Just A Quick Little Post

Our weather has changed very quickly. It was HOT a day or so ago and is now chilly and cloudy. That is why we must take advantage of each nice day and enjoy it when it happens.

But would we enjoy it as much if we had that weather very day???? I doubt it. It is just like life. If it were all mountain tops and pure joy--we would expect that all the time. We like the smooth parts of the road of life. But it is the ruts and muddy sections that teach us the most. They make us into who we are and toward who we would like to be.

Those clouds were in my backyard on a very fine day.

Why We Quilt

I was asked to submit a little story to our guild newsletter. I cannot write two different things in the time I allow for the computer----so here is what I sent them. The picture is a little table topper I made for my daughter in laws parents. They travel around quite a bit in their motor home when visiting the USA from Australia.

I always find it very interesting to talk to beginning quilters. They have all sorts of reasons that they want to learn to quilt. Many have seen a quilt somewhere and think they can make it cheaper. That always results in a laugh.

One lady had a very interesting story. She is a psychologist and the vast majority of her clients are women. She was writing her annual Christmas letter and realized that she had not done anything that whole year for herself. This is the very thing she tells so many women who come to see her. So she decided she would learn to quilt. She put herself on her to do list in a life too crowded with other obligations. She hopes to have a couple of small quilts finished to put in her Christmas letter this year complete with pictures.

Another lady had a really beautiful top that her Grandmother had made. She wanted to learn how to make this into a real quilt as she called it. It was just gorgeous and made out of authentic feedsacks. She had no idea why it never got finished but felt a strong pull to make sure that it did. She still has not finished that quilt but will eventually as her skill grows on small projects.

There is also a lack of time to connect with other women. Taking a couple of hours a week out of a busy week to sit and sew together is very therapeutic. Generations before us knew that very well. Quilting or sewing allows our minds to quiet down the many voices clamoring for our attention. We can join together in a non judemental group and just discuss problems and share joys in our lives.

Terrific Tuesday

We have had very warm weather for this time of the year. It will not last for much longer but I am sure many wish they had their pools open and ready for swimming. And the Global Warming people can use this to their advantage.

I really believe in trying to buy local and also made in American. I went to our local garden center to buy some annuals. They do not carry the 6 packs. They were charging $2.00 for one pot. I buy too many for that type of price. I decided to talk to the lady about it. How will she know why people are not going there if they do not speak up.

She was nice about it and said she will consider it. It is really a lovely shop and I would feel badly to see it close up.

This picture was a garden raised from seed. It is sloooooooooooooow and takes a long time to get flowers. I am going to buy plants this year once DH gets more dirt in the bed.

Monday Musings

It is back to work for many today. There are lots of people who wish they had a job to go back to. Some people are just getting off from the night shift. They work all night so that we can sleep in peace. They tend the sick and old in hospitals everywhere. They go about their lives quietly. They are not screaming on TV asking for stuff or complaining about what they do not have.

The farmer who plows the fiields around our little house got his first pass of his tractor. What a gift it is to be living in a place where I can watch this part of Spring take place. The bikes wiz past our house and motorcycles were out in great numbers this past week end.

The nice weather is here for a couple of days. Summer temperatures are on tap for today and the sun is shining brightly. Please let us take just a moment to remember we live in the very best country in the whole world.

I think it is time to start another Quilt Of Valor as I have contributed a good many for the Hospice. I have a simple new pattern I would like to try called Disappearing Four Patch.

This picture is Jamestown Rhode Island where a dear friend puts her little summer trailer for the season.

Just That One

This is probably my favorite poem in the whole world. It is how I try to live my life. I care not if people think I am right or crazy. What I work on changes. It used to be cocker spaniel dogs that needed to be rescued.

Now it is wounded soliders who need a quilt to remind them they are appreciated from their fellow countrymen. It is a quilt for a person dying in a Hospice and the family that surrounds them on their final journey out of this fallen world.

The quilt in the picture is my latest for Hospice. I was given the panels from a dear internet quilting friend. I knew it would be just perfect for a man.

THE STARFISH POEM

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.

He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day he was walking along the shore.

As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.

He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day.

So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing,

but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something

and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied,

"Throwing starfish in the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it.

You can't possibly make a difference!" The young man listened politely.

Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea,

past the breaking waves and said- "It made a difference for that one."

Growing Older

I have mixed feelings about getting older. I lost a very dear friend about 8 years ago. She left a husband who adored her and 3 boys. I am sure she would give just about anything she had to be here and getting wrinkles and all the physical things that come with aging. Every time I think about the negative aspects, I think about Janice. She may even have grandkids now and never had the joy of meeting them. That will have to wait for eternity.

As we age we get much smarter. We learn to let most things go and sweat just the bigger things. We learn we really have little control over what happens and better find a way to navigate all the bad things that come our way. Every single thing can be a lesson if we just let it be.

Once a person is gone from our life we realize how important they really were. We regret the days, weeks and months where we could have spent more time with them. Why oh why does that not happen more when they are still here????? Why do we take these wonderful people and blessings for granted???

So I will be thankful each day for this aging body. The aches and pains can be eliminated with a magic pill called Advil. The extra pounds are much harder to get rid of. That will take a closed mouth and lots of walking. But getting out and walking is a gift that many just do not have.

We are given so many gifts each and ever day. I am reminded of this and try to remember to thank God many times each day.

A Simple Fix

A member of the guild I belong to was having huge problems trying to free motion quilt. She has the same sewing machine that I have. I told her to bring it to the high school where I teach the beginner quilt class. I had a feeling I knew what the problem was.

Sure enough, the thread had just come out of the take up lever. This is a design flaw with our brand of sewing machine. It makes a certain noise and then jams up. We have learned just what this means and can easily fix it.

I wish all problems could be fixed just like that. Identify the problem, fix it quickly and then move on. It would make for a much happier world for sure.

Find a problem TODAY in your life and fix it. Do not put it off. Keep it simple if you must. You can just sort through that stack of papers sitting there. Or resolve to change something in your behavior that troubles you. Change the inner voice that talks to you. Tell it you are no longer going to think that negative thought.

Quilt For A Gentleman

I have a wonderful stash---love having that----of plaid fabric. Most of this was donated by friends. I was not really sure how to use this and thought I had to try to line up all the lines on it. But a guild member told me just cut it and sew it.

So I just cut a bunch of 6 inch squares. I was able to cut 4 or 5 layers at the same time. Then I just stitched them together. Next time I will do it a little differently but this is what I ended up with.

I stitched some words into it and then mainly did loops and swirls. I love how this turned out. It is amazing that sometimes the simplest pattern can look so good.

I still have lots of this fabric left and will come up with some more easy patterns. We need more manly quilts for our Hospice as so much fabric is full of flowers.

Gentle Grace

I am reading this book by Kathie Lee Gifford. I like her and have felt sorry for many of the things she has gone through in life. I see her love of her children, her husband and devotion to God as really quite wonderful.

She writes about looking at life when you realize you are in the latter portion of it. We are all so busy raising children, pursuing careers and paying bills. Then suddenly most of that comes to a halt.

Then we have more time on our hands and how will we spend it??????? I try very hard to make sure I spend it wisely. I have a little part time job taking care of a baby for a young family. I feel I give them a precious gift every day when they can go to work and know that he is safe and loved. I loved my children when they were young and figured out a way to have that again and get paid for it.

I make quilts for the wounded military and Hospice patients. I love quilt making and have found the perfect outlet for that.

It is about finding your passion that may have been buried long ago with so many commitments. Try to remember what you used to love doing and just did not have the time for. Pull it out, dust it off and just do it NOW. What used to make your heart sing?

Good Grief

I am emailing the gentleman who is donating his wife's fabric to me. She passed away about a year ago and he has slowly been donating her possessions to various places. They had no children so friends are helping with this process.

I think it is sort of like peeling an onion.....a layer at a time. It is all about finding the right places for each thing. Honor the things that were important to the person.

It has been interesting learning about how ladies come out of the woodwork very quickly when a gentleman loses his wife. I would like to think it is about helping someone but the heart is a lonely hunter. It seems that there are more women looking for someone than men that are available.

Can you ever replace someone you loved for many years? Can you find that kind of love again? No marriage is perfect and it takes hard work to keep it vital and alive. You must learn to surrender many of the things in your life when you blend two lives together.

I think women do better alone because for the most part--they have been taking care of others their whole life. Now they have only themselves to think about. I am not sure how I would feel about that and hope I do not have to learn for a good many years.

But I am a safe place for an email friend because I am married. I can listen and respond with no agenda. I am not trying to "snatch" up an eligible man to coin a phrase he told me---too funny.