Holy Family in Bluework

 Greetings, my friends! I just finished embroidering and quilting a miniature quilt that was inspired by an antique wall splasher in my collection. This intricate quilt took a long time to embroider due to its tiny details and overall size. It measures only 12 1/4" tall x 16 3/8" wide. I really had fun making it though at times I thought I'd never finish! I am calling it "Holy Family in Bluework." I just have to add a sleeve to the back for hanging and it will be all set!

I hope that all of you are enjoying the holiday season. I like listening to the selection of Christmas carols available through the Alexa device that plays amazon music. Soon I will be making Stollen, that wonderful Austrian/German sweetbread that was so favored by some of my ancestors. It is an all-day affair to make it between preparing all of the ingredients and letting the dough rise several times before baking it. 

We are enjoying our (artificial) Charlie Brown type of Christmas tree which we have had for at least 10 years now. Every year, more and more needles grace the living room floor and one of these years, we will have to buy a new one. Real trees are in short supply this year due to farmers selling off their land about 10 years ago now in lieu of keeping Christmas tree plantations. With the supply chain issues, I heard that artificial trees are also more scarce than usual.

We drove around the other night to look at Christmas lights. They were few and far between but the ones that were up were very nice! I was happy to see that Concord, NH still has a nice creche downtown and a tall holiday tree.

I am wishing you the very best Christmas ever (or whatever other winter holidays you celebrate)!

Patricia Cummings

Bill Staines, NH Singer/Songwriter, Passes

 I was very much saddened by the news that Bill Staines, NH folksinger/songwriter, passed away on 12/5/2021. Without knowing it until three weeks ago, the pancreatic cancer from which he had suffered for 20 years had metastasized in a very aggressive way. He was 74 years old. I was lucky enough to have attended two of his concerts in my hometown, summers ago. Bill was internationally-known and was a well-loved musician, a gentle soul.

In 2003, I was so inspired by his song, "Redbird's Wing," that I designed a quilt based on the lyrics. I contacted Bill and he graciously allowed me to print the words of the song on the back of the quilt. You can probably hear this song, if you Google it. It begins:  "Oh, I have left the ground behind/ On windy whispers, I am climbing/ past the spruce and spindly pine/ where winding waters sing..." He was, of course, referring to riding in an airplane over Alaska. The lyrics are full of imagery and led themselves well to visual interpretation. I call my quilt, "On Windy Whispers."

What a joy it was to know Bill's music. I also enjoy the music of his talented son, Bowen Staines, and have his CD-ROM. The apple did not fall far from the tree. Bill is perhaps best known for his song, "All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir," the basis of a book for children, and published in the Rise Up Singing songbook. The people who love folk music in New England have certainly lost one of the greatest folksingers of our time. Rest in peace, Bill Staines. We are going to keep on singing and playing your music!

Patricia Cummings