Happy Chinese New Year

I designed and made this dragon quilt for my son when he was in college. I used a shiny metallic look cotton fabric for the background.

Fusible appliqué, machine thread work, machine quilted.

A Woman, Her Dogs, and The Iditirod Trail

The Iditarod is nothing I would ever, ever, ever want to be a part of. I don't like the cold, or discomfort, or pain, or sleep deprivation. I don't like risks and venturing into the unknown. Which is perhaps why I love to read about people who do such amazing things.

I enjoyed reading this book about Moderow's journey from Manhattan Paralegal to twice taking on the hardest journey of 1,000 miles across Alaska, over frozen rivers and through cruel, blasting snow storms. Moderow's love for her dogs is central, even when they jeopardize her win. Each musher is described personally, central figures in the story.

The brutal conditions and privations of the trail, the vagaries of weather and canine willfulness, are described in sure, flowing prose.

Moderow attempted the Iditarod in 2003 and finished on her second try in 2005.

I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Fast Into the Night: A Woman, Her Dogs, and their Journey North on the Iditarod Trail by Debbie Clarke Moderow
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication February 2, 2016
ISBN:13:978054444744

A Marshall Field's 100th Anniversary Handkerchief

I found this handkerchief on eBay. I knew it had a story and I wanted to know what it was. (It dated to the year of my birth--1952!)

The words "The Clock Strikes 100"appear next to a clock face-- a very specific looking clock-- in a field of repeated 100s. Around the border are drawings of buildings, people, and modes of transportation dated 1852, 1901, and 1952.

I goggled the motto and discovered that the clock is the famous Marshall Field clock at their Chicago flagship store. It was installed in 1871 as a beacon to the store which Field envisioned as a meeting place. (Which reminds me of the saying, "Meet Me At the Eagle" for John Wanamaker's in Philadelphia! Another large downtown store with an atrium--and pipe organ! See a souvenir hanky with the Eagle here.) 

The Clock Mender by Norman Rockwell features the Marshall Field Clock; Saturday Evening Post, 1945

You can see photos of the store and the clock here.  The Marshall Field & Company building is a Chicago landmark and is the second largest store in the world. The original building was lost in the great Chicago fire. Marshall Field moved into a new store in 1871. Additions were continuously made until 1914 and it reigned as the largest store in the world, covering 73 acres! 

I found many more Marshall Field 100 years handkerchiefs shared on Handkerchief Heroes.

I had no idea what I was going to learn when I bought this hanky! 

Valentines and Romantic Quilts

For February our local library has a display of vintage valentines and 'romantic' quilts have been hung.

 

 Shirley L. made this vintage handkerchief quilt embellished with machine embroidery.

 My handkerchief/pillowcase/embellished wall hanging.

I used an embroidered pillow case as my surface

I love that handkerchief so much when I saw another I snatched it up!

And my Vintage Rose is there, made from an embroidered doily, vintage quilt pieces, and embellishments.

I have some vintage valentines in my collection. I made turned several images into embroidered patterns; one has handkerchief points in the border. I sell the patterns at Rosemont Needle Arts on Etsy.

Some of my vintage valentine cards:

Quilts Presidential and Patriotic by Sue Reich, Including My John Quincy Adams Contribution!

Sue Reich's book Quilts Presidential and Patriotic is out! In 2015 Sue asked for people to take on making a 24" x 24" quilt for a president to be part of a traveling exhibit of President quilts. I jumped at the chance to do John Quincy Adams, having just read a biography of his wife Catherine Louisa. I proceeded to read books about JQ in preparation, including The Remarkable Education of John Quincy Adams by Phyllis Lee Levin;  The Stranger and the Statesman by Nina Burleigh about JQ's championing the Smithsonian legacy being used to institute a national museum; and Mr. Adam's Last Crusade by Joseph Wheelan The last was the most exciting, telling of his post-presidential career in congress and his Supreme Court win for the freedom of the Amistad kidnapped Africans. When I read thank you letters to JQ from the Africans I knew I had discovered the 'hook' to make JQ appealing and relevant.

The quilt exhibit has been traveling the country this year and Sue will present a paper at the American Quilt Study Group in September 2016.

John Quincy Adams by N. Bekofske

Quilts Presidential and Patriotic includes the President quilts, information about each president and quilt, including quilt styles of their administration, an artist's statement, and quilts, textiles, and news articles relating to the president's time in office. There is a whopping 330 photographs and illustrations in the 192 page book! I was thrilled when Sue asked to include my original Redwork quilt of the First Ladies, Remember the Ladies. Laura Bush from my quilt is featured on her husband's pages.

Hilary Clinton and Laura Bush from Remember the Ladies by N. Bekofske

Sue is the author of World War I Quilts, World War II Quilts, Quiltings, Frolics, and Bees, and Quilting News of Yesteryear.

Wuthering Heights Revisited: Nelly Dean by Alison Case

NetGalley sometimes lists books not available but with a button to tell them "I Wish it Were." I clicked on that button for Nelly Dean: A Return to Wuthering Heights by Alison Case and a few days later was surprised to find my wish had been granted--I was given the ebook to read!

I immediately opened the book up and started reading. Just for a taste, since I had two other books I was reading already, plus my book club books. But I didn't stop reading it. I was hooked.

In Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Mr. Lockwood tells the story of  Cathy Earnshaw and Heathcliff as told him by housekeeper Nelly Dean. In Case's novel,  years have passed and Nelly Dean decides to reveal all her secrets to Mr. Lockwood in the form of a long letter. Nelly tells of her relationship to Hinton Earnshaw and his son Hareton, her binding ties to the troubled and violent family, and the unexpected revelation that was the root cause of all her sorrows.

I enjoyed the novel as it stands on its own, and for another view of the classic Bronte story. Readers do not have to be experts on Wuthering Heights to enjoy this book.  I would have liked Case to have offered a little more than references to important scenes Lockwood already knew, to make it richer for those who don't know Emily's book. There are some sections that could be trimmed to advantage, especially concerning breastfeeding. The Big Reveal stretches credulity. Then, probability isn't a feature of the original novel.

I have gone back to reread Emily Bronte's novel once again after reading Nelly Dean.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte was published in 1847. Emily's book was anti-Victorian in every way! I first read it in my 20s, when I found it quite romantic and sexy. Twenty years later and found it Gothic and improbable. In 2012 I read all the Bronte sisters works while reading a biography on the family, my post found here.

I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the free ebook in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Nelly Dean
by Alison Case
Pegasus Books
Publication February 8, 2016
$25.95 hard cover
ISBN: 9781605989617

"A gripping tale of familial turmoil and thwarted passion...Alison Case has created a world so real, so grounded in visceral detail, that no prior knowledge of the Bronte classic is required. However, I suspect her debut Nelly Dean will entice many (including this reviewer) to reread the original, with fresh and knowing eyes." Irish Independence.

Aunt Carrie's Quilt & New Finds

My Aunt Pat Ramer had three of my Great-Aunt Carrie Ramer Bobb's postage stamp quilts, which my grandfather wrote about in an article for his hometown paper. One sadly met its end in a washing machine mishap. The other two were were coming unsewn and some fabrics had shredded. Aunt Pat took one quilt apart to repair it. And there it sat in her closet.

I brought the quilts home with me to see what I can do.

Aunt Carrie made the quilts in the 1960s with fabric scraps. 1" squares of fabric were sewn by hand into nine-patch units. Colors are repeated to make larger "x" patterns.

 Below is the top of the quilt Aunt Pat took apart. There are several more pieces as well.

Read my article on Aunt Carrie's quilt making and Chive Dumpling recipe at
http://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2015/10/the-quilts-and-chive-dumpling-recipe-of.html
See more about Aunt Carrie, including more of her quilts owned by Sidney Bobb at
http://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2012/09/our-heirloom-quilts.html