Cookin' up some fun.

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Shutter Happy ~ Day 18 ~ I Made This

It brings me great pleasure 

to pull out this little fall-themed tabletop quilt 

that I made several years ago. 

#shutterhappy

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July 10 :: Colorful

This is my beautiful patchwork quilt made especially for me by my sister, Lisa. 

With so many of our other family members, as a gift of her time and talent, she's expertly 

guided each one in making a quilt of their very own. From helping them to select well-

coordinated fabrics, carefully cutting out all of the pieces, and then patiently sewing them 

together, she's been there every step of the way, always the enthusiastic and encouraging 

teacher. 

With us living so far away and our visits back always going so fast, she delighted me with 

this wonderful surprise several years ago. 

Knowing how much I miss our family and our shared history with the Texas prairie, she 

intentionally chose farm-themed fabrics and stitched them together with love.  I'm so very 

proud of her sweet gift and enjoy seeing it hanging from its place of honor every single day 

from right here in my chair. 

❤️

And would you believe, she asks with a warm twinkle, that I'm still finding the smiles she 

so thoughtfully pieced, pressed, and tucked inside?

Yes. 

I thought you might. 

😉

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Our Lady, Undoer of Knots

A very dear friend found this lovely image and shared her with me. I'd never heard of 

Mary referred to as "Our Lady, Undoer of Knots" before and I can't tell you how much 

I *love* both the picture and this name for her! A true gift indeed.

When I look at her tranquil face I feel safe, reassured, and peaceful, deeply grateful for 

the quiet reminder that I don't have to untangle all of the knots in my life all by myself. 

There is always, *always* help.

This morning I am reminded of when I was 9 years old and working on my very first 

sewing project. The moms in our 4-H club had decided that it might be best if they 

taught one another's daughters how to sew. Grinning a bit playfully here as that worked 

out quite well for all of us.

On this particular warm summer morning I was at my "other mother's" home and, 

sewing along at her kitchen table, had made a real mess of it. Sensing my frustration 

and that I was getting close to the point of Never Wanting To Sew Again, my gentle 

guide calmly invited me to move to a clear spot at her kitchen table and gave me a cool 

drink. Then, rather than risk my getting discouraged by making me rip it all out myself, 

she went about patiently removing my stitches. 

I still remember how the sunlight streamed in on her kitchen floor as I waited but even 

more than that, I remember feeling so struck that she would actually do this for me. 

Alls I had to do in that moment was sit, enjoy my glass of sweet iced tea, and watch 

her as we chatted. When finished undoing my knotted mess, she helped me pin the pieces 

of pale yellow cotton fabric with small blue and pink flowers back together and encouraged 

me to try it again. 

To this day, forty-five years later, whenever I have to rip something out, it never feels 

like punishment (well, mostly it doesn't).

Instead, taking my yellow handled seam ripper in hand, I often think of her kindness 

and smile yet another warm thank-you her way.

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An Inspiring Person - April Love 2015

My beloved Grandma

She inspired my creativity 

by teaching me how to bake, sew, and crochet

and I have such fond memories of her

and our time together.

The thing I cherish most that she passed down to me

is the love of writing (and receiving!) letters.

I will always remember her apron drawer,

that the first thing we baked together was banana bread,

and how much I enjoyed spending the night at her house.

I feel very blessed because of her 32 grandchildren,

I got to spend the most time with her.

I love you, Grandma!

(Miss you, too)

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TBT :: Red Gingham Christmas

Remembering 

with great fondness 

how Moma used to make us 

matching Christmas 

dresses and shirts.

I don't remember helping to sew these 

but I might have. . 

I do remember 

standing at the fabric cutting tables 

in TG&Y 

as the salesman was helping Moma 

figure out how much fabric to buy 

for our long, dark green dresses. 

I was so impressed that 

he was offering her a deal 

because she was buying so much fabric.

She was very beautiful and talented.

I was so very proud to be her daughter

and I still am.

Miss her, too.

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Throw Back Thursday

Me, 40 years ago, summer of 1974.

I was 12 

and had made 

my red, white, and blue 

halter dress, scarf, and 

matching shorts underneath

the split skirt.

Seems it was my 4-H dress review

sewing project that year.

It was also the only year

I was in band, 

learning to play the flute.

Smiling softly because I love that Moma

thought to capture both of these

important details about me

and where I was at that time in my life.

(In the next few years,

things would *so* change

both for me

and my family!)

I am standing to the left of 

the front of our family home and 

the house has since been moved.

When we go back for a visit, 

it's amazing to me, 

quite *stunning* at times,

to see how the farmland now looks like 

a home, 

and a family, 

were never there.

(But we were.)

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It's Done!

I just finished my fall tabletop quilt.

And I'm not done smilin'!

Don'tcha just love that feeling of 

pride and joy that comes

when making something

that you love yourself?

Me, too!!

(This is me, trustin' that simply showing up is Enough)

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Joy is . . .

. . . laying out a fall tabletop quilt.

I smile every time I look at it!!

(This is me, practicin' believin' that just showing up is Enough.)

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Hope Prayer Flag

Hope is a word that hasn't always been in my vocabulary.  To be honest, it didn't even make my radar for a really long time.  But it's such an important word, isn't it?  I only began to understand just how much when it was given to me by a group of friends during a very difficult time in my life.   

Butterflies speak to me of hope and I made this prayer flag to send to a woman who was collecting them and stringing them together for the Newtown, CT community. I was proud to be a participant in this very special project which you can read about here:  The Hope Flag Project.  

I remain so grateful for the opportunity to pass along the gift of hope and for the wonderful gift of being able to continue to cultivate hope in my own life, too.

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