We have a new search and find game starting today at Quilt Block Dash, won’t you join us? I designed a very beginner-friendly quilt pattern that is sure to get your Irish panties ready to do a jig!
Monthly Archives: March 2012
Quilting Basics: Start Small Projects to Learn the Basics
One of my dear friends has fallen in love with primitive hand-quilting (Hi George Ann!).   Essentially, this means using a colorfast embroidery thread instead of a quilt thread that is colored to quilt a pattern on your quilt. Obviously, you need an embroidery needle (but a sharp one) to create your quilting stitches and not a small quilt needle.  Here is an example of small proportions so you can get an idea of what it looks like:
I am sure you can see the idea based on the image. The stitches are not small and that is the whole goal of the primitave quilting. The more I have researched what she is doing, the more appealing I find it. It truly has a homemade feel to it. It leaves the quilter with the feeling that they are not going for perfection, but rather the final outcome of a truly heart-felt finished quilt that was stitched with viewable stitched love, from a quilted heart.
When I want to tackle a new project such as the one above, I start with the basics such as a simple four-patch block design. Over time, making sure my seams match in the middle and my blocks being the exact size as they were designed to be has become my challenge, my way of showing that I can create an exceptional quilt traditional quilt block. I am not looking for perfection, as that defeats the purpose (in my opinion) of making a handmade gift. I am searching for my own exceptional talents by going above and beyond with a basic block pattern. But, by embracing the primative – it is allowing the block to speak for itself, despite my talent in creating the block. The stitches are raw, they are expressive with each in-and-out of the needle. They are not distracting from the overall feel of the block, they are framing it. They are intense. They are showcasing the important, but they are also creating a whole picture – because the block cannot stand alone.
Try to create a small primitive quilt block. Use thin cotton batting and cotton batting, and be sure to use a very sharp embroidery needle. See how it feels as you prepare it, then see how the final outcome looks upon completion. You may just enjoy the final effect as much as my friend and I do!
Let’s Begin the 2012 BOMquilts.com Block of the Month Quilt “Bittersweet Churning”!
Life got in the way of getting my 2012 BOMquilts.com pattern written, my apologies to those who have been waiting for it! But, the intro with fabric requirements are live at www.BOMquilts.com and Linda at www.AbbiMays.com is all ready for you to go and order your quilt fabric kit for the quilt (either in the Bittersweet fabric line or a fabric line of your choice)!
And, to make up for my lackadaisical ways, I will post TWO (2) of the quilt blocks on or before March 22nd for your quilting pleasure!
Get ready…..
Get set…..
QUILT ON!
MS Awareness Week March 12th – 18th
There are some people who fight the MS fight valiantly. They never complain, take the disease head-on and just move forward with their lives without wanting anyone to know what they are dealing with.
Not me.
There are some who love to tell you of someone they know who are doing wonderfully, their medications are working and they are not having any problems. And if they aren’t, then obviously you shouldn’t be, either.
Not me.
There are some who do not want to hear about what you are going through – they just cannot bear to hear of any negativity. They pull away.
Not me.
There are some who will tell you how to fix everything that’s wrong with you – they are Doctor Mom, without the education to back it up.
Not me.
There are some who are naysayers, who will predict your future because they are sure they know way more than anyone else on the subject.
Not me.
I’m not looking for pity. What I’m honestly looking for is understanding. If education is key, then I would love to educate just one person on what Multiple Sclerosis is all about. This week is MS awareness week. Are you aware that MS can be an unseen disease – hence I have a handicapped tag for my automobile and it is used because I could do a serious face-plant if I had to walk further than the closest parking spot to a store if I did not use it? You cannot SEE the MS in me. You perhaps may be able to tell that I cannot walk straight or that I hold onto one of my kids or my husband if I’m walking across a parking lot (and cling to a shopping cart as if it were the only way to stay upright). I have not endured any of the stares or statements that some talk about for using my parking tag but I assure you my family is well equipped to handle it should the subject come up.
If you would like to learn more about MS, please click here. Perhaps someone you know just found out they have it and you would like to find out more about it, or you would like to find out how you can help someone with MS. I will have it all my life. I pray that my children will not ever get it. I pray that YOU will never get it. I also pray that you will have a better understanding of the disease – because you can at least say you have heard of someone who has it. Stand up and be counted as one who has taken the time to educate yourself about MS, and lend a hand where you can. I can tell you, those hands mean a lot to those of us who they are reaching out to.
Multiple Sclerosis and What REALLY Matters
Every single day I wake up to a new world – and it has nothing to do with my natural blonde self. Living with multiple sclerosis is like living with most other life-altering diseases – you just do not know how you will feel from one day to the next. I could wake up with a migraine, with spasms in my feet, with numbness or tingling in my face or hands, unable to walk, etc. It’s a daily unknown, and we are on a constant vigil to be sure to document anything new that happens and what I am doing, eating, drinking, etc. so I can properly explain it to my list of doctors. There has only been one day in the past 13+ months when I have not experienced dizzy spells throughout the day, and to date we still do not know if this is related to the MS or not. There is no normal, and anyone who has MS will tell you the same. Stress is really the biggest issue that causes the most symptoms and I try to avoid it at all costs because the symptoms usually end with me in the bed trying to recover.
The one thing I will never, ever take for granted anymore is love. Oh my goodness, have I seen love in its rawest of forms from some of the most wonderful people even moreso since my diagnosis – some who I already knew who loved me, some who expressed it before but express it more often now and some who I had no idea even gave me a second thought. And it’s not just love for me, it’s love for my family, too. Love for our well being, love for all of our health and welfare. Love just BECAUSE.
I do not remember my parents telling me they loved me. Some may dispute this fact, but it is not in my memory bank. I know my Gramma from Tramma loved me, as she’d say, “I love ya doll.” I always thought I was so very special when she said that, until I heard her tell her best friend the same thing one night when I dropped her off at her favorite pub. hehe I have had a number of family members say they loved me, but before I truly learned what love was with my brother, I probably didn’t understand what “love” meant. At least not unconditional love. That was when I realized how much my love with my Gramma from Tramma meant to me, even though her love sustained me for so very long through the good, the bad and the ugly.
Now, after a nearly 20 year relationship with an extremely loving husband that has produced four amazingly loving children, I can honestly say love easily flows from my heart and lips. It is said with emotion and comes directly from my soul. I have no problem loving, despite shutting off my emotions in order to cope with a very difficult childhood.
My special aunt has told me I am very loyal, even if someone hurts me. I suppose that is true, though I haven’t really thought about it much. I will say that if I am hurt enough, I will close the door on a relationship (after some serious prayer and contemplation) without a second thought.  I do not want myself or my family involved in toxic relationships – it is not worth it to put my children in any type of hurt of that type. It is my job as a parent to protect them, and I will do so to the best of my ability. I do know that my children have not met many members of my extended family because I want to shelter them from my past. It may be that those who have hurt those I care about a long time ago have changed and would not cause pain anymore, but I am not willing to put my kids in harm’s way on the chance that they will be hurt. When they are adults, if they choose to search out the extended family, I will point them in the direction and explain how they are related to them. My past pain is just that, in the past. They know enough to know what happened to me and for now, all they want to do is to protect their mommy from further pain. For now, it is the most loving thing a Mom could ask for from her children.
My third foster mother recently told me I have some of the best coping skills she has ever seen for a child who went through as much as I did. I have to thank her family and my aunt and uncle for that, because out of all of the chaos surrounding my childhood – they were the ones who brought any semblance of normalcy to my life. Both when I lived with them when I was growing up and a whole lot as I have continued to mature. A counselor helped along the way, too. And love. Always love. Sometimes tough love. Sometimes distant love. But, always love.
Today, love drives me. Love makes me get out of bed every morning. Love for God my Father. Love for my family, who needs me to be the wife, the Mother, the daughter-in-law. Love for my best friend from fourth grade, who I surprised on her birthday last July and made her cry in church because she didn’t know I was coming. Love for my cousin, who drove me around and we got girl-time together for a whole weekend without her parental intrusion. Love from my quilt group, who welcomed me with open arms and told me repeatedly how much they missed me since I’d been avoiding them for six months because the meetings make me dizzy. Love for my foster mother who continues to treat me as one of her own children, even though I was but a mere placement through the foster care system. The list goes on and on – but, there are so many who love and whom I love. SO many with hearts and arms wide open.
Love is what makes living with MS bearable. It is the only thing that matters in this big ole’ hard-nosed world. I will no longer spend time on things that do not bring happiness and love to my world and my family. I will repeat the golden rule my Gramma from Tramma tried to drill into five headstrong and independent kids: Treat others as you want to be treated.
LIVE
LOVE
LAUGH