Sinterklaas is coming

When I was small, living in the Hague, the Netherlands, kids visited St. Nicholas (Sinterklaas in Dutch) just as they visit Santa Claus in the U.S.  Because the Sinterklaasfeest begins on the evening of Dec. 5 and continues into the 6th, the Sint was available a little sooner than Santa is.  Dressed in his saintly garb, he comes via boat, supposedly from Spain, and rides a white horse throughout Holland as he distributes gifts to the kids.  He is accompanied by his servant Zwarte Piet (Black Pete).  Sometimes there's more than one Zwarte Piet with him.  As a child, I was terrified of Zwarte Piet because I was told that he put all the bad kids in a bag and took them back to Spain.

I remember being scared to death when I stepped off the airplane in New York City at age three-going-on-four and saw not one or two black people but many.  I was sure I had landed in Spain and started to scream.  My mother quickly had to explain that some people come in that color and that they are perfectly nice.  I took a little convincing but soon learned that was so.  Now, with refugees and immigrants streaming into the Netherlands, I am sure Dutch children encounter quite a few guys like the smiling Piet below who, according to Facebook, enjoys his job every year.

These days, I imagine kids aren't threatened in the negative way of the 1950s, but there is still a great deal of controversy about Piet in the Netherlands.  Some feel it is racist to have him at all, others decry painting white faces black with exaggerated red lips, and still others feel it is part of a fun tradition that should be kept.  Some say Piet is black because of going up and down chimneys all evening.  He is dressed as a Moor because, after all, he is supposed to have come from Spain.
 
If only I'd been taken to the public library in Holland where, apparently, Sinterklaas and several Zwarte Piets conduct storytime and do other nice things with kids these days.

 If you want to follow the tradition, put a shoe by the fireplace or door on Dec. 5.   Make sure to leave some straw and carrots for the Sint's horse, too.  In the morning, you might just find a surprise, courtesy of the Sint's henchman, Piet.

Busy days

Wow!!  It has been 10 days since I blogged.  Where does the time go?  We've had quite a bit of snow lately, but today there's probably less than an inch on the ground.   The days have been gloomy with iffy road conditions - perfect for staying home and sewing.   I finished two quilt tops and pieced backs and did a little applique including a Dresden plate block for a guild "block robin" and a few more melons for my brown and pink Lafayette's Orange Peel quilt.  That's my very slow project to take to guild sewing meetings.  I need just 36 for a smallish quilt and have made quite a few over the last year.  I might finish in 2020 and then start on another color way.

My Elna machine is in the shop having its regular check up - very overdue - so I'm using my Viking 100 this week.  It doesn't have any bells or whistles, and I had to re-learn a few things, like how to wind the bobbin.  But it does a fine job going in a straight line.  I'll wait for the Elna's return before machine quilting anything.  One thing the Viking does better than the Elna is zigzag, so I'm hoping to make a coiled rope hotpad later today.

Mostly, I've been busy with Christmas.  I sold a Christmas stocking via etsy, so popped that into the mail.   They do seem to sell, so I'll have to make a few more for next year.  Seven family packages to the Netherlands and places in the US have been shopped for, wrapped, and mailed.  Phew!  We have one more package to mail to Alabama, but now I can concentrate on Christmas cards and then gifts for Paul and Chris.  For neighbors and friends, I have a case of homemade jam to distribute here and there.

Thanksgiving this year will be lowkey with just the three of us, some filet mignon with trimmings, and pound cake with sorbet.  I'm going to try to concentrate on vegetables during the holidays, starting with a lovely squash Chris' boss gave us.  I'll add some maple syrup and a little butter after baking and mashing.  Whatever's left will become a nice soup after Thursday.  Even though I love to try new cookie recipes during the holidays, I'll try not to make too many.  We'll see how it (my willpower) goes.  Have a happy Thanksgiving, all!

Another top ready to quilt

This Double Churn Dash quilt top was pretty easy to put together - the blocks measure 20" and there are only 9 of them.  A 10th one is going on the back.  I didn't like them before I put them together, but the secondary design made where the half-square triangles form a square in a square makes me like it a lot better.  I will piece the back tomorrow and then put it in the closet for a few weeks before quilting.  I will quilt it myself once my Elna returns from its annual check up.  I think I have plenty of navy blue for the binding, so I'll probably get that ready tomorrow, too.  

It's been pretty cold today - 6 degrees when we got up and 21 at mid-afternoon - so indoor projects are best.  I might do a little Christmas shopping tomorrow as I like to get my packages ready to send by Thanksgiving, particularly the one for the Netherlands.  Once those are all mailed (I have 7, I think), I'll start on our Christmas letter.   How did the holidays creep up on us so quickly??

Finishing frenzy

Winter is truly here now with the snow we got Monday/Tuesday and bitter cold temperatures that accompanied it.  But as long as we have heat and electricity, I am happy to be stuck at home.   I finished a quilt top and a rather complex (for me) purse over the last few days.

First, the purse.  It required a few trips to Joann Fabrics prior to the snow days because I needed large pieces of fusible fleece, fusible interfacing, hardware, and longer red zippers than I had on hand.  I also bought a bunch of Minnie Mouse fabric via etsy.  I rarely buy novelty fabrics, but my Dutch niece Susan is worth it.  She loves all things Disney and just got back from her honeymoon at Disney World.  The Lazy Girl "Lexi" pattern works well if you follow the directions carefully (this took me 8 hours to make).   It was still a pain to turn right side out, but the result is a solid bag with lots of pockets and room inside with pink Minnie fabric.  This is the back, and the front features an outside zippered pocket.  

I had thought to make my mom a similar bag, but out of an Indonesian batik - I'll wait til after Christmas to work on that.

This fall I participated in the NQC (National Quilting Center?) Happy Block swap, a one-on-one swap.  Linda from Florida was my partner, and every week for four weeks we would each make two of the same blocks and mail them to each other.  I chose a red, white, and black colorway while she chose pink, light green, and cream.  We each ended up with nine 15" quilt blocks (actually, she made me an extra that will go on the back).  The last week was a bonus week during which we made a 9th block.  My top is now finished, using a "circle of nines" setting.

Most people set their blocks with sashing and cornerstones, but I wanted a little larger top.  Mine is 65" x 65" which is a nice size for a throw.   I will use Linda's extra block on the back which will most likely be scrappy.

I sold a scrappy Christmas stocking via etsy and am now sorry I didn't make more.  Well, there's always next year.  On to the next UFO!

Winter is definitely here

As you can see, there's snow on the ground today.  There was more yesterday, but luckily it melted.  More is predicted for tomorrow night into Tuesday.  We did a few leftover fall chores this morning = putting the grill on the back porch with its covers, moving my flipflops off the porch and into the house, putting up the bird feeder holders.  We won't fill the feeders until we're sure the bears are asleep - around Dec. 1.  

This was the last day we could go to our "secret" spot (by the elementary school soccer fields) to gather some bittersweet.  It's up a steep hill, but we managed to get enough for me to add to some greens and put into an old maple syrup bucket.  I'll put a bow around the bucket when it's closer to Christmas, IF it is still intact.  Right now it serves as a pop of color in a darker time.  I'm OK with the time change in the mornings because it's lighter sooner, but sure gets dark early these days.

The Genealogy Fair

Our local genealogy group (it's a club, but it sounds more serious to use "group") held a fair yesterday.  As coordinator of the group, I coordinated the event as well, and our local historical society co-sponsored.  They upgraded their WiFi and let us use the historic building for free, both very important elements.  We had tables set up by country of origin (German, English, Irish, French/French-Canadian) and special interest (Jewish, Enslaved/slave holding, Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org).   

I filled in for a man who had a death in the family at the Family Search table where I was kept quite busy.  I helped a young woman find her grandmother's maiden name so that she could go further with her research.  I had a long chat with a lady who had been adopted and hoped to find relatives via DNA.  And an older lady who had some detailed questions about her Italian ancestors turned out to be the sister of our neighbor, four doors down.  It's always a good feeling to help people, even just a little bit.

Some statewide organizations had literature tables with representatives, there were some displays from members, and we had a kids' table.  I would say 15 of our members helped out and 35 people attended, which is five more than the 30 I said would make it a success.   During clean up, people were saying they'd like to do it again, but, for me, every few years would be just fine.  I will need to delegate more of the prep work next time!  I was tired but happy when I got home, so we had chicken pot pies and applesauce for dinner, my go-to comfort food after a long day.