Children are a Gift From the Lord

I have a very precious friend who makes it her aim to encourage me in countless ways. It has been a rough year for me, and she has been careful to prop me up time and again. It has been a big year for her as well, and so in my estimation, her care about me and care of me, is even more precious.

Early in the year, my friend, we'll call her "Charlotte", in an effort to affirm my gifts and provide me with some worthwhile work, gave me my first official quilt commission. Two in fact! She asked me to create cuddle rugs for newborns arriving in August and September. 

Charlotte has always praised my creativity. She makes me feel that my artistic flair is a remarkable aspect of, me! That it's a gift that translates into good for my family and others. During a time when I was questioning my own value, Charlotte wisely provided me with an opportunity to be my(valuable)self- to be my busy-hands, colour-loving, ticking-with-ideas, creative self. I can hear her say, "this is a season where you can be yourself". Ahhh, my clever Charlotte could see the connection between quilt commissions and a reworked self esteem.

So let me share a few photos, taken throughout this year, of the process of creating baby quilts, which started a lot of other good things too.

One of the many things I admire about Charlotte is that she operates in advance. (Such a bewildering concept!) So we began well in advance of those August and September due dates. This meant we didn't yet know if I was sewing for a boy or a girl, and I took the punt that one of each could work. We shopped for a pretty palate of softly-coloured, delicate prints for mystery baby #1. I decided to set these prints amongst crisp white triangles and used a pattern from one of my favourite designers, Rita of Red Pepper Quilts. (Each week I look forward to her progress posts with gorgeous photos and details of the new baby blankets Rita creates. She has surely made one client after another extremely delighted with their purchases!)

An aspect of patchwork that I avoid like the plague is quilting. I knew that I would need to overcome my reluctance to stitch through all the layers this instance. I have a new-to-me beautiful Janome that I believed would take some of the perceived sting out of the process. I've worked in the shop's workroom long enough to know the how-to's of prepping for quilting and I was careful to pin baste this puppy to within an inch of its' life!

I discovered the extremely gratifying outcome of the '6 (edited) p's of preparation' and how they relate to performance.

And, I established a respectful rapport with my new machine and its' dual feed built-in walking foot, learning early on that slow and slooower-er-er and very steady is the only way a new quilter should approach this task. Big tick✅, I have nicely machine quilted my first ever (tiny, mind you) piece! The 'nicely' bit is the imperative here, -I knew I could quilt it poorly, I didn't know I would quilt it well, and ENJOY THE PROCESS!

Ahhhh, that is where we leave this little candy-coated quilt for a princess, because, you see, the baby BOY, for whom I was sewing, as it turned out, would require something less dainty. Both boys would, in fact!

So, we moved on to this stack of ultra cool, urban looking prints. Isn't variety the spice of life? For me, the more prints, the merrier! And what could be better than starting a new project midstream? I have no problem with that, at all. Charlotte encouraged me to use my own design this time, and that's just more fun too, as far as I'm concerned. 

I focused on this dear little seagull in his yellow galoshes, and kept it so so simple. Sometimes, the straightforward just works. 

The 9-patch block I used is an old and basic utility block. The clever bit to this quilt is the way the colours jump and play around together, and the name we gave it, which we came up with together - "Puddle Jumper", after the yellow-booted birdy hopping round the blocks in his rain gear. And that's it. Simple, sweet. 

More happy time spent practising quilting!

(I love the 'Big Finish' of the royal blue stripe!)

And it was packaged up on time (but not early, never early, (so sorry Charlotte!)) for the dear little fellow that was prayed over throughout the process!

And boy, did that feel GOOD!

Little boy #2's rug proved a bit more painstaking in its' design inception, and required one, two, three do-overs. Do you know that sometimes, if it sees too much use, you must replace your seam ripper? Haha! I discovered this fact! A new, sharp, "un-picker" works wonders! 

After much debate during the design wall stage, and miles of reverse sewing, "Baby Gem" was finally finished! You can pray a lot for a youngster when you have to sew and pick and re-sew a few times over! It was my pleasure.

"Children are a gift from the Lord", Psalm 127 sings out. Charlotte asked me to include this promise somewhere on the quilt, and so stitched into the binding is this very testament. It's a tiny bit of print which packs a big message - God's good Word always does. It's a reminder that these boys are a promised blessing to their parents, of the Lord's generosity to us, all things coming from Him, and of His amazing, intricate, unique creations...each of us!

A Day Well Spent

Yesterday was full of good things! And I will be careful to chronicle its' events, first as eucharisteo; "to find the gifts and the grace in the moments of each day", but also, to act as a reference; grace and gifts stored, nudging out any foothold gained by a gloom that follows close, even the following day! "Count and Name your blessings" - years ago, a Rhode Island woman, Pixie Wright, held my hands and looked into my eyes as if to will into me this truth. I will never forget the impact of her words. So here goes the listing of yesterday's blessings:

Saturday morning began by packing up the car with many pretty props which I would use in my quilting presentation at a local Support Group called Flourish. At this point, I was a little nervous, being stretched beyond my comfort zone, (I've never considered public speaking to be my strength), yet keen and even anticipating the opportunity, confident that I had something worthwhile to share. Let me say, I wasn't certain I would communicate perfectly, but I was counting on my pretty quilt visuals to get me over the line. So I wrapped myself up in the tangible hug that a quilt can offer and set off, review and set-up logistics competing with tummy flutters and let's face it, that rushing/running-slightly-behind-schedule-yikes-feeling.

Flourish "is a support group for people who have a physical disability, disorder or chronic illness, or who have family members affected, or who work in the area of disability".
The meeting includes discussion time, small group interaction, 'compassion knowledge' and a segment which includes performing or creative arts. I gave a great deal of thought to what I would say about this hands-on topic, knowing that some in the group do not have the use of their hands. Honestly, I didn't end up with an answer to this, except that I wanted to inspire and encourage, and I prayed to this end. One of my first assurances upon arrival, was from the group's facilitator Jenny, who explained to me the therapeutic impact of a beautiful visual for a person suffering with a chronic condition. I hope I'm not oversimplifying it Jenny, but my interpretation of what you said, is that the stimulating visual can be a distraction from pain, it can be the something lovely to concentrate on in the midst of the difficult, it's like the pop of good to dwell on that can spark the series of positive thoughts...  What great motivation for creating an eye-catching display from my bank of quilts. Quietly, I offered up a prayer that my work could be a means, even during this next hour, of someone feeling encouraged or better off.

You can imagine my pleasure when at the end of the morning, the other guest speaker, school psychologist Chris, came to me and said that one of my quilts in her line of vision became the help she needed during her presentation. Chris was a beautiful communicator, passionate and inspiring, but she said she felt nervous (not apparent to the rest of us!) and kept referring to my (well Charlotte's)  'birds of a feather' quilt and this calmed her and gave her focus!

The morning unfolded with several more highlights. I met Sandra. Her eyes lit up with pride when she introduced herself as a fellow quilter. She told me of her quilting resume and I do believe her expertise far outshines mine. Her hands will no longer co-operate,and many projects now lay idle, mid-process. This is sad. But somehow in her telling, I sensed Sandra's pride that these unfinished quilts, rather than reflecting what she can no longer accomplish, are pure evidence of her wealth of creativity - the overflow of ideas that you have to put to fabric and stitches whether or not they ever become completed pieces.

I spent some time in a small discussion group with Marjorie, Gladys and May. Beautiful women walking hard paths but they encouraged me greatly. I have 2 new telephone numbers, how often does that happen? Crossing paths is never a coincidence.

Can you tell that in the midst of it all, I failed to take any photos? Well, only one in fact. 

This is Michael. I was drawn to his sweater vest instantly and hoped he'd understand 'what I'm on about'. And sure enough, he seemed enthused. He is a local mosaic artist, a Kaffe fan (Kaffe Fassett first began his career in the medium of mosaics and yarn) and Michael's vest is actually from a Kaffe pattern. No wonder it caught my eye. Michael's work is entirely commission based, and ALL his profits are sent to Africa for a project dear to his heart. 

I had hoped I wouldn't be asked any questions. ??? I guess because, I could prepare as much as I liked for my talk, but audience participation is an unknown. But, of course, the questions were welcomed and easily answered. Silly me. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my morning. I didn't see the rolling out of blessing coming my way but am thankful for it! 

It continued, once back at home, with a healthy lunch prepared by in-house nutritionist Anna, and a car ride where we shared that comfortable companionship and easy chit chat while enroute to Leah's Open Day. Miss Bird's year 6 classroom is alive with colour and creativity. She displayed her student's work and art everywhere and those children must have been so proud to present their efforts to their families and visitors. What a lovely rapport Leah enjoys with her colleagues and her students. I hope the flow of praise buoyed her up! 

What a great day! 

Thank you to Jenny for the opportunity to speak at Flourish - what a great kickstart to the day!

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Did you know September 8th - 14th was Invisible Illness Week? I only learned of it yesterday morning.
Over 133 million people live with a chronic condition. In my own circle of family/loved ones/friends/acquaintances, I know people who bravely walk through each day with Lyme, rheumatoid arthritis, depression, chronic fatigue, addiction, anxiety, migraines, diabetes, insomnia, endometriosis, mental illness, cancer, eating disorders - their struggles and pain and symptoms largely hidden to others. 

Old Habits, and Getting Comfortable

The Birdie family has some nice, new sofas. 

Can you spot that sweet Labrador on the left in this photo? He feels displaced as he can no longer recline in his usual place-of-preference. (The old sofas) Poor baby.

For several days, Bower didn't know where to put himself! Giving credit to his intellect, he only had to be told once and then understood clearly that this new furniture was strictly NO PETS ALLOWED!

But the old fellow really didn't know what to do while hanging out with his pack in the living room! He would stand around and look at us pathetically, pace the room and whine unhappily. He stood through a few nights of "The Block", which made us all feel bad, and so, I took action - he now has a new beaut bed of his very own where he can join us in the lounge room in the kind of comfort to which he is accustomed!

We purchased another, smaller version for Bob, our cat, and you will notice it is unoccupied. Typically indifferent, Bob wouldn't venture near it, inspite of our efforts to lure him onto it with food treats, cuddles etc. (I will add though, that Bob had no problem hopping up on Bower's bigger bed. What!) 

So there was some hooting and clapping on the day when we found Bobby comfortably snuggled into his OWN bed, all relaxed and hanging with his doggie-pal.

Everyone is now happy and comfortable. 

Yes, very comfortable indeed- Here he is, busted, not just resting along the bottom of the bed, his other favourite spot, but nestled right up on my pillow! (The bedding is now out flapping in the breeze on the clothesline as I type this. ) 

Wonder Women Continued...

Let me set the scene...

We are at a beautiful retreat centre surrounded by WA bush and sunshine, 

And I was introducing you to some talented women with whom I was sharing a weekend of patchwork...

My blog posts are few and far between as it turns out. How that works in my favour in this instance, is now I can show you some progress pics! 

Do you remember Pat and her gorgeous appliqué blocks?

Well, her William Morris blocks now look like this!

And, she has stitched these teeny mini setting blocks for in between the rows, and has progressed with a gorgeous scalloped border. Beautiful!

I showed you this photo last time. Could you fathom that these pinwheels could evolve into this?:

Now seriously, the above represents such a great deal of effort, of time, of enjoyment! It's magnificent! Marg has worked on "Urban Owls" over the year, as a block of the month.  It is designed by Wendy Williams of Material Obsession in Sydney. 

Lizzy,... I would have to upload photo after photo to accurately record all she has sewn in between  blog posts, but her blue and cream heritage tumbling blocks that once spilled over the table, are complete, naturally, 

And her pleased-as-punch grin says it all!

But I have to show you a couple more of Lizzy's accomplishments:

Another Material Obsession design, this time by owner Kathy Doherty, and,

first to finish "Swoon" in her wildly eclectic style! I love it Liz!

Speaking of Swoon, a 9-block queen size quilt, made from big ol' friendly gal 24" blocks, has become a project that many of us are working on. I'll show you more of that later, in another post. In the meantime, Linda has stitched some pretty swoon blocks, 

So pretty! Now, I have said before that often people "match" their projects, which makes perfect sense since usually we wear clothing that we like, and we choose fabrics that we like. Linda, you and your swoon blocks are making a very pretty vignette!

Robin's swoon is kicking goals!

All Rob needs is sashing and borders and it's a wrap! 

Everyone was so delighted for Robin when she WON the raffle quilt made by the WA Quilter's Association! Robin is prolific. She knows every technical trick in the book for perfect, I mean PERFECT patchwork! She graciously and patiently shares her knowledge with the rest of us. I'm so happy that Robin received the blessing of this pretty win!

We come to these retreats with our boot-loads of patchwork essentials. We all have supplies we consider to be essential. I was fascinated with Pip's very fine collection of Gutermann threads. So pretty! How does she choose?

This next photo may mean absolutely NOTHING to you. But, if you know Blogger, and if you use Blogger on the iPad, you will understand that I have typed this entire post blindly, as for some unknown  reason, my alphabet keyboard is completely blank! Tonight I am thinking with fondness of my Grade 9 and 10 typing teacher who drilled into me the 8 finger alphabet keyboard. And then predictive text has helped as well. Whew! This has been a bit of a labour, and I've concentrated more on typing than on my narrative, so please excuse me if this is a little bland.

Wonder Women

Some more quilty-bits on the blog today. For me, this creative outlet stirs up an eagerness and a tick-tick-ticking of ideas. As I work alone, patchwork has been an application of the hands and mind and heart in a multitasking effort to sew/think/pray.  And working collectively, it has placed me amongst beautiful women that freely offer friendship, inspiration, and connection, because of our shared interest. This particular post features some of these uber-talented ladies!

I have been a guest at 2 quilt retreats recently. Jacqui, my little treasure of a friend,

invited me to share her room at The Wine Tree's beautiful facility in Dwellingup. Even though a gate crasher, I received such a warm welcome from the women, all of whom I know from "Homespun", and with whom I enjoyed catching up. I left my work at the patchwork shop back in 2012, but women are so good at bridging the space of time and picking up from where we all last left off!

So, with busy schedules neatly organised in order to achieve a weekend's retreat, with minds full of ideas, fingers itching to begin, and the sun shining on us through a great wall of window, we all settled into a few days of creating.

Meet Sue. Sue wins the prize for discovering this gorgeous winery/retreat centre. She happened upon a cancellation and has since managed to secure a series of 2-3 night getaways throughout this year. She puts in all the effort behind the scenes liaising with both the owner of The Wine Tree and the chef at The Blue Wren cafe (who caters amazing meals and treats for us),and gets the entire weekend off the ground on our behalf!

Sue's creative talents are multi-faceted. She excels at the slow-burner projects that involve perfected hand work techniques as she meticulously embroiders and appliqués. However, all the way at the opposite end of the old-school/new-age stitching spectrum, we also find Sue, expertly manipulating the Rolls Royce of computerised sewing machines, generously sharing her knowledge of every kind of high tech machine skill imaginable!

Check out her attention to every imaginable detail -

Pat is a quiet achiever and a picture of industry as she balances her career with her passion for home, family, grandchildren and patchwork. For a few years now, Pat has set aside each Wednesday morning of her busy work week as her patchwork time, and as a regular student at Homespun, we have had the pleasure of seeing her sew one gorgeous project after another. She is prolific! This photo shows Pat with one of her appliqué block sets - each fabric carefully chosen and fussy-cut for a lovely finish! 

Marg is celebrating the arrival of a grandbaby with a labour of love that is stitched-to-perfection! Imagine the joy and anticipation that is represented in each stitch of little Eamon's handmade treasure.

Even though I do very little of it myself, I can appreciate the work and time and technique that is applied to some people's hand stitching! How do some, like Lois, achieve that kind of exquisite work that looks as neat on the reverse as it does on the front? From where does their patience come? Some talented person lovingly passed on their skill of traditional handwork and I believe they would be proud to see such results!

Pip is another marvel with a needle. She designs and executes with great skill. I loved her vintage style Aussie botanical quilt. The gum leaves and native flowers are perfectly set against the blue sky. Well done! 

Lizzie. She brings so much joy to our workroom! She adds colour with her fabric choices and more colour with her wit and cheeky humour. Something very good would simply be missing if Lizzie wasn't in attendance! Surely Liz must get the prize for the sheer volume of what she achieves in a sewing day! 

Happy brights or subtle reproductions - Liz will give everything a go and always gets the job done.

Janette! When I think of Janette, the phrase "rock solid" comes to mind. As a friend, she can simply be counted upon. She is a beautiful combination of speaking her mind and listening, of knowing her mind and a generous tolerance for other mind sets, of walking the talk, and so on. Her generous spirit extends to the patchwork world where she continues to give... give aid, give ideas, give gorgeous finished quilts to friends and family. 

Jacqui devotes her days as owner of the Patchwork shop to extending into the community a passion for quilting. Her teaching style is kind, patient and inclusive. Her skills are honed and well communicated. Here she is, inspiring us with her keen eye for fabric choices and colour.

Jacqui is beautifully re-working one of my patterns, "Mod Scallops" and giving it a vintage theme.

(Here is my original, below...) I love to see what others create with my patterns!

Jacqui's talents span vintage to modern without any trouble. Here on the design wall is another of her creations, eclectic, contemporary, this one also showcasing her flair for colour.

She will kill me for including this photo, but I have to. Yes, these weekends are for productivity and inspiration, but they are also for relaxing, for catching up, for sharing meals or enjoying a walk or a movie together, and quite simply, for the jokes and the pure fun of a good old belly laugh!

Marg is a quilter in the true meaning of the word in that she actually owns and operates a long arm industrial quilting machine. To some, the 'quilt sandwich' that must follow the piecing, can be quite a disagreeable aspect of the process.  Marg comes to the rescue, layering, stitching and indeed transforming someone's piecing into an actual quilt. God bless Marg and all the quilters out there! I have hand quilted a bed sized quilt once, so I can say that I have done it, but I have no desire to do it again. 

There were more ladies in attendance but I must iron out some technical difficulties I am experiencing with Blogger before I can continue this post. It's quite long as it stands anyway, so I will showcase these other ladies in a 'Wonder Women Part 2' post. Thank you for reading!