Not an Heirloom, and Not Clutter

At least it's not an heirloom from my family. This quilt was given to me by a friend; a local quilt expert said the top is from around 1850. The back is from the early 1900's and that is when it was quilted also. It's not a national treasure (as they say on Antiques Roadshow) but it's still a treasure.

A close up of the center:

Introspection

Began and Finished 2009

As usually happens when I hear about the death of a friend or acquaintance, especially one who is younger than me, I wonder about my own mortality. Today is a bit different though. This morning while driving, I got a call from a friend who has been battling cancer for the second time. It's been awhile since she called me, usually I call her, so I was happy to see her name on the phone. However, there was a bad connection, and after saying her name a few times and hearing what seemed to be a radio in the background, I hung up. I thought she might have bumped the phone and it dialed my number without her knowing, or it could have been just bad cell reception, so I called her back. Her husband answered the phone and I asked if my friend had called, and he said, no, that he had called me. The tears came immediately, and I just moaned "oh no" fearing the worst. He was calling her friends to tell them the end was near, and as he explained, I cried, he cried, and we mourned together for a few minutes.

Living with ourselves as we do every day, I don't think anyone really knows how others view us. I know I don't, and I don't think this friend does either. I don't think she knows that I would like to be more like her. Since I have known her, she has always put God and her family first both in thought and action. She is fun to talk to, has a great sense of humor, and I know she keeps my secrets, what few I have told her. During her first bout with cancer, she was so upbeat and optimistic that everyone around her just had to be also. She had a joke to go with every unpleasant procedure she had to endure, and I'm sure she kept the nurses in stitches too. She would probably call that payback.

When I look at my life, and all the things I am doing now that seem so worthwhile, I wonder how important they really are. Will they even matter to anyone after I am gone? How would my time be better spent?

Above is a quilt I made and friends from the Frugalista Files wrote messages and signed the border.

Marti

Great Grandma's Quilts

Sometimes I watch Antiques Roadshow and I am in awe of the wonderful and valuable antiques left to people by their parents, grandparents, and greatgrandparents. All I have from my grandparents is a broken watch and some well-worn quilts and embroidery. But along with my great grandmother's quilts and embroidery, I have memories of her. She was never without needle in hand during our visits, talking and laughing while her needle moved surely and quickly through her fabric. They also remind me of her big feather bed and summer nights in New Mexico - the laughter of people visiting on the sidewalk outside, crickets and frogs in her garden, and the far off sound of a train.

Here are more of her quilts:


Until next time, may you have blessings and warm memories,
Marti

New Year Quilt

Began 2008, Finished 2009

So far I am faltering on my goals, but they are goals not resolutions so I am not worried about it.

Finished a quilt though. The fabric has been sitting in my stash for well over a year. Actually I'm not quite finished, I need to quilt the big floral squares, either hand quilting or stippling, I can't decide.


Until next time, may you have blessings and progress on goals,
Marti

From Child's Rooms to Sewing Room to Guest Room

I have spent more time and money collecting fabric for my quilting stash than I have actually quilting I think. And yet, I never have enough when I want to make a quilt and inevitably have to go shopping to match a fabric or get backing, or something. This built-in bookshelf was first meant to hold my daughter's books, stuffed animals, and trophies, but when she went to college, I took it over. Now I think it's time to take it down and use the stash. It collects dust which is the enemy in my family of allergy sufferers, and it takes up a lot of visual room in a very small room.

I bought four big plastic totes and loaded them into the attic, along with two garbage bags of fleece and batting. And then I found another bookcase full of quilt fabric in Hubby's office closet.

Yesterday, I bought three gallons of paint and moved a ton (really!) of tile from the house to the garage. It did help that the tile was in 36 pound boxes, but there were 28 of them and I had to lift each of them twice, once onto the dolly and once onto the floor. Then I painted the living room, three coats to keep the yellow from bleeding through. I swear this is the worst paint I have ever used, a Monarch premixed wall paint.

This afternoon I started on the guestroom while Brownie was there to help. We moved all the furniture except the bed into the empty living room, and put the bed in the middle of the floor. Also had to unload and remove that bookcase mounted to the wall. There was one screw in the bookcase that I couldn't loosen and had to ask a neighbor for help. After it was down I saw that the crown molding had been put up around it, so had to go get another piece of crown molding and paint it. Then I started painting that room.

And then, since I was doing the room, I thought I'd replace the electric outlets. Three of the four outlets in that room are too big or something. Everything that is plugged in just falls out. Really annoying.

Now all the fabric (my stash) that was in the wall-mounted bookcase is stacked on my bed and I have no idea where to put it. My current goal is to use up my stash and just buy fabric specifically for the quilt I want to make. Seems like I always have to go buy some fabric every time I make a quilt anyway, even if I start with some pieces out of my stash.

Here's the bedroom/sewing room minus the bookshelf and with missing crown molding replaced:


The little white bookshelf will go back on the floor as soon as the baseboard is dry enough. I sure don't want to paint that over again. As much as I disliked painting these walls, I really hated painting the trim, and I'm still not done. Hubby did agree to take off all the doors on the next nice day & shoot them all at once. It is SO nice to have a hubby who can do things.

Now that the bookshelf is off the wall and the room is painted, the room looks much more inviting, which is a good thing since it is going to be the guest room my in-laws are staying in over Christmas. I also got the carpet cleaned today. It's amazing the amount of dirt that gets ground into rooms so far from the outside doors.



Until next time, may you have blessings and quality paint,
Marti