I have read and reread your comments about the vaccine and how you’re coping with your everyday life. Several of you have lost friends, have relatives living apart, have parents who suffer from early dementia – how can they possibly understand? Rick and I have said over and over how glad we are that our parents are not alive to suffer through this pandemic. It comes down to trying to do our part and for most of us that means wearing a mask! I wouldn’t dream of going into a store without my mask these days. I am so close to stopping those who aren’t wearing a mask and asking them how they can be so uncaring for all the rest of us. My greatest fear is somehow contracting the virus, not realizing it and giving it to friends, family, and church friends.
Well, enough about that for now – I spent the day putting up Christmas quilts – not one quilt got put up last year and I’m making up for it this year. I’ll have pictures tomorrow. In the meantime I was digging out more red and white quilts and came across more redwork that I thought you might enjoy seeing.
No big news about Jo today – except that I’ve been feeding her bites of raw hamburger every afternoon. I sit in the chair, put the hamburger in my left hand, lower my hand backwards to her bed but never look at her. She gently takes the hamburger right from my hand. When I made meatloaf tonite I saved out raw hamburger for her. I can’t wait for the day she gets up to meet me!
Here’s a sneak peak of the Christmas quilts – many more pics tomorrow.
Your red work is gorgeous!! Looking forward to seeing your other Christmas things. I am making a Christmas mystery quilt and will be putting it together tomorrow I think. I will have to think about getting my other Christmas things out too! So happy to hear how Jo continues to warm up to you!
Oh, Mary….RAW MEAT IS NOT GOOD TO FEED DOGS! This is confirmed by our vet and Dr. Pol!
Better to make Jo little meat tid bits to hand feed and add some cooked suet to her dry food. She will love you for it!
Thank you for showing the antique red n white items.
As for Masks…Sweden doesn’t require masks and their C19 has skyrocketed over this! Saw a segment about it on world news tonight!
Please continue to wear masks!
Launa – hmmmm,our dogs regularly get little bites of raw hamburger- why is it bad for them? Raw food diets are pretty popular.
Raw ground meat can have E. coli, Salmonella and other bad bacteria than other cuts of meat, so raw ground meat is more dangerous for all animals, including humans. Proper cooking kills off those bad bacteria.
Handling raw meat is more dangerous because of these bad bacteria, too, so be sure to clean your hands, utensils, dishes etc.
Butchering and processing practices are no longer like what many of us grew up with years ago, especially if you were a farm kid.
What beautiful red work. So much talent.
What lovely red work! I can’t wait to see all of your red and white quilts. I wear a mask everywhere. And, like you I worry that I’ll accidentally contract it and give it someone else, although I don’t see many people. My house will definitely take the vaccine. People who refuse to wear a mask are just being selfish. Their parents didn’t act that way in WWII. And yet with the virus more people have died in the US than all of the American soldiers in WWII. Everybody sacrificed in both world wars, but not now. Franklin D. Roosevelt was a wartime President, but the current President is not. He has set an awful example, and has done his best to obstruct all institutions including our public health agencies.
Our county goes to Level Red on Tuesday. I feel so bad for the people and businesses impacted by the tightening down of restrictions again. I will sneak down to see my granddaughter and kids tomorrow, not knowing when I may get to see any of them again. Thankfully, two of them are likely to be amongst the first to get the vaccine, so hopefully they will again be allowed to visit after that. We wear masks all the time.
I stitched another several dozen masks last weekend and got them sent out earlier this week. My sister will need them as she begins her chemo treatments snd my elderly parents were happy to have some new ones as well.
I have clients coming out of the woodwork right now—some cycling through after not being in for several years. People are struggling. Please be kind.
I have four quilts to bind and instead, I’m working on embroidering Christmas stockings.
I love your redwork pieces!! So beautiful. Glad Jo is settled and working on being more comfortable with you!!
Diane Bauer – how did I miss that your sister was beginning chemo???? I wish her only the best!
I have a question that I am hoping someone can help me with…I have wanted to make a red and white quilt for decades BUT I find that some red fabrics bleed ALOT. I am wondering how can one stop it, I have tried vinegar, salt, hot water, cold water. With all your expertise Mary and all your lovely red and white quilts and other projects, do you have an answer? Someone told me it depends on the fabrics and where one buys it.
Thank you for the help…
Prewash your red fabrics using Shout Color Catchers, available at most stores in the laundry products aisle. Use them the first time or two you wash the finished quilt also. They are in a box and resemble dryer sheets.
Soak the fabric in a mixture of Retayne and water, before you wash it. Then wash using color catchers. You can buy Retayne at a quilt shop. Probably Amazon also.
mjg – I buy only the best quilt fabric and I don’t prewash. All my quilts have been washed in the machine and dried in the dryer. I have only one that ever bled and that was a strictly red solid a white solid. Most of it came out however when I used a color catcher. I personally would never buy a solid red from a chain store – I am quite sure that red would bleed all over!
Such beautiful red work! Anxious to see the photos of all your Christmas quilts!
I was reminiscing about what special food treats we used to train our dog. Some of the suggestions we were given by the puppy kindergarten and obedience instructors were peanut butter, cooked chicken, and cheese. The idea was to determine her favorite and then use it for a special reward. Just some ideas to try with Jo in hopes that she’d continue to warm up to you. I poached chicken breasts and chopped it into small pieces and believe it was Kraft singles, again very small pieces. Peanut butter she’d lick off our fingers. Cali still loves all these things 10 years later. She reacts like I do to chocolate – can’t get enough!
Hi mary,staying home, shopping fortnightly or getting home deliveries is the best idea for safety.l use dye sheets to remove excess dye when l first wash a quilt.Pleased to hear Jo enjoying snacks, can you pat her yet?,take care, best wishes from sandy
Sandy – yes, Jo let’s me pet her without any trouble but I so wish she would walk to me – soon, I hope!
Wow, the red works are beautiful. You don’t see anything like them anymore.
You are doing a good job with Jo, it will take a little while longer. I got my Ginger at 3 months she is 2 now and sometimes when I go to pet her head she finches like I’m going to hit her. I’ve never hit a animal I’ve had Then after a pet or 2 she leans into you for more. You would think after a while they would forget but I guess it’s always there in there mind. Beside that she loves to play tug, chase balls and cuddle.
I’m looking forward to your red Christmas quilts. I love that new Bonnie Hunter red and white quilt. I need to get it so I can collect enough reds to make one.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, there are 3 of us in our household and that’s all we will have at our table this yr. our daughter and grandkids from Alaska cancelled there tickets to come. I don’t think CHRISTMAS will be any better but if we are all still here because we played safe there is next year.
I wear a mask every time I go out. I encountered a young man in grocery store today and his mask was below his chin. I asked him to put back in place and he apologized and put on correctly.
My 96 yr old Mother is in asst living and only allowed out for dr appt. Her dementia is much worse but she is safe.
Love the snowman quilt in the last pic. Also, a feathered star block is on my list. Good luck with Jo.
What lovely redwork pieces. I look forward to seeing all your Christmas quilts. I’m so glad to read that Jo is doing better being with you.
I love seeing your house and how you decorate with your quilts. I look forward to your posts, they brighten my day❤️ I too wish everyone would wear masks! Thanks Mary❤️🥰🌹
Ok, do tell … how are you hanging your quilts up with? Tape? However way, it is invisible!
Those redwork projects — the stitching looks so “heavy” — any idea what kind of emberoidery stitch or the read was used? My running stitches don’t look like that!
Keep up the good work with that puppy — she’ll come around when she is ready. Patience is a great virtue — and it increases the more we need to call on it!
Karen – ALL my walls are wood so I use a small stapler. I’m not an embroiderer – maybe someone reading this can answer your question. Remember these are about 125 years old.
Most of the stitching on the redwork pieces is done in a chain stitch, giving the heavier appearance.
The herringbone that has a line of what we would call a blanket stitch is also hand-done. There may be another name for it.
There’s an early sewing machine that does a wonderful chain stitch and frankly, I can’t tell from Mary’s photos if the chain stitches are hand or machine stitches. I got to test-drive one of those machines and the chain stitch was gorgeous. It would put our modern machines to shame.
You might be surprised at some of the stitches the early machines did, using attachments. Those of us of a certain age remember buttonhole attachments that moved the fabric to make the buttonholes, rather than the needle like today’s machines do.
Mary says sew – how would I be able to tell if it was done by hand or machine? I will look closely – I had no idea this could be done by machine but I’m betting the two big matching birds were done on machine – I’ll look.
It could be hard to tell if the embroidery was done by hand or machine. There are people who do such fine work it looks like it was done by machine.
Like so many things, a lot of experience looking at known samples gives a person better accuracy knowing how this is done.
You can check the back for starts and stops – hand embroidery will have more. Someone as good as this embroiderer was probably really good at securing the ends of the threads.
Also, look closely at the thread itself. You might be able to see individual plies of embroidery thread for hand work. Like the difference between the six-strand embroidery threads that we separate, compared to thread we use in a sewing machine.
I’m so glad you collected the red work linens. They are so beautiful and done with such care. You can tell whoever did them, loved doing that kind of hand work. Thank you for sharing.
I’ve given my dogs both raw and cooked beef, veggies and fruit. So I’m puzzled too.
Coronavirus is a contagious cancer that I’m not willing to catch or spread to friend or foe. It’s not a game. It’s a weapon of mass destruction, your mask is your shield.
When you can, rub her ears for me.
Last night I heard a nurse say something like, “If you don’t want to wear a mask, how do you think you’ll feel having a tube down your throat?” I think we should have an ad like that. I wear my mask even when I’m walking to the dumpster to take out my trash. I can’t wait to see more Christmas quilts.
While it’s possible that your dog could get food poisoning from eating raw meat infected by Salmonella, E. Coli, or other disease-causing bacteria, it’s more likely that your dog could himself become a carrier, says The Whole Dog Journal. … These can cause choking or intestinal damage to your pup.Oct 6, 2016
http://www.hillspet.com › nutrition-feeding
Dangers of Raw Diets for Dogs | Hill’s Pet
Those red work pieces are quite lovely, Mary. When we could wander thru antique/thrift shops, the handwork linens always caught my eye. We now live in a smaller house, so I will be selective about those purchases, when we can do such activities again. I am wearing my mask and laying low to do my part in this pandemic. Like another blogger said, “You should see my stash!” 😂🤣
With all the love you offer, Jo will surely soon realize she is in a safe place. 🥰
You are doing such a great job with Jo. She will come around. It’s just too horrible to think about what she went through in her little life. You will be rewarded with your kindness.
Covid. My husband and I both had it for 14 days. Very different symptoms. He never had a fever. I had a fever for 10 days. Two at 104 degrees. That was scary. I gave up my life to Covid. Hardly went out. My husband brought it home from work. His boss decided to not tell his employees that one tested positive. My husband worked very closely to him the week before he tested. Husband was so furious after learning this he asked boss what is the protocol? Nothing! He walked out of his job and told them to call him when the shop is cleaned. After my husband left that day he went to get tested through his doctor and he was positive and so was I. Grrrr. Boss told everyone to go home and be tested. I am proud of him for sticking to what is right! He got paid for the 2 weeks that he was gone. I will end now but wonder how many more small businesses hide info just to remain open? I have a whole another story on testing and what we learned. I’ll save it for another day as this is long enough.
I’ve been wondering how you are doing Linda and felt it was so unfair what you were put through. I haven’t had a fever in upteen years so I imagine it was scary for you. I had a husband of a friend call me and say he lost his wife to covid and I cried right along with him knowing how lost he felt. People who are deliberately careless about this spread just aren’t the types to think of others, I am convinced. After watching what the last four years in Washington, I do now understand how others follow an alternate universe of thinking that seems rather self centered. I came from a home who looked out for others and I chose to be one who cares for my fellow mankind.
Linda from O – good heavens, is that the price of the almighty dollar? Your boss let you get Covid rather than tell everybody an employee had it? He should be ashamed! I hope you’re feeling better – do you have any long lasting effects? Two days of such a high fever – did you wish to die? I would have been sorely tempted – hope you had some help during that time! Oh, dear – I am so sorry!
Thanks for well wishes. I did loose my taste but I didn’t care. I thought it was an opportunity to lose some weight. It is coming back. Otherwise just being very tired all the time. That’s getting old real fast! My husband’s employer knew he screwed up the minute my husband found out. He has worked there for 40 years! They could not lose him so they hustled to make things right. OSHA is a scary word and husband was ready to call them if the shop didn’t close to be cleaned and employee’s tested and all were paid for time off. I am sure his company is not the only one. No wonder it is spreading so fast! BTW, all shop employees have to ware masks. I find it hard to believe that it spread through droplets. I think he got it from the tools as my husband sets up and fixes all machines in shop. Just a theory but how did I get it as husband washes his hands the minutes he comes home. But, I just thought of i didn’t wash the door or handles on sink. We are both 63 and awaiting retirement. No, we didn’t have help. Didn’t want anybody to get it. Mary, yes the second night I thought I was dieing and I have to tell you it was very peaceful for a few seconds.
Linda from O – I have told Rick that if I get it, just keep me comfortable and let me go – the best is yet to come!
Linda from O – forgot to say that your husband’s employer should be ashamed – I wonder where the first employee got it – hope you’re feeling better!!
Do dogs like/respond to soft music?
Susan: In reply to your question about whether dogs like/respond to soft music–I believe they do! Years ago I had a golden retriever who had separation anxiety when I would leave her to go to work. I came close to having her put down because of the damage she was doing in the house! My vet suggested playing the radio with soft music i.e. classical music station. It worked! No more damage and she lived to a ripe, old age of 12. To this day, I still leave the radio on for my current dog (Bailey) when I leave the house.
I leave talk radio on for my conservative cats.
love seeing the “red work” We don’t seem to do as much with red work these days. Love the feather star…
Love the Christmas quilts and that redwork! Oh my goodness! I’m glad you are able to feed Jo from your hand, but I too wonder about the raw meat. My cairn terrier loved the meatballs I made. They were baked in the oven and he could smell them and would sit in the kitchen until they came out and had cooled. I sure miss my pup!
Love the redwork. Paula in KY
Love your candy cane quilt
The red work is beautiful. Looking forward to seeing you quilts.
I love your candy cane wallhanging. Can you tell me where you found the pattern? Thanks for your help!
Along with wearing a mask, I make sure I stay at least 6 feet away or if I have to pass someone I keep my back to their back. I feel I am responsible for myself. With the precautions we have had for some time, I absolutely cannot understand the recent explosion in covid cases when restrictions weren’t lifted. It’s all sad.
Such amazing red work. I too think wearing a mask is about loving thy neighbor. Our daughter is recovering and now her hubby has the COVID, plus their 13 year old son is in quarantine with them for another week and a half. That is unless he gets symptoms, then he will be tested and miss more school. I don’t even like to think about what will happen if people have get togethers over the holidays. We are very afraid of the virus also….you are not alone. Our little northwest county of Lyon is having more cases every day….they are finally wearing masks at the grocery store. Love you and look forward to your blog everyday. Jo will come around…..be still 💕
I agree with you about masks!! Wish All would together on this. And, me, too, about parents. Mine are gone over five years now, but I would never want them to live through this. Still miss them nonetheless. Liking your black dog holiday quilt. Makes me smile.🎄🎅
Good Morning….I missed your post when you asked “the question”. We have really been on the fence about getting the vaccine. Our decision for the last few weeks is….you are damned if you do, and damned if you don’t! We have been very much recluses since returning home early last winter. Except for all the medical appointments when the 2nd C struck me this summer. That Covid bug could happen at the grocery store any time, it is time to quit playing Russian Roulette! We have a lot of living to do yet, and hate that we have missed out on so much this year. No RAGBRAI, no camping, no church, no family. So, definitely YES to the vaccine…when it is our turn.
I’m correcting myself here. The correct number of American soldiers killed during WWII is 291,557. I said in my previous comment that the number of Covid deaths in the US exceeded that number. I was wrong. The correct number of Covid deaths is 256,000 as of this minute. Sad numbers .
What lovely redwork pieces! I’ve always liked them. Looking forward to seeing your Christmas quilts you are putting up. You have a great start. Regarding the Covid vaccine, I just don’t want to be the first in line. I may reserve judgement. Masks all around…
Regarding the bleeding of red onto white, or anything else it can attached itself to – my husband once had a pair of OP (Ocean Pacific) red corduroy shorts that bled every time I washed them. Because of this phenomenon, I used to wash them with my pink towels to “refresh” their color!😂 (and it worked!!)
Do you have the pattern available for the Christmas tree with the jewelry ornaments? Thank you.
Alice Counts – we can send it to you for $5.00 and a self addressed stamped envelope. Send to Country Threads and be sure to tell me what you’re ordering.
The Redwork and Christmas quilts are Beautiful! Best of All, I am glad you are feeling well enough to
“Put out” Christmas!! You are making great progress with Jo, enjoy the Journey!
I cut a hot dog in small slices and use them for dog obedience. My dogs love them.
Thanks for showing the beautiful Christmas quilts! Really puts me in the mood!
Regarding masks – how hard is it to put one on? I have family members that state Covid is a hoax, it is no worse than the garden variety flu, etc. and no one is going to make them wear a mask. Makes me very sad. Follow distancing and wear a mask – you never know, it might save your own life let alone a loved one. Thanks for posting about this most important subject!
Here in OH, the governor has had a mandated mask issued for a while. I stopped into the local Chinese restaurant (basically a takeout)…and there was a local police officer placing his order with no mask! When he was done ordering, (we were the only two in there), I said, “Officer, during a pandemic, shouldn’t you be wearing a mask?!” And his reply was, “Ok, I carry a gun, so I don’t need to.” ?! To which I promptly asked for his badge number. We will be calling the police department on Friday. I will not make any mask comments in public…but it was totally disrespectful, not only to me but to the woman taking his order.
Awhile back, I asked if anybody could give me information on the flamingo table runner made by Sally J. #6. Mary posted it on 11/16/20. I haven’t seen any response, but maybe I missed it? If anybody can tell me where to find that pattern, I’d be very grateful. Thanks! Pam W.