A Memorial Quilt Honoring A Memorable Man

One of the first family members I met while dating my future husband was his brother-in-law, Craig.   I felt welcome from the start, thanks in part to his kindness.   He was at my wedding.  He loved his wife, my husband's sister.  He helped thousands of people during his short life.  He loved always. He supported our family in numerous ways through difficult challenges. He loved my children. Craig was a tease, a prankster, and a spiritual giant. He was a pill.  I adored him.

Last July, almost exactly a year ago, cancer took him away from us.  He fought a hard fight with his wife and 3 kids by his side continually, not to mention with the support of countless friends, church members, and extended family.   He is missed every day.

While staying in his home with his wife and daughter after the funeral, a wild idea popped in  my head.  I wanted to make a Memorial Quilt for his wife, Janet.  I wasn't sure how to approach it, but I just did.  I asked her how she'd feel about giving me most of his shirts so that I could make her a quilt. She was immediately for it.  So, away we went, purging closets and drawers.  Her requests were that 1), it be red, 2), that the University of Utah shirts be at the bottom, and 3), that a BYU shirt be in the middle since SHE was a BYU fan, and she was the one left behind.  (The rivalry between those two colleges lived strong in their household).  I came home with a suitcase full of shirts and with hope to make something wonderful.

I'm not going to lie - this quilt was a challenge.  I had  made a t-shirt quilt before, but that one didn't have the weight of sadness with it. Sometimes I just couldn't think about it.  Also,  I had more cotton shirts than t-shirts for Craig's quilt, and I wasn't sure how to use them well.   I pondered, researched online, asked my friend Carrie for help, played with it, put it away, played with it again.  Sigh.  As the months went on, all three of Craig's children got engaged!  I decided that before the third one got married, I would finish the quilt.  So, the last few weeks have been busy!!

I faced many fears with this project.  It had to be beautiful and nearly perfect for  my dear sister-in-law.  This quilt had to be strong for years to come, for children and grandchildren.  No pressure, huh?   I am mathematically challenged sometimes, so when I design a quilt, (which I rarely do), I have to think it through a long time and check and re-check my calculations.  And, I knew that I had to do some free-motion quilting on the t-shirts, which scared me to death.  What if I messed up???   Ugh.  Lots of pressure.  I do this to myself frequently.

I  marched forward - I finished it 2 days before flying to Utah for the third child's wedding!  It would now be my wedding present to Janet, for marrying off all three of her dear children.

The moment of giving the quilt to Janet will forever be in my mind and heart.  She loved it.  She will cherish it, I know.  I hope during those moments when she misses Craig, that she can wrap up in it and feel his large, strong arms around her and feel some comfort while she waits for the eternities.

I love you, Janet.

Now, here are the photos:

 

On the Long-Arm, quilting away

Up close

C and J in the blue 4-patches, which were made out of his button-down shirts

A Stacked- Coin row of strips from his shirts, and the row below it
is a row of his pockets from the same shirts

This is his company logo - notice the right side from top to bottom.... see the cars?

All done and waiting for the Binding!

My dear sister

C and J Forever 

Christmas Quilt of 20-Something

Remember when I used to blog?  Yea, me too.  Today I shall blog about quilts.

I made this quilt for a Christmas present last year, but it was for Christmas the year BEFORE.  Follow that?  Haha....   It was for my brother-in-law and his family.  It was made from a kit I purchased at a quilt show.  

Well, here it is:

 

Up close, you can see the pattern used on the Long-Arm Machine 

The Kitties didn't want to give it up, but..... they did.  

Happy 2013! Yes, Happy!

I have had many thoughts over the past few days about this new year.  I am sure you have as well.  Sorry my last post was a downer - just call me Debbie - the Downer, that is.  I am working on that!

2012 was a year of growth and challenges, of joy and fun.  The best things about 2012 would be:

~We were blessed with a wonderful vacation with all five of us to Emerald Isle, North Carolina.  We stayed in a nice home right next to the beach.  We love love loved it.  I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Dang- a few of us are getting chubby.... gotta work on that!

~ I was able to serve the wonderful women of the Columbia Stake in many ways.  One of the most favorite would be planning our Women's Conference held in April.  WOW - what work that was!  Many sisters enjoyed it, and that is the point.

~ I went to "Time out For Women" with my good friends Carrie and Diane.  Tons of fun there, I tell ya!

~I visited Arizona and helped my niece recover from surgery by helping to take care of her little adorable baby girl. She recovered quickly and we had lots of play time!  I loved being with my nieces and nephews and their families.  They are such a joy.

~Hubby and I went on a 28th Wedding Anniversary trip to a lovely place in Virginia.  It was a pleasant get-away together.  L and I went to a family homestead in New York.  See that same blog post for information.

~I finished a couple of quilts.  I should have finished more - I will do that THIS year!

~We spent Thanksgiving with family in Tennessee.  YAY!

~I supported Hubby through two minor surgeries.  He is becoming quite a good patient!

~We worked on a lot of home improvements!  We are almost done with the necessaries.

~I have gotten to play in the Nursery at church on Sundays now for a couple of months.  THAT is pure fun with those little angels - well, except when a few are crying, but they are learning and getting over it and that is a blessing!  They are so dear!

~I discovered The Pioneer Woman.  I shall blog about her soon.  I love her.  I think I mentioned that.

~My teeny small business runs well and grows without me trying to grow it.  That is cool.

~I spent lots of wonderful time with my daughter sewing, laughing, and working on projects.  We gained a love for the TV shows Castle and Dr. Who.  In spite of her health problems, she is still a joy to me in so many ways.

~I discovered SongPop!  Oh my....do you  know that game?  It's too much fun.

~Christmas was fantastic.  B and B were home with us. I got spoiled. Hubby does that.  I love him.

So, there are some blessings!  Wow - I feel so  much better.  I should count the joy more often.  Yes, I think I shall.

But you'll have have to WAIT a little while for more of that!

Number 28 and A Knight In New York

Not that anyone has noticed, but I haven't blogged since Mid-March.  I am in a continual quandary as to what this blog should be about, and who actually might read it.  For posterity's sake, I shall blog today about two important events over the past 10 days.  So, Posterity, Pay attention!!

Event # 1:  Last weekend, on the 25th, Hubby and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary.  I know - That. Is. Old.  (Has anyone seen "The Kid"?  Classic line from that great movie).  I digress.

Hubby planned a weekend getaway to Winchester, Virginia.  We stayed in a lovely hotel and enjoyed lots of walking and window shopping, talking, visiting some historic museums, and reconnecting.

We visited the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley which was actually a really well-done museum and was very interesting!  The main house was closed due to restoration work, but the gardens were absolutely beautiful to walk in.

We also went to the Family Drive-in Theatre!  What a hoot!  I haven't been to one of those since I was a kid.  This is a wonderful place, and seriously is almost worth the drive as a family just to experience it.  The family who owns it has done a wonderful job preserving the heritage of a drive-in, and keeping it (generally) family friendly.  Since it was Memorial Day weekend, my favorite part was the Patriotic pre-show.  They played memorable America-loving songs and showed scenes on the big screens about our wonderful country, saluting those who have died in serving our country.  I loved it.  Thank you, Family Drive In!!

Oh, and we did watch a fun movie - Men in Black 3.

L stayed home and enjoyed 2 1/2 days of alone-time bliss.

Event #2:  Hubby had to fly far away out of town this past Friday, so L and I took a little road trip to upstate New York to reconnect with our roots and a little church history.  You see, I am a descendant of Joseph Knight, through his son Newel Knight, who are prominent people in the beginnings of my church.  They were by the side of Joseph Smith during the early days of the restoration.   They are both mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants, one of our books of scripture.

Well, about 3 weeks ago, I found out that the Knight Farm was being restored by some wonderful people, and they were dedicating a statue at this farm and opening up the home for all to see.  They were hoping to have some descendants to come and attend, in addition to local church members. I never even knew that the house still stood.  Most Knight descendants reside on the west side of the country - a few of us are transplanted back here in the East!  I stewed and pondered, and finally decided that I would probably kick myself if I didn't go on this little adventure with L and drive up there.  So, we did.

The farm is located in Nineveh, New York.  The first congregation of the church was established here by Joseph Smith and called the Colesville Branch.  Hyrum Smith, brother of Joseph, was the first leader of this congregation.  Newel Knight, my great-great-times-a-bunch grandfather was the second.  Many of the very first baptisms, including Joseph's wife, Emma, took place in the Susquehanna River just beyond the house and across a field.  This is sacred ground to members of my church.

The main purpose of this Open House was to dedicate a statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.  A little meeting  which included history, singing, and tears began the event.  I met a few distant relatives and enjoyed visiting with members of the church who live in the area and are so proud to be a part of this history now.  I was called "a Knight", which I have never been called in my lifetime.  But, I suppose I am and what an overwhelming thought that is!  To me, it is a legacy to live up to, and to cherish.  I am grateful for it and I am blessed.  It adds to my testimony of the restoration of the gospel and of the church.

I could write a great deal more about the history of this place, and all the wonderful things my ancestors did to support Joseph Smith in his mission to perform a most important work.  I won't - but if you want more information, I can recommend some great books!

Instead of writing, I will share a few photos of our experience in Colesville, New York:

View from the street

The Porch

A little history

Testimony of Newel Knight, hanging right in the front door

fireplace

A room upstairs being renovated - original floors

More original floors - imagine whose feet walked here

View from the back yard

The part of this well below ground is the original well, built by Joseph Smith and Joseph Knight (or at least that is my understanding)

Us - beyond the line of trees is the part of the river where baptisms had taken place

It was a wonderful couple of weekends.  I am blessed.  I wonder when I'll get another trip this summer?

Well, a great one is coming up in August, but I'll just have to WAIT a little while.....

Sewing Room, Office, and Craft Room - SOC room?

My Sewing, Office, Craft room is just about finished!  I am very happy with it.  Here is the main wall:

Here is the sort-of-before post.  If you follow me on Pinterest, you may have seen my "sewing/craft room" board.  I have implemented several ideas I collected there.  However, I must say that this spot is MY spot and most of the things in it represent something sentimental in my own life.  I doubt anyone else would love it as much as I do.

 I'm okay with that. 

I have my sewing on the left and office and computer on the right.  These things can easily be moved if the work space was needed for something else like scrapbooking or for doing other crafts.

Here are the details, from left to right:

The floral pink piece of art was painted by my Grandmother, Dee Dee.  More about her later. She was very creative and talented.  It seemed only appropriate to have something of hers in here.  A photo of her is also on the desk.

The wall decor under SewCute (purchased at Joann's) is made of 6 art canvases purchased at Michael's, and I just wrapped and pinned some of my favorite fabrics on them. The peg boards below were also purchased at Michael's (a box of 3, on sale!).  I don't really know what to do with them yet-you know, since I have all those fabulous DRAWERS now!  I will definitely hang more thread on the spool holder.  I also hung a little ribbon with mini clothes pins to hold photos of those for whom I've made quilts!  Fun!  I hope that the number of photos grows and grows.

The things on this shelf just make me smile. (Oops, I see a photo falling sideways!). Almost every item has meaning to me.  I won't bore you about each and every item, but will give a few highlights. The top shelf has a hand-sketched Christmas card from the 50s made by Dee Dee.  The little wooden doll was given to me by my dear mother, and it says, "You Are my Sunshine".  She used to sign every card and letter to me with that phrase. Sigh...

The wooden vase is hand -carved and purchased in the Dominican Republic when I was there as an LDS missionary.  The little framed cross- stitch piece is of the Seoul, South Korea LDS temple, made for me when we lived there in the early 90s by a lovely sister missionary.  I have a few wonderful Willow Tree statues given to me by people I love.  My children's senior pictures are here, and a sign from B that says, "If at first you don't succeed, do it like your mother told you".  I wonder how his new wife would feel about that?  Hahaa...    I cross-stitched the I Heart U sign for hubby many years ago.  I stole it back.

I of course included Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's statement, printed from a printable on Pinterest, about creativity from a talk in October 2008, 


"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul".

Bless this young woman who created this beautiful way to depict that important statement.  I look forward to lots of creating going on in this room.

Can you see the little teeny high-heeled pump on the bottom left shelf?

 That was my mother's.  It's a pin cushion.  I have always loved it.  It still has a few of her pins in it.  She always wore high heels - how appropriate.

Here's the wall on the right.  Nothing too exciting for you, but it speaks volumes to my heart and spirit.

The desks are from Ikea and were super easy to set up.  Hubby put the drawers (all those WONDERFUL drawers!) together for me.  Love.

Ok, on to more spots in the room:

This is the main piece that was inspired from Pinterest and from this blogger.  She designs fabric - how cool is THAT??  Wow.  Anyway, we did ours slightly differently.  I had wanted a longer cutting table than she had. We took two of the Expidit Ikea bookshelves and laid them on their side, and then bought one smaller one for the end unit.  At first we were going to have a big piece of wood-something cut to make a longer board than the one she has in her photo that would have covered the entire top area of these bookcases.  But, after I put my big white cutting mat on this, I liked it as it was.  We didn't push the two long bookcases up flush to each other, but there is a slight gap in between to make the mat fit better.  It is not secured - we will see if I regret that later.  If I do, we will try something different.

The end book shelf is empty for now - I am looking for hanging-folder baskets to fit right in there.  I have lots of files to go in them!  I am having trouble finding them.... sigh.  The basket on top has things in it that I love - little photo albums, Shel Sliverstein books (the best EVER!!), my Wicked program - just things to pick up, browse through, and feel a little joy.  It's my JOY basket, I suppose.

These shelves in a little cubby next to a closet are nothing fancy, and I want to replace a few of the boxes.

The white box on the bottom sits on a two-drawer file cabinet. Pretty boring, but necessary.

Can you tell I have a label maker?  YES, I do.  I love it.

The master-bedroom part of this makeover is not finished yet. You'll have to wait for that. Dang.

While I worked to prepare this room, I found myself thinking of my grandmother (Mom's mom), Ida Mae, who we grew up calling Dee Dee.  Dee Dee walked to the beat of a different drummer during her time.  She was very creative and loved beautiful things, floral things, shiny things.

I also thought a lot about my own dear mother, who patiently began teaching me to sew when I was ten.  Bless her dear heart.  What a gift they both gave me to desire to create, and to have some skills to do so. I think they would both be pleased with this space, and would have loved to sit in it and create with me.

I guess I'll have to WAIT a little while to find out....

Babble About Baby Quilts: the Great-Nieces

Two great-nieces were born within 5 months of each other!   More "hugs" had to be created for them as well.

Here is Abby's, born in May of last year:

The pattern was a free one at Moda Bake Shop called, "Sugar Baby".  Abby's momma didn't want pink.  So, this quilt is mostly yellow, green and red.  I added the huge ric-rac because it seemed unfinished.  I do hope that the ric rac doesn't take away from its cuteness if it folds up funny after washing.  Still, it seemed unfinished to me.... maybe it's the fabric I chose for the sashing.  At least that is what my teacher and dear friend Carrie said.  I do love the binding.  Happy colors!

Yes, I learned to make the back a LOT simpler!  Girly on the back, too - I love it.  And, here is sweet Abby getting hugged in it:

Isn't she beautiful?!!

Abby had a cousin born on Sept 9 - the day before B and B's wedding!  I didn't start Ayla's quilt until a few weeks after all the hustle and bustle.  Her mom wanted it very girlie and PINK.  So, pink it was!  I got the pattern out of a book.  I also learned to photograph it better since I knew I wanted to blog about my quilts.  Yes, she CAN be taught!

I'm blessed to have a friend with a long-arm who is willing to teach me how to use it, and willing to help me!

I love the pattern of the quilted swirly flowers.  

This quilt makes me so HAPPY!  I almost didn't give it up!

But, I did.  Isn't she cute!

I loved making these quilts. It brought me great joy to send some love and warmth to these precious babies. I adore their mothers with all my heart  - as I do all my nieces and nephews, and their spouses, AND the ones on hubby's side as well.  We are blessed.   I hope to make lots of quilts!

I started my 6th one which is a Christmas quilt that will be late....

They will just have to WAIT a little while!