A Quick Trip

Since I last posted we've made a quick trip to New England and back. The trip wasn't a planned one but came about as a result of another quick trip: one that Dad made straight to the floor a week ago Friday. He got up from his bed that morning and was going into the bathroom, the next thing that he remembered was waking up facing the ceiling; he had fallen backwards, striking the back of his head on the lip of the walk-in shower. It was a bad fall resulting in both stitches and staples to close the wound. He spent that day in the Emergency Dept. at the local hospital and was discharged to home. Two days later he found himself unable to speak. Thinking that he was having a stroke he was, once again, transported to the hospital by ambulance. It was quickly determined, as his speech returned, that he wasn't having a stroke at all; thanks be to God! But, rather, he was suffering from a subdural hematoma, or brain bleed. The pressure on the part of the brain that controls speech was affected and that is what mimicked the stroke-like symptoms. By the time we learned all of the above activity we were packed, in the car, and on the way to New Hampshire. It was comforting for us to lay eyes on Dad and ascertain how he was doing, I am SO GLAD that we went! He was discharged from the hospital to rehab, the same rehab that my mother loved so much, where she spent some of her final days last year. We (including Augie) are no strangers to these long corridors and attentive and supportive staff. 

While we were there we stopped at the library that has been dedicated to my mother. This tribute to her  hangs just inside the door with a quilt that she made in 1998 and framed photograph of her working at her sewing machine. 💗

Dad is all settled into his room, he loves sitting by the window. Until he gets a little stronger and steadier he'll be calling this home for a few weeks. Every bed in this rehab facility has a quilt on it made by the local quilt guild. I am planning a second part to this post in conjunction with that fact, stay tuned. 

When we left to travel home on Saturday, sadly, Dad was more than a bit discouraged. Even though Augie was comforting him to the best of his ability, for someone who is used to "going and doing" on his own being relegated to a rehab facility where one needs to call for assistance every time they move is a hard pill to swallow. In the meantime, prayers are graciously welcomed!

Life is Good!

Celebration of Life

On Saturday we had a Celebration of Life for Mom, 138 days since she entered her Heavenly home. It has been a long time coming. I brought along the memory quilt that I made for her 70th birthday to grace the lobby of the reception area. 

The celebration was held in my hometown in Massachusetts. My parents had sold our home and moved to New Hampshire in 2009; because of that, our grandchildren had never experienced my husband's and my old stomping grounds until this past weekend. We took them on a tour. It was an emotional time for me anyway, but to drive through the streets of my growing up years, to recall each and every childhood friend as we passed their long-ago driveways brought an almost paralyzing lump up into my throat. It was all too familiar and sad at the same time. There was a grand turnout of people for Mom which pleased my Dad especially, he's been concerned over all this time whether anyone would be there; he need not have worried! Our family is gathered in the top photo, taken after everyone had left.  

A snapshot of the ladies💓; dear, precious, lifelong friends 

who have always been there to support our family. 

Among the attendees were old neighbors, and school friends whom I can't remember a time before I knew them. As the Celebration of Life was concluding one of these friends slipped an arm around me and whispered into my ear, addressing me by my given name, saying that she had spoken with my mother and that Mom wanted me to have the heart, pictured above; my friend tucked it firmly into my hand. I told her when she called me by that name I was sure that she had, indeed, talked with Mom; there were no nicknames for my mother! This sweet gift is all the more meaningful every time I look at it. Especially as we get closer to this Sunday.

I love you too, Mom;

now and forever. 

💓

Life is Good!

What Are You Working On?

Mom's been gone for over two months now. The new normal has settled around me. I miss her daily phone calls; she would always lead off our chats with "what are you working on?" I find myself talking to her sometimes, reporting on my latest projects. After her eyesight failed through advancing macular degeneration she couldn't sew anymore and, I believe, that she enjoyed just thinking about, and imagining, the quilts and other projects that were taking on life. Sew, in that context, here are my latest projects completed: shown left, "No Scrap Too Small" has been quilted and bound (those bitty scrap squares finish to 1 inch).

This cross stitch piece, stitching complete, will be turned into a pinkeep soon. 

Summer Sweets ~ Scattered Seed Samplers by Tammy Black

With that one checked off the list this one has been started and is almost done already, 

I'm working on border now.

"School Colors" is now a full-fledged flimsy (60" X 75"). 

Backing has been chosen, it's waiting its turn.

Inspired by this photograph that I found on Instagram...

...these Kaleidoscope blocks are my latest obsession, wedges are taking over!! Those dark blocks on the bottom of the design wall were pieced over 30 years ago. I dug them out and set them together, it is destined to become a table topper. Back then I must've made a wedge-shaped template and traced around it as the seam allowances are drawn in pencil on the wrong sides. Now, I am using Studio 180's Wedge Star Tool to make my scrappy version. I found that I could make 7" finished blocks working solely from my saved precut 4.5" square scrap bins; using them up on this project brings sheer joy. My goal (as long as the scraps hold out) is to piece a top measuring 56" X 63"; an ample-sized lap quilt. I've been pretty driven lately, making to-do lists and sticking to the tasks at hand, staying busy is helpful.

Last, but not least, "Tumbling Squirrels" is under the quilting needle at present, a few more passes and this, too, will be in need of binding. My conversations with Mom will continue. I'll talk to her about my latest idea and I know that she's smiling. From my earliest years I can remember my mother always making something; she decorated cakes for a period of time. She did folk-art painting and was a master of decoupage. She loved crafting all sorts of things from wood when she wasn't sewing. Handmade meant heart-made, she'd leave her mark on items that she'd created: her initials and the year hand-penned within a heart shape. 💗

"What are you working on?"

Life is Good!

Bull's Eye

This picture from 2015 popped up in my memories today. Mom and her treasured "Bull's Eye" quilt. She finished piecing it and brought it to me for quilting ten years ago. This is the reunion photo of my mother with her fully finished quilt! Mom had a stroke in 1999. After a long recovery and rehab stint, she returned home but had lost her sewing mojo. It was this pattern: "Twenty First Century Bull's Eye" from the book Quilts from Aunt Amy by Country Threads that pulled her back into sewing and quilting! We assembled fabrics together and hand-cut the circles, it was a process but we persevered.

There was no stopping her after that, she was firmly back on the path. She gave the quilt to me a few years ago, for "safe keeping". It resides now on a quilt stand in our bedroom, I see it every day. Those memories of her comeback and all that this quilt represents are ones that are kept safe in my heart forever. But, when the above photo popped up on my phone from my digital memory file, it hit hard; I wasn't expecting it. Once I caught my breath, however, I smiled; this reminiscence sure did hit the target, it was a perfect Bull's Eye! 

                                    Life is Good!                                    

A Memory Quilt, Scrapbook-Style

Back in August of 2002 I set out to make my mother a special surprise for her 70th birthday, which was in June of the following year. I sent out letters to everyone in my Mom's address book asking for photos that I could borrow, short-term, the idea being that I would copy their pictures onto fabric transfer sheets and assemble them into a memory quilt for her; one that told the story of her life. It was to be a surprise. The response was phenomenal! 

Armed with these two items: a copy of Ami Simms' Creating Scrapbook Quilts, and a generous supply of Photos-to-Fabric sheets, I assembled collage style photo sheets and made numerous trips to Office Depot for the transfer process on their huge, stand-alone, copy machines. At that time, this product was the go-to for photo transferring. The results speak for themselves.

In these detail shots: my Mom, at age 5, at a Christmas party with friends in the late '90's, and Mom and me in 1954. Somewhere I have photos of her on her birthday, opening this big surprise (they're eluding me at present) but, needless to say, she was completely surprised and treasured this quilt for the last twenty-one and a half years. I brought it home; it will have a special place with me here now. The processes may have changed in the last two+ decades. Those transfer sheets are no longer available, I now find a similar product on line and print them at home on my own printer. The technique book, an excellent resource, is no longer being printed but you can purchase one here today. Also, all things considered, I would likely quilt this differently if I were making it again today. But, I'm not; and it's all good!

Their engagement photo, 1951; 

my Mom and Dad were married over 72 years. 

💗

Life is Good!

Remembering the Good Times

I finished up this memory quilt for my SIL in time for Christmas. It's made up entirely of her husband's shirts, Dick passed away a year ago in September. I entitled it "Remembering the Good Times" and hope that she'll gain much comfort from wrapping up in it. 

Here it is loaded on the longarm; a solid combination of wool and flannel shirts, dress shirts, sport shirts, T-shirts and sweatshirts, this quilt has a certain heft to it; she'll stay nice and warm. 💗

Back in the fall, after I had deconstructed all of the shirts, someone found this bin to be a cozy place! (I can't remember if I had posted this pic before, Augie is a funny little pup! ) Anyway, I had already mailed the completed quilt off to her before we unexpectedly traveled north last week and, stopping by to visit her one afternoon, found the quilt occupying a place of honor on the back of her late husband's TV chair. She assured me that there are many good times contained in that quilt to remember! 💗 

Speaking of remembering good times: this was a spring afternoon at our home nine years ago when my parents were visiting. Mom and I had spent the day making pillowcases- eleven in all! She made sets and I made seasonal singles for each of the grandchildren plus one to donate. We loved spending time in the sewing room, stitching up a storm together. Back in those days we'd hop in the car and drive to Mary Jo's in Gastonia, NC to search for fabrics that we couldn't live without. Customarily, we'd stop and eat lunch at a Cracker Barrel restaurant on the way back home. We certainly had plenty of good times~ ones that I'll always remember, especially more precious today. 

Life is Good!

My Mom

This is my Mom. Through the years, not only did she occasionally appear in my blog posts, but she always enjoyed reading whatever struck my fancy to post about. If I hadn't posted in a while I'd hear about it. She was my most loyal reader until her diminishing eyesight prohibited her from reading entirely, several years ago. This year saw Mom facing one health crisis after the next. It seemed like she was always able to rally and fight her way back. In April she was given a choice of major surgery or only two weeks to live. She and my Dad discussed it and mutually decided on the latter, knowing that the surgery would be too much for her. Once again, she defied the prognosis and lived on; for eight more months. My Mom passed away ten days ago, she was 91. Knowing that the end was near, Mr. G and I jumped in the car and drove north. We arrived at her bedside where we were able to tell her that we loved her. She squeezed my hand. She knew. 💗 Christmas has come and gone. I felt like a robot yesterday, going through the motions. It's all settling in now; the new normal.

Here we are on a quilt shop excursion in Maine back in the fall of 2015. My Mom was also a quilter; she was always up for a shopping adventure and we went on many together! Over the next few days I'll share more happy memories, thanks for reading and coming along as I reminisce and begin to try putting the pieces of my heart back together. 

Life is Good!

It's All Good

I got the Workout quilt off the rails yesterday, it measures 58" square. I've really enjoyed working on this one. It's from the Wonderful Curves Sampler Book and uses the Wonder Curve ruler. I'll get the binding attached and whipped down today. The curved pieces are my last little bits of true Indigo fabric that I have saved hoarded over the years for something special- apparently this was it! I'm going to try more of the blocks from this book, I love using the Wonder Curve!

"Timeless" has all of the blocks pieced but not set together yet, hopefully over the weekend. I have the border fabrics all ready to go for this one too.

While I've been working inside the house Mr. G. has been pressure washing outside: the eaves, the gutters. I'm always scared to death of him doing ladder work, it ramps up my blood pressure to the limit. The other morning I heard noises that sounded unfamiliar, I wondered if he was off the ladder. This is what I found. I almost had a stroke on the spot; I never expected to see this! In all fairness, he was wearing the Cougar Paws that I bought him a few years ago when he had to check on the chimney but, still. He's fine, on the ground and all in one piece. It's all good. 

Thank you all for your prayers for my Mom; I hope you'll continue to pray for this next step. She's graduated from the rehab and is at home with my Dad again. She's transitioning just fine, it's just going to take time and some patience; she will be attending out-patient PT a few times a week near their home. In honor of her happy news I made her favorite dessert to celebrate! Grape Nut Custard, an old New England favorite. I found the recipe, one that came from Yankee magazine, and linked it here, if you'd like to try it. 

And, in other great news, the baby Bluebirds have hatched 

and are thriving atop that electrified pole!

So far, so good.

Yes, it's all good!

Life is Good!

From Here to There (and Back Again...)

No, we didn't travel by helicopter, but we have only just returned from a quick visit to New England with my Mom and Dad; this trip had been planned for months. It ended up being a different kind of visit this time, as my mother was in the hospital for the duration of our time there, she suffered a compression fracture a few days before our arrival. Due to a shortage of nurses, and hospital staff in general, half of her stay was in the Emergency Department. This was my view as I waited. My husband, Dad and I alternated visits which were limited to one person at a time. I found this helicopter landing pad really quite entertaining and scary at the same time; the pad itself is just behind the wooden fence, directly behind that is the street (2 lanes) which separates the landing surface from the houses in the background! During my "waiting" time I witnessed numerous landings and takeoffs, holding my breath each time! 😲 I couldn't believe how "tight" this space appeared. By the middle of last week Mom was finally transferred to a room on a floor, out of the E.D. One thing after another led to a symptom cascade which delayed her transfer to a rehab facility until yesterday. I spoke with her this morning and she sounded good, her attitude was positive; that's over half of the battle right there. I was fearful that she would get discouraged; she wasn't happy about a plethora of things (you name it) at the time that we had to leave her to come back home. But, as of today, she sounded ready and eager to put on the back brace and get to physical therapy, we'll see. Baby steps. 

I did what I could to help Dad while staying at the house; all those things that he wouldn't necessarily think of (or want to do): cleaning the house to within an inch of its life, laundry, stocking the fridge, cooking, etc. In the afternoons more waiting time was spent sitting out in the backyard with needle and thread, that helped to keep the mind and hands occupied. 

This little painted rock was discovered on a bench outside of the hospital near the parking lot. 

Thank you to whoever leaves these great surprises that put everything all into perspective! 

What a day brightener!

This sweet photo popped up in my photo memories yesterday from exactly eight years ago. What a coincidence. Back in 2014 Mom and I took an improvisational piecing class from Lynne Tyler at Quilted Threads in Henniker, NH. We had such a wonderful day and made such great memories there! If you're so inclined, would you please lift my mother in prayer for strength and healing in the days and weeks to come? She's got an uphill climb to gain back to where she was, but we know what the power of prayer can accomplish, the more the better, one can never have too many prayers! Her name is Harriett, God knows who she is; please know that I am deeply grateful. I'll keep you posted on her progress here. 💗

Lots of passenger seat time on the drive back home yielded much progress on this piece. I still have a blossom to finish and the bottom of the finial to complete, but it's coming right along. 

These followed us home in the trunk of the car. 

You can take the girl out of New England, 

but... (you know the rest!)😉

Again, heartfelt thanks for your prayers!

Life is Good!

 

Quilting Day

Well, if the truth were told I would love for every day to be quilting day at my house; wouldn't you? But, as we all well know, life creeps in around the edges and the time we have to dedicate to our favorite passion is often squeezed in where we can fit it. I took a whole day a week or so ago and quilted up these two long-forgotten quilt tops for my Mom. She only recently found them in a box retrieved from their attic space where they had resided for decades. She barely even remembered piecing them! I brought them home with me and promised to quilt them up for her. It was my pleasure to bring them to life; especially after all this time!

This soft and sweet Rail Fence variation was quilted with a Pantograph by Timeless Quilting: "Hearts in Bloom".

This graphic strip pieced lap quilt was quilted with my newest Pantograph: "Diamonds are Forever" by Urban Elementz. I love the texture created by quilting this design on such a linear quilt. 

I finished up the binding for her too; I found the perfect complementary fabrics in a bin of scraps that she gave me recently, they were meant to be reunited!  I do believe that Mom will be pleased. I thought about how happy she will be to get them back with each stitch as I hand-stitched these bindings down to the back.  I hope that she will enjoy them for many years to come.  💗

Life is Good!