A Good Day

Any day spent with friends is a really good day!

Quilt friends, Sheila, Kathy and Mary.

Garden Maze

It finally feels like Spring here. Time to celebrate with something fresh and new! Aussie quilter Marian Edwards posted this little quilt on her beautiful blog, a must read for anyone interested in antique and reproduction quilts, especially of the small variety.

Marian designed her quilt with bits and pieces leftover from previous projects. Hmm... I had some of the very same bits lying around my own sewing room!

A single Dresden Plate block,

a couple of appliquéd flowers,
embellished with buttonhole
stitch embroidery,

and precut strips of 1930s repro fabric.

These particular bits were leftover from various classes I'd taught. By making class samples and demo blocks from the same style of fabric,  it was easy to incorporate them into another project later on.

Kathy Smith used my pieces to create a miniature sampler style quilt. She brought new life to what certainly would have remained scraps if left in my care.

Kathy hand quilted simple designs, reminiscent of 1930s quilts.

I've named it "Garden Maze," for the labyrinth pattern created by the strip pieced blocks. The quilt measures 27” square and is backed with a sweet jonquil print.

Our grand kitty, Gandalf, laid claim to it just as we tried taking pictures. I love the way his tippy toes rest right at the edge of the quilt. 

Tickled Pink!

Could anything be sweeter than cake and ice cream on your birthday? How about this pink and white confection from my buddy Barb? It's the latest in a series of doll quilts she's surprised me with over the years. 

This Log Cabin variation is Courthouse StepsThese double pinks and shirting prints remind me of French pastries stacked in a bakery window.

 

Et voila!

On the back is a luscious toile depicting Parisienne advertising labels. Ooh la la!

There were birthday treats from other friends as well. Terri baked a tray of mini cupcakes that were moist, chocolatey, and way too easy to pop into our mouth whole. Linda's pink peppermint ice cream was the perfect accompaniment!

Don't I have the sweetest friends? They sure made this birthday special! XO

Every Stitch a Blessing, Every Stitch a Prayer

This is not the post I'd hoped to begin the new year with. My dad’s health has been declining since Christmas, and sadly, he passed away last week. He suffered from Lewy Body Dementia, a debilitating neurological disease with symptoms similar to both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Dad died peacefully in his sleep while in the care of hospice. He was a devoted husband, great dad and grandfather, and all-around good guy who will be remembered for his cheerful, fun-loving spirit.

People manage grief in different ways. For me, it's natural to turn to needle and thread for solace. My needle got quite a workout in the mid-1990s when we lost several family members and friends within a few short years: a beloved aunt and uncle, my dear brother and his partner, a favorite grade school teacher, and the owner of the quilt shop where I worked. 

It was tempting to wallow in self-pity during those years, but I had to keep things together for my health and family’s sake. In true “fake it till you make it” fashion, quilting helped me cope with grief and loss.

I began by pulling fabrics from my scrap basket. I'd give them a casual trim with scissors and sort them into piles of light and dark strips. When there were enough pieces to run through the machine, I'd stitch them into "liberated" log cabin blocks. The beauty of working intuitively like this is how relaxing it is.

What started as mindless sewing, soon became a form of prayerful meditation. Snip, sort, sew. Snip, sort, sew. Gradually, the quiet focus and rhythmic hum of my machine began to mend my broken heart. 

I don't know how I'll feel about this quilt in the future. I like to think there's more healing in it than grief. Maybe I won't try to finish it -- just keep it for the next time I need some therapeutic sewing.