Blue, Blue and Blue(bird)

The quilting is done, this quilt's been a long time in the making. I suppose the label should reflect the fact that this one was begun in 1997 and took nineteen years to complete! I've decided to name this one "Out of the Blue"; not because it is anything that came about suddenly, far from it! But, rather, because this already vintage quilt came out of a blue storage bin and into the light of day; and, ultimately, onto the longarm! The darker blue ombre backing fabric is just the same age as the top, purchased when I began the piecing; medium blue sashing and quilting thread help carry through with the theme.

"Out of the Blue" ~ 115" X 79.5" ~ Jessie's Swirls pantograph

Thanks to everyone who helped my decision making process for the sashing choice between The Quilt Block Bible blocks-- blue it is!

And lastly. the bluebird (not of happiness, at least for me) who has a wife and five eggs in the nesting box just outside the sewing room window has taken to attacking the omnipresent predator (his own reflection) in the windows of our house! This goes on constantly; the windows and sills are disgusting with droppings, we can hardly keep things cleaned up. Hopefully, when the babies fledge, this will be done and they will move on. I don't know how much more we (or Hannes!) can take. I certainly hope this weird character trait of the father isn't passed down to his babies.

Life is Good!

One More Time

This photo represents some randomly chosen The Quilt Block Bible blocks laid out on two different background fabrics as possible sashing choices. I am coming to you one more time. Thoughts? I promise you, this won't go on forever. I would love your opinion on this but I believe I'm closing in on a favorite. What say YOU?

Life is Good!

The Tale Of Two Mangers

This is the tale of two mangers, the one where the grandparents are torn. There are two beautiful babies; both portraying Jesus. One manger is a hundred miles away in the Capital City and the second one is close by. Each baby is to be wrapped and placed in a manger, in their own church, on the same day; Christmas eve. To be chosen to portray this member of the holy family is honor for the families, yet a dreadful dilemma for the grandparents. You've heard the oft-asked question: "what would Jesus do?"; in this case the question can be modified... "what are the grandparents of two Jesus-babies to do?" To choose to see one and not the other is nearly impossible; will it be baby Jesus the girl or baby Jesus the red-head? They cannot attend both, the services are scheduled too close together and the distance is too far; they need super-powers, or a private jet.

Life is Good!
...choices are hard...

Blessed With Choices

Years ago, when I lived in Europe, I had a friend from Germany who made a trip stateside to visit friends living in Virginia. When she returned I asked her how she liked the United States. Her response surprised me, "there were too many choices", she replied, "I found shopping for anything extremely stressful in America, I was always required to make a decision on a size or a brand". Every day we make countless choices; some are big, most are small to insignificant. Nonetheless, we carry on throughout the day choosing this, choosing that, until we choose the time to turn in for the day only to begin all over again tomorrow. The small choices can be habitual, a favorite breakfast fare or the routing to school or work. The larger ones take careful, sometimes prayerful, deliberation and courage. Our son made such a choice when he graduated from college back in May. He chose to take an employment opportunity in Texas, he left his wife and his dog temporarily and made the cross-country trek. He was excited and hopeful for the future, we all were. Well, unfortunately, the job has gone away. What does Kyle face now? He's looking at another array of choices, I am confident that he will choose well. I posted a while back about choosing to make some personal lifestyle changes of my own, I haven't looked back since that day. Those choices, both nails and diet, were big ones for me. They continue to yield happy results; in fact, after several months of making better food choices I am delighted to have so many more options in a closet full of clothes that fit me once again! I am guilty of taking my blessings for granted; the ability to pick and choose, as well as abundant choices both large and small, are blessings not to be ignored. The next time you're in the cereal aisle at the grocery store or flipping between stations on the radio in your car, think of Beate from Berlin and try to imagine a life without so many choices. Try this little experiment along with me, each time you make a choice today assign a number to it and say a quick "thank you", you'll be amazed at how quickly they add up.

Life is Good!

When we choose to be grateful for the abundance that's present we experience heaven on earth. ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

Monkeyin' Around...

... with these test stitch-outs. I am making a wallhanging for our grandson's nursery. Our daughter chose Baby Zoo Train embroidery motifs for the block centers, different animals in each train car, there will be sixteen blocks with navy blue sashing and a very narrow red piping for accent. I have chosen two different background fabrics for auditioning the monkey block. Which would you choose?

Life is Good!

What Would You Do?

What would you do if confronted by a mugger? Read this news story straight from the pages of NPR, you won't forget what Julio did, guaranteed. This story was just too good not to post here.

Life is Good!

Morning Edition, March 28, 2008 · Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"

Diaz replied: "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me ... hey, you're more than welcome.

"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.

Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.

"The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says. "The kid was like, 'You know everybody here. Do you own this place?'"

"No, I just eat here a lot," Diaz says he told the teen. "He says, 'But you're even nice to the dishwasher.'"

Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"

"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.

Diaz asked him what he wanted out of life. "He just had almost a sad face," Diaz says.

The teen couldn't answer Diaz — or he didn't want to.

When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, "Look, I guess you're going to have to pay for this bill 'cause you have my money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."

The teen "didn't even think about it" and returned the wallet, Diaz says. "I gave him $20 ... I figure maybe it'll help him. I don't know."

Diaz says he asked for something in return — the teen's knife — "and he gave it to me."

Afterward, when Diaz told his mother what happened, she said, "You're the type of kid that if someone asked you for the time, you gave them your watch."

"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world."

Produced for Morning Edition by Michael Garofalo.

Why?

Why can't we be content to leave well enough alone? I've noticed a lot of product "tweaking" lately! Wendy's vanilla Frosty to start. My son and his friends are in agreement that there's something fundamentally wrong with that concept... a Frosty is chocolate, always has been, it's that simple. Then there's the new "cinnamon sweet" Pringles. Huh? Last week Krispy Kreme introduced a whole wheat donut to their line-up. I tried one of those, it was OK; but far from their flagship glazed original. These are additions, too, not replacements for the original products, thank goodness! My head spins when confronted with choices anymore! Has anyone bought a bag of Oreos lately? There's not only double stuff, but assorted-flavor fillings, inside-outs, and dipped varieties all taking up shelf space alongside the originals. My forays into the grocery "jungle" are taking longer and longer, it's maddening. Fabric softener sheets were always pretty easy for me... either floral scent or the outdoor breezes. Not too long ago I noticed that Downy had added various 'candle scents' to their product line: 'lavender-vanilla' and ' waterlily-jasmine'. No thanks, I really didn't want my laundry smelling like a candle, I opted for the breezes, as always. I went to visit my daughter last week. When I crawled into bed in her guest room that first night I was enveloped by the most comforting, sweet-smelling sheets! What was this delightful scent? I felt pampered by her attention to detail. I didn't miss the same fragrance greeting my nose the next morning from the towels in the guest bath! Delicious! Yep, you guessed it... the same Downy softener sheets I had turned my nose up to in the grocery store the week before! OK, maybe she was onto something here. Maybe more choices are a good thing.

Note to self: keep an open mind, you may just be surprised.
Could I be wrong about the vanilla Frosty, too?
(I do like vanilla after all, and it worked for me on the sheets and towels. Hmmm...)
I'll keep you posted!

Life is Good!