Back in the Saddle

Yeah. It's been a while since I posted anything. A lot has been going on in our lives. That's putting it mildly. Vacation. Major health turns. Oh well. God is good.

I did manage to finish up the Christmas surprise I took on vacation. It's all labeled, quilted, washed, folded and ready to go. = ) No pics. It's a surprise!

Despite major back pain and some neurological deficits, I had several WONDERFUL quilt shopping days in Northern Michigan with my dear friends, Bev and Alice! I think we hit a total of five shops on 3 different days. It was a good trip. = )

I guess I'll just show you all the stuff I got, while I work on it. A little at a time. First things first.

Georgia B's Quilt shop in St. Ignace on the UP was a find! and a keeper!! She had a 40% off everything sale going on--to try to make room for new inventory. Got several charm packs and some yardage to go with precuts I already had at home.

Two of my charm packs were Sunkissed, by Moda. I wanted something sunny, maybe a little girly, to do a baby quilt for my niece. She's having a baby girl in October. I just did simple square piecing and chose to do some of the hand-quilting with a pretty green perle cotton floss. I love how it turned out--really cute!!

Time to Focus

    It seems I have too many irons in the fire!  Addison's quilt is on the frame. Jericho's quilt is probably about half pieced. Niece's quilt is about 60 percent pieced. Placemat flowers are finished; I'm working on the leaves. Oh, and I started a crib quilt out of the leftover triangles from Jericho's quilt for a friend who's baby is due in June.

    Made a trip to JoAnn's today to get a few things. White solid for background to grandmother's flower placemats, and bright yellow for the backing and binding ... green polka dot for borders and binding on the crib quilt, as well as backing fabric for it ... sewing machine needles ... thread.

    AND ... I decided to make a slipcover for our highchair. On Easter, Jericho slid down and got stuck in a wide space on the back left when one of the "spokes" broke (decades ago). It took several tries, but I think it turned out pretty cute. We'll see how it works with an actual child in the seat. = )

    All this to say ... I haven't posted anything in several days because I've been trying to get things finished before I begin something new. I'm trying to focus!!  It's a lofty goal, I know, but one I really need to stick by ... both for sanity's sake and the sake of our finances!

Changing Seasons

    Spring has arrived, and Larry called the utility company to have our gas turned off today. I'm kinda sad. OK. Not kinda sad, I'm really sad. Actually, I teared-up a little when I went into the living room and now I'm (unsuccessfully) blinking back tears while trying to swallow the lump in my throat. Let me explain.

    A little over a year ago, we had a fireplace wall built in our living room. It has a ventless fireplace with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on either side. We'd wanted a fireplace when we built our place, but decided to wait until we sold our old house and were in a better financial position. It was finished the end of last April--the same week temperatures went into the 80's and stayed there. So, about six months ago, we had the gas turned on and were able to use the fireplace for the first time.

    We decided that throughout my chemotherapy, I could use the fireplace during the day to warm-up our living area. (As it turned out, we pretty much heated the house with it, but that's another story!) And that's just what I did. If I wasn't feeling well or simply felt chilled, I flipped on the fireplace. Some dark, winter days, there's really nothing like a fire in the fireplace. Not only did it warm-up the room temperature, it seemed to do something to my heart, too. There were days when I'd have our main floor at 76, 77 or even 78 degrees.

    Somehow, it seemed like snuggled up on the couch with a quilt, by the fire, everything was alright--everything was going to be ok. I think in some sort of way, on some days, I depended on that gas fireplace to keep me company, to make me feel loved, like everything in my world was warm and snuggly and safe.

    So, today, the gas goes off. No more fireplace. Silly. I know. But I can't help it. I'm gonna miss it and the sense of safety, peace and hope it somehow gave me when I needed it ...

International Quilt Festival

    I went to my first-ever quilt show last Friday. There were 700 quilts displayed and 500 vendors there. Lots of walking!

    I made a list of some things I wanted to look for a couple days ahead of time. I've got several projects either in-process or in my head. So, I mostly needed fabrics. I'm kinda funny when it comes to shopping, and not just for fabrics. I'm the kind that will "know it when I see it." I'm that way about clothing, and home decorating, gifts--really just about anything. Sometimes I have a preconceived picture in my head, and sometimes I don't, but I always know it when I see it!

    I found the rest of the fat quarters I need for my grandson's quilt. Now I need to uncover fabrics for sashing, borders and a white background. I have a pattern picked out, but haven't really even started cutting anything for it. I need to get busy! I also found about 18 different FQ fabrics for the gray/black/cream quilt I'm planning for my niece and soon-to-be nephew-in-law. Their wedding is April, 2012. Plenty of time!!

    There were also a couple of tool-type items that I was looking for. I found a HST quarter inch seam guide, but didn't find a channel tool. It's a double-sided blade that I can use on template plastic to make my own quilt stencils. Anyone know where I can find one? or if they even still make such a thing. Hand-quilting doesn't seem to be nearly as popular as machine-quilting. Oh, well ...

    I spent just a little time walking through the display section of the show. Honestly, I was a little (or maybe a lot) overwhelmed. I'd thought that I might be inspired by some of the quilts displayed, but it turns out that most of them are what I'd call pieces of art; something no one is allowed to touch; to be displayed behind glass. To me, that's not what quilts are for. Quilts are for remembering its maker and the occasion of its giving. Quilts are for snuggling-up under on a cold winter morning. Quilts are for wrapping someone you love--a new baby, a sick child, a dear friend, an aging parent--in love. So--all that to say--I didn't really enjoy the display portion as much as I thought I might. It was a bit over my head. Or, maybe just out of my league.

    I ended up going to the quilt show with Bev and some of her family--her mom, an aunt, and a couple of her cousins. I had a lot of fun! They all quilt--and helped to show me the ropes. Always good to have someone more seasoned than me to watch, listen to and bounce my ideas off their experience!

    Once again, I've linked-up to Quiltstory's Fabric Tuesday event!!

Quilted Prayers

    One thing I like to do, when I'm working on a project for someone, is to pray for them. I began doing this almost 10 years ago when I started a cross stitch sampler for a young lady I had a feeling would one day be my daughter-in-law. Adam and Hannah will celebrate 6 years of marriage this summer!

    My first quilt is being made for the room where my grandchildren will sleep--both for naps and when they spend the night. Oh, how this brings tears to my eyes. The privilege I have to grandmother precious babes God created and brought into this world. I count it an important responsibility, as well as an amazing gift, to be able to pray for my grandkids. I will continue to do so until the day I die--whether they are babes-in-arms or have babes-in-arms of their own. I regularly intercede on their behalf to our great and loving Father.

    I pray He will bless them with life, purpose, and health ... but mostly with a saving knowledge of His glorious Son, Jesus. I pray ^"... that Christ may dwell in [their] hearts through faith.  And I pray that [they], being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that [they] may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Eph. 3:17-19)

A Quilter's Journey

    When I was a young girl, long before I got married, I loved quilts. I loved how they looked, pieced with care and precision. I loved how they seemed to have a sense of history, telling a story about the person who made it. I loved how the possibilities were endless with a quilt. You could change one fabric color or pattern, change the stiching. or thread. or batting thickness. and make something that looked entirely different.

    After marrying in the mid-1980's and having children soon after, I told myself that "one day" I'd start quilting. One day when I had more time. One day when the kids were in school all day. One day when I had an empty nest. One day when everything was settled. One day ... One day never seemed to arrive. Then ...

    Several months ago--long after the kids were married with families of their own--I got a phone call from my doctor. Cancer. I had cancer. A cancer diagnosis does some amazing things in one's heart and mind. Lots of things I'd never really thought about were suddenly smack dab in front of me, no longer could I avoid the issues. Things like ... what's really important?  what if I die sometime soon? what will my family remember of me long after I'm gone? what do I really want to do with the time God gives me?

    One day had arrived.

    One of the decisions I made about the life I have left on planet earth was to begin doing what I had longed for years to do. Quilt. So, last summer I borrowed a pattern from a dear quilting friend and bought the fat quarters I needed to begin my first quilt.

    Enter this blog. A way for me to share my Quilter's Journey, as I pursue a life-long dream. All the while, knowing that God will use my pursuit to help show me how to love Him ... and love people ... allowing me to use the creative ability He placed in me to serve others and glorify His Name.