Category: Quilts

Show and Tell

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We’ve given our hearts to many projects this week. Mark and Richard spent every evening and all day one day working on a pinewood derby car. I once went to a fireside by Noelle Picus-Pace where she talked about coming in 4th place a the Olympics and how you almost want any place but 4th. That’s the situation that Richard and Mark faced last night. Mark didn’t understand how the race was decided, and knowing that he had won all of his races, he thought he had won first place. We tried to explain that it was all about time, but in his mind, he was going to win the grand prize. He was brave, but I watched his heart break when his name wasn’t read. I watched his heart break over and over as he tried to understand what had happened. I know it’s good for kids to learn to cope with disappointment, but it hurts to watch it.

On a lighter note, Timothy played some great baseball this week and he and a partner made a model of an atom. I have never seen students take the electron cloud so literally, but I like it.

And I made quilt squares. I haven’t perfected the art of sewing a “scant” 1/4 inch seam, so 7 of my 9 squares are too small. Surprisingly, I am not too flummoxed about this. I am leaning toward just starting over rather than reworking seven more squares. It’s a good project for me, because the seams are just a few inches and I can step away and come back. Instead of long stretches of time, I have many 15-minute intervals of time in my days. I have a sewing room, so I can walk in and out of my project without having to clean up.

The project room for the rest of the family is the kitchen, and it’s a big mess. Someday I will miss the projects strewn all over the hearth, island, table, and computer desk, but today I am just getting up the courage to face it.

Fish quilt

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I am quilting again. I made the pink fish for this quilt that we made for a new baby in our ward. It was my first paper piecing project and I enjoyed it more than I can say, especially when I saw that my square could be used in the quilt. I once made a quilt block for a group project in school and it was rejected for use in the final quilt. The teacher used my square to teach the class “how not to make a quilt square.” I wish I still had it. I would probably frame it, a symbol of how far I have come since then.

“Some people aren’t meant to be quilters,” I remember my teacher saying to the whole class as she held it up. Ha!

Baby Quilts Finished

DSC_0480-001I finished the two baby quilts I was working on this month. They are for a newborn and his big brother (age 1) who live in my neighborhood.

They are so soft and fuzzy on the back. Life just gets better when you touch that minky fabric. And look! My friend machine quilted them in a sock monkey pattern to make us smile.

DSC_0473 DSC_0474I love that they are similar but each has a unique personality. The brighter one with the yellow back is my favorite.

Quilted

DSC_0134My friend spent 3 hours standing as she tended my quilt while her machine made row after row of roses across the fabric. That’s a nice person.

I realize that quilt posts are probably boring, but lately I’ve got nothing to give to this blog. Life is like that sometimes.

Quilt update

DSC_0111 DSC_0112I have learned a lot from the ladies in my neighborhood quilting group. I have very little quilting experience and I am surrounded by women who can whip out a quilt in an afternoon. There are even some purists in the group who make their quilts entirely by hand. I slink in the door and dine on the scraps of their skill and inspiration.

I read that the “Disappearing Nine-patch” (the pattern of my quilt) is a Novice pattern, which is even easier than a Beginner pattern. With that information to quell my pride in the project, I finished sewing my quilt and I’m having it quilted on a friend’s machine on Thursday. Hooray for me!

 

 

Things I need to face

My paint project: I’m whitening up the the basement doors and trim with semi-gloss enamel paint. It’s a bigger project than I expected, but I am loving the results so far.

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My quilt project: the squares are complete. I *just* need to assemble them, do a border, select a backing, sew the backing, quilt and bind it. Quilters, do you really find this enjoyable? My mom says that it helps to have a good machine, which I don’t have, and I’m not asking for one. I am not sure I want to be a seamstress. Maybe I will change my mind when I fall in love with my completed Strawberry Shortcake quilt.

DSC_0041Someone said that it’s a good exercise to find out the activities that you can “get lost” doing. You lose track of the time and other thoughts when you are busy doing your special thing. For me, it’s writing and reading, but I also love to develop new skills. I want to be capable and well-read. This is how I will accomplish this today: I get up from the computer, walk downstairs and keep painting. Later, when my arm is tired, I will wash up and maybe sew a row of squares. If I do these things, I will reward myself with a little theology reading. Wish me luck.

A Soldier, a Mother, and a Quilt

This is #11 in a series of posts in which I share some of the things I have experienced because I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In each of these posts, I will give you a basic background and share a small experience. I hope that through the sharing of these small things you can have a glimpse into my experience as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. I will also try to explain principles and doctrines of my faith that bring me so much happiness.

A Soldier, a Mother, and a Quilt

I was at a viewing for a young soldier. It was the first time I had ever seen this young man, but it shouldn’t have been.

Four or five years before his death, this young man was on the list of kids who were seminary age, but I had never contacted him to invite him to my class. His family had not been to church for years, and I didn’t reach out to him.

When the young man was killed in the war, the family called a friend from the Church, and many members ran to the family to help in their own way.

My feelings were poignant, and the words that formed in my mind that evening at the viewing were full of regret. I deeply regretted that I had not known him. It was a terrible to face a missed opportunity for friendship in such a way.

It took courage to introduce myself to his mother, surrounded by women of another religion at the viewing. “I’m Angie Ross and I’m your Relief Society President,” was all that I can remember saying.

With a flash of recognition at the title, but not my face, she looked at me and paused. The moment was quickly gone, but she knew that she was not forgotten by the Church in which she was still a member, but no longer attended.

My individual failings aside, I knew that she had never been forgotten by the members of the Church. Her visiting teachers, two women assigned to visit her monthly were faithful. These sisters had continued to maintain a friendship with her for many years. These women were marvelous.

We made a quilt for this grieving mother with squares made by individual members. Some squares were made by her visiting teachers; some were made by her friends; one was made by a child, and one was made by a set of missionaries about the age of her son. However, the majority of the quilt was made by women she had never met, who had covenanted at baptism to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.

The Church is made of individuals full of faults and personal failings. Individually, we are inadequate in our efforts, but together, we can help compensate where there are failings. I had failed to reach out to the son, but others had maintained a friendship with his mother, and she was able to feel the strength of the Church when her son was killed. As members of the Church, we have a network of people in place to support each family. The organization of the members watching out for one another is one testament to me that this is Christ’s Church on the earth today.

For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection. 2 Corinthians 13:9

It’s about Color!

I’ve decided to try quilting now that I have willing neighbors to help me.

I had a pretty big quilt failure last time I tried to piece a quilt square. I’m hoping I can overcome this, unlike my continued failure to grow house plants. I’ve made several quilts, but they have not been complicated. I’ve been told that having the right equipment is essential, so I bought the tools first.

Next came the fabric. I needed 11 fabrics. Aaaack! I walked down the aisles for a long while, looking for a fabric to inspire me. And then I found it! It had red! It had pink! It had a lovely pale sage green! It was old fashioned! It was perfect. Once I had this fabric, I knew what I wanted for the quilt: a splash or two of red, a smaller amount of pink, lots of pale sage and a touch of pale yellow.

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I’m not a trendy person, so there are no hot pink and orange owls for my quilt, although I loved these fabrics. I’m telling myself I can be a quilter because it really is about color, order, and art, which are three things to which I can feel good about devoting some time.

I got home and realized that these fabrics are Strawberry Shortcake colors. That was my childhood. Lovely.

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Now I need to begin cutting. I’m so nervous.