Grandma's soap operas

I have not taken the time to get on this blog have I? Wow...I don't know where the time has gone.
My very good friend, Barb was here to spend the week with me and we had such a great time. First of all, we did some shopping in between the snowy days, ate some good food, had coffee with friends here, worked on some quilts, went south of the border to meet with our other buddy, Pat, and spent the day doing fun things. Last of all we checked out the glass show here at the Botanical Gardens before she left on Friday. It was a bittersweet visit as she received news on Thursday of the death of a family member and flew back home on Sunday early for the funeral.

This is the second square for this year's Thimbleberries quilt. Again, I made three of them and will decide which additional future patterns I will use since I will not use all 12. I have posted more of Sylvia's patterns and have made only three more squares. While Barb was here, I took her to our quilt guild meeting and we both really enjoyed the topic that was discussed. I am sorry that I don't remember the name of the guest speaker, but "Red Work" and embroidery was her specialty. What really struck a cord with me is the manner in which she approaches her work and the way that she began her journey. Examples of her work were on display in the form of quilts, dresser scarves, dish towels, many unfinished projects, but all were things of beauty. As she spoke of her introduction to the embroidery as a child, it brought back such memories and I realized how it paralleled my first attempts. She and her sister would sit together with her grandmother who gave them embroidery to master. As they stitched quietly, her grandmother could faithfully watch her soap operas. In the 50's, when television was an infant, my grandmother had a small television and she loved her soap operas which were a continuation of earlier ones on the radio. I remember a piece of plastic which had colored areas that she taped over the screen to give the illusion of "color". This was before color television...yes strictly black and white in the 50's. Anyway, she would give me floss and needles and hoops for me to carefully stitch the stamped patterns and she oversaw my work as she watched her soap operas. I rarely use a hoop and it surprised me that this expert in embroidery said that she never uses a hoop. I find that the hoop gets in the way and it tends to stretch the fabric as well as the floss.

Do little girls still sit with their granny and learn to do needle work? Not so much anymore I think. It does seem from what I observe, however, that there is a renewed interest in some young adults to preserve those skills that were lost to a generation or two. It also allows one to take time for oneself... when you sit and use a needle of one kind or another with a fiber. There is also a sense of satisfaction when a piece of needlework is finished.

"When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer." Regina Brett