Famous Sugar Cookies

I have my Mother's scalloped round aluminum cookie cutter - just like the one her mother and grandmother used when making sugar cookies. I do not remember a time when visiting either grandmother that they were not in the process of baking cookies, or had just finished a huge batch. Grandma Darnell, who topped each cookie with a bit of candied cherry, kept them in a large round tin while Grandma Erb, who added a bit of lemon zest to the batter, stored hers in a huge jar. To say these treats were legendary in our family is an understatement.

The recipe from my Great Grandma Darnell, typed just as she had written it, is now being used by the fifth generation.

Grandma Darnell’s Perfect Sugar Cookies


Cream together:
½ C. oleo
½ C. Crisco
1 ½ C. sugar

Add 2 eggs and beat well.

Add to above:
3 T. sour cream
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
3 C. flour

Beat all together. Cover and refrigerate overnight until ready to roll and bake. Sprinkle with sugar when taken from oven. Keep in tight can. These keep well.

Retro Clothing

I fell in love with the patchwork styling and embroidery of this outfit - another super find from my favorite thrift store. The two piece skirt and jacket remind me of the clothes we wore in the 1960's. Too cool.

Fabulous Forties!

From the movies to the fashions to those amazing appliances, I am a true fan of the 1940's. In a recent thread on the quiltart internet list, many wrote of the joy of buying thrift store clothing to use in quilts - something I've been doing for more than 25 years. Most of my quilts contain recycled textiles of one type or another - from a shirt, a hanky or a humble apron. In my view, these fabrics are a big part of what give a quilt soul.

I also collect vintage neckties. Pictured below are a few silk ones from my favorite decade. Check the label pix to get a "feel" for what the old ones look like.

Vintage labels are a real clue to the age of a tie.

This tie predates the gold-chained "Mr. T" by many years.

A tie from the 1960's - for the fashion impaired.........

My Latest Postcards

I'm nearly half way through the fiber postcard exchange, an international internet group set up through Art2Mail (art2mail.com). Postcards have arrived from all over the US as well as the UK and Canada.

Below are my three latest cards. I broke my rule of "one of a kind" by creating two PCs from a small piece of felted wool, as I loved the texture. I don't work in pastels, but found myself in that vein for my latest works.

As always, click on any image for a closer view.

Photo credit: Bill Guerrant

When painting or dyeing fabric, I always use a piece of cotton fabric as a "sop up" rag. The serendipitous quality in the resulting design is always wonderful, and far more interesting than something I might have planned.

My latest postcard began with just such a piece of fabric. The design was enhanced with chalk pastels and a piece of hand-dyed cheesecloth.

I'm a member of a small surface design group which meets monthly. At one session, my friend and talented artist Phyllis Tarrant showed us how to felt wool. I added various fibers to the wool roving before it was machine felted. What fun!

I divided my first experiment in two, adding threads and beads to the paler piece. There was a bit of a technical challenge in turning the wool into fiber postcards due to the thickness. Satin cording was a perfect edging solution.

A study in simple abstraction, this card includes my Shibori, hand dyed and painted fabrics. I love the sheen of the rayon threads used in the quilting. The Japanese design I had in my head is not at all what resulted.