In Due Time...

God's timimg is always perfect, sometimes that is hard for us to understand.   There's a field full of Iris near where I live, it is somewhat of a local landmark. Each year when the field is in full bloom the owner (now 92) and her daughters open the gates and invite the public in to walk the rows, enjoy the beauty, and buy a plant or two.  This year the gardens, and spring itself, seems to be a few weeks behind schedule by our calculations; of course, God has his own clock!  Yesterday Mr. Goodneedle and I stopped by to pick up some plants for our daughter's garden in the Capital City. We weren't disappointed by the color and variety we'd not so patiently waited for!

To every thing there is a season, 
and a time to every purpose under the heaven... Ecclesiates 3:1

The garden's owner still spends the day among her flowers, pulling weeds, taking her time and reveling in God's glory. She doesn't dig plants for customers anymore, she's left that task to her daughters; she uses a golfcart to get around now but she was there, in the Iris garden, enjoying every minute in her favorite place on earth! 

At long last all the pieces are together for the church quilts I have been working on, yesterday I was able to lay one out in its entirety  for inspection. There are two identical versions of this same quilt, one for them to keep and one for them to raffle. There's a workshop tomorrow at the church, I'll meet with their committee to facilitate assembly and pass off all the components, plus the batting and backing for hand quilting by them. It is my sincere hope that the good people of Bailey's Chapel feel that their wait (with my part of the project) has been worth it.

Everything in due time! 

Life is Good!

Work In Progress

The following passage was part of Sunday's sermon. Read Luther's quote and think about the words, process the thoughts; I have been doing just that for the last few days, and am now passing it on to you. I can do no other, I'm a work in progress! This needs to be embroidered on something that I see every day.

“This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it, the process is not yet finished, but it is going on, this is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.” 
-Martin Luther

Life is Good!

A Quilted Hug

Saturday was quilting day at The Strawberry Patch for Lady L. She arrived bright and early to try her hand at steering Sundance in loops over the surface of her beautiful chevron quilt made from her precious Grammy's fabrics.  Unlike the rest of us who would complete the quilting and then stand back to admire the finished product, Lady L. promptly wrapped herself up tightly in her first quilt! She did a phenomenal job start to finish, including her own awesome hand-dyed backing fabric!  This week she'll make her binding and get that attached, what a wonderful keepsake she'll have to take with her to college in August; a warm, quilted hug!

Well done, Lady L!
Life is Good!

Thank God For Mothers...

Thank God for mothers everywhere,
if it weren't for Moms this is the way the children would be raised:

This is the actual package photo from the indoor-outdoor trampoline toy available at a store near you. I find it hilarious, and understandable, that they would put Dad in the picture (what self-respecting Mom would allow this contraption in the house?); relaxing and reading e-mail from his tablet while his caged child jumps; hey Dad, don't look now but one of your bouncing baby boys has escaped!

Happy Mother's Day!

"A fat quarter has fewer calories than a hot fudge sundae."
Life is Good!

The Answer Is Crystal Clear

I went searching in the stash closet for a piece of fabric from which to make binding for "Strawberry Season". I found a terrific piece of dark, rich, mossy green; a hand dye. It coordinates perfectly with the top and the backing and I had enough... but would it bleed? I threw it in the washer with a few Color Catchers (inexpensive insurace!); that was a good move, as they did absorb quite a bit of  the green color. I dried the piece in the dryer and ironed it; then, just to be on the safe side, I clipped off a corner and immersed it in a cup of warm water and let it sit for 24 hrs., the water stayed clear, there was no color transfer at all. This is a simple, low tech, but effective way to check colorfastness.

I have a little notepad on my desk: 

Note Quotes™ for quilting friends, 

allow me to share a quote a day with you, they're cute:

"Fabricologist Resource Center... now doesn't that sound more impressive than fabric stash?"

Life is Good!  

Quiet Time

It's quiet time around Chez Goodneedle, it's been so  for the last few days.  However, while I've been away from blogging for the past few weeks, our home has been anything but quiet! My parents have been visiting with us from New Hampshire, and in observance of their presence we hosted our grandchildren overnight more than a few times, we welcomed old family friends traveling from Florida back to New England for a relaxing dinner one evening, and we took several daytrips around our beautiful state in between catching up on family news and events. We happily welcomed spring several times, but it hasn't chosen to stick around just yet! In the meantime, we've enjoyed watching a couple of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at the feeder as they rest up here before they continue on their journey northward. I have planted all my summer plants and moved the houseplants outside to the porches. Today my parents are back at home sleeping in their own bed once again; our grandchildren are too, and the Grosbeaks have moved on. The activity level has shifted down into low; but there's still plenty happening here, it's just at a much more tranquil level. My collection of low volume fabrics is growing by leaps and bounds; this, my newest addiction, is the perfect project for these quieter days in my life right now. The soft colors and muted prints are reflective of the goings-on that are always happening in the background of daily life; hushed, almost silent actions that are often overlooked but always present, like the ticking of a clock or the hum of the refrigerator's motor. I derive great peace from studying this stack of soft and quiet prints and smile inwardly at the thought of the serene, quilted, wonderfulness that they will one day combine to become.

Life is Good!

Strawberry Season

 It's strawberry season at long last! I first posted about this embroidered tablecloth here, a little over four years ago!  It's high time that these strawberries make an appearance on our kitchen table. I had deliberated about how I wanted to quilt this one and marked the top on Sunday morning. I got down the fabric that I had purchased for the backing from a high shelf, a small strawberry print that I thought would look just fine. That's when my eye hit this large-scale vintage print that was shelved with all my smaller, folded, lengths. It was absolutely perfect; but, I wondered, would there be enough? There was... exactly enough! I couldn't believe my good fortune. Nane had given me this piece as a gift, knowing my affection for strawberries, quite a while ago; she and he husband had acquired it in an antique trunk at an auction. I washed it, pressed it and carefully folded it for storage back then, I hadn't given it a second thought since... until Sunday! I climbed back up the ladder and replaced the smaller print, the "just fine" one, back on that same high shelf. Perfect beats just fine every time! I loaded the tablecloth and the "new" old backing onto the rails, layered in some batting, and put Sundance to work. With every stitch and each advance of the rollers I could tell that this combination was a winner! I'm very happy with the results, now I need to dig around to find the perfect binding!

"Strawberry Season"
34" X 34"

Life is Good!