Handwork Happiness – A Review

Given that it’s still too cold in most places to get out and do outdoor things, sitting inside with a project that can be done indoors, either at home or elsewhere, is the perfect solution to keeping yourself busy while possibly multitasking by listening to podcasts, audio books, or that movie you just love and have seen 100+ times to the point of not needing to actually look at the screen because your memory takes over and plays it in your head without ever having to look up. You know the ones…

On a particularly cold wet day last week, along came a copy of Better Home & Gardens Handwork Happiness as a thank you for participating on a Quilting Research Panel. After opening the envelope and seeing what a treat I was in for, I made myself a pot of hot tea. I think it was Harney & Sons Serengetea as it needed to be caffeine free since it was late evening by the time I had settled myself in my favorite chair, put my legs up on my footstool, and covered my legs with a warm throw. Once I’d stirred honey into my tea I was ready to begin my perusal of this unexpected gift.

As the cover states, there are 20 projects from which to choose. Choosing which one to do first will be a much more difficult task than the actual execution of the project. I did notice that some of these projects have been printed in past publications. In fact, the first project presented is one such reprint. Why am I sure this is the same project? Two reasons: 1) Because there’s a photo of it on page 11 showing an alternate color scheme which was the one originally given in that long-ago publication, and 2) because I loved it so much when I saw it the first time that I bought the paper templates from Paper Pieces needed to make the hexies. Alas, that’s as far as I got though. I’ve thought about starting it several times over the years but have long since misplaced the magazine in which it was published. That’s why having it republished might mean you pay for the same real estate twice, but it also means it’s much easier, and quicker, to find the instructions without having to go through tons of saved publications.

Techniques for the projects in this publication cover hand embroidery, hand piecing, big stitch quilting, English paper piecing, wool appliqué, and even cross-stitch which seems to be making somewhat of a comeback. If you already know how to do all of these techniques you can jump on any one of them in a heartbeat. If not, here’s a perfect opportunity to learn something new. You may find a technique that you absolutely fall in love with or one you try and realize just isn’t for you. That’s the lovely thing about our quilting/sewing/crafty world. Not everyone will love every technique, and that’s perfectly all right. Thankfully, there are so many options from which to choose it means there’s something for everyone who is truly interested in learning and in working with their hands.

The cost of this publication is $12.99 in the U.S. That’s only $.65 per project! Even if you only liked half of them you’re still coming out way ahead when compared to some of the quilting books that are available and especially individual patterns. I don’t mean to sell either of these formats short, but I sometimes think, and I’m speaking from personal experience here because I’m guilty of this too, we look at the price of special publications, in the form of magazines, or bookazines as some are labeled, and think they’re too expensive. Oftentimes it’s because we feel we’re just paying for a lot of advertisements. This particular publication, however, only has three ads and two of them, the one on the inside front cover and the one on the inside back cover, are by All People Quilt (APQ), the very folks that put together the magazine. The third is on the back cover and by Riley Blake Designs who was a 2019 sponsor for APQ’s 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. So, from page 4 to 95 it’s all the information you need in order to execute these projects.

I’ve not been in either of my favourite bookstores lately, but this publication should be on their shelves. According to the APQ website, it was supposed to be on newsstands starting January 31. There appears to be a corresponding podcast, #456, but I’ve not had a chance to listen to it yet. See…when one is involved with needle and thread there’s never a reason to be bored nor is there any validity to the statement, “I can’t find a thing to do (sigh).”

NOTE: There are no affiliate links in this post. All links are given for reference and ease of use only.

Christmas Quilts & More

One of my favorite types of magazines is those which focus on Christmas. While I love magazines, I love, love, love Christmas themed magazines especially. If I had the money, and the space, I’d buy every one to be found on the bookstore shelves. That’s how much I love Christmas themed magazines. Unfortunately, I have neither the money nor the space, not to mention the time, for such a large variety of magazines that focus on one holiday. So, I pick and choose very carefully those magazines that come into my home starting around November but staying forever…and I do mean forever. I have Christmas magazines that are more than 10 years old that I still pull out for inspiration or just to get me in the mood for Christmas. These magazines cover the gamut from decorating, party planning, new recipes to try, and crafting of one sort or another. The latter being the ones that I actually get around to using for their intended purpose – more or less. I’m still better at looking at the photos and dreaming about duplicating the projects than I am at the execution process.

The other day I received a copy of Christmas Quilts & More in the mail. This is a special interest publication from Better Homes & Gardens. I knew immediately from the cover that I was going to enjoy looking through this magazine, and I’m here to tell you that I was in no way disappointed by its content.

On the cover it states that there are “25 holiday projects, quilts, décor, and gift ideas.” I’ve gotten into the habit of using colorful sticky flags, that I buy from Dollar Tree, to mark the projects or ideas I find particularly interesting. That way, when I pick up the magazine later, I know which pages to look at and am able to save a bit of time, although not much as I get sidetracked and start looking at everything else in the magazine yet again. Yes, you could say when it comes to time management, I’m hopeless. I enjoy myself to be sure, but I’m hopeless in making the most of the minutes allotted to me each day. I’d like to say I’ll get better at it, but I know myself well enough not to lie about this particular kink in my personality.

Anyhow, of the 25 offerings in this publication I have 15 of them flagged. When I went back and counted the number of flags sticking out the side of the magazine it made me wonder which projects I hadn’t flagged, and why. So, I went back through the issue again. Of the projects I didn’t mark one was a wreath, which I don’t need at the moment as I have a beautiful one that I purchased several years ago. One was for a tree skirt which I don’t need because I purchased one on sale last year at TJMaxx. Then there was a stocking which I don’t need, but after looking again I decided that the holly leaves and berries would work well on another project, like a hot pad or mug rug. There were four quilt projects that I didn’t mark, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t decide to make them later on. Since my count didn’t add up to 25 I went back a third time to figure out where I’d missed the other three projects. I can only conclude that those three are the evergreen sprays that are shown between sections. These should be easy enough to execute without instructions and would look wonderful on or beside exterior doors or windows to add a bit of festive cheer whether they were hanging inside or outside your home. The one using sewing notions would be perfect to hang on your sewing room door.

I do realize that this publication is a compilation of past projects that have been featured in BH&G publications. That means you may already have the instructions elsewhere, but it’s nice to have so many projects, and a fairly nice mix at that, all corralled in one convenient place. If only time could be so easily recycled I might have enough of it to actually be able to get one or two of the projects I marked completed.

While looking through the issue the third time, I had a thought which is actually one that I’ve thought about before but just never allowed to get past the thinking stage. That thought was this. Instead of just wishing my creative time away only to get to the end of the year with nothing significant to show for the days that have flown past, why not get my act together and force myself to make at least one project, probably a small one, each month that could be used as a gift for Christmas or as an addition to my current decorating items. I know I’d have to make a date with myself in order to do that. I also know that I’d have to work on it the same time each day/week/month in order to remember to do so. Otherwise, time just gets past me, and I find the month to be over before I’ve even realized it began. So, I think that’s going to be my approach to getting past the I-wish-I-hadda stage in order to finally have something to point to at the end of next year, Good Lord willing, and say, “Wow! I did all of that this year?! Who’d of thought it…” It might not be a quilting or sewing project either. Creativity and working with ones’ hands is always a good thing to do regardless of the medium. Now all I have to do is figure out where to store the items I make so that I can find them when the time comes to give or to use them next year. Another kink in my personality to be overcome I’m afraid, but that’s a discussion for another day. Suffice it to say I tend to give gifts all year long as I run across them when moving a bag to find something else that’s lost. My kids know I mean well and still seem to love me anyhow. For that I am grateful.

Magazine Monday – The Farmhouse Movement

At the end of March, Rick and I went to Gatlinburg for a long weekend. We used to do this for “spring break” when the kids were given a week off from their dance and gymnastics classes. They’d go visit their grandparents while Rick and I would spend three or four days alone in a chalet. This go around our trip had nothing to do with anyone’s schedule but was made more out of habit. It seems we’d gotten used to being in Gatlinburg in March and something didn’t seem quite right without our annual trip there. While we’re pretty much couch potatoes once we get settled in, we do make at least one, and this trip two, visits to Books a Million (BAM) while there. BAM used to be one of our places to visit daily when the kids were in classes, so it’s just a natural place for us to go. Of course, I always have to have an Oreo Candy Blast and love the double chocolate chip cookies that they now offer even though they’re definitely not per diet. But I digress…

At our first visit to the bookstore during this trip, I ran across a new-to-me magazine. It may be new to you as well since the March/April 2018 issue is only the second one. It’s The Farmhouse Movement magazine, and I hate that I missed the premiere issue. I was actually looking for the latest issue of The Magnolia Journal, which I found and bought, when one of the articles listed on the cover of this new-to-me magazine caught my eye. It’s been recommended that I change my eating habits and follow a ketogenic diet. To do this I have to change the type of flour that I use to bake with from our standard variety to coconut, and/or almond flour. Not an easy concept for someone my age to grasp (and we won’t even discuss the implementation thereof). So, when I saw a review of six different flours inside this issue, I knew I needed to check out that information as well as whatever else was hiding between the front and back covers.

I took a moment to look at the table of contents and saw that it included an article on starting a garden, basic sewing, and making some simple products to use in the home. Of course, there were a few other articles that caught my eye, but the ones that hit me first were enough to intrigue me into giving this new publication a whirl. Once we were back at our sweet little cabin, I sat down and started at the beginning since I needed to get a feel for the mind behind the magazine. That mind appears to belong to Jordan Schrandt. You may have heard of her, but as a quilty person, who tends to have blinders on where new names and faces outside the quilt world are concerned, I had not. You can learn more about her on her website though, as have I. She seems like a lovely young woman with a vision who has taken on the challenge to enable others to live a better quality of life.

Now, for my thoughts on the magazine… The magazine is very well done in terms of photos and layout. It has a nice matte finish and contains 99 pages. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that there wasn’t a single advertisement included in the page count. That means you’re truly getting your $8 worth out of this publication. I know advertisements are what help to keep the cost of publication down, but I have stopped subscribing to some magazines for this very reason.

The review of the six different types of flour was very helpful. I’m still a bit confused but figure if I read the page 100 times, like the TA in one of my computer classes recommended we do with new information (this was in 1992 by the way), I might be able to retain the nuances of the different flours and how to use them long enough to actually bake with them. Still, I’ll probably take a picture of the page with my phone (Victoria taught me this trick) so that I can use it as my “cheat sheet” when the time comes to start experimenting. Actually, we did bake a loaf of keto bread using both almond and coconut flour a few weeks ago. Can’t say as I was impressed with the result, but it was better than having no bread at all for making sandwiches. Hopefully, with this new information, on these new-to-me flour types, we’ll have a better outcome in future baking adventures.

The information shared on basic sewing was indeed very basic. It is definitely meant for a beginner who has very little to no experience using a needle and thread. Instructions on equipping a sewing box, threading a needle, hemming, sewing on buttons, and mending holes were given. It should get newbies started but some good tips were left out. For example, when hemming, be sure to take a back stitch every two to three inches so that the whole hem does not come out. That way you’ll only have to repair a few inches instead of re-hemming the whole section. Plus, tie off your thread when you’ve finished a seam before you cut the thread. I do a backstitch and run the needle through the resulting loop before pulling the thread tight to secure. Only then do I clip my threads. I wouldn’t recommend having stitches that were 1/2″ apart either. We’d call those toe-catchers. The mentioned 1/4″ apart would be better and even a bit smaller distance between stitches better still. I can hear my grandmother now telling me to always take small stitches.

While I enjoyed reading the information on gardening, making natural cleaning items, kitchen economics, and making a house look more farmhouse-like, I didn’t read the article on chickens, though I may go ahead and do that, eventually. No offense to anyone, but I greatly dislike chickens. I grew up having to tend to them and they’re just not my favorite critters. I learned at a very young age never to turn my back on roosters. Needless to say, I got very good at walking backwards.

There was a good article on forgiveness as well as articles on intentional parenting. It was nice to read about another family that homeschooled their children and to be reminded that no one is a perfect parent (something I guess I struggle with accepting if I were to be honest). I could totally relate to the article on foster parenting and adoption as Rick and I have done both. The articles were well written and brought back a lot of memories.

Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed the magazine and could relate to it well, even though much of it seemed to be geared to a younger audience than myself. The next issue is said to be coming out in May, so I will definitely keep an eye out for it. At the beginning of the magazine there is a page that explains the farmhouse movement. You can read that for yourself here. Given the direction our country seems to have been taken in, and its people have allowed themselves to go over the past several decades, I hope that the movement takes hold of young parents and enables them to nurture and train up the children who will become our future leaders. Our pastor in Albuquerque gave a sermon many years ago entitled “Give Me the Old Paths.” I couldn’t help but be reminded of that sermon, possibly from Jeremiah 6:16, and the need for families, for our country, to return to the values and morals that were once so common and expected. Under the name of the magazine are the words, “Timeless Truths of Healthy Homes.” Never before have we needed more truth and healthier homes than is needed now. Good work Miss Jordan! I look forward to enjoying your next issue.

Magazine Monday

While I was busy hosting Stitchin’ Camp this weekend, the winter edition of Primitive Quilts landed in our mailbox. Anxious to look through it, but at the same time wishing to be able to give it my full attention, I decided to wait until Sunday afternoon, after my nap of course, to look through its pages.

Sometimes, magazines will offer several projects within their pages, but only one or two that will tickle my fancy. In this case, my wait was welcomed with a magazine brimming with projects that I wanted to do. I use sticky flags to mark the projects that interest me, so my copy now sprouts nine colourful flags, each marking a must-do project, out of the 16 projects included within its covers. Not bad! In addition to the projects, there are many other useful tidbits included in each issue. I was pleasantly surprised when I read the books reviewed in the Book Nook section as the shop has, or has had, all but one of the ones listed, and I have a special order request for that one book which I’ve not yet had in the shop. Needless to say, I’ve already sold out of a couple of the books that were reviewed, yes, they are that good, but I can always “buy more” as Nathanael used to say when we’d tell him that we’d run out of something, including money.

Now, you might say that “primitive” is not your style. Well, it’s not really mine either. I’m a Victorian kinda girl. But, thankfully, I had a grandmother who was a seamstress by profession. She taught me at an early age to ignore the fabrics used on a pattern, usually dress patterns, and to look at the bare bones drawing at the bottom of the catalog page instead. From her I learned that while I might not like the fabric shown on the cover of a pattern, all I had to do was change the fabric in order to have something that better suited me. She taught me how to visualize the dress made in my choice of fabric(s) instead of the fabric used in the cover photo. At the time, I didn’t realize just how valuable that lesson was. Now, as a shop owner, and creative person in general, I would say learning to look beyond the visible and being able to visualize the possible is a lesson we all need to learn as it can help in so many areas of our lives with one of the most important areas being personal relationships, where looking beyond the outside covering of a person into the depths within can mean the difference between being saved from a bad relationship or making a forever friend.

As one might guess, the colours used in the projects of this issue are mainly warm, cozy colours. While I might make one or two of the projects using similar colours, I will most likely brighten them up just a tad. Instead of using dark greens, browns, and navy, for example, I will probably use bright reds, turquoise, and lime greens. Who knows, I might even throw in some purple along the way because I do have purple ornaments for the small tree that sits on the library table in our hallway. In my book, purple is a valid colour for any time of the year. Of course, there are all those variations-on-a-theme possibilities as well. I can see extracting parts of projects to make a smaller version, especially for gift giving, or mixing and matching bits and pieces to my heart’s content. Oh, dear…here we go…

If you’ve never looked through a copy of Primitive Quilts you can visit their website and see the projects included in the winter issue. You can either order a copy online or visit your nearest bookstore for immediate satisfaction. I really think you’ll be hard pressed to ignore this issue once you’ve taken time to look through it and imagine the projects in your own favorite colours. As always, feel free to share what you’ve made with us. I’ll do that myself, once I decide on just which project to do first. Those who know me well know that decision making is not my strong suit, so it might be next Christmas season, or winter, before I actually have anything to show. Remember though, patience is a virtue. Knowing me will no doubt help make you a very virtuous person indeed.

Freebie Friday

In the aftermath of our Shop Hop, it has emerged that next to the discounts the thing our hoppers liked most about the hop was the freebies. Everyone seemed to be looking for the freebies. So, in my blog during the shop hop days in addition to sharing who won our door prizes I also shared several links to freebies that were available to you on the World Wide Web. Hopefully, you’ve had a chance to check those out and are ready for a new freebie.

“What kind of freebie?” I hear you asking. How about a free magazine? How about two or three free magazines? It seems that e-magazines are popping up all over, and I even subscribed to the McCall’s Quilting online version myself. But, to be honest with you, I’d still rather have the old-fashioned paper version in my hands to flip through over and over (and over) again. That means that each time I visit one of the bookstores in Huntsville I look through a copy of McCall’s Quilting knowing full well that I have the same thing sitting on my computer at home…unopened. Yes, the file that I’m sent for each new issue sits unopened and waiting for when I feel like I have a few spare minutes that I want to sit in front of the computer and stare at it just a little while longer. The plus to having a hard copy is I can sit in my favorite easy chair with my feet up, have my tall glass of ice water and my favorite Dove chocolates by my side. Much, much, much more relaxing I think than sitting in front of the computer screen. So, when my online subscription runs out it is very unlikely that I will re-subscribe. I’ll go back to getting my hard copy through the mail and hope that it doesn’t sustain too much damage as it travels to my mailbox.

OK…enough of that. You’ve shown so much patience in waiting for me to get off my soapbox and share the links to those free magazines I mentioned earlier. Here they are! The first is for Kona Bay’s Asian Fabric magazine that was originally available only in print. Issues 26 and 27 are now free for viewing online. When I first started reading the magazine online I didn’t realize that you could make the type larger but you can in the event that your eyesight is failing like mine. There are several patterns in each issue that you’ll want to look over as well as several interesting articles that will take you to places many of us will never get to see in person. At the end of the publication there are some delicious looking recipes, several of which I bet you’ll want to try. If nothing else, learning to make carrot flowers and cucumber barrels will help to make your next entertaining effort special, not to mention unique.

The second online magazine that I wish to share with you is an Australian one whose name just happens to be Online Quilt Magazine. Between these two online magazines you’ll be well traveled once you’ve read through them. The September issue has an interesting mystery quilt article beginning on page 15 which has you cutting whole blocks into two pieces and sewing them back together again into a different block all together. I can see myself making different blocks than the ones shown, cutting them into two parts, and sewing them back together again just to see what I get. I’m more than a bit intrigued by this idea I’m afraid.

Here’s the August issue for you to enjoy as well. That should help keep you busy for a while. I’d so hate for you to run out of things to do.

Now, how’s that for being frugal!? All you need to spend here is a little of your time. You just never know what you might end up with once you’ve spent a little time with a good magazine.