My beloved Mama wanted to be a writer. As a child she felt driven to record feelings, experiences, and to create stories, and verse. Tucked into bed she would wait until her parents had gone to bed. Then flashlight in hand she would quietly climb into her closet. There she would write, sometimes into the wee small hours of the morning.
Dreaming of fame and fortune Mama wrote, wrote, and then wrote some more. One day it occurred to her that she needed a name to attach to her writing. In her estimation her own name was a little too common, too everydayish to warrant such a grand thing as the name by a writer would be known.
Vivian Varlowe....how she received that exact inspirational name is lost to history. As an adult I told Mama about my compulsion to write. She laughed and shared with me her childhood dream, complete with her pseudonym.
The sad tale is that at some point Mama became convinced that she had no talent to write. Feeling the pressing cares of everyday life Mom quit writing stories and books. Fortunately she kept writing letters, journals and occasional poetic verse. She didn't become a "published" author, but her writing is incredibly precious to her over 75 descendants.
As I grew closer to finishing the first novel in my series "Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch," I went to a book store one day. I looked at the neat alphabetical novels on the shelf. There was Carol Smith...part of my name. Next I looked and found CJ Stone...another extremely close version of my name. Perplexity wrinkled my brow as I considered my approach to this conundrum. I remembered Mama's dreamed of author name and looked on the shelves. I didn't see anything close to Vivian Varlowe...a pseudonym was born!
So...readers please look for and find my first book, "Beth, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch," by Vivian Varlowe, at Lulu.com for book or Nook, and at Amazon for Kindle. It is also carried at Aunt Addy's Country Home in Farmington, Utah. If you live in Utah that is the best deal. You can purchase it there for $3.00 cheaper, and no shipping charges as well. My first book signing will be held on May 31, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Aunt Addy's Country Home in Farmington, Utah. I will soon post the address. Thanks Mama for dreaming big, and passing those big dreams on to me!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
The first book in the series is done! HOORAY!
Wilhelmina Elizabeth, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch is my first finished novel in the series. I am NOT writing the books in perfect chronology. Eventually when all eight novels are finished I may consider numbering them in the order of time that they happen. For now I rather like having readers bounce about seeing bits and pieces of things, but left wishing to know the story before or after.
I just hope that readers will enjoy reading the novels as much as I've enjoyed writing them!
I just hope that readers will enjoy reading the novels as much as I've enjoyed writing them!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Excerpt from Wilhelmina Elizabeth's novel
Beth NEVER felt positively towards another human being except her family and Eric Calkin. Marriage to Jamie had not changed that. Looking at him with the sun shining through his thick, strong hair the blue-black of a raven's wing, Beth noticed again that he was very handsome. He was lean, with strong, firm, muscles. His eyes were so deeply brown that it was like looking into a bottomless well. He had long, curly eyelashes. When Jamie was angry, or happy, he had dimples that decorated his face. Eric Calkin his brother, and Blake Calkin his father had the same dimples. It was definitely a common Calkin trait.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Beth's Checkerboard Knitted Hotpads
Most household things were made in the household in the middle to late 1800s. Lucille Bond is a whiz at all things domestic. She teaches Beth, her daughter, how to make the following pattern.
MATERIALS NEEDED
Size 10 or 11 knitting needles
two skeins of yarn (3 oz or more, this is a loose measurement you may have more than needed)
CAST ON 120 STITCHES.
FIRST ROW: knit 1st 6 stitches, purl six stitches, knit 6 stitches, purl 6 stitches (alternate knit and purl for 20 segments)
SECOND THROUGH SIXTH ROWS: Repeat the above pattern
SEVENTH ROW: purl 1st 6 stitches, knit six stitches, purl 6 stitches, knit six stitches, (alternate purl and knit for a total of 20 sections)
EIGHTH ROW THROUGH TWELTH ROW: Repeat seventh row.
FOR THE REST OF THE PATTERN: Alternate knit and purl every six rows to make a checkerboard pattern. Make a total of 6 rows x 20...ending with a total of 120 rows
CAST OFF
Fold knitted piece in half. With a needle and thread (matching color to yarn), sew the right sides together of the hot pad. Leave one inch undone to turn the hotpad right side out, then blind stitch the last unstitched segment.
MATERIALS NEEDED
Size 10 or 11 knitting needles
two skeins of yarn (3 oz or more, this is a loose measurement you may have more than needed)
CAST ON 120 STITCHES.
FIRST ROW: knit 1st 6 stitches, purl six stitches, knit 6 stitches, purl 6 stitches (alternate knit and purl for 20 segments)
SECOND THROUGH SIXTH ROWS: Repeat the above pattern
SEVENTH ROW: purl 1st 6 stitches, knit six stitches, purl 6 stitches, knit six stitches, (alternate purl and knit for a total of 20 sections)
EIGHTH ROW THROUGH TWELTH ROW: Repeat seventh row.
FOR THE REST OF THE PATTERN: Alternate knit and purl every six rows to make a checkerboard pattern. Make a total of 6 rows x 20...ending with a total of 120 rows
CAST OFF
Fold knitted piece in half. With a needle and thread (matching color to yarn), sew the right sides together of the hot pad. Leave one inch undone to turn the hotpad right side out, then blind stitch the last unstitched segment.
Family Connections
The Drifting Anchor Ranch was begun by Blake Calkin. He was a ship's captain with a dream. He wanted to start a family, a ranch, a legacy but needed the perfect place to achieve this goal.
Blake Calkin was married three times. His first wife was Ardis, and she gave him a son named Eric. His second wife was Sarah, she gave him a son named Jamie. His third wife was Celeste, she gave him twins, Daphne, and Daniel.
All eight of the novels in the series Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch are connected to Blake and his ranch in one way or another. Seven of the books orbit around one specific person. The eighth novel is called Tapestry, and it will be a bit about everyone in the series in one way or another.
The books are Wilhelmina Elizabeth, Ardis, Sarah, Angela, Celeste, Rose, Lily, and the above mentioned Tapestry.
Blake Calkin was married three times. His first wife was Ardis, and she gave him a son named Eric. His second wife was Sarah, she gave him a son named Jamie. His third wife was Celeste, she gave him twins, Daphne, and Daniel.
All eight of the novels in the series Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch are connected to Blake and his ranch in one way or another. Seven of the books orbit around one specific person. The eighth novel is called Tapestry, and it will be a bit about everyone in the series in one way or another.
The books are Wilhelmina Elizabeth, Ardis, Sarah, Angela, Celeste, Rose, Lily, and the above mentioned Tapestry.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Lucille's pinafore pattern
In the late 1800's women usually only owned two dresses. When you realize that one dress took almost 13 yards to make it's easier to understand why pinafores (aprons that covered from the neck to the knee or sometimes longer) were so very popular.
A pinafore usually consisted of a square piece of material on the bottom that had been gathered into a waistband, and a top piece, (square, heart shaped, or round) that was sewn into the waistband.
In Wilhelmina Beth, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch, Chapter Three; Beth's Mother, Lucille Bond gives each of her three daughters a new pinafore that she has sewn for them. She then promises to teach each of them how to make one.
The instructions that follow are for a pinafore apron comparable to what women wore in that time period. The fabrics that were used were mostly either cream colored muslin, gingham, or calico. Some women knitted or crocheted lace to adorn their pinafores and make them prettier. This pattern will be quite basic. On the other hand I will give a simple, moderate, and difficult adaptation so that you can make the pattern according to your personal level of expertise.
I also realize that unlike most women in the mid to late 1800's you probably have access to a sewing machine. I enjoy sewing by hand sometimes. It does remind me of a simpler time. Yet sometimes it's necessary to use a sewing machine to do things quickly.
SIMPLE DIFFICULTY
MATERIALS NEEDED: 1. A three yard piece of fabric. (Fabric was usually only 36 inches wide during that time) 2. A two yard piece of fabric (that meant it was two yards squared) 3. Six yards of ribbon, either satin or grosgrain. Sewing needle and thread to match the pinafore.
SKIRT OF THE PINAFORE: 1. Take seventy two inches square (2 yards) of fabric and gather it all with a very loose hand stitch. This can be done by stitching in and out, in and out of the fabric (like the folds of an accordian fan). 2. Hem the raw edges of the skirt just as you did to the top of the pinafore.
TOP OF THE PINAFORE: 1. Cut out a square of fabric that is thirty six inches (1 yard). 2. Turn under the raw edge of the fabric by sewing a tiny locked stitch. (In and out and then pass through that loop to create a lock knot).
WAISTBAND OF THE PINAFORE: 1. Buy 3 yards of grosgrain, or satin ribbon. (Sometimes they would re-use a ribbon from something else, an old dress, hat, etc.) 2. Attach the ribbon to the gathered fabric of the bottom of the pinafore with a locked stitch (in and out, making a loop with the thread). 3. Attach the ribbon to the bottom of the upper part of the pinafore with the same locking stitch.
TOP STRAPS OF THE PINAFORE: 1. Using the ribbon left after making the waistband, attach one end of the ribbon to the outside edge of the pinafore top. 2. Stitch it securely to that position, with the stitching done on the wrong side of the fabric. 3. Next stitch the other end of the ribbon to the other outside edge of the top. 4. Cut the end of the ribbon in a slant. 5. You secure the finished apron top by tying it in a bow behind your neck.
MODERATE DIFFICULTY
Follow the same instructions as above only this time cut a circle pattern out of a large piece of butcher paper. Using the pattern cut out a circle for the top of the pinafore. Then follow the above instructions.
MOST DIFFICULT
Take a large piece of paper and make a giant heart pattern. Cut out two hearts. Put the material right sides together. Sew from the bottom around the top and down again to the bottom leaving a 3 inch gap at the bottom to turn the heart right side out and then attach the bottom unsewn portion to the waistband of the pinafore.
You can also make straps by sewing right sides together of long pieces of material and then turning them and using them instead of ribbon.
A pinafore usually consisted of a square piece of material on the bottom that had been gathered into a waistband, and a top piece, (square, heart shaped, or round) that was sewn into the waistband.
In Wilhelmina Beth, Women of the Drifting Anchor Ranch, Chapter Three; Beth's Mother, Lucille Bond gives each of her three daughters a new pinafore that she has sewn for them. She then promises to teach each of them how to make one.
The instructions that follow are for a pinafore apron comparable to what women wore in that time period. The fabrics that were used were mostly either cream colored muslin, gingham, or calico. Some women knitted or crocheted lace to adorn their pinafores and make them prettier. This pattern will be quite basic. On the other hand I will give a simple, moderate, and difficult adaptation so that you can make the pattern according to your personal level of expertise.
I also realize that unlike most women in the mid to late 1800's you probably have access to a sewing machine. I enjoy sewing by hand sometimes. It does remind me of a simpler time. Yet sometimes it's necessary to use a sewing machine to do things quickly.
SIMPLE DIFFICULTY
MATERIALS NEEDED: 1. A three yard piece of fabric. (Fabric was usually only 36 inches wide during that time) 2. A two yard piece of fabric (that meant it was two yards squared) 3. Six yards of ribbon, either satin or grosgrain. Sewing needle and thread to match the pinafore.
SKIRT OF THE PINAFORE: 1. Take seventy two inches square (2 yards) of fabric and gather it all with a very loose hand stitch. This can be done by stitching in and out, in and out of the fabric (like the folds of an accordian fan). 2. Hem the raw edges of the skirt just as you did to the top of the pinafore.
TOP OF THE PINAFORE: 1. Cut out a square of fabric that is thirty six inches (1 yard). 2. Turn under the raw edge of the fabric by sewing a tiny locked stitch. (In and out and then pass through that loop to create a lock knot).
WAISTBAND OF THE PINAFORE: 1. Buy 3 yards of grosgrain, or satin ribbon. (Sometimes they would re-use a ribbon from something else, an old dress, hat, etc.) 2. Attach the ribbon to the gathered fabric of the bottom of the pinafore with a locked stitch (in and out, making a loop with the thread). 3. Attach the ribbon to the bottom of the upper part of the pinafore with the same locking stitch.
TOP STRAPS OF THE PINAFORE: 1. Using the ribbon left after making the waistband, attach one end of the ribbon to the outside edge of the pinafore top. 2. Stitch it securely to that position, with the stitching done on the wrong side of the fabric. 3. Next stitch the other end of the ribbon to the other outside edge of the top. 4. Cut the end of the ribbon in a slant. 5. You secure the finished apron top by tying it in a bow behind your neck.
MODERATE DIFFICULTY
Follow the same instructions as above only this time cut a circle pattern out of a large piece of butcher paper. Using the pattern cut out a circle for the top of the pinafore. Then follow the above instructions.
MOST DIFFICULT
Take a large piece of paper and make a giant heart pattern. Cut out two hearts. Put the material right sides together. Sew from the bottom around the top and down again to the bottom leaving a 3 inch gap at the bottom to turn the heart right side out and then attach the bottom unsewn portion to the waistband of the pinafore.
You can also make straps by sewing right sides together of long pieces of material and then turning them and using them instead of ribbon.
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