Do you scurry around making school lunches, getting snacks ready, or checking the hot lunch menu if you have youngsters at home?  If you’re working outside the home at quilting or other employment, do you wonder what to take?

I’ve written about this topic at my Mary Emma’s Country Kitchen blog, under School Lunch Variations, covering school lunches from my mom’s day to the present when my grandchildren take lunch and snacks to school.  There certainly have been changes over the years. 

You’ll also find a recipe for Mayonnaise Cake, something we made often during my childhood for dessert at home and a lunch box special.

What do you do so lunch box time isn’t so mundane and a frantic rush? 

 Incidentally, do you make quilted or patchwork lunch boxes or carriers?

(Ghirardelli Chocolate image at Amazon)

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com

How “green” was your grandmother’s quilting? 

Grandma never thought about “green” quilting when she recycled her fabrics.  She was simply being frugal or thrifty.  Also, fabrics weren’t so readily available for the early quilters.  The local general store may carry some bolts of fabric for making clothing but not very many and then mainly serviceable materials. Also, it was considered extravagant to buy fabric solely for making quilts. 

So what did Grandma do? 

She……

*Cut up worn-out clothing and used the fabric for her quilts.

*Incorporated the leftover fabric from making clothing and household items into quilts.

*Used the decorative feed and flour sacks popular in the 1940s for making quilts, clothing, and household items.

*Traded fabric with her quilting friends.

*Used scraps of fabric for patching…clothing, bedding, tablecloths, quilts.

*Made rag rugs from leftover fabric.

*Took wornout quilts, cut out the remaining good portions and stitched together for another quilt or made smaller items from these.

*Never threw anything away that she could find a place to store.

Quilters have been saving and using scraps of fabrics for years, so this whole “green” idea is nothing new to them.

How about you?  How do you reuse and recycle in your quilting and fabric art?

(Amazon image; click here)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com

 Do you need cheer?  Do you need uplifting?  Do you need simply to read some lovely stories?  The giveaway this month is just the answer.

It consists Heartwarmers of Spirit, an anthology concerning Triumphs over Life’s Challenges, edited by Azriela Jaffe. 

I have a story published in this book, “My Ray of Cheer on Dancing Tiptoe.” It concerns the cheer my granddaughter provided when I was in a body case, recovering from a broken back.  She became my little lifeline.

Simply leave a comment below, letting me know how you or someone you know could use this book.  It has many uplifting stories of how various people faced challenges.

Be sure to include your e-mail address in the space provided so I can contact you if you’re the winner.  (Your e-mail will not be made public.)

The random drawing giveaway will end Wednesday, August 27, 11:59 PM (eastern).  Unfortunately I can only offer it to those living in the United States or with a US postal address.

(Amazon image; click here for details)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com

While we’re on the topic of Harry Potter (see the post about Susan Gunelius and her book on the Harry Potter global phenomenon), why not take a look at a related book by J.R. Rowling?  If you and your quilting family are Harry Potter fans, you’re probably intrigued by any reference to a new book.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.R. Rowling, is a book of fairy tales written to supplement the Harry Potter series.  It will be published in two new editions, the Standard and Collector’s, on December 4, 2008.   (However, it’s available for pre-order now at the above links.)

Collector’s Edition

(Amazon images; click on them for details)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com

Don’t miss out on this GIVEAWAY!

Author Susan Gunelius visits Home Biz Notes for an interview and a giveaway of her book,  Harry Potter, The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon.  This is in celebration of the release of her book in the United States today, August 19.

To participate in the giveaway and read the interview, check out:

Giveaway of the Harry Potter Phenomenon Book by Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius: Exploring the Harry Potter Phenomenon

(Amazon image; click here for details)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com

Even though the summer is drawing closer and children are going back to school, the Arts Bloggers still have many interesting ideas for you.  These might be fun to consider if your schedule slows down after the youngsters are in school.  Some of the ideas are “green,” made from recycled materials.
Cool Journal Tool
Try this fun tool to create art for your journal, or just to play

Cotton Monsters! The Work of Jennifer Strunge
See some of Strunge’s amazing and fun soft sculptures made from recycled clothing and linens.

Eco crafts- Credit card bobbins
How to recycle old credit cards into bobbins for embroidery floss, crochet cotton or, threads or yarn.
Homecoming Mum Season Alert
If you live in Texas, Oklahoma and other parts of the South and are in junior high or high school (or know anyone who is ;-), it’s time to get started on your homecoming mums. Go team! 

Layers Upon Layers
June Campbell, one of the most generous mixed media artists I know, has written a profile for Layers Upon Layers. Come meet this extraordinary woman! 

Make your needlework patterns go further
Did you know that lots of cross-stitch and needlepoint patterns are interchangable?

Walking Through the Time Warp of Your Quilting World
Mary Emma, at Quilting and Patchwork, explores the timelessness of quilts and how they bring generations together.

Enjoy!

(Amazon image; click for details)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

HomeBizNotes.com

Are you and your children Harry Potter fans?  Do you ever wonder how Harry Potter became such a popular series and more?

Susan Gunelius, author of Harry Potter, The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon, will visit Home Biz Notes, on Tuesday, August 19, the day her book is launched in the United States.

You won’t want to miss this upcoming interview with Susan, also a b5 blogger at Brand Curve and Play Library.  We learn how and why she wrote the story concerning the phenomenal marketing strategy that made Harry Potter a brand name and fantastic success. 

We shall be featuring a giveaway of the book later in the day of August 19.  (Susan’s book also is available for pre-order at the above link.)

So…..Keep Tuned!

(Amazon image; click on book for details)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com

The premise that quilts contained symbols and secret messages for slaves escaping along the Underground Railroad of the pre-Civil War and Civil War era is met with differing opinions.  However, research continues with some saying there definitely were quilts that aided and others who maintain it’s all a folk tale.

Diane Grenier is a quilter who spent two years researching Underground Railroad quilts and has created a reproduction.  Learn about her own fascinating journey in Heidi Kratzke’s story, “Underground Railroad Quilt” threads way to freedom.

Other stories relating to this topic:

Hidden in Plain View - A Favorite Quilt Book

The Runaway Quilt (An Undergound Railroad Novel)

The Underground Quilt Controversy

Quilters Celebrate Black History Month

Student Makes Quilt Depicting Slavery & the Underground Railroad

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

QuiltingAndPatchwor.com

The names of quilting groups and guilds fascinate me…this bonding together of friends with a common interest. Some names are so imaginative; others have historic reference; still more reflect the area of the country where they’re located.

Here are 13 I’ve come across: 

1. Flying Needles Quilt Guild
2. Friendsville Memorial Guild
3. Patchwork Piecers
4. Heritage Quilt Guild
5. Walnut Valley Quilers Guild
6. Prairie Quilters
7. Emma Creek Quilt Guild
8. Friendship Quilters Guild
9. Teakettle Quilters Guild
10. Scraps & Threads Quilt Guild
11. Heirloom Quilters
12. Belknap Mill Quilters Guild
13. The Material Quilters

There are so many more quilting guilds, clubs and organizations and the names are fascinating.  Why don’t you tell me the name of yours…and a little about it?  It would be fun to feature quilt guilds here.

(Amazon image; click for details)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com

As I browsed through my articles here at Quilting and Patchwork, I discovered one about quilting and China, The Early History of Quilting in Eqypt and China.  It refers to an item in Kaye Woods’ newsletter that mentions:

 “The earliest recorded
quilted garment was found on a carved, ivory figure of a pharaoh, dated to
be from around 3400 BC!”   

(Since the above post was written nearly two years ago, the link to Kaye’s newsletter for that week isn’t available.  Apparently they aren’t archived that far back.)

However, if you have any information about quilting in early China or even present day China, you’re welcome to share it here. 

 Is there quilting connecting China and the Olympics originating in China?

(Amazon image; click to learn more)

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen