Friend and Foe

I had lunch at the home of one of my quilting buddies, Mamanance/Nancy, yesterday. What a treat! I went to collect a label for my comfort quilt (I got it sewn on today - plus, I got the bloodstain out, so it is ready to go join the ranks of other comfort quilts waiting to bring some warmth into someone's day) and some flannel for my buzzsaw quilt.

I not only got that but also a pattern that she had accidentally bought two of (caution: lousy photo alert!)

and she lent me her copy of Clare O'Donohue's The Lover's Knot, which I thought I had read until I read book two of the series and realized I hadn't. Great timing, as I leave for a quick trip to Atlanta tomorrow, and this gives me something to read on the plane. (by the way, I LOVE these Clare O'Donohue books!) She also lent me her copy of Walk the Line, the Johnny Cash movie, which I haven't seen yet. That will have to wait until I return, but I'm sure it will be GREAT in my new home theater.

So, that is the friend. The foe is THE FLU which has my children home for the week. You would never know they were sick by their energy level - they never seem to slow down - but they both have fevers and coughs and snotty noses. As a precaution, the entire family is being treated with Tamiflu. Hopefully, none of us will get terribly ill like the folks in the stories they have on TV daily.

No new sewing, other than the comfort quilt label. And for my trip, I am bringing karate uniforms that need patches sewn on - bleech! But it must be done; provided we are all well on Saturday, Jason and I will be testing for our PURPLE BELT!

Some progress and a special find!

Yesterday, I managed to squeeze in some very interrupted sewing as I went about my wifely and motherly duties. I pulled out my neglected "Virginia Bound" quilt (I mistakenly called it "Virginia Star" in my last entry) from my Bonnie Hunter book, Scraps and Shirttails, and finished a couple more blocks. This quilt is so much fun to make - so liberating! (I may have been a little too liberal in my interpretation of neutrals, but I'll make that determination when I get a bit more done.)

I have a couple more wedges that still need the neutrals attached, and, of course, I have gobs more blocks to make. I can't imagine why I put this quilt aside for so long - I love it!

In making some of the new wedges, I pulled out the scrab bag I got from Judi recently, since much of those scraps are strips and perfect for this project. Imagine my surprise and delight when I found two orphan blocks! I can't wait to find a use for them.

I also completed a few more Scrappy Star blocks. This quilt is sure to be one of my favorites.


It has been pretty cold here - perfect weather for staying inside and sewing.

Quilt Fiction Catalogued

A local quilting friend, Mamanance/Nancy, recently shared that she had catalogued her quilting books on LibraryThing. With my desire to collect quilt fiction, that seemed like a pretty neat idea, since I have purchased a book I already own on more than one occasion. I set up my own Library Catalog this morning, and I was THRILLED with how EASY it was. Type in the ISBN number from the back of the book, and Voila!, there's a thumbnail photo, the title, the author, everything. I'm so tickled, that I put a widget on my sidebar so I can share some of my quilt fiction. Right now, there are 49 titles, but some are out on loan so they aren't all in there yet. Hopefully, this will help me acquire some of the other quilt fiction titles that I know are out there.

After work yesterday, I did a little more piecing on my flannel buzzsaw quilt. I also rearranged the blocks into 2 fabric blocks to see if I liked more orderly scrappiness. I'm not sure. But I do know that I'm going to have to put this project on hold until I get some more flannel scraps for additional blocks. I have lots of juvenile flannel, but I'm making this quilt with other prints, of which I have much less. I also may decide to make this into two quilts, one with the softer colors, and one with the bolder colors. We'll see.

In the meantime, I plan to work on my Scrappy Stars some more today, and possibly revisit my Bonnie Hunter "Virginia Star" since I now have more neutral scraps to finish up some blocks. And speaking of Bonnie Hunter...my guild is working on getting her as a presenter and teacher in early 2011. Hooray! I told them I don't care when she comes - consider me already signed up! What a treat that would be! My quilting hero right here in person! My fingers are crossed that it works out.

One UFO done!

Remember I joined the New Year's UFO Challenge? I chose 3 projects to complete, and today I finished one. Yay! With all that was going on this week, I felt moved to finish the flannel "Love Crumbs" comfort quilt I began nearly 2 years ago. It is far from perfect - I goofed on one corner while attaching the binding, so it will never be described as having square corners - but I don't care. If it will make some little girl's eyes light up like the kids to whom I gave comfort quilts earlier this week, then it is perfect in my eyes.


(Do you like the action photo with the dog and the kid playing with the Batmobile in the foreground?)

I have to work this Saturday (of course, ugh!), but I plan to do some sewing this weekend. With so many projects in progress, I'm not sure what I'll do. I guess I'll just see what I feel moved to do.



And finally, I just have to say that the memorial service yesterday was both much harder and much easier than I expected. I am so proud of my strong friend, who stood up to speak and started with "I am so blessed." I was so caught up in what she has lost that I wasn't paying attention to what she has. Even in her grief, she is an inspiration to me. After the service, Jason and I stuck around until the place cleared out - Jason playing with his friend and me entertaining and being entertained by the twin girls. With all the grown ups talking, it was nice to be there for the kids. And you know what? My friend is going to be alright. She IS blessed - with a wonderful family, supportive friends, a strong faith, and 18 years worth of memories of her precious, special, first-born daughter - and she is going to be just fine.

Comfort Quilts

My guild makes comfort quilts to give to local residents during times of need. I contacted the person who coordinates the effort and told her about my friend and her loss. During my lunch break yesterday, I drove out to meet her, and I picked out some comfort quilts for my friend and her three remaining children. I wish I had photos to share, because these were some CUTE quilts. The people in my guild are not only generous, but also very talented.

For one little girl whom my son managed to hook in the head last time we went fishing together, I picked out the brightest quilt with lots of fish fabric and two adorable appliqued fish. For the other little girl, who is always wearing pink and/or purple, I picked out a cute pink and purple caterpillar critter quilt. At least, that is what I call it. The blocks are set to look like a caterpillar wiggling across the quilt with a 3-dimensional smiling face at the end of each. For the boy, I picked out another caterpillar critter quilt, this one with bright dog fabric, since he is always talking about the shenanigans of his two dogs. For my friend, I picked out a quilt that Mamanance made that I absolutely love. Here it is, prior to being quilted, I think:

Picking out the quilts was easy. Giving them was hard. When I arrived at their house with my kids in tow (for comic relief), one little girl ran outside and jumped into my arms, and right there my throat closed up. I hate that these precious little children are suffering right now. I finally gathered them around me and explained that I belong to a group of people who love quilts and who believe that wrapping yourself up in a quilt is like wrapping yourself up in a hug. I explained that we like to give these quilts to people to make them feel better when they might be having a bad day. Then I pulled out the quilts one by one and wrapped them around their shoulders while I explained why I chose each quilt for each child. They were the perfect recipients - their faces lit up, and one immediately smoothed hers out over her bed, and the other two wore theirs around their shoulders up until the time I left. Their mom was out during my visit, so I gave my friend's quilt to the grandmom and asked her to let my friend know that I was thinking of her.

While there, the grandmom also pulled out some professional photos of the 4 siblings together that were taken only about a month ago. It turns out, they haven't had pictures taken together (besides candids) for several years now, so it seems pretty fortuitous that they just had it done. They are such a beautiful, happy family. I didn't want to overstay our welcome, so after looking at photos, I went looking for my kids. The brother, Jason's friend, was wrapped up in his quilt showing Jason all of his sister's things. I asked what they were doing, and he said, "Oh, I'm just telling Jason all about my sister." My heart shattered right then and there, and I went back into the kitchen to cry and let them talk.

So yesterday was hard. I've woken up every night this week with a wet pillow from crying in my sleep. But today will be harder. Today is the funeral. My husband and I talked to Jason about how funerals aren't fun, but that it is important that he be there to support his friend. And I'll be there to support my friend. And my husband, bless his heart, will be there to support Jason and me. I know that human beings are strong and resilient, but I can't even imagine how my friend gets up each morning and functions throughout the day. Would I be that strong? I pray to God that I never have to find out.

Rollercoaster

The last few days have been a wild ride. I am emotionally and physically exhausted. I arrived home Friday night, and set to work making dinner for the family and making Rice Krispie Treats for the Cub Scout Pack meeting on Saturday. Luckily, I had a little helper.

Then, I gave a presentation at work Saturday morning that went horribly. There were some malcontents in the audience that made the experience very uncomfortable. People have been very supportive, and have been approaching me to tell me that I handled myself well, but ugh! I just wanted to go home and climb in the bed for the rest of the day. Of course, that was not to be. First, I had to make an appearance at the Homecoming football game. Then the kids and I left that for the Cub Scout Pack Meeting, which was a fun, but exhausting 3 hours. For my station, I brought along a student that I recruited from Costa Rica a few years ago, and we taught them some things about Costa Rica and some useful phrases in Spanish so we could earn our Culture belt loop. After that, we went home and the kids let me take a quick nap before we went out to the Homecoming Dance. My kids love to dance! How is it that they don't need sleep, though?

My plan on Sunday was to just sew, which I did a bit but not nearly as much as I had hoped. I worked on my scrappy flannel buzzsaw quilt a bit.

My leader and ender project for that session was my Scrappy Star quilt, so I also got one more of those blocks done.

Today was also supposed to be a busy day - a day full of interviews at work, followed by karate and a cub scout den meeting. Just as I was about to start my first interview, my friend and co-den leader who is also the mother to my oldest son's best friend called to tell me that her oldest daughter had just passed away. She was 18 and severely disabled, but this was unexpected and I am still in shock. I feel so helpless and sad for my friend, and for Jason's little friend who just lost his big sister. I don't know what to do - I want to be there for her, but I also want to give her space if she needs it. I have no frame of reference. I've lost a parent and friends, but I can't even conceive of losing my child. I have been emotional all day, but I made it through the workday, and then went to karate to yell and kick and punch out my anger and frustration with impunity. The kids and I went to the cub scout meeting just in case someone didn't get my email letting them know what happened, and I'm glad I did, because someone showed up. Then, I came home and cuddled with my kids and thanked God for every day I have with them.

At bedtime, I didn't draw the line at two stories like I usually do. The third book they pulled out tonight is one that makes me feel weepy on a good day, and I couldn't make it through the book without crying tonight - Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch.

It is a beautiful story about a mother's love for her son, and the song she sings to him about how he will always be her baby no matter how big he grows. At the end, the tables are turned as the grown man is now rocking his dying mother and singing to her about how she will always be his Mommy. Being a mother has been the most profound and rewarding experience in my life, and the thought of losing one of my children terrifies me. I know my friend isn't reading this, but if she were, I would want her to know that I love her, and I'm here for her, and I am so, so sorry.

I've been so bad...

A shop hop is not a good idea for someone who is on a self-imposed "no-buy", especially someone as weak-willed as me. I hit two more shops today, and then had to call it quits because really, I don't have the money to go to quilt shops. But before I came to my senses, I bought some 108" backing fabric (as a handquilter, I prefer to not have to quilt through seam allowances on the back, too), one irresistable pink and brown 1/8 yard cut, one 1/4 yard yummy chocolate brown flannel cut for my buzz saw quilt, and ten 1/4 yard neutrals. At least I stuck to that which I know I need, instead of just buying stuff I like, which would have bankrupted me for sure. To think, there was a time in my life when fabric meant nothing to me - now, it makes me drool and open my wallet!

I head home tomorrow. I can't wait to spend time with my family and with my sewing machine. I haven't sewn anything in weeks! Saturday is already spoken for with a presentation at work and a cub scout meeting, but Sunday, I sew! Look for photos!