Tickled Pink

Hi everyone! What's sweeter on a birthday than even the cake and ice cream? How about a pink and white confection like this one from my buddy Barb? It's the latest in a series of birthday quilts she's gifted me over the years. 

I'm tickled pink with her Courthouse Steps Log Cabin. The arrangement of double pinks and shirting prints reminds me of pastries stacked in a French bakery window.

 

Barb must have had the same idea because look what she put on the back of the quilt -- a luscious toile depicting Parisienne advertising labels. Ooh la la!

That's not all... there were 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 mouths whole. Linda's pink peppermint ice cream was a perfect accompaniment too!

Thank you dear friends. My birthday couldn't have been sweeter!

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.

You’ve Got Mail

.

A package arrived in the mail today,

and even though I knew who it was from and what was inside, 

nothing prepared me for what burst from the box as I opened it --

a glorious riot of color made by my friend, Wanda Hanson!

it's a Streak of Lightning quilt just as vibrant and lively as the name implies.

Combining Sujata Shah's design and Vicki Welsh's hand dyed fabric, Wanda achieved a 

make for one very vibrant quilt! Which 

color combinations do you prefer? 

It's pretty hard to 

It covers me perfectly from nose to toes and is just wide enough to keep me warm without entangling my arms in extra quilt.

Whether I’m snuggled under the quilt or admiring it from across the room, those colorful zig zags make me smile. Thank you, Wanda, for a gift that warms both body and soul.

  Details and Links
~36” x 63”
~Zig Zag quilt tutorial by Sujata Shah, The Root Connection
~Hand dyed cotton fabrics by Vicki Welsh

The Party’s Over: Confessions of a Control Freak on Thanksgiving Day

How was your Thanksgiving? Ours was quiet and casual. My husband did all the cooking and William and his girlfriend joined us for dinner.

I had a different blog post prepared about the challenge of balancing MS symptoms with my perfectionist tendencies, about wanting to control things I have no control over and having a hard time relinquishing control to those who don’t take control quite the way I want them to. You know, a typical family holiday scenario.

My husband said that if I wanted to focus on the negative, I deserved to feel miserable. So, instead of whining and griping ad nauseam, I've summed up my frustration with a single photo.

This was our guest's view from her seat at the Thanksgiving table. Apparently, I was the only person bothered by this mess, since no one thought to hide it before dinner.

CLICK PHOTO for the festive details.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Veteran's Day

PFC Edward Haeger

I usually call my dad on Veteran’s Day to thank him for his military service. This year, his dementia is too advanced to sustain much of a conversation on the phone, but if I could be with him, I’d try to prompt a few memories.

In the early 1950’s, Dad and his buddies volunteered in the Army reserves at Chicago’s Navy Pier. They enlisted and went to basic training together at Fort Riley, Kansas. Dad completed his Army stint at White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico.

I used to tease Dad that he spent the Korean War stateside, defending America’s southern borders from marauding Communists. Joking aside, he's very proud of his military service.

A couple years ago, the assisted living facility where Dad lived, honored its veterans with a brief ceremony and certificate of thanks. Dad was brought to tears by the acknowledgement, so I called the director to tell her how much the gesture had meant to him. She said his reaction was not uncommon. A person’s military service, no matter how long ago it occurred, played a significant role in his or her life.

I don’t know how much Dad remembers of his Army experience from sixty years ago. I do know that something deep inside him would still salute the American flag, rise with hand on heart for the National Anthem, and beam with pride at a firm handshake of thanks.

Happy Veteran’s Day, Dad!

Trick or Treat

Liberated Sawtooth doll quilt

16” x 23”

machine pieced, machine quilted

Diane Burdin, 2003

Friendship Quilts

Hey there! It’s been a while. The month of September got away from me and if I’m not careful, October will too. Our autumn routine was abruptly interrupted when my husband had an accident at work. He conked his head in a fall, resulting in some facial injuries. We're hoping there will be no permanent damage, other than a sinister looking scar when he furrows his brow.

Incidents like these make things particularly tenuous for our household. With me so dependent on Jim for my basic needs, we worried about how we’d get through his four week recuperation. With patience, and help from both our sons on the weekends, we managed.

So, let's talk about quilts instead, friendship and signature quilts in particular. During my years at QBU quilt shop, we signed and exchanged many blocks as mementos between friends and colleagues.  Shari Tischhauser used the "Old Italian Block" to make this friendship quilt for my birthday one year.

For each 6“ (finished) block,
Cut 4 - 4” squares
Cut 4 - 4” x 2 ½” rectangles
Cut 1 - 2 ½” square of muslin
Sew as you would a nine patch.

                                 

Center a 6½“ square ruler on point and trim the block to size.

This method creates some waste, but the excess triangle trimmings can be used for another project. It also results in bias edges on the outside of the block, generally a no-no, so handle blocks carefully. 

I’ve sewn and swapped scads of these blocks, probably enough for a couple of quilts. One set of blocks is signed by quilters from guilds, bee groups, and retreats I‘ve attended over the years. The other set is still blank, awaiting an occasion worth commemorating. Here are mock ups of potential layouts.

In this case, adding sashing and cornerstones to each block as you go helps control the bias edges.

Be even more careful with a zig zag setting. It's a little trickier because you'll be sewing bias to bias.

I’ve not tried it but Anita Grossman Solomon demonstrates a waste free method for cutting 6 inch blocks with straight of grain on the outside edge. Give it a try.