Fabric

Pick a pretty fabric You can buy an inexpensive remnant of pretty fabric in a "jumble shop," long enough and wide enough to make a simple valance for your bedroom windows. Syndicated columnist Heloise says she made a new bedspread and took a "cheap piece of material" to make a throw for her "comfy chair," rather than having it reupholstered. She can take it off and recycle it.

Want to live a long, healthy life? Strengthen connections with family members. That's right. Healthy relationships make for a healthier life, according to Harvard Women's Health Watch. "People who have satisfying relationships have been shown to be happier, have fewer health problems, and live longer," the medical journal reported in December 2010. "In contrast, having few social ties is associated with depression, cognitive decline and premature death. " Yikes! So do I have to build a relationship with Cousin Clara, the family gossip?

When considering the right fabric treatment for your windows, several elements should be weighed. Let's start with color, as this is the most prominent aspect you will notice when viewing the completed window treatment. When purchasing a sheer fabric for your window, be aware that the color you select will wash the room in that hue when the sun shines through it. That can be very good or very bad, depending on your color choice and its compatibility with the rest of the room. A sheer material will be fabricated into a three-to-one fullness, which will intensify the color.

One of the most effective ways to use fabric is in the creation of a little "space within a space. " Textiles lend themselves to hanging and wrapping, and they move easily around other objects in a room. The inherent soft quality of fabric makes it a perfect medium for use in a bedroom as a room divider or a bed enclosure. For many centuries, humans have known that it feels safe to sleep in a surrounded place. In 19th century Sweden, they built double bunk beds built into the wall and used fabric curtains to keep the warmth inside the cubicle.

charlestown@herald-mail.com BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - In a custom that began more than 150 years ago in the United States, women pieced together sections of fabric that became bed quilts to keep family members warm on cold nights. It was an example of human ingenuity. Practically anything laying around the house could be used, from pieces of discarded fabric from other jobs to cloth feed sacks. Although the quilts could be rough in appearance, some of the designs resembled pieces of art. Classic designs like the Lone Star, Log Cabin and Bear's Claw were passed down through the generations.

1. Are you tough enough? The Parsons Ford Original Toughman Contest will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24,  and Saturday, Feb. 25. Berkeley County 2000 Recreation Center, Lambert Park on Woodbury Avenue, Martinsburg, W.Va. The champion in the men's light heavyweight, heavyweight and middleweight divisions will each receive $1,000 and the runners-up will each receive $300. Prize money for the women's divisions will be based on the average number of bouts and paid up to the same amounts as the men's divisions.

bonnieb@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The old, homey art of quilting has entered the 21st century, using computers, printers and new products and techniques to create ever more sophisticated and artistic quilts. Labels for quilts can be computer-generated, patterns can be printed on special computer paper and a new product sets computer ink on fabric. But some methods and products that save enormous amounts of time, energy and frustration are best learned from another quilter.

Millie Miller's extra bedroom is about half full of fabric. So is a closet, and there are about 10 bins of fabric in her Hagerstown basement sorted by color and type. Anyone who knows a quilter probably has seen their friend's piles and piles of fabric -- some of which the quilter has specific plans for and some of which the quilter simply likes and might one day use. A lot of that "used" fabric will be on display this weekend as the Friendship Quilters' Guild of Hagerstown and Buchanan Trail Quiltmakers of Waynesboro (Pa.)

Decorating with pattern can be exciting, but it also raises a lot of questions. Which patterns go together? Does the fabric pattern have to match the wallpaper? Is the pattern too large for such a small room? Will multiple patterns make the room seem too busy? You'll need to consider several issues while you assemble your design in a small room. First, do you plan to use color on the walls? This might be accomplished by painting the walls or with wallpaper. If the walls are a solid color - as seen in the photo of a little bedroom shown here - there is more opportunity for pattern to be used on the other pieces in the room.

HAGERSTOWN - It's not unusual for years to pass between a quilt's conception and its final, celebratory stitch, but one piece displayed at the Mason-Dixon Quilt Show might never have been finished at all, were it not for a lucky find by a dedicated Hagerstown quilter. Patty Prodonovich purchased the partially sewn fabric scraps, along with the intended pattern, from an acquaintance who cleans out attics and basements. Though Prodonovich doesn't know who started the quilt or why it was never finished, she was careful to follow the anonymous quilter's design.

The clothes Abraham Lincoln wore to Ford's Theater, the flag on Iwo Jima, Stonewall Jackson's uniform, pre-Columbian textiles and hundreds more artifacts like them have been spread across tables in a small shop in Ranson. Textile Preservation Associates has been conserving artifacts and preparing them for display since it was opened in 1987 by Fonda Thomsen. Cathy Heffner came on board in 1989 and bought the business from Thomsen in 2007. A 1976 graduate of Brunswick (Md.) High School, Heffner's participation in a work-study program in National Park Service conservation labs during her senior year led to a full-time job as a textile conservator with the agency.

Want to live a long, healthy life? Strengthen connections with family members. That's right. Healthy relationships make for a healthier life, according to Harvard Women's Health Watch. "People who have satisfying relationships have been shown to be happier, have fewer health problems, and live longer," the medical journal reported in December 2010. "In contrast, having few social ties is associated with depression, cognitive decline and premature death. " Yikes! So do I have to build a relationship with Cousin Clara, the family gossip?

The Berkeley County Farmland Protection Board on Thursday approved a preservation easement for Boydville, the 200-year-old mansion in Martinsburg that was spared from burning by direct order of President Lincoln in the Civil War. The easement for the late Georgian-style home at 601 S. Queen St., along with a conservation easement for the acreage around it, ultimately will be held by the farmland protection board when the 13-acre estate is sold...

Art teachers and students Works of teachers and students are on display in “Museum Art School Reunion Exhibition: Creating, Inspiring and Educating Artists for 80 Years.” Exhibit concludes Saturday, April 14. Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, 401 Museum Drive, City Park, Hagerstown. Call 301-739-5727 or email info@wcmfa.org . Artwork by local youths The Morgan Arts Council celebrates March Youth Art Month with an exhibit of art by local youths. Exhibit concludes Sunday, April 15. Ice House Gallery, Independence and Mercer streets, Berkeley Springs, W.Va.

'Wild About Fabric' Kathi Garten displays her fabric art. The exhibit concludes Friday, April 6. Council for the Arts, 159 S. Main St., Chambersburg, Pa. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Call 717-264-6883. Cindy Haden Baker paintings Oil paintings by Chambersburg, Pa., artist Cindy Haden Baker will be on display. Exhibit continues through Friday, April 13. Franklin County Area Development Corp., 1900 Wayne Road, Chambersburg, Pa. Call 717-264-6883.

1. Are you tough enough? The Parsons Ford Original Toughman Contest will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24,  and Saturday, Feb. 25. Berkeley County 2000 Recreation Center, Lambert Park on Woodbury Avenue, Martinsburg, W.Va. The champion in the men's light heavyweight, heavyweight and middleweight divisions will each receive $1,000 and the runners-up will each receive $300. Prize money for the women's divisions will be based on the average number of bouts and paid up to the same amounts as the men's divisions.

BOONSBORO -- To many people, the second floor of Judy Williamson's home would look like a mess, with sewing project supplies strewn about, and stored in tubs, baskets and plastic carts. To Williamson, it is controlled chaos. One pile contains old wool sweaters. Two smaller piles are hat and mitten pieces already cut and waiting to be stitched together. Rolls of new fabrics and mounds of recycled fabrics are laid out so Williamson can see how they might go together. Williamson, who lives west of Boonsboro, makes garments out of new fabrics, such as silk, and out of old clothes such as jeans and wool sweaters.

There is a primitive change we experience when the shorter days of fall beget the darkness that creeps in earlier each passing day. Somehow, the subtle shift causes us humans to want more sleep and sometimes causes a bit of an emotional slump. When something occupies a lot of our time, we often begin to think more about the activity than usual. When it comes to sleep, it is the very bed that we sleep on that deserves a little attention during autumn. Now, this might mean that you merely take a look at the coverlet on top of the bed and considering changing from a lightweight summer type to a cozier winter covering.

Q: We're newlyweds, but this is the second time around, and we both have two kids. I want to get rid of my old furniture and start fresh, but it seems a bit crazy. Oh, we also have two dogs in our merged family. Maybe I should get plastic slipcovers? A: Plastic slipcovers! There's a thought I haven't had in years. Not since I wrote a feature for the New York Daily News on plastic slipcovers. Researching the story, I discovered three important facts: Plastic slipcovers are congenital: If your mother had them, you might, too. Cats won't sit on them and small children stick to them.

Today, we find ourselves living in a time when making our home a snug escape from the outside world is not simply a luxury but a necessity. Families are being buffeted by the winds of uncertainty, and it is becoming more common to see several generations doubling up in a single home. As a result, sleeping arrangements need to make a house function for the growing numbers living together under one roof. Nothing is as delicious as sleeping inside a compartment shielded from the rest of the world by soft folds of fabric.