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 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.
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.
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.
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?
Here are some sound effects to play in the background as we take a scroll through some of my UFOs (UnFinished Objects).
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.
Quilting has been a little too vulnerable an activity for me. I think I am done, but I am happy to have this Christmas quilt made from squares exchanged among friends.
The Sanchez sisters and my mom are making an isolation quilt from our homes, each contributing hexagon flowers to put together for someone we love. We adopted this hexie obsession a few years ago, and the secret to a good hexagon quilt is the collaboration. Everyone’s style is needed, so we swap fabric scraps at the cabin each summer. The mixing of styles and personalities is my favorite part of this process.
This week, as I ran errands and shopped, I was asked a few times if I was planning to do something fun. Yes! We celebrated Richard’s birthday with food, food, presents, food, and desserts. At Costco, someone asked if the next big birthday was the big 4-0, and since the scales have tipped toward 50 for me, this miscalculation has embedded itself in my heart and grown into many private smiles. I love celebrations with family, the preparation, anticipation, and the memories.
And, if you want to see Paige’s 8 beautiful paintings inspired by The Secret Garden, her show is coming up soon. I love seeing Paige’s illustrations.
As for the Daniel, he had the opportunity to meet Elder Uchtdorf and shake his hand last week, and he was invited to share his testimony in Stake conference. He is moving to a new apartment that has hot water. He has been busy assembling emergency kits for each companionship in the mission. With summer holidays coming to an end, they expect more protests and violence in his area, but the kits are more in preparation for earthquakes. He is teaching Rosa and others with his companion who is from Canada. I had my first bad dream about his safety, and I can’t hear The Prayer (Bring Him Home from Les Miserables) or Danny Boy without tears. Still, I love being part of a missionary family.
One thing I do for my calling at church is teach Primary children during ward conferences. I made this visual aid for last Sunday to teach about Isaiah’s “Mountain of the Lord’s House” and it was a lot of work, but the kids really loved the doors and windows. They also loved talking about how temples are like mountains, places to feel peace, quiet, and see beauty and light. I also loved the comment about mountains being places of adventure. I think learning of God’s ways is one of the great adventures of life. I love what I learn as I serve in Primary.