Teach us to number our days...

My Dad enjoying some sunshine...

Easter Sunday night, well, actually early Monday morning around 12:40, my medical alert rang! I dashed down the hall, stumbled down our stairs, and ran to my dad's bedside. He was suffering an heart attack. After several nitro-glycerin pills, a call to 911, and a house full of paramedics, we rushed to the VA hospital.

The rest of the night was spent waiting on the hard ER chairs!
Dad was calmed with nitro-glycerin IV's and Oxygen. As normal, I went into the ER to stand by his bedside, full of concern and watching each gasping breath from his frail old body. Each moment that passed made it evident that my Dad was really struggling to hold on to life.

Napping in the sunshine...

Yet, in the struggle, he still had some humor for the concerned doctors when he quoted what his deaf ears thought they said. He even took time to tell them of his faith in Jesus Christ and how ready is he to go to his eternal home when his Savior calls for him!

But a couple weeks before, while resting in his wheelchair, my Dad suggested we buy a patio set for his entry porch (below my deck). He thought it would extend his place to the outside, and be a wonderful place to watch my grandchildren play this summer. Hopes of many visitors sitting around with him also prompted this wish.
Neglecting the hinted urgency that elderly years give, I allowed busyness to prevent a shopping excursion. In the ER, while I totally focused on monitors and his wheezing breath,  he opened his eyes to look at me between pains of angina, and said tearfully, "Sorry, girl! We forgot to buy the furniture!"
I couldn't believe his thoughts were on furniture at such a time!

Standing at his ER bedside, I regretted that busyness! I had forgotten how quickly life vaporizes, and I pushed his little desire to buy this gift for me out of my mind. I realized as I watched his breathing, chances to meet his request were distant, and even possibilities of seeing his enjoyment seemed dim.

What Dad sees from his recliner...

My dear sweet husband heard Dad's regret. So, four days later, when Dad was discharged from the hospital and brought home, his entry was fully furnished! He was welcomed home with an inviting outside living space!
It was so awesome!
Now, as he regains his strength, I know I can't just hang over him. I am finding sweet peace in puttering around his living space. Just outside his bedroom, his outside living space has added color with placed pots of flowers. The lattice walls and the flowers give a pleasant sense of homeyness.

Yesterday, we enjoyed a sunny bright day, warm enough for Dad to slowly make his way out his door. This time, he hobbled out of his wheelchair and enjoyed one of the stuffed chairs with his feet on the ottoman, quite content. A cursory glance at the flowers and furniture caused him to comment with pleasure. Around noon, friends brought his favorite Culver's hamburger snack pack and joined us for our first picnic. Then Dad enjoyed a couple of hours of conversation, full of childhood memories and antics!

I'm quite pleased as I journal this wonderful day for my Dad. As I tucked my dear Dad in bed, he patted my hand with a "This was a good day!" He loves his new patio, his health is edging its way to "good" again, and I'm so glad his life was extended long enough to enjoy his furniture gift.

Thank you for all your prayers for my Dad's lingering days here on earth with us. His 89+ adventurous years of life have been full and he will leave a legacy of how to "walk by faith"  when he is called home to his beloved Savior. Until then, let this little story encourage you to make the most of every day with dear loved ones, and squelch that interrupting busyness when it threatens to rob you of precious time spent with them!

Next Steps for me in Making this Dresden Quilt

I bet you all forgot about my Dresden quilt! But, I haven't even put it aside. After much deliberation, I've decided to take all the little scraps of beautiful fabric I chose for the Dresden and make 5" blocks of designs I really like as I browse some of my quilting magazines. I found one design that called for long strips of 2 fabrics, so I gathered pieces that were long enough and made a pile of strips.

pile of strips

preparing the strips

This took several days to cut, stitch, press and find pieces that would match for alternate patterns. When I finished as many strips as I could, I began the next step of making the blocks.
I hope to make these, but also put together smaller amounts of fabrics to make a variety of block designs.
Once I have a stash of little blocks, I hope my next step will be to connect all the blocks into one long strip and make a border for the Dresden blocks. As I learn new block designs and patterns, I hope I can add these to my 5" pile of blocks, as scraps allow. Because I am using scraps, it will be interesting to see how many I can pile together, in a variety of designs to create an intriguing border.

In the meantime, I'm hunting for a delectable fabric which jumps off its bolt, begging to be the backing for my very first quilt. I'm considering a navy or deep garnet shade with barely any design to keep it from being a plain boring piece. I'm sure I'll know when I see it waiting for me on some shelf.

For any "quilter police", please give this newbie a little space. I know I'm taking such a long time to accomplish this one quilt, but it is because I often lay it aside to work on what I've learned before I add it to this project. I'm reading quilt books, browsing online sites, and flipping through quilt magazines like crazy. Wow! There is so much to learn and so many blocks to try!

In case, you forgot what it looks like...

I've already put 2 fronts together with the Dresden ruler and other colors! But oh! That's a secret until the recipients hold their gifts!  I find it so fun to experiment with color and fabrics, and then take what I learned to make another part for this border.
This may be my first quilt, yet I'm also creating a journal for 2010-2011's hours spent learning a new hobby. What better way to record what I am learning as I wander down the path into the wonderful world of creating quilts and designs!
So, patience will prevail, and some day...my Dresden quilt will not only keep me warm, but will remind me of all it took to make each square!

Anticipation of a loving surprise! (Time in a bottle) "Stitch n Time"

My girlfriends and I meet once a month now at our church with sewing machines in tow and spend the day together creating the most awesome designs with our scraps. Wind of our get-together times has blown our excitement out to others and they've begun joining us with their quilting, sewing, crocheting, and whatever else is in their project bags. We call our times together "Sew & Share" and welcome anyone who is free on the first Friday of each month to spend their day catching "our bug". We have so many project dreams, stashes of fabric, and projects started and being finished.
Well, just recently, an elderly lady friend heard of our love for quilting and gave us her stash. She sadly admits her days for much sewing has past and told us to have fun with all her scraps! Excitedly, we browsed through her bins, and awed over all the different fabrics, commenting and wondering what projects were made and who received the treasures. As we admired the fabrics, they were falling into piles we thought would look good together. Once in awhile, one of us held up a piece and suggested a project. Then, someone suggested that we make a pot holder or two in thanks for the stash.
The potholder idea sounded small to us in comparison to the piles, especially considering the hours we would enjoy creating with the piles of color. So, after some discussion, we began to put pieces in pairs as possibilities of triangle squares. We envisioned a big colorful "Memory THANK YOU Quilt" for our dear friend and bantered back and forth on how we could keep it a surprise.
We began immediately. Measuring and cutting, starting with squares, a few straight seams, diagonal cutting, pressing seams, and twisting cut triangles resulting in 64 hourglass squares.
One beautiful piece with a garden theme was chosen to be our center focus. We added borders to make it measure a 24" square. Oh! Of course, we held up our growing project for all to admire as we progressed in our work, and each time, we became more and more pleased with our choices of her scraps. As the squares took shape, the colors became outstandingly bright and going together nicely. In our choice of a perfect center, we added a white muslin top margin where we could embroider our group's name and the year. Then I bordered both the center and white embroidered part with red fabric used in the little squares and then a narrow piece of very navy blue to frame the center and make it jump.

Once we had the center done, we began to lay out our 5.5 hourglass squares to make a rainbow of color. As the rows were placed and pleasing to the eyes, three of us took the squares, trying to remember how they were placed, and sewed them together in long strips, making our rows of delectable design. Piece by piece the quilt front took form.
Oh! Of course, we held up our growing project for all to admire as we progressed in our work, and each time, we became more and more pleased with our choices of her scraps. As the rows were added, the colors became outstandingly bright and fit together nicely.
At the end of our Friday "Sew & Share" time, we had the quilt front completed and ready to quilt. How excited we were as we held it up and admired our finished product!
The front was done and ready to be made into a warm, comfy quilt.
We anticipate the best part is still to come. We can hardly wait to watch our dear sweet elderly friend open her gift, and place it over her lap. We want the joy of remembering all her past projects to fill her mind and bring back the beautiful times of loving memories.
The batting and backing is being added this month. We hope to finish our loving project and have it ready to surprise our dear friend. Maybe it will work into a tea party with our guest of honor unwrapping our hearts of love, and we'll cry
"We love you, Maxine! Happy Surprise! Here is your stash of fabrics!"

Pillowcases

Wow...the month flew by as the snowflakes frequently dropped from the sky, and yet, the grass is green and the forsythia are in full bloom. The daffodils outline many homes, and the sound of joyful children can be heard again, and birds awaken me in the early hours! Yay...it is Spring!

I haven't blogged in quite some time because every free moment found me in front of my new sewing machine. I've had so much fun! I found the pillowcase tut on MSQC very helpful for quick birthday gifts and have quite a variety ready to give for special times of demonstrating love.              

Knowing Spring is a good time to spruce up the little apartment we include under our roof,  I made 2 pillowcases for my elderly Dad. Spring means BASEBALL...so to celebrate, these new pillowcases remind him that Spring promises
warmer weather. He loves baseball, so I was very happy to find this fabric full of baseballs and the other with baseball players on white with navy stripes. Adding a few stars and stripes for the trim and cuff made these cases patriotic.
With a "Where's the apple pie?" Dad chuckled!
He was so pleased at his new decor.

My elderly sister is a victim of a brain tumor,
which after several severe battles, left her needing assisted living quarters. She was released from the hospital and now resides in a cute little apartment. Through the winter months, we've been adding little touches of love to decorate her home. A gift of a patriotic quilt inspired me to find red, white and blue towels for her bathroom. A friend monogrammed these for a more personal touch. Then I quilted these place mats for her little table. She likes them better on the arms of her brand new red couch.

This week, I finished these pillowcases to lie on top of the quilt. I know she will be thrilled to get another package and I think she will like the stars and stripes! How I hope having a cheerful home hopefully encourages her to feel beautiful this Spring and remember to thank our God for each day.
March ends with birthdays in my family. On Sunday, we celebrated two local ones. Pillowcases allowed me to show my love in a cute way. My hubby and I shopped and guessed at fabric that we thought would please them. For my nephew, I decided an adult often longs for the peacefulness of childhood, and his love for dogs made me choose this fabric. I couldn't believe the color brown matched their bed covers perfectly. I was so happy!

Then it was time for a niece to open her gift.                                                                                     For her, I chose the beautiful hue of aqua with chocolate brown. The blue matches her eyes and I knew she loved chocolate. Everyone was shocked that I chose her college room colors. So, it was a great choice! How was I to know? 

I am also making white ones for wedding gifts with some beautiful fabrics needing a purpose. But that is another whole story!

A Newbie's first steps and moving on...

Original 4-sq blocks connected

I am so excited and pleased with my accomplishment. Although it may seem small to some, I cannot believe I was able to create these beautiful blocks! Last time I showed off my work, I placed the blades down and laid the center circle on top to show what I hoped would be my final design for my Dresden blades.
Happily now, I announce...I completed all 36 blocks! With the fabrics and the design that started me down the path of quilting with high hopes, determination, but also trepidation, I have nine 18" Dresden designed blocks in my favorite color combination. 
I began with the 'stack-n-whack' process of cutting with a Dresden ruler. One by one, I stitched all the blades by hand, making center points and then connecting them together in blocks of five on a 9.5 block of white. I made 36 of these blocks. I found I needed to square them before connecting 4 blocks together, making a complete bloom of blades in a circle. I breathed a sigh of relief when the blades made a smooth circle of points, evenly spaced, especially where I had to connect them.

border planned to outline blocks

I finished that task by basting a 1/4" seam around each center circle and hand-stitched them to the Dresden bloom. While watching the snow fall outside, I knotted the last stitch tightly in place!  

Then, I decided to border the squares in the garnet red fabric in order to connect all 9 into one large front.  I cut strips of 1 1/2 inches for this border, and last night, connected the blocks with my new Janome.

my seams match!

the borders crossed exactly square!

Probably it only matters to me, but real delight came as I examined every seam and crossing of border. Everything lined up perfectly and the entire front is square. Here's a couple of photos showing the white block seams matching and the matched crossing borders!

connecting all nine with border

Moving on to the sashing, I'm planning to be very creative and use all the remaining blade fabrics. I've been browsing magazine ideas and patterns, and been having fun imagining some different designs. That will just have to be another post. At least for a couple of days, I want to just enjoy these beautiful blossoms vividly popping off those white blocks outlined in such a dark border. I love the contrast!

So there's future baby steps involved to challenge this newbie to keep piecing and stitching , but the process is just that..."step by step"!
I do admit that I am finding this new path in textiles to be quite fun.

Come "hum" along...it's FNSI time!

Cracklin fires...snow packed skylights...cinnamon whiffs...a cup of hot tea...comfy jammies and the soft hum of my new sewing machine! Could you imagine anything making an evening even more wonderful?
'
Well...if you join me, that would be the best! So, here's your invitation! Put it in your planner (January 21) because...it's time, girls, for another FNSI! I can hardly wait to hear the quiet hum of my machine stitching along on all the projects I long to complete.
You see, I started keeping a journal of all the projects I want to try while I browse through old magazines, purchase fabrics, and even sort through my stash in hopes of organizing!  This journal is getting full of "dreams" and I need this once per month quiet evening just to accomplish something beautiful to the hum of my sewing machine.

So, for our special January Friday night sew-in, I've browsed and think I have what I want to work on that evening. I think I have enough free moments to plan out a design I've seen in a magazine, get the pieces cut and stacked, ready to make some of these popular MUG RUGS with my humming sewing machine. Have you seen these little rugs? Have you tried putting some together? Here's some sites that have energized me:

I absolutely love the MUG RUG project idea on Heidi's blog:
http://handmadebyheidi.blogspot.com/search/label/Sewing%20Projects
and on Lana's site:
http://itseamstobesew.blogspot.com/

Aren't these things cute for little gifts? What a great project for a cold January evening. So, I've planned my humming tune for my FNSI! Notes of happiness just fill my heart at the thought of hearing the hum of my new sewing machine.
So, this is what I hope to do: as I direct the fabrics at a 1/4 seam, I want to think and pray for the special ladies in my life. There are several who encourage my walk with God, wish me a wonderful week, and genuinely care for my well-being. I want these ladies to know how much I thank God for putting them in my life. With a little care, color, and creativity, I hope my Friday Night Sew-In finds great delight in making these little rugs for my dear friends.

So...what are you planning to do? Please consider joining the group for a warm evening of quilting, sewing, or any needle work you've wanted to work on! I'd love to know what you accomplish!

Please click on the link (FNSI) in my right column and sign up....and may you have a blessed and happy day humming a beautiful song in your heart!

New Avatar!

I don't know much about computer technology, and what does happen while I click often is a result of someone's kindness in helping me, directing me, or pointing me to the better path. That's what happened this morning! My new online friend, Blondie, always has such awesome graphics to welcome people on a forum, or greet friends in messages, and so on. I commented on how much I love these, and she helped me make an avatar for my own identity. It is so awesome! It so fits me!
I just know that she took the time to get to know me and probably read something about what I like on this blog! She saw in her search something about how I enjoy a cup of tea with a friend, and how I absolutely love to decorate anything I can with lace, and then, she picked the soft hues of pink that catches the softness of life I enjoy so much. Finally, she chose the rose, a flower I definitely enjoy in gardens and place on a decorated table while readying for tea time!
Well, here is what she chose for me!
Isn't it gorgeous?
And to add a wonderful finishing touch, she added my name!
Oh! Thank you, so much, Blondie! I absolutely love it!