And following the storm we created this pattern so we would never forget.
Here’s what it says in the back of the pattern.
I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed reading your posts about either that storm or others you’ve lived through.
Rick is helping me with the leaves today and as I’m blowing off sidewalks I can help but notice these sturdy little flowers – even growing up in the cracks of the sidewalk!
My m-i-l called them miniature hollyhocks but they’re actually prairie mallow.
In a couple of days I’m going to ask for your most recent good book titles so be ready to add to your current list. I will print the pages again and try to use a felt marker -I hope that will make it easier to read. I know some of you had problems.
Thanks once again for supporting this blog -I’m quite sure I enjoy hearing from all of you as much as you enjoy reading the blog. It’s a win-win for all of us!
Dear Mary,
My mom’s cousins for many years had a Round Robin in which letters made the journey between eight or twelve of them, passing along news. My cousin and I were honored when we were invited to join, bringing in the “next generation”. (I can’t say the younger generation because we were in our late 40’s when we started writing, I think.) Because there are so many of us, we get the Robin about twice a year, yet we are unwilling to make it an online thing yet. Also, some of the older cousins aren’t online. I’m telling you this because your blog posts remind me of the Robin letters, and not only because my mom and her cousins were/are Iowans.
(Why does writing that bring tears to my eyes? It must be this time of year–the holidays draw close and I’m quick to cry!)
Thanks for all you do. xxx Beth
Beth T.
My dad is from Iowa (south east corner West Point/Fort Madison) and is one of about 50 first cousins who all spent summers together as kids in Iowa no matter where they lived. They started a round robin letter that was called the “fat letter”. Who knew those were the beginnings of “blogs”? It would take about a year to make its way around to everyone. Every now and then, calls would have to be placed to try to locate it, if it seemed to be lost. Now one of the cousins has started a closed Facebook group. It is very enjoyable as there are many generations that belong. We get instant news from births, engagements and prayer requests. We used to buy a wonderful sausage up there but the family business has since closed. My mom would freeze it and we would have “special dinners” to save it until the next trip to Iowa, it was such a treat. Our trips were also timed so that we could stop at a special diner that had pork tenderloins so big they wouldn’t fit on a dinner plate. My dad’s cousins still make pork tenderloin sandwiches for us when we visit. Our reunions are now every 5 years but still enjoyable!
I’ll take 1 of those dinnerplate pork tenderloins!!
Amy M – how come I don’t know this about your dad
Oh, Amy, the shame of being the one who has held on to the letter too long! Once that was me and I was so worried they were going to black ball me! I wonder if this Round-Robin-cousins-letter is an Iowa thing. Every time I mention it to someone–usually to someone a bit older than I, whom I assume might be familiar with the concept–they have never heard of it, but like the idea and say they’ll talk about it with their family members. However, I think Facebook and even family text lists (or however you do that, I don’t text so don’t know) seem to have usurped thick envelopes with handwritten news, funeral programs, and newspaper clippings.
Our family also holds Cousins Reunions. I’m so glad I attended one with my mother. I was raised in California and most of her extended family members were just names and stories to me. At the reunion they became real people, which meant so much to me when my mother died unexpectedly 18 months later. Cards flowed in from those same cousins and I felt the connection of family in a much stronger way than I would have if I hadn’t sat a picnic bench with them on a summer afternoon.
In Indiana in 1978 we had a blizzard that lasted for several days. My mother-in-law, who lived in the Virgin Islands, called us to see how we were and she said she could hear the blizzard wind blowing clear from Indiana over the phone. My husband was in the National Guard and was called to help people in distress so I was left alone with two little boys and a new baby. But we were well stocked and were warm and better off than a lot of people. My husband said he couldn’t find the road if it weren’t for the tops of fence posts he followed, the snow was that deep. I loved it mainly because I knew we were safe and I loved how the snow looked piled high around the house. I guess the moral of this story is, always keep toilet paper, milk and bread and other food stocked up in case of an emergency. My husband did have some National Guardsmen bring milk to our house wading up to their hips in the snow.
HI Mary,
Love, love, love reading your posts each day! I visited the shop just once right before you closed. So glad I was able to get there – loved it!
Question – is it to late to order “Live Thankfully” (tabletop version)? I think it probably is, but just thought I would ask. November came way too soon!
Oh Mary.. What a blessing that little flowering Mallow plant is! Tis 38 outside @ 1 pm and some of the snow is melting off the trees from a slight rain.
Enjoyed seeing your Storm pattern, too! All the sharing about storms reminded me of my dad sharing about his winters in northwest North Dakota. He and his older brother cut lignite to burn in the kitchen stove and had a rope tied from the house to the barn on the wheat ranch. Fortunately my grandparents bought a fold up Kodak camera and developed their own pictures. I have quite a few, but my favorite has Ditching Out written with the stylus that came with the old Kodak. It shows snow higher than their house and my dad who was about 8 n grandpa standing in the narrow cleared path. I inherited the camera!
Launa – oh, what a treasure to find an old picture like that! My mom had some pictures from the winter of ‘36 and honestly, we couldn’t have dreamed up that much snow!
I love seeing your posts pop up in my email Mary. I have never heard of such a storm! Your posts really bring a lot of joy, especially at this time when my family is dealing with my mom dying. I appreciate all the time and effort you put into this blog. It’s an escape even for a short time.
Linette Anne Stewart – having just dealt with Gayle dying, I extend my sympathy and support. It’s hard to die easily.
Thank you for keeping us all informed on all you do. The storm stories are interesting. My grandfather told me barns are red so farmers can see them in blizzards. He also had a rope between the house and the barn for blizzards. I am always amazed at little plants and trees that grow in cracks of mountains and sidewalks and odd places.😺
I LOVE that quilt! You were so productive during that time! Hoping we have a mild winter in Illinois!
Mary, my e-mail is changing to : lizschrader.com@gmail.com
I hope you can change it because I would hate to miss any of your stories! Thanks. Liz
Liz Schrader – I cannot change your email address – you will have to re-subscribe under your new email and then confirm from that email address.
Is the pattern for “The Storm” available? Would like to order one. Love your blog!
How appropriate and wonderful you and Connie designed a quilt about the snow storm!! You two seem to be able to do anything you put your minds to. I admire you sooo much!
Synthia – and here’s our secret – we could never design a quilt around something we never experienced -for example, we’ve never used a lighthouse or a pig!! ! Haha!
Just finished Reckoning by Grisham. Very good
The Storm quilt is one of my all time favorite Country Threads quilts! A quilt that tells a story of life in the country. Thanks for your great blog posts! I remember an ice storm in our area when we were growing up with five days or so of no electricity. My brother and I got to stay with my grandparents and ‘camp out’ in front of the fireplace. My grandma made it quite an adventure for us with stories, games and letting us roast marshmallows and making baked apples in the fireplace coals. My dad had to work extra hard to keep the animals fed and watered during that time.
Zabrina. I think that is the name of your pretty mallow. I once grew that one and it also came up in the sidewalk cracks. I think she prefers tight places to open meadows and beds, even though she is a wildflower.
Love the storm quilt. We had to endure 3 days without power once. 5 days another time. Our only source of heat was our fireplace, same as you. Our daughter came to stay because she had NO heat source. It was very cold but not as cold as the Midwest, I am sure. But, we bundled up in quilts and sat by the fire with a card table in front of us and played card games. We cooked on a camp stove on the kitchen table. The thing I missed most was my sewing machine.
Wow what stories in my area of California we might have a power outage of hours but not days. Of course we don’t have snow, there was one winter that we did have freezing temperatures and pipes burst. Our natural disaster is earthquake no advance warning and damage is dependent on where the center is and how strong the quake is.
I am hoping that you are getting better warning of coming storms
I love reading your blog when they pop on my phone. Plus, every now and then your sense of humor sneaks in. We’ve had a few harsh Winters in Illinois. I remember walking down the main road with my Mom (in the 60’s) to the store. The shelves were empty. Mom was just glad to get enough supplies to make bread and stew. Wondering myself if your quilt pattern, The Storm, is available.
Thanks for putting sunshine in our days!
Sharon – and your order went out last week with an apology – your envelope slipped under something on the work table and I found it late! I’m not usually that tardy sending out an order.
I remember reading abut the storm in the Goat Gazette. Loved that “paper” and read it cover to cover. Still have alot of them, loved them so good. Paula in KY