Category Archives: Family Therapy

Christmas Continues!

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As many of you know, my (third) foster mother (FM) has come to winter with us for a couple of months to escape some of the winter in Iowa.  Before Christmas, I told her we were having a homemade Christmas just for her when she arrived – beats sending huge packages through the mail plus, we all wanted to see her reaction to our homemade gifts.

In turn, she did some “closet shopping” – she went through her closet to find things that each of us would like and brought them.  What a great way to give gifts that have special meanings to both the giver and the receiver!

I was so busy watching and listening to the gifts our family received that I didn’t get photos of each one of the kids.  Our youngest daughter received a book about a girl that was published in 1909.  I’m sure my FM didn’t realize the significance of that year but both my maternal grandfather and my husband’s paternal grandmother were born in ‘naught nine’.

The son-man received my FM’s Boundary Waters tackle box.  The Boundary Waters are in northern Minnesota.  When I lived with these foster parents, we took three trips to canoe in the waters (over the course of two years) and then went again with our church youth group.  This is a very special gift, beyond the fact that my son loves to fish – it’s a gift that I know means a lot to my FM.

Middle daughter received a music-themed charm bracelet since she LOVES music!

Eldest daughter received a stone bracelet since she has to pick up a rock everywhere she goes.

I received this beautiful cedar box.  As my FM told the story, back ‘in the day’, if you purchased a hope chest from a certain shop, you received a mini-hope chest as a special gift.  I never had a hope chest so now I finally do!

My husband received two more lectionaries for his lay minister work.  My FM had bought him his first one last year and now he has all three versions, which are rotated during the church years – perfect gift for him!

And then it was our turn to give back to one who has given us so much.  We decided to go (mostly) handmade because my FM has always been a crafts & sewing person. 

Our youngest gave Grandma a set of loom potholders.  She and Grandma made cookies when we went to Iowa last summer.

Son-man gave Grandma a bag of pecans she needs to crack open – just what she asked for!  (this was the only non-homemade gift but she specifically wanted this one).

Middle daughter gave Grandma a really cool friendship bracelet she wove from embroidery floss in Grandma’s favorite color of blue!

Our oldest daughter gave Grandma a scarf she crocheted all by herself.  Grandma taught her to crochet a couple of years ago so she wanted to show Grandma that she remembered how to do it.  The scarf is skinny because you don’t need much more than that in Texas.

The final gift was from me – I gave her my beautiful 2012 block of the month quilt “Bittersweet Churning” (free pattern at BOMquilts.com) – she had happy tears and a great big smile when she saw the quilt.  She also put it right on her bed and has looked at the workmanship every day since she got it!

Here’s my FM with all four of our children.  What a great late Christmas for one and all!

Let’s Have a UFO Quilt Party!

Quilt Therapy Posted on by

My foster mother is here in Texas to spend a couple of months with us – Iowa is a bit cold right now.  LOL

We were talking about quilt-related projects for her to do.  I helped the quilting bug invade her psyche a couple of years ago and she’s definitely hooked!

First, I gave her a verbal list of what blocks I’d started on and needed to finish.  Then, I gave her a list of quilts she could help me do with quilts that are completed except for their binding.

She also loves to hand-quilt, so I gave her a couple of (really late) prayer shawls to hand-quilt.

On top of that, I gave her a precut quilt for a charity and told her to have at it – the fabric is pre-cut and all she has to do is to follow the directions to put the baby quilt together.

I am nearly ashamed to admit that I have way more UFOs than I thought I did!!!  Here’s hoping she has fun wintering with us and helping me catch up on my quilting projects!!!   OH, and we hope she has a chance to have a little fun with us along the way!

Truly Texas Table Runner

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I believe I started this table runner last year but never finished it.  Although it sat on my cutting table for a year, right in front of me so I wouldn’t forget it – I forgot it <blush>.

But, I remembered it this year!  There is a lovely lady at church who always makes my kids feel special with her gifts, her hugs and her words of encouragement.  Not to limit herself to my kids, she also loves my husband’s homemade sauerkraut and is anxiously awaiting his first batch of prickly pear cactus wine (which won’t be ready for about a year).  She and I email back and forth about once a week – her catching me up on their lives and me catching her up on ours.  She’s so cute!

She LOVES the hugs the kids give her and is amazed that our still kids thrive on hugs without being embarrassed, even in their teenage years.

This table runner is made with two different “Texas Hill Country” fabrics – and to me, it is Totally Texas!

The pattern for this table topper can be found at QuiltBug.com – albeit theirs is longer than what I made.

Pin and Needle Holder Fun

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Before the holidays, I needed a few small but special gifts for some online friends of mine and decided to make pin and needle holders.  The original pin and needle holder came to me from my best friend in Iowa, who made it in her quilt guild.  A number of years ago, my MIL and I made some for her annual church bazaar but neither of us kept the pattern we’d created to make them.  When I tried to re-create the pattern, it didn’t work out so well.  SO, I had to punt.  I went into my kitchen and got a medium sized plate and used that as the outer edge guideline, adding the place where the snap goes to it to my template. 

This is SUPER SIMPLE to sew!  You cut a piece of felt the same size as your template with pinking shears.  Then, you cut the outer fabric about 1/4″ smaller than the template.  Once both are cut, pin them together and press the places where the folds will be.  Using a zig-zag stitch, sew on all of the pressed lines, then sew along the circumference of the project as well as the tab where the snap will be placed.

It took me about an hour to whip up five pin and needle holders, once the cutting was completed.  And, I did it with my youngest daughter so we had one-on-one time together – bonus!

Thanksgiving Quilted Heart

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This year, I watched many Facebook friends write a day’s worth of “thanks” leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday.  I daresay, I’m one of those who gives thanks daily – regardless of a looming holiday.  I have a prayer list – one side of the list is people who I need to pray for and the other is a list of thanks to praise Him for.   I always say that I have a quilted heart.  It has been ripped out, shredded, hurt over-and-over again – but, with love and forgiveness, it has been stitched back together.  Certain folks need to hear that I am very thankful they are in my life, and in the life of our family:

  • My Creator, my Living God, my Rock – God the Father.  All thanks are His!
  • My life-long partner, my love, my caregiver – my husband.
  • To our four children – I never thought I’d have kids, but it’s the best job in the world, to be a Mother!
  • To my brothers, sisters-in-law and their families – thank you for letting me be a part of a family.  You are loved.
  • To my other families who raised me – my aunt and uncle and my third foster parents, and their families.  You, too, are loved.
  • My MIL and her family – always surrounded by love.
  • My SIL and her family – you make my children’s lives so much more fun!
  • My MS friends, without you, I would surely be floating in a sea of never getting answers for some of the symptoms I endure.
  • My quilt friends – you feed me with your creativity, your exhuberance for life, your friendships and your giving hands.
  • My virtual friends, many of whom I’ve never met but who are still a large part of my online life.
  • Those special friends, the ones who send me gifts for myself or my children – out of the goodness of their hearts.  We work hard to pay it forward, though we rarely pay it forward the same amount as has been given to us.
  • Our church friends, those who pray for us, those who email me to check on me, those who care.
  • The doctors, nurses and other medical personnel who are striving to make those of us with MS suffer less and get better quicker. 
  • The teachers who teach my children – may they be blessed by others as our children have been blessed by their knowledge.

This is certainly not a full list, but it’s a good start.  I must say, I am thankful every single day that I can get out of bed and start my day.  Some days, MS rules my waking hours.  Some days, I am able to live a halfway ‘normal’ life.  Each day I get up is a gift from God, and I will sit on the side of the bed and thank Him for allowing me to have another day with my family and friends. 

To you, I extend a quilted heart Happy Thanksgiving!