Artfully Quilted Design

I have considered doing a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt for many years now, but joining just before Christmas was a hindrance.  I have folders on my computer of a couple of the PDF’s from years gone by, hoping that I would make it during another part of the year, but without the deadlines and community, never started them.  One year I even tried to get some quilter friends to do it with me, but was not convincing enough.

This year, someone posted about it in a Facebook group I am active in, and I decided that this was the year to just do it.  It really helped the decision that when the paint swatches came out, they were all colors that I had in my scrap bin or my stash, and using much of that fabric was priority.  So…  I have taken the plunge, and I am glad I did!  It actually is a nice break at the end of the day to go to my sewing area and work on something rather mindless.  Bonnie has done all the hard work, and each week you are just doing the same block, in the same way, over and over.

This is Week Two of actual sewing, and I would think it would be quite possible to jump in now and still keep up.  All the information and the free downloadable PDFs are on Bonnie Hunter’s website.    In one of her posts or instructions, she gave “permission” (Let’s face it… some personalities need to get permission!  🙂 ) to do part of the blocks and make a wall quilt, or do part now and catch up later.  I thought that was probably what I would end up doing, but I actually get a little caught up in it and go farther than I expected.  So far I have completed all of the Week One blocks (the red and neutral ones) and almost half of the Week Two (blue and neutral) blocks.  Week Three instructions come out Friday, so I plan on being done with these by then.

Bonnie’s instructions are very good, and even though I am an experienced quilter, I am learning time saving and accuracy tips.  Another plus is that at least the first couple of blocks are small pieces.  I have been able to use some fabric that needed to be cut very small to look good and get them out of my stash.

I plan on posting weekly updates of progress on here, but I realize that as it gets closer to Christmas it may be fewer pieces than needed, and I will have to catch up later.   I would love it if you would join along!

I am happy to announce that some of our kits are now available at The Sewing Connection in Milan Ohio!  The Sewing Connection is a Husqvarna Viking dealership and service center and sew much more.  They offer long arm quilting, carry a large selection of decorative threads, specialize in beautiful batiks and hand dyed fabric, and have classes on how to use all of the above plus garment construction.

Within the last couple of years they have expanded into the space “next door” and added a huge beautiful classroom/work space.  They have classes in this lovely space as well as groups that gather to sew together, such as Quilts of Valor, Button Box, and Snack and Sew.

If you are in the area, stop by and check them out.  They are located on State Route 250, just a couple of miles south of Kalahari Resort.  If you are not in the area, you can visit them at http://sewing-connection.com/classes.  Make sure to tell them that Deb sent you!

The very first kit I am offering for sale is the one I have named my  “Bluebird of Hope”.  I would like to explain how he came to be so named.

When I was a child, we sang songs in our music class about bluebirds.  There were also those adorable bluebirds in Disney’s “Cinderella” that were instrumental in turning her from a scullery maid into a princess.  Who wouldn’t love those bluebirds who sang along with “Snow White” to cheer her up?   There were bluebirds on birthday cards and in coloring books…  The problem was that I had never seen a real live bluebird.  My grandma and my teacher assured me they were real.  My mother told me they were different from the blue jays that were common in our area.  In my young mind, that made the bluebird something very special and elusive…  somewhat like a unicorn.

Fast forward many years, and I came to a dark period of my life.   And that dark period included a week that  was darkest of all.  I was exhausted from sewing the dresses for a large wedding party.  My father was pronounced terminal, comfort care only to be given. I was chasing preschoolers and driving teenagers here, there, and everywhere.  And watching dreams die for one of my children.

In the midst of all this, I was in my living room having a very real heart to heart talk with God.  I had just read a verse in Psalms that said “I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”.  I so wanted to believe that verse, but the darkness around me just made it seem totally impossible.  In the midst of all this, I simply told God that I really, really needed to know if that was true for me, if I could hold onto that verse, and if He was actually listening to all of this heartbreak being poured out.

I no more than said this, when a real bluebird landed at the very top of a tiny twig of a tree in the center of our front yard.  It seemed to defy gravity sitting there.  And to top it off, a sunbeam illuminated him, as if he were on display.  And he was.  He was there for me to see that God was hearing, and that He cared.

I was so elated.  And so excited.  A couple of hours later when my husband got home from work, I met him at the door with car keys in hand, and asked if he would put up a bluebird house if I went and got one.  Being the great guy that he is, he said yes, but questioned if we would ever have one come around to live in it.  I told him what had happened, and off I went to buy a bluebird house.  Within a couple of days, it was occupied, and most summers since we have had bluebirds living in our houses.  I have also accumulated quite a few bluebirds for inside our house, most of them gifts.  And every one of them reminds me that God is listening to my pleas.  And He CARES!

My “Bluebird of Hope” had to be the first kit in my new business.  I hope you begin to be reminded of hope when you see bluebirds from now on!!!

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.
And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
Mark Twain (Brainy Quote.com)

This little stone frog lives on my windowsill above the kitchen sink.  He lives there because that sink tends to be the first place I go in the morning to fill my tea kettle.    He is not adorable.  He is not even cute.  But he does have great significance to me, and I need to see his face each morning.

I bought this little guy back in February, 2011 at a small “flea market” in Haiti.  This was just a little over a year after the Haiti Earthquake of 2010, and the effects were everywhere we looked.   My husband, adult son, and I were all there as part of team that was building a village for displaced people to live.   When we came across these little hand carved stone frogs, my son and I just had to bring one home as a reminder of an important principle we had learned.

One morning while there, a spry awesome little spitfire 80+ year old nurse stopped at our table and asked my son and I if we had eaten our frog today.  Neither of us had any idea what she meant by that, so we asked for an explanation.  She proceeded to tell us that it was a saying that meant that you should look at the tasks that you have for that day, and do the one that you dread the most first thing in the morning.  This not only stops procrastination (You can’t procrastinate on a dreaded task more than a day if you are doing this!), but the rest of your day just seems so much easier after accomplishing that one thing.

We had no idea that this was part of a Mark Twain quote, and it wasn’t until years later that I found that out on the internet.   When I sat down to write this today, and looked up the quote, I found the second half of this quote:  “And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”  Even better!

Over the years, I have found it to be amazing how many things I put off and put off, only to find that it only takes me a few minutes to actually do it when I set my mind to it.  And it is so freeing when that thing is not on my mental to do list anymore!  Freedom AND productivity, all in one simple step.

So…   have YOU eaten YOUR frog today?

He refreshes my soul.  He guides me along paths for his name’s sake.  Psalm 23:3

Retirement…  A time to step back, relax, take life easy.   That is what we like to think the definition is, but is it?   Or is it a clean slate to start doing that which you have been building within your life for many years?

I believe that whatever the Lord has brought into our lives, the experiences, the things that we have learned, the talents we have honed, the people we have met, the skills we have acquired, the passions we have developed, all have a purpose.  They all build on each other, and if we follow the path set before us, at some point they all converge.

And so this new life begins…