Sunrise, Sunset

I can't resist a pretty sunrise or sunset.  Enjoy…

Playtime

Everything has been rather hit or miss these past few months:  blogging, letter writing, quilting, knitting….Thankfully, the weeks ahead look to be settling back into a normal rhythm.

Earlier this year one of my dear quilt group ladies passed away.  Her family donated her sewing materials to our group and we took time to sift and sort through it all.  One of the things we found were several blocks that had been embroidered.  L. took them and set them in a quilt to give her great-granddaughter.  She commissioned me to do the quilting, and I named it Playtime.

 Since the theme of all the fabrics was polka dots, I did a stipple with circles across the rows of blocks. 

 Butterflies in the sashing.

And hearts in the border.

 Here it is, almost finished.

Bound and ready for snuggling.  Adorable!

Music to Quilt by

Music.  It uplifts, calms, energizes.  It sets toes to tapping, feet to dancing.  It soothes the soul and makes the spirit laugh.  I don't know of anyone who doesn't have music he loves.

For me that is instrumental--jazz, bluegrass, Latin, Celtic and a new one for me--classical crossover. I have wondered if my preference for instrumental is tied to my being an introvert.  Song lyrics don't particularly interest me, but I love rhythm.  Singing, even someone with a lovely voice, clutters up the music--please, just give me the notes.  

My favorite times to listen to music are either when I clean or when I quilt.  Nothing like a good beat to get Mr. J and I dancing together.  

Enter Pandora.  I create a station with a favorite piece and from there I find songs I like.  I write down the artist and song, and off I head to iTunes to create my own playlists.  Once I sync those playlist on my iPod/iPhone, I set it to shuffle and off I go. 

Here are some my favorite songs I used to create my Pandora stations:

Latin:  Cafe Mocha by Jesse Cook

Bluegrass: Dawg's Breath by Ricky Scaggs

Celtic/bluegrass:  Crossing the Briney by Ricky Scaggs

Celtic:  Dawn Dance by Alasdair Fraser

Jazz:  The Wave by Kirk Whalum

Soft electronic:  Summer Groove by Jesus Tamames

Classical crossover: Rolling in the Deep by The Piano Guys

Very rarely do I buy whole albums, preferring to create my own mixes, but one artist stood out to me as I listened to my classical crossover station on Pandora:  Lindsey Stirling.  Much of the music on that station tends to be on the quieter side, but she creates a wonderful blend of dance/electronic with classical violin. I bought her first album (the second was a little too heavy on the electronic for me). Her music puts a smile on my face and makes me want to dance. :-)

Here's to good listening!

Dreams

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

With social justice being so much a part of the conversation of ministry these days, I have wrestled with the feeling that all or most ministry should serve the disadvantaged.  I have come to see, though, that there are other issues of concern that people deal with--illness, injury, grief. Here is where my gift of quilting can be of service, and it is what I am passionate about doing.  

Beyond receiving a thank you note, my quilt group doesn't often hear about the impact our quilts make.  Every once in a while, though, we do, and that is what encourages me in this ministry.  With our quilts we can offer warmth, color, and prayers.  

As I have been doing the commissioned quilts, I have given this idea some thought and realized that there are three areas I would like to focus on in quilting.  First, our Tuesday quilts.  I love working with this group of ladies, and that says a lot, being the introvert that I am.  Secondly, I would love to be able to make quilts for something like the Linus project locally.  And thirdly, I would like to create wall art that we would display in our home for a while and then donate as fundraisers.  

Right now, once I finish some current obligations, I could manage two of the three, which would be the Tuesday quilts and the wall art.  Perhaps I can work in a few kid quilts along the way as well. 

What does this mean for doing commissioned quilts?  I am not yet sure.  While I enjoy quilting for people, I do know that I don't want this to be my focus.  And I have learned that dreams are not just for the young.  

Garden Party

Every quilt has a personality: bold, quiet, happy, soothing.  Often times quilts can also invoke a sense of place or event.  This quilt makes me think of a garden party--streamers floating in the breeze, cupcakes arrange on pretty platters, children playing on the lawn in the sunshine.  Definitely a happy quilt, this one.  

 The top was made by D (on the right).

A party in a garden is sure to include flowers, so that was the theme of the quilting.  Garden Party will go to a young woman recently diagnosed with cancer that D and her mom know.  May its warmth give her comfort as she goes through her treatments and may its happy colors and pattern cheer her heart.  

Haiku Happiness

I am not a poet (nor the daughter of a poet).  In fact, words can be a struggle for me, which is why I often need time to put my thoughts together.  There is a type of poetry I love, though, and that is haiku.  I love that it has a framework the words must fit in.  I love that it is a very short poem so words must be chosen carefully in order to have the impact the poet desires.  They are often playful, but can be very serious and beautiful.  As an expression of my appreciation for haiku, I decided to write a haiku in its honor:

Five, seven, five--form

Musings--beauty, joy, sorrow

Create word pictures. 

Spring Vacation

My hubby's work keeps him very busy, so when vacation times come around, it is always a treat for both of us.  Happily, we are both of a quiet nature.  If I had married a high adventure type of guy, I would be in real trouble. :-)  We also share the challenge of tummy issues, so travel is something we don't do very often.  So what do two quiet people do on vacation?

Hubs took opportunity before the summer heat sets in to do some things in the yard and garage that he can't get to on a regular weekend.  He also took some time to work on paperwork in preparation for meeting with a financial planner in the next few months.  Retirement is approaching and we want to be as prepared as possible.  I am so thankful that he is mindful of things both short term and long.  He also took care of a few small honey-do's.  Thank you, dear husband. :-)

I kept the housework to a minimum and didn't do any work on current quilting projects.  Instead I took some time to play around with a quilt design program I got a few weeks ago called EQ7 (Electric Quilt).  This program has been around a while, but they just recently released a version for Mac. Since it is built on a PC platform, I find it to be not as intuitive and a little more clunky than most Mac programs, but it will make drafting quilts so much easier and faster than pencil and graph paper.  

We also took time, as we do most vacations, to watch a movie together.  Our selection this time was Still Mine.  Growing older gives one an appreciation for the love stories of older characters.  This one was well done, and we both enjoyed it. 

On Thursday we hung out a bit at our local library. 

Friday night was guy's night as husband and sons took in a minor league baseball game.  I kicked back and watched a movie at home.  

On Saturday we headed out to the country for a family wedding.  With the recent rains, the countryside was nice and green, making for a lovely drive. The wedding was simple and the reception laid back, and we had opportunity to catch up with some of the family we hadn't seen in years.  There were even a couple of uninvited guests that stopped by.  

As we drove, we came through an area where there were some of the big wind turbines.  That is the first time I have actually seen them in person.  Though I am not a fan of wind energy, I did find the turbines rather fascinating in an alien sort of way.  Can't say they add much to the landscape, though.  

Sunday it was home again and back to the regular routine.  It was a great week, and we both look forward to his next vacation.