in the hoop

 

finally got my sew along cats basted and in the hoop--quilting has begun!  the deadline is may so shouldn't be a problem to get it done.   then i'll be putting it up for sale...enjoyed the challenge but not something i'd keep for myself.

my mom had done a cross-stitch sampler, finished and framed--sort of.  i took it out of the frame and brought it home to make into a wall quilt.  she finished it, but again, wasn't overly fond of all those x's....found them boring...LOL!

knitting was really her thing.  she made me several things, and her favorite things to knit were complicated patterns.  but i am happy to have this....

spring today but summer all next week it appears, temps in the mid to high 80s....summer clothes all ready and popsicles in freezer!  

hello crewel world

eons ago gave my mom this crewel kit, but apparently it wasn't her cup of tea and never got finished.  hardly even started, in fact.  so this very ancient UFO came home with me and will get finished at some point.  

it's a lovely classic kit from elsa williams needlework....raise your hand if you recognize that name from the past!  turns out i liked it more than she did.   

in my early online quilting life i was in a swap with a woman named kay aycock aka cozy kitten from texas.  we swapped 30s tulips blocks, signature blocks, and at the time i included one block from my mom that she signed, telling her she would always be with me that way.  

the fabrics were given to me by dear friend marianne....she offered "scraps" but what she sent was a large box of a huge collection of 30s fabrics, all brand new.  i made four quilts from that box and still have a few bits left.  

and after cleaning out mom's place, i came home with a new and stronger resolve to declutter my own.  already 3 bags are ready for the thrift.  i am offering this book and CD to my blog followers for FREE for postage only if you please.  i've made some blocks and would be happy to send those along also if you desire.  EQ is required to print out the remaining foundation patterns, but some i printed are inside the book.  

slowly getting back to normal here, helped along by exercise and getting good sleep.  trying to stay busy to squelch the loneliness of not chatting with mom every day.  i dreamt about her last night and she told me nobody comes to visit anymore...not sure what that means....but it is true.  

small start

sunday took a tiny foray back into sewing, cutting up more blues for my album quilt blocks....

a pitiful effort but a start nonetheless...hoping more will be prepped today along with the muslin background pieces.  

getting closer to my usual routine with the larder stocked and plans to restart gym visits..laundry next!  first griefshare meeting was difficult but supportive.  in reflective moments, so thankful to a merciful God who answered two of mom's long-term prayers and spared her a long period of suffering--prompts me to extend that same mercy to others.  and among her belongings was a photo i had never seen....

no info on the back, but guessing she was 16 or 18 maybe?  being an only child meant  formal portraits were taken of her at various times, precious reminders of her classic beauty.  her hair remained blonde until her last breath, a genetic gift from scandinavian ancestry no doubt.  *** among her keepsakes were a few letters her mother wrote in early 1929 when she was ill...we read them with astonishment at getting to meet our maternal grandmother through her newsy correspondence to family and tidbits about our mom when she was a toddler....priceless!  she died shortly after when my mother was age 2.  our gratitude was overflowing that God granted my mother, a motherless child, so many years with us her children--a true gift indeed.