Category: Quilts

It’s a process

I keep going back to the guest room to rearrange these quilts blocks, and I think I am getting close to the final arrangement. As I post this photo, I see some blocks that need to be moved. Or maybe I will rearrange them all into a gradient of colors. Photos are helpful with this. I can stare at the fabrics for a long time and not pick out problems as well as when I look at a photo. I don’t like the sunflower print as much as I thought I would. This is going to a sunflower-loving family, so they will probably like the print just fine.

Projects update

I can’t stop making these little cross stitch pictures, and I can finish one in about a week. Since our piano has been in the shop, Mark and I have spent a lot of time at the church so he can practice the piano and organ in the chapel. I sit and listen, stitch, and rest. I give these little creations as gifts to friends, and the pictures leave my shelves almost as quickly as I can produce them. I post them here as a record that they were made.

If I keep working, I might have a Dresden plate quilt to show for the year. I don’t feel any rush to finish this quilt, which is nice, so I can enjoy the process.

I can look back at photos of a quilt, doll, or cross stitch project and remember the circumstances around their creation. I remember who was with me while I worked. I recall the stresses and joys of the time. I remember the loved ones for whom they were made. Creation is tied to life, and it doesn’t seem to matter what I create, whether it is with fabrics, home decor, paint, or words, my creations hold my history.

She is incredible

Winner’s celebration

My mom made and donated some really beautiful quilts for an auction in her small town to benefit local church youth programs.

Her beehive quilt sold for the highest price of all the items at the auction!

In the photo above, the happy lady who bought the quilt is wearing a gray shirt and she stands behind my mom, celebrating. This was so fun to watch.

My mom also made a baby quilt with the most gorgeous colors which was also popular at the auction. My mom is quite a person.

This is the quilt before it was quilted and bound. Her friend machine quilted it, with different patterns in each block and on the borders. It was absolutely amazing.
The baby quilt at auction

Quilting in the kitchen

I am doing a little quilt work each day this week. I have set up my sewing station in the kitchen so I can come and go easily, or sew a few seams while I wait for something to cook. This strategy is working, and the blocks are stacking up.

This blog is the tiniest window into what I do and think. You certainly won’t learn about my stance on current events here. I hope that is refreshing.

Not pictured

Not pictured are the friends I meet with each month to sew. These friendships and conversations are the real treasure from my time quilting, not the blocks and quilts.

When I see a project, whether it is a room I have painted, a sewing project, or piece of art, it often triggers memories of the circumstances when I created it.

These blocks, once sewn into a quilt, will probably remind me of long, important conversations, delicious snacks and meals shared with these friends, and their righteous influence in my life.

Dresden Plate Quilt

My friend Kaye taught many women in our neighborhood how to make quilts. One month she guided us through the process of making a Dresden Plate quilt, but I have never made one on my own. Kaye lives in a new city now, where she has started a new quilt group, but her influence keeps inspiring me to do new things. This winter I decided to make a Dresden Plate quilt to use up some pieces and ends.

All of the fabrics you see are from my “scrap box,” so many of the pieces bring back memories. My goal is to only use my scraps to complete the top of this quilt. I have spent so much time cutting, and today I am finally able to sew!

I once looked down on homemaking skills and sewing, but now these things bring me so much joy.

Picnic ready

I have a few friends with whom I meet to sew, usually around once a month. As we sew quilts or other individual projects, we explore vast conversations on many topics. These are some of the fastest hours of the month for me. I don’t often sew outside of these tiny gatherings, but I have made progress on several projects and learned from the wisdom of women I truly admire. This week I finished a quilt I began sometime last year. It’s ready to take on a picnic…once the ground thaws.

Bright spots

In this assortment, you will find things that I would like to remember about this week. Wouldn’t it be sad to forget *that* sunset? Or that Mark came home excited about the progress he made on his woods project… And that I worked on a quilt and found a few happy surprises… Wouldn’t it be unfortunate to forget these happy little things?

UFOs

Here are some sound effects to play in the background as we take a scroll through some of my UFOs (UnFinished Objects).

page 667/798
This is really hard to read on the Kindle. I think I will get a physical copy to finish it.
and some more books
This will be a quilt someday.
I need someone to hold my hand on this next step of family history research. I need to find the right person, and hopefully they can read Finnish.
It has been too tender a year to work on this.
The front porch flower container broke, so I need to transplant some flowers to a new pot.
This is a project for my embroidery machine for my mom’s craft room.
This is my souvenir from Oregon. I am getting close.

not pictured:

Tim’s missionary list

It doesn’t bother me to have some unfinished things. It just means that good times are ahead as I finish them. The priority is all of the mission stuff for a while.