Shaklee to the Rescue

My Shaklee did it again! Last week I helped Anne sort through a bunch of baby clothes. I brought home a shirt which I had purchased on clearance at Gymboree for Ariana which she had worn maybe once. It had a set-in stain, but I did not want to part with it because it was so cute. I decided to soak it overnight in a pail of water with my Shaklee Nature Bright, this time actually following the directions on the package. (Normally I just throw the Nature Bright into the washing machine and never bother to pre-soak.) Since I had to soak that shirt I threw a couple of my stained shirts into the pail as well. (I have a thing for splattering grease and sauce as I cook, and do not always use an apron, in case you are wondering! I also spill when I eat.) All came out spankin' clean. Great saves.

Spankin' clean for the next grandchild.

I finished all of my embroidered quilt squares. The fabric for  backing and latticing is washed and ready to press and cut. I will be tight on fabric, so I did not want to cut any before pressing. I am not looking forward to working with an 11 yard piece. I have already started embroidering the squares which Alice brought in for the next quilt. Something about them which makes me want to sit down and get them all done.

Two more quilts to bind for St. Anthony's. This time I am going to sew around the edge of the quilt before attaching the binding, to see if that eliminates stretch. I was very disappointed in the last binding I did, since the top fabric stretched in one direction, and the bottom in another. I am not sure why. Either one of the fabrics was a blend, or it was because the backing piece was cockeyed in the frame, or perhaps I was working in too crowded a space to support the weight of the quilt when I had it on the machine. I hope this one turns out better.

We completed our 33 Days to Morning Glory class at Holy Spirit. I had done my consecration to Mary privately a few years ago using St. Louis de Montfort's Preparation for Total Consecration. When this class came up, however, I decided I would go as a renewal. I am glad that I did. Fr. Gaitley's book combined Louis de Montfort, Maximillian Kolbe, Mother Teresa and John Paul II to give a fresh look at Marian consecration. His answers to practical questions, such as which prayers to use for the consecration, the annual renewal of consecration and attitude after consecration were helpful to me in living the consecration daily. He quoted Maximillian Kolbe as saying that the consecration involves an act of the will, not continuous 'thought, memory or sentiment...' Kolbe says that once we make our consecration we do not have to continually renew it, since once it is done, it is done, and we do not take it back. This was also affirmed in another way through my reading from the Opus Sanctorum Angelorum Formation Letters, which state that it would  be impossible to be always thinking of offering up the activities of the present moment: the morning offering is sufficient to include everything. I found comfort in Kolbe's saying that Mary works behind the scenes, as it were, directing our actions, inspiring us, multiplying our good and cleaning up our mess, even when we are not consiously thinking of her. Our part is to have fervent recourse to her. I know that I did not take in everything the book has to offer. I am sure I will want to re-read it in the future. I highly recommend it both to those who have already made their consecration, and those who wish to make it in the future. I am including a picture of the candle which we received on consecration day, as well as the creative name tag made by our group leader, Sarah Howard. She did a terrific job leading our group.

More Stampin Up



Designed and made by Mary Lehn

I had to share this fun  card designed and made by my friend and Stampin Up demonstrator, Mary Lehn. I saved it to remember her use of two colors for the background. I want to copy her technique. The stamp set is fun. I like Stampin Up's use of the patterns on the balloon and gift stamps, and on the owl's breast. The colors Mary chose are both cheerful and restful. The party banner balances the picture well. The leaves on the tree branch are so cool.

I started attending another monthly stamp camp series with Betty Weisbrich. Participants have to attend for four months, and are required to spend a minimum of $20 on products each month. During one of those months I receive the hostess benefits. I have so many SU products that I want that spending that amount each month will be no problem! Quite a change from years ago when the only thing I ordered was paper. (I am still using my stash.) I am hopefully shopping wiser now. For each stamp pad I order I am purchasing the ink refill. I did not do that previously, and my inks are drying out before my paper is used up. Most of the old colors have been discontinued, and now it is too late. I have also decided that if I buy a particular set for which there are matching pieces like designer series papers, roller stamps or punches, I may as well get the accessories to maximize the use of the stamp set. I had decided at my last party to forgo the purchase of the Big Shot and instead concentrate on punches. I might change my mind on that later! I might swing the scoring pad during my hostess month. A few more weeks and I will be able to tell.

I am making headway on my quilting. Maria's quilt, so called because I had her start it when she was at my house for a sewing day, is nearing completion. We had intended it for Catholic Charities, but it may be nice enough when finished to give to Quilt Bingo. The colors were mostly from my boxes of five inch squares, but they coordinate well, and with a border added, it will  be big enough for St. Anthony's. The decider will be some pieces which were printed off-grain, and some pieces which we could not tell which side was the right or wrong side while we were sewing, and so the colors look slightly different. I am really happy about how well the colors work together, though. It is a mixture of aqua blues and peaches.

Quilting

I finished my second UFO quilt this past week. I did a Disappearing Nine Patch out of my stash of five inch squares. I goofed in cutting a few spots, and sewed some of the patches in different orders so that the finished quilt had some seams which were flipped the wrong way. Nex time I will know what to watch for.  The colors were dull on this one. Next time I will choose  brighter, more coordinated pieces and sew them in random order,  or go totally scrappy. (I saw a scrappy done with red as the center piece instead of  black, and I liked it very much.) I ran out of fabric cutting borders because I did not pre-measure, so I did mix and match. I did not like that. I called it a practice quilt and donated it to Catholic Charities. I can come up with something nicer for St. Anthony's. After all, it is not as if I am out of fabric! 

One more top to complete, but I have been sort of cheating by pressing and cutting the laundry basket of scraps (old clothes) which Mary gave me. Those  fabrics are vintage, but because they are used, will go into something for Cathoic Charities, or for dolly blankets.

I purchased backs for some St. Anthony's quilts, so pieced those and cut and sewed binding. I was thinking that quilting is an awful lot of work by the time all of the piecing, quilting, and binding is finished. I cannot imagine the time it would take to do an entire quilt by hand, and with templates drawn on scraps instead of fabric cut with a rotary cutter. We are very spoiled today as compared to what our grandmothers had to do. The quilting ladies comment about how they used to have to quilt on both sides of a seam when they used wool batting, and how they had to periodically take the quilts apart,  re-card the wool and then re-quilt them.

My mom said that at home they sewed a muslin strip along the top of the quilts to keep them clean. My aunt said that other than hanging the quilts outside and letting the rain run through them, they did not wash their quilts. Given the delicacy of used fabric, possibly hand-sewn, I can sure understand why. I would not relish the thought of having to hand wash and rinse a quilt in a bathtub, and then having to haul the wet thing somewhere to lay it out until it was dry. As Anne would say, "Wheeeew!".