Blessings and Bali's

Many are the blessings that one receives from friends. So many friends called, wrote, and e-mailed me this past week. Though it's been a difficult week as memories of hard times surfaced, I know in my heart that Stephen is in a better place and he is free from debilitating pain. I think that his birthday is always going to be the hardest for me.

As for this one year anniversary of Stephen's heaven date, we just had an easy day. I went to Bible study in the morning and that began the blessings of the day. Afterwards, the sun came out for awhile which was a definite answer to prayer. Jim and I went out to lunch and talked some about our feelings and about Stephen. Then I went for a massage and a manicure. The day was topped off with DGD blessings. Both of them spent the night.......a first for us all. Nothing like a little DGD sunshine to bless your day.

On to the Bali's. I'm currently working on a class project from the Road to California show. It's called Strip Therapy and I'm using a set of Hoffman Bali Pops......2 1/2" X 40" strips. It is going to be gorgeous when it's finished but right now all I am thinking is that it is alot of work.

The beginning......sew lots and lots of strip sets.

Then it's time to use the special triangle cutter. This goes on forever and ever.

The triangles get sewn together into squares.

Eventually there will be 42 beautiful squares. Right now there are 9. 33 to go. More forever sewing.

And here is the little machine that will do all the work....my Featherweight named "Jean".

Diary of a Traveling Challenge

One of the best things aout quilting is all the quilting friends you make along the way. I've had the great fortune to be a part of mini groups and large quilds. My group in MD, the Loose Ends, refuse to let me go even though I now live in CA. That's okay. Our motto seems to be "once a Loosie, always a Loosie". I like it that way.



Our little group has shared in many challenges along the way. We are currently doing a row by row challenge. In case I wondered if I was still a part of the group...........no problem. They are mailing me my project row to work on every two months and I mail on my project row to the next recepient. So far it is working.

And now for a little picture diary of my second round of the "Loosie Row Challenge". My job was to add a third row to the piece that was sent to me.



This is how it arrived. Yikes! Fabric, fabric, everywhere. Kaffe Fasset fabric. What am I going to do with Kaffe Fasset fabric????


HHHMMmmmmm............Maybe this idea from a magazine will work. But I will NOT do curved piecing. No sir. Not me. I will figure out a way to do applique.


My new mantra has become......It's okay to mix large colorful prints. It's okay to mix large colorful prints. The quilt police will not arrest me for mixing large colorful prints.


Well look at that. They are very colorful and pretty. The fabrics and overall feel of the quilt is still not my style. But it is fun to stretch and work outside my comfort zone.









We need some spacers to make it work. Probably should have tried to make five leaf shapes instead of four. Odd numbers usually work better. Oh well. I think this looks okay.


And there you have it. The diary of a challenge. It is now boxed up with all it's books, scraps, pictures on a thumb drive, and fabrics. Have fun JoAnna! As for me............well...........my next one will arrive in March. Yikes! Time to stretch again.

Just when you think life might have settled down, it jumps right up and slaps you in the face. I've known February would be a difficult month but I sure couldn't have predicted what has happened so far....and it is only February 13th!

The saddest and most heart-wrenching thing to have happened is the death of the son of our dear friends, Rob and Mary Bentley. Mary (along with Sandy and Barbara) is one of the "other mothers" in the life of my children. We had just seen each other in September to laugh, cry and pray for our children. She was a special blessing to Stephen in his last months. He treasured the books, notes, and cards that she sent. My mind reels and can hardly comprehend that these treasured friends should suffer a loss so similar to my own. I pray for them daily.

Just as we were trying to pick our selves back up after the above news, we got a call from our daughter-in-law, Lissa. Violet was being admitted to Children's Hospital for emergency surgery for a twisted ovary. She ended up having to have the ovary removed. She is only three years old. Again our minds reel with trying to comprehend the events of life.


But the month has held joy also. Makayla celebrated her fifth birthday with all the hoopla that a 5-year old requires. Auntie Cheryl came from Los Angeles with bundles of gifts and decorations to make sure she had a special day.





Mostly, February brings memories of the precious moments spent with Stephen last year. I find myself thinking about him alot. I smile. I laugh. I cry. A whole year has gone by. How can that be? The journey has ebbed and flowed. God has been faithful.