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,

Patricia's Quilt

Patricia is a very sweet lady at our church. I've been promising her a quilt for some time now, and it is finally finished!

The backing is this delicious bright pink! I used more of it for the binding.

Our friend Patricia likes bright colors and lots of them! I think she will really enjoy getting acquainted with this quilt.

After its trip through the washer and the dryer. Doesn't it just look so cuddly? It is!

The pattern is one I've made several times before. I make four patch units all the time. Some, like these I join into sixteen patch units. I used the Go! Cutter to cut half square triangles (die #55031 4 1/2 inch) out of Kaffe Fassett and Philip Jacobs fabrics. I alternated white-on-white backgrounds with beige tone-on-tone backgrounds. The sashing is a Kaffe Fasset print and the aqua cornerstones ( 2 1/2 inch square) are mirage fabric from Connecting Threads. The outer border is also a Kaffe Fassett print. I am very pleased at how this one finished!

Pretty flowers outside are in short supply. All the heat followed by lots of water, followed by more heat has just about done it for a lot of them. The chickens, however, are still having a wonderful time!

I lost a little bit too much weight, so I am trying to get at least some of it back. Ice cream always helps.

That look on Buddy's face when I tell him he's not getting any of it! LOL!

With all its trials and struggles, life is still good, and there are always so many things for which to be thankful! I do hope you're having a really good week!

Hugs and kisses,

After Harvey

This picture was taken out our front window at eight o'clock Sunday morning, August 27th. The street in front was already flooded.

This was taken at 4:55 that afternoon. As you can see, the waters had continued to rise. It was a little bit scary for a while, but thank God, we had no damage at our house. No water came into our home and we didn't even lose electricity. We were extremely blessed and fortunate.

This was taken Monday, August 28th at  2:48 p.m. The street at that point was no longer flooded. It took several days for the water to go down enough to get out of the neighborhood, and several more days for stores to be open and stocked. 

There are LOTS of people who have lost everything in this storm, not just here but all along the Upper Gulf Coast. There are have been so many wonderful stories of people who came from all over the country to help in our time of need. Many of them are still here. However, I am pretty disgusted at some of the big name charities who have raised millions and will take most of it with them when they leave. May God have mercy on them. 

I haven't share these two quilts that my friend Sandy made for the local airport USO lounge. They are made with the same pattern, different fabrics, and of course different backings. Aren't they pretty!

Here are three of our little girls. They are growing up! I think they will probably start to lay eggs sometime around the first of November. I'm really looking forward to that.

I've been working on this one for a dear lady at our church. There's a border yet to be added and then it will be ready to quilt.

And this is another of rail fence blocks being sewn together. It will be going to the USO lounge, too.

Thank you so much to those of you who have inquired about our safety. I appreciate your care and concern. There are always so many things for which to be thankful, aren't there?

Hugs and love,

The Red and Black Quilt

I have finally finished the red and black quilt for our niece! This has been a fun quilt to build. I will not even talk about how imperfect I have made it, but will say that a lot of love went into it.

The backing is a red tonal fabric and the binding is a red and black wonky stripe.

Love the crinkly-ness of it fresh out of the wash and dryer. We'll deliver this one tomorrow and I believe she will be pleased.

Here it is again, just sort of rumpled up on the porch swing. Doesn't it look cuddly?

We are hunkered down in the August heat here in Houston. Nothing new, you just have to live through it! Thank God for air conditioning!

As you can see, small chickens take up a good part of my attention these days. They are just endlessly amusing and entertaining to me.

My young friend Buddy is impetuous at all times and last month he rushed out past me, knocking my knee sideways. Not good. I've been going to physical therapy. Thank God, there is no major damage, just a strained tendon. No fun, but with continued diligence on my part to continue the exercises, all will be well.

I do hope all is well with you and that you have plenty to amuse, entertain and make you happy!

Hugs and kisses,

Dog Days of Summer

This is Mr. Muddling's Lady most every morning She does NOT want to get out of bed. As a matter of fact she moves right into his spot as soon as he gets up and leaves the room.

We lost one of our baby chicks, a Black Australorp. No sign of what did it, just gone. This little Buff Orpington was poorly at the same time, but we have been giving her special attention and she seems to be one the mend. We had to remove her from her sisters. Chickens believe in the rule of survival of the fittest even at a young age. It is never a good idea to leave one with the flock that is even slightly sickly!

The rest all seem to be healthy and happy and we are trying to give them extra cold things to eat and drink to help with the heat. I don't want to lose any more!

The is the progress I've made on this one. I plan at least one more row of black and neutral blocks on each side. I'll sew it all together then and see if I need to add more. It IS fun and it IS easy, but it is taking forever!

There are still pretty things outside, front and back. A lot of them are in pots though! But still, life is good and there is always so much for which to be thankful. And I am. God is good!

I hope there's lots good going on where you live!

Hugs and kisses,

Space Sock Monkeys

Sometimes you just need to finish something, and I did! I've had this little quilt cut out for a while, and it seemed like a good time to get it finished. I think this one will go to the USO lounge at the local airport.  The volunteers there tell me parents really appreciate having a quilt to put down on the floor and let little ones stretch out and play a bit.

It is bright and colorful all over. There is a diagonal stripe for the binding and I've just about used up all this wild flannel stripe on the back.

Nice and crinkly after it's trip through the washer and dryer.

I've been working on this one now. I saw the pattern originally on Jordan Fabric's YouTube channel. I was intrigued and tried to figure out how to cut it. I failed. Then she added instructions and told what ruler to use to do the cutting! Yay! 

Here's a link to the sewing instructions. This one shows that you can use the same block to make two different quilts, but it also shows the ruler and the cutting instructions.

Whenever I finally finish this one, it will be going to our niece. She said she wanted one in red and black. Lots more blocks to make, but it IS all straight line sewing.

Summer has arrived in Houston. Some time ago, actually. Not that much exciting going on outside, but there is always entertainment in the chicken yard. Buddy wants to play with them so bad!

Finally, I think I'm all caught up! I hope you're having a wonderful week, full of good things to see and enjoy!

Hugs and kisses,

Mike and His Drunkard's Path

Here is a little better look at the quilt I posted in my last epistle. I was inspired by Wanda's Bouncing Balls. I love reading Wanda's blog and seeing her artistry combining color and pattern. I, unfortunately, have not reached her level of color sense. Not even close, But I have fun anyway!

Mike has a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. According to all medical prognostications, he should have been dead long ago, but he's not and we are all glad!  Especially his sweet wife Tracey!  Mike has been having some new challenges lately and our pastor asked me to make him a quilt. Mike ONLY wears plaid shirts and jeans, so this seemed like a perfect fit for him, and sure enough he loved it. I am extremely thankful I can do this, make these quilts, to gladden hearts and comfort and hopefully always impart the love of God.

And yes, the JOY of the Lord is our strength. Even if you have to go down a drunkard's path to get it! 

You can't see it really well, but even the backing is men's shirting, a pinstripe this time.

I'm doing a little catch up blogging, so get ready, there will soon be another!

Hugs and kisses,