Quilted Shopping Bags

I made this shopping bag-size tote several years ago for the Warren County (Lebanon, Ohio) Fair.  It won a blue ribbon and I enjoyed doing the harness horse design.  I used a coloring book sketch transferred to white fabric, then embroidered the design with black floss.   I used crayons to color the picture and heat set it by placing a piece of white paper over the coloring and pressing it with a hot iron.

I used the same patchwork blocks to make the back of the bag, machine quilted it with low loft batting and made a lining and handle.

I found the large size of the bag to be extremely useful.  My oldest daughter recently mentioned that she would like to have one the same size and I started looking through my orphan blocks and scraps to see what I could put together.

The center block is a Morning Star block  I posted last year and the center with vintage-type fabric was appropriate for my daughter because she is interested and talented in any type of hand sewing.  I looked for scraps with shades of yellow and blue and cut 2-1/2 inch blocks to accentuate the focus block.

On the back, I put together 2-1/2 inch blocks with 2-1/2 inch strips to continue the color theme.  The front and back were machine quilted using low loft batting.  The sides  were left unquilted to cut down on bulk.  I made another bag of plain fabric for a lining and made the handle extra-long so my daughter can swing the bag over her shoulder if she wants.

The bag is large – 22 inches wide x 25 inches long and should accommodate a lot of stuff when my daughter comes for her weekend visits.

Depression Vegetable Soup

My parents married as teenagers during the Great Depression.  For the first three years they lived with family but after my father got a job with the WPA, he moved his wife and two young daughters to a one-room apartment on Elm Street in downtown Cincinnati.  My mother had never cooked for a family before and knew nothing about it.  My father drew on his experiences of traveling around with his father and younger brother from one fairground and racetrack to another where they did horseshoeing, grooming of horses and my father picked up drives in harness horse races.  They did their cooking in barns and tack stalls on a small electric hot plate and my father knew all about making dishes like pancakes with fried eggs, chili, and a hearty vegetable soup – on the cheap and as quickly as possible.

Our first apartment was about three blocks from the large Cincinnati Sixth Street Market where every conceivable kind of food was sold.  Each morning my father would hand my mother the correct amount of money to cover the ingredients for the day’s supper.  We didn’t have an ice box in that first flat so the three-block-long walk had to be made every day with my mother carrying my year-old sister and with me at three years old walking alongside, hanging onto the shopping bag.  My father gave my mother instructions on how to cook what she bought and he made it clear that supper was to be ready on time – no excuses of a crying baby or obstinate toddler.

This soup was a weekly menu item during the 1930s and beyond.  When I was married in the 1950s and on a strict budget, it became a regular meal for my family.  Like everything my mother cooked, it was frugal, filling and only contained items that my father liked (so, no carrots or green beans or barley or noodles, etc., etc.)  It’s still my favorite soup, thick and hearty – even better the next day.

DEPRESSION VEGETABLE SOUP

• 1/2 lb. of stewing beef, cubed*
• 2 cups of diced potatoes
• 1 cup of diced onion
• One 14 oz. can of tomato puree
• One 14 oz. can of peas
• Salt & pepper to taste

Place all ingredients except peas and seasonings in a large pot.  Cover with 3 cups of water.  Let cook for about an hour and a half on medium heat, stirring occasionally and adding a small amount of water if the mixture is getting too thick.   Add the can of peas, including liquid, and allow to cook for 10 minutes or so longer until peas are heated through.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with saltine crackers.  Yield:  4 servings

*My mother would have used the cheapest cut of beef available but I like to use chuck or round steak with all of the fat removed and then cubed.

County Fair Decorations

It’s county fair time again and that means getting out my handcrafted items.  The quilted silhouette hanging is on the front door to commemorate one of my favorite summertime activities.  My family has been involved in county and state fairs for generations, partly due to our interest in harness horses.  My father was a harness horse driver/trainer and many happy hours were spent at the fairgrounds, so  harness horses are a strong element in my county fair designs.

In the kitchen, I have a quilted wall hanging that won a blue ribbon at the Lebanon, Ohio, Warren County Fair. 

In the living room there is a quilted/appliqued pillow that was one of my first efforts.  It also took a blue ribbon at the Warren County Fair.

The real treasure among the handcrafted items, though, is an old battered suitcase that my father took with him on the fair and racing circuit.  My oldest daughter decoupaged countless bits of cloth, ephemera, photos, buttons, etc., to transform the tired old suitcase into a work of art and memory.

There are tags attached with photos and the exhibit history of each member of the family.

I use the suitcase to store old premium lists and memorabilia from our hometown Carthage/Hamilton County Fair (Cincinnati).

I enjoy displaying these reminders of all the years our family has participated in the fun of a county fair.