Return To Handwork

Like so many other quilters, this year has seen me returning to the soothing rhythm of handwork, specifically cross stitch. I never saw this coming, in all seriousness. Quiltkeemosabe gave me a small "kit" for Christmas and invited me to join her down the rabbit hole. With a bit of trepidation, (did I have time for ONE MORE THING?) and simply to be polite, I accepted her invitation and  stepped, cautiously, down into the abyss. There was no turning back, the rest is history! What's new to me this time around is stitching over two, on linen. I love it! This piece is actually done from four of Lori Holt's stitch cards (set F) with called-for DMC colors. 

Mr. Goodneedle added a double hanging rod for my thread drops into the newly-cleaned-out and appropriated cross stitch cabinet; it's the perfect addition as I strive to become more organized. 

So far, so good. A place for everything and room to expand if necessary 

(who knows how long this X-stitch bug will last!?!!). 🤣

Although the return to cross stitch was as easy as falling down a hole; finishing up my little projects is something else entirely, there's so much to learn! I finished this small antique sampler into a little pillow with a self-piped edge. It’s filled with crushed walnut shells and could be a pincushion or simply decorative, as shown. I've seen these itty-bitties called "bowl fillers" but I'm unsure what else to throw into the bowl! As one thing leads to another, I'm currently  in the process of learning (via YouTube) some alternate finishing techniques for the edges; the Halloween piece (top) is next in line for some sort of cute edge embellishment; but, it won't make a completed appearance until next year. This is all a work in progress; and, I'm thoroughly enjoying this unexpected diversion, every step stitch along the way! 

Life is Good!

Life is Good, Times Two!

Many of you have probably made a T-shirt quilt or two. Not me. A friend from church asked me late last fall if I would make a quilt from his wife's T-shirts as a tangible memory of her. We all loved Judy at church; she passed away almost two years ago after an awful battle with ALS. "Sure" I said, immediately without hesitating; he indicated that he had all of the shirts bundled up together and we agreed that sometime after Christmas I would get started. Quiltkeemosabe offered to help me, that was reassuring as I felt that I might be dipping a toe in charted waters. Well, a few weeks ago he brought the big bag of shirts to church for me to look at. "I was wondering", he said, "if maybe these couldn't become TWO quilts, one for each daughter". I smiled at the thought, "sure", was my response. Never mind that I'd never done one before and really didn't know were to begin. I sorted through the T-shirts the next morning, they're ALL Life is Good and there were 29 shirts! Definitely there was enough for two quilts! Gleaning all that I could from various T-shirt quilt making sources I set to work stabilizing the shirts fronts and other usable shirt parts before cutting them apart. I had a plan, each shirt would contain 20 blocks: 14 shirts fronts on one and 15 on the other, I decided to use plain backs for the alternate blocks. I carefully cut out sleeves for cornerstones and logos from the back necks, where I could. I had plenty of shot cotton for the sashing and borders. After a week and a half of working on nothing else, at every chance I got, I finally have two completed tops (and a huge bag full of shirt parts and pieces)!

And I thought that I had a lot of Life is Good shirts! My collection is only about half this size. I will pick up the backing fabric this weekend, I'm using the same print but in two different colorways, see below; one with a white background and the other with yellow. 

This backing, with its happy and inspiring words of affirmation are wonderful tributes to Judy and her always cheerful personality. Wish me luck getting these quilted up and off to Quiltkeemosabe in short order, she's going to bind them and attach dedication labels that she'll design, with help from Judy's husband, and machine embroider. He was hoping to have them ready to ship to his daughters in time for the second anniversary of their mother's death (mid-May). Can you imagine being a daughter and receiving one of these?! I get choked up just thinking about it. 

Life is Good!

It really, really is!!

Valentine's Day

Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine's Day. 💗I finished this cute little cross-stitch just in time for the occasion. It's been a very long time since I've done any of this, Quiltkeemosabe made me up a little kit with this pattern, the linen and the thread. She introduced me to stitching over two and I just love it. 

This sweet little applique piece was a birthday gift from a dear friend twenty two years ago. She sent it to me when we were living overseas, at a time when I missed all of my friends and family so very much. It meant the world to me then, as it still does today. I get it out in time for Valentine's Day every year. 

Another treasured Valentine memento, an antique Valentine from Quiltkeemosabe many years ago. Today, during the children's sermon at church, our pastor explained about St. Valentine and how, as a Roman priest under the rule of Emperor Claudius, he defied a decree that all soldiers remain unmarried; Valentine continued to marry Christian couples in the church, albeit secretly. He believed that the government had no say in love and matters of the heart, and if couples came to him to be joined in marriage he did just that. Ultimately he was killed for his beliefs and acts contrary to those laws set down by Claudius. I never fully understood the story behind St. Valentine's martyrdom until today. Now I better comprehend the covertness associated with slipping a Valentine to a secret love. Who says that children's sermons are only for children? After all, aren't we all children of God?

My Valentine surprised me at the breakfast table this morning with this beautiful orchid.

He's been my one-and-only bestest Valentine for a very long time now, and that's no secret at all!

💗 

Love never fails!

Brother Bear

"Brother Bear"  ~37.5" X 43"

Working from the stacked, numbered, boxes in the closet I am endeavoring to finish one UFO each month until the end of the year. May's box contained all the elements for this precious little hand embroidered baby quilt, I even had all of the fabrics selected for the setting "logs" but scrapped them because it was too busy. I did keep chosen the border and backing fabrics, hence the name of the quilt.
See that baby bear roaming between the trees?

Here's a close-up with the backing fabric that I have chosen. 

Naturally, (if you're a fan of the Berenstains, like me) you know that there can't be a Brother Bear without a Sister Bear! Here's "Sister Bear", the girl version of the same quilt, currently under the needle.  I hope to get Brother Bear loaded and quilted right away; back-to-back bears 😉, successfully meeting my goal for May. These patterns are from Kristyne Czepuryk's book: S is for Stitch.

A current view from the design wall: Brother Bear and the first half of "Milk Money". 

Adapting in an upside down world: 🙃 We went out to dinner last night, at an actual restaurant, to celebrate our recent milestone anniversary! It's hard to describe that feeling, after all these weeks of quarantine; it was like we'd been set free. Everyone was extremely kind and all social distancing protocols were observed. It was a joyous occasion, certainly one to remember!

I'm happy to report that all of your prayers for Quiltkeemosabe's husband have worked and he is doing quite well; he continues to recover at home and grow stronger every day. We were so happy that he drove(! YAY!!) out to our home for a short visit yesterday, he and Quiltkeemosabe sat with us out on our new porch; it was just like old times, catching up. Thanks be to God!

"You are wisdom unimagined
Who could understand Your ways
Reigning high above the Heavens
Reaching down in endless grace
You're the lifter of the lowly
Compassionate and kind
You surround and You uphold me
And Your promises are my delight

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us"

 These words are from Michael W. Smith's "Sovereign" (you can listen here). 

You're welcome, the refrain has been playing in my head for two days. Amen!

Life is Good!

 

My Home State

I loaded this panel onto Snowbird last week to do some bead board, straight-line, quilting. I decided to use the panel as is, it measures 19" X 44" and is perfect, without being bordered, as a table runner for our kitchen table. I had it quilted up in no time.
One of the very best tips that I've ever heard is one that I learned from quiltdivajulie. She makes her bindings before she's quilted her pieces so that they're ready to go when the quilt is trimmed and needs finishing. For me, this is a psychological trick-- it takes no less time to have it made and ready ahead of time, but it is such a efficient way to work. My mind doesn't want to stop and make binding after quilting and trimming; but, I have no trouble loading a quilt, preparing the binding, and then setting about the quilting. When the trimming is finished, the binding is applied right then and there; this is helpful to me and seems like the most productive way to work.

Speaking of efficiency-- actually, I quilted two at the same time. The New Hampshire panel is a gift for my mother. Shhhh-- don't breathe a word if you're reading this and know her, she'll be surprised!

This was done and on the table by last evening. These panels, My Home State, are by Northcott. Mine was a gift from Quiltkeemosabe, check at your LQS for the state of your choice.

Mr. G and I play Cribbage every day, if you're familiar with the game you'll understand the smile on his face-- he had four 5's dealt to him and a Queen turned; this hand is worth 28 points! He had trouble not laughing as we played out the hand, he knew that this experience is very rare and lucky!

Life is Good!

This and That

I'm keeping busy, there's always too much to do and not enough time to get it all accomplished. I don't know how I ever got anything done at all when I was allowed to leave the house! As fast as I finish one project I find three others to work on! I began setting these stitcheries together with low volume 25-patches.

These squares measure 5" finished; with the one inch framing border all around this becomes a 12 inch block. Right now I have a few ideas in my head as far as where these will go eventually, but I will set them aside for now and let the ideas simmer.

I found this new (to me) product that's too good not to share my rave review: if you've ever been confronted with an errant thread that gets caught between your quilt layers and shadows through the top, here's the solution! No matter how well you trim before loading and layering your quilt, threads happen. This is a super-fine tool with a micro hook on the end that slips easily through the weave of cotton fabric, grabs that thread and retrieves it without leaving a trace! Once again, Clover notions to the rescue, they make the best products! I'm really excited about this one. 

We got the sweetest homemade card in the mail from our oldest two grandchildren in the Capital City, they each wrote personal notes inside. They're (along with all the schoolchildren in our state) about to experience the longest summer vacation ever as the governor announced on Friday that schools won't open again this academic year. I feel so sorry for all the children, I can't even imagine. 

Life goes on: Mama Carolina Wren coaxed the babies out of their deep, secluded nest-- they're on their own. She's been so busy flitting in and out with bugs and other treats to feed them, we'll miss watching the activity through the window at our breakfast table. But, now, the brick column can be removed; Mr. G. had that on his "to do" list but was detoured, temporarily, by the babies. 

Adapting during our stay-at-home in an upside down🙃 world: Quiltkeemosabe gave me this wonderful panel; I'm going to load it up and quilt it, as is, to use as a table runner. Isn't it wonderful? It measures 43" X 19". Since it's where we are, and there's no place like it, it's the perfect time. I have found another mask pattern to try out. I have always been a huge Ami Simms fan; so, when this one hit the Internet, naturally I downloaded the pattern and am giving this style a try. This will be the third style that I've stitched up. I lost track a long time ago how many I've made, it's ongoing.

😷

Speaking of Quiltkeemosabe- her husband is coming home from his five week hospital/rehab stay (non-COVID!) tomorrow, at long last. Thanks one and all who continued to hold him in prayer for health and healing. Please continue to pray for him and his family as he acclimates to being back home again and gains his strength back. 

😷

Please indulge me in a soapbox moment: I am deeply saddened and highly aggravated to witness the public shaming, name-calling and finger-pointing that I see on social media aimed at those who may not be complying with the current "rules" for virus prevention or spread as the accuser deems appropriate. Let's all keep in mind here that everyone is doing the very best that they can based on the information that they have. If you see someone without a mask, and you're uncomfortable, avoid them. If you see someone who's not observing social distancing, then be careful to keep your own distance. If a business opens back up and you don't feel safe entering, then, by all means, don't. Wash your hands, keep yourself and your loved ones as safe as you can; but, please, please, be kind. We can't possibly know everyone's story or current circumstance. We're all tired of being isolated, worn out from concern and eager to put this behind us-- but, we're all in this together and a little kindness goes a long, long way.

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." - Romans 5:3-5

Life is Good!

On The Plus Side

This is a re-post of sorts from the spring of 2014. I know that there are no shortage of quarantine sew-alongs and patterns out there to stitch up while we are sheltering at home. Here's one more. If there was ever a time to make a quilt oozing of positivity-- this is the time! These blocks were designed in EQ and are super quick and easy to sew; believe me, the hardest part will be selecting your fabrics and stopping-- making these little blocks are like eating potato chips! Your cutting directions are pictured below, these cute little "plus" blocks finish to five inches.

Here's the layout:

This quilt (my finished quilt is pictured below) as drafted finishes to 45" X 55" including a 2.5" inner border. Certainly the size could be boosted with additional sashing or extra blocks.

Have fun with this. 

Adapting to an upside down 🙃world: As I mentioned earlier, spring is coming on and there's no stopping that. Mr. Goodneedle and I have rebooted our outdoor walking regimen to right after breakfast (we're early risers); there's no one else outside yet and at this time of year we're serenaded by bird song and emerging foliage. We have a bluebird couple nesting in the nesting box right outside my studio space, this morning we observed them both sitting on top of the box in all their glory. I will check the box in a few days for any eggs. I hope that you're all well, staying safe and healthy; wash your hands!🧼

Prayer update: Thanks one and all for your prayers for Quiltkeemosabe's husband. He had surgery last evening and the best of all possible outcomes was realized. He's been moved to a post-surgical ICU at this time, things are really looking up for him and their family today! Your prayers are working!

"But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer." Psalm 38:15

Think Positive!

Life is Good!

Up next: Sorting It Out

It's A FAD

It's a Flag A Day (not a passing fad) for me, this has been a habit that I began last week and it's fun to watch the flags slowly stacking up on the design wall. At a time when it seems like our personal freedoms are being revoked it helps to remember that we are Americans and this won't last for us forever. Our country is blessed to be founded on freedoms and we need to remember that now more than ever. The inconveniences that we're experiencing now are temporary, thanks be to God; we have freedoms and rights unique to us under the Constitution and as Americans with those rights we, as citizens, have a heavy, serious and solemn responsibility to one another right now-- to stay at home and help to slow the spread of this deadly virus!

Quiltkeemosabe gave me this panel a few months ago, I plan to quilt it up and turn it into a sofa pillow for the porch. I had already planned to make some American flag quilts for out there and, suddenly, there's no time like the present! The first one that I've tackled is "Stars and Stripes by Thimble Blossoms.  I'm going to sash mine with a neutral gingham-y fabric from the stash. 

As you can see, I'm doing slightly scrappy version. I've also made another 24" -"Which Way Now?" quilt block. As it is so aptly named, I'm not sure where I'm going with that one-- time will tell, I'm not in any danger of running out of scrappy triangles yet. 

Adapting to an upside down world🙃: A grocery run yesterday was hit or miss; the items missing from the shelves is random (or it appears that way to me). It reminded me of a time in my life (mid 90's) when we lived in Puerto Rico. I was never exactly sure what the grocery store would have, or not have; so, I carried my recipe files with me and would make menu planning adjustments as I shopped! 

Entertainment: We're watching old episodes of "Coach" in the evenings, the sitcom starring Craig T. Nelson from years ago; we have a set of DVDs. It feels good to laugh. 

Prayer request: Please continue to pray for Quiltkeemosabe and her family; her husband remains hospitalized and they cannot be with him. Thank you so much. 

Remember to take care, be kind to yourself, listen to the directives

and wash your hands🧼; this won't last forever.

"For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth."  Psalm 71:5

Life is Good!

Up next: "On The Plus Side"

Getting it Together

Class sample: Four prequited blocks joined together with lattice strips. 

I can become a procrastinator if the conditions are right; this is not something that I am proud to admit. So, a year or so ago, a dear friend presented me with a large bag of hand quilted sampler blocks that her mother had made back in the 1980s. She asked if I could assemble them for her to present to her almost 92 year old mother. I smiled and agreed. Honestly, I wan't too excited about the task; truth be told, I wasn't sure, at all, how to proceed. I made an initial assessment of the bag's contents; the blocks were randomly stacked inside along with yards and yards of additional fabric. I set the bag out in plain sight-- for a while. Then, the bag moved to a closet; and, finally, to the deep and dark recesses of that space. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Not exactly, I knew they were in there and the guilt of not tackling the project grew exponentially. Quiltkeemosabe told me that she was considering teaching a class at our LQS, a Quilt as You Go class. This class was tailored to those who might want to quilt their blocks individually on their domestic machines, the class would demonstrate how to join quilted blocks. Yes, I told her, I NEED that class!! Last Saturday the class took place, it was exactly the jump-start that I needed! As students we were shown a method of joining quilted blocks with thin lattice strips, I was intrigued by the technique; the lattice strips "joins" become a design element both front and back.

This is the back of the class sample shown above, the finished strips on the front measure 1/2" and, on the back they measure 3/4". There is hand finishing on one side of the strips on the back. My examples show contrasting fabric but, naturally, this could also be done with matching fabric that would blend and be hardly noticeable. 

Energized to begin, I pulled out the decades old sampler blocks, weeded through them, and after a few phone consults with the quiltmaker's daughter we agreed on this lay out. 

The first two, joined with the newly-learned skill. I was off and running. 

Before dinner last evening the top half of the quilt was joined together! Like all tasks that are put off; once begun, this seemed much simpler and faster than I had heaped this up in my mind to be. I am happy with the way this is coming together, even more so, it's a relief to know that soon this will warm the body and soul of the dear lady who made these blocks all those years ago. 

What are you putting off today?

Life is Good!

Up next: "Flower Power"