July 2016 Picks

Piece by Piece

Sharon Malachowski began quilting at age 14 as a way to express her love of color, design and creativity. “In 1998, I entered my first quilt competition and won,” she says. “This made me consider turning my love for quilting into a profession. Now, I design quilts for sale and do custom quilting and sewing.”

In 2000, she was introduced to free-needle machine embroidery and found she could “paint” with stitches. Since then, she’s completed more than 800 commissioned quilts. “For me, sewing is all about stitching together community,” she says. “I enjoy helping families make heirlooms and celebrate life’s moments. I’ve made quilts for births, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, memorials and just because. Most recently, I made a comfort quilt from a departed loved one’s shirts for his widow.”

Malachowski is also on board of directors for the Northern California Quilt Council, regularly teaches classes about the use and history of quilts and donates her work to a variety of people in need.

A Life Full of Miracles

Everyone loves a good story, especially when the main character is an underdog who makes it through seemingly insurmountable challenges to ultimately reach success. It’s the story of the American Dream—a story many of us have a version of in our own families. But rarely are those who go after it quite as successful as Miljenko “Mike” Grgich. Born and raised in a small village in Croatia, Grgich survived both World War II and the rise of communism before escaping to freedom in 1954.

Twenty-two years later, Grgich was working as a winemaker in Napa Valley, and shocked the wine world as the winner of the famous 1976 Judgment of Paris with his 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay.

That’s just the beginning of his story. Grgich’s memoir, A Glass Full of Miracles offers up an intimate and thoughtful examination of an exceptional life, made all the more incredible considering the nature of his struggles and triumphs. The work is a treasure and an engrossing read.

Soap Works with Wine

Crafted in Petaluma, Swan Haven Soap started from a hobby in 2005. Now, Swan Haven makes soap for local wineries by using olive oil from its estate groves and blending in lavender as an exfoliate. This handcrafted Castile soap is a silky moisturizing bar, perfect for sensitive skin. The soap is made in varying sizes and comes in light pastel colors, and “bare bars” with no fragrance or color are available as well. Essential oils are most frequently used to scent the soaps, including fragrances such as citronella, lavender, lemongrass, peppermint, rosemary, spearmint and tangerine. Additional scents are derived from fragrance oils including almond, English Rose, gardenia, lilac, and spiced mahogany.

In 2013, Swan Haven began making beer soap for the Lagunitas Brewing Company, who ordered some for both their Petaluma and Chicago Breweries. A few local breweries have also ordered some of the handcrafted soaps, made from a selection of their finest brews and grains.

Sampled soaps included the Apricot Loofah Soap, (a light, summery scent with a velvety hint of fruit at the end) Goat Milk Soap, (a clean, soothing scent made with almond fragrance and oatmeal) Black Beauty Soap, (a darker more floral scent made with gardenia oil) and Beer Soap (a sharp, bittersweet sweet scent made with hops and malted wheat).

Whatever your preference, you’ll be sure to find a scent you love.

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