mileage may vary with other types of flavorings.
• Roll out gum paste to approximately 1/4" depth. Use confectioners sugar to help with sticking.
• Cut, cut, cut and cut hearts. Reroll and cut some more. Repeat until you can't stand it any more and eat the remaining gum paste yourself.





• The mints are edible immediately but they will harden on the surface after a few hours of air drying and if you leave them out for days they will become "Altoid" like hard. I actually put my mints on parchment paper in a low temperature oven for about 45+ minutes to get the drying started but it still took several days after that until they were really hard.
• Package as desired. I used the same 2 oz tins and Avery labels from the heart tea bags project
  
  
  
  
  

I LOVED this project! It did get a little tedious cutting out all the hearts but the results were perfection and I would definitely do it again.

Plantain Salve

I'm not a gardener and tend to only keep the yard in a mowed down state. I allow whatever grows naturally to have at it and the winners are the plants that can thrive in the provided sun, shade and soil conditions. In addition, my house is located on an ecologically sensitive peninsula on the Charles River so i don't use chemicals or pesticides. That means my lawn is a wonderful green mixture of grasses, clover, dandelions and this unidentified "weed".

Plantain growing in my backyard

It was during a Medicinal Plant Walk at Lands Sakes farm that I learned about a plant that's been growing in my yard for 30 years and I thought was just a weed. The plant is plantago major or more commonly, broadleaf plantain (not the same as, and not to be confused with, the fruit that is part of the banana family.) Broadleaf plantain is an entirely edible plant with both internal and external healing properties.

My DIY spirit was inspired when I discovered that you can make a salve with plantain to treat cuts, burns, rashes and insect bites. I had to give it go and here are my notes and thoughts on what I did.

1. Make an oil infusion.

• I washed the plantain leaves and pat dried them. Some bloggers stated that if the leaves aren't dehydrated then there may be a problem with mold, other bloggers just washed and dried them like I did. I'm not sure which way is best so I'll wait and see.
• I packed two 4 oz. canning jars with chopped plantain. One was filled with jojoba oil and the other with extra virgin olive oil. I put them on my kitchen window to start a month long cold infusion but after a week I got impatient and switched to a hot infusion by putting both jars in a slow cooker filled with enough water to reach the cap rings and setting it on low for 8 hours.

2. Separate the plantain from the infused oil

• I started with a strainer to do this but noticed that there was still a lot of oil on the leaves so I put the leaves in a scrap of muslin and squeezed out the remaining oil. Nylon hose would probably work even better.

3. Add beeswax to make salve or lotion bars.

• The infused oil can be used as is but adding beeswax will thicken the oil to either a salve or lotion bar consistency and make it easier to apply. For the infused jojobo oil I added about 10% beeswax (the rest oil) and got a salve consistency. For the infused olive oil I added about 25% beeswax (the rest oil) and got a lotion bar consistency.
• I microwaved the beeswax and oil mixture in 20 second spurts until melted. This is where an essential oil can be added if desired. I didn't have any on hand but I would like to try lavender or peppermint.

Melted beeswax and plantain infused oil before cooling

4. Pour into tins

• I keep finding ways to use these tins and they have become one of the handiest crafting things that I've ever purchased.
• Each 4 oz. jar of infused oil produced two 2 oz. tins of plantain salve. I love when the math works out.

Plantain Salve

Testing and other things to try

• Now things go into the testing stage. The questions to be answered are: How well will the salve actually work? How long will it keep? My three year old nephew would be the perfect test subject but I don't know if he'll allow me to put this on his scrapes and mosquito bites!
• Other things to try are making tea with the plantain leaves and harvesting the blooms for psyllium.
• Try infusing other liquids - water, vinegar, vodka.
• Try infusing other oils - coconut, almond, avocado.
  
  

I love how my lawn is becoming a natural garden. Nothing is pulled out as a "weed" anymore. The clover is for the rabbits and bees. The dandelions are for salads and green soups and now the plantain is for salves, tea and whatever else I discover can be made from it.