A Quilt In Time

There is one item that is not only universal in bringing comfort, warmth and security, but it has gone through the test of time and has come out stronger and more versatile. This generation-enduring gift of making cold nights warm, and worrisome tossing and turning into peace and tranquility - it is a quilt.
Throughout history quilts have been made as a necessity, but that turned into works of art as well as gifts that are treasured and passed on from one generation to another. While their simple components are merely pieces of scrap material and thread, they are woven with the personality of the quilt artist into a time machine of past, present and future. If you ever come across quilts that are torn, soiled, and worn, you can't just toss them away. Just looking at them, you can envision the multitude of "chores" they went through, from keeping a family warm when snow and blizzards blew, but they also provided a welcome mat for picnics near the lake with cooling lemonade served while conversations flourished and friendships became forever. Quilts brought beauty to road-ways as they waved in the breeze while hanging on clotheslines in back yards. They sometimes were endowed with pieces of cloth taken from clothing, or from nostalgic fabric used not only to highlight events in someone's life but to bring back the memory with the colors and feel of the fabric. They have become scrapbooks of family ancestry and walls for play houses when children need a place to read and just dream.
Quilts today are more elaborate than in bygone days, but they still are the messengers of "Happy Anniversary" or "Welcome Baby." They bring banners of "Get Well" or "So Sorry for Your Loss". They make a house of wood and mortar into a home that you want to come back to, no matter how your day went. They are always close by when a "chill" enters a room, or a problem needs a bit of deep thinking. They are a one size fits all, but they are one of a kind and unique. Quilts are the ties that bind, and they are the reminder that home is wherever you are,no matter the miles in between. Whether they are simple in design or fit to hang in a museum, they are "quilts," and in living up to what their mission is, they will always hug a child, or bring solace and comfort to the aged. In fact, they are there to lend themselves to whatever "ails" you, but they can also inspire and bring that certain touch to your decor that just can't be explained. Quilts will never become "old", they will just be given to those who follow and intended for those you love.
Whether you make a quilt for yourself or as a token or gift to someone you know or even someone you may never meet, such as a returning veteran or someone in a care facility due to life just being life, they don't need "words" to express feelings - you can just "know" that whoever made this quilt was giving more than their time - they were giving material and thread that was also woven into their hearts and lives. Each quilt is a warm handshake and a bear hug. It can take the heat of a roaring fire on a winter night, but it can cool and refresh when a nap on a summer afternoon is called for.
Quilts have quite a job ahead of them when they are finished by the crafter, but they also have a legacy of love behind them. Quilts have so many personalities that some-times they are hard to categorize. They can be "crazy" and wild and bring a smile, or they can "patchwork" and hold a life story in their borders. They are always "comforters" but "coverlet" sometimes is all that is needed. The words of description are not the important part, but the "giving" power of all that a quilt brings to someone is all that is needed to convey what words can never do justice. If you make quilts, then you are an artist who knows no boundaries, and if you find an antique quilt, then your pot of gold is overflowing. However, if you receive a quilt, then you are loved. Something to think about ©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009

Making "Good" Out of a "Bad" Economy

Lifestyles change with every page of newspaper headlines or a new televised report of stocks falling or companies closing. It's sad and for many it is heartbreaking.
There can be a bright side to every sad disheartening tale but they are sometimes hard to find and still harder to take in. One of the best changes that is occuring because of the economy is a turn around to home-cooked meals, more natural food and less chemically laced ingre-dients. It can even include growing your own fruits, herbs, and vegetables. By sharing the knowledge of how foods started with simple seeds can and do turn into fantastic meal entrees and delectable desserts, you and your family have new inroads into healthy and sustainable eating habits.
Holidays are also getting a "change" when it comes to entertaining, gifts, and decorations. Families are finding out that home-made has and always will be heart-made and that something given that is unique, and one of a kind, not manufactured or mass produced will give lasting memories. A meal served simply but with mouth-watering tastes, colors, and textures can surpass an expensive restaurant experience. How many times have we been disappointed with a meal that we thought would take our breath away and instead just took the dollars out of our wallets? It happens and this does not mean that eating out is a no-no. It only represents the fact that you can, with a little effort and planning, prepare feasts when monetary famine rears its ugly head.
Remember that cookbooks and recipes are maps or guidelines for certain dishes. You can and should include your family's favorites when you prepare a meal. If your family prefers corn to artichokes, make the change if it is appropriate for the dish. Improvise and tuck and trim and you will be delighted with the results. If not, and the family gives you the thumbs-down, then you know from this experience that these ingredients just did not go well together. There is nothing wrong in trying because "tried and true" recipes have evolved from many false starts and "maybe" ingredients, until the final result is a passed down to generations "keeper."
Going to garden shows or nurseries as a family, you will find that the kids enjoy the varieties of vegetable plants and flowering treasures and would consider it more "personal" if you let them pick and choose a few varieties. Their interest will be more in tune because they had input and their choice just may be the stellar star of your own garden show.
In home decor, let the children try their hand at decorations from vacations past or tidbits just lying in boxes collecting dust. If you enjoyed a vacation at the seashore a few years back, those shells may be re-invented to be used as curtain tie-backs, or even glued to a vase or tray. Glass balls from a tourist trap, placed in a clear bowl, can be a colorful and eye-catching mantle piece that reflects colors and rainbow accents. A skirt from a spa venture just never fitted right but was just too good to toss. It can now cover a pillow for porch or deck and its new life will bring back memories once again.
It's all a matter of choosing how to deal with down-turns and making sure that they don't turn your life downward. An old saying of "This too shall pass" is a wonderful mantra, but in the meantime, using your creativity and talent, your inspiration and dedication to trying your hand at new ventures, is the right "recipe" for dealing with anything the economy or this life can throw at you.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur March, 2009

Easter Eggs and Mother Earth

When Easter time comes rolling around, everyone enjoys the tradition of coloring eggs. Hard boiling eggs and then using your artistic touch is not only fun but can be a true learning experience for younger members of your family and their friends.
Waste not - want not is true even when coloring eggs for the Easter Basket. Scraps of food that you would otherwise just toss can and do produce some of the brilliant hues that make you "Ah" when placed in a basket for a centerpiece on the tableor as part of your mealtime plans.
The deepness of the colors depend on your preferences and if you enjoy mixing and matching, then using rubber bands around the eggs, or wax will allow for that decorative touch that we all have hidden in our "creativity" file right there next to "holidays are special". These files while hidden deep in our minds do come out once in a while and when they do, beauty and elegance as well as remarkable can be used to describe our efforts.
In the "purple" family - ordinary bottled grape juice is a "natural". For lavender, a shorter soaking period will produce this "spring" color, while a deeper shade comes with prolonged "soaking." While red onions have red skins, they do produce the color red, but also shades of violet and deep blues. Using pomegranate juiceis an interesting and tasty way to get shades of ruby. Remember to boil any "natural" coloring in water and allow it to cool. This brings out the "artistic" qualities of the natural products.
For brown or tan, try using dill seeds and if you like brown with a touch of orange then chili powder will give you that effect. Yellow which is a very popular color for Spring can be obtained with orange and lemon peels and you also get the aroma of these two citrus fruits which makes your whole kitchen smell like a breath of fresh air.
Deep brown or true chocolate brown - strong coffee and if you use instant coffee then vary the amount to reach the intensity you like. Orange comes with yellow onion skins and pink shines through with beet juice (and you have a vegetable for dinner) or use cranberry juice. In any of these products use only the "juice" and remove any solids from your bowl before placing the eggs in them.
Green is bright and can be obtained by using spinach leaves and a lighter lime green or yellow/green comes with apple peels, especially the Delicious variety.
Coloring eggs is not hard - it is well worth the extra effort and you can experiment on your own. While cooking vegetables or using a spice that your family enjoys, note the colors that it produces and try them with your egg coloring venture. It is all natural, with no chemicals or preservatives and it is time well spent. Imagine the truly stunning baskets you can create as well as watch the smiles if you use eggs as place setting "extras."
However you use Easter eggs, enjoy the moment, and enjoy the experience. Your creativity will bloom just like the lilies and tulips that are part and parcel of this Holiday.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur February 25, 2009