Weather in the Tries: Hotter than a pepper sprout! ‘Nuff said! 

The people of the Salish Sea wove all sorts of things from cedar bark – baskets, hats, blankets, all sorts of things to use and to wear and to admire.

When I found this pattern in a magazine, which I have not yet unpacked, but which I immediately saw as a Salish Blanket Quilt, I got to work. The white is probably muslin, but could be white quilt fabric. The colors are Batiks.

I got it made before I moved from ABQ, and pinned the front and back together to be a summer quilt. A summer quilt is roughly the same weight as two sheets, no batting between them. Then it got packed. I didn’t find it until last summer, when I decided to finish quilting it. And it broke my heart. I had pinned it with stainless steel quilting pins that were rustproof. Less than 10 percent were rust free. I got them out, I finished the quilting, and I cried. 

One of my SOCs (sisters of choice) who is not only a quilter, but the one who saw too it I was bit by the Quilt Bug, did some research and sent it to me. It seems a lot of work, to rub some vinegar into the rust, wait, rinse, repeat, etc. I put the quilt away. I hauled it out this morning, put it in a tub of vinegar, and took it to Favorite Daughter’s home where I laid it out on the grass for the sun to help bleach. A lot of the rust came out, and I brought it home to work on individual spots on top of the washer. Vinegar, Fels Naphtha soap, and some detergent rubbed in, then washed it and dried it. The drying set any of the rust that didn’t come out, but most did, and what’s left really only shows on the white border on the front. Unless you get really close and look at it. Which none of my friends who love me will do.

Anyhow, it is my Cedar Bark Quilt, and tonight, I will sleep under it, once my room cools enough I need a cover. Our high (Sunday night) was 102F. 

If you go to your search engine and search for Images of Cedar Bark Weaving, there are several sites to show you. Years ago, I had a friend who was an attorney, and he did work for one of the tribes. One of the women who wove hats, gave him one. Most of the hats went to Vancouver BC to be sold, and one day my friend and his wife traveled to BC and on the way home, he put his hat on the dashboard. When he got to Customs, the US Customs guy asked if he had anything to declare. He said no. The guy looked pointedly at the hat, and asked where he bought it, and how much he paid for it. My friend said it was a gift from one of the elders, and named her. The Customs guy grinned from ear to ear and said, “I thought I recognized Granny’s work.”  

Tomorrow (which is really today, as far as you’re concerned and reading this) I start work. I will get up early, feed and walk the dog, and be at my computer at 8am and work through until noon five days a week. It’s the only way I will be able to go through Thomas’s writings, and get things found, edited, etc. I’m just hoping I didn’t lose anything when my computer crashed. I lost a lot of stuff, but was able to find it somewhere. I really don’t know where, but good old Finder found it buried somewhere.

I plan to work 4 hours a morning 5 days a week, until I can figure out what I’m doing. And get some sort of rhythm going.

Do any of you know anything about Substack? Good, bad, or indifferent? Please, let me know. I’m considering it for some of Thomas’s writings.

The Desert Dog says it’s too hot, even for him. But he sends Pupkisses to you all, and hopes it’s cooler where you are. (And if so, can he come visit? He promises he won’t eat much.)