What's Up With Those Mini Dish Cloths?

I've had a few people ask me what's up with the mini dish/wash cloths?

 Well, you see it all started about 4 years ago when my net bath puff was pretty raggedy and no clean clean wash clothes.  But, I had this little square of  very soft yarn that I had crocheted, so I grabbed it and used it as a wash cloth!  And I fell in love with it.  Plus, I was dropping the wash cloths, alot, when I did use them.  Since I was able to hold onto the smaller crocheted square, when it came time to get some new dish cloths, I just crocheted some 4.5" x 4.5" dish cloths for myself. 

Then last year  My daughter & I were discussing dish cloths one day and she made the comment that she always folded hers up, so I made some small ones for her,  and to take with me, to a farmers market in  Colorado Springs. I had large ones and small ones, but I sold more of the small ones!
I've also given some to a few friends and they have said they really like them.

So, that's what's up with the mini dish cloths!

I love the colors in the ones above and the pretty purple, pink, turquoise & yellow one


However if you want larger ones, I'll do those too!
hehe my daughter & I usually have much more interesting conversations than about dish cloths!

Thanks so much for dropping by!  Leave a comment, I'm curious what you think!

One of Those Simply Good Days

I suppose it's all relative to what your own life is.
I got out of here late afternoonon, and even though the temp was "72" degrees, it felt cooler so I wore a long sleeve shirt, my boots, and a jean jacket. Oh yeah I had denim capri pants on too! :)) I'm so glad I wore what I did, by the time I got to the bus stop 3 blocks away, it was  windy, & it was going to rain soon. (reason for the boots)
Part way to my destination, I needed to transfer buses, but had  1/2hr in between, so I hung out in Hobby Lobby a bit.
Back out to the bus stop,  it was starting to sprinkle.  Another lady was there, we  grinned at each other with a glance towards the sky, I said, yeah but it's Albuquerque, it probably won't last long.  That started the whole conversation between us. She told me she was from DC, then NC.   I'm always curious how people end up in Alb.  She came here for a visit with her estranged sister (15 years), and unfortunately found out she & her sister still  don't get along, but,  fell in love with Alb. and decided to move here.  By the time I got to JoAnns, it was raining a little harder.
I was  searching for some very light weight yarn - sock yarn  - but not wool.  I also needed new double pointed needles.  Searching online last night, I found sock weight yarn by Bernat and since JoAnn's carries Bernat, I had some hopes of finding it,   JoAnns doesn't carry the sock weight, but they have the next step up -  I got several skeins in two different colors.  Can't wait to try them out!!!
Back out to the bus stop, the rain had done it's thing, and it was sunny!  But not so warm that I was uncomfortable with what I had on.
Next transfer, & a 10 minute wait - but it past pretty quickly as Robert sat down and we started chatting. I'd guess he's in his 40's, early 50's- maybe  He told me he likes Alb. because it's safer than where he came from!  It's safer for him.  Robert, had spent some time in prison, and didn't want to remain in Lubbock because he knew if he stayed,  he'd go back to his previous  ways.  During his time spent, he learned to read better, got his GED, and even started college.  He lacks 2 classes (math) to get his bachelors to be a counselor!! He recently went to beautician school, & graduated - but,  he still owes the school $400. & can't take his state boards  to get his license! Seriously! I get that the schools may not want to release a certificate in order to get their money, but how is one supposed to get a job to pay for it if you can't get your license!!! We continued our chat on the bus, & I really enjoyed talking to him.   I was getting off so I could stop in Hancock's on the way home to pick up a magazine I wanted,  but honestly I almost stayed on the bus just to keep talking to him.  I wasn't attracted to him, we were just having a nice conversation! It felt good to have a nice conversation, in person, with these 2 people.
You see, I don't get out much, and, up until 2 days ago I have felt pretty crappy, for a while. NO energy, feeling pretty blah, and just not feeling very good, which is all very relative for me.  Oh DUH, I haven't taken any B-12 in  2 or 3 months.  I did some research on what B-12 can help with: besides fatigue, confusion, appetite, arthritis, nerve pain, Fibromyalgia pain & fibro fog, and even depression! D-3 is another biggy for me.  So after 3 days of  1000mcg in the sub lingual dose, I feel better.  I doubt that I will go out much more, but that's OK, at least I'm feeling better! It's been a good day.
Note:  A neurologist told me that most Dr's won't tell women my age they are anemic unless the count is below 300, she also said, anything below 400 is too low. I don't know what a good number is, but it's certainly more than 400.  NOTE: Please see your Dr, & get your B-12 level checked before taking it, it can have adverse effects if it's overdone.
Thanks for coming by and especially if you've made it this far, for reading this sort of long simple post, about my simple but nice day!  Love to hear from you, comments are moderated, but it keeps the creepies away! :)
Hope you had a nice day too!

Remake of Vintage Inspired White Quilt

Note: This one has lots of pictures.
Silly me, I didn't take pictures of the original quilt or measure it, before I cut it up.  Nor do I have pictures of it before it got trashed out. I may have pictures of it on my other computer that crashed - but.............

It was bigger than a baby quilt, but smaller than a twin size quilt, it was throw size.  I made the quilt about 11 years ago.  Each block is hand embroidered with a heart shape with an art nouveau floral design inside.  First off, me doing anything in all white is pretty unusual!  Unfortunately the quilt got trashed out about a year & 1/2 ago when I moved.  Not sure exactly what happened - all I can say is it looked like it got run over by a car -  and drug for a bit - through some grease!  I tried washing it several times - but it just wasn't coming out.  I didn't want to throw it away - but looking at in this state almost made me cry - So I cut it up instead! And saved the good parts of it - this is part of what is left. 

The borders were cut from the original,  center blocks were cut out in one large piece, and then pieced together for the wall hanging.   Finished wall hanging is 29.5" wide and 32 long, not counting the ribbon hanger.

The double rows of double hearts was from the border all around the quilt.  The 2 pieces on the wall hanging were about all that I could salvage from the original. I do have 2 other small pieces (YAY) Buttons are placed over very small paint spatters - plus a few more just for fun.

Detail of original squares.

More buttons and a closer up detail

 The border, with single hearts, was done from the sides that weren't actually ever finished! 

The back, it does have a couple of little stains and 2 patches on it, but hey it's the back!  The only thing that isn't from the original quilt is the hanging strip and the buttons.  I still need to add a tag to the back, but otherwise I'm finished!  And so glad I figured out a way to salvage at least part of the original quilt.  Most of the stitching is done with white thread, some of the embroidery work is done in very pale greens,blue, and pink.  The one block that is cross stitched has the most colors in it.  I did manage to salvage more of the blocks, a few single ones, a couple of 4 together and one with two together.  They will probably become mini wall hangings. 

So, I would love to hear what you think.  Also, do you think I should make the border hearts double hearts (like the original border) or leave them single?

Joys of Grandchildren

I haven't been getting my regular posts done the past few days - but you  see, my daughter & her 2 kids are in town, just for a week.  My 12-yr-old grandson has been staying with me, but last night my 2-yr-old granddaughter joined us for the evening &  spent the night.  We were up pretty late, and both kids are still sleeping.
We started the evening off by putting together a wooden train set - which was a bit of a challenge as I bought this set used - although it's in great shape, there aren't any set up diagrams for it, so we just faked it putting the track together.
We put it together on top of a large throw rug, and after getting it pretty much together, we decided to move it, and get the throw rug out from under it, as it kept getting bunched up and making things a bit difficult.  And then it just got completely redone.  While Kai & I spent time putting the track together, little Evie was playing with a train and smiling joyfully, making woo-woo sounds like a train whistle.  Finally, the track was together, and we played a little bit.  Then, we all piled on the futon with a bowl of popcorn  and watched  a movie on my small computer monitor as my TV decided to not work anymore.   After pulling the futon out flat, we watched another short show,  soon,  Evie was sound asleep, and I was too shortly after that. Kai was up pretty late watching Redwall, and is still sleeping.

We had so much fun putting the track together, playing, talking, and just being together.

Earlier in the day, Kai and I had been playing Risk,  and even though he kept taking over my territories I was enjoying it so much.  It was interesting how much he notices patterns, of all sorts.  It's a long game,  and we do bend the rules just a tad, we make a few of our own as we go - how many territories we can attack each turn, where we can attack - but that's half the fun.

They are so good for my soul.

A Special Quilt For My Granddaughter

I should probably change the name of my blog title - I think I post about other things more than my ornaments!
Since my youngest granddaughters birthday is next week, I really need to get this quilt that I started for her some time ago, finished. I've had everything sitting out for a few weeks, but, have been working on other things.

The top is made with blues, purples and natural color muslin.

After finishing the top, I looked through my stash to see if I had more of the lavender material I used inbetween the blocks.  I had a little bit, but not enough to make a back for the quilt. 
So, I went to my friendly neighborhood fabric store where I bought the material - no, they didn't have it anymore. 

OK, fine, I'll just make the backing for it using muslin. After painting the material, I stamped some butterflies on.
The top  & back were made about a year ago.

So last night after clearing enough space to work on it, I laid out the back, and top, remeasured everything, cut part of the backing material off, trimmed the batting and then layered it all together.

All pinned together and ready to do some quilting.  I usually quilt by hand but since I need this for next week, it's getting done on the machine.











Starting about the middle of the quilt I sticthed to the edge in 4 different directions.  Then I thought -  it would be a little easier to handle if I trimmed the batting down some.  After trimming two edges and turning it to cut the 3rd one - it hit me -  I didn't have the border on the top! 
It would have been ok if I hadn't cut the back down - which I had so carefully measured last year, so it would be big enough with a 2" border all around  on the top - but I cut the needed material off to allow for that! Guess I could sew it back on if I have to!
Fortunately,  the back is a little larger than the top, so I can hopefully put at least a narrower border on!  
I admit, I was a little distracted Monday night,  my other granddaughter who is 2, was at the ER most of the night. Thankfully, she is doing better.
I'll post pics of the completed quilt.

I want to start making more quilts and was thinking it would be nice to share some pics of the ones I have made in the past, but then realized they are all on my computer that crashed a little over a year ago.  So, now I put a copy of almost everything on flickr!

Thanks for coming by and have a wonderful day.  I do moderate my comments, but please do leave one.
Welcome Spring!

Easter Traditions

I have been doing some research on my family, and this led to me wondering more about traditions.  Since Easter is right around the corner, I thought I would explore where some of  the Easter traditions come from.

Ever wonder what a rabbit & brightly colored eggs have to do with Easter?

Easter, which is derived from Oestre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring and dawn, was and is celebrated on the day of the Vernal (Spring) Equinox, also the Greek goddess of Spring, Eostre.  This day is celebrated by many cultures since it is one of only two days in the year that both day and night are almost 12 hours each.
The goddess Oestre (Eastre) presides over the realm of conception, birth, pollination, flowering, and ripening fruits. The hare is a sacred animal to the goddess Oestra. I have also read that the goddess was walking through the woods and found a wounded dove and while trying to heal it, the dove turned into a rabbit. Except that it kept laying eggs.  The rabbit was very grateful to be alive and left eggs for the goddess.  Instead of keeping all the eggs, the goddess colored the eggs and hid them for others to find.

The Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ, was about the same time as the Vernal Equinox.  As with many other pre-Christian celebrations, the early Christians incorporated many of the traditions. At the Council of Nicaea In 325AD,  Emperor Constantine issued the Easter Rule.  This rule stated that Easter should be celebrated on the 1st Sunday after the the 1st full moon on or after the  Vernal Equinox, which is always on March 21st.  If the full moon falls on a Sunday, then Easter is the Sunday after that.

The Easter Bunny & Colored Eggs
The egg, is an ancient symbol of birth in most cultures, exchanging eggs in the spring was a custom in many places long before Easter was 1st celebrated.  If you were wealthy, eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf, or brightly colored  by peasants using leaves or petals of certain flowers.

In the 1500's, the bunny was 1st written about as an Easter symbol in German writings.  During the early 1800's the 1st edible Easter bunny was made of pastry and sugar in Germany.  Next to a visit from Christ-Kindel on Christmas Eve, a visit from Oschter Haws was a child's greatest delight.  Building a nest in a secluded place in the home, garden or barn, children believed that if they were good,  Oschter Haws would lay a nest of colored eggs.
As German immigrants settled in America, they brought their traditions with them. After the Civil War, more Americans began to celebrate Easter.
Children would build nests with twigs and leaves, or caps and bonnets hoping the Easter Hare would lay some brightly colored eggs.
By the 19th century, the Easter Hare became the Easter Bunny, and fancy baskets with eggs, chocolates, jelly beans, candy chicks and other gifts became more common on Easter morning.


In some countries, including Germany, eggs used for cooking are pierced on both ends with a needle and the yolk and white are gently blown into a bowl.  The eggs are  dyed and hung from trees or shrubs during Easter week.
New clothes and certain foods are also very old traditions. 

My Thoughts
What is interesting about all this, is that many pre-Christians had very similar names for the pretty much the same thing, along with similar traditions and symbols.  There are many versions of Cinderella and other fairy tales with different, but often similar names from all over the world.  The original versions of many "fairy tales" can actually be quite gruesome. Walt Disney was very good at making them kid friendly.

My Childhood & Easter Traditions.
For several weeks before Easter, we would very gently, yet forcefully (!) poke little holes in each end of the eggs and then blow the contents into a bowl, often becoming scrambled eggs.  After washing out the egg shells and letting them dry, we would dye them in a mixture of food coloring, vinegar and water.  After they were dry we would put some thread through the holes with a very long needle and then hang them from a small (usually) cherry tree branch that was put in a vase.
Easter Morning we would hunt for jelly beans and some times other candy.  Sometimes there was a solid milk chocolate bunny in each basket, sometimes a hollow one.   I can only remember hunting for eggs - jelly beans outside once or twice, but weather can be iffy depending on when Easter falls.   I'm not sure when the plastic eggs were 1st made, but our candies were usually wrapped up in wax paper, or the original wrapping. 
Of course there was almost always the new clothes, and some years after church, we would go out to eat at a restaurant in a very small town on the back road between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. 

I have taken information from a number of sites, and have tried to compile a lot of information into a
reasonably succinct version.  Many sites treated the celebration of the Vernal Equinox as something that happened in the past, however, many people do celebrate this day.

I have left out a lot of specifics regarding Easter and it's different religious believes & practices, and I'm sure there are many more traditions and practices in different countries, cultures, & believes around the Vernal Equinox celebration and  Easter. What are some of your traditions?

I do moderate comments, but I would love to hear what some of your traditions are.
Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day! 

Traditions

This was scheduled to post on Wed, March 14, but for some reason, it didn't so here it is!

I got to thinking about traditions.  Originally, this post was going to be about other traditions, but since I came across this tonight, I thought I would start with this.

Persian New Year
Norooz,  the Persian New Year is celebrated the 1st day of spring.  This pre-Islamic festival dates back 3000 years, with rituals rooted in the Zoroastrian religion.   Originating in Persia, but now celebrated in Iran, India, Irag, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Canada, US,..............it is celebrated by Persian Jews, Christians, Baha'is, and Muslims.

It is important for the family to prepare the Haft Sin or 7 symbolic items that start with the letter s (in Farsi)

Sabzeh, sprouted wheat or other grain growing in a dish, to symbolize rebirth.


Samanu, a sweet pudding made from sprouted wheat that represents fertility and the sweetness of life.

Seeb, apples, for health and beauty.

Senjed, the sweet, dried fruit of the Lotus tree, for love.

Sir, garlic, for medicine and good health.

Somaq, crushed sumac berries, to reflect the color of the sunrise.

Serkeh, vinegar, to symbolize patience and age.

The preparations start days before the Vernal Equinox, with a thorough house cleaning,  buying new clothes for the entire family and sprouting the grain.  The items are placed on a table the  family sits around holding hands and praying,  and kiss and hug at the moment of the equinox.
Often there are other items on the table such as golden coins,  to represent prosperity & wealth, a basket of painted eggs for fertility, live goldfish for life, a flowering hyacinth for it's lovely smell, candles for enlightenment and happiness, a mirror to represent truth & reflection, and special pastries.

For the next 13 days, the young visit the older people of the family who gives them money.
It is also traditional to take the Sabzeh,( the sprouts)and after a picnic they are thrown into running water to rid the house of sickness and sadness.

There is also this:

The tradition of Chahar Shanbeh Suri (or fire-jumping),  ".... traces back to Zoroastrianism, as a rite of purification. Bonfires are lit in the streets on the last Tuesday evening of the year and people leap over them while chanting. The translation, “Give me your beautiful red color, and take back my sickly pallor,” demonstrates the fire’s ability to cleanse. " This year, that was last night,  Tuesday March 13, 2012 and is celebrated by Berkeley's Persian Center.

All info taken from http://blogs.kqed.org/bayareabites/2012/03/12/persian-new-year-welcomes-spring-with-symbolic-traditions-and-treats/ in case you want to read the whole article.  I tried to paraphrase the best I could, but some parts are pretty much the same.  I did leave out some parts.

After exploring more information about my family I have become even more interested in traditions, especially since I come from such a mix of peoples.

Thank You for visiting and have a beautiful day.