Feelin' the stripes...

I'm looking forward to working with these stripes.  Lots of hot pink, acid green and bright turquoise. (If "You'll know a leopard by it's spots"  will you "...know a tiger by it's stripes?"  And isn't that saying you'll know someone by how he looks instead of by how he acts and isn't that unfair to said leopard or tiger? But I suppose it's an easy way to differentiate between a leopard and a tiger... Anyway...) There's a pattern in that calender Will got me that would work great with these.  Mix 'em with some hand-dyeds and maybe throw in a couple polka dots.  yeah, that'll work.

Dilemma... 

"Labyrinth"  Calico Carriage Quilt Designs by Debbie Maddy

Gotta an issue with this quilt.  Like the design.  I just used fabrics from my stash.  Now, you know I'm not the biggest fan of borders- but don't you think this is all a bit much?  There are "only" three borders on the sides- (the ones on the outside edge) two small and one wide.  I'm OK with that.  But you'll notice that the top and bottom have an additional two borders... the center is square so they needed to make it rectangle shaped... I'm just not convinced that it needs to be 20" longer than it is wide.  It finishes out at 90"x110."  Doesn't that seem too long?  What think ye?  I'm pondering the idea of removing about half of the brown upper and lower border... do you think that would look too cheesy?  That's a lot of stripes... If I had it to do over- and I will make this pattern again- I'll just change the size of the three outer borders at the top and bottom of the quilt- keeping it more simple.  The pattern didn't have a picture of the queen size quilt or else I would have said, "I don't think so." 

And considering how much I just love and adore putting on borders I'm so looking forward to working on changing these. sigh

For The Beauty Of The Earth

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.


Happy Thanksgiving!

Bekah's brights

Eva's softer colors

Ready?  Get set... GO!!

Gift-giving coming up and I'm trying to do more sewing, this year.  Times are... well, they are blessed, indeed, but not a lot left over for frivolous frivolity.  

Isn't that little bag pattern adorable?  (Nellie's Needle, The Maggie Bag) I found it a while back, but hadn't made the time to sew them up.  I picked out fabrics from the stash and I think that they suit the girls perfectly.  They're gonna love them, I know! The black and bright kitty print has Bekah's name all over it, while the softer colors are more Eva's style.  The pattern looks simple- no snaps or zippers or anything.  And I think my serger will come in handy.  The only problem is finding time to sew when they aren't underfoot.  A challenge to be sure. Might have to lock the quilting room door and post a sign about some top-secret machinations goin' on.

It's the day before Thanksgiving and I still haven't made up the menu.  I have a nebulous idea of what we'll be having, but I need to pound out a list.  The kids all fix one dish, each, and I've made some pies- 4 pumpkin and 1 apple.  Grandmother made a fresh apple cake.  There's a turkey thawing.  Toast in a bowl for dressing.  Eva already made the cranberry salad. Paul's called dibs for making the green beans.  (And to set the record straight, no- absolutely no- green bean casserole in my house.  Seems like a perfectly  awful waste of a green bean- cream of mushroom soup?  Really? blech!)  Grandfather brought the creamed corn and he also made enough chex mix and caramel popcorn to feed us for days. (I had chex mix for breakfast- figured it was made out of cereal, after all.)  Mashed potatoes, gravy- I make good gravy, squash casserole and rolls... that should do it.  All very traditional.  No need to mess with tradition- it's only once a year.  Now see?  You helped me with the list.  I'm well within the parameters of having a successful day of cooking.        

Success!

Jacob(18y) had a good day in the woods. 

Yellow was her favorite color

775th post...

How about that? 

My sweet William's mother slipped off the corruptable for the incorruptable, today.  Death can be a long, slow, sticky ordeal.  But she's free now.  Free to be the vivacious person she was in years' past.  She was a godly woman.  A devoted daughter, faithful wife, loving mother, doting grandmother, steadfast friend, a talented artist and zealous servant of Christ.  Will and I sat vigil these past two days and, as with most men, it was difficult for him to sit... with nothing to be done. He read Phillippians and the gospel of John to her- she always loved it when he would read to her.  He sang to her.  He reassured her that it was alright, telling her often that he loved her, and that he was right there with her.  How difficult to watch the man you love loose something so precious to him. He wept over her... and yet, while he felt such loss, he would smile and state loudly- as only he can- how wonderful she must be feeling at this very moment. Now, on to all the stupid little details that need attending to.  Finally, something for him to do.  His sister is flying in tonight and I'm sure she will work out all the artistic nuances and leave him to the practical.  And maybe some sleep.         

Middle border to piece yet

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

Felt real good to spend the morning sewing.  Been awhile.  Too long, really.  And yes, I've other things I should be doing- who doesn't?  But I'm feelin' pretty good about not starting anything new but working on something that had already been stashed away for quite some time.  All I did was sew the blocks together and cut some strips for an inner border.  A modest accomplishment. Sometimes you need a morning like that. The sun was even shining for me. So I did my little bit, left a note for myself and boxed it back up.  Might have to reward myself with starting something new... ya never know.

Abe's color-coded my pins- I feel guilty if I don't put them back in the proper place.

 Changin' Tunes...

Seeing how this is the month of special thanksgiving, I've decided to suspend my whining.  Never fear, I'm keeping a list for future reference.  But in the spirit of the season, I'd like to spend some time being thankful.  A thankful heart is a happy heart and I've got plenty to be thankful for.  Mind you, this week's thanksgivings might could double as a whine... old habits die hard and all that. 

My house is scattered with the evidence of my very creative children.  Every nook and cranny spills over with their imaginative activities.  They make me smile and it's nice to see that they aren't being stagnant little lumps of mashed couch potatoes.  And I won't say it, but you can see where this might have it's drawbacks.  I won't say it, no I won't.  But a picture paints a thousand words so let the evidence speak for itself.  

Eva's adorable homemade doll- on top of a quilt I'm gonna get to, next.

Joe's metal sculpture- I can't find the right way to display it... so it sits on Grandma's hutch..

One of John's mysterious inventions- in the cd collection.

One of Jacob's knives- tucked in with my wall quilts.

Bekah's collage- how cool is that?  On my design wall.

John's efforts in making notebook covers- scattered over his sewing desk.

Eva's artwork- on my quilting room desk.

A collection of Abe's paper airplanes- in the walkway.

But blessings all the same and I am very thankful for the frequent reminders of these people who are so very precious to me.  I'd enjoy hearing about one of your "everyday" blessings.