What hope chest would be complete without adding a quilt (or two)?!

Quilts have been around for many centuries, and have brought much comfort, love and protection to all who have made and/or own them!  Every handmade quilt has a story and wonderful memories behind every one!   Any time my mom and I (and yes, sometimes my brothers too) are in an antique store and we find an old quilt, I stare intentively at it, wondering: “if you could talk, what stories could you tell, what memories are hidden in your past?” I absolutely LOVE quilts, and who does not!?  My grandmother has made me quilts since I was born and all of them are so very special as I know she poured all her love into each and every one!  My brothers even have what they call “cool” quilts she made them as well and she is so creative with them too, whether it was adding a piece of fabric from a dress I wore as a little girl, or “car tracks” on my brother’s quilts so they could play with their toy cars on them! Each and every one is different and unique to that particular person!  I made my first little patch work “quilt” (it was actually a place mat) when I was 5 ½, and made my first big quilt (a Full sized quilt) at the age of 13, and have made a few since then (and am working on one now!).  My favorite part of making a quilt is putting on the binding!  Knowing that the quilt is almost complete and adding those finishing touches and stitches are so exciting! Of course my least favorite is (like almost anyone else) ripping out seams if I messed up! ARGH!!

Quilts remind me of our relationship with Christ and how he has made each and every one of us so different and unique from each other, like the patches in a quilt!  Each and every one of them is so special to our Creator and He loves each and every one of those “chosen patches” and His love “binds” the quilt together to make it complete!

Colossians 3:1-17

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your  life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:  sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.  In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.  But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.  Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self  with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.   Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,  free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.   And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.   Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.   And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.“

There are many different kinds of quilts you can make such as: wedding quilts, scrap quilts, baby quilts (especially with flannel), Good Bye quilts (for a dear family or friend moving away), memory quilts, special color themed quilts, and many more that make a quilt so very special to add to any hope chest or give away to friends /and or/ family!

Even if you are not very good at quilting, I would encourage you to try your hand at it, or to have a close friend make one for you who would be willing to do so (you supply the essentials of course).     Here are a few pictures of some quilts I own!

Here is a picture of a special quilt my grandmother made when I was 6 years old!  It is in wonderful condition, just a bit of color fade from it being on my bed often!

Here is my second quilt that I made with a sewing group a few years back!  We joke around at home saying that the quilt is so bright, you need sunglasses to see it!  LOL! J  This quilt is a sampler quilt from Debbie Mum’s web-site! She hosts a new sampler quilt every year giving away a block pattern a month so you finish your quilt in a year!

I made a few months ago a cute boy’s baby quilt with trains galore on it!   It has not been spoken for yet, but is waiting to be given to a baby boy to cuddle up with it in the future for someone special!

A hope chest without a quilt is like tea without honey, it is ok without it, but not quite the same without its sweetness!  Quilts can make many memories that will bring much comfort to a young lady when she is married and getting used to new home, and surroundings, or someone who is sick would love a quilt to cuddle with or keep them warm.   Having a quilt is such a WONDERFUL thing to have!

Here are some good book recommendations on quilts and patterns for them:

The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt by Laurie Aaron Hird

Block by Block to Beautiful Quilts by Thimbleberries

Quilt in a Day Underground Railroad Sampler Quilt by Elanor Burns

I would highly recommend buying this magazine, though you can only find it in your local craft/fabric store:

Quilts and More by Better Homes and Gardens

Well, I hope this has been another wonderful inspiring article to you!  I would LOVE to hear if you have any ideas on future articles, as I would love to write more of them and have a couple ideas! I have gotten so many sweet comments from all of you and feel led to share more of what I know about hope chests!  What would you like to see in future hope chest articles!?

Blessings in Christ,

Over at THIS blog, a lady is giving away two Kitchen Aid Mixers! The trick is that when you enter the giveaway, you must mention that “Miss Antoinette sent me” to the giveaway!  If you win and my name is on the comment selected, we both win one of the mixers!  How neat is that!?  I would love to have this in my hope chest!  How about you!?

So join in on the fun!

Blessings in Christ,

I hope you enjoy this weeks hope chest article! 

Heirloom Stain Remover Recipe

Don’t you just hate it when you get a stain on one of your garments, or maybe you have an old heirloom turning yellow in your hope chest, or something of the sort and it seems that nothing will get that stain out no matter how many times you wash it, or treat it with something!?  I have had (and still do) this problem, So thought I would share with you the best stain remover recipe I have ever used that my mother found by a lady who restores antique items and uses this recipe to make antique fabric items look like new!!!  It is safe to use even on the most delicate of fabrics such as satins and laces!   I am going to continue to use this recipe for many years to come (Lord willing) and create my own special heirloom recipe out of it!  I hope you enjoy this recipe and will give it a try yourself and see how wonderful it is!    From my family to yours :

For items that need a good deep soaking use: 1 TBSP. Clorox 2, and 1 TBSP. Mild dish soap (such as Ivory, Seventh Generation, mainly any mild soap with no dye in it)

Mix together in a large container (the container you will soak your items in) and slowly add warm water till you can fully submerge your items in the soapy water.  Let sit overnight, then rinse in washing machine then the dryer or let hang to dry depending on the item.

*Tip* If the items stain has not been removed enough after the first soaking, start process again BEFORE putting in dryer.

For items that have a small stain, but do not need to be fully submerged: use small equal parts of Clorox 2 and Mild dish soap mix together and rub onto stain with a pinch of water. Let sit over night, then rinse off mixture and put in the washer. Again if the stain has not come out all the way, try the process again.

*Tip*To make sure your soap will not harm your items, simply put a small amount of the mixture in a small area of your item and let sit over night, if all is well use as directed, if not, then try a different soap.

I hope this becomes a recipe you will use for a long time as our family has, and that you would let us know how it works for you!  If you have any questions, feel free to ask,  my mother and I are more than willing to answer any of your questions!

Blessings in Christ,

Miss Antoinette

I thought that this week we would look at one thing that all young ladies should put into their hope chest but even be wearing it now and that is an apron!   I know at first when the thought of aprons came to me at the age of about 13 I thought it was so silly and only moms and grandma’s wore those, but not someone young like me (I was not too fond of cooking and baking at the time either)!  Our culture has not just downgraded the usefulness of the hope chest, but even aprons to an extent!  Now, they are starting to come back and almost everyone now wants to own one, but how many of those ladies actually wear it for what it is truly used for or just want to have it as long as it is “in” fashion?  In the prairie days, they were worn practically all day as they were constantly working on things in the kitchen and they would even use them while doing outside work as well such as gardening, collecting eggs, and such and would have special aprons for all the different kinds of work around the home (inside, and outside)!   To keep the clothes that they had (normally only one or two outfits) from getting stained and dirty,  the apron was the best item to keep them clean.  I have now come to understand the importance of aprons and have even come to appreciate them so much as I am now the owner of a few myself and wear them every time I am working in the kitchen (which is very often now), and I try to remember to use it in the garden as well!  This is one item I would encourage all you young ladies to use often, and to even put one or two in your hope chest for your future home!  You can never have too many aprons!  I am so blessed that I will be able to pass this special item down to my future daughters (Lord willing).

A neat tip if making an heirloom apron: Make the ties (or the whole thing) with an old sheet from an old relative (Great grandmother, etc) this gives a wonderful heirloom twist to an apron!

Here is one I did for my cousin’s new bride with the heirloom twist for the ties, and neck! You can see photos, and read more about it HERE!

Here is a couple photos of an apron I finished for myself not too long ago! next time I think I will add pockets, as I always seem to need them when I am cooking/baking! 

Side #1

Side #2

To end my post I would like to share a neat poem I found a few days ago that I thought fit so well with my topic for today…..

Grandma’s Apron
by Tina Trivett

The strings were tied, It was freshly washed, and maybe even pressed.
For Grandma, it was everyday to choose one when she dressed.
The simple apron that it was, you would never think about;
the things she used it for, that made it look worn out.

She may have used it to hold, some wildflowers that she’d found.
Or to hide a crying child’s face, when a stranger came around.
Imagine all the little tears that were wiped with just that cloth.
Or it became a potholder to serve some chicken broth.

She probably carried kindling to stoke the kitchen fire.
To hold a load of laundry, or to wipe the clothesline wire.
When canning all her vegetables, it was used to wipe her brow.
You never know, she might have used it to shoo flies from the cow.

She might have carried eggs in from the chicken coop outside.
Whatever chore she used it for, she did them all with pride.
When Grandma went to heaven, God said she now could rest.
I’m sure the apron that she chose, was her Sunday best.

God bless,

Miss. Antoinette K.

Hello everybody! I thought that this week I would share a couple pictures of some of my heirloom pillow cases that I have in my hope chest, and some I even am using now!

Pillow Case 1 :     

This Pillow case above I hand embroidered about 3 to 4 years ago, and have made some for friends as a wonderful gift for Birthdays!  This was very simple and easy to make, and will after a few generations become it’s own heirloom! I made a pink one as well and I use both of these!

Pillow Case 2 :        

This Pillow case my Grandmother who taught me how to sew made this for me when I was about 7 or 8 years old and I was still using it  till I put it in my hope chest about a week ago!

*Tip*I use my pillow cases to put quilts in, or sandwich breakables between blankets/quilts and put them in pillow cases to keep them from breaking!  It also makes your hope chest more organized as well if you are like me and cannot stand to see disorder in your hope chest!  I have known to be the “Clean Freak” of the house! *blush*

Pillow Case 3 :      

This pillow case was my great grandmothers and was in pretty bad shape as it was turning yellow from age, but thanks to my mom’s special cleaning mixture (which I will be posting about next week), I was able to turn it from terrible to fabulous!  I have 2 of these, one to use, and one in my hope chest!

I hope that this encourages you to store pillow cases whether they are hand made, or ones you find at the thrift store, you can do so many things with a pillow case!

Here is a post that the Long ladies did last week on how to make a cute pleated skirt :

http://mariemadelinestudio.typepad.com/mariemadeline_studio/2010/01/the-most-adorable-little-pleated-skirt-tutorial-ever.html

You can easily make this lovely skirt with a pillow case!

May the Lord bless you and keep you!

Love in Christ,

Miss Antoinette

Today I will discuss the last 2 ideas for filling your hope chest :

Recipes : You will always want to keep those cherished family recipes  safe and well organized so a couple ideas on how to organize those special recipes are :

1. Binder : I have a special cook book binder I bought from a local book store made especially for keeping those prized recipes safe and well organized and here is a photo of it below!

You can even transform a simple binder into a wonderful recipe binder as well with a few simple touches!

Also, recipes does not just mean cooking and baking, I am saving a binder for all of my home made house cleaning and body care recipes as well and the binder is so well for this too!  Making your very own house hold cleaning supply’s saves so much money and is worth the time to try some of them out!

1. Recipe Box : I also have one of these that I love to use as well!  If you have a brother, or dad who can do some wood working, this is a fun project they can do, or even teach you how to make and will create lots of sweet memories!  And the best part, you can decorate it to your heart’s content!

Now for the last and final idea to finish this segment :

Sewing Basket : Just having the extra needle and thread for fixing and mending a button less shirt or tear in a skirt is just two reasons why most young ladies should have a sewing basket. As you never know when you just might need those items inside!  I mend my father’s and brother’s shirts and pants whenever there in need of fixing and they are very grateful that I can help them in that area!   Whether you are an avid sewer like me, or just learning, or just wanting to know the basics of mending things the sewing basket is a wonderful addition to any hope chest!  Here are some ideas on items to put into a basic sewing basket : Needles, thread (go basic colors : black, white, navy, and brown for starters!), thread wax (to keep thread from twisting while hand sewing), thimble, buttons (again basic colors in various sizes), tape measure, 2 pairs of sissors (a small pair for cutting thread, and a larger pair for cutting fabric), seam ripper (this will become your best friend no matter how well you sew! J ), pins, safty pins, marking pens (usually in water soluble form, or one that dissaperes after a few minutes of aplying to fabric), and lots more, but these are what I can thik of off the top of my head! If you can think of any more, feel free to add them to your collection of audities in your basket! For the sewing basket itself, you can purchase one from a craft store, or just purchase a basket, and add the items to it, the possabilitys are endless!

Well, this is the end of another fun segment I enjoyed putting together for all of you dear readers, and I hope all of my post on this topic and all others have inspired you so far and give you a wide variety of things to put into your hope chest!  If you have a good idea about a topic you would like to see posted, just leave me a comment letting me know what it is, your input truly helps me greatly in writing these articles!

Blessings,

Miss. Antoinette K.

Today I will be discussing another idea for filling your hope chest……..

Place Settings : There are so many choices when it comes to place settings, so I thought I would just list a few ideas to get you thinking!

1. Go Practical & Inexpensive : Is it practical, and a good use of your money to buy fancy expensive place settings that you will just be eating on?  My theory is that you are just eating on it, but choose a place setting that looks simple and practical and does not cost you too much! I am sure you would be very disappointed  if you spent around $200 to $300 for one place setting, and one of your dear children broke some of the plates!?  I know that I would be very frustrated, knowing how much they cost, and by buying more inexpensively, you are not too worried about that (even though we all need to try not to be too sentimental over the things of this world).  Here are some place setting ideas, that I think are very practical and not badly priced as well! They also have very nice kitchen ware too!

www.oneida.com

1. Calico Place Settings : What I am doing for my hope chest is looking at thrift stores, Garage sales,  and other inexpensive places to purchase one individual place setting, so that in my my future home my whole table will will have a different place setting at each seat so it gives a unique calico look! This is just a neat idea I thought I would share with you! I am looking for practical and simple fine china settings, as I think it looks very nice, and gives just a slight feminine touch to it, but not too fancy that my husband will feel like he is at a tea room every time he sits at the table!     (though I would not mind it!)

1. Solid Color Place Settings : By doing solid color place settings you can either dress up or dress down the table depending on the occasion with napkins, tablecloths, centerpieces and such.  You can still be very creative with patterned pieces however it would seem that you would have a broader more flexible canvas to decorate with in using solid color place settings.  It is more cost efficient to change your table linens according to seasons/occasions than your dinner ware.

Well, I do not know about you, but I am really enjoying writing these post for all of you dear readers! It is truly a blessing to be able to share these wonderful ideas with you all, and I still have more to come too!   So join me next week wont you!?

Blessings,

Miss Antoinette

Today we will be discussing another idea for filling your hope chest with lovely, practical, useful, simple things that make hope chests so wonderful!

*Please know that my lists are not exhaustive nor mandatory.  Something I think is essential for my hope chest may not be practical or useful for you and vice versa.  My goal is to wet you appetite and get your creative juices flowing.   Most importantly ask the Lord to help you make wise selections that will glorify Him in your home.  It would grieve me to think that I have encouraged someone in frivolous materialism.

Now onto the idea for this week:

Kitchen Implements: Nothing makes your work and/or projects more enjoyable than the right attitude and proper tools to get the job done.  For me this includes good wooden spoons, stainless steel measuring cups and measuring spoons. (my mom surprised me with heart shaped measuring spoons ~ very neat!)  I really like the serving spoons, ladle and spatula my mom uses so she has been buying these for me one by one as the budget allows!

*It is an important note: Do NOT store plastics in a cedar hope chest!!!  Besides the plastic absorbing the strong scent which will never leave there is a chemical reaction that  takes place leaving the plastic feeling sticky and greasy.  That also will not go away.  My Mom’s cousin learned that the hard way!  Wooden spoons will absorb the cedar scent in wooden spoons will over time go away when being in used and no longer stored in the chest.  The cedar scent in wooden spoons will not effect food prep. In any way.

I could go on, and on listing many more items like a rolling pin, glass liquid measuring cups in several sizes, a set of sharp cutting knives….. etc.  I hesitate to do so however, knowing that these items basically keep the same shape and style from year to year and will always be available.  It is those items that you are using now that belong to your mom, grandmother or aunt that feel right as you use them.  Take wooden spoons for instance they come in many shapes and some just do not feel right to me.  So I keep my eyes open for the shapes and styles that I am used to using so I will feel at home and not awkward in my future kitchen!

Well, I hope this has been another useful, encouraging post to you and I hope you will join me next week for another idea for filling your hope chest!

Grace and Peace,

Miss. Antoinette K.

For the next few articles, I will be focusing on what items you can put into your hope chest.

This will be so much fun as I share some of the items I have in mine, and give you ideas for yours.

So here we go!

Books: A family Bible is a wonderful item to add to any hope chest, it can also be just a regular Bible if you wish.  My family has a couple of family Bibles from way back, and it has inspired me to someday either have one of them, or save up some money for one for my hope chest! Devotionals are another great item to add as well.

Also, I would recommend books /and or/ curriculum that would be useful for homeschooling your future children as well (though I could fill my entire chest with books for this purpose!:) ).

Because I have quite a few books I would like to keep for my future homeschooling purposes, my mother and I tucked them away safely in the garage for now.

Heirlooms: Heirlooms are another amazing thing to have in your hope chest as every item has been passed down from generation to generation and all (if preserved correctly) can still be very useful!  I wish I could hear all of the lovely stories some of my heirlooms could tell (I feel the same way when walking into an antique shop:)  )

The Lord has blessed me with some special heirlooms in my hope chest. I have some baby clothes that my mother wore and when she had me I wore them!  They were made by my great grandmother and they are in such good condition, that I have kept them for (Lord willing) my future children.  I have kept some of my favorite dresses growing up that my grandma sewed for me (I even helped her make some of them) and some sweaters that my great Nan (great grandmother from England), and Nanny (my grandmother) knitted for me!

I also have some pillow cases, crocheted doilies, linens, and quilt tops made from as far back as my great, great grandmother that are in such good condition that I even use some of these items now around my room!

I know that some of you will be starting your hope chests from scratch (possibly not having any special heirlooms in your family), so I have three great ways to still have those special heirlooms in your own hope chest (if you so desire):

1. Start your own: Now is the best time to start your own heirlooms by making some.  Dress up pillow cases by adding some nice lace on the edge or hand embroidering something on the end, Make quilts of any size you wish, how about cloth napkins, tablecloths, etc. the list is endless as to what you can make.  When you get older you can pass those items down to your children for them to use and their children after them!  Heirlooms have to start somewhere right?!

Another way to have heirlooms in your hope chest (if you are not inclined to make you own)……..

1. Antique Stores: Antique stores are one of the BEST ways to buy heirlooms from someone who no longer wants them, and can be very practical and useful for ladies like us who want them for our hope chests! Antiques can get quite expensive sometimes.

Another option if antique stores do not fit the budget……

1. Thrift Stores/Yard Sales: Here you can find some really neat heirlooms, books, and so on for a very inexpensive price, and sometimes you can find amazing items that would cost you a lot more money elsewhere!  I have found some wonderful things at the thrift store before and I am always so thankful to the Lord for providing wonderful items for my hope chest!

Well, I hope this has been another encouraging post, and that it has inspired you to start your own heirlooms.  I would still recommend this for those who (like me) already have heirlooms to still make your own as they are wonderful to have and it creates memories of when you made it and they can be just as useful and sentimental (or even more so as they are brand new). I hope you will join me next week when I will discuss two other ideas for your hope chest contents!

Love in Christ,

Miss Antoinette

This week we will be focusing on the second question  “What is a hope chest meant for?”.

The chest itself was usually a hand crafted labor of love from a young woman’s father of brother.  The chest could also have been a special gift handed down from mother or grandmother to a young lady approaching womanhood.  Typically money was scarce so the items acquired were made from scraps, or made from fabric given to the young lady to learn how to do handwork/embroidery.  As her skills improved she would save up to purchase fabric/linens to make dresser scarves, cloth napkins, pillow cases and simple hand towels that she would tuck away in her hope chest for her future home.  A friend of mine shared this wonderful quote that I thought was appropriate for this post!

“ It is not hard to imagine how the Hope Chest idea grew out of the
custom of a dowry. Young Girls realized the part money and possessions
played in winning a husband. Thus in Rumania, for instance, girls begin
at a very young age to make their bridal finery and the linen they will
require for their homes. It was even customary, at one time, for a
bridegroom to examine these trousseaux and determine whether or no they
were complete. The choice of the bride depended in many cases upon the
value of her outfit. “
-The New York Etiquette, 1924

Dowry: (The money or goods a woman brings to her husband in marriage;
the portion given with a wife)

I know that this is not the case today, but we still should strive to put good, wise, sensible, simple, useful godly, and practical  things into our hope chests!  There are REALLY good articles about “Stuff” on the “Living Sacrifice” blog HERE!  When I was a lot younger, I thought that my hope chest (given to me by my dear mother, and blessed with another by my Grandmother) was just a big box to put whatever I wanted to keep forever in it, not having marriage on the brain whatsoever (nothing practical, or useful)!  But as I got older, I realized how important filling my hope chest with items that would be useful for my future home was, so I cleared out quite a bit of “stuff” that really did not need to be in there!  Now, I am focusing on hand embroidering some things, sewing, and collecting useful items to store into my hope chest!  Keep in mind that hope chests, do not necessarily have to be wooden chests, but can be a cardboard box, or a plastic bin as well!

I would also strongly recommend a book called “The Hope Chest: A Legacy of Love” by Rebekah Wilson!  A dear friend of mine is letting me borrow her copy as I do not have mine yet, and it is so wonderful, I would recommend this book to any young lady/and or/mom who would like to start a hope chest!  It is a very insightful book and one on my wish list!

I hope this post was encouraging to you, and that it would help you in your endeavor to look and store wonderful things for your own hope chest!

Next week, I will post about “Ideas For Hope Chest Contents”.  This one will be a lot of fun as I will share what I have put into my hope chest so far.   I pray this will encourage you in giving you some ideas for your special hope chest (even if you don’t have one yet, it still is a good idea to know what to put in one!).   I would also LOVE to hear some ideas from YOU about some wonderful ideas you might have for items to put into our hope chests! You can e-mail me at : Mail(at)practicalsimplicity(dot)com

and who knows, I just might put your ideas in one of my posts!

Hope everyone has a blessed week!

Grace and Peace,

Miss. Antoinette