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.  

A Little Catching-Up - Just a Little

The end of the year is here, and I realize I haven't blogged for 6 months.  Don't doubt - I have had PLENTY to say, and yet, a variety of things have held me back.  I ponder what to do with this blog -do I continue, do I end it?  I've talked about that before. I'm not too great at being consistent.  I find that flows into many areas of my life, that lack-of-consistency thing.  But as the 31st of 2012 approaches, I ponder and ponder and evaluate and plan to move on ahead.

  Here are a few random thoughts about where I am now.

~I have been in a bit of a funk for several months.  I was released from my calling in my church, where I was serving as a leader of women in about 7 congregations.  That was a tough release - and I have questioned the reasons why.  Yet, it happens, I understand that,  but I miss it.   Because of that calling, I chose my words carefully here on this blog because I never know who reads what I write.  I stayed away from controversial issues.  I'm not sure I will do that now.

~About the same time as my release, we had our national presidential election. I am very politically passionate.   Now,  I am still in  mourning about the results.  Some days I can  hardly breathe.  I have chosen for now to ban all TV news from my home or at least when I am in the room.  I don't listen to talk radio anymore for now.  I am trying to live my life in my little home and am being involved in my church and with my family and friends I trust.  That's the only way I can cope with it right now.

~We've done several home improvements. I will try to catch up on some of that.  Maybe it will help someone else before they paint their kitchen cabinets WHITE!!

~My daughter L continues with health problems - it's been 15 months now.  She will be 21 next month, and has hardly any college credits nor has she been able to work.  I work with her daily on health issues, drive her to doctors' appointments, watch TV with  her, and do all I can to keep her moving and feeling positive.  I honestly don't always feel positive about her challenges, but we keep going.

~I've become obsessed with the Pioneer Woman.  I adore her.  More on her later!

These past six months since I last blogged I have endured disappointments, felt certain prayers are going unanswered, certain righteous desires go ignored, fought with people about politics and their  views about certain Mormon Women's issues that I do not understand (ok, well, I didn't literally FIGHT with them, but there were a few discussions that I'd call more than a casual chat).   I have also been blessed daily to have a husband who loves me and supports me always and forever, and two dear friends who keep me moving and who listen to my whining.  I have lots of blessings, truly.

I think I'm ready for a new beginning and a new year.

I  suppose I will have to WAIT a few more days.....

Dining Room Re-do and China Hutch Transformation

I've been DIYing again.... scary, I know.  There are usually casualties and lots of brain cells that nearly explode each time I attempt it.  In all honesty, there are sometimes some tears, too.  I must say that this time, so far, it has gone pretty well.

I jokingly put on Facebook the other day that I wanted to re-do my entire home in blues, aqua, and greens.  I know those colors are very popular.  They have always been my favorites.  I got approval of such an attempt from several of my decorator friends.  Fabulous!   My teen-aged bedroom was decorated in those colors - wayyyyy back in the 70s.  I speak truth.

My living room, kitchen, and dining room are quite neutral.  I plan to continue to decorate with a lot of neutrals, because I think it is a classic look.  However, these rooms have too many browns, and the walls are a very light buttery color.  The dining room has a wall that is way too gold for me.  I eventually want to paint them all in a grays - since gray is the new cream. Haha.....

For the record, my living room has had turquoise/aqua in it for YEARS.  I was way ahead of the trend.  Yes, I was.  Proof:

My great-grandmother crocheted this beautiful doily in the late 1910s, and my grandmother framed it like this in the 1960s.  I never wanted to change it because I LOVED her bold style with that color, and I knew that some day I would have a room that matched it.  It has hung on my wall for years, even when it didn't match the decor because I'm bold that way.  Or, just lazy.  Or, sentimental?  Your guess.

I have had this hutch in my dining room since 1996, which I purchased at Salvation Army, with every intention of painting it, and every possible reason why I would mess it up.  So, I never tried, until Pinterest inspired me- yep!  Again! 

 I found information and inspiration from this blog, Lolly Jane:

I also found help on this one.  I really like Kimba's blog, "A Soft Place to Land" - I read it all the time!  Thanks, Kimba!  Here is one of her finished products:

She had a great tutorial on painting furniture.  I read many others as well.  Here is how I approached it:

I do not sand.  I bought Zinsser water-based Primer/Sealer.  I don't do oil-based paint, either. I'm a wimp.

I did two coats.  I really wanted it to be primed to death.  It took forevvvver.  I tried to tape off the many windows - didn't do great with that.  I had to do a lot of scraping afterwards.  Lesson learned.  Next time I think I'll just cut in.  I can often do that pretty well, but the tape I used kind of made it more frustrating.  I did not sand in-between primers.  Isn't that the point of using NO SANDING Primer?  Hmm.....

Sorry, some photos are a bit blurred from my Iphone.

I then used Valspar Crystal Aqua in their Signature line from Lowe's.  The paint lady at the store told me it would cover wonderfully.  It did ok.... I had to go over it in some areas where it didn't easily cover the primer.  In hindsight, I perhaps should have tried some of the Cabinet paint from Home depot or TruValue.  Apparently Lowe's doesn't have that type of line.

Here is the finished product:

The hardware is original all except the four round ones.  The knobs and pulls all match pretty well, I think.  Since I am NOT a very good photographer, the light doesn't really show very well what the color is.  Here is  a picture from my phone which shows the color a little better:

So, there you have it.  I love it very much!  I only spent 16 years hating it.  Great.

I also redid the tablescape on my antique buffet.  I have had this for about 25 years - it's at least 100, I think.  A woman gave it to me for $100 when it was worth WAY more.  She was moving to an RV and wanted it gone!  So, it went - straight to my house.  I love it.

Now it looks like this:

I dislike the wall color, but as I said it will eventually be painted.  I have been playing with these items to get the best look for them together.  I have been trading other things on and off the buffet to see what will work for now.  Got any suggestions?  I'm not sure sure if it works yet. I may get a table runner, too. What I really want it to look like is this, but I can't find the big vases/candleholders anywhere.  I went to about 5 stores.  Sigh.



Do you love this?  I love this window.  My friend, Kaylene, gave it to me a while back and I have been waiting for the right spot and right time to use it.  I love this:

So, there you have it.  I"m trying!

I am pleased with the progress.  I want the walls painted now.  They won't be, so.... 
I'll have to WAIT a little while.....

A DIY Casualty

So, after my painstaking DIY lamps, one of my naughty kitties knocked this over and broke it:

Drat.  I actually saw some lamps I liked at Target the other day for just a few bucks more than I had spent on these puppies.  Sometimes I wonder about all this DIYstuff, ya know?

Master Bedroom A-comin' Along

So, my little sewing/office/craft room is doing ok.  I try to keep it clean.  I love to sit in it and work, and I love to sit in it and not work.   That's the truth.

I have been going back and forth about the bedroom side of this project.  I couldn't decide what colors to use other than the wall color.  I bought a duvet cover and shams that I love, but what else was I going to do?  I've searched and Pinned and pondered.

Then, last Monday, I found a new designer that clicked for me!  She is an LDS mom and I found her... on Pinterest.  True story.  You must look at Sita Montgomery's boards and blog.  I saw her own kitchen posted and was immediately searching for more information about her work.

She did a design for a client, and posted the design board.  Then, I fell in love.

Design by Sita Montgomery

I already had the right wall color, and browns and white in the bedding I had purchased.  This is what took me to painting my new Goodwill lamps the color aqua.

And THEN, I got a really wild idea.  I have two very old nightstands.  One is from Goodwill and purchased years ago.  I always intended to paint it, but I didn't because I am a chicken.  

The other one was my parents'.  I love it.  It is sturdy and it reminds me of them.  I have never done anything to it.

  I decided to paint the Goodwill one a lovely blue - kind of a royal blue.  I NEVER decide to do something  in the morning and then complete it by that night.  NEVER - I usually have to stew and second-guess my decorating abilities over and over.  With the encouragement of my friend Traci, I decided to go for it. Hubby was out of town, and coming home the next day!  I had to get it done - I wanted to surprise him!  

First, I cleaned his stuff out of it.  Holy moly - what IS all that stuff??

I primed it with some oil-based primer from Lowe's (ew, so I used an old brush so I could just throw it out).  And then.....   I went for it!!

And what, you ask, is that little hole in there?  We must have cut it out for an electrical cord at some point.  

And, here it is in its proper location:

The little handle is... a ... paper clip.  Yes, I still need to spray paint the hardware.  I will, I promise.

You can see from the pictures that I have no bed skirt.  I am doing this a little at a time, ya'll. But, I did get the perfect accent pillow after buying and returning about 5 different ones.  That is the truth.

So, here is the room thus far:

I know, I may need to move stuff around, but I LOVE these colors and the flowers!

The "shrine", updated....

There's that perfect accent pillow...

The bed will hopefully soon look more like this:

This is found at The Yellow Cape Cod, another great blogger/designer.

Here's what I have left to do (since I'm sure you are all so very fascinated and curious):

~Paint the other night stand

~get a new bed skirt, or sew one

~get new sheets and a coverlet

~get new blinds

~sew some simple valances or curtains - I have a lot of muslin left over from the wedding events, so I may use that

~get a new pillow -dang, my neck has been hurting!

~find places for the redistributed files that were moved out of the new office area... dang, I don't know what to do with them!

~wall art - I have mostly none.

I want it done NOW!

But, as you know, I'll have to WAIT a little while.....

Master Bedroom Lamp Love - Or, Like.

I have become a DIY crazy woman lately.  Pinterest is a blessing and a curse - maybe I mentioned that before?  I have only spray painted things a few times, but while redecorating my bedroom, I decided that I really didn't want to spend a lot on lamps for my nightstands right now.  So, Pinterest helped with my plan.

I took a little trip to Goodwill.  I found the ugliest colored lamps possible that would have matched my home in 1985.  True story.  I have photos to prove it.  

Here are the ones I picked out:

3 buckeroos!

Aren't they so lovely?  

I wasn't even sure yet what color to paint them.  Sad, but so very true.  Low and behold, I found my new favorite blogger/designer, which I will spill about in my next post.  I chose aqua.  Oh, how I love aqua.  I primed them and then sprayed away with this lovely blue.

 And, after going to three stores,I found lampshades that don't fit very well, but they will have to do for now:

I love them like them enough for now.   Each lamp cost me about $13.

What else have I done?

You'll have to just 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....