Good-Bye to Acorn Quilts

 Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers for Cammy. She seems to be back to her old self. I am praying it remains that way and we don't have cycles of this issue. 

It has been a beautifully sunny day today. It was much needed!! Today, I packed up all my supplies and headed off to teach hand quilting at Acorn Quilt Shop.

Sadly, Acorn is closing the end of May, so this was my last class. I have been teaching there for 4 years now, since she first opened the shop. She is closing the doors for a month and then reopening as a vintage shop. I will sure miss my trips to that shop. 

I am blessed to live in a city that has several quilt shops, though none 1/2 a mile from my house! ;) I heard of a new one I did not know about today, so on Tuesday, I will be headed that way. I hear they have lots of Civil War repos...my absolute favorite kinds of fabrics!

I didn't leave empty handed today. I got several yards of fabric, and a new rotary cutter.

My rotary cutter is about 15 years old, and as I am cutting with it, the whole thing falls apart!! Not a good thing. I bought the exact same kind, cause I think 15 years is a long life. 

I spent yesterday basting my Simply Charming mini and the baby quilt. I love the backing for this cute little boy quilt.

I also have this pile of "stuff" next to my chair. My calendar, bill folder, and all the score keys for Charlotte's school books sit in a pile that ends up looking unsightly. I found this wonderful wooden box downstairs. I use to fill it with pine cones and set it on the fireplace. 

Everything nice and neat! As you can see, my Simply Charming book arrived yesterday! Oh the wonderful quilts in that book! It will be difficult to choose which one to make next! 

Looking forward to a very productive week. I hope the same for you!

Only God Is Perfect

 We all want our quilts to be as close to perfect as we can get them, but we also know that SOMEthing is going to go a bit wonky somewhere in the process. Usually it is in the piecing. An intersection may be a tad off, a point gets buried in the seam allowance, a pucker shows up out of no where. Well if you get through the piecing perfectly, the quilting is sure to get you....there will be some missed stitches along the way, a toe hanger may even show up, and you may go off course because you are watching television while you are quilting and they are announcing the Biggest Loser as you are stitching away! If by chance, a miracle happens and your quilting is perfect, the binding will destroy any chance of that perfect quilt. Mitered corners?? Really...and FOUR of them at that. You may get 1 or 2 perfect, but certainly not ALL 4!!! Well I did it!!!!! I made the perfect quilt. My piecing was flawless, my quilting could have won a blue ribbon and ALL 4 corners are beautifully mitered!!!!! 

It was PERFECT! I felt my chest puff out in pride and I knew I had attained something special, and in TWO weeks time...a new record for me!! Perfection felt AMAZING!!!! I am ALL THAT and a bag of scraps!!!! 

And then it happened!!! I spotted a flaw in the fabric. It was a tiny little flaw, but a FLAW....a perfect quilt has NO flaws. And this was not a flaw that could be left to itself....it would not hide. In fact, the trip through the washer and dryer would turn that tiny flaw into a full fledged hole!! What did I do??? I SOBBED! *picture Scarlet O'Hara throwing herself on her bed, wailing!* As I wept and mourned the perfect quilt, and wondered how I could possibly make another one in 2 days, I heard my Jesus' voice speak ever so softly to me. "Only I am perfect."  Oh. I was stunned. Of course I knew this....it is the "Quilter's Rule"...Only God is Perfect. I grabbed the quilt, ran to Joann's to get identically matched thread, and some fray check. I whip stitched that flaw, which OF COURSE made it look MUCH worse, and drop some fray check on there. I repented of my pride and puffed-upped-ness (yes, I may have made up that word) and threw that flawed quilt in the washer.....it came out of the dryer beautiful. I could find the flaw right away, but my kids couldn't....Charlotte found it after 10 minutes and the boys never did find it. It is there....a blob smaller than a pea, but larger than a pin head. 

And like this quilt, we are all flawed....none are perfect....Only God.  I think this is my favorite quilt. I believe baby Lincoln will love it and he may even find that flaw and rub it as he falls asleep....it may comfort him. I know it comforts me that it is there! 

Here is a peek at the back.....

I have moved on to the next baby quilt.... colors that make me happy.

And a pattern that makes me smile.

And I can guarantee you it will NOT be perfect!!!!!

The Best of my Life.....Quilting and Grandkids

I can not believe it has been 5 months since my last post. I wondered if I shouldn't just close down the blog, but I remembered it's main purpose.....for them.....

 

So what has been happening? TJ turned 8 last week. I had them for Spring break. 

He is growing so fast and I miss that baby boy. This trip he decided he did not need his morning hugs any more...he was 8 now, ya know! I had a heart to heart and convinced him those morning hugs would always be needed! Emerson is growing too!!

She is such a sweet girl, but a bit of a drama queen at times....

She was left out when the boys went down the street...she is still too little to go in the road. I let her come "quilt" with me and she got happy again. Speaking of quilting....she got her quilt!!!

She was thrilled with it. I was happy with it too. I have gotten a lot of quilting done over the winter months. I finished that baby quilt from the last post I made.

The texture was wonderful.

I also made 3 tied quilts for my 3 cousins. Their dad died several years ago and I made quilts using his flannel shirts. Robby and Meghan were very surprised to see them (Sarah was not there, but she got hers too).

I made several minis and a table runner...all gifts.

All hand quilted. Earlier tonight, I took the last quilting stitches in my latest project, a baby quilt for a shower on Saturday.

I will bind it tomorrow and have set a record for myself. I quilted this 50x50 quilt by hand in two weeks. It usually takes me 6....I will say I enjoy it more when I can take my time! 

My next project is going to be a scrap quilt....oh and 2 more baby quilts. There is a baby boom at my church!!! All the scraps are chosen and ready to cut.

I can't have a post without sharing the girls....Sassy is still queen of the castle.

Cammy has all the attitude!! She was being told to MOVE off of that quilt.....see the ears? She was giving me what Winona calls the "stink eye"!

I promise to come back SOON, and catch you up on my kids. Leave a comment and let me know you are still out there!!! ;)

Quilting and Cleaning

That title pretty much sums it up around here the last few days. I finally feel like quilting again!! Good thing too, cause I have 5 PIF gifts to get out. Sassy is always glad to help.

Another couple of helpers have been visiting weekly....
TJ helped make a cake for the Super Bowl dinner. He has his own apron here (one he made for me) and loves to help me in the kitchen whenever he can.
I think I may have a quilter coming up....While cutting backing and batting for a little quilt, my granddaughter was intrigued by the whole process!!! She laid that piece of fabric over the batting several times before she was happy with how it laid....She is ALWAYS at my side when I am working in the studio. I really think she will want to learn someday. How happy would that make this Grandma??!!
Once that little quilt was in the hoop, it only took a couple of days to quilt up. I sure love these colors...they are so ME, yet, they are so "someone else" too and will be making their way VERY west and VERY south.I got an itch to clean today. I mean REALLY clean. I don't know if it is the 45 degree weather (which feels like Spring to me) or the fact that we have all had nasty colds and it just feels "icky" in here, but the main floor got a good scrubbing! The kitchen took a BIG hit with the sponge.
Everything came off the walls, the counters were emptied and all things ON the counters along with the surface itself, were sprayed with Lysol cleaner and wiped down good! Both coffee pots, the knobs to the stove/oven, the microwave and even the salt and pepper shakers and cream and sugar holders were emptied and washed!It sure did need it, and it sure feels and smells clean in there now! Now to hit that Studio! It is left in shambles and Sassy loves it that way! Me?, not so much!!!!Praying you have all had a blessed weekend! Say a prayer for us....this next week could bring some VERY good news!!!

An Update Post

HOMEMAKING

The house is running smoothly. We have a nice routine here. My binder routines and schedules are memorized, so I rarely have to pull it out. Meals are simpler now with summer here. Lots of grilling out and salads and sandwiches.

QUILTINGThis update will be quite boring. I am still hand quilting the Hidden Star and NOT loving it. The fabrics are so busy that the stitches do not show. Like I said before, I think in the end the texture will be incredible. I want to get TJ's top done and in the hoop so I can switch back and forth....if I make myself quilt a block on the Hidden Star then I can reward myself with some sailboat quilting!! Emerson's quilt has been put on hold. If they reunite, there is no need to make her another quilt. 1 home, 1 quilt. 2 homes, 2 quilts. I am hoping for 1.

GARDENINGThe roses in Hope's Garden are blooming like crazy. I have to believe that is because she is there and God is blessing her spot! They are just gorgeous roses!

The vegetable garden is doing wonderfully also. The lettuce and onions are sprouting up and the pepper and tomato plants have blooms on them!Oops~there is a weed in there....I better get that!

SCHOOLWe are winding down our home school year. The kids have done well. Charlotte has an extra set of books to re-do. I won't go into that here, but suffice it to say, she is going to learn more than a social studies lesson! Zach wonders why he ever thought "add and carry was a drag". (can you tell he has "old" parents?) He passed his latest set of tests with flying colors. He starts in the Summer Day Camp once a week on the 9th. He will not be attending the private school next year...a decision Sweetheart and I made together....though Zach, Charlotte, and I will be very involved in the home school co-op next year.

KIDSThe shining light in our house came to me yesterday holding a fork above his head and asked, "What am I, Mom?" I guessed "The Statue of Liberty." "Nope", he said. "I am a fork lift!!!" That kid cracks me up!!!

FAMILYA HUGE congratulations to my niece Meghan! She graduated from Law School and will be taking her State Bar Exam very soon. This girl got a complete scholarship based on her academics. She was even given housing money. Her aspiration is to be a Judge. I know she will be a good one!!

SPIRITUALI have been in 1 Peter 1 for 3 days now. I read and meditate on it and will continue to until I feel released to move on. Words that pop out at me are, Mercy, Grace, Exile, Trials, Refining, Faith, Testing, and Holy. These 2 sections of scripture are especially meaningful for me right now:

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" 1 Peter 1:6-7

and

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." 1 Peter 13-19

"preparing your minds for action".....wow. Powerful stuff!

SASSYSassafras continues to grow (more wide than anything) and loves to watch out the window for bugs and birds.She plays hard and sleeps hard also! I can not imagine life with out Sass!Thanks for reading through my Update post. I love your comments, so please come out of lurkdom and let me know you are there and where you are from!