I love to write.....

Sometime in 2003, I came across a book entitled The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.  It is a workbook: exercises to do and list of questions to work through.  It made me think about the creative process. And it helped me to write with a different sense purpose.  One of the assignments at the beginning of the book was to write three pages of whatever was running around in my mind.  Write in long hand, just whatever was there.  Then throw the pages away.  I would write, but I liked the process and what I was writing and decided not to throw my pages away.  

finishing # 57  ready for # 58

Instead, I buy an inexpensive composition book.  I like college ruled pages.  I cover each one with a favorite fabric from my stash, (1/3 Yard) or one I buy on a trip, or one someone has given me.  Sometimes the fabric is seasonal.  Sometimes it is just pretty fabric.   I use Heat and Bond..the original heavy stuff...to cover the composition book.  And then I set to writing.  As I fill one journal, I look for the next fabric.  I have numbered my journals; yesterday I wrote in the last pages of journal #57.   This morning I began #58.

Essentials for my morning writing.

My morning pages have become part of my daily ritual.  The alarm rings, the coffee grinder begins to buzz and the coffee brews...set on a timer.  I get up, brush my teeth and wash my face. No TV, no news, no radio.  I pour my coffee in a favorite tall china mug.  (They call them "beakers" in England.) I settle in to my favorite chair, usually with a quilt on my lap.  I read the daily entry from The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo, and then I write.

These  journals have opened me to deeper creativity.  They help me work through anger, grief, separation, sadness as well as reminding me of the joy, grace, peace, and gratitude for the goodness in my life. When I began this writing, I was simply hoping it would open my creative block.  What I discovered was that it opened me to more than just my creative ideas.  It has moved me to be more present, open and receptive to the world in which I live.  It has deepened my faith, and taught me about quiet meditation, and sometimes, simply silence.  I am present more,  listen more, see more, and find simple joy is every day.  And sometimes a journal almost speaks to me out loud.  The journal I was writing in when my marriage fell apart-- literally came apart at the seam, and the cover fell off.  I held it all together with a rubber band and some gross grain ribbon until I had written on every page and could move on to the next one.  

It was never in my plan to continue the journal writing this long.  I had never been one to keep up with diaries and journals.  Somewhere along the way, it has become a habit.  I write almost every morning.  If Emma sleeps over, there is no early morning quiet time.  When I go to worship Sunday mornings, I leave the house earlier than on weekdays...and I have not gotten into the habit of getting up earlier so that I can write.  Sunday my writing happens in the afternoon.  But my favorite time is to write first thing in the morning. 

All of my journals are covered in a different fabric.  It is a wonderful stack.  I used to think that they might make good reading for my family when I am gone.  Now I look at the stack and think they probably won't have the time.  But if they want to know how I was feeling on a certain day, they can go back to a date, as I sometimes do now, to read about where I have been, what I was thinking, and often how I was feeling.  And they will know what has been important to me as the years have gone by. 

I love my morning ritual.  I think it helps my day begin well, and continue even better.  My favorite Parker Pen, blue ink, medium point, to paper.  My cat Zoey by my side.  Good coffee, a quilt on my lap and the quiet that begins the very best of my days.           ~~~Rachel

Back to the page...

Dear Reader: 

Where have I been??.   I have heard recently from several of you, customers and friends that you have missed the "Reflections" I write on these pages. And some of you "remember when" they came in the mail in our newsletter.  When I looked back, I found I had not posted anything on my blog since 2013.  I have to admit I need to move out of thinking "poor me, I have nothing much to write that is worth reading" into knowing that I love to write and many of you like to read what I have to say.  I love the tapestry that is the story and the weaving of words to tell it; and many of you have enjoyed reading what I write.

So here I go again.  I hope to be more regular with my postings.  Blog space can be very creative and yet for me a little intimidating. The possibilities are endless. I hope to be able to use this space to share what we create here at the shop and what is happening in my/our lives.

I don't plan on changing the style of my "Reflections".  They are just that, a reflection of what is happening in my life, and how I feel and think about it.  It is a sharing of what is running through my world and through my head.  

I read and re-read my entries before I post them.  I apologize  ahead of time when I miss something that should have been corrected.  I have spell check, of course, but sometimes that doesn't help. My goal is for it all to make some kind of sense.

My posts are Snippets and Snibbles.  "Snippets" are bits of thoughts or a scrap of writing. "Snibbles" are the little pieces of stuff that end up on the floor---like the little corners we trim off when we've made half-square triangle blocks or thread, paper...or even crumbs.  (My spell check does NOT recognize "snibbles" and would like me to change it to "nibble, dibble or kibble".  I have added it to this computer's dictionary.) It is a word I grew up with, because whatever I was doing, I left snibbles, and more often a real mess.   My  father called me "Messy Bessy" if that tells you anything. And, no, I did not take it as a compliment.   So I share with you bits and pieces of my life.  My posts are about more than just quilting.  My life is a love of fabric and color and quilting, yes.  Life also is the love of family , friends, faith, cooking, gardening, painting, and whatever I set my mind to doing that fascinates me.  Now that I have two new knees, I look forward to walks in the woods or a tromp in the snow, or simply in my little neighborhood.  I feel very much alive and present in this world and I hope you will read that reflected here.               

peace, 
Rachel

Foraging 101

I have been waiting oh, so patiently for a warm Spring day so I could work outside.  I have been ready since the middle of  March.  Over the winter months I had both of my hands repaired, the left one in October and the right one in January...carpal tunnel release surgery that was very successful!  With my hands back to normal and cortisone shots in each knee two weeks ago,  I have been eager to be digging in the dirt in my gardens. The day came last Monday (April 8).  Seeing temperatures headed for the 80's and hearing Kay's admonition to be careful with my knees, I headed into the sunshine with my rolly cart and my digging tools.

I had not been digging long before I realized that the time was perfect for digging dandelion for a favorite Weaver/Neff family dish.  No flowers and few buds, just newly growing deeply jagged leaves, spreading themselves very flat on the grass.  So I headed around the house with a bucket and and old knife to cut them out below the grass line. In a half and hour, my bucket was half full, and by the time I trimmed and cleaned each plant I had a little over a pound of greens.

I come by this foraging quite honestly.  My Grandfather S. Clyde Weaver gathered buckets of dandelion greens each Spring. Then he would spend hours cleaning each plant.  Grandmother Emma would tightly pack the greens in quart jars and preserve them.  During the holidays, there would be steaming bowls of  dandelion greens with sweet and sour bacon dressing, topped with sliced hard boiled eggs and crumbled bacon. 

My father, Paul Neff, continued the tradition, probably not at the level of Granddad, but close.  He had a way cleaning them in the field that I had forgotten until halfway through my own job of cleaning those little plants.  He also had a way of finding really large plants.  The ones I was digging Monday seemed quite small in comparison to my memory of his.  I think he watched and noted where the gathering was good.

Cultivated dandelion greens can be purchased in the produce department of some grocery stores and sometimes at farmer's markets.  They look different, and are milder than the wild greens.  Both are slightly bitter. Either variety is said to be quite healthy....well that is until you add the bacon dressing, which in my opinion makes the dish.

 Having gathered the greens, either from the field, or your favorite produce department or farmer's market, here is the recipe that makes the dish.   I fined tuned what I knew about my mothers and my grandmother's bacon dressing.  My recipe is for 1 serving, because I like my greens fresh, without leftovers. And this is probably an acquired taste.  I grew up with this special dish for a very limited time in the spring and sometimes at  holidays.

Dandelion Greens with Bacon Dressing

1 serving or 2 as a side to a larger meal

3 ounces* dandelion greens cleaned and washed and drained

2 slices of good bacon, chopped

1/4 cup sweet onion, sliced thinly

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon flour

1/8 teasp. dried mustard

1 pinch of salt

2-3 tablespoons cider vinegar

3 tablespoons water

1 hard boiled egg, peeled and sliced

• Measure brown sugar, flour, dry mustard and salt and mix in a small bowl

• Cook the bacon in the bottom of a small pan that has a lid to fit.(several years ago I was given the Food Network flat bottomed wok.  And I use it for just about everything, and I love it to prepare this recipe )
• When the bacon is crisp, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel
• Saute the onion in the drippings until translucent
• Add brown sugar, flour and dry mustard
• Stir and cook 1 minute
• Add water and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar.
• Cook until the mixture begins to thicken.  Taste and adjust the vinegar if desired.
• Add the greens stir up the dressing to coat.
• Cover and steam until the greens wilt.
• Stir and cover.  Steam until all of the greens have wilted
• Pour into a small bowl and top with sliced egg and crumbled bacon

Serve with boiled new potatoes for a perfect spring lunch or evening meal

I developed this recipe over the winter and used greens available at the farmer's market and grocery produce department.  rainbow chard, baby spinach, kale, beet greens or mustard greens.  Most often I mix the greens, chopped and  weighed.  4 ounces of winter greens.  Some of them wilt to almost nothing. 

*3 ounces of dandelion is all the greens I could tightly pack into a 1 cup measure

Lots of us eat greens as part of our healthy diets.  Hot sweet and sour bacon dressing may push the health edge just a little.  But the next time you want to try something new with your evening meal, try dandelion.  It is available at this thine of the year, just outside your back door!                                            
                                                                                                                           ~~ Rachel

Never say never...

How many times have I said "never" or "never again" to myself and to friends.  I am never going to: STOP there. Do not let it out unless you plan to watch yourself do just what you said would never happen.  When I moved onto the first parsonage with out little family, I could see where bunk beds had been, and where a child had written the alphabet on the wall.  In an instant "my children will never write on walls"  came right out of my mouth. I did fairly well. They didn't....until one day I walked into the den to discover that 2-year-old Kay had drawn a HUGE happy face on the wall....with a black magic marker.  She had never drawn anything that even looked like anything.  Yet there it was.  Not a tiny little string of letters penciled on a wall. A perfectly BIG happy face smiling right at me. When I asked her about it, she was so proud of what she had drawn, I was not about to punish her.  I left it there, until it was time to move.  I tried to paint over it and the face would come smiling through.  Several coats later, I gave up.  I invested in some epoxy to hide that smiling face.  It still makes me smile.  

We lost Patches at the end of October, 2011. Several kindhearted friends and customers offered us replacements.  We declined...emphatically.  No more cats.  We like the doors open.  We do need to be scooping a litter box, or running to the vet, or trying to find a hiding cat or.....

I think you know where this story is going......

Meet Suzy Blue.   Kay was sewing in the studio and looked out the window to see baby blues eyes staring at her from under the box car. Kay's cat whisperer skills quickly surfaced, and soon there was a bowl of water and  some scraps of food offered on the "porch" of the caboose.

How is it that we some how attract unusual cats? This one is a Siamese kitten, maybe 5 months old.  I am not a great gauge of animal's ages.  A kitten for sure.  Emma called her "Blue" when she saw her.  It took us 1 day to get her to the door.  Another day to get her to nibble on food, just inside the door.  Day 3 she ventured in to explore the shop....everywhere, and then to run scared to her hiding place under the box car. Day 4,  I moved the food and water in beside my desk. Still a very frightened kitten we could not even touch. She'd come to my feet purring loudly.  When I reached for her, she was out the door! Day 5 a customer who was quicker that I am, scooped her up, and we checked to be sure she did not have an I.D. chip any where.  That's when we determined she was Suzy Blue.  Day 6 was Sunday, and I came in to the shop to invite her in to be fed.  Monday was the same routine.                        

Tuesday, I came with a box and litter, kitten food and a resolve to tame her.  It really did not take very long.  She is quickly learning her way around the shop.  I have had a discussion with her about what she needs to do to be able to stay.  No scratching or biting.  Her "motor" runs easily.   She comes to the counter where I am working, just to stretch out and watch. You have heard of the "cat in the hat".  I have a cat-in-the-lap when I sit down to sew or design or work at the computer. And I am once again, totally taken in by a feline. I tell myself that I am doing my part for the SPCA.  One kitten they do not have to process.

I have decided that it is just fine to have to eat ones words. It means I am growing and learning.  Some word salads are easier to eat than others. These words taste sweet when I remember a happy face smiling back at me from a much painted wall, or this time as a (formerly)stray Siamese kitten follows me around like a puppy and then curls up on my lap as I sew.

Live, learn, adapt and adjust.  Time moves on.  Our experiences move us to see differently and maybe even change our minds.  Once again, we have adapted....and have been adopted. A good feeling.                                                                                                                                                              ~~~~Rachel 

I love, love, love my scraps.....

     Let me tell you about scraps.  I cannot throw them away.  I made my clothing since Jr High and my daughters clothing from the time they were born...and I saved the scraps and used the scraps.  When I moved  to Virginia in 1972, I was introduced first to quilting and later to patchwork.  That was back in the Gorgia Bonesteel days.  All I had was a book from Oxmoor House. I decided to make a log cabin quilt, but wasn't sure I wanted to spend a lot of money on fabric.  What if I got halfway through the project and didn't like patchwork?  I smile at the thought.  I had a toddler and a baby on the way.  I did not have any extra money.  So I dug out my scraps.  With a yardstick and scissors I cut 2 inch strips and sorted them into color groups and lights and darks.

     I love it because it is full of visual memories my little girls' favorite clothes.  I did not buy any fabric until I got to the borders.  I had read that the center of a log cabin block is orange or red representing the fire in the hearth.  But when I ran out of red and then orange, I used green and blue and even brown.  As long as it was a solid fabric, it could be the  "hearth".  I did not have enough blocks to do the "Barn Raising" setting that I had seen, so I set it in "Plowed Furrows".

     I don't remember how many years it took me to finish the top.  When it was finished it measured one inch smaller at the top than the bottom.  Embarrassed, I put it away until some years later I learned that 1 inch was really not too bad.   So I got it out, put borders on it and then quilted it with the help of my teachers in Franklin County, VA

    There were still scraps left.  This past Christmas my girls got quilts made from the rest of those scraps.  3 1/2 inch scraps alternated with muslin.  My friend Katheryn Crickenberger started the pieces maybe 15  years ago. Before she died, she handed me a bag with about five sections of piecing  In August (2011) I pulled the pieces out and re-worked them into two queen sized quilts.


     The scrap saga goes on and on.  I still save the leftovers.  I always will. I have great ideas for using them.  I will get to them.  As I cut up the scraps left from a quilt or sewing project, the pieces bring back memories.  Lots and lots of the best memories life has to offer. 
                I wish the same for you.                ~~~Rachel