Tuesday, November 26, 2013

A Grateful Heart and To Wish You a Happy Thanksgiving

At this Thanksgiving season and always, I am richly blessed.  Some blessings are obvious -- easy to see and easy to be grateful for.  Some blessings have come in disguise as challenges to be overcome, wrestled through, and learned from.  It's not always easy to be grateful for the challenges, especially in the midst of them, but I'm grateful for both kinds of blessings.  My hope is that I will never take any of them for granted.  I echo E. P. Powell's sentiment, "Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude."  I hope for a grateful heart every day, not just in November, not just on Thanksgiving Day.   As Anne Frank said, "I do not think of all the misery, but of the glory that remains. Go outside into the fields, nature and the sun, go out and seek happiness in yourself and in God. Think of the beauty that again and again discharges itself within and without you and be happy."

I wish rich blessings to you and yours at this Thanksgiving season and always. 

I know most of us won't have time to sit and listen to music just now but at some time over this weekend, maybe you will enjoy this program from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Music and the Spoken Word celebrating this holiday. 



The songs include "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come"; "Now Thank We All Our God"; "All Things Bright and Beautiful"; "Simple Gifts" (organ); "Bless This House"; "Prayer of Thanksgiving"; and "Come, Ye Fount of Every Blessing."

Happy Thanksgiving!

--Nancy.
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Monday, November 18, 2013

To Keep Her Warm

Finally, the snowball and nine-patch top for grandbaby girl is finished.  With simple flowers appliqued on the scrappy border.  Unquilted it measures 43" x 55".  It will shrink after quilting, washing, and drying but it will be big enough for a baby even if she happens to be 8 or 9 pounds.  I layered and basted it on Saturday and began quilting it today.


I deliberated about batting.  Cotton?  Poly?  I love the cotton batting I've been using but, honestly, it doesn't seem very warm.  Or cuddly.  So I decided on poly.  I had some in the closet, pulled it out, cut it, and realized that it was way too thick.  If I'd used it, the quilt would have been a mat instead of a cuddly cover.  Besides that, polyester seems like it could be dangerous because it melts.  My daughter and her husband use a wood stove to heat their small home.  Let my imagination turn aside and go no further down that road. . . .

So I headed to the store and ended up with a bat that is 80% cotton and 20% polyester.  While I don't like the feel of it on my hands, I know it will be completely encased in fabric.  It seems cuddly and warm.  I'll write more about the brand and how it quilts in a later post.

I'm linking this post to WOW (WiPs on Wednesday) at Esther's Blog and to W.i.P. Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.  Thanks, Esther and Lee.

I'm also linking this to A Lovely Year of Finishes at Fiber of All Sorts.  My original post claiming this as my goal for the month was posted on November 1.


--Nancy.
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Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Old Pins

Colonial Williamsburg's DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum is hosting Threads of Feeling, a display of mid-1700's billet books from London's Foundling Hospital, on loan from England's Coram.  Women and families who were unable to care for their infants for any reason took them to the Foundling Hospital to receive care until they could get on their feet again and return to collect their babies.  When a mother left her baby, she also left a small token, a piece of cloth, clothing, or ribbon, as a means to identify her child when she returned for him or her -- because there was always the hope that she would return.

My love of history and family history pulled me to the online exhibit of some of these tokens.  My mother's heart weeps for the mothers who were unable to keep and care for their babies; for the babies without their mothers; and for the babies who were never retrieved, living their childhood without the love and support of family. 

My love of sewing led my eyes to the pins and bits of fabric, lace, and embroidery.  Below are just a few.  I thought it was interesting that the ends of some of the pins were wrapped in thread.    (I'm not using Lightbox so you can click the image to see a close-up, then click again for an even larger view.)


If you'd like to view more of these tokens of love, you can seem them at Threads of Feeling from the Foundling Museum.

How I wish I lived close enough to spend a day at the Colonial Williamsburg exhibit! 

--Nancy.
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Friday, November 1, 2013

Progress on the Snowball and Nine-Patch

It's just play at the moment.  I'm not sure what this quilt will look like when it's finished.  I know it helps to take photos and see them on the computer monitor, though.  It seems to give me a little objectivity and perspective.


Thoughts on various aspects of this quilt top:

the center
The nine patches and snowballs are all sewn together.  They stay as they are (for better or worse).

the stop border
You can barely see it there on the left side, a light/bright and very narrow strip of turquoise and white check.  Now I wonder if it's too light.  I've tried several other colors and tones/shades and haven't been happy with any of them.  And maybe it's too narrow.  I'm not sure how wide to make it on a quilt this size.  Width?  Color?

the outer border
It is intentionally uneven, narrower on the top and right side, wider on the bottom and left side.  Should it be even wider on the left and bottom?  Will the quilt look okay with an uneven border?  How wide is too wide, how narrow is too narrow?

I researched border sizes a little and learned that current thought suggests that the most effective border width is based on a numerical equation called phi, equal to 1.618.  Multiply the block size by .618 and by 1.618 to find out the best width range for a border.  The blocks in this quilt are 4½".  The range for the border is between 2¾" and 7¼".  That's a really wide range for a quilt center that measures 31½" x 40½".  As the borders are laid out now, the left and lower borders are 7", the right and top borders are 5".  Hmmmm.

The pinks are not really pink but small red prints on white/off white grounds (and two plaids), but they look very pink.  The greens and blues are also on white (or vice versa).  I think the colors will work but I don't like the placement. 

the applique flowers
The vine is a piece of yarn to give the impression of a vine but I don't think a vine will be effective on this quilt so I'm taking it out. 

Only a few applique flowers are laying on the border but I'm thinking of clusters of flowers with leaves on the wide borders; single flowers and leaves on the narrow borders.  Maybe the flowers are too small.... 

It's all just play for now but I can't play too long or our grandbaby girl will be 2 before it's finished!  I've decided that in my case, creativity can not be rushed.  It will take its time or the result will be less than my creative best and will look insincere.  There are so many variables in the creation of a quilt.  It seems to me that some people have an intuitive ability to make "perfect" decisions.  And some of us just puzzle our way through it learning a little from each quilt. 

I'm linking this post to:
  • A Lovely Year of Finishes at Fiber of All Sorts.  My goal is to have this top completely stitched by the end of November.  I would love to have it layered and partly quilted before the end of the month, too.  It may happen but I'm not claiming that as a goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes.
  • Fresh Sewing Day at Lily's Quilts.

--Nancy.
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