Three Cheers for the R,W, & B

Happy July! It's that time again, time to salute our nation's independence and to celebrate all things red, white and blue. I can do that! I finished this little patriotic cross-stitch pin-keep just in time. 

Red and white are currently on full display as I quilt up this red & white HST top resulting from an online fabric swap last year. I've entitled this one "School Spirit" harkening back to my high school days.

At the same time blues are taking up residence under the needle and on the design wall, just on the other side of the room!

There are lots of "B"s just outside the sewing room door, too; an abundance of Butterflies and Blooms...

...as well as Baby Bluebirds! Five of them. 💗

Mr. G. ran across this holly variety while cleaning out the woods beside our house, I have transplanted it into the perennial garden right near our birdfeeders. It's known as an Oregon Barberry.  One more "B".

As soon as School Spirit is off the rails I'll quilt this one up for hanging on the side porch. 

It's one of Kim Schaefer's Calendar wall quilts, 

I love them all; they're quick and easy. 

There you have it. Happy July!

Three cheers for all that's R,W and B

 at your house too!

Life is Good!

On the Straight and Narrow

I tried something a little different on this Kaleidoscope scrappy; straight-line, parallel quilting lines at one inch intervals. I love the effect. I was stymied by my pantographs on hand and couldn't seem to settle on anything that I liked. I slid on the base expander, grabbed a ruler and just settled in. I'm SEW glad that I did.  This is a testament to the fact that I can overthink! Simple can sometimes be just the ticket. 😉 Because of the color cacophony and movement of the design, I believe that the straight and narrow quilting lines calm this down and pull it together.

I found the black and white stripe for the binding; of course I had to cut it on the bias. Don't you love it?

Basted in place and all ready for hand finishing.

And, speaking of finishing, "Chain Gang" has received a colorful, pieced binding (waste not, want not)

 and a trip through the washer and dryer to achieve maximum coziness. Fifteen years later~ done! ✔

Life is Good!

Thank You!

Thanks one and all for the prayers for Phyllis. Surgery happened on Thursday, the neurosurgeon reported to the family that she was "very pleased" with the results. A follow-up MRI showed no complications following the resection and Phyllis was released back to home yesterday afternoon! 

I know~ amazing, right?!!

So are you, my prayerful friends, so are you!

Life is Good!

*Link here to read original post. 

Calling All Prayer Warriors

This is Phyllis and her precious companion, Bishop. Phyllis is the mother of our daughter-in-law as well as a dear and treasured friend. Last Thursday she presented with symptoms that led her husband to think she was having a stroke. All of the appropriate measures were followed: 911 was called, EMTs arrived, she was transported immediately to the hospital. Unfortunately, it was determined that her symptoms weren't from a stroke; but, rather, from a brain tumor. No one saw this coming! For all intents and purposes she had seemed perfectly fine even hours before. Surgery is scheduled for this Thursday. This, the latest update from our daughter-in-law, follows:  

"Thanks to the steroids, the large amount of swelling in the brain has been reduced allowing Mama is to understand and communicate so much better. If you saw or talked with her last Thursday or Friday--she has done a complete 180º. She is understanding almost everything that is spoken to her, and she is communicating without any mistakes. This gives the doctors hope that after the tumor is removed, that she will not have any problems with aphasia. •Mama had a CT scan of her chest, abdomen, and pelvis to look for any other places cancer may be. That report came back CLEAN! •Mama is so thankful for all the texts, calls, visits, flowers, and most importantly prayers."

Now I am asking for the same, for prayers; prayers for Phyllis- for healing and for comfort, for the doctors and medical team entrusted to her care. Our daughter-in-law is asking specifically for prayers for peace and understanding for Phyllis' family, and especially for our mutual grandchildren. 

A friend shared this with me last week: "we never know what tomorrow holds, but we know Who holds tomorrow." We certainly do; and we know that God hears our prayers. 

We love you, Phyllis!

💗

Life is Good!

Sowing Seeds

Is there anything more remarkable than growing plants? It's amazing to witness the astonishingly fast rate at which they will take hold and shoot up; sometimes, seemingly, overnight! This is the tale of "?". Take a look at the seedling on the far right in the greenhouse picture, it is labeled "?". (Truth being told here: I have "borrowed" that photo from our Pastor's FB page to illustrate this story.) Back at the end of March, or maybe early April, our Pastor used that "?" seedling as a visual prop in his Children's Message that week on the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:18-23). He went on to explain that while he and his wife were very careful when they planted their tomato seeds to keep the varieties identified, a few slipped their notice, took root and sprouted; those tomatoes bore the "?" marking. Generously, Pastor and his wife set up a table and gave away their seedlings to anyone who was willing to give them a home. After worship that day I asked one of our youngest members if he'd help me pick out a seedling to adopt. He immediately pointed to "?". I told him that I wasn't really sure, since it was a mystery seedling, I didn't know what type of tomatoes that plant would produce. He looked at me, grinned, and suggested that I "take a chance". I am so glad that I did! I told him when I saw him yesterday that as soon as the first tomato is ready, it will be his. His smile lit up the room. Today "?" is a hardy 40" tall and covered with blossoms, I still have no idea what type of tomatoes will burst forth but one thing that I do know for sure: there's a six year old boy of great faith in our midst who, being sown on good soil, hears the word and understands it, he will indeed bear fruit; he already is... for us all! 

Life is Good!

Last Weekend and Beyond...

The 50th Anniversary celebration continued last weekend with the entire family gathering for a dinner out. Mr. G and I can't remember a time when we've had more fun. These four entertained the table all evening! It was wonderful in every way!

                                                         Here we all are, it was a night to remember. 

Even though I begged for time to stand still... sigh.

💗

In other, quilty, news: 

This is "Chain Gang", it is finally quilted. Since I just mentioned the passage of time... these blocks were completed 15 years ago! I set the top together only three summers ago, I guess it was finally time. 😉 I used Urban Elementz "Wavy Gravy" pantograph by Patricia Ritter to quilt this one; I really love the soft, curvy, effect combined with the strong diagonal  element of the quilt blocks!

Maybe I was simply waiting all this time for the perfect backing fabric. What do you think? Yes, that's the story that we're going with! I have a pile of bright colored scraps to piece together for the binding... I can confidently say today, at long last, that this one is almost done. 

Using Deb Tucker's Wedge Star tool and a box of 4.5" scraps I managed to set together eighty 7" kaleidoscope blocks into this top measuring, 56" X 80", this past week. Just to make sure that this one doesn't hang around for fifteen years before quilting, I have the backing and binding all ready to go. It's up for loading onto the longarm rails next. No time like the present... right? Ha!!

Life is Good!

 

Did You Guess?

Sew, what was it? A few weeks ago I teased with this photo and challenged you to guess what I was making with these low-volume strips. If you guessed 7 journal covers, then you would be right! 

I recently participated in a low-volume swap online; these quiet background prints are one of my obsessions, I can't ever have too many. I will soon have two LV quilts in the works. As I cut pieces for the swap, I saved the strips that didn't quite measure up~ there were LOTS of them! And sew, assembling those into like color groups, I was able to put together a few gifts. 

Hopefully the recipients can put these to good use. 

Was I able to use up all those gathered strips and strings?

Well, I just might have a few left over. 

I don't believe I'm going to run out of things to do for a good long, while. 

Life is Good!