Row By Row, and Sew It Goes...

"Quiet Time" is coming together; slowly, methodically, a row at a time. There's no rush, this one has been waiting, patiently, as I begin, and complete, other projects. Maybe I should reassign "QT" the name of "Patience" instead. This one was inspired by a quilt show that I attended in the Fall in New Hampshire. It's made entirely from scraps that I had  on hand from my precut 3.5" bin. The triangles are stacked in pairs, right sides together, and sliced corner to corner using Creative Grids Folded Corner Clipper. The squares used to round out this block are all 2" squares, also from my precut scrap bins of that size, I have two of those: one of lights and one of darks. 

Here's a sample block, they vary in appearance significantly based on the light/dark placement. What do I do with the discarded triangle pairs that I didn't use after slicing with the afore-mentioned tool? They're not discarded at all! 

Nope! I've been stitching up these bonus triangles, leader-ender style, into 4-patches; eventually joining them together into 12" blocks. I have no idea where these blocks will end up but aren't they pretty... and fun? I  think so!

And, just in case you were worried that those precut bins were all going to be emptied out... fear not; the 2025 scrap basket sneaks into view! Ha! For the past several years I have spent New Year's Day with my die cutter and all of the accumulated scraps from the previous year, cutting away. This year I have more of that same activity planned, why break with tradition, right? You may celebrate differently but, c'mon, there's no doubt that I know how to party! 😉

Happy New Year!

Life is Good!

Wait Time...

There is a great lesson to be learned here. I am a little short in the patience department and I know, that as a child of God, I continue to be a work in progress... every day of my life. The words that are especially important in this quote, for me, are "active waiting" and "enduring".  I tend to ask for patience in the form of a prayer something like this: "please grant me patience to... (insert whatever)..." and then am repeatedly disappointed when patience isn't instantaneous! Groan. So, as I learn to wait actively, and endure that active wait time well, my prayer is evolving; nowadays it sounds more like this, focusing on what is key: "please be patient with me, God; I know that you hear every prayer of my heart and that your timing is always perfect. Help me to grow stronger in my faith as I endure wait time and open my eyes and heart with gratitude for what unfolds as I do."

...and then, there was this, 

popping it's head up through the pine needles... 

the Sweet Variegated Iris that I planted

last spring and had totally forgotten about.

Life is Good!   

The Great American Road Trip... Part 3

We entered Yellowstone National Park at the NE entrance on a picture perfect day! I didn't really know what to expect, other than geysers, of course.  We were  delighted to experience a wide variety of wildlife, picturesque scenery , unusual geothermal features and roaring, rushing rivers and waterfalls overflowing their boundaries due to warming days and an ever-increasing amount of snowmelt.  This post will be long on photos and short on words. C'mon along and enjoy the park!

"I'm sorry I am late... there was a Bison blocking my car."

"Nevermore"

We hiked down to this top-of-the-falls vantage point of the Lower Yellowstone Falls, it was one fantastic experience!  Not a lengthy hike, but a strenuous one back up and out. As we ended the steep climb and were headed back to our car we bumped into a family from back home, from our own church as a matter of fact! What are the odds?

Mud Volcano  -  gurgling, bubbling mud pit.

You can add your own caption here... be kind!

This geyser erupted while we were waiting on Old Faithful, 
it is located just adjacent to the more famous one and was, 
actually, much more impressive in plume height.

Old Faithful
The hardy watchers and waiters were rewarded for their patience,
it was pouring  down rain when the eruption occured... on time!

Life is Good!

Tomorrow: Yellowstone day #2 and Grand Teton National Park.

A Centennial Quilt, Times TWO!

Bailey's Chapel Centennial Quilt 66" X 78"

I've been helping out with a special project for a local church over the last several months. They wanted a unique way to celebrate their centennial anniversary and settled on a quilt; well, actually, TWO identical quilts! One will hang in their sanctuary and one will be raffled off to support the church. You may recall seeing a photo on this blog of the growing pile of "signature" blocks as I embroidered them, there are 58 of them (per quilt!)! The church members sold these blocks as opportunities to have one's name immortalized on the quilt. They opted for machine embroidery in a consistent font/size so that it would look harmonious and the names would be visible from a distance. I worked from printed forms to ensure that the names/spellings/ dedications were exactly right.

There was a celebratory moment over the weekend when focus shifted from these signature blocks to the machine appliquéed banner sections! There are sections for five photo transfers; the church in every season in each of the four corners plus one larger, 12" square panel, in the center of the quilt a group snapshot of the membership gathered in front of the church at the Centennial Gathering last summer.

I've assisted by serving as the designer (thank you, EQ, you make me look smart!) and facilitator for this project. It won't be long now before workshops are scheduled and I can hand over the units to the church members for assembly. This has been a wonderful collaborative effort and I'm proud to have had a hand in seeing them achieve a dream, I am also very grateful to them for their patience with yours truly!

Life is Good!

Making The Best Of A Bad Break...

Thanks to everyone who has expressed get-well wishes and prayers on behalf of my daughter following her fall and resulting broken foot. We're establishing some routine in what was an otherwise well-oiled machine of a household. A patio chair has been placed in the shower for stability, it works great! The newly appointed cook and housekeeper takes at least twice as long as normal to do each and every little task; the child-proof cabinet door locks, doorknob and outlet covers really slow me down. I fold the towels differently and put the dishes away where I think they should go, but so far my daughter hasn't sent me packing for home; she is patient with me and I am sympathetic with the situation of the patient. Our outings consist of those where there are motorized carts for transport; so far Target and Harris Teeter are tops on our destination lists. She will visit an Orthopedist on Monday for a more definitive diagnosis on the fracture and weight-bearing. Right now our prayer is that the baby will stay put for as long as possible, the best scenario is that Mommy will be walking on her own two feet when the little one makes her entrance. In the meantime we're coming to grips with what has happened, counting our blessings and enjoying some unplanned mother-daughter time together!

Life is Good!

One Wrong Step...

My very pregnant daughter missed the bottom step in her garage and broke her foot yesterday morning. She was on her way to the car and was carrying Mason on her left hip; he is just fine, and so is the baby. Her right foot didn't fare as well; she heard the bone break as she went down. I am helping out in the Capital City this week, there's lots to do when the doctor's order is no weight bearing for six weeks. Easy to prescribe but hard to do for a woman who manages her home, has an active two-year-old (who likes to hijack her crutches!) and has a nursery to furnish and prepare! I'll be here through Saturday and will relinquish my resident status when other family members move in to take their shifts with Mason-watching and general helping out; we're all happy to be here and do what we can, but no one will be happier than my daughter when she can relieve us on a permanent basis. Please remember her in prayer for speedy healing and patience along the road to recovery!

Life is Good!

Just "Be"Cause

I gotta do this, just "be"cause. "Be Attitudes", the book/pattern is by Nancy Halvorsen. I saw a miniature version of this at Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival in February. One lazy summer day, in the weeks to come, I will begin to put this top together. I adore every little thing about it! Quiltkeemosabe helped me to select the fabrics on Monday, she is so good at that! Now they will need to wait, patiently, for their turn. There are four baby quilts and a Wedding Siggie already ahead of them in line.

"Be" Patient.
Life is Good!
How did I miss mentioning my 400th post? This is 401!

Hey, That's For Me!

Hannes' birthday was last week. I stopped at PetsMart while out doing my normal weekly errands and purchased the toy pictured. (He loves this red 'knot', or at least he loves trying to wrestle a similar knot away from my mother-in-law's little dog when we go to play there!) His birthday was the perfect opportunity to get Hannes a knot of his very own! I unloaded the car and piled the bags on the kitchen counter, there were bags from three different stores, lots of purchases. Somehow he knew that there was a bag with a dog toy in one of them. How did he know? He stood on his back legs politely, at first, and pawed the air all the while giving me pleading, plaintive looks. This eventually progressed to whining, and finally, to barking: "Hey, that's for me!" He thinks I'm pathetically slow to understand. "Mom, that bag up there... the one with "PetsMart" printed on the outside..." He received his gift the next morning, on HIS day; practically wore us down in the meantime.

It's hard to raise parents, some days it takes a LOT of patience!

Life is Good!