Originally uploaded by CampFollowerBagLady
I just had to blog about an update I just read on the quilt project.
http://campfollowerbags.blogspot.com/2009/07/bush-fire-quilt-update.html
It is so exciting to know the quilts are going out to people in need of them.
I still need to go through the photos and look what quilt has my second block and to look for the blocks of friends that donated.
Originally uploaded by Q_uilted T_hrifted
We have had an exciting weekend.
Take a look at this wonderful website.
http://greendotart.blogspot.com/
REUSE _ REDUCE_RECYCLE Here we reused and old screen gate.
This project started out as a long gate of some kind. It had a latch at one side. IT came from a neighbor.
We cut the board apart on the outside edge of the center frame. It is perfect for the compost bin we want and “need” so desperately.
Here is our place for all the grass clippings, cabbage leaves, carrot peels, ashes from the fireplace, flower petals after deadheading….
I may even clean out the rain gutters…. what better composting material!
She is showing us her beautiful feathers.
I have a lot of flower beds. Each year we get a few more perennials.
As we get older we like to watch the birds that come to visit.
Mr QT has even started to try and imitate them. He thinks some of them are answering his calls. It brings a smile to everyone’s face.
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It’s the little things like this in life that bring so much pleasure.
We find the birds like the compost bins as well.
You can see all the leaves that accumulate in our back yard.
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I have been a firm believer in composting in many years. It is hard at times to get my family to come on board. This project included them in the process and I hope it will encourage them to take the vegetable and fruit scraps to the bin. We all love the flowers and the birds!
Originally uploaded by Q_uilted T_hrifted
Quilt photos I have had on Flickr. When you don’t have a pro account you can have 3 sets of photos. I have Family, CQR and Quilts.
Under the Quilt set I started to list the hyperlinks to photos that have fallen off my current photostream due to the 200 limit.
I have recently started to go back and put a TAG QuTh on all of my photos. I can then do a search for QuTh and almost all of the photos are mine.
I just realized recently that under the SET listing I can put a comment and post a picture under the comment section. I have started adding pics of dropped off photos to this section as well.
Under CQR – Crazy Quilting Revisited. I have put in comments with photos of my Sunflower quilt and inspirations.
Here is the list of Quilt photos that have been on Flickr. I go back to the SET every so often and put in ( 30 ) the number of views of the photo.
I then add the photo to the Group 100 Views and so forth when it has enough views. It’s a little game I play.
I do not have a pro account so most of my photos have fallen off due to the 200 photo limit. My most viewed quilt photos.
over 300 views
Snowball Quilt (394)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678732986″>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678732986</a>
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2nd most viewed picture Bargello (316)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2782698478/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2782698478/</a>
Over 200 views
The Tuesday Quilt Group I belong to.(231)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2683221806/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2683221806/</a>
Vintage Hawaiian Quilt from dresses (283)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2600237427/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2600237427/</a>
Sunflower (226)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3052328626/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3052328626/</a>
over 100 views
Tied Utility Quilt 16APR09 (140)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3090124210/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3090124210/</a>
Elysia’s Baptismal Red Heart quilt (137)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3339056351/in/set-72157605884259874/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3339056351/in/set-7215…</a>
Sunbonnet Sam (128)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678761300/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678761300/</a>
Approaching 100 views:
Grandma Martha’s Quilt (101)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2677578563/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2677578563/</a>
Spider Web Mini Quilt (61)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2697851692/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2697851692/</a>
Search scrappy bargello to see some of the best quilts ever!
Dresden Plate published on Schmap (41)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2677711103/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2677711103/</a>
Dresdan Full bed shot (77)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678527268/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678527268/</a>
I enjoy the piecework of quilting and the process. I like to go to thrift stores and look for quilts, aprons, fabric, buttons, thread and vintage embroidered items.
Fishing Sunbonnet Sam (114)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2677483101/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2677483101/</a>
I also enjoy going to antique stores and searching for quilts and vintage fabrics.
Tulip Bulb (30)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678543344/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678543344/</a>
Vintage Butterfly quilts (57)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2677979233/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2677979233/</a>
Vintage Tied Crazy Quilt (46)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2782698604/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2782698604/</a>
Quilts I’ve made…
Patriotic Row by Row (20)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2638907798/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2638907798/</a>
Triple Irish Chain Erica’s Grad Quilt (98)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678216310/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678216310/</a>
Search Ericas Graduation Quilt to view more photos.
My sister has given me a few farm quilts.(58)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678373324/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678373324/</a>
Satin Whole Cloth Quilt received as gift (37)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678356270/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2678356270/</a>
Some of my first quilts posted to Flickr
Ragged Red White Blue Star (55)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2641076116/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2641076116/</a>
Scrappy heart in pink (19)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2603071638/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2603071638/</a>
in blue… (32)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2602137581/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/2602137581/</a>
in red…. (137)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3339056351/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3339056351/</a>
Polyester Utility quilt w owl (42)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3086192095/in/set-72157605884259874/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3086192095/in/set-7215…</a>
Next to drop off
Isabel’s Pink Heart Quilt
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3339056351/in/set-72157605884259874/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3339056351/in/set-7215…</a>
String Tulip (76)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3542401900/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3542401900/</a>
Doll heart quilt (22)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3290105303/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3290105303/</a>
Autumn Sampler (16)
<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3024360476/”>www.flickr.com/photos/27565576@N02/3024360476/</a>
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I find it interesting when a photo all of a sudden has a large number of hits on it.
The Snow ball quilt top is the most popular at this time. It has quite a few Favorites on it. It is going to reach the 400 view mark pretty soon!
One of the only quilts I have actually finished , Patriotic Row by Row, only has 20 views. I wonder…..
I wanted a snapshot of where the photos are at a given time and that is why I posted this. I can go back a year from now and look at the history of the views.
Today Grandma Martha’s quilt reached the 100 view mark and I added to the group. Next in line is Erica’s Triple Irish Chain. It’s not the best photo in the world but ……. they don’t have to be professional……that is the beauty of Flickr. Everyday folks with everyday stories and photos. How beautiful is that!
Originally uploaded by DCHill-FC VA
I did a search in Flickr for star spangled banner fabric and came up with the great small quilt made by Diane Hill.
Here is what she wrote about the quilt.
“I made this little quilt (2x”x22″) in 1992/93 as a tribute to Mary Baxter ’s Flag Quilt, c. 1898-1910, that is in the collection of the American Folk Art Museum in NY City. (I was a docent at the museum back then, when I lived in Montclair NJ). I was inspired to make my tribute to her by the fabrics that came out to celebrate the 500-year anniversary of Columbus’ 1492 voyage to America. The fabric in the upper and lower outer borders is the words to the Pledge of Allegiance. The quilting designs are stars and ribbons, like flags waving. Mary Baxter lived in Kearny NJ and made her quilt in support of the Spanish American War in 1898.Her quilt is an example that women throughout American history used their needles and sewing to make political statements – even long before women got the right to vote in 1920! Here is a link to for a photo of Mary baxter’s actual quilt: www.artnet.com/magazine/features/karlins/karlins7-25-5.asp – Diane Hill, now of Falls Church VA”
I did not realize the star spangled banner fabric that is in the flag quilt in my last post was to celebrate the 500 year anniversary of Columbus’ 1492 voyage to America…..hhhmmmmmm that means 1992 that fabric came out. Which means I probably started that quilt around that time. So….I just finished a wall quilt I started 17 years ago…..could it really be I started it that long ago. I don’t think so.
Flag Quilt to celebrate the 4th of July
Originally uploaded by Q_uilted T_hrifted
I decided to tie this after I started the Tied Quilt group here on flickr. I like how it turned out. I really like all the quilt photos I see where quilts are hanging from trees. I was able to take two small stick pins to hang this one.
It is raining right now which gives me a chance to blog. My Mr is watching golf on T.V. and the youngest watching cartoon on another T.V. The oldest is out on a boat with his friends. This gives me a chance to do some sewing. We’ve been doing a lot of running the past couple weekends so staying in is kind of nice. I haven’t blogged in a whole month! Where does the time go???
I like how the Tied Quilt group is growing. 18 members and 139 photos. Feel free to add any photos of tied quilts or closeups of tied quilts or tied quilts in the making!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1110732@N21/pool/
I started this quilt quite a number of years ago. I have seen this Pledge of Allegiance fabric in other quilts on flickr.
I had this quilt in a large round quilting hoop hanging on my livingroom wall for about 5 years…needless to say it faded where the hoop was.
A few days before I took the hoop off I came across a photo on flickr the had been hanging over a railing on the second floor. The owner was moving the quilt and realized it had faded. Then I take mine off the hoop and see it has faded as well.
I used two colors of embroidery thread. Red for the stripes and blue where the stars are.
I took this with me to the park yesterday to finish sewing just 4 inches on the binding. Of course it got damp and by the time I got home some of the red bled on the second from the top row of stripes. I tried washing it out with dish soap but to no avail. If anyone has any suggestions on how to un-bleed a few blocks.
All I have left now is the label. I have a circle of the faded blue fabric safety pinned to the back. I thought I would make the label out of that fabric. It is interesting to see how it has faded over the years. The patch for the label is not faded! Now I am thinking I will add the red piece that is bleeding to the label as well. It is just one patch of red that has bled and it is in about 4 parts of the quilt. I am not upset about it. Bigger fish to fry as I say. I want to try and incorporate it into the quilt with some stitches or rays of sunshine or something (again any suggestions would be appreciated).
This photo is of a quilt I saw on flickr today this is so similar to mine it is uncanny.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24972488@N04/2422638197/
Taken Monday June 1st after 1st Grade Field Trip
Now that I think about it more…this was taken last week! Different shirt! It’s a great painting though and a good representation of the diversity in my son’s school. I think it is a great environment to go to school in.
Originally uploaded by Q_uilted T_hrifted
We went to French Park and played at the outdoor jungle gym and then played frizbee and catch with some tennis balls for hours! I was so exhausted Monday night I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow. Wednesday is the last day of 1st grade. Oh my goodness!!! It’s been a good year. Thank you Mrs Chan.
This is after we returned from the field trip. The children still had two hours before the end of the day and I didn’t know how they could physically make it to the end. Luckily the last hour was a music concert in the gym by the Kindergarden. My son then wanted to go to Adventure club afterwards! So of course I said sure ….. and headed to the thrift store for a couple hours. Found some treasures and will share in the next post.
I do remember having to raise my hand in school to answer a question? It was so nostalgic to sit in the room.
You have to understand that I have one child in college and this young man in 1st grade. When I found out we were having our 2nd child 12 years later it was quite a realization that I would be going through the entire school system K-12 one more time. Incredible! Our nieces were in elementary at the time and I remember being in the early months of pregnancy and so in shock we were pregnant again. I was walking through the girl’s school and passed Kindergarden and heard the kids singing and I had a smile on my face, I passed 1st grade and saw the children with there hands up in the air waving so they would be chosen to answer the question and I walked by in wonderment, then 3rd grade I heard the teacher ask the child to sit still and I got a tear in my eye, then into the 4th grade classroom of my niece and by that time….totally in tears. How do you explain that to a classroom of 4th graders!
I treasure early photos of my older son in school. There aren’t too many so I did take a number of shots Monday in the classroom.
There are 24 students that went on the field trip today. They started the year with 28 1st graders in one classroom. I personally think that is crazy.
I don’t know how Mrs. Chan did it but she did. I give her a lot of credit.
He’s doing the peace sign behind his head! Of course.
I like this shirt with the 7 on it. If you ask him he will tell you he is 7 and a half! I thought it was cool when I found it!
I will remember this day for a long time. The young man on the left hung out with me the entire day. I don’t know if you have ever been around a group of younger children but there always seems to be one or two that are fascinated by you or just feel connected. This young man was my buddy today. My little guy had a great day too and was very happy to have mom around to hang out with his classmates. The older one doesn’t feel that way anymore! (chuckle).
Here is a capture of the quilt – the last two rows have a different color green on the border!
Originally uploaded by Q_uilted T_hrifted
There is another row on the top and a half row on the bottom. Thrift store find.
$12.99 less $5.00 off coupon!
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I just get so excited when I find a quilt like this at the thrift store!
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Some of my quilts I have worked on for 30 years! There are so many different fabric styles in one quilt. This one has fabrics from on time period.
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YES!
I can’t believe I got this for $7.99
YES!
YES!
This photo shows the front and back on the quilt. It seems like the quilter did not intend on putting a backing over the embroidery stitches.
It would be a summer weight quilt.
I think the back looks just about as cool as the front!
The ladies were over last night and we looked over the quilt. We talked about turning the edges inward and putting rik rak around the edge of the quilt. The only thing is this thing is gig-nor-mous!
I don’t know what is up with the bottom half row. The last two borders of green are also a different color. I am going to put the quilt on our queen size bed and see if it needs the length on the bottom. If it doesn’t I will take this half row off.
This stripe fabric is so great!
It’s a treasure. There is no question about it!
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If these ears were just a little bit longer she would look like our Buttercup!
Originally uploaded by Q_uilted T_hrifted
I won these blocks probably 5 years ago at a quilt guild meeting.I purchased the batik fish to go with the quilt squares I won. This is the completed top. I finished sewing the top together last summer. Now I need to find fabric I like for the back.
There are 9 different fish blocks in this quilt.
I worked really hard at staggering the blocks through the quilt top.
I do like this pink block quite a bit!
This is block #9 which is really block #1 because it is located in the upper left corner of the quilt.
*** Oh I really need to get some backing fabric for the
***I have 3 rolls of batting here at home for my next 3 quilts.
He had his work cut out for him keeping the quilt from flying into the lake. He also had a chance to ham it up a little bit. That’s my boys!
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I don’t have many batiks in my stash so winning these blocks allowed me to work with fabrics I normally would not have chosen myself. I love each one. I really enjoy quilts with a large variety of fabrics. It would have been so expensive for me to have purchased 1/4 cuts of each of these fabrics.
I think this photo show a good shot of how the 3 patches were sewn together as light/medium/dark. It took some work to not get too many really bright lights next to each other. I also didn’t want the darks on the bottom row to blend in with each other. This is a good example of when to look through a red piece of glass to see the color value.
A moose block dedicated to my sister-in-law. She likes to collect moose items!
The golden star fabric and the dots below it are a favorite!
This fabric with the plants has great movement.
I was a little concerned about the fish fabric with the fish batik squares but it works.
I just can’t lose with the golden tones. They are my overall favorite!
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It is now 2 days after we shot these photos.
The quilters were to my house tonight. We were only missing 3 of the ladies.
It was a nice night. I got to do show and tell with a great find I made yesterday!
I will try to photograph it tomorrow.
I got a call tonight on my cell phone with an unidentified number. I called my sister to see if she knew who it was because it came from my home town. She thought maybe it was one of my niece’s. I called the number and turns out it was a member of the booster club from my high school. I have been selected for my high school athletic HALL OF FAME! They will have a celebration at the football game on September 18th. It’s quite an honor.
I have my 30 year class reunion this summer. The school is just a little over 40 years old. Tomorrow is the senior athletic banquet so the booster club wanted to contact me before the banquet because they will be announcing it at that time.
My younger son said. “But Mom you’re not an athlete anymore”. They have no clue that at one time in my life all I lived for was sports. My whole life was swimming, gymnastic and track…as well as German club, marching band, jazz band, pit band, NHS and just about anything else I could join. I was even a cheerleader for a few years for basketball and football and occasionally a wrestling match!
I guess one of these days I should pull out an old yearbook!
He wants me to write up my favorite athletic memory. I’ll have to think about that one. I was the first female athlete from my school to go to state in a sporting event. I went in the 100 freestyle. It was a very major event for me and for my coach.
Off to dream land. I may be doing the uneven parallel bars in my sleep tonight!
Originally uploaded by Q_uilted T_hrifted
I just love these string pieced tulips. I have seen photos on some of Flickr as well. I fell in love with this quilt at an antique store.
You won’t believe it but there are strips of cream colored paint going along with quilt in various areas. I think someone was using it as a drop cloth! Really I do.
There are also stains here and there.
The worst damage came from a dog we used to have. Her name was Buttercup and we loved her dearly.
She was a cocker spanial and we got her as a puppy.
One day I came home from work and she must have gotten caught underneath because she chewed her way right through the center of the quilt.
This was already 10 years ago. I was afraid she was going to be sick with all that batting in her tummy.
She was just as playful and happy as ever. Sometime I will do some repairs of this. Right now it reminds us of her.
She is no longer with us. It’s a long story. We certainly enjoyed her although she had chronic ear trouble. If you are ever considering a cocker make certain you have the time to keep their ears clean and properly cared for.
I miss going for walks with her in the evening. We went on wonderful walks with her. We went to obedience training as well. It was an interesting time in our life.
We most likely will never have a dog again. Mainly because we love to travel and with the boys in sports we are hardly ever home.
I have thought about being a foster family on weekends for the Animal Shelter. With a 7 year old in the house he would have fun running
a dog over the weekend and we all could get more exercize. I did start teaching the Tiger Cub/ Boy Scouts how to his a tennis ball.
We have a court that has a wooden wall behind it and it is a perfect place for the children to his the ball around.
Thanks for stopping by. If you want to see a photo of Buttercup stop by again. I will add photos to this post once I get them scanned into the computer.
QT
Jan’s daughter invited the Tuesday quilter’s over to the house today.
Originally uploaded by Q_uilted T_hrifted
She wanted each of us to pick out some of her things. Her cherished items are kept by her daughter. She had tagged the items she was keeping or had moved them to rooms with closed doors. There would be items at the end of the day that would go to good will. All eleven of us from the Tuesday quilt group went to the funeral. There were over 56 of her quilts over the back of the pews. They were all completed quilts. This was just some of the quilts at her house. There are 3 times that many and more that have been given to family and friends over the years. It was a beautiful service and well attended. I took photos with my cell phone but I need to get a USB cord to download them to my computer.
I think all of us except two were there this morning. Jan’s daughter had tagged everything she wanted to keep and asked us to take everything else. She encouraged us to take as much as possible because the rest was going to be donated. The first thing I chose was the candle stick holders and this tied quilt.
I love this little mini quilt. I chose it because I just started a Tied Quilt Flickr group and this will be an absolutely perfect addition to the pool.
I have loom sticks that go with these candle stick holders. These have been on Jan’s fireplace mantel in front of her favorite Amish portrait. The portrait had a yellow tag on it. We all hoped it would. Jan treasured that picture.
I left the other small quilts there for others to choose from. When I walked around again an hour later there were still some small quilts there so I chose another.
You won’t be surprised to know it is a sunflower quilt. I have it already up in my diningroom.
I did get a few pillows that will go well with some that I have collected over the years.
The quilt below these pillows is the Bulls Eye pattern. It is my quilt but there are many blocks of Jan’s and the other quilters in this quilt. It was one of our group projects one year.
We each made 12 blocks at least 10 times and then exchanged with each other. We ended up each having the same blocks in each of our quilts.
Everyone finished their’s off a little differently. Most of the other quilters sent their quilts off to a professional machine quilter to finish. Mine is still in the top stage in hopes I will find my quilting foot for my Bernina and get it done!
We all had so many country color tones in our stash I don’t think any of us had to buy fabric to do this project. It actually is a great project to use all your uglies because once it is all together it looks absolutely spectacular!
I just love these vintage pillows. I will photo the ones I have collected over the years and post at a later time.
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This little butterfly pillow is the size of my hand. What I like so much about it is that the back side is quilted as well as the front. This is how I think all quilted pillows should be.
I have 3 butterfly quilt tops I have collected over the years. I also have a number of vintage butterfly blocks and pot holders I have purchased from antique stores and thrift stores. Jan always had her pillows in large baskets in her livingroom. It made the room so cozy.
The largest item I have is an antique ironing board and iron. I told Jan’t daughter that if she ever wanted anything back I would have it there in a heartbeat.
The chair is mine but don’t they look just absolutely perfect together!!!
The lever on the iron seperates the handle from the base.
I don’t know how long Jan has had it or where she got it. Her daughter said was back in the corner of the basement and had quilts draped over it. The first thing it did when I got home was start shooting some photos of quilts over the ironing board.
I walked into the bathroom in the basement and no one had taken any of the items.
My main bathroom has been cement board unpainted around the bathtub for 5 1/2 years. Really. It is a sad thing. We got stuck because we can’t afford to purchase tile and I am not certain how to finish the edge between the tub and the cementboard. Of course we don’t use the shower but I do use the tub. Maybe now we will finish it off.
These items will look wonderful in a finished bathroom!
Sometimes I just can’t figure this computer stuff out!
Jan is the second quilter from our group to die of breast cancer. The founding member of our group Wendy died a number of years ago. I received a quilted Angel from Wendy one year for Christmas. Now I will have an Angel from Jan as well. They have both been Angels in my life. It is a comforting thought to know they are now guiding me from heaven. Believe me I need all the guidance I can get.
Who knows sometimes why some things call out to us. This little jug did.
It has a cover and I think this week I will write down ways to be good to myself on little slips of paper and put them inside. Every once in a while a reminder to be good to myself is important.
When I got home the boys were hungry so it was APPLE PANCAKE time.
I used Jan’s glasses for the milk. They are nice and thick. I think if they fell to the ground they would not break. Just the kind of glasses I need with a house full of boys!
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It’s been a day of reflection. The sun is shining but it has been a bit chilly all day.
My dad made me a wooden Uncle Sam. During the next few days I want to photograph items I have that coordinate with items of Jan’s. I always loved meeting at her house. I would say to myself how easily I could move right in and be totally comfortable. Our souls were very similar. It is no wonder life brought us together. Isn’t it interesting when you ponder on why certain people have come into our lives. Jan showed me tenderness, caring, sharing, humor. She loved shopping on QVC. She would make so many jokes about her purchases or “almost” purchases. For all I know some of these items may have come from QVC.
I collect blue glass and dishware. I like the way blue glass looks when the sun shines through it.
Some of the perennials in my flower bed came from Jan a few years ago when she remodeled her gardens.
The grapevines were not from Jan. They just show new spring growth. It is a good time of year for reflection. There is newness all around us. Jan’s daughter is thinking about selling her house and moving into the family home. She had to let go of some things in order to combine the treasures she and her family truly loved with those that are in her home as well. She will be combining the two homes together and making the family home now her own. It is a lot to think about so soon after the loss of so many. Her Dad died on May 8th 2007. Just two years ago and her brother died shortly before that. We had losses like that in our family too. My mom lost her mother in Sept of 1983 and my brother died in May of 84. My mom’s dad died a week later and one of her best friends and coworkers died just after that. It was a lot of loss to deal with. My children lost their grandmother from breast cancer April 1995 and then their aunt Sharon from colon cancer 4 years later and their uncle from a blood clot that went to his lungs a year after that. They’ve been gone for some time. Mr Quilted Thrifted talks about how much his brother has missed not seeing his two daughters grow up. It makes the heart heavy at time. We celebrate most the time. We have to go on. It just is nice to honor those who have gone before us.
I was able to take some great photos today. I spent the entire day chatting with my children, cooking meals, and of course took my sewing machine outside to sew on the back deck a little and didn’t get to it… because I can’t find my rotary cutter! I am always searching for something.
I talked to my best friend I think six times today. She was shopping…buying plants…trimming her roses….uploading her own photos…. and talking to me!
That’s what best friends are for! You can see her photo on my Flickr site. She’s the one that looks like my sister!
That’s what everyone says…. even we say it!
If Jan’s daughter ever sees this post I want you to know I will cherish these items for the rest of my life. If you ever want anything back it’s yours. Your Mom is such a big part of each of us in the Tuesday quilting group. We will never forget her. And as Pastor said during her service., “Jan was easy to love”. She has been an inspiration for each of us. A role model. A friend.
