Tag: Germany

Another finish….and just in time

My family from Germany is coming to visit.  They should be arriving in the states today.  They have three weeks planned out.  We will be meeting up with them in Washington DC in a couple of weeks.  I have never met my cousin’s wife or daughter.   I am very excited to meet them in person.  We do chat and sometimes talk on WhatsApp.

So, Sophia and Christine, love horses.  They send me videos of Sophia riding her horse frequently, which I enjoy.  So, I made a horse quilt for her.

IT gave me such grief.  Mostly due to the fact that sometimes, I am just a dumba$$.

So, this was one of the quilts that I was basting when I had the spray debacle.  Funny thing that turned out to be the least of my problems.  I had this all rolled up ready to be basted.  Thought I was ahead of the game.  Hahaha.  Turns out that as I reached the bottom of the basting, I failed to measure this quilt.  I could say I improperly measured, but truth be told, I never measured it at all.  So, turns out my backing and batting was a few inches too short.

No way to unglue all that.  I decided to quilt it and leave 6 inches unquilted and then figure out what to do.  I sort of figured that I will piece the batting and backing on.

Well, I managed to piece in the piece of batting, not a big deal.  However, I had left over 20190719_192622-1.jpgarrow fabric that I was going to use to piece across the bottom.  Wrong.  Came out totally wonky and looked like a crazy person did it.  I think the problem was that it was directional and sewing the fabric on was not as easy as I thought.  Ended up finishing the quilting without the back and hand sewing a piece clear across the back along the bottom (light green).

I really did not like this quilt the entire time I was working on it, however now that is is finished, I do like it.  It looks like a horse quilt for a little girl and that is what I was going for.  The back came out OK despite my issues.

I got word today that they were in New York.  Looking forward to meeting up with them!

Happy Sewing

Happy Quilting

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The Frugal Widow Tip #2 Aldi’s Stores…

There are quite a few Aldi’s store around these days. If you haven’t visited one, you should. I first became familiar with Aldi’s in Germany. It was the grocery store I went to with my mother when we were in Germany. It is not quite the same as in the US, but they have some really awesome savings and great German products if you’re into that. I am, but I also love saving money.

Here in the US, Aldo’s is known as a discount store. But if you are thinking that it is cheap, it’s just not true. It may be less expensive, but nearly all of it is really good. Besides, milk comes from cows. Eggs come from chickens. Not much that can change with that. Why pay more?

Last week, I bought eggs for $.89 and a gallon of milk for $1.79. It costs way more in the regular Kroger, Super Walmart etc…

Besides regular staples you will find a wide array of other items. It is not all Aldi’s brand, but some is. If you like Sauerkraut, theirs is really good. Reminds me of what Mom used to make. Also, at the holidays, they have all kinds of German candy and cookies (and some regular USA varieties also).

Yesterday we had some German Frankfurters from Aldi’s. Sooo Good. So if you are looking to save money or year round Oktoberfest items, you should check out Aldi’s. It is worth the trip. Remember to bring your own bags.

https://www.aldi.us/en/?pk_campaign=brandedsem

Happy Shopping.

Needlepoint: Young Girl Reading…A treasure

My mother was from Germany. She had some dear friends that owned a furniture store. They gave my mother several of these beautiful needlepoints.

If I remember correctly, they were made by women in the Black Forest. I can’t imagine the amount of time that it took to make such a piece. It is about 24” x 36”. The face and hands are done in petit point, which is so tiny. But, it shows such detail.

This beautiful piece hangs in my dining room. My research tells me that this is made from a painting titled “Young Girl Reading”. Originally it was done as an oil painting on canvas by Jean-Honore Gragonard. It currently hangs at the National Gallery of Art. It was believed to be painted in 1776. It is one of the many treasured items I have from my mother.

My mother brought back several of these needlepoints. I believe each of my three sisters have one or two. I have many beautiful items from Germany. I am sure you will get a chance to see them along the way.