Thursday, December 26, 2013

Peppered Cottons

Peppered Cotton Fabric Bundle
New to Grandma's Attic this week are Peppered Cottons. By Pepper Cory of Studio e Fabrics, this new line of fabrics features 100% shot cotton fabrics that look like a solid color. The warp (lengthwise threads) and the weft (side to side threads) are different colors, so the resulting shades are muted and variable combinations of color. Viewed from different angles, the fabrics produce different visual effects.

All of the threads used are dyed before weaving so they have a nice tactile hand-woven quality. There is no wrong or right side to them. After weaving, they go through a finishing process where they are washed, dried and calendared--which means they have been through a heat-plus-pressing process to give them a subtle sheen and soft hand.

Peppered Cottons have a higher thread count than most shot cottons so they can be used with other regular weight quilting fabrics. Pepper Cory has prepared an article on how to work with these shot cottons. Click here to see what she has to say and to learn about a Peppered Cotton contest that is being sponsored by Studio e.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

12 Days of Christmas - Day 12


Samples of Gourmet Tea
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

On the 12th Day of the 12 Days of Christmas there are Twelve Lords a-Leaping about. If the hub-bub of the holidays has you completed exhausted and tired of the gathering noise and chaos, you might want to sit down for a moment and enjoy a relaxing cup of tea and a good book. It's something that Grandma Rachel herself likes to do when she has a moment.

Grandma's Attic also includes a teabag in our mail order packages. If you've ever longed to try a sampling of all our our teas, this is your opportunity to relax, sit back, and enjoy a refreshing cup of gourmet tea! By popular demand, we've put together a sample packet of our gourmet teas. Each packet contains 17 flavor sealed, foil wrapped tea bags--one each of the delicious flavors of tea we carry at Grandma's Attic Teabags included are: Blueberry, Camomile, Canadian Icewine, Cranberry, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Green, Mango, Maple, Monk's Blend, Orange Pekoe, Peach Apricot, Pure Peppermint, Rooibos, Strawberry and Vanilla.

Twelve Days of Christmas Fun Fact: If you've been keeping track of how much the Twelve gifts your true love sends to you will cost, hiring twelve acrobatic Lords a-Leaping will cost $524.34 each, for a total of $6,292.08. Total cost for the entire Twelve Days of Christmas, if you were to give the gifts just once per verse, is $29,102.55. Now if only you knew what to do with all those birds, musicians, and dancers!

It is interesting to note that the historical observance of Twelve Days of Christmas is almost a forgotten tradition in the United States. Among the varied reasons why this might be the case is that the celebration of New Year's Eve, with all of the attendant parties and traditions of its own, has gained so much popularity. While most of us might have "dropped the ball" (so to speak) on the Twelve Days of Christmas, many people both here and abroad still keep the Twelve Days of Christmas warm in their hearts. And we here at the shop, earnestly hope that all of us together can keep the spirit of joy, fellowship and good cheer going long after the Christmas season has ended.

Twelve Days of Christmas Quote:  "Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart...filled it, too, with melody that would last forever." < Bess Streeter Aldrich, American Author, 1881-1954>


Our 12 Days of Christmas pattern is taken from our 12 Days of Christmas Block of the Month Club. You can also order the pattern by itself.
 

Monday, December 23, 2013

12 Days of Christmas - Day 11


Batik Butterflies
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

Day 11 of the12 Days of Christmas finds Eleven Ladies Dancing. Such a beautiful and lyrical image in our classic Christmas song brought to our mind the gracefulness and beauty of the butterfly. With that in mind, we thought about how you might like to create a beautiful butterfly quilt to bring them dancing into your sewing room as they come to life under your machine. Batik Butterflies, designed by Roxy Burgard of Calico Hills Farm, consists of 12 butterfly blocks, each based on a real butterfly. Set on point, each is surrounded by wonderful batik fabrics. You will have a lowly 48" x 60" quilt when you've completed the project.

Twelve Days of Christmas Fun Fact: If your true love hires a troupe of dancers to dance for you at Christmas time, it will cost $839.20 per dancer. Therefore, eleven ladies dancing will cost a total of $ 9,231.20.

Although the Twelve Days of Christmas has been sun in English since the 1780s, many scholars thing that the song may have French origins. In an 1855 French songbook, there is a folk song that has a tremendous similarity to the Twelve Days of Christmas. On the eleventh day in this particular folk song, instead of eleven ladies dancing, the singer gives his love eleven silver plates.

Christmas Quote: "At Christmas play and make good cheer for Christmas comes but once a year." < Thomas Tusser, English Poet, 1524-1580 >

12 Days of Christmas - Day 10


Homeland Army Block of the Month
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

Day 10 of the12 Days of Christmas features 10 Pipers Piping. Pipers puts us in a Patriotic Mood--and what could be more patriotic than the Homeland Army Block of the Month Club. Members of this Block of the Month Club discover how World War I changed everything for women, and that life is different today because of the contributions made by heroic men and women during this time period. In this club, you discover how world events nearly 100 years ago continue to shape our lives today. Each month, you receive the fabric you need to create a 12" quilt block, plus an informational magazine and omnibus booklet. This is one information-packed club!

Twelve Days of Christmas Fun Fact: In the Middle Ages, the Twelve Days of Christmas was a period of continuous feasting and merrymaking. Traditional Roles were relaxed so that masters waited on their servants, men dressed as women, and women were allowed to dress as men!

To hire Ten Pipers Piping will cost you $239.56 each, for a total of $2,395.60. (We want to know why it's only $72.80 for one hour of maids milking, but drummers and pipers cost you so much more!)

Christmas Quote: "Never worry about the size of your Christmas Tree. In the eyes of children, they are all thirty feet tall." < Larry Wilde, Author & Humorist, 1928- >

Saturday, December 21, 2013

12 Days of Christmas - Day 9


Earlene Fowler Mysteries
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

Day 9 of the12 Days of Christmas is about drummers. If the nine drummers drumming are giving you a headache, you might be able to take your mind off of them by immersing yourself in an Earlene Fowler Mystery. Named after quilt block patterns, the books in this series feature Benni Harper, a spirited ex-cowgirl, quilter and folk art expert. She's staking out her own corner of the contemporary American West. With an eye for murderous designs and talent for piecing together crimes you'll love reading her novels. 

Twelve Days of Christmas Fun Fact: There are many different variations of the songs in which the gifts are arranged in a different order. (For example, they might have twelve lords a-leaping rather than eleven, or ten drummers drumming instead of nine.)

The version of the song that we use is the same one used in the Aunt Martha Twelve Days of Christmas embroidery patterns. This is also why you sometimes see the last part of the song in a different order than one in which you might be more familiar. If your true love hired nine drummers to drum for you, it would cost $237.88 for each musician, for a grand total of $2,140.92.

Christmas Quote: "Mankind is a great, an immense family. This is proved by what we feel in our hearts at Christmas." < Pope John XXIII, 1881-1963 >

Thursday, December 19, 2013

12 Days of Christmas - Day 8


Grandpa's Farm Block of Month
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

Day 8 is all about Eight Maids a Milking.The maids may be missing and there's only one cow on our Grandpa's Farm Block of the Month quilt, but we think you will enjoy it all the same. Created by Roxy Burgard of Calico Hills Farm, the quilt contains 14 individual 12" blocks depicting a variety of farm scenes surrounding a large center panel featuring the barn. Each kit contains the fabric you need to create a block or panel.

Twelve Days of Christmas Fun Fact: Did you know that the Twelve Days of Christmas was originally a memory and forfeit game? To play, a circle of players were gathered and each person took turns to say the first line of each rhyme. When the turn circled back to the first player, that player includes the second line of the version to the song and around it goes again. Sounds easy, but having heard the song so many times over the years, we would probably have a huge advantage over the players who first played this game hundreds of years ago when it was new.

Assuming that you are only using temporarily donated cows, and not purchasing them, hiring the "Eight Maids a Milking" for an hour at the standard rate of $9.10 per hour (minimum wage here in Oregon), the Eighth Day of Christmas will cost you $72.80.

Christmas Quote:  "Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas."


12 Days of Christmas - Day 7


Flour Sack Dishtowels
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

Day 7 of the 12 Days of Christmas features Seven Swans a Swimming. And while swans may not swimming in the kitchen sink, you can be mopping up the mess with these big and thirsty Flour Sack Dishtowels. In fact, you can have a towel for every day of the week! These old-fashioned flour sack towels are NEW and IMPROVED. They are pre-washed, bleached, hemmed on all four sides, and made from 130 thread count 100% cotton. Perfect for embroidering or applique, they are just like the ones Grandma used to "get the job done" whether it was drying the dishes, proofing the bread dough, burping the baby, or mopping up spills. These lint-free, fast drying towels are approximately 30" square. Each bundle contains seven towels.

Twelve Days of Christmas Fun Fact: Over the years, there have been many parodies of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Some are funny, some are naughty, and some are so completely in bad taste as to not be believed. We think that the parodies are the result of the massive popularity of the song and a reflection of how many people throughout the world know this song. Among the parodies that we know of, we have heard ones sung by Alvin and the Chipmunks, Jeff Foxworthy's "Redneck", the Muppets and Alan Sherman. 

Seven swans cost $1,000 each, for a whopping total of $7,000. That's quite a jump in price, isn't it? If you're counting, the total cost for the items listed for the first seven days of Christmas is $8,969.95.

Christmas Quote: "Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, and the genial flame of charity in the heart." < Washington Irving, American Author, 1783-1859 >


Wednesday, December 18, 2013

12 Days of Christmas - Day 6


Fabulous Fabric Packs
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

Day 6 of the 12 Days of Christmas is all about those Six Geese A-Laying. Six geese, while lovely to look at, would probably ruin your backyard in no time flat. Instead, we've got bundles of six fun fat quarters at Super Holiday Savings. Our Fabulous Fabric Packs are great for stocking up your stash. All fabrics are 100%, high quality cotton. If you order more than one fabric packet in the same colorway, we'll make sure you get packets containing different prints. These are definitely a fun treat for yourself or a gift for your favorite quilter, fabric artist, or crafter! To order, click here.

12 Days of Christmas Fun Fact:  One way to interpret the lyrics of this song is that on each new day, all of the gifts that were previously given by "my true love" are given again! This would make the total number of gifts (counting 12 partridges, 22 turtle doves, etc.) equal to 364 gifts in all, one fewer than the number of days in a full year. However, there are 376 gifts total if you count the pear tree as a separate gift aside from the partridge itself. It is interesting to note that 184 of the gifts are birds.

Six geese a-laying, according to the 2013 PNC Christmas index, will cost you $35 each, for a total of $210 in all.

Christmas Quote:  "My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?" < Bob Hope, Comedian/Entertainer, 1903-2003 > 

Monday, December 16, 2013

12 Days of Christmas - Day 5


Love Rings
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

Day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas is all about those Five Golden Rings. And though you won't exactly be able to wear these rings around your finger, you could create an incredibly beautiful quilt with them. Love Rings by Darlene Zimmerman is a great gift ideas for yourself or that quilter in your life!

12 Days of Christmas Fun Fact:  In the 16th century, European and Scandinavian cultures combined the Twelve Days of Christmas with other festivals celebrating the changing of the year. These festivals were usually associated with driving away evil spirits for the start of the New Year. It was during this time frame that the song itself is believed to have originated.

Five gold rings can set your budget back quite a bit. If you purchase a plain band at $150.00, you'll be out $750.00 overall. If you're totaling up all of the items from the song so far, everything through the fifth day will cost you $1,759.95.

Christmas Quote:  "The only real blind person at Christmastime is he who has not Christmas in his heart." < Helen Keller, Deafblind American Author, 1880-1968 >

12 Days of Christmas - Day 4

Dishtowel of the Month Club

Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

Day 4 of the 12 Days of Christmas is about Four Colly Birds; however, you could embroider or applique the birds included in our Old-Fashioned Dishtowel of the Month Club instead! And you have to admit, these dishtowels are absolutely adorable! Whether you choose to keep them for yourself or use them as fun gifts, you'll love the diversity of patterns and fabric that this club provides. Inspired by vintage dishtowels from the 1930s and 40s, these tea towels are practical as well as decorative. Each month during this 12 month club, you will receive the supplies you need to create a hand-embroidered dishtowel, including the fabric, rick rack, embroidery floss, pattern and pre-washed, bleached, 100% cotton dishtowel. To join the club, click here.

12 Days of Christmas Fun Fact:  We bet you have been singing the words to the Twelve Days of Christmas as we have been going along with the Days in our blog. On the fourth day, most people have usually learned to sing the verse 'Four Calling Birds' But did you know that in one of the earliest written versions of the song, that particuilar verse is actually 'Four Colly Birds?'

Back in 1780, when one of the first recorded versions of the song had been written down, a 'colly' bird (or 'colle') was a blackbird. Presumably, the word 'colly' is an old form of the word coal, which meant the colly birds from the fourth day were black as coal. It was very common for blackbirds to be used for pies back then. (Remember the old nursery rhyme, 'Sing-a-Song-of-Sixpence?' One of the verses of that rhyme references 'four and twenty blackbirds based in a pie.')

In any event, a single blackbird will cost you $129.99 per bird, making the total for four of them $519.96.

Christmas Quote:  "It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." < W.T. Ellis, 1826 - 1913 >

Sunday, December 15, 2013

12 Days of Christmas - Day 3


Chickens in Redwork
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

Day 3 of the 12 Days of Christmas is supposed to be about Three French Hens. But since French Hens can be mighty difficult to find this time of year, we've substituted these adorable embroidered chickens instead. Chickens in Redwork features Hank the Rooster and Mama Hen with her chicks, both popular patterns in the 1890s. They can be embroidered on tea towels or used as quilt blocks for a cute little wall quilt. Stitch them up in traditional red or any other color you desire. To order, click here.

12 Days of Christmas Fun Fact:  If you are keeping track of expenses, at $55 per bird, the Three French Hens are going to cost your true love $165. Making the total cost in 2013 dollars for day three (one partridge, two doves, and the three hens) $489.99.

Christmas Quote:  "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year." < Charles Dickens, English Author, 1812-1870 >


Saturday, December 14, 2013

12 Days of Christmas - Day 2


Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

 If you're looking for Turtle Doves to celebrate Day Two of the Twelve Days of Christmas, Folkhearts and Flowers  by Calico Hills Farm is delightful. Designed by Roxy Burgard, the pattern features doves, tulips and hearts. Whether you or your gift recipient chooses to create it in contemporary colors, or the traditional styles of an earlier era, this wall quilt is a timeless classic for sentimental occasions. You can make it using traditional applique methods or try fusible web with buttonhole stitch by machine. To order, click here.

12 Days of Christmas Fun Fact:  According to the 2013 PNC Christmas Price Index, one partridge in a pear tree costs $199.99. Two Turtle Doves cost $125 ($62.50 per bird). The total cost for both days of gifts would be $324.99.

Christmas Quote:  "Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." < Norman Vincent Peale, 1898-1993 >


Friday, December 13, 2013

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1




Seasons Remembered 
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas at Grandma's Attic! Every day from now until Christmas we will feature a different item from our quilt shop. You'll want to check the posts each day from now through the 24th to see what Grandma has for you this holiday season!

Seasons Remembered. This beautiful quilt pattern, in the  traditional red and green colors of the 1840s-1860s, will have you humming along to your favorite holiday tunes.

Designed by Jane Davis, Seasons Remembered features the fine buttonhole stitch applique that 19th Century women used to showcase their needle skills. There are 12 stunning, traditional applique designs (suitable for 18" blocks) in this spectacular series of patterns, plus a stunning leaf border adapted from a beautiful Civil War era quilt. Full-sized patterns, plus instructions for both traditional and fusible applique are included. To order as a book, click here. To order as a block of the month program, click here.


12 Days of Christmas Fun Fact:  The song "The 12 Days of Christmas" is believed to have originated in the 16th century in European and Scandinavian culture; however, the song itself first showed up in English form in a children's book titled Mirth without Mischief in 1780 A.D.

Christmas Quote:  Christmas gift suggestions:  To your enemy, forgiveness; to an opponent tolerance; to a friend, you heart; to a customer, service; to all, charity; to every child, a good example; to yourself, respect." < Oren Arnold, Novelist and Journalist, 1900-1980 >


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Ice-abella

A Bard Rock Chicken, like Ice-abella
It has been freezing cold  in our part of Oregon, with the temperature getting down to 5 degrees this past Sunday morning. Since the roads were icy that day, Stephen decided to take me to work. As we were driving down one of the streets in downtown Dallas, Oregon, we noticed a bard rock chicken huddled up close to a sidewalk. Clearly, it was way too cold for her to be out in the open, and she was definitely not where she needed to be.

Stephen stopped the car, hopped out and scooped the hen up. We looked around for houses in the area that might have coops in the backyard but she was right in the middle of town, with no houses in sight. The chicken sat in my lap until we could get her up to the hen house on our farm. Her feet were bleeding from the cold and she was very quiet.

Today, Ice-abella is sitting in a nice clean nest, lined with fresh straw, right under the heat lamp in our hen house. Now that she's warming up, her feet are healing, she's up and eating, and she's settling in with the rest of our chickens. Except for a tiny bit of frost bite on her comb, she seems none the worse for wear.

Believe me, it was very odd to find a chicken in the middle of the road in a downtown area. Thank God we found her before she froze to death.

Saturday, December 07, 2013

Color of the Year 2014: Radiant Orchid



The Pantone Company has announced that Pantone 18-3224 Radiant Orchid is the Color of the Year for 2014. As the global color authority, this company develops, manufactures, markets and supports innovative color solutions that designers and a variety of industries, including printing, photography, graphic design, plastics, textiles and others, have come to rely on.

According to Pantone, Radiant Orchid "inspires confidence and emanates great joy, love and health. It is a captivating purple, one that draws you in with its beguiling charm." It is a combination of fuchsia, purple and pink. Use it as an accent with olive, deep hunter greens, turquoise, teal, and light yellow. It will also liven up neutrals such as gray, beige and taupe.

Below is Pantone's suggestions for a 2014 Spring Wardrobe for Women. Incorporating the Color of the Year, these colors would also make a beautiful palette for quilts or other sewing projects!


Friday, November 29, 2013

New Block of the Month Club!

Our newest Block of the Month Club!
Our newest Block of the Month Club, the Homeland Army, begins on January 1st. This club explores how the events of World War I changed everything for women in America today.

The title of the club comes from a poem written by Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet Sara Teasdale. I came across it in the December 1918 issue of Red Cross Magazine and was very moved by it. Teasdale's poem reflects on the suffering and loss that World War I inflicted on the women left behind on the American home front during this terrible war. It reads:

1930s Colorway
"...we are the millions of women; 
we are the homeland army, the patient ones.
Take the work of our hands, take our secret weeping,
we who have given our husbands, our brothers, our sons." 

As I began studying this time period, I realized that world events nearly 100 years ago affect our lives to this day, from the role of women in modern society, to social upheaval, and the heroic men and women whose sacrifices shaped nations, new and old. 

The more I read about this time period, the  more amazed I became at what these women accomplished. I developed this program as a way to share this information while giving participants an opportunity to create beautiful quilt blocks that were popular in the early part of the 20th Century.
Batiks Colorway

The Homeland Army is available at Grandma's Attic as a Block of the Month Club in three different colorways: 1920s Patriotic, 1930s, and Batiks--an updated twist on traditional colors. 

Each month, participants receive the fabric needed to create a 12" quilt block. They also receive a mini magazine filled with informative articles, biographies, poems, embroidery patterns and stories. A separate omnibus booklet includes fashions, quotes, vintage advertisements, rationing recipes and more.

1920s Patriotic Colorway
By the time this club ends, participants will have created a beautiful quilt to remind them of their inspirational and educational journey through this period of women's history.

I am hoping that you will be as interested in what women were doing during World War I as I have been. It is remarkable how in the span of only a few short years, the role of women could be so dramatically changed and yet able to shape how we live our lives today. To join this club, click here.

Friday, November 22, 2013

16 New Colors of DMC Floss!

DMC's 16 New Colors Pack
The DMC Company has just added 16 new colors to their line of 100% cotton six strand embroidery floss. Developed by famous needlework designers, these are the first new colors that have been added since 2001. The new colors expand on several of DMC's existing color families, and are split into two different palettes. There are eight soft, natural shades and eight bright, vibrant hues. These 16 colors are important bridges for color families that are already in the line. Unlike painters who can mix paints together, needle workers rely on floss colors to create shading and depth.

Each skein of DMC Floss is assigned both a number and a color family name, although many of us simply refer to a skein of floss by its number. For instance, DMC #470 is Light Avocado Green but most people refer to it only as DMC #470. Each skein of floss includes 8.7 yards of floss.

Bohemian Tapestry Cross Stitch Pattern
The eight new colors in soft, natural shades are:  #3880 Medium Very Dark Shell Pink; #3881 Pale Avocado Green; #3882 Medium Light Cocoa; #3883 Medium Light Copper; #3884 Medium Light Pewter; #3886 Very Dark Plum, and #3887 Ultra Very Dark Lavender.

The eight new colors in bright, vibrant hues are #3888 Medium Dark Antique Violet; #3889 Medium Light Lemon; #3891 Very Dark Bright Turquoise; #3892 Medium Light Orange Spice; #3893 Very Light Mocha Beige; #3894 Very Light Parrot Green, and #3895 Medium Dark Beaver Grey.

All DMC Floss is made in France by the DMC Company which has been in business for 268 years. Their floss is made of top quality 100% Egyptian cotton that is color fast and fade resistant. Mercerized for strength and shine, DMC offers guaranteed color consistency from one skein to the next. With the addition of these sixteen new colors, there are now 470 solid colors and 18 variegated colors of DMC six strand embroidery floss.

For now, the new colors are available in a convenient pack which includes all 16 new colors, plus three free cross stitch patterns, Bohemian Tapestry, Tropical Punch and Woodland Walk. Quilters will want toadd these new colors to their embroidery floss selections too.To order, click here

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Patsy's Potholder Club

Patsy's Potholder Club

Fun, fun, and even more fun! That's what is in store when you join Patsy's Potholder Club. Filled with delicious fruit embroideries, this club is guaranteed to keep you in stitches all year long. 

Each potholder represents a different fruit pie. All your favorite pies are represented, including apple, peach, pumpkin, key lime, cherry, blackberry and more! In addition to the embroidery, each potholder is surrounded with the fabric to complement the embroidery.
Patsy's Pie Shop Recipe Book

Club members receive one potholder kit per month for 12 months. Included in the kit are the supplies you need to create a scrumptious potholder, including fabric, floss, and insul-brite batting. You also receive a recipe pamphlet filled with sweet treats to coordinate with each potholder's theme. These are so much fun you'll want to keep them for your own kitchen, or give them as gifts to family and friends. Themes include applies, cherries, lemons, blackberries, chocolate cream, and key lime.

Patsy's Pie Shop Recipe Books include several recipes to make using the fruit of the month. Bright and colorful, you will want to collect them all. Click here to join the club.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Veterans Day

Flag Fabric by The Gallery
Veterans Day is an official United States holiday honoring those who have served in the armed service of America. First proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson, November 11 was set aside to honor those who had fought in "The Great War," also known as World War I. November 11 was chosen in honor of the formal end of hostilities during World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

The United States Congress passed a resolution on June 4, 1926, requesting that President Calvin Coolidge issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. By Congressional Act in 1938, the day was made into a national holiday "to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as Armistice Day."

In 1945, Raymond Weeks of Birmingham, Alabama, organized a National Veterans Day parade to honor American veterans of all wars. In 1954, Congress passed a bill, signed by President Eisenhower, proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day. In 1982, Raymond Weeks received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Reagan. Today, Weeks' local parade and ceremonies are an annual event celebrated nationwide.

Monday, November 04, 2013

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Delicious Pumpkin Pie
"Over the River and Through the Wood, to Grandmother's House we go!" This verse has long been associated with going home for Thanksgiving. But did you know that when Lydia Maria Child wrote this poem in 1844, for her book Flowers for Children, Vol. 2, the original poem included six verses that began "Over the river and through the wood, to Grandfather's House we go."

Lydia Maria Child was a 19th Century novelist, journalist and teacher, who wrote extensively about the need to eliminate slavery. She named her poem, "A Boy's Thanksgiving Day" and wrote it to commemorate visits to her Grandfather's House as a child.

The original poem included six verses, the last two of which are:

    Over the river, and through the wood
    When Grandmother sees us come,
    She will say, "O, dear, the children are here,
    bring a pie for everyone."

    Over the river, and through the wood--
    now Grandmother's cap I spy!
    Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
    Hurray for the pumpkin pie!

Here's a pumpkin pie recipe that my own grandmother used at Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Pie

1-1/4 cups pumpkin puree, canned or fresh
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup evaporated milk, diluted
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inch)

Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices, and flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add eggs; mix well. Add evaporated milk, water, and vanilla; mix well. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees F, and bake for about 35 minutes longer, or until the center is set.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Dishtowel of the Month Club

Dishtowel of the Month Club

You have to admit, the dishtowels in this monthly club are absolutely adorable! The designs are inspired by vintage dishtowels of the past, and include a variety of subjects and patterns. Whether you decide to keep them for yourself or use them as fun gifts, you'll love creating them!


These dishtowels are not only practical, they're decorative! The first six months are shown here, including Henrietta the Hen, Coffee Break, Carrots, Bluebirds, Playtime Puppy and a cute little guy playing baseball.


Each month during this 12 month club, you will receive the supplies you need to create a hand embroidered dishtowel, plus the fabric and rick rack to create a fabric border and hem. The flour sack dishtowel is just like the ones your Grandma used, pre-washed, bleached, 100% cotton.


This club is really fun. To join, click here.

Tuesday, October 08, 2013

Sew Oregon 2013

Sew Oregon 2013 Logo
Pacific Adventures is the theme for this year's Sew Oregon Shop Hop. Held October 5-19, 2013, you can visit 30 different quilt shops throughout the beautiful state of Oregon as you collect quilt block kits. For each of the four districts that you visit, you will be entered into a drawing to win a fantastic Bernette Chicago 7 Sewing/Embroidery machine! District prizes include Bernina DL Sergers and $50 gift certificates. Plus, visit all of the Oregon shops and be entered into a drawing for a $250 gas card! This is fun, fun, fun on a super-sized scale.

Our
Devil's Punchbowl Quilt Block Kit
Grandma's Attic Shop Hop Block was designed by Cheryl Libby, our class coordinator. Named after a coastal formation on the Oregon Coast, not far from Grandma's Attic, Devil's Punchbowl is  popular tourist attraction that is visited all year long.

Using five fabrics from the Pacific Adventures fabric bundle, this 6" quilt block is easy to make, yet elegant enough to use in any quilt setting. Shop Hoppers receive this quilt block kit free as they hop around the State and come to Grandma's Attic. It is also available for purchase online if you can't make it into the shop.

Pacific Adventures Fabric Bundle
Fabrics for the Sew Oregon 2013 Shop Hop are from P&B Textiles. All eleven of these fabrics are available at Grandma's Attic. As you work with these fabrics, we think they will remind you of the many treasures that are found right here in the Pacific Northwest. We think you will enjoy working with the neutral textures for sandy beaches, the greens for central and coastal forests, and the blues for the lakes, rivers and mighty Pacific Ocean. Oregon's natural majesty will totally inspire you.

Wave Runner Table Runner
Reminiscent of the Oregon Coast, this gorgeous table runner--with its blues, greens and beige--will have you dreaming of the beach. You can practically hear the powerful Pacific waves crash against sandy shores that are flecked with mighty boulders and bits of seaweed. Wave Runner uses three of our original Devil's Punchbowl quilt blocks inspired by the coastal formation of the same name.

Available both as a pattern and a Fabric Kit, you will love how beautifully the colors speak to you of the Oregon beach. This table runner will remind you of your Oregon adventures all year long.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Autumn-Inspired Projects

Autumn Splendor by Pat Lee

With autumn in the air and the children heading back to school, our sewing machines start calling to us! And what could be more fun than dreaming up an autumn-inspired project to put us in the mood for Fall. 


This beautiful quilt is a real show stopper! Designed by Pat Lee of The Art of the Quilt, if you look closely, you can see that Pat used a multi-color fabric to create the leaves, sashing, borders and binding, yet it looks like there are many different fabrics involved. Isn't that clever? Suitable for seasonal or batik fabrics, the pattern is designed so that you create the effect of using many different colors. The pattern itself includes instructions for a 58" x 72" wall quilt, and two Medallion wall hangings that are 40" x 40".  To order this pattern, click here.
Harvest Barn by Calico Hills Farm

Another fun project for Fall is Calico Hills Farm pattern, Harvest Barn.This pattern, created by Roxy Burgard,  is practically timeless. Whether you've constructed these wall quilts back in the 1980s, or made one today, it looks absolutely perfect displayed in your home or given as a gift. My favorite block on pattern is the little pumpkin with the heart in the middle. The pattern includes two small wall quilts and two tiny pillows.
Autumn Reflections Fabric bundle
 These Autumn-inspired fabrics are by Exclusively Quilters and Kona Bay. Featured as our September 2013 Fabric Bundle, they are designed to take the chill out of the night air and warm your heart. There are cornucopias, sunflowers, pumpkins, corn, and other vegetables, all in the Fall colors of green, gold, orange and brown. The sunflower piece is particularly like-like. We liked it so much we used it in a couple of projects here at the shop.
Snap Sack Sunflower Wall Quilt Kit

When Grandma Rachel and Aunt Cheryl were at the Spring Quilt Market in Portland, Oregon, they discovered Snap Sack patterns by Joan Ford of Hummingbird Highway. The Sunflower Wall Quilt Kit includes the pattern you see here, plus all the fabrics you need to create it. The sunflowers are three dimensional and the leaves are finished with a bit of quilting for embellishment. This project makes up quick and easy. You'll be ready to hang it up on your wall in no time. As with all of our Snap Sack kits, you can take the class for free if you purchase the kit. Aunt Cheryl will guide you through construction.


Sunflower Cottage by Calico Hills Farm
Sunflower Cottage is another one of Roxy Burgard's patterns from Calico Hills Farm. I love the way Roxy adds so much imagery and puts so much thought into even the tiniest of details. The pattern includes two small wall quilts and two tiny pillows, one with a house design and one with a sunflower design. As you can see from the image shown here, you can use them to decorate a little spot in your house that friends and family will really enjoy.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Memorial Day


Vintage Memorial Day Postcard

My grandmother always called Memorial Day by its former name, Decoration Day. This is probably because Decoration Day originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who had died and my grandmother was a big Civil War buff. Her own grandfather had actually served as a soldier during the Battle of Pea Ridge.

Every Memorial Day we gathered up the many roses, peonies, iris and other flowers that grew in her garden and headed out to the cemetery to decorate graves. My grandfather died when I was six years old so we always decorated his grave first, then progressed to other graves of people she had known who were buried there.

Now that my grandmother is resting next to my grandfather, I find myself at the cemetery each year armed with my own flowers, both from the garden  and purchased. Last year, I came to the realization that I am now decorating 11 different graves, a sure sign that I am getting older and beloved elders are slipping away. 

Friday, March 15, 2013

A Day for Quilting

Nine Patch Stars and Stripes by Kathy Lichtendahl,
Did you know that there is a day of the year devoted solely to quilting?  It all began in 1991 when the National Quilting Association (NQA) passed a Resolution designating the third Saturday in March as National Quilting Day.

The idea had begun in 1989 when the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society organized "Quilter's Day Out" to celebrate the rich traditional of quilt making in Kentucky. The first National Quilting Day was observed in 1992.

Suggestions for ways to celebrate this day include: 1) Making it a service day to work on a quilt for your favorite cause; 2) organizing an exhibit at the local library or historical society; 3) working on a quilt with a school, 4-H, Scout troop or by simply taking time to sew with a grandchild; 4) sponsoring a Sewing Day making lap quilts for Seniors, turning it into an oral history project by capturing stories of the community; and 5) giving a baby quilt to the first baby born on National Quilting Day each year.

Each year a free quilting pattern is offered to quilters. This year, the pattern is Nine Patch Stars and Stripes designed by Kathy Lichtendahl of Powell, Wyoming. The photo above was taken by Linda Miller. Suggestions for using this free pattern include creating it to donate to an organization supporting veterans, people serving in the military or their families. To download the free pattern, click here.

Sponsored by the Fabric Shop Network

In 2013, the Fabric Shop Network is hosting their first Worldwide Quilting Day, Saturday, March 16. Celebrating independent quilt shops, participating shops are creating a variety of activities to commemorate the day. Suggestions from the Fabric Shop Network include 1) shopping at independent quilt shops who need love and support on their special day; 2)spreading the word about the day; and 3) participating in any sales or activities a local shop might have for Local Quilting Day.

One fun event this year is the 7 Summits Strip Quilt Challenge where quilters will be putting together fabric strips to create quilts for their favorite causes. Using 2-1/2″ strip bundles, quilters will piece together quilt tops, counting each inch in an effort to reach the top of the seven tallest summits in the world (figuratively, of course!). Each 2-1/2″ strip bundle works out to a 1600-inch strip when pieced end to end, which translates to 218 quilts to reach the top of Mt. Everest! To learn more about the challenge and to enter to win the daily prize drawings, click here.