With Heartfelt Gratitude

Thank you to those of you who left comments on my last post concerning my husband being in hospice.  As hard as that time was, it was easier than now.

The weekend before Christmas my husband rallied and one night he  walked to the kitchen to sit at dinner with us for one of his favorite meals, meatloaf and baked potatoes.  But that same night, the Monday-to-Tuesday-morning before Christmas, he had a stroke.  He died three days later, on the Friday after Christmas.

Even though we knew the outcome of his situation, I didn't know when the final outcome would happen.  It was strange to wake up  one morning a wife and go to bed that night a widow. 

Emily Dickinson's poem, "The Bustle in a House," always comes to mind when someone I know dies.

        The Bustle in a House
        The Morning after Death
        Is solemnest of industries
        Enacted upon Earth –

        The Sweeping up the Heart
        And putting Love away
        We shall not want to use again
        Until Eternity –

My life looks so different now and I'm finding it hard to be interested in much of anything.  I know that will pass and life will move on to a new and different normal, eventually.  But for now, I'm adjusting to the changes in my life.

I intend to visit your blogs and leave comments, but it will take me a number of days.  I am far, far behind.

I am determined to see the bright side of things, laugh a little more, enjoy others more, and to be cheerful. 

Happy New Year to you and yours!

-Nancy.

Nudging a Seam a Tad Narrower to Preserve Points

I thought I had my quarter inch seams worked out--finally.  But when I sewed a few churn dash blocks together I noticed points missing here and there.  It wasn't such a big deal but it was on my mind as I was sewing more blocks together.

It occurred to me that the problem might not be my 1/4 seam but that sewing eight layers of fabric together (four on each side of the seam) might effect how flat the fabric lays when pressed.  The seams do press flat but with so many layers it seems like the points just slightly curve into the seam, giving the appearance of a missing point.  With so much fabric in one spot, you can only press the fabric apart so far, even if the seam is pressed flat.

I decided to try nudging the seam a tad narrower to see what would happen.  It's a little hard to see in the photo below but click to enlarge if you want to see detail.  I wasn't sure if sewing a little closer to the edge would distort the seam and the whole block or not.

Here's the seam pressed open, below.  The slightly narrower seam over the points doesn't seem to have affected the blocks and the points aren't missing.  Hooray!

This is something I'll try to remember to do when I have to sew points again, always checking to make sure the blocks come out okay.  (Are you cringing at this idea?  Have I missed a reason not to do this?)

Life Aside from Quilting
We spent a few days with my daughter and her family last Thursday and Friday.  I always come home sore and tired but it's so worth it to be in the company of her and her husband, and our delightful grands.  (I forgot to take photos, again.  Sight.)  We went down for a Grandparents Day event at the school, a sprawling "fair" on the school grounds.  I think the favorite part of the event for the grands is always the book fair but the lines were so long we missed most of the other activities.  The children didn't seem to mind.

Did you see the moon last Thursday or Friday night?!  It was huge, low, and golden as we drove home.  Gorgeous!

We've had two beautiful late summer/early fall days yesterday and today.  The high temperatures were in the low 70s with sun, a few clouds, and wonderful breezes.  It seems like we might have an early fall this year....

I finally cut setting triangles.  I think they'll work.  (I'll write a post about that later.)  I'll recheck sizes tomorrow and then pin and sew.  I have to get a move on this quilt so I can have it done by the end of the 3rd week in September since I'll be at the ocean the fourth week.  I'm so looking forward to that!

I hope all is well in your world.

--Nancy.

One Monthly Goal: Attaching a Border

I don't have a great photo of Dear Prudence, not even a photo of the whole quilt after I finished the quilting.  Which may be a good thing because this little quilt is far out of kilter.  The edges narrowed at the top and bowed out on the sides.  

I finished the quilting toward the end of last year and think I'm finally feeling clear-headed enough to cut and sew binding.  That shouldn't be too hard, right?  There are only about 88" to sew.

So that's my One Monthly Goal for February.  I'm linking to February One Monthly Goal Link-up at Elm Street Quilts (and just under the deadline, too!).  Follow the link to see the goals others have set.

And now, just for the cuteness factor, a photo that always--always--makes me smile.

Even if she weren't my granddaughter her smile would bring a smile to my face.  What joy!  This is Sophia, at 8 months, on Christmas Day, 2021.  

I hope you're finding joy in your life!
--Nancy.

Introducing Sophia Lillian

This little miss is my granddaughter, Sophia Lillian, who arrived on Sunday, April 25.

Having spent nearly a week with her and her family I can attest to the fact that she is (currently) a diligent sleeper and as sweet as can be.  I love her to bits.

While there I did the usual mom and gramma things to help the family--laundry, meals, baby-tending so mom could sleep, transporting, etc.  It was all good.

Sophia has three older brothers, ages nearly-9, 5, and 2, and an older sister who is 6.  They are positively joyful children, just happy with whatever comes their way, whatever they find to do, and they're creative enough to find plenty to do that's within the bounds of safety.

They live on a 30-acre farm with cows, sheep, 4 pigs (that everyone else in the family thinks are adorable (Can you tell I don't like pigs?)), rabbits, and a variety of birds including chickens, ducks, a goose or two, and some quail.  There is always something to do at their house, either inside or outside--some game to play with them, some book to read, some roaming to do in the pastures, animals to feed, eggs to collect....  The life they take for granted is really very interesting and sometimes even exciting.

I loved nearly every minute of my time there.  I came home exhausted but I woke up the next morning and I realized I live a very boring life.  After time with them, quilting just doesn't compare for fun and excitement.  Ha!  I wish our homes were about three hours closer to each other. 

--Nancy.

Raymond and The 70273 Project

Every year at Christmas time I think of Raymond.  He comes to mind at other times of the year, too, of course, but always, always, at Christmas.  And these past months he has been tugging at my thoughts more than usual.  Perhaps it's because of The 70273 Project.

During most of my childhood, Raymond was a name, but I didn't know who he was, though I knew he was someone my dad cared about.  Every year my parents sent a Christmas package to Raymond.  The gifts in the package were chosen with care and included shirts, underwear and socks, gloves, and Raymond's favorite candy.  My parents wanted Raymond to have a happy Christmas.

Then one summer day when I was perhaps 8 or 9, we traveled to visit Raymond who, I later learned, lived in the Pennsylvania State School for the Feeble-Minded.  We parked at the side of the building and somehow my father sent word that we were there to see Raymond.  We waited a few minutes and then an older man, probably older than my father, came out.  He was not very tall and had an unusual gait.  He seemed different, more child-like than man-like.  He recognized my father and they greeted each other.  Then he took my hand and started to walk away.  I hesitated, feeling a little shy and wondering if I should go with this stranger.  My parents gave me a nod of encouragement and we all walked with him.  My memory ends there.  I don't know where we went or what we did.  (Strange how memories often don't provide all the details.)

After we left, my father told us a little more about Raymond and explained that he had an amazing and unusual ability.  Raymond's responsibility at the farm was the chickens.  Dad said that when trying to gather chickens, most folks cause them to scatter.  Dad had watched Raymond with chickens before:  he spread his arms wide and the chickens gathered in toward him and then went wherever he directed them.  Dad said we'd never see anything like it again, except with Raymond.  He explained that Raymond was a very gentle person, something I think I sensed while we were together that day.  The only other thing Dad said about him was that something had happened to his family and he lived with Maw and Pap Doyle, Dad's grandparents, for a while.

In my family history research, I learned that when I met him Raymond was living at the State School for the Feeble-Minded in Polk, Pennsylvania.  I'm still trying to learn the rest of Raymond's story.  But you can see why Raymond would come to mind when The 70273 Project crossed my path a few months ago.  How could I not think of Raymond knowing that the Nazis killed at least 70,273 infants, children, and adults because they were physically or mentally disabled.  Had he lived in Germany during Hitler's reign, he would likely have been put to death, too.

The 70,273 Project commemorates those special individuals who were killed in Germany between January 1940 and August 1941, by creating quilt blocks with two red Xs on them.  The white background represents the papers of an individual's medical file.  The red Xs represent the two doctors' marks written on a person'sform giving the approval for the person to be killed.  (You must know that about 300,000 physically or mentally disabled individuals were killed by the Nazis.)

I've made some blocks for Raymond.  And for my friend's daughter, Mary.  And another friend's sister, Drusy.  They were able to live long, full lives, and I'm grateful for that.

If you'd like to participate in this project, and want info about block sizes, etc., you can find it here.  You can read an overview of the project here.  The provenance for to send in with your blocks is here.  Many thanks to Jeanne Hewell-Chambers for inviting us to participate. 

Oh, and if you want to read more about Raymond and his story, you can at these posts:  here, here, and here.

I hope I can get these off in the mail on Monday.

--Nancy.

Wishing You a Happy New Year and January's One Monthly Goal

Happy New Year!  I wish you a wealth of happiness, an abundance of joy, blessings beyond your imagination, and plenty of time to stitch in 2019.

This is our third day of grey, grey weather.  It's mid-day and I need the lights on to see!  I love this about Ohio winters but I also dislike it.  On days like this nothing calls to me more than a nap.  Of course, it could be I want a nap because it's a holiday today; or because I just spent five days with four little ones 6 and under.  But I'm resisting, at least for now.

Today I'm choosing fabrics for the pineapple block for Linda Brannock's quilt. 

I haven't pulled background fabrics yet but I'm trying to decide whether either of these fabrics looks pineapple-y enough to use.   I think of pineapples as golden but when I look at photos online it's only the ripe ones that are mostly golden.  The less ripe ones have green, tan, and gold in their skin.  (Images here.) 

What do you think about these two fabrics for the pineapple?  I have to be creative--imaginative-- because if my limited fabric choices. 

I thought this was a block I would not want to change but I find that I'm not sure about the appliqued triangles across the bottom.  I'm still playing with fabrics and will choose, perhaps when there's more light outside.

My One Monthly Goal for January at Elm Street Quilts is to finish hand appliqueing this pineapple block. 

Quips from my grandchildren

M, grandson age 6:  "I'll be researching that at school when I go back."  Really?  They teach children to research in first grade now?

O, granddaughter age nearly 5, while playing Old Maid and after taking a card:  "I have a match to that."  She fanned out her hand, looked at the cards, and said, "Apparently not."  Really?!  Little kids use the word "apparently" these days?  It nearly cracked me up and it was really hard not to laugh.

How I love those little ones!

Again, I hope you have a Happy New Year and a wealth of blessings!  (And now, at 3:30, I'm going for a nap because it looks like the sun has already set!)

I'm linking this post to One Monthly Goal January Goal Setting Link-up at Elm Street Quilts.  Thank you for hosting, Patty.

--Nancy.
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Nearly No Quilting

Dear readers, thank you for your comments on my last post.  My daughters, grandchildren, and daughter's kittens have been visiting for the past week so my attention has been focused on them instead of creative activities.  I will respond to your comments tonight or tomorrow.

The little quilting I accomplished was stitching around 32 circles.  I was certain I wanted the circles "outlined" but now I'm not sure how to quilt the rest of the blocks. 

Concentric circles in the squares with circles?  But what about the plain blocks?  Or diagonal quilting through all the blocks?  Quilting along either side of and lengthwise through the sashing?  Through the center of each piece of fabric?  Or....?  I love Baptist Fans but there are just so many seams.  I used to think the quilting just held the layers together but now I realize how much it can change the character of a quit.  I want to choose a quilting pattern (or non-pattern) that will enhance this quilt.  I just don't know what it is.

I'm quilting with Americana thread, making larger than usual stitches (those seams!) but not "big stitch" stitches.  The thread was on sale at JoAnn for either $1.00 per spool or two spools for $1.00.  I can't remember which.

I like it a lot, especially compared to quilting with three strands of embroidery floss.  It pulls through so easily and doesn't knot.  Perhaps it's not the best quality thread but it was available.

These are the kittens we've been tending: Lady Jane Grey and Jack Black.  Our daughter brought them for a visit early in the month and, because she had to go home to work seven 12-hour days in a row, asked if they could stay so they'd have company and human interaction.  I like cats but don't love cats the way some people do but I couldn't say no.  They are cute.

They weren't much trouble because they spent their nights and some of each day in our breezeway, though it was a surprise to go out one morning to greet them and find one on top of our 36" grapevine wreath and one nestled into its lower curve.  And I believe they may have tested the patience of our Airedale, Hannah.  They went home with our daughter yesterday.

The ages of our grands are 5, 3½, and 1½.  How fun to see their shoes all lined up after a bath.

All seven of us went to our state fair on Wednesday.  The weather was great -- no rain, low humidity, and not too hot.  I had forgotten how different and fun it is to go to a fair with children.  They're interested in almost everything and want to ask questions, see what's going on, and participate if there's an opportunity.

This is our little 3½-year-old granddaughter.  Before the fair I found a little pioneer-style bonnet at the thrift store.  To that she added the free sunglasses and a cooling cloth draped around her shoulders.  She reminded me of a little grandmother.  And I was thrilled to see that vanity has not yet taken hold.  No worries about appearance for her!

We've had days of rain -- leaden skies, drenched-to-the-bone, need-a-light-on-at-mid-morning rain.  It's beautiful -- I love rainy days -- but they make it hard to choose colors and fabrics for quilts and blocks.

Of course the rain helps the flowers and other plants.  We saw this beautiful garden of zinnias in bloom in front of a home near the farmer's market.  I'm not a gardener but if I were I'd plant zinnias.














Now that our daughters and grands are gone and I have time to quilt, I hope I can quickly decide how to quilt the empty space around the circles in the quilt at the top of this post!

I'm linking this post to Finished or Not Friday at Busy Hands Quilts.  Thanks for hosting, Myra.

--Nancy.

Miscellaneous and Very Random

There's been no quilting in my life the past week, but I've been doing other things.

My older daughter and her family left the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving.  We were disappointed, of course, but some other obligations had come their way.  We crammed our activities into Thursday and Friday.

Thanksgiving crafts with grandchildren
While the turkey cooked my two oldest grands crafted while the youngest watched.

Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo on Friday

It was drizzling as we were driving to and walking into the zoo.  I told my daughter I would probably decide this activity was not worth attending again -- cold, rain, crowds.  But I was wrong.  The drizzle stopped and the light show on the lake was amazing.

The "babies" were bundled well, stayed warm, and we all had a fun time. 

Besides the light show, my favorite scene of the evening was the caroling beluga whales.  I oohed and aahed about how sweet the zoo had been to create this display.  My daughters eventually told me they weren't caroling and reminded me that in the summer the whales are in the center of a little water park.  But from now on I will always thinking of them as caroling. 

Photos from an antique sale
The day after Thanksgiving I bought a smart phone (without a phone plan because I love my old, little flip phone).  I think of the smart phone as a little computer -- I have internet anywhere there's an open wifi -- and a camera.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving, after my older daughter and her family left, my younger daughter and I went to an antique sale and I tried out the camera.  I don't know how many megapixels it is but I must say I'm somewhat impressed by it and think I will like it once I get used to it.  Here are a few photos from the sale.

The grounds outside the sale just after the sun had gone down.

I found that using a phone camera is a little different than using a regular one.  I had to hold the phone still because there is a delay between pressing the camera button and the camera shutter clicking.  I think I'll get the hang of it with practice.  I was impressed with the camera's ability to know whether I was taking a photo of something at a distance or up close without my having to tell it. 

Younger daughter trying on minion glasses at a store

The new blogger dashboard
Is anyone else having withdrawals from the new blogger dashboard?  It seems less like a dashboard and more like -- I don't know what.  When I think "dashboard" I think of everything being accessible from one place.  No longer the case on blogger, especially if you have more than one blog. 
Until about the middle of the year Blogger had this little clickable "Complain to Blogger" box at the bottom right corner of the dashboard.  I always thought it was funny to see it there:  who would complain to Blogger?  It's been changed to "Send feedback."  And now I feel like complaining about the dashboard change.  Ha!  I think I'm getting old....

I hope you're having a wonderful December!

--Nancy.
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Cherubs, Fans, Ancestors

Much of my summer has been devoted to enjoying these two sweet grandbabies and their mom and aunt.  They've been home several times over the summer and I've enjoyed every minute.

But who can sew or do much of anything else when there are grandbabies to hug, cuddle, play with, and spoil?  Not me!

Between times, when neither daughters or babies were visiting, I worked on this plaid churn dash.

It's about one third quilted.  I went with Baptist Fans, after all.  It was a little challenging at first because I didn't mark the fans.  It was hard to ignore the lines to make the curves.  I think I've got the hang of it now.  The other challenge with this quilt is that the top is laid out on the bias and the back is straight grain.  There's more stretch on the top than if both were laid out straight grain.  It's all good, though.

My ancestors have also been calling to me, nudging me to find them and the rest of their families and our joint ancestors.  So I've been spending time searching for them instead of sewing more quilt tops.  That's probably a good thing since I have plenty of quilt tops awaiting a turn to be quilted. 

Of course, whatever else I'm doing, my mind may also be considering the next quilt to make.

I'm linking to WiP Wednesday on Freshly Pieced and WOW (WOW = WIPs on Wednesday) at Esther's Blog.  Thanks you, ladies, for hosting the link-ups.

Happy August to you.

--Nancy.

Baptist Fans on Churn Dashes?

I thought Baptist Fan quilting would be perfect for this plaid churn dash quilt.  I always think of it as old-fashioned and comforting.  But now, with a few fans quilted, I'm not so sure.  Maybe outline quilting would be better....  I do this too often:  begin, hesitate, reconsider.  I'd be set if I could see the finished product before I had to make any decisions.  (Chuckling to myself at the idea....) 

It took me a while but I finally chose fabric for the back.  The little 1" squares are printed on the diagonal:  I like how the diagonals echo each other on the front and the back.  The colors in real life work well together, maybe not so much in the photos.

Scrappy backs appeal to my use-it-up sensibilities but when I think of hand quilting through more seams I reconsider and then try to find a larger piece to use for the back.  I impressed myself by successfully matching the print at the seam on the back.  It's easier with a small print than with a large print. 

I love the adorable little scallop border printed along the edge of the fabric.  (Click on the photo to enlarge if you want to see it in detail.)  Of course, it's an extra inch or so of unusable fabric -- at least if you want to use it for quilt backing and have it match the rest of the quilt.  On the other hand, it might be a great ruffle for a little granddaughter's dress....

Speaking of my granddaughter, she and her family were here for a week's visit in May.  I'm teaching both of those children early about sewing and quilting.

Here's Olivia sitting with me as we scrolled through my feedly reader.  She was a little unsettled several evenings so while her mom was helping her brother, I invited her to learn about quilting with me.  My daughter said she could see little Olivia's head moving up and down as she watched the images move down the page.  I'm sure it wasn't just the photos or sitting with me that helped calm her:  I asked Pandora to play some lullabies.  Come to think of it, she didn't really learn much about quilting that night because she fell asleep within a few minutes.  No matter, she'll have other quilting lessons the next time she visits.

Little Malachi, at nearly 2, was beyond interested in what I was doing at the sewing machine.  He couldn't get close enough to see what was going on from the ground so I lifted him into my lap to watch the process and help.  He wanted to know what everything was and how it worked.  I showed him the thread and how it was threaded through the tension mechanism down to the needle.  I showed him the presser foot and the lever and he helped me lift and lower it.  He helped me guide the fabric through the machine.  Then we wound some bobbins.  He was very taken with the light.  One thing I did not show him was the knee lever!  I have no trouble imagining his little hand pushing it to full speed sewing up a storm of knotted threads!  During the week they were here, if ever I sat at the sewing machine, he was right there to sit on my lap and watch or help.  Boys love machines, don't they?

It rained this afternoon -- one of those wonderful, steady, drenching rains.  It was so dark at 3 p.m. that we had to put the lights on to see. 

I'm linking this post to
--WOW at Esther's Blog
--W.i.P. Wednesday at Freshly Pieced
--Let's Bee Social #23 at Sew Fresh Quilts
Thank you, Esther, Lee, Lucy, and Lorna.

Wishing you joy!
--Nancy.
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A Dear Little Fellow

We visited our daughters last Wednesday.  One is married and is mom to our little 8-month-old grandson.  We (or they) make the 3-hour trip only every month or two so I was more than pleased that he didn't reject me when I greeted him and picked him up.  You know how babies get to the age when they refuse to be picked up by strangers.  Either he's not to that stage or I'm not a stranger.  I hope it's the latter. 

He wasn't feeling very well--had a stuffy, runny nose and a cough.  He was just uncomfortable, but he didn't cry much.  He went to the doctor a day or two after our visit.  It was discovered that he had an ear infection.

On the way there I stitched the binding on the String-X quilt (but couldn't stitch on the way back because it was dark).  I'll photograph and post about it soon.  It's been too cloudy to get a good photo.

I hope you're healthy!
--Nancy.
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