Standing in the Garden

Recently, I was the driver for a Garden tour.  We drove 500 km that day and saw some fabulous gardens. I'm not much of a gardener but I love to look at them. This picture of me as a child standing in Grandma's garden inspires me to spend less time working and a little more time smelling the roses.

51 Ways to a Man's Heart

Hilda Beever was my Grandmother.  She taught me many things, one of which was how to cook.  She was one of those cooks who didn't measure and everything turned out.  I have to measure.  Grandma was a kind generous woman who loved to spend time with her family.  When she cooked a dinner she made sure each of us had our favourite dish on the table.

One of this year's projects is to create a family cookbook.  Including all of Grandma's specialites.  Recently I received many of her cookbooks and they are great fun to go through. 

My favourite is one she used in the 40's when she got married.  It was called 51 Ways to a Man's Heart.  Dedicated to wives whose husbands appreciate good food and to all women who like to please their men.   Grandpa loved those recipes!   Maybe I should give them a try. 

In the mean time my goal is to have the family cookbook finished in time for Christmas and to sew aprons to go with it.  Thanks Grandma for the legacy of the importance of family dinners, good food and special memories.

Bleeding Hearts

When I was little visiting my Grandmother Westwood we would walk in her garden. It was full of interesting and brightly coloured flowers. She would tell me stories about the plants.

My favourite was the legend of the Bleeding Heart.
Long ago there lived a noble prince who tried in vain to win the heart of a very beautiful princess. The prince had brought the princess wonderful gifts from his travels far and wide. Yet she had taken no notice of him. One day the prince returned from a long journey with very special gifts to surely win the love of the princess. First he presented her with two magical pink bunnies. Peel off the two outer petals and set them on their sides to display two little pink bunnies.


The princess only sighed and barely looked at the little bunnies. The hopeful prince had one more gift saved for last - he presented a pair of beautiful enchanted earrings. Remove the two long white petals and hold them next to your ears.

Again, the princess hardly noticed the prince's gift. Now the poor prince was utterly heartbroken. He could try no more to win the heart of the princess. He rose up, pulled a dagger from his sheath and stabbed himself in the heart. Remaining in the flower is a heart shape with the stamen, appearing as a dark green line down the center. Hold the heart up, carefully remove the dagger-like line, and plunge the dagger through the heart.

The princess was overcome by the dedication of the dying prince and his unending love for her. She realized too late that she loved him also. "Alas," she cried out. "I have done wrong, my own heart is broken also. I shall bleed for my prince forever more!" And her heart bleeds to this very day.

The Bleeding Heart was the first perennial I planted in my garden and now, I tell the same stories to my children.

The 5 Year Quilts

After 5 years they are finally finished! In 2005 I decided I would make Eye Spy Quilts for my two sons. Thinking that it may take me a while I chose realistic looking animal prints.

It was great fun exploring fabric stores where ever my travels took me to look for just the rignt animal print. Funny, the non sewers in the car didn't feel the same way.

There were a few set backs along the way. I made curtains out of my main solid colour for my sons room not realizing it was the quilt fabric. So the green quilt has two slightly different solid greens. I miss calculated how many squares I needed and the two quilts are not quite the same size even thought that was my original plan. Math has never been a strength for me!

Once the tops and back were complete I very wisely had them quiltd by someone who has a quilting machine. I didn't want it to take another 5 years. The boys would be in university!

My sons like to curl up in them and if I do say myself they turned out beautifully.

My grandmother would be proud.

Vintage Fruit Basket Quilt

 Lillias Westwood, my Grandmother taught me many things. She taught me how to sew. She also taught me the importance of doing things over and over again until I get them right. She used to say " I'll just take that out for you." And I would have to do it again.

One of her passions was quilting. In her lifetime she made many quilts some of which were hand quilted in the kitchen of her cozy cottage. I was given a beautiful Fruit Basket Quilt. It is hand appliqued and hand quilted.

Imagine my surprise when I looked through a scrap book she had given me and I found cut out of a 1933 Winnipeg Free Press Prairie Farmer newspaper all of the patterns for the quilt. She cut them out before she was married in 1938 and she did not make the quilt until she had grandchildren. The patterns are marked with pencil marks from tracing and notes on what colour to use where. How cool is that!

This piece of my families history gives me hope. I will be able to get to the many quilt projects I would like to make. It inspires me that I too can make beautiful quilts to keep my family warm and to leave them something to remember me by. Thanks Grandma, I miss you.