Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Norah's Quilt


All of my grandchildren have Christmas Quilts. Once a long time ago, Kate and I picked out motifs for her Christmas quilt blocks. Some patterns came from quilt magazines, some from a quilt book, and some from a coloring book I bought in the 1970's. A few patterns exist on purple and white "ditto" coloring sheets from the 70's. Those would have been copied on old ditto machines with cylinders that turned and the ink had a unique sweet smell. Were some of those machines turned by hand with a crank? Who knows what chemicals we inhaled from all those ditto worksheets.

I've written this story previously -  how my son gave his quilt to his son, and my daughter gave hers to her oldest son. Then came three more children and three more quilts. Norah's quilt, the latest rendition is finished. All of them are set together differently. The set for this quilt was inspired by a quilt in the Christmas Patchwork Loves Embroidery book. I stitched the blocks, set them together, and then had the fabric sandwich machine quilted. I hand quilted Kate and Aaron's quilts but wanted these quilts to be loved and washed as well as finished in a timely manner. Perhaps machine quilting makes them a little sturdier. Norah will be in her crib this Christmas but the quilt is ready for her "big girl bed" whenever she outgrows the crib.

I finished the ribbed socks. The lighter colors looked a little frosty which was a good thing during the hot hot days of last week. I cast on a Christmas gift knit because Christmas will come. I have gathered leftover yarn for two shawls because they start as small projects. Last week during the heat and humidity, I set the sweater aside but I'll get back to it eventually.


I continue to enjoy Elizabeth Alexander's poems in Crave Radiance, reading a few each morning. My book group selection is Washington Black by Canadian Esi Edugyan. This novel is quite the story about a young boy born into slavery and his adventures after he escaped. It is well written and should prompt a good discussion at our August gathering. I am also reading The Dark Flood Rises by Margaret Drabble. Drabble is an English writer and I had never read any of her work. This main character is an older woman and part of the story is her musings on aging. Drabble writes with a dry sometimes cynical wit. I think older women characters in novels are often portrayed in the same stereotypic ways so I will be interested to see how this character evolves.  I am intrigued enough to keep reading.

I'm linking to Kat and the Unravelers. I enjoy seeing what others are reading and making.


It was me or the quilt. We chose the quilt.


8 comments:

  1. Norah's quilt is so beautiful - what a treasure! Sweet images on it. I do remember dittos (and I LOVED the scent from the purple ink). I had forgotten about Margaret Drabble. Seems to me that I read a book or two by her years ago, but I may be mistaken; nothing rings a bell when I look at what she has published.

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  2. I loved The Dark Flood Rises! :-) (I also love Elizabeth Alexander's poems!) I am so taken with your Christmas quilts. What a wonderful treat - and tradition - for all the children of your family. They will be treasured for generations, I'm sure. XO

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  3. The quilt is stunning! What a treasure! And, those frosty socks bring dreams of frosty weather (and while I am not rushing it to get here now, I have contemplated those days with longing recently!)

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  4. Norah's quilt is a real family heirloom, and certainly a beautiful labor of love! Thanks for giving us a full view of all the wonderful blocks. I love the variety. Your mention of dittos brings to mind that hand-cranked process with its accompanying smell. We used to immediately put freshly copied test papers to our noses and inhale deeply!

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  5. That's a lovely quilt! Such a great family tradition.
    Those books all sound very interesting. I love older women as main characters, but I agree, they tend to be stereotypic.

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  6. your quilts are treasures!! I have every single quilt my mom made for me as a child and as an adult. I love the blocks you chose and how your family enjoys receiving something hand made by you.

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  7. What amazing family quilts ! Wonderful. We have no such things in our family. A few things have been passed down, but without a theme like your cool quilts.

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  8. Love that quilt tradition! Nice socks, too. I will be interested to see your shawls!

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