Grieving With Gratitude

I am so excited that I can share my secret sewing project.  I started working on this quilt just a few weeks after Don passed.  It was a simple, easy peasy quilt.  Most of the fabrics were in my stash.  It really was therapeutic sewing.  Not too much thinking and lots of blocks.  My mind was focused on just sewing.

I was inspired by a photo that was posted on on the website www.quiltylove.com .It was a remake of a traditional block done in a modern style.  Emily was kind enough to share the link to the original designers blog that had a free tutorial.  Thank you Sew Inspired.  You can find the directions HERE.

This quilt is a housewarming gift for my son and his wife.  They have had chickens for a while, generously sharing the eggs.  They moved to a larger house with enough land to increase their livestock community.  The chickens and ducks adapted well to their new home. I'm looking forward to the new residents.

 I gave it to them this weekend, so I can finally share it. My DIL loves orange and their new grey couch is the perfect setting. I made too many blocks and thought a pillow would be perfect.

I searched high and low for that orange jumbo rick rack, and was so delighted when I finally found it.

Of course, Bailey had to get in on the action.

And then we had to see if the chickens liked it.

Thanks to a visit from Helen Ernst, a genius with a longarm, I was able to quilt it with my lonely and seldom used Gammill.

Quilting IS the best therapy.

Grieving With Gratitude

On March 21st, I was reminded of my love of quilters, quilt guilds and why I love what I do.  I drove to Fairfax, VA early in the morning, in the dark and pouring rain to the Fairfax chapter of Quilters Unlimited.  It took me a little more than 3 hours, but that;s how I deal with Washington DC traffic and not having to be apart from Bailey any longer than I have to.  How can I leave this adorable face?

My talk was titled "Turn Travel Into Treasures" and the focus of it is how travel has inspired lots of my quilts.  Some of them are representational and others use a design element.  Some of them are full size quilts and others are small framed ones.  Some are made from cotton and others from silk and many combinations inbetween.  It brought me such joy to share my warm memories of travels with Don.  And I was proud of myself because I didn't cry once and didn't even tear up!  I loved how they displayed my quilts in the choir section of the church after I talked about them.  The members were

able to take a closer look at the  end of the meeting.  I was really happy to be on the road again and for those that are interested I have started to book new guild visit.  So, if you think your guild would be interested, contact me.

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I have been working on a couple of secret sewing projects that I will be able to share soon.  Mindless sewing is still a very  happy place for me.

I think I have talked about fear before, but it is still present.  I find it amazing that even though on the surface I appeared fiercely independent, it's because my husband was at home empowering me, smoothing out my travel plans, packaging my patterns and kits, running my shipping department, always knowing the best way to ship anything anywhere in the world.  So I have been taking little steps to gain an independent sensibility, just like when i painted the fireplace. After owning a longarm for 2 years and only quilting 2 quilts, I signed up for a longarm class at the AQS Lancaster quilt show by myself.  It felt good to learn a new skill in Rulers for Rookies with Lisa Calle.

The room was filled with Longarms and each one was shared by 2 people.  We each worked on a printed panel.

I definitely enjoyed using the rulers and Lisa was a great teacher. 

Thank you for travelling on this journey with me.  I hope I have helped some of you, because writing about and identifying my feelings have certainly helped me.

Look for my April newsletter soon.  I am so thrilled that someone new will be taking over the recipe column and I'm still working on naming my newest Mini Mosaic pattern.   There will be a naming poll/contest with the winner receiving a free kit.