Here is dear old Grandma Stolzfus.
She would like to share with you the tradition of scherenschnitte, or paper-cutting. However, she also loves sewing, so she thought she'd combine her two loves and show you her edible creation.
First, the materials, from the bulk candy store
2 Fruit Rolls (natural, of course)
1 Tub cotton candy
1 pkg licorice lacs
1 pkg dried mango (for snacking)
Using her trusty X-acto knife (for Grandma is modern Mennonite), she cuts out and applies (applique, if you will) the traditional motif.
Now she sandwiches some "stuffing" between the halves of the pillow.
"Bastes" the two halves together with stickiness.
And begins to sew. Grandma Stolzfus takes great pride in her "granny knot".
Grandma Stolzfus does not like to be disturbed while she's sewing. It's that tradition of non-photography; she just can't shake it.
I took some close-up shots, so you can see the process. First, Grandma Stolzfus poked some starter holes with a bamboo skewer. Next, she used an over-hand stitch to sew up the pillow.
She ties a finishing knot and cuts the "thread" in the traditional way.
Grandma Stolzfus proudly shows off her Scherenschnitte pillow.
And then starts to enjoy the fruits (pun intended) of her labor.
Grandma Stolzfus is lucid most of the time, but occasionally she drifts towards senile. We love her anyway.
NB: I knew I wanted to do this challenge with fruit leather (aka, Fruit Roll-ups). They're quite malleable. Unfortunately, the licorice rope is less so, and it quite stubbornly refused to conform to the over-hand stitching, stretching out the fruit leather. I used corn starch to decreased the stick-to-my-hands factor. DH had the idea to use the Amish bird motif. Can you see the detailed feathers I cut out? Yes, I'm nuts!!
Scherenschnitte is a traditional art form practice among the Mennonite people. For our anniversary last year, DH ordered us a scherenschnitte piece personalized with our names and date of marriage. The wacky, deaf lady he dealt with, who charged us twice and spelled my name wrong (initially), is our inspiration for Grandma Stolzfus.
Enjoy the sugar coma! C/C welcome!!
