Sister's Choice Quilts

Spirals Quilting Design Pattern

Sometimes being a blogger has some real advantages. I posted a photo last week of my most recently finished table topper, a pattern by Carried Away called Summer Breeze. The pattern is wonderful, but the design my quilter chose for the quilting really set off the design and was so in keeping with the breezy summery feeling of the quilt itself. Sadly, I didn't have any idea what the name of the quilting design was. My quilter usually sends me some suggestions for quilting options but doesn't always attach a name to them.

Imagine my surprise when I received a comment from the actual designer of the quilting pattern! Denise Schillinger is the creator of this quilting design "Denise's Spirals". It is a pantograph available for sale through Urban Elemenz.

How cool is that?

In other news, it has done nothing but rain here for the past two and half months. My husband is out in the garage building an ark as I write this. Well, maybe not, but this situation is getting dire. If I don't see the sun pretty soon I just don't know how much longer I can cope. 

One fun thing the husband and I have been doing is watching some of the movies that were nominated for the 2023 Oscars. As you read this, the winners will have been announced, but I know we have some favorites. We used to be such movie buffs, going to the cinema a couple of times a month. Since the pandemic, we watch things at home on the TV now, which is ok, but there is something so dynamic about seeing a movie on the big screen. Here is what we've seen (I've linked to the trailers if you are interested):

We watched Elvis, which was incredible. Austin Butler will get the award for Best Actor unless he is robbed.

We saw Banshees of Innishiren, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The movie was very weird, but quite good. Of course, the story is set on an island off the coast of Ireland, so that's all we needed to be on board. I doubt it will win for Best Picture, but I am very glad to have seen it. The acting was top-notch and made me go from laughing out loud to tearing up in sympathy. It was certainly thought-provoking. You have to know going in that the movie is a metaphor for the Irish Civil War, then things make more sense. 

My husband took himself to the local theater a month or so ago to see Top Gun: Maverick and really enjoyed it. I skipped it due to it not quite being my thing. Very loud and action-packed.

Finally, we saw Women Talking, which is based on the novel by Marian Toews. The plot concerns a sect of Amish women who have been consistently drugged and sexually abused by male members of their community. Now, before you say "Ick" and vow never to see it, hear me out. The cast is amazing: Claire Foy (Queen Elizabeth in The Crown), Rooney Mara, Frances McDormand, and Jessie Buckley (one of Ireland's best actresses). As the movie begins, the attackers have been arrested and taken away to a nearby city. The women are left alone on their compound and hold a meeting to decide 1) If they should stay and do nothing, 2) If they should stay and fight, or 3) If they should all pack up and leave. The philosophical dialog was fascinating as the women talk through the various scenarios open to them. Do they forgive, as their religion teaches them? Do they band together and demand equality and power in their sect? Should they leave the miserable so and so's and start up their own colony elsewhere? This was so so good. I'll be thinking about this movie experience for a very long time. Award-winning performances by the whole cast. If you like a movie that makes you think, this is the one. 

Have you seen any of these movies? Or any others you enjoyed? Do share in the comments. 

Well, I have started the week off in a very chatty way, have I not? With any luck, I will have some sewing to share this week and less to blab about!

Let's Discuss Affordable Skin Care

I have decided to give my skin a break during this quarantine situation.  Why should I put on makeup just to sit around the house?  This is a great opportunity to baby my skin a bit and give it some TLC.  I want to tell you about a skincare line that is dermatologist recommended, extremely affordable and which is available at your local drug store or through Amazon (so you don't have to go out).  I have tried many high-end skincare lines (some of which have been excellent) but I keep going back to CeraVe.   I have aging dry skin, so I look for products aimed at those issues.

The products pictured above are available at drugstores, Amazon, Target and Walmart.  They are by a company called CeraVe, and are quite reasonably priced and effective.  They contain many dermatologist-recommended ingredients found in much pricier lines.  They do not have any odor, so if you are sensitive to that in your products, you may like these.

The Hydrating Facial Cleanser is so refreshing and easy on your skin.  It removes makeup, hydrates, softens and restores skin's protective barriers.  It contains ceramides and hyaluronic acid, which dermatologists recommend for anti-aging.  These ingredients are found in high-end products costing four times the price.  It has won Allure's Best of Beauty Award in 2019. $11.

The Skin Renewing Day Cream with Retinol and SPF 30 is a good choice if you like an SPF in your face cream.  It is so important to use a sunscreen, and this moisturizer has it built right in.  This product is also designed to treat fine lines and texture.  It also has ceramides and retinol for anti-aging.  (Retinol is Vitamin A and is an ingredient so good for your skin).  It is hypoallergenic and great for sensitive skin.  $15.

If you don't care for having an SPF in your facial moisturizer, or just want something simple, CeraVe's Moisturizing Cream is great.  This can be used on the face or body (and comes in a gigantic container as well).  It has lots of emollient ingredients that will nourish and hydrate your skin.  It doesn't clog pores and is great for sensitive skin. $6.

CeraVe calls this a PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion, but I use it during the day as well.  I love the way it glides on and sinks right into my thirsty skin. Not a bit greasy, it is so hydrating and lightweight.  It not only moisturizes, but it also calms your skin as well.  When I do use makeup over it, there are no issues. Probably my favorite CeraVe product. This is such a treat.  $12.

At bedtime, I sometimes like to give my skin an oil treatment if I have been feeling especially dry.  CeraVe Skin Renewing Gel Oil will give your tired dry skin a boost of radiance and absorb almost immediately.  I like to use it at night before a night cream or lotion.  It has several ceramides and sunflower oil.  Your skin will thank you. $19.

The CeraVe Skin Renewing Night Cream is great to use before bedtime with or without the oil mentioned above.  It soaks right in and in the morning you will feel as if you have been to a spa during the night!  $14

Skincare doesn't have to be overwhelming or expensive. If I were going to get started with a CeraVe skincare regime, I would buy three products:  The Hydrating Facial Cleanser, The PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion (and use it day and night), and the Skin Renewing Night Cream. I think a facial exfoliator is a good idea too (to get rid of all those dead skin cells).  Cetaphil makes a good one for $8

I hope that was helpful!  Just so you know, I am not sponsored in any way to promote these products.  I buy them with my own money, have used them over a year, my dermatologist recommended them, and I think my skin is happier from my using them.
 

 

 

Some Things I've Been Loving

I have really enjoyed some books and tv programs recently and thought I would do a "Things I Have Been Loving" post.

"We Were the Lucky Ones" by Georgia Hunter has to be one of the best books I have read this year.  The story is based on the true experiences of the author's family, and focuses on her relatives who were Polish Jews affected by WW2.  The Kurc family consists of a mother, father, adult children and spouses.  Honestly, this book is such an accomplishment.  It isn't just a story of hardship and atrocities, but of determination, resilience, love, and a lot of luck.  The family is separated and sent in many directions:  a Siberian labor camp, a Jewish ghetto, to a Nazi prison, into hiding, escape to South America---you will be on the edge of your seat waiting to see how these people get out of deadly situations and if their struggle to survive and reunite is successful.  Simply outstanding.  Grab the tissues for this one.  It is even more emotional due to the fact that this story is about a real family.  Five stars for me (and about 1600 reviewers on Amazon).

Another five star read, The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton was positively excellent.  This book came out in 2014 and I do not know why it took me so long to read it.  Set in 1686 Amsterdam, this story gripped me from the first page.  Seventeen year old Nella has been married off to a wealthy Dutch merchant and arrives on his doorstep to a very strange household indeed.  Everyone has secrets, including her much absent husband Johannes.  Her husband gives her a wedding gift that is a large elaborate doll house which is a replica of her new home.  Price is no object, he tells her, and she contacts a miniaturist to furnish the house.  It soon becomes clear that the miniaturist eerily knows a lot more than they should about their household, its people, and the objects within it.  Unsolicited items start arriving and Nella begins to wonder if the miniaturist is more of a prophet than a craftsperson.  Beautifully written.  I learned a lot of interesting tidbits about the sugar trade, the repressive Dutch religious climate of the time, and how being different was considered the biggest threat to their society.

Best of all, The Miniaturist is a three episode mini series on PBS Masterpiece Theater!  I was enthralled with this series.  The set design and costumes were like watching a Dutch Masterpiece painting come to life.  Excellent in every way.  Highly recommend.

The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook is a book I am currently reading.  So far, I am completely engrossed in the story.  Set in war devastated Hamburg, Germany right after WW2, the plot concerns British Colonel Lewis Morgan who is charged with overseeing the rebuilding of the ravaged city.  He, his wife Rachael and their son Edmund are billeted in the magnificent home of a formerly wealthy German gentleman and his rebellious teenage daughter Freda.  Forced to live together in this grand house, the occupants forge relationships that originate in hate and evolve into something quite different.  The atmosphere is so charged between the characters you can practically cut it with a knife.  Romance, betrayal, self realization, this book has it in spades.

And, woo hoo, guess what?  It is being made into a movie with Keira Knightley and Alexander Skarsgard.  Check out the movie trailer, you won't want to miss this.  I saw the trailer and immediately downloaded the book onto my Kindle.

Another PBS drama that is airing currently is "Jamestown", written by the folks who produced Downton Abbey.  British colony Jamestown has been occupied only by men for 15 years, when the first women start to arrive by ship.  Men could effectively "buy" a bride, by paying for her passage to the New World.  The main characters are Alice, Verity and Jocelyn (each of whom has a good reason to leave England) and the plot concerns the situations that arise between them and their new husbands.  The program is trying to be feminist in tone, as it is often pointed out how few rights women had at the time, and the lengths they had to go to achieve pretty much anything.  I have a feeling it is not 100% historically accurate, but somewhat exaggerated.  One critic observed that the series simply presents more modern day characters in period dress.  That being said, I am enjoying the series.  I am six episodes into the first season.

Be still my heart, here is Aidan Turner in the PBS series Poldark.  (Can you tell what a Masterpiece Theater dork I am?)  A year or so ago I devoured all 12 of Winston Graham's books in his Poldark series, and loved them.  PBS has a four season series based on the novels and the Cornwall adventures of glowering Ross Poldark, his fiery wife Demelza, and their arch enemy George Warleggan.  This series is so well cast, and I have no trouble at all visualizing them as the characters in the books.  This was such a great series of books, and the television dramatization is just excellent.  Just watch the first episode, I promise you will be hooked!

And then there is Outlander, Season 4.  Have there ever been two romantic characters to measure up to Clare and Jamie?  In Season 4, they have moved on to The New World, and find themselves setting up house in the colony of North Carolina.  Their adventures continue, this time with the addition of a dastardly villain named Steven Bonnet.  And for all you Downton Abbey fans, this villain is played by none other than Ed Speleers, the handsome baby faced footman from that series.  You won't even recognize him!  He has adopted a dirty face, greasy hair and a world class sneer.  Turns out, he is an excellent actor.

Check it out!

Hope you enjoyed my recommendations.  Let me know your thoughts on any of these you have experienced.