Another Rail Fence Quilt for the USO

This quilt top has been finished for a while, I just needed to get the binding sewn on it. And that is now finally done! Yay!  This one will also be going to the USO Lounge at the local airport, but it does look pretty happy right now on that patio swing, doesn't it!

Here are views of it in all its cuddly-ness. The backing is a Waverly home decor fabric, a paisley, and the binding is a diagonal brown and white stripe. I'm pretty sure someone, or maybe lots of someones will enjoy napping under this one.

For some time now, I've been seeing the beautiful work done by Sheila at SewCookandTravel. I love how she uses the tiniest scraps of fabric to made pot holders. Yesterday, I got one of the beauties in the mail from her for my very own! This is the front and back sides of the same pot holder. Is it not gorgeous? Thank you so much, Sheila. Your kind, loving heart just blesses me!

Our son came by for lunch today and brought me these so cool Rottweiler socks! I do love happy surprises!

And in the sewing room, there is some sewing together of quarter square triangles happening. We have a cold front coming in tonight (not cold by some of your standards, but  by Houston's!).  

I do hope you're having a good weekend, so far. Even in times that are not always the most fun, there are always so many things for which to be thankful, and I am!

Hugs and kisses,

Don's Quillt

Don is a friend of ours from church. He is one of the bravest people I know.  Don has been battling ALS (Lou Gherig's Disease) for a while now. It is a fight each and every day. 

In his former life, Don was very active physically. He enjoyed climbing mountains, among other things. I wanted to convey the sense of mountains somehow in this quilt and this is what I did.

His sweet darling wife Betty told me he is also fond of bears and dogs, hence the backing.

In my book, he is still a mountain climber, even if the mountains are of a different kind.

Here is the quilt after a run through the washer and dryer.

And the bear!

This is just how it started. I had some fat quarters of a McKenna Ryan line which I cut in strips and sewed back together, along with some batiks, to form a sort of landscape for the background of the many strips portraying the mountainous landscape with only a little bit of sunshine thrown in for happiness. 

Don has just completed rehab and is back at home now after a fall and a broken hip. Yes, more mountains to climb. And by the way, he loves his quilt!

With Hurricane Harvey and all the extra rain we got, the fig tree decided it might be Spring again and put out a lot of new fruit. Most things, though, just had so much water they retreated to rest until a new day.

On the plus side, the African violets in my kitchen window has gone wild with the blooming! I love it! Oh, and the vegetable beef soup was mighty good, too! Not soup weather yet, but we're getting there.

I know I've been absent from here for far to long. I've been struggling physically and having a hard time even getting around. I'm seeing a new doctor and have started a medication that shows promise. There is hope! And that's a very good thing. I'm thankful.

I do hope all is well with each and every one of you. We are all mountain climbers in our own way.

Hugs and kisses,